False Gods

Book III: Stolen Valor

Chapter XXIV

     Long ago, the Garfont Mercenaries, led by a former freelancer named Vandham, focused on helping others in times of desperate need. In this time five hundred years ago, people lived on the backs of giant titans, who were dying out. Wars broke out between nations just trying to survive, and others pillaged and stole as the world burned. This made many children orphans and many wives widows. The Garfont Mercenaries were a large group of capable drivers who went out and brought aid to these people, offering protection and a sanctuary for those who had lost. Vandham, despite his rough, burly outlook was deeply and widely known for his caring, "bleeding" heart. He would rescue these orphans and raise them up in Garfont, where they'd learn to cook, clean, sew, fight, basically anything they could ever use in their life. These children, upon reaching adulthood, would be granted a choice: if they proved to be capable of wielding a blade, they could join the Garfont Mercenaries and help other children in need, they could stay and help tend to the village, or they could be given a ticket to anywhere they wanted to go and they'd start their life away from this place. It wasn't always pretty, but it was what many people needed.

     Soon after Rex became the driver of the Aegis, he ended up on Uraya and paired with Vandham. Vandham taught Rex anything and everything he knew before sacrificing himself to protect Rex and the Aegis. Vandham left the Garfont Mercenaries to Rex, who had wanted nothing to do with war originally, but soon accepted his role. After all was said and done and Waylon departed from this world, Rex went back to the Garfont Mercenaries with the Aegis. He renamed them, and dubbed them the Blade Assistance Program. He didn't want this group to be associated with the war it had grown from, he wanted it to be a driving force that helped people grow accustomed to this new world. One of dry land and water instead of giant beasts and clouds. Many years later, after Mythra had gone to sleep to wait for Waylon, Rex disappeared with the Aegis, and was never seen again. While many argue as to the cause of his disappearance, none can deny that the BAP is exactly what Vandham and Rex would've wanted.

     The blades of the BAP used to all belong to members of Rex's party. However, thanks to the rise of the Blade Control Corp a few hundred years back, they were forced to distribute the blades, using a special item known as an Overdrive Protocol, among official BAP Mercenaries. This was done to ensure that the power of blades wasn't given to any one person. However, due to a blade's ability to heal almost any injury, so long as their core crystal remains unharmed, and the fair amount of power they have even without their drivers, it was decided that the drivers would stay in Garfont, managing the business side of things, while groups of blades, called squads, did the missions they received.

     Blade squads were made up of three members, one would be a designated leader, and the three would carry out missions together. Based on the level of difficulty of the missions they completed and the success rate, blades would be ranked from one to ten. Rank ten blades handled minor issues, often simple disputes. Rank one blades would handle extremely dangerous missions that could potentially result in casualties, however blades at rank one were highly respected by all member of the BAP, and it was very rare for a blade group to ever reach that level.

     While touring the city with Dromarch, a squad did approach us, very meekly, I might add.

     One of them was a very small girl, with ridiculously large, frizzled, blond pigtails and a white blouse. I had begun to realize that blades always looked similar to the element that they had. KOS-MOS and Mythra we're dressed in white and we're light blades, Malos had black eyes, black hair, and a black outfit so was obviously a dark blade. I first assumed she was a light blade. She introduced herself as Electra in a very ecstatic tone, I then realized her element was lightning.

     The second one, Nim, had hair that mixed blue and green in a style similar to a globe. Her face was human but her nose was that of a dog's or a bear's, and on her shoulders say two little fox-looking creatures, one with blue hair and one with red hair that resembled colored flames. She was an earth blade.