[Roll]

It was a cool, breezy spring morning. The light shined through a window that was cleaned not too long ago, and the light that passed through was very warm against the soft bed that it lay against. The bedsheets were neatly folded, and the owner had just left the room; yet, the door remained open and the room became lonely. A girl ran down some stairs leading from the room. She had shoulder-length blue hair that flowed gently as she hopped down steps at a time to reach the landing. She turned, and went in the direction she was facing, and went up to her mother who was currently washing something. The girl spoke, and the mother turned to look at her. She took a quick look at her daughters golden eyes, her blue hair, her smile, and how pretty she looked-- to her at least. She crouched down, and began talking to the little girl, who immediately began to listen and remember what she was hearing.

This is a vast world we all live in... A world that is very special and dear. There are many, many different kinds of people living in it, all of them with their own uniqueness. Many towns exist, as well as citidels, cities, countries, continents-- and so much else. To explore it all would be quite the long journey, but it would be a journey well worth taking. Yet, it is not all good. There are many evils in existance, especially during these times. The evils of greed, mourning, revenge, hatred.... and most of all, jealousy. Jealousy over not having what one wants to have so badly, while someone else may have it...somewhere. Then the griefs of being seperated from ones own home can be terribly great; not just for us, but for everyone. Since there are many different groups and clans of beings on this world, and just as many lifestyles, adaptation will be one of the greatest challenges of all time. But I have faith that we will be alright. That is all I have faith in right now... and since we are special, I am certain you can see and feel it too. You can feel the strange energies moving in circles around the planet... you can feel that something is not right; like there is something that is changing for the worst part. But at the same time, the world is also changing for the better...

The little girl tugged on her mom's arm, and the mother was out of her trance-like state. She looked down at her child.
"What is the matter, Akiko?"
Akiko looked at her mother with a look of boredom. "While all of that is well and good, mother, what does that have to do with picking strawberries?"
Her mother looked at her with confusion. "Strawberries?"
"Yes, mom. I'm fourteen now, so I want to go pick strawberries alone! Can I go now?"
Her mother laughed heartily. "Of course you can! It's still daylight, and since when did you need to ask to do work?"

Akiko ignored this, and immediately ran to the opposite room to pick up a straw-weaved basket from the corner. She went to the front door, and put on her shoes before she left with a yell of "I'm off! I won't be back for at least two hours!". That was when Akiko's mother remembered that it was Akiko's birthday today, and she told her that on her fourteenth birthday, Akiko was to pick strawberries from the sacred garden so she could make a few strawberry tarts for her. But what she was really going to do, was prepare her gift that she was supposed to have given her at birth. She smiled and wondered continuously, before preparing some dough for the delicious tarts.

As Akiko wandered down the hill and away from her house, she thought of the promise her mom gave her. She really wasn't too thrilled with the idea, since her mother was a terrible cook. When she made chocolate, it was so bad that no one could truly say it was good; not even to be nice. But she would pick them anyway; if not for her, then for her mother. Besides, she was always asking for a big challenge, and this seemed like a good one: to eat, and then live to tell about it. When she finally reached the bottom of the hill, Akiko went south and into the vast fields of lush, short, green grass. Akiko was very happy and felt very alive whenever she was in these plains. With the sky above her being so lovely and blue, the sun shining so nicely, and the breeze blowing so playfully gentle, she was at peace.

She neared the sacred garden, which lay near a very large and clear lake. The lake was so vast and beautiful, and the scenery around it (more fields, and then a surrounding of mountains) made it so much the more beautiful. Akiko went over to the gardens, and passed by the many growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs before stopping in front of a large patch of strawberry plants. Sighing cheerfully, and looking at all of the strawberries, she quietly picked them. When she was totally finished picking the strawberries, Akiko went a little farther east and lay in the grass. She was about a half a mile away from the lake, and she was proud of it. Now, she wanted to doze off in the wonderful warmth and embrace of nature; and she did so, calmly and slowly.

....When she woke up again, the sun looked like it was about to set in about several hours. It seems she had been napping in the grass for at least 3 hours. She got up, took her basket of strawberries, and moved on along home. She just started to walk up the hill, when she felt like something bad had happened. She began to run as fast as she could in order to get up to the hill so she could see for herself. When she made it up to her house, she was relieved in her heart: everything was just fine. She opened the door to her lonely little house, and went inside. Everything was normal, and everything was in place. She called out to her mother, and waited for an answer. When there was no answer, Akiko shrugged, and decided that her mother was just in the bathroom. She took off her shoes, and moved towards the kitchen; but then she tripped and dropped her basket. She crawled around on the floor, and retrieved the strawberries again, and crawled into the kitchen after the strawberries that were in there. As she picked them, she noticed they were leaving a red trail on the hardwood floor. Strange as it was to Akiko, she continued to pick them up.

As Akiko was picking up the last strawberry, a hand had just fallen from above her, and had hit the ground along with an arm. Akiko looked at the hand, saw it was attached to an arm, and the arm to a body, but they were all laying on the ground. There was flower dress covering the body, just like the one mom wore... but that was because it was her mother. She dropped the strawberries, and crawled to her mother to see what was wrong. Her mothers eyes were open, and they were looking very worried. Her mother spoke up.
"Akiko... please hide."
"But!!---"
"Just hide, now!"

