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"But there's one thing I do know. Today, I have to part with my carefree childhood because there's nothing but hard work ahead."
"So with this, I bid you farewell for now. Goodnight, Grandpa. Goodnight, Frimelda, and..."
"...Goodbye, Halcyon Days...."
Luso, at the end of Chapter 2.

Summary by the author: The Grimoire of the Rift, a powerful magic tome. Luso Clemens, an average, fourteen year old boy. It asked him but one question. "One is fated to fill these barren pages. Know ye his name?" His answer would be the catalyst that changed his life forever.

The Tainted Grimoire is an Alternate Universe Fic by cuttingmoon57, based on Final Fantasy Tactics A2 where we still follow the adventures of Luso, there is still a book which records his journey and he still joins Clan Gully, BUT, in this story, his older sister is Frimelda, that paladin that joins you in the game and there are many original characters and cameos from other works. The world of this story is also far more fleshed out than the one in the game.

The first chapter was posted on 13th June 2008, but the story hasn't been updated since 2012.


Tropes contained in The Tainted Grimoire:

  • Amazon Brigade: Clan Falzen, who are introduced at the beginning of the St.Galleria arc, is an all-female clan.
  • Arranged Marriage: Part of the plot of the St. Galleria arc is that a marriage is arranged between Maria, part of the ruling family, and Finch, the current Archbishop.
  • Backstory:
    • Vaticus explains during a lull in his battle with Luso and Adelle what his motivations are and how he became the person he is at present.
    • We see bits and pieces of Sir Loin's life, including the development of his relationship with Adelle, during the chapter where he died.
    • Cheney explains to Tweigel his history with Freise before joining House Bowen and properly explains why he left House Bowen.
  • Battle Aura: Luso radiates an aura when preparing a Fighter ability.
  • Beastly Bloodsports: This is one of the fates in store for many of the poached creatures during the Poaching Arc.
  • Bodyguard Betrayal:
    • Raven is actually a member of Khamja. While he and Crow are protecting Maria, their true objective is separate and more sinister but the moment Maria got involved, Raven could have killed her without remorse if it wasn't for Adelle.
    • Fasullo is actually Ewen in disguise and the whole time he spent working as the leader of Baron Beltorey's guards was just so can take something the Baron had.
  • Breather Episode: After the Wham Episode mentioned below, the end of the Grazton arc showed Clan Gully taking a much needed break.
  • Chick Magnet: Luso has three girls who definitely likes him. They are Kanin, Anna and Maria. Cheney has two.
  • Children Forced to Kill: Some of the stuff that happened in Grazton was at least partly because Cid and Ensei wanted to avoid this trope. They now accept that given their circumstances, they can't avoid it and the younger members of Clan Gully will be ready for it should they have to kill someone.
  • Combat Commentator: Several characters take this role, depending on who is fighting and who is on the sidelines, though on occassion, the ones fighting themselves take this role.
  • Concert Climax: The climax of the St. Galleria arc takes place at a major wedding, because that wedding is an important plot point during the St. Galleria arc.
  • Continuity Nod: The Camoan native who cheered Luso and Cheney up in Chapter 63 turned out to be the father of the girl whom Luso, Cheney and Hurdy helped all the way back in Chapter 8.
  • Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: During the climax of the St. Galleria arc, Auggie is saved from three members of the Archbishop Guard like this.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle:
    • Early in the story, there were several people who went up against Cid and Ensei, that were defeated in just one hit.
    • At the climax of the St. Galleria arc, after Ensei was able to give Judgemaster Cid proof of Vaticus' crimes, Judgemaster Cid sent his personal guard to assist The Heretics defeat the Archbishop Guard. The back-up easily defeated those that went up against them. Many who saw them were in awe.
    • When Veis and Vili were introduced, Veis defeated the leader of a group of would-be thieves easily.
  • Curse Cut Short:
    • One time, Sasasha got interrupted when two members of the Targ Wood Police put a hand each over her mouth.
