Tales of Harmonia - A Tales Fanstory (Ch1 up!)

[Sheepmage]

Tales of Harmonia
Remember the past, live in the present, and aim for the future …

Over one thousand years ago, civilization as we knew it hit a complete standstill. Thought of as a time of prosperity and development, all at once the sky fell and the world went through a devastating recession that would grip it for almost five hundred years. An event known only as the “Great Deforestation”, Yggdrasil, the mana tree, slowly began to die, and with it everyday life. Producing three jewel-like seeds from its branches, these were to be the last testament to its great power, within them the fruit of the mana tree’s magic. The Nornseeds as they were called holding within them the secrets of mana, they were sought after by many, wars fought in order to possess them. This power-lust tearing countries apart, the three pieces were thrown into time itself with the last strength left of Yggdrasil, lost within the ages as the tree lived its final days.

This is only legend, of course. A world of magical beings and spells is far from what Eternis is. Living a rather simple life in a sleepy town, Liane Fanel was the last person to think that anything would break the ho-hum of everyday life. However, after he finds a strange girl that falls from the sky, he is thrust into a war over one-thousand years in the making with a world that never should have been…

Main Characters

Liane Fanel (LANE Fun-NELL)
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Height: 165.1 cm
Weight: 56.8 kg
Weapon: Long sword
Class: Swordman
VA: N/A

"Come on, can't a guy ever catch a break?"

The son of Dallan’s mayor, Liane is a boy from a back-water village and it shows. Somewhat gullible, perhaps one of the most noticeable things about him is his height; to be quite frank, Liane is short. The butt of quite a few jokes, this vertically-challenged brunette tries not to let those things get under his skin, and at times can be seen as somewhat soft and a bit of a coward. Finding Hanera at the lake, however, seems to have given him some resolve at the very least, as he does his best to keep her out of trouble. That still doesn’t mean that he isn’t quite picked-upon, however.

Finley Marlone (FIN-lee Mar-lone)
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Height: 180.3 cm
Weight: 88.6 kg
Weapon: Battle-Axe
Class: Berserker
VA: N/A

“Hey! My sister's got you playing wifey, eh Liane? heh heh.”

A somewhat large youth around Dallan, he has followed Liane around since the two were only children. Fin, as most affectionately call him, at first glance might seem like a rather rough and somewhat dull individual, but that would be the furthest from the truth, the rather gargantuan teen having a soft heart. Taking care of his younger sister in lieu of his parents’ unexpected death from illness, the two have taken up residency with their grandparents, who own the local inn. Somewhat of a joker, it’s hard to say if this gentle giant knows when to be serious.

Hanera (Haa-NEER-uh)
Gender: Female
Age: Appears around 15; real age unknown
Height: 157.5 cm
Weight: 46.8 kg
Weapon: Staff
Class: Healer
VA: N/A

“I don't know what I am... but that doesn't matter to me. Right now I am Nera, and that's what's important, right?”

A rather mysterious woman that fell from the sky during the festival of deliverance, this white-haired lass is quite the enigma herself. Not remembering where she came from or why she fell in the first place, she possess the ability to use magic, something not seen before. With a rather hushed and sweet demeanor, she seems more like a child than anything most of the time, this persona changing whenever she is in immediate danger. Is there much more to this woman than there seems?

Florian Alberton (FLOOR-ee-an ALL-bur-ton)
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Height: 167.6 cm
Weight: 54.5 kg
Weapon: Hands/Feet
Class: Mage
Occupation: Inventor/Seed-crafter
VA: sheepmage

“I won’t live in his shadow. I’ll be better than that drunk of an old man, just you watch!”

Tomboyish, a little brash, and never afraid to say just exactly what is on her mind, Florian is the daughter of a famous Seed-smith, said to be the first to place seeds into items, giving them “magical” qualities. Not liking at all to be placed under the shadow of a fraud (as he was not the one that first had that idea, but stole it from one of his apprentices), she strives to be greater than him in every way. Meeting up with the group after seeing the talisman around Nera’s neck, she wishes, like her partner, to find out more about the artifact she has, particularly where she found it in the first place.

Ryo’Thallin Disaresta (REE-oh' THAHL-in Dee-sah-RES-tuh)
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Height: 180.3 cm
Weight: 60 kg
Weapon: Katar
Class: Thief/Treasure Hunter
Occupation: Mercenary
VA: N/A

“Sorry, hate to break it to you.... but compared to me... you have a long way to go... …Just kidding!”

Just by looking at him, you would never think that Ryo is a legend among men, but he is. Known as a famous treasure hunter, he is a half-elf, a blasphemous bastard of a child in any human or elf’s eyes. He knows this, and yet it seems as if he doesn’t care, what with his seemingly carefree nature. Almost always getting himself into trouble, while he plays the role of fool quite well, it is hard to say whether or not Ryo is actually as stupid as he lets on. Still, it helps to have Florian around to aid in getting him out of certain scrapes, even if the woman poses as more of a distraction than anything (just never tell her that).



Secondary Characters

Zoei Belial (ZO-way Beh-LIE-ulh)

Gender: Female
Age: Appears around 18; real age unknown
Height: 175.3 cm
Weight: 57.7 kg
Weapon: Halbert/Staff
Class: Mage
Occupation: Librarian
VA: N/A

“All the knowledge man needs to keep from repeating their mistakes is at their fingertips… If only they would realize that.”

Zoei’s reputation precedes her quite a bit, ascending to the higher echelons of the Order of Aeroin in only ten years—a feat that takes many their entire lives. Not only a natural magic user in a world where the talent is seen every once in a blue moon, she is quite powerful to boot, turning down a position higher up within the order as a white-robe, which there are only six of. A seemingly shy young woman, for the most part she keeps to herself in the Hall of Magical Records in Karshe, where she is a head librarian. When Liane and company come to the institution looking for information, she tells them that she knows what the phenomenon is that both Liane and Nera experienced, and agrees to travel with them to show them where they can find out where Nera’s talisman is from, which she explains is the key to that rather strange event. It seems too that she has taken quite a liking to Ryo.