Akiko ran and hid inside of a crawlspace she discovered as a child. She heard footsteps, a laugh and then a door opening and slamming shut. She immediately got out of the crawl space, and ran to her mother. Her mother's breathing was very shallow, like she wasn't going to be able to do it anymore. She cupped her mothers hand in hers, and fought back tears as she asked her whether she was alright or not. However, Her mother just shook her head, and looked at her.
"Akiko... you're safe. The man that came here; he is bad. Very bad. I'm glad you weren't here... he was looking for you. -- Shush! Don't speak now. This is important, since I do not have much time left. There was something your father left for you a long time ago. It's in my room, in the closet. You'll find a little box on the floor, that has a symbol on it. You'll find it. Open it, and take what is inside; it's all yours. And finally, Akiko, there was something I was supposed to give you when you were born. I actually took it away from you after you were born: It was giving you so much stress, that you wouldn't ever look well. So, I took it from you. Don't ask how. Just... take it back. You're ready for it now; so please..be silent.."

Akiko watched her mother, as she brought her hands together. She looked like she was in terrible pain, but she continued. As Akiko watched, she saw something very incredible. Her mother was forming a beautiful pink ball of light, and as it grew, Akiko felt it's light. For some reason, a melody was forming in her mind... a very sweet melody... And then the ball stopped growing. It began to move very fast in left-right directions, and Akiko was watching them very closely. Then suddenly, the ball shot out in her direction, and literally went through her. She was flung backwards... but she never hit the ground, or a wall. Instead, she was stuck floating in midair with the ball of light floating around her continuously. Soon, it became clear to her, as it should have been since the start of the entire pink ball thing. This power... whatever it was... it belonged to her.

Soon, she came to the ground with a large thud, yet the ball of light was still there. She looked at her mother again, and she was sweating badly. Akiko knew what that meant.
"Akiko... do not grieve. Do not be sad. I die a happy woman, who was loved by a man, and had a child. ..I wanted to tell you so many things.. but I only have time to say so little..."
Akiko: "But Mother, who did this to you? Tell me, please!"
... : "...Akiko, I wouldn't know for the life of me. All I know, is that he made a sword appear out of thin air, and it soared through the air before it..."
Akiko: "Oh... mom..."
... : "I really wish that I could have been a better mother to you. I wish I could have kept you out of this exile that you had to suffer... Yes, exile. It's why we were always alone. So, my dear daughter... know that I love you... and will always care for you...Oh, A-Akiko....."
She took in another breath, and sighed her final breath away.
Akiko looked at her mother with a sad look, as she desperately fought back tears. Her mother would have hated to known that Akiko cried because she died; She even told Akiko that herself. So, instead, she sucked it up...

The next day, Akiko went into her mothers closet, and found the box she was talking about. There was pair of gloves inside, and some jewels, and some pieces of cloth, and some thread, and a note. She picked up the note. It read:

"Dearest Daughter of mine,

I truly have no idea what your mother could have named you, since I shall surely die before you are born. I have made something just for you, because our village elder has instructed me to do so. The gloves that are inside, and the cloth are made of very strong material. It is very good cloth, and by the time you get the gloves, you will not find anymore cloth like it. You will not need to worry about them being damaged, or them getting old. They're silk infused with Rubellite, which gives you protection with the gloves. No sword can truly cut through Rubellite, not when its this concentrated; so I believe you will be fine wearing that all the time. It even washes well! In any case, everything else is a gift from the peoples of my village. If you ever need to find out anything about me, or maybe even your mother, look for the village called Shipaisi, and ask for an old man, named Might. He will tell you all you ever need to know... if he's still alive. In any case, I love you, my only daughter.

-Your father,
Talon "

She thought about the name. Might; she would remember it always. However, she was not ready to go find him yet. All of the things that she would have to ask... even worse, what she would have to tell. Facing it once was hard enough; a second time was almost suicidal. So instead, she put on the gloves. Afterwards, she noticed a gem was embedded in her left glove. She wondered about that; but first, she had to do something. She took the cloth, thread, and the gems, and went to look for her sewing kit.

-------------- A year later ----------

The day was as beautiful as it was a year ago. Everything was perfect, almost exactly the same. However, Akiko was standing near the lake; above her mothers grave. She buried her about twenty yards away from the lake a long time ago. She moved forward to the lake, and stood in front of it. A breeze came in and played delicately with her hair. She was wearing special boots now, made of the special cloth her father gave her. She kept the gems out ofuse, for now, and decided to sell them if she ever needed money.
Akiko no longer had the ball of light floating around her anymore; it had become a part of her when she had finally gained control of her special power.

She knew that it was just the beginning of her life, so she decided. She finally decided, and a melody started to sing itself without her even thinking of it. However, what she sang held a message...

"..Mother... It has been a year since it has happened. I am now traveling on a journey in order to tell him what I could not say a year ago. Now... now I believe I could say more easily what I could not say before.

I know. I know Might is alive (I can feel it, somehow). He is alive, here, living under the same skies as I. So you see, Mother... so you see there is no need to worry."

Akiko stopped singing, picked up a small bag that she had lain on the ground a bit earlier, and as she began walking east, she looked back at her mother's grave. She let one tear fall, and then continued. Her first destination would be the town that lay over on the otherside of the mountain; the desert town of Kirtsnechiez. She would surely be there by the next night. She was going to find out the truth for herself... and her first and only clue would be Might.

[ooc] And so begins my RPG... Forevermore. Feel free to join at your own will... but I expect to see that if you do join, you take this a little seriously. ^-^ I put a lot of work into just this first post... and the rules themselves.

Btw, there was a sound file supposed to be heard in this post. If you really would like to hear it, please message me on AIM or MSN; I can/will send it.[ooc]



Edited By Roll on Mar. 24 2004 at 12:26