Title: Xawsecar

Summary: Ayame is just your typical, self-loathing teenager. Living with her alcoholic mother, Ayame spends most of her time in books. Life has no meaning anymore until one day, she wakes up in a land not her own. The journey that awaits will test Ayame with love, loss, and triumph.

Rating: PG13

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama

Chapter One: The Preamble

The bright, afternoon sun shone brightly through the ornate windows, illuminating the interior of the classroom with a soft, warm glow. It was a cozy day with a near cloudless sky that pushed down on the world with its blue endlessness. There was just the slightest breeze, enough to tassel hair and blow the leaves in the trees. It was nearly a perfect day indeed as the clock slowly ticked down signifying the end of school.

The day was finally interrupted at the gentle sound of a familiar voice, "How about you, Ayame?"

With a blink of her emerald eyes, Ayame Kisaragi's gaze shifted from the utter peacefulness of the sky to the judgmental eyes of her teacher, a Mr. Eiri.

Ayame tapped the tip of her chin as she stared into the stoic face of the educator, trying with all her effort to figure out what it was that the man was asking her. Finally, with a sigh of defeat, Ayame shook her head and asked Mr. Eiri to repeat his question.

A disappointed frown came over the male's face and he shook his head just as the school bell rang. The class fell into jovial noise as the day ended and the teenagers gathered their things to head out to better things. Ayame sighed in relief and began to gather her books but was halted once again by the strong voice of Mr. Eiri, "Ayame Kisaragi, please stay after class."

It didn’t take long for the classroom to empty, leaving Ayame alone with the teacher.

Mr. Eiri wasn’t exactly a tough teacher. He was an older gentleman in his early 60's. His hair had long ago lost its color and turned gray and he constantly sported a pair of rather large, wire-rimmed glasses. His eyes were the most noticeable feature on the elderly teacher. They were a shade of bright blue and showed much youth but didn’t lack the wisdom that would be expected of a man his age. Ayame had many times found herself pondering those eyes. Wondering what they had seen and experienced. They were fascinating.

The man came to the front of his large desk and sat himself on the top, gazing down at his student. "Ayame." Eiri's voice carried a tone of failure and misfortune. Even foreboding, "You failed another test."

Ayame bit her lip and looked down at the discolored, carpeted floor. Trying not to look up at the disapproving gaze of her teacher, she found herself tracing the many lines on the carpet.

"You used to be at the top of your class, Ayame. I remember that it wasn’t even a year ago that you had written a paper about how you wanted to become an author. Now I hear about you missing assignments and failing tests in all of your classes." A sigh escaped the elderly man's lips and he removed his glasses. Ayame glanced up from the ground just enough to see him wiping them off with his shirt tail, "Is something wrong, Ayame?"

A question Ayame Kisaragi had heard many times. It was an insignificant pondering. Many people asked that question without a care in the world. Could they understand what was wrong with Ayame? No. Ayame didn’t understand it herself.

It wasn’t her home life entirely. She'd lived most of her teenage life with her alcoholic mother. Her parents had gotten divorced when she was an adolescent and it wasn’t too long after that her mother took up her drinking habit. Then it wasn’t long after that, that her brother had been killed while trying to stop a bank robbery. He was only a year older than Ayame.

Ayame hadn’t always been a failure. She had once been a straight-A student. A three-sport athlete who excelled in volleyball, basketball, and softball. She'd once been a pleasant girl who had more friends than anyone, who could do anything with her life she wanted to.

Now, she was a self-loathing failure. Gone were her good grades. She no longer was filled with thoughts of success as they were replaced with ideas riddled with angst and death.

At first, her many friends tried to help her. They all attempted to reach out to Ayame in some way, trying to bring back the fun-loving girl who once walked the halls of their school. However, long ago the majority of them had abandoned her. Only a few remained friends with Ayame.

No. She couldn’t explain her sudden transformation. There was no explanation.

Ayame finally looked up into the young eyes of her elderly teacher and shod her head slowly, "No, sir. Nothing’s wrong."

The light breeze blew down the sidewalk. It went up the streets, around corners, into homes, and past people. It was free, rebellious, and unpredictable.

Ayame envied the wind as it followed after her down the street. It flew through her hair as she entered the town park and walked along the concrete sidewalk.

The park was a common place Ayame could be found. It was a peaceful place where all was calm other than the free-willed breeze and the occasional group of small children that made their way through the area.

It didn’t take long for Ayame to find her usual place. It was a simple green bench seated on the side of the sidewalk. It wasn’t especially comfortable and the view wasn’t spectacular from there but Ayame had always felt a special feeling when she sat there. Alone. Away from the qualms of real life. It was a feeling Ayame only felt when she was asleep.