Vennris Disaresta (VEN-ris Dee-sah-RES-tuh)
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Height: 167.5 cm
Weight: 51.8 kg
Weapon: Book
Class: Mage (Unregistered)
Occupation: Informant
VA: N/A

“At each town, be sure to visit the post office!”

The younger sister to Ryo, Venn is an unregistered mage. Having to take care of two siblings, at an early age she developed quite a maternal sense, which she still exercises with Ryo, even if she doesn’t get to see him as often as she would like. Learning magic from her mother (who herself was an unregistered mage), the girl showed an uncanny talent for it, the only one of three. Giving her older brother many leads that she hears about legends, she is in her own right a very smart girl. Bubbly and cheerful, she lives in the present to hide away the dark pain from the past.



Minor Characters

Iria Malone (EAR-ee-uh Mar-lone)
Gender: Female
Age: 9
Height: 121.9 cm
Weight: 20.5 kg
Voice Actor: N/A

"You're just asking 'cause you haven't found a date yet, Liane!"

Coming soon.

Dravin Fanel (DRAY-vin Fun-NELL)
Gender: Male
Age: 48
Height: 180.7 cm
Weight: 66 kg
Occupation: Mayor
Voice Actor: N/A

"I don't want a monster like that in our town!"

Coming soon.

(Characters are listed by order of appearance, not order of significance. This is not a complete list and will be modified as more characters are added to the story.)



The World

The world of Eternis is, at its core, a world slowly dying away. Its people, oblivious to this fact, live life as any others would: in ignorant bliss. The main race being human, there are few different races in this world, those being elves, the drow and dwarves. Where the humans rule over the cities of the two main continents in Eternis (known as the Western continent or Velarias and the Southern continent of Irim), the elves have retreated back to the forests, much more prominent on Irim. The dwarves, much like the elves, are not as present in the everyday world, keeping to their underground cities most of the time.

Since the war between humans and elves long ago, the two races have yet to be able to put their rough history behind them. Completely separate from one another, there is still quite a bit of hostility. While violence against them is no longer practiced openly, half-elves are thought to be a blasphemy to society, many of which in some cities being sold into slavery. While the torture camps are no longer used, many still have memories of the horrors that half-elves faced there, although there are only a few survivors left from that time.

Magic is near non-existent. Every mage registered—which is required by law when the mage becomes sixteen—is written down within the Hall of Magical Records, a library located in the capital city of Velarias, Karshe. Those registered mages with minimal talent in magic, while their names are left in the registry, are left to live their normal lives. For those lucky few with a true talent, however, they are welcomed with open arms into the Order of Aeroin’s forces, most of them enlisted. Led by the Order of Aeroin, a group of mages themselves, this is one of many institutes that this organization dabbles into, the biggest of course being the church of Aeroin, the largest religion on both continents. The members of this order categorized by their magical talents wear corresponding robes depending on their position in office; blue being the lowest (reserved for those of the clergy without any kind of magical talents), yellow, then orange, red, and finally white, of which there are only six members, the elders. These individuals are highly respected among the people of both continents, and are one of the only groups that is desegregated between humans, elves and dwarves alike—elves and dwarves are said to not be allowed to ascend above the rank of orange, however.

While magic is not something that is openly taught, this isn’t to say that the normal person cannot use abilities and tactics not unlike magic. Seeds have been around for many years now and are the alternative to magic for the non-mage. Harvested out in the wild, no one really knows how these phenomenons are created. Extremely fragile, they can be inserted within an item to give it certain attributes. Recently, however, a seed-crafter by the name of Randolph Alberton found a way to not only utilize them in regular house-hold items (such as a lamp to make it light), but how to craft them into weapons in such a way that it allows a person to be able to use skills such as magic. It is hard to say how far seed-crafting will go, but with this rather ingenious innovation, the sky is the limit.

While Valarius and Irim are the two main continents, this is not to say that all the land of Eternis has been explored or is highly populated. Two more continents that are known remain, for the most part, uncharted by conventional maps. Lying to the north and west, these continents are Winia and Lenard. While Lenard seems to be completely unpopulated, there have been records of strange creatures on Winia that look to be part human, part lizard. The shores of this continent craggy and almost impossible to scale, it is safe to say that not many have actually set foot in this land, as many of the caves that seem to lead there are submerged. Lenard, however, is quite strange in the fact that, while easily the biggest of the four continents, there seem to be no people there, the land littered with ruins of what looked to be once great civilizations. Lush and green, a heavy mist envelopes the land, and many travelers that happen upon the place, wishing to make new conquest do not return; those that do tell of a land of changing landscape, where the land does not stay the same from day to day. Contracting what is called ‘mist sickness’, most succumbing to dementia within weeks of returning. The place, many believe, is cursed, a hell on the corporeal plane.


Theme Song

The unofficial theme song for Tales of Harmonia is Lapis Lazul by Active Planets.

I am currently looking for someone who would be able to help with basic character sketches. If this is up your alley, please send me a PM!

Chapter One due out on Friday, April 11!

(If you see this and are interested in acting, send me a PM. I've not organized anything for auditions yet, but I wouldn't mind giving out lines in advance to people. Please note that this is in no way meant to be an audition thread, but is actually a straight cut-and-paste from the Tales Namco board :3)

[Sheepmage]

CHAPTER ONE

“Stupid fish.”

Hook dangling at eye level, the girl frowned, staring at the fact that, yet again, another fish had gotten away with her bait. “Oh man.” She groaned, looking over at what she had left, the nine-year old not looking forward to putting her hand into the bowl of dirt at her side and fetching another worm. Yuck. Sticking out her tongue in protest with a grimace, she stuck a chubby hand into the dirt, reaching for another squirming victim. Pulling out a particularly long and slimy one, she held it with two pinched fingers at eye level, staring at it. Gross. Wriggling away, she put it down onto the dock, bending over it with hook in hand. A pout coming to her face, she got ready to bait her hook as she had so many times before until she heard the creaking of footsteps on wood.

