Fan Fiction / Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Order of the Purple Robe ❯ Prologue

It was, what would have seemed to most, a perfectly normal day in late November. The wintry air was bitter, yet the sky remained clear and coldly sunny. The sunlight fell on an old park in central Maryland that had seen better days, along with the street around it. Several of the houses were run-down, the park's mulch flooring was rotted, not a single swing remained intact on the swing-set, a fair portion of the equipment was rusted, trash littered the ground, and the sign for this street, which read “Maple Street,” was heavily graffitiied. Currently, the park had but one occupant, a 16-year old boy, and he was hardly there to play. He was dressed in a coat, T-shirt, and jeans, and he had a backpack on, even though it was only 2:00 a.m. He was staring at the house he had just left, a look of disgust and resentment on his face. But with any luck, this would be the last time he would have to see that place ever again, since he was running away from it, forever. It had never been home to him, and he had precious few happy memories of it.

He stood mulling over the events that had led him to run away. Those dreams! If only they could come true! But they would not. They were only dreams, after all, and dreams like those becoming reality were the sort of thing that only happened in video games and fantasy novels. The constant delusions of power these dreams offered him, they had been the first few steps down the long road of insanity to which he now walked. He flinched inwardly, as painful memories surfaced from inside of himself. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He felt like some invisible hand had been guiding him these past few days, but that was crazy. To him, there was no such thing as “God”. He didn't even believe in Fate anymore. His beliefs had been shattered long ago, so all that was left of him was a cold, hard, empty shell of a person. Sighing inwardly to himself, he shouldered his backpack, which carried his few personal belongings, turned around, and strode off into the distance…