I asked Zeality if I could be part of Project Zeal, so he added me to that group... So in sort of an effort to "prove myself," I threw together an opening of how I would envision a Chrono Trigger book to begin. (Note also that I put this together in about an hour, at work, in the middle of other stuff.
) Just a rough draft, I would definitely polish it some more before I call it the "final version."
Hope you like it. My commentary follows...
Spreading his arms wide, Crono soared through the blue skies like the heroes of great faerie tales of old. He flipped and zigzagged from cloud to cloud as though he was surfing the waves of a great sea. As he looked ahead to further plan his flight path, a glint in the distance caught his eye.
Making his way toward it, he felt a sensation like nothing he could imagine.
So this is what adventure feels like, he thought. His heart leapt in excitement as he darted through the clouds and the source of that shining light came into view.
A city stood upon a small island landmass, hovering in serenity above the earth, forgotten far below. At the highest point of the island stood a palace sculpted entirely of some beautiful stone Crono couldn’t identify. He guessed this to be what had caused the sun to reflect into his eye. The palace’s delicate spires jutted gently into the air, a pale blue color that stood vividly even against the bright blue sky of the day. As Crono circled the land, his eyes ever on the palace, he became more entranced by it. At different angles, the sun’s rays made the deep blue turn a bold red.
Drawn by his curiosity, Crono descended to the island. On his approach, he noticed other magnificent structures upon the island, but none as beautiful as the palace at the land’s peak. Crono’s feet touched the ground as he stared in awe at this enormous piece of fantastical architecture.
Almost instantly when his feet touched the ground, the landscape changed. Gone was the island he stood on, now replaced by a swirling blue beneath his feet. The colors churning under him, Crono avoided looking down. Looking up, he felt his heart leap into his throat. Terror gripped him. His legs trembled. Here stood another palace, greater than the first, but this monstrous structure was horrifying instead of soothing.
Like a giant bowl turned upside down, it sported ghastly green spikes of some emerald-like substance. Crono fell into a daze. Were those spikes moving? They seemed to shift in place along with the spinning blue under his feet.
Crono fell backward as a fell blast of wind struck him, coming from the direction of the evil stronghold. As Crono got up and looked toward it again, the terror overwhelmed him as he came to a dispiriting realization.
Wait a minute, he thought.
That’s a mouth in front of this building! It’s not a building... It’s a beast.As if responding to Crono’s thought, the monstrosity opened its mouth wide and roared. Crono fell to his knees, slamming his ears shut with both hands. But nothing could keep that horrible noise out. He felt his stomach lurch as he was forced to listen. It was like the sound of a thousand castles collapsing upon each other, shaking everything nearby. The sound ripped through Crono, pulsating viciously from the mouth. Crono screamed in pain, feeling his eardrums burst. He collapsed to the ground.
“Crono...” came a weak voice nearby as the creature’s howl died down. As he lay on the ground, he opened his eyes to see the forms of several other people nearby, all prostrate on the ground as he was. The voice had come from a young woman lying on her chest, her blond hair scattered about her as she struggled to sit up. With one hand she reached toward Crono, screaming his name again. As she did so, blood ran from her mouth. Cuts dotted her forehead and the blood had sopped into some of her hair. Her arm was a mess of red, her clothes were tattered, and Crono knew the look in her eyes. He had seen it in many helpless animals before.
She was dying.
“Cro...” Her voice cracked as she said it, and she coughed up more blood.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself to push himself up with his arms, and put his feet beneath him. Standing again before the dark castle of a beast, he glared into its open mouth, where he saw an eye watching him.
Crono looked back at the young woman, and then returned his gaze to the monster. Without knowing what he was doing, he felt his left hand extend toward the creature and his mouth formed words without his permission. “Take me,” he said.
The creature blinked. Crono felt that it had understood his offer, although he himself did not. Moments later, a beam of light shot out from the eye and struck him in the chest. As he fell backward, he heard one last scream from the mysterious woman. “Crono!”
* * *
“Crono!” A hand gently shook his shoulder.
“Wh-wha-?” Crono blinked his eyes, rubbing his forehead as he turned over in bed.
“Crono, I’ve been yelling at you from downstairs for the last five minutes!” his mom exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. “Really, I don’t know why you always stay out so late!”
Sitting up in bed, Crono rubbed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. The thoughts of his dream immediately rushed back into his head. His mother stood next to his bed, still watching him.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, her tone softening. Her hands still on her hips, she leaned down to scrutinize him at eye level. “You look even more tired than usual. Are you okay?”
“Ugh... I think so,” he moaned, still groggy. “I just...”
His mother interrupted as he was about to tell her about the dream. “You were just so excited about the fair that you didn’t sleep well, did you?”
“Hmm? Oh, the fair!” Crono tore out of bed, unwittingly taking the covers halfway across the room with him, and made for the closet. His heart raced in excitement as he picked out a blue tunic made of tough animal hide, and tied his favorite bandanna around his forehead.
“Mom, have you seen my sword?” he called out.
His mother’s voice came from downstairs. “Why do you need that old thing? You’re not planning any trouble, are you?”
“Lucca has some new battle machine on exhibit! Remember? I’ve told you about Gato.”
“Oh, yes! Well, your sword... Hmm...”
Crono made his way down the stairs, strapping a leather belt around his tunic. His mother stood at the stove, tapping one finger against her chin, her eyes staring blankly at the oak tree outside the window. The smell of eggs and bacon invaded Crono’s nostrils as he waited impatiently for her answer.
“I think I threw it in the...”
Crono didn’t need the rest of the answer. He was already out the door and opening the garbage can next to the front door. He immediately spied his wooden katana sticking out of the garbage, and lifted it gingerly out of the can.
His mother leaned out the door as Crono tapped the sword against the soft green grass a few times, shaking off the scraps of fruit peels. “Crono, don’t fight that thing yet, okay? Just go and say hi to Lucca, and then come back soon, and bring her too! I’m making breakfast for you both. Then once you’ve had a healthy breakfast, you can beat that thing up as much as she’ll let you!”
Crono responded with a thumbs-up as he sprinted off toward the Millennial Fair, attaching his sword to his belt as he went.
OK, so obviously the beginning is a dream... Crono starts by having a dream like we all do...we all dream we can fly. This kind of helps to convey his personality (since the game gives him no persona), which I would polish up some more by adding to the sense of joy he's feeling while flying. The island is Zeal, and he lands before Zeal Palace. The palace transforms into Lavos, the island turns into the blue vortex or pocket dimension around Lavos...
The idea behind his confusion about saying "Take me" is that he doesn't know why he's offering himself to Lavos as a sacrifice. I've had dreams like this before myself where I don't know WHY I feel a certain way about something, but I just do. He knows subconsciously that he loves this girl (who is obviously Marle), and you get the idea now.
Anyway, hope y'all liked it... Let me know your thoughts.