Chuckling to himself as he watched her method of baiting a hook, the teen walked toward the dark-green haired girl, bending down to her level. “You know,” He started, tenor voice ringing, “It works better if you hold it up and hook it that way.”

“I know.” The girl answered back, stabbing the wriggling worm once. “But I don’t wanna touch it. It’s all cold and slimy. Hey!” Putting her hands on her hips, she gawked at the boy as he took the hook from her, pulling the worm clear off the hook.

“It’ll fall clean off if you cast your line out with him hardly on like that.” Running the worm through once, then twice and a third time, he presented the line to her again with a grin. “There, now any fish that tries to get that off will have a harder time.”

Green cat-eyes again staring at the worm securely attached to her hook, she still seemed to pout a little. “Thanks, Liane.” Waiting until he let go of the line, the girl walked back to the edge of the dock, bringing her pole back and casting it out into the lake in front of them, the hook sinking with a gentle ‘ploop’ into the water. Looking back over her shoulder, she glanced up at the brunette teen. “So where’s my brother?”

Ruffling his hand through his hair, he used that same hand to point. “Watch your line.” He instructed. “And if I know Fin, he’s probably sticking behind in class to ask some girl to the festival tonight.”

She made a face. “He better not.” The girl pouted. “He said that he was going with me.”

Liane couldn’t help but grin at that. “Well, did he ask you?”

“No…” She said softly, wagging her pole around a little.

“Has anyone asked you?”

Silence met him as the girl continued to move back and forth in her hands. Again Liane laughed, bending over and putting a hand on her shoulder. “Iria, I would be honored if you’d let me escort you to the festival tonight.”

Looking over her shoulder, Iria grinned, a few of her teeth still missing in the front. “That’s just ‘cause you haven’t found a date yet!” She laughed.

STAB. She was right after all, asking quite a few of the girls of the village if they would attend with him, but each time getting turned down. Something about being too short. It really hurt, though, getting turned down by a nine-year old of all people. Still, he tried to muster up a smile. “No, I just really wanted to go with you.”

“So how many girls did you ask?” Iria grinned.

Yep, she is definitely Fin’s sister. He thought to himself with a groan, clearing his throat and changing the subject. “Fine then, I won’t take you.”

Iria huffed mockingly. “Fine, why would I want a shorty for a date anyway?” Her grin grew, and she stuck out her tongue at him. Feeling a very distinct tug at her pole, however, the girl quickly snapped back to attention, tugging at it. “Liane, I think I got something!” Standing up quickly, the girl gave a hardy pull, starting to bring in her line. Bracing her from the back, Liane tugged on her shoulders, helping her quite a bit as she brought up a rather large trout. The scaly beast flopping down on the deck with a wet and defeated thump, the nine-year old stood triumphantly over her vanquished foe, then smiled up at the teen boy, who was grinning. Expecting a thank you, really the brunette should have known better; “You’re gonna take it off the hook, right?”

Yep, she was a heart-breaker all right.

“Sure.” Liane chuckled, shaking his head and popping the thing free. Next she’d probably expect him to scale and gut it.

“Hey! My sister’s got you playing wifey, eh Liane?”

Enter the older brother, chuckling all the way as he walked toward the dock, a lop-sided grin painted rather blatantly on his thick face. That was like Finley, though, a constant supply of amusing one-liners; unfortunately, Liane seemed to be the victim this time around. With fish in hand, the teen turned, watching as the much taller blond came over, Iria sneaking around Liane to get to him. Blond braids bouncing as she did, she pouted, standing in front of her brother—who easily towered over her—with her hands firmly planted on her hips. “You’re late!”

That caught him by surprise, and the giant blinked, rubbing a calloused hand through his short-cropped hair. “Huh?”

“You’re. Late.” She repeated, this time a little slower, as if he didn’t understand what she said the first time. “You said you were gonna take me fishing this morning. Now Liane’s telling me you got a date for the festival tonight!”

Feeling those cat-green eyes stare him down, Liane chuckled a little, scratching his head a little. Hey, don’t look at me. He thought to himself, She’s your sister, man.

Lingering for a moment on Liane, Finley finally signed, shrugging apologetically. “You’ve got me all wrong, Iria! I had class this morning. Besides, I—I was finding a date for Liane, not me!”

“For Liane?”

“A what?” His head whipped around, and he gaped at the gold-haired youth. That was a bold-faced lie if ever he heard one, and Finley’s grit-tooth smile was all the confirmation he needed; if growing up around him taught him anything, it was that, in this sort of situation, his friend was a horrible liar. So, in so few words, he was playing cover-up with him. Well, it wouldn’t be so bad. He would have a girl to go with, after all, and he did have good taste in women. Liane was hardly the ladies’ man however, and whereas the lady fair would have expected her burly prince charming, she was getting the court jester instead. Somehow, the more he delved into this, the worse it got. And who is the one whipped here, Fin? Liane asked himself, watching the siblings grin at each other.

One of the boys was going to owe the other big time, and somehow Liane was afraid he was getting the short end of the stick.

* * *

Flatten. A hand swept over his cowlick, which defiantly stood back up at attention. Flatten Another slicked back hand, and another failed attempt at taming that one unruly hunk of hair. Come on, can’t a guy ever catch a break? Stay. Down. Holding his bangs out of his face with his hand, Liane grumbled, staring at himself unpleasantly in the mirror. It was enough that he was roped into one of Finley’s plans, but the least his hair could do was cooperate for this one possible chance at romance. That would have been far too easy, though. Did he always have to be so painfully awkward? Tugging at his hair in frustration, he let his fingers fall out of it, swearing that his cowlick stood even straighter now than it had before he decided to pick and curse at it. “Of course.” He muttered, groaning again. It was futile, that nasty mop of hair never did anything he wanted it to any other time; it would just have to do.