    • Another time, Luso got interrupted by an announcement.
  • Cuteness Proximity: When Kanin and Maria see Auggie's pet dreamhare, they squeal saying that it's cute, shocking Luso who had never seen them like that before.
  • Day In The Lime Light: Clan Gully aren't the only ones the story focuses on, even if they are the main ones.
  • Death Glare: Adelle gave one to Hurdy when he was about to mention something that contradicted her claims.
  • Dirty Cop: According to Barley, Khamja has informants within the ranks of the Jylland Defenders of the Peace.
  • Doorstopper: This story has 391,774 words and 67 chapters, and is no where near finishing yet.
  • Edible Theme Naming: All named Seeq in the story are named after a type of meat.
    • First, there is T-bone.
    • Second, there is Ribs.
    • Third, there is Sir Loin.
  • Evil All Along: Vaticus Finch and his subodinates were not revealed as evil to the protagonists until later.
  • Evil Versus Evil: In Chapter 60 Duelhorn declares war on Khamja.
  • Exact Words: Ewen only promised to let Clan Gully leave the building alive.
  • Exposition: When Luso asks for details about the world he is in, other characters will be happy to oblige, though sometimes, they have to first get over their shock at Luso not knowing what to them is common knowledge.
  • Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: There is one in Chapter 59.
  • Famed In-Story: Clan Gully after they saved Baron Beltorey, one of the most influential people in Jylland.
    Beltorey: This incident is going to spread like wildfire, and whether for better or worse, this small eight-person note  clan is now officially on the map.
  • Fantastic Racism: There is some of this.
    Cid: Though it is not as widespread as in the past, there are still those out there who believe in racial hiearchy. Humeism is one of these. It seems they picked up on the Archadian's sense of Hume superiorty.
  • Fantastic Rank System:
    • Khamja has one of these.
    Barley: Khamja combative forces are divided into five ranks based on skill, intelligence and power, kupo. We've got the grunts like the one you just took out, squad captains like me, platoon leaders, liutenants, and finally the division commanders.
    • So does the Jylland Defenders of the Peace. At the top is the Judgemaster, next are the Judges. Somewhere below them are the Officers, Captains and Judgemaster Personnel Guard.
  • Fantasy Counterpart Appliance: Whisperweed is used as phones, two way radios and speakers because of it's unique ability to transmit sound.
  • Flashback:
    • Vaticus when explaining his Backstory.
    • Sir Loin has flashbacked to his and Adelle's history together, and his history from before that.
    • Bowen had a flashback to his memories of his wife.
  • Flat "What": The reaction of the crowd at the Acqua Alta when they see Luso has entered the race with a chocobo. Bear in mind that the Acqua Alta is a water race, while the chocobo is a land bird.
  • Flexible Tourney Rules: During the Camoa Cup, Acidwire requested a single duel to decide the match between them and Clan Gully rather than the best of three that was supposed to happen. They got away with this because when they requested this, they made it seem like they were doing it out of consideration of the fact that Clan Gully has yet to recover properly from their last few matches when actually it was so they could make it easier for them to defeat Clan Gully. This backfired on them when Luso defeated their leader Suzuka.
  • Foreshadowing: There is a lot of these in the story. Examples include:
    • Cid noticed that Raven's smile seemed of. That's because he is actually a ruthless member of Khamja.
    • Klesta is mentioned by caravan travellers to St. Galleria while they were in a certain area. Guess who becomes the antagonist in a minor arc while Clan Gully are in the area.
  • Freudian Excuse: Vaticus, Ignatius and Riccio have their's revealed during the St. Galleria arc.
  • Got Volunteered: Luso and Vili would unwittingly be roped in as dance partners for Kanin and Adelle when they get Cheney to teach them how to dance.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: The result of the Interspecies Romance mentioned below. Kanin is one of the Feol Viera mentioned below.
  • Hereditary Republic: The Head Of State of St. Galleria, Governor Aquila, himself admits that this is the case with St. Galleria.
