I told myself when I thought out this project that the story would end here.

Then, after I received such wonderful responses, I toyed with the idea of continuing this tale indefinitely, or at least for a couple more chapters.

And now I am convinced that this chronicle has to end here, as I promised - because the world I've created in my head is shaping up for a sequel.

Writing Rydia has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of my 'career'. Putting light and life into this girl has been an absolute joy. I have loved Rydia's character since I was in fourth grade and played Final Fantasy II for the first time. It's like an affair. She just rocks and that's all there is to it.

I wanted to portray Rydia as a whole here, as well. She's not a very strong character, physically; yet she is the only character in the game who can wipe the screen clean of enemies with one command (be it Meteo, Flare, Bahamut, or any of the 3's - whatever you'd like). I wanted to portray that strength as what it was, and also show that it had to come with a price. Rydia's powers are no simple matter - magic is not quite like bashing someone with a sword - it requires discipline and stamina. And like everything in this world, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Strength has to come from somewhere.

I also wanted to flesh out her relationships with the other characters - not only Cecil, Rosa, and the others she traveled with, but the monsters she grew up with. Much of her conflicts come from her two different worlds and the choices she must make. I also have to comment on Edge. His character in the game is borderline - he comes across as an arrogant, selfish womanizer (think Edgar, FFVI, plus an ego) in most fanfics. But I've found that with only minor tweaking Edge's character can be transformed into the kind of passionate, intense ninja that we can see Rydia falling for. I agree with the people out there that Rydia deserves the best; and I'm trying to shape Edge into doing that for her, heh heh ...

So. Out of the Mist ends here. This story's been a wonderful journey for me and I hope you've all enjoyed living Rydia's life as much as I have.

I'm going to take a little break (get some breathing room!) and then begin work on a sequel. I'm hoping to involve all of the characters a little more in-depth; I just had to be partial to Rydia here, since she's my favorite.

If there are any questions on anything that happened in this story, please let me know. I've thought out just about everything in great depth (I love backstory and detail, obviously), and if you're confused on something more often than not there's an entire story behind it all. Feel free to contact me:

website: //broken prism//

email: [email protected]

anyway. Please stick around and stay interested! I've loved the comments and dialogue. Hope to hear from all of you soon.

Seventh