His father had already left for the festivities, the figure-head of the night, making the first toast (which was easily an hour ago) for the Festival of Deliverance. Really, Liane didn’t see the point of the celebration, save as an excuse for the older residents to have a reason to be drunken in public, which was justifiable in their eyes. While at one point in time this was an important day, many people had forgotten the reason why they celebrated, why they cheered and made merry with the night. The treaty between the humans and elves, signed with both sides gritting their teeth, neither one quite getting what they wanted out of the deal. They would cease their fighting—over what was their grandfather’s grandfather’s war, one they did not know what the reason was behind it. They would live together, work together, and die together. The only unfortunate thing was that those sorts of plans tended to work better on paper than in action. Even to this day, generations past, there were hostilities. The older of the elves still told of the torture given to the half-bloods, those that decided to taint both pure lines; their children were an abomination, and would be destroyed because of that. Half-elves still cowered with the stories of centuries past, and yet they were celebrating a treaty signed by people with their fingers crossed behind their backs. When he was a child, it was a day off from his lessons, and a time to run around the town like you were a king, now it was just a reminder of how separated the world really was.

Straightening the tie around his neck, the brunette gave himself one more look-over. Hair. Well, that was not quite how he wanted it to turn out, one piece of his bangs not long enough to slick back like the rest of his hair and instead falling in his face, the other jetted straight up. One chose their battles carefully. Tied meticulously back with a piece of long, white cloth, a few pieces jetted out in defiance, curling at his nape while the rest sat like a bushy raccoon tail against the small of his back. Face. Clean, and no bags under his strangely-amber eyes. That was always a good sign. Clothes. They left much to be desired, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. A black jacket, none of the clasps done up, with a thin red-ribbon tie under his white blouse. Coupled with a pair of slacks and somewhat flat-coloured dark shoes, he looked like he was going to a church more than a festival, but women liked when men dressed up, right? Hands instinctively going toward his hair, he stopped himself before he could touch, holding his hands out in his defense as if he was being accused of a crime, and putting them in his pockets.

Not quite dark yet, the sun just barely skimmed across the horizon, glimmering like a red blaze of glory against the palette of muted gold, peach and lavender. To say that it was a gorgeous night was an understatement; the first warm evening that they had had since the end of winter not too long ago, so the timing couldn’t have been anything but perfect, particularly considering how cold it could be in Dallan at that time of year. He would probably be way too warm in his jacket, but that much didn’t matter to Liane. It was all about the image after all, and despite a few bumps in the road, he thought he came out fairly well. Hands still slipped into his pockets, he started toward the square, fingers fidgeting on the inside of his pockets. What sort of girl had Finley asked? She was probably pretty, although not too bright, and above all out Liane’s league. He was no casanova, that was for sure, so little acts to woo said woman were going to be few and far between. Maybe his thick-skulled friend could give him a few lines to start with, and somehow, through sheer luck of his own, he would find a way to wing it? What was he freaking out about anyway? It wasn’t like he’d never interacted with a woman, but when it came to being suave and cool, the teen was better off just keeping his mouth shut.

Coming to a crossroads, that’s when he saw them, strolling down one of the streets jutting off to the left. Literally bouncing as she held her brother’s hand fast, Iria was adorable, golden hair let loose in a sea of waves crashing against her shoulders. In a like-colored yellow dress that stopped at the knee, she couldn’t have looked happier in her white pinafore and mary janes. Finley walking at her side, it became blatantly obvious that he should have left his jacket at home. Dressed quite plainly in an indigo-dyed shirt and plain slacks, he put a hand to his forehead, shaking his head. “A little over-dressed aren’t we?”

“I wanted to leave an impression with my date.” Liane barked back, starting first at the tie around his neck, pulling it off rather quickly.

Finley couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle. “Yeah, you’ll leave an impression all right. Looks like you’re going to a funeral to me. Come on, you and I have been to enough of these to know what you look like doesn’t matter. Besides, women see right through that kind of thing.”

“And how would you know that?” His eyebrow twitched as he slipped the tie into his pocket.

“Take it from personal experience. They see something like that and think you’re trying way too hard. Isn’t that right, Iria?” He grinned down at his date.

Iria shuffled her feet a little, looking down, a somewhat shy smile on her face. “I think he looks fine…” Fidgeting with the front of her pinafore, Liane could have sworn that her cheeks were pink.

Grinning from ear to ear, Finley laughed. “Careful there, Liane. I might have to rough you up if you steal my date!”

Looking up quickly with a rather crimson face, Iria let go of her brother’s hand and stared up at him, putting a foot down. “Liane isn’t gonna steal me! I don’t even like Liane; he’s a midget!”

The two boys laughed as Iria waved her arms about, yelling at the two of them. Even for a nine-year old, she took things far too seriously sometimes, and for all the times that the two tag-teamed him, Liane dished it back—directly and indirectly—to either of them. It was as if the boy were a member of their own split family, a pair of brothers watching over their baby sister. Shaking his head and wiping a tear away from his eye, Liane put on a mock-oblivious look, blinking a few times; “Wait, did you just call me short?!”

Finley’s baritone laughter rang through, but Iria was silent, pointing up, staring. “Lookit! A shooting star!” She pointed again, a little more firmly to prove her point.

Stopping, both boys looked up. Sure enough, something shone in the sky, not streaking past, but rather slowly ascending downward, like a feather dancing down to the earth. Drawing his brow together, the tall blond stared. “That doesn’t look like any shooting star I’ve seen.”

“It’s heading for the docks.” Liane stated gravely. What in the world would have been falling from the sky like that? A rather slow descent at that, it glowed against the quickly-darkening sky. If it was heading for the dock, shouldn’t someone go check it out? Make sure that whoever was at the docks was safely evacuated, just in case whatever it was was actually dangerous. One foot instinctively moving in front of the other, the brunette set off down the road, leaving the other two behind.