  • Hypocritical Humour: Ensei once commented on Adelle's Greed, right before going to the buffet to steal the next day's dinner.
  • Internal Reveal: Luso reveals where he is from to his clan mates at the end of the Mistwalker arc.
  • Interspecies Romance: This has happened in-story, between Humes and Viera, and the resulting offspring are called Feol Viera with an in-universe explanation.
  • Jerkass: Everyone in Acidwire.
  • Killed Off for Real: Sir Loin and Barley.
  • La RĂ©sistance: The Heretics, they oppose Vaticus Finch.
  • Late-Arrival Spoiler: It is hard to read the later chapters without these being spoiled.
    • Chapter 42 onwards: Kanin is a Feol Viera.
    • Chapter 62 onwards: Crow is now a member of Clan Gully.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • Cheney's middle name, Difronte, is Italian for opposite, since his two jobs virtually contrast the other in function and purpose. The actual Italian term for opposite is 'di fronte', but the two separate words was combined into one to create the name.
    • Kanin's middle name, Leporidae, comes from the Classification Family for Rabbits. She's a Feol Viera.
    • Crockett, his name is derived from the crook of a shepherd's cane. His ability to control and herd Baknamy are reminiscent to that of a shepherd controlling a flock of sheep.
    • Cama Leonte. Camaleonte is Italian for chameleon. His success at blending into the Archbishop guard reflects the animal's ability to blend into its surroundings.
  • Mugging the Monster: The Yellow Wings learned the hard way that Cid and Ensei are way out of their league.
  • Mythology Gag: The Clan Tourneys shown are one-on-one duels, unlike the six-on-six shown in the games. It is mentioned that the Clan Tourneys used to be like the games but starting with the one we're shown, a format change was made to give smaller clans a chance against the larger ones.
  • Named Like My Name: Clan Gully Co-leader Cid and Judgemaster Cid Randell.
    Cid: There's always going to be someone out there that's stronger than you, lad. Of course, a man or beast hasn't been found that can best Cid Randell at one on one combat. Makes me proud to share the same name.
  • Post-Kiss Catatonia: Luso had this after Maria kissed him on the cheek.
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner:
  • Put on a Bus: Too many characters to list. This is due to the fact that Clan Gully and many of the people they meet do a lot of travelling.
    • The Bus Came Back: Of course, some characters are rather important to the story so they get a Day In The Lime Light to show us what they have been up to. Either that or meet up with Clan Gully again.
    • Commuting on a Bus: Micaiah and Francesca both have long periods of absence between their multiple re-apperances.
  • The Rest Shall Pass: When Crow appears while Clan Gully and their comrades is trying to rescue Baron Beltorey and Cid, Luso takes him on alone and the rest of his group moves on.
  • Secret Test of Character: Luso had to go through one so a shopkeeper is satisfied that Luso is mentally and emotionally prepared to be a Fighter before the shopkeeper will sell him the necessarry equipment.
  • Ship Tease: Chapter 40 teases Luso/Kanin in it's climax and conclusion.
  • Storming the Castle: Clan Gully and their comrades had to attack Khamja's base in Grazton to save Baron Beltorey and Cid during the Grazton Arc.
  • Talking Is a Free Action: Crow took time out to explain how a certain spell was possible during a duel with Luso.
  • Timeskip: A month passed after Beltorey's rescue which Clan Gully spent in Grazton recovering from what happened.
  • Tournament Arc: The Camoa Cup, with the twist that Clan Gully faces Acidwire during the first round after the preliminaries have finished. Also much shorter then expected.
  • True Companions: Clan Gully is like this.
  • Underdogs Never Lose: Played with during the Acqua Alta race. While Luso the underdog definitely defeated the expected winner Diez Carnosa, he only got second. Vaan got first and he certainly ain't no underdog.
  • Villain Episode: Chapter 60 focuses on Khamja and Duelhorn ending with Duelhorn declaring war on Khamja.
  • Wham Episode: The Grazton arc. It ended with Cid being too injured to take part in active clan duty and Duelhorn entering the story.
  • You Shall Not Pass!: Auggie says this to a Behemoth to protect an unconscious Luso. He got interrupted by it's attack but succeeds anyway.

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