The Wanderer Alone

By Locke

Claimer: If you take, I will feed you my burnt ramen noodles for dinner! Mwhahaha *hack cough choke*

AN: Yay! My first story featuring a have-it-all character whose life suddenly changes! I usually do poorer people who never get attention in stories like commoners, and sometimes a servant. I don't care much for the spoiled, I have it all attitude so I'm not sure if I got that all down. Please Review! Thanks.

Summary: Kia is.. odd, she's quiet and shy. She also has a strange guardian Spirit Animal, a white tiger named Rarora. Everyone knows that Kia was destined to be more, yet it doesn't strike them until it's two late, and Kia is Alone to live on...

~~~

The world was screaming in pain, beneath my feet I could tell. It was a day of destiny's change, so everyone said. The fires raged around me yet I could do nothing but stare ahead, only mutely aware of the panicked screams of my family and friends as they fled to escape the wrath of our enemy, Chashoena. It was a day all the universe would never forget. Me most of all.

Chashoena had descended upon us like a magnificent thunderstorm, both beautiful and deadly, great in it's power and magnificence. We had been so unaware, we had been dancing and feasting with carefree hearts, unknowing of the storm that would destroy us all. I myself had been busy working on my loom, creating a dress as a gift for my oldest niece, who was turning ten that year, chatting idly with my cousins about mere subjects like boys and clothing styles from different worlds. We were inside one of the larger work tents, our mothers and aunts were with us, embroidering and watching us for error, when it happened.

Large crashes and shouts had drawn the older women from the tent, us young children were forced to stay inside, but we felt the strength of the magic that came from the enemy and knew at once our greatest monster had come for us at last.

It seemed almost instinctively that my sisters gathered around me, for I was the youngest daughter of our leader, and the third youngest in the Caravan. I was not aware of the events around me, only the feelings of fear at the cold magic.

Our people never stood a chance, they perished in the face of Chashoena. Our city of tents was burned by the savage fire that resulted in the battle. In the end I remember a cold, suffocating darkness and the feelings of nothingness, the absence of even being human.

Then, I was alive. Among the ruins I lay, my Spirit Animal, a great white tiger, Rarora, curled up beside me. We despaired for our departed love ones, for we knew none had survived. It seemed all was lost, until a symbol of hope appeared.

A great white falcon soared above us and came to rest on my shoulder, strangely light and easy for me to hold, his name was Apollo, and he had belonged to my father. He was a sign that somehow my beloved father had lived on and now I had his strength and power added to my own, I could find him and stop Chashoena before it destroyed anymore of our kind.

If only things had been that simple.

~~~

Chapter One- Fire Storm

"It's hardly proper for a woman to become a caravan leader, let alone a young girl."

"We have no choice, really. Unless we want to entrust the rest of her upbringing to another caravan and erase all memory of the Fourth, that's the worst move can make, we all know that her father is indeed still alive so it's pointless to be rid of the caravan."

"Then what do you suggest we do, Lady Irena?"

"We name the girl leader of the caravan but control it completely until her father can take control again."

"That preposterous!"

The members of the council argued among themselves endlessly. The twelve of them giving off the appearance of young children rather than the greatest of all the Wanderers. The young girl that knelt before them clenched her hands and sighed, the movement rustling her long white hair. 'They don't even notice I am her, nor do they care. They speak as though I am some mindless beast, not the daughter of the leader of a great Caravan. They underestimate me.'

She bowed her head slightly toward the floor, her green eyes following the intricate pattern on her staff, which lay before her on the ground, in a sign of respect toward her rulers. Yet in her heart she only hated them. They did not care about her, or her father and dead family, only about themselves and there own gain. 'They will only keep me because I am currently the soul person capable of commanding a caravan as great as the Fourth, even though it is no longer as large and mighty as it once was.'

"She does not have the maturity to govern the affairs properly."

Her eyes widened slightly then became normal once more, 'I'm certainly more mature than a bunch of squabbling adults! You try surviving a massacre and we'll see how mature that makes you!'

Suddenly the fighting stopped and the leader, an ancient looking man with a long white beard dressed in the blue robes of the Council Leader, stood. The council looked as if they had just noticed the girl was there. "It has been decided then." He looked down upon the bowed figure of the small child and continued. "Kia Verlcane, you will remain here under the guardianship of the Thirty-second Caravan until a suitable husband has been found to rule."

The girl named Kia's head shot up, her eyes widened and she shouted. "No! I won't stay here! Apollo is sick, my father could be dieing I won't let that happen!" She grabbed her staff and stood, all three feet of her figure shaking with rage and determination.

"Kia." The leader warned threateningly. "It is not your place to disobey the council."

The girl would not listen. "It is! I am the leader of Fourth Caravan now! I will not be entrusted to a minor caravan when my father is in danger! You will not stop me!" She turned and fled, her emerald robes blowing behind her like a magnificent and regal cape.