What the hell is he doing?! “Liane!” The tall boy called after him.

Waving his hand over his head, Liane continued on, calling back; “Go on ahead, I’ll be right there!”

“H-hey!” He started at him, shouting now. “What am I supposed to do about your date?! HEY!” His question went unanswered, the other teen already well down the road. Groaning to himself, he ruffled his hair a little, pursing his lips together. He was an idiot… but at any rate, Finley would still be able to go on the date with the woman that he originally intended on going with, so it wasn’t a complete loss. Still, as his eyes went back toward the skies to the strange object, now disappearing behind the trees, a stone set in his stomach, and he wasn’t quite sure that he could place why.

Faster. He had to run faster. There were people scattered all about the square—which sat in the opposite direction—but Liane knew quite well that a fair share of the more intoxicated festival-goers tended to wander, and the docks was just another place to get lost on a drunken adventure. His breath coming out in burning puffs as he pushed himself further on, Liane saw it, the clearing that led to the dock off of the lake. A light beaming down atop the water’s surface, it lit the way to a thankfully abandoned oblivion. Coming to a stop short of the edge of trees there, he bent down, grabbing his knees and taking a few much-needed gulps of fresh air. Settling himself, curiosity bode him to look up at the water. Warm was the light that enveloped the lake, descending to finally skim over the delicate water’s surface. He couldn’t look away, while common sense said to run, to get someone, his feet thought differently, pushing him closer before he realized. Feet creaking under the weathered wood of the dock, he watched as the light died down, seeing something he hadn’t expected to see: a person.

She was small, skin sun-kissed to the point of looking like pale milk-chocolate, snow-white hair moving like a sentient being around her, brushing against her bare ankles. Her ears long and pointed, much larger than even an elf’s, her petite form was covered from her neck to the middle of her calves with an almost glowing cloth, hugging her form tight. Her back turned toward him, her chin tipped toward the water, toes nearly touching. Shoulder pivoting just a bit, her head turned, and he finally saw her face, surprisingly more human-like than he figured it would be, eyes blinking open. They were so blue, ultraviolet almost, and the woman stared at him as he stared back at her, both frozen within the other’s gaze.

“Who?” Her voice echoed, high and somewhat harsh with its lack of emotion, the air almost electric with the sound. …Who in the world was she?

[Refi-chan]

I'm liking it so far ^o^ My favorite line was, "really the brunette should have known better"

Can't wait until you open auditions for the other characters! I look forward to trying out for Hanera and Zoei!

[Sheepmage]

Hanera and Zoei have already been cast, this page is just horribly out of date.

[Sheepmage]

CHAPTER TWO

This was not at all what he expected to happen, not by a long shot.

“Green.”

“Orange.”

“Red.”

“Blue.”

“Uh… green!”

You already said that. Finley thought dryly, a hand rested on his cheek, keeping his head propped up.

“Hehe, you already said that, Reise! I win again!” Iria threw up her arms in triumph, a big fat grin plastered clear as day upon her face. Reise—the young, dark-haired woman sitting at the edge of her seat across from her, and quite a ways away from her makeshift blond date—put on a big pout, crossing her arms and trying not to laugh. This had been the way that the three had spent most of the evening, sitting at the long table beside a few other cuddling couples. Thinking that his luck had indeed changed when Liane turned up and left after some renegade firework (or something like that), he was pumped, ready to spend a night with the tailor Gregor’s daughter. Who knew that she was dumber than a box of rocks, and for that matter that she would have been seduced by his sister and not him? That had been a rather vigorous stab to his ego, watching as the two pecked and chirped away like a pair of hens while he sat there begging for something to do.

Shifting to lean on the other cheek, he let the little bit of stray grass he plucked not too long ago roll over his lips, drawn together in a long grimace. You owe me BIG TIME, Liane. Glancing over toward the gaggle of girls, Iria sat with her hands turned over, trying to hit Reise’s, who hovered over. This was going to be one long night, and slowly the blond let out a long, deep-groaned sigh, lost in the roar of festivities.

Life by the lake, however, was hardly as loud as the town square, not too far up the road. Their eyes caught and held fast by each other’s gaze, Liane dared not move. It was like tracking a wild animal in his mind, and even the slightest movement—he thought—would scare this strange, ethereal creature away. She looked nothing like the people from Dallan, nor the travelers that seldom passed through Finley’s inn, barking out stories at the top of their lungs for any who would hear them. She was fragile, like a woman made out of glass, and the teen was afraid that if he made any sudden movements that she would shatter over the water. Holding himself surprisingly still, he let his lips part, starting to say something. He didn’t get the chance however, the halo of light wrapping itself around the white-clad woman flaring, the last thing Liane seeing of her was her eyes, still impossibly blue, widening slightly, a surprised look washing over her face. With an explosion of light, the brunette shielded his eyes, turning his head away as best as he could to keep from being blinded. Rippling like a rock hitting calm water, it lingered but a few seconds before dissipating like dust. Still, it wasn’t until he heard a very distinct splash that Liane looked back, noticing that the darker-skinned woman no longer floated above the water, and a very slight wake hit against the legs of the dock. It didn’t take him much to figure out what had happened.

Throwing off his jacket, he took a running start, jumping feet first into the neck-deep waters. Wincing involuntarily at the sudden temperature change—that mattered little at the moment—he moved as quick as he could through the water toward where she once was. Then all at once he went under, trying his best to see under the somewhat murky, dark water. Still, it wasn’t hard to find her, tiny and slender like a doll. Wrapping his arms around her stomach, he came up for air, bringing the fair-haired girl with him. Swallowing heaping gulps of fresh air into his lungs, he kept the girl’s head over water, dragging her back to shore. Even when out of water, he was surprised how light the girl was, lifting her up with little to no effort and laying her on the bank. Rushing again, lungs stinging slightly from staying underwater for far too long, he grabbed his discarded jacket, running down to throw it over her; after all, she must have been cold from the sudden shock, even in this somewhat warm evening. While it was still quite dim out, Liane tried his best to take in her features. He had never seen someone with such strange colouring, even from the Southern continent, and her ears… Was she of elf blood? No, they were far too long, and oddly-shaped to boot, the very ends perturbing out quite a bit more than the rest of her ear and squaring off, instead of coming to a very fine point like that of an elf’s. And her hair, white as snow… A chain dangled at her rather slender neck as well, hanging from it at the middle of her chest, a stone bluer than he thought was ever possible, vines of metal wrapping around it, encasing it like vines. Eyes lingering there, it was the first thing that he noticed that he was staring, and looked up, face tinted pink even in this dark light.

Hearing the sound like a soft coo of a dove, the brunette snapped back to attention, watching as the mysterious girl let her eyes flutter open, dull and almost lavender in colour. A reassured smile coming to his face, Liane sighed, running a hand through his now sopping-wet hair. “Oh good. For a second there, I was wondering if you were even gonna wake up.” He was met with a somewhat confused expression. Oh boy, somewhere in the back of his mind he had expected this. “…You… probably don’t understand a word I’m saying, do you?” He remarked weakly with a grimace.

“Who?” Was his only answer from the girl, who started to sit up slowly.

Looking to the side, Liane continued to stroke the back of his head. How was he going to approach this? Hoping beyond hope that she at least understood Common, he should have figured that that wouldn’t be the case. She obviously wasn’t from this continent—or anywhere that he could really imagine—so why would she know his tongue. Still, it was all that he could do to keep talking to her. While she didn’t immediately look it, she was likely scared. Well, he would have been in this situation. Putting a hand on his chest, he spoke slowly, looking directly. “Liane.” He patted his chest. Watching the girl tilt her head to the side, he pursed his lips slightly. Nope, they were on two completely different wave-lengths. Still, he continued, whether or not she followed. “You,” He pointed, “Fell from the sky. Here.” He pointed at the lake. “There was a light,” He waved his hands in the air, “Bright. You went splash, into the water. I saved you.” Still he was met with a blank expression, and his shoulders slumped. “Wonderful.” He sighed deeply. “Glad we could clarify.” He felt like he was talking to a two-year old, the way that she turned her head to the side and simply stared at him, processing –or at least trying to—what he was saying but somehow missing the meaning in his words. It was frustrating at best, Liane sat down on his knees, pressing his hands against his thighs.

Well, if she wouldn’t be able to understand, it was all right to unload, wasn’t it?

Groaning to himself, the boy lowered his head. “This is really just my luck!” He grumbled, patting his legs a few times. “First I get wrapped up in this stupid date thing with Finley, and now I get thrown into this too! For all I know, she’s from the south—that’d explain why she can’t understand a word I’m saying! …Does that mean that by finding her I’m aiding a foreigner come into this end of the continent without the proper papers?! That’s an arrestable offense! Or worse! Oh man, what am I getting myself into?!” He furiously ran both hands in his hair at this point, ignoring the young woman sitting across from him.

“Liane?”

Looking up from his minor tantrum, he met a pair of deep azure eyes taking him in, looking quite a bit concerned. Somehow that managed to calm him down just a little bit, and he sighed, trying to take on as much of a calm persona as he could, no matter how hard it was. …This wasn’t something that he wanted to face by himself. Finley! He would know what to do; he was the maker of their hair-brained schemes anyway, he had a way with thinking on his feet! Quickly bolting up, he unceremoniously pointed a finger toward the tan-skinned woman, who looked at it, blinked, and then looked back up at Liane. Not letting that rather confused expression deter him any, if anything he pushed himself further to keep his resolve. “Stay here. I’ll be back.”

“Be back.” She mimicked like a parrot.

“Right.” He reassured her—and himself. Guilt tugging at him for wanting to leave her behind, he knew it would be the best thing at the time, and he would be back. Turning, he took off into a full-fledged run, ignoring anything else that would have distracted him. He was going to find Finley, Hell or high water, and the two were going to put their heads together and figure this out. Oh sure, there would be conflict from the much taller blond at first, but Liane was confident that as soon as he took a look at Nera that he would reconsider. After all, he had such a soft spot for girls anyway, and the exotic would be a completely different temptation for him, likely he would have no problem against trying.

It was scary how he could actually think that way.

Boots falling down hard against the dirt and gravel roadway, he knew he was getting closer, smelling the strong, almost offensive stench of gunpowder. Feeling the earth-quaking crack-boom of fireworks, hearing the faint oohs and ahhs mingled with the lyrical sound of some minstrel party, he knew he was getting close, and that gave his feet incentive to move faster. Passing by a dwindling number of trees, the forest he had once been in broke away to quite the sight. Light clinging to the air itself and shimmering in the rising heat, it was hard to see the small seeds sewn into the ropes around the outlining trees, illuminating the grove they chose to use for their festivities. Tables sat one pressed against each other in perfect lines, clothed in simple white linen, littered with people, food and spirits, the uproar of the populous mingling with the sound of some old war song that everyone instinctively seemed to know the words to, and sang at the top of their lungs in countless different keys. Framing the clearing, the center was left alone for the ‘younger kids’ as his father had put it, couples dancing to the music in the air, skirts flaring and laughter soaring higher than any of the fireworks overhead. This was a celebration, and Liane had been sorry that he had missed even this much, that he would be missing more. Still, he had a task at hand, and moving through tables, his eyes scanned through droves of people, not once registering any of the greetings thrown at him; he was a man on a mission.

“I win again!”