"Kianya Verlcane!" the Leader called after her, his voice strong and powerful, echoing about the large and elaborate circle Council Hall. "You will regret your decision when Chashoena takes your life!"

~~~

"I take it that didn't go to well."

"Leave me alone Rora, I just want to be alone for a while." Kia took off down the winding path through the woods to the village at a run. Rora followed her.

"I can't leave you alone, Kia, last time I did that everyone passed on." Rora purred as she walked alongside her friend and master.

Kia smiled slightly and rubbed behind the white and silver tiger's ears. Around them the sounds of the forest eased some of the girl's anger and ahead of them the town's steady, rhythmic humming of busy people brought a comfortable and common feeling to Kia's heart. The two walked in silence for a while until they came to the bridge across the creek. They stopped on top and Kia caste and black flower that grew near the shores into the river as a sign of mourning for her lost loved ones.

Finally Rora broke the silence, purring gently and asking, "What did the council decide."

For a while it seemed Kia would not answer and Rora shifted lightly from padded paw to paw. Finally she said very softly, "They wanted to entrust my care to a minor caravan and find a husband to rule the new caravan, they aren't even going to rescue my father." Her voice was almost lost in the creek's gently rushing.

"You should have let them." Rora replied gently, not unkind.

"What!" Kia exclaimed, "The minor caravans are commoners, it wouldn't be proper! What if they wanted me to marry someone from a lower caravan too!"

They were almost to the town now, the trees had become less dense and the humming louder. "And what of the townspeople, Kia?! Are they Serfs because they do not belong to any caravan? They must obey the wishes of a member of a caravan! You could have been one of them! Born without a Spirit Animal and magic or they could have made you one! No family at all, no real caravan to belong to anymore. To have all your memories erased and left among the poorest of your kind." Rora's ranting had softened now. "It is much better to still belong than to be an outcast among your own kind."

"Rora, I'm sorry... I did not mean to upset you!" Kia bowed her head and forced herself to keep from crying. "But my father... I have to save him, I have his power now."

"I understand, I will come with you to find him, but it will not be easy. First you must harness your power and gather a new caravan to help you." Rora pranced slightly as they made there way through the crowded street of the busy town. "We will take Apollo and he will be your advisor. Your journey will be hard for you have much to learn but we will not leave you."

The two came upon a small shop and ducked inside. A man came out to greet them, cradling the sick falcon in his arms. "Ahh, here is the young Lady who owns you now, you'll be much better with her." The man passed the falcon into Kia's arms and smiled at her.

Kia pulled some money from her purse and handed it to the man. "Thank you for watching Apollo, Master Gyse. It means a lot."

"Oh no, Lady Kia. It was no trouble, I love falcons and the Spirit Animals intrigue me." He took the money offered by Kia, leaving one coin in her hand. "Really, it is fine. Forgive my asking, but why is your falcon sick?"

"He's not my falcon." Kia said softly, "He's my father's. He's sick because my father is sick, maybe even dieing." She pocketed the money, shifting Apollo around gently to do so. "Thank you again." With that she disappeared from the quiet shop, leaving the keeper to ponder her response.

~~~

"Guardians of time and all the worlds I call forth the power given to me by thee, To venture forth into the unknown In search of wrongs to right and good will to do."

The magic portal opened and she stepped through, followed by Rora . They began their adventure, unknowing that those simple three would decide the fate of the entire universe...

~~~

"Very Interesting. Your daughter grows stronger every day, she would be a valuable tool for destroying the Wanderers, don't you agree." The dark, hooded figure stared intently into the crystal ball, not looking at the man behind her.

"You'll never use my daughter for your evil plans. She's to strong for you." The man spat.

The figure turned about to face him in a whirl of dark clothing, she reached forth and pulled the man from the ground and into the air with her magic and tossed him like a rag doll to the other side of the room. He hit the cold, dark stone and fell to the floor limply. "Soon you will see just how easily your own will fall to me." She turned to face the crystal, watching Kia play with Rora, "Very soon indeed."

~~~

AN- Tadaa! It's my newest series! Hopefully more successful than the last. This time I'm going more for the character development and the descriptive settings than the plot action (though there will be a lot of action in the next chapter hopefully).

I want to display this lost and lonely little girl with one reason to live, be warned, the story is not happy. Kia is a morbid character as she grows older. She's also a very angry person which is why Chashoena thinks she will fall easily to her evil plans.

Happy people, do not read on. It's got a lot of happy moments but like I said, it's mostly just the sad story of a lonely girl who can't stand her people and only wants one thing in life.

AN2- I will explain this later in the story but just in case you were wondering about the whole minor/major caravan thing, it goes like this. The council is like the kings and queens. Lower the number your caravan is the higher your rank. First and Second are like Barons, Third, Fourth, and Fifth are like Dukes, and so on. After bout Ten or Fifteen the caravans show commoner ranks, or are minor caravans. So I guess the Thirty-second would be about the rank of a regular peasant. Quite a downgrade for Kia who is like a Duchess.

Thanks for reading, no please click the review button and send Locke a nice little note saying what she should change to make this better.

~Locke~