Catching her voice somehow over the constant buzz of the festival hive mind, Liane kept pressing forward until he saw those gold pigtails, hands both raised in the air and waving. Maneuvering his way around a few more people, he found brother and sister, one looking excited, the other like he was going to die of boredom right on the stop. Appropriate that he was the first one to see the brunette. “Liane!” Finley called desperately, standing over and briskly walking to pat the boy on the shoulder. “The man of the hour! Just the guy I wanted to see!” His face had ‘save me’ written all over it, and he cupped his shoulders, pushing him toward the table. “This lovely lady has been asking all about you!”

“I have?” Reise looked up from the game she had been playing befuddled, blinking a few times.

Rushing to put him in a seat next to her, the blond tried to make quick work of his friend. “’Course you have! He is your date after all!”

Looking up over his shoulder, Liane wasn’t going to have any of this. He glared, trying to stand up again. “Finley, do you really have to—”

“Yes I have to.” He insisted, finally getting Liane to sit—against his will of course. Bending down, he hissed in his ear. “Look, you owe me. You gotta get me out of this; this girl’s a dead weight! I swear, if I have to listen to one more word from her—”

“Done. Now let me go!” He hissed back, although sounding quite a bit more irritated than his friend, brushing his hands from his shoulders and managing to again stand. Grabbing Finley by the shirt collar, he looked toward Reise and Iria, nodding toward them both. “I’m really sorry about this,” His eyes went toward the woods, “But my father has something special planned, and he’s gonna need some help. We’ll be back.” And before either of the women could put up any kind of protest, the two lumbered back into the woods, the taller of the two surprisingly stumbling just a few steps behind.

“Hey!” A few steps. “Hey, you can let go now!” His collar released, Finley stopped, straightening it then staring hard at his friend. “What in the Goddess’ name has gotten into you?! Since when have you had a backbone?”

Waving a hand at him, Liane kept walking, hoping that his friend would follow behind. That was almost assumed, Finley’s large form falling in behind his own smaller. Instead of starting a spat with him, he decided to cut to the chase; “I found something. Over by the lake, where we saw that thing fell. A person.”

Finley gaped. “You serious? How did someone manage to fly off like that? Are they okay, where are they from?”

Liane shook his head. “Dunno.” He answered. “She didn’t understand a word I said. I told her to stay put for now until I got back.”

“If she didn’t understand what you were saying before,” Finley retorted flatly, “How is she gonna know to stay put?”

Liane stopped, brow drawn together. “I… didn’t really think about that. I mean she answered back… kind of…” Shaking his head, he started walking again, this time faster, a stone sitting at the pit of his stomach. What if she hadn’t stayed where he left her?

“And anyway,” The taller continued, “If she doesn’t know the language, she’s obviously not from around here! By the Goddess, Liane, do you know what kind of fit your dad is gonna put up when he finds out you found some foreigner and didn’t surrender her right away?! And why are you bringing me down here in the first place?! …Oh no, you’re not bringing me down with you! Uh-uh! No way!” Still, he kept following behind, arms crossed over his broad chest. “This doesn’t bode well with me, my friend.”

“Then why are you still following me?” The brunette countered.

Pausing, Finley looked up, then grinned. “Well, I’m betting on you being delusional honestly.” He flinched under Liane’s dirty look. “I’m kidding! You know me. I’m the last guy to leave you when you’re in dire straits. You would do the same for me.”

Shaking his head, Liane managed a smirk, the two coming to a clearing. That half smile fell rather quickly when he found the lakeside completely empty, however. Running up ahead, he looked around, head whipping this way and that in hopes that he might see a bit of white hair, a small figure, something that would alert him that she was still there. Stopping at the docks, he started whispering loudly. “Hey!” It echoed. “Hey girl! Hey you! Where are you? Heeeeeey!”

Taking a deep breath, Finley shook his head. “You sure you left her here?”

“Positive.”

Shrugging, Finley took a few steps forward, noticing the suit coat laying there in the dirt. Scooping it up, he started to dust the thing off, walking toward his friend, watching him as he desperately searched around. “Hey,” Reaching him, he gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “Look at it this way. Either she just let you off the hook for aiding someone’s entry into this country illegally, or you’re more delusional than I thought.” Again he flinched under another cold stare. “It’s a win-win situation. Nothing to worry about if you ask me.” Handing him his jacket, he pursed his lips. One thought in particular clung to his mind, the one theory that he had of what fell here was completely disproven. No gunpowder smell. So it wasn’t some stray fireworks or anything like that. Nothing mechanical without the aid of some sort of fuel could have propelled a person there either, so that left just one question: what, if someone had landed here, had gotten them here in the first place?

* * *

[Sheepmage]

(CON'T CHAPTER TWO)

He felt cold, strangely and ominously cold. Lying on his back on a stone floor, his chest was bare, save for the bandages that wrapped tightly around it, which did little to help the loss of heat. The chill crept through his entire body, like a dull and heavy ache through his bones, making it hard for him to think of anything else. Feeling something heavy over his face, he tested to see if he could move his hand to remove it; he didn’t seem to have much of a problem. Right hand going to his face, he felt a heavy cloth draped across his eyes and moving it aside, the pitch-blackness lifted, even if just slightly. From what he could tell, he was surrounded by stone on almost every side, a smooth, milky white surface unmarred and rounded at the corners. Head moving in only slight, small motions, it was still hard to see much of anything around him, although it seemed that there was not much to see, save for a formless figure to his far left. Trying to sit, pain shot up his spine and through his ribcage, and he groaned loudly, body by reflex putting him back in his place.

“Wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The lump on the left-hand side of the room said flatly, finally moving, sounding distinctly male. Slowly rising to his feet, he stumbled over, hard to tell if he had intentionally meant to be so clumsy or not, blue eyes peering down at the youth. “You should be lucky, usually when you’re thrown into prison they don’t care what kind of condition you’re in. And I speak from experience.”

“Where—“

“Are we?” The stranger finished, crouching down beside him. He was strange-looking, someone that he had never seen before, hair the colour of a cloudless sky, a somewhat serious look strangely painted on his face. Left with nothing but a white and gold shirt, gloves and black slacks, he stood barefoot. “For once, I have no clue.” Clicking his tongue to his teeth, he pursed his lips. “For once.” He added with a bit of disdain. “Which reminds me, what did you do?”

“What did I—“

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” Sarcasm biting in his voice. “You don’t know, do you? He doesn’t know! He wipes an entire city clean out of existence, and he doesn’t know what he did!” As he spoke, his words dug deeper, grew darker, eyes cold and boring into him. “I’ll probably remember that scream until the day I die, and let me tell you, that won’t be for a long, long time.” Standing up, he stared down at him, glaring. “You don’t know. The hell you don’t know; you’re just looking for a way out. Of all the people to be stuck with. Just be lucky I have nothing to take you out with myself. Monster.” He spat.

Monster? Slowly, he tried to sit up again, groaning, feeling dizzy—and not just from the pain that focusing took. It was beyond physical pain, far beyond it. What had he done? He couldn’t remember, something burning past his eyes, hotter than any fire he knew.

“What, gonna try and fight back?” The man shot at him with a scoff. Bending down to stare straight into his eyes, he laughed. “Who’s the one on the floor? Huh? I could kill you with my pinky without even trying!” And all at once, he lifted his foot, letting it hover over his chest. “What are you gonna do? Make a mess all over?” And with that, he lowered his barefoot into his chest, applying even just the slightest bit of pressure. His body ignited, and a scream rose from his throat, but still the stranger stared back, leaning in and applying just a bit more force. “What are you going to do?!” He was shouting now. “You’re a knight with no princess to protect! You’re a killer! A cold-hearted killer! This is what they do to cold-hearted killers; they lock them up and throw away the key!”

His whole being seemed to boil inside, body shuddering from the pain—both physical and something else—and he closed his eyes tight, shutting the world away. “I’M NOT A KILLER!” He roared.

Drawing close, the stranger teased in his ear. “Then, if you don’t belong in here with the other killers, leave. Find your princess.” Then with one motion, he stepped down on his ribcage. Howling, he felt the pain melt away all at once, every muscle burning, but not with pain—

Jumping awake, expecting to hear a sickening crack where he was sure his ribs had shattered, Liane’s eyes snapped open, and he found his own foreboding situation. The room around him was silent, save for a few people snickering, and he found himself staring up at his mousy-haired teacher instead of the angry blue-eyed stranger. He looked equally mad however, and it did not take much for his groggy mind to ascertain what was going on here.

“Mister Fanel.” Craning his neck to look at the brunette, he raised his eyebrows. “Do my lectures really bore you that much?”

Was that a trick question? He knew how he should have answered, knew how he wanted to answer, both being the opposite, but somehow was unable to find either. Instead he simply stared, mouth slightly open like a flood gate. Thankfully, no flood came rushing out. Still, that was enough to seal his fate. “I take your silence as a yes. Careful, you might catch flies that way.” A quiet chuckle erupted from the class as the teacher sighed. “Outside, Mister Fanel.”

“But—”

It was a futile effort, the teacher pointing toward the door. So, begrudgingly, the teen stood up, gathered his things—a few books, papers, and writing utensil—and walked out of the door, head slightly bowed, embarrassed beyond belief. It wasn’t at all like him to fall asleep like that in class, but at the same time it was understandable. Having snatched perhaps an hour of sleep before his lesson, he had been out since the wee hours of the morning searching. The girl from the night before had disappeared just as strangely as she had appeared, perhaps for his own good as Finley skeptically put it. He still firmly believed that his friend didn’t believe a word he said, that he fantasized the whole thing, used it as an excuse to get away from ‘his date’ which, as the blond reminded him a second and a third time, was an absolutely horrible choice on his part. Liane could have told him that. Still, it didn’t bode well with him that she simply vanished in thin air, and truthfully he even began to wonder if the taller boy was right, if he hadn’t just imagined the whole thing. What if it was really a vagrant firework that splashed down into the lake? It was very possible. Still, what reason would he have had to make the whole thing up, and for that matter how did he managed to convince himself so thoroughly that what he saw wasn’t something he cooked up?

Maybe going home and sleeping it off would be a good idea.

On second thought… “How am I gonna explain this to my dad?” Getting kicked out of class like he was. His father was going to take that real well. Suddenly not liking the idea of going home to an interrogation, the boy stopped, stifling a yawn. The hustle and bustle of the day after a festival taking place all around him, Liane decided to fade into the wall next to him, leaning against it and watching the people pass in a blur, not paying attention to any one particular group. People cleaning up, peddlers trying to get rid of the bits and pieces of things they didn’t sell the day before—“Be prepared for next year’s festival, fifty percent off!”—all different sorts littered the streets, all different sorts of conversations melding into one another to make one joint conglomerate of ambient noise. Closing his eyes, he let it go in one ear and out the other, the warm mid-morning wind whispering past.

“Was that all you needed?”

“Yes. I can find where I go from here. Thank you for helping Nera.”

Brow furrowing, something sounded familiar about the second voice he heard, the soft timbre playing at the back of his mind. Opening his eyes, he scanned over the small throng of people making their way through the square. It looked like nothing more than just the typical peddlers, street-walkers and children running through the streets, and Liane started to close his eyes again. That was before he saw it, however, and his dark eyes shot open, staring. Somehow picking the petite form from the crowd, wrapped from head to toe in a dark violet cloak, save for her neck and head, her snow-white hair was left completely untouched, flirting with what looked to be her ankles. Her skin was just as dark as it had been the night before, yet was more of a sun-kissed hue than he had remembered. Watching her wave to the gentleman that she had been talking to—salt-and-pepper beard well-trimmed, looking like one of the town guards—Liane stepped away from the wall he leaned against, feet blindly leading him forward. He hadn’t been hallucinating, it wasn’t a dream; the girl, she was standing right there!