It was a place where Ayame would sit nearly every day. She wouldn’t do anything special. Just sit and think, ponder, and dream. Many times Ayame had sat on the bench and found herself asleep only to be woken up late at night by a local cop or thoughtful pedestrian. It didn’t scare Ayame to fall asleep in public, open to everyone but away from them all.

Ayame leaned back in the seat, gazing up at the blue sky as it towered over her. It was like a bare surface in which no one could touch. It's placid design only disturbed by the clouds, sometimes peaceful and other times thunderous.

Her eyes drooped and sleep would have surely overcome her had it not been for a sudden interruption.

"This isn’t exactly a good place to take a nap."

Ayame jerked her head up and was welcomed by the site of a familiar person. Kani was one of Ayame's oldest friends. They'd been together ever since grade school and she wasn’t the kind of person to leave Ayame when times got tough.

The slightest grin came across Ayame's face as she scooted over for her friend to take a seat, "There's nothing wrong with sleeping in public."

Kani smiled broadly, displaying a bright array of white teeth, "Nothing except for the rapists and killers and who knows what else. There are plenty of things that could happen to a cute, helpless little girl around here."

Ayame shook her head and rubbed her tired eyes, "You have no faith in people, Kani. Plus, none of that is true."

"You have no faith in yourself." Kani twisted her body to look at Ayame fully, "You're a pretty girl, Aya. If you put a little effort into it, you could be the best looking in school."

With a shake of her head, Ayame excused the comment. She knew she wasn’t terrible looking. She had a fair complexion with sandy blonde hair that hung to the tip of her shoulders. Her eyes were a dark shade of emerald and her lips were full and bright. Her height was one of her least favorite features as she was one of the shortest girls in class. Her waist was thin but she held an athletic build from her former time in sports.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Kani asked, interrupting Ayame's thoughts once again.

She looked up into the peaceful sky and shrugged a bit, "Thinking, I suppose."

Kani crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, "And what about?"

"Nothing." Ayame said with a sigh and stood abruptly, "I don’t know."

Her friend stood as well and placed a hand on Ayame's shoulder, "You never know anymore. How come you never talk to me?"

Ayame stood in silence for a moment but did not look back at her friend, "There's nothing worth talking about." She started walking down the sidewalk solemnly.

Kani stood back for a moment, watching in pain as her friend walked away from her. Finally, she jogged after her and caught up just as they left the park, "Talk to me, Aya. This has gone on too long. Everyone is worried about you."

Everyone? Who was everyone and what did they have to do with her. They didn’t matter anymore. She didn’t even know who Everyone was anymore.

"It doesn’t matter." Ayame said quietly as she continued down the sidewalk, leaving her friend behind as she headed in the direction of her home.

All Kani could do was watch as Ayame continued down the street. Drifting further and further away as she did so.

The door of the Kisaragi house opened without a problem. That was expected, no one even bothered to lock it anymore.

Ayame's light footsteps seemed to echo through the hall as she made her way slowly into the rather small house. The light sound of the television set could be heard in the other room and she deliberately strayed away from the room. However, she was stopped suddenly at a faint sound.

"Ayame?" She recognized the voice. It was her mother, "Ayame? Are you home?"

With a sigh, Ayame turned around and headed into the living room. The only light within the foul-smelling chamber was the light flashing from the television set. A small person sat in front of the box in a recliner too big for her. The woman had a bushy, unkept bunch of black hair and dark green eyes to match. Her attire was simple and dirty, the same thing she'd been wearing for the past three days. This was Ayame's mother.

"Where've you been?" Her words slurred, marking the fact that she'd already consumed a good amount of alcohol today.

"School." Was all that came out of Ayame's mouth.

It was a good few minutes until her mother responded again, "I need you to stop by the store later today."

She needed more beer, "Sure." Ayame wasn’t even old enough to buy beer. However, long ago she'd overlooked the problem. There was a man that lived in town who bought the alcohol and gave it to Ayame for a 'reasonable' price.

Ayame turned to leave but was halted by her mother's voice once again, "And don’t coop yourself up in your room all day. You need to get outside more."

She nearly smirked. Even in her drunken stupor, her mother still tried to be a mother.

Ayame's room was just a little ways down the hall. It was a small chamber, dimly lit with a single window on the northern side. The majority of the space in the small room was taken up by her bed. The rest was filled with stray books, a dresser, some misplaced clothes, and various other miscellaneous items.

The minute she entered her room, Ayame took her place flopping down onto her futon. It wasn’t an overly comfortable bed. The mattress was lumpy and old but it was enough to suit Ayame.

The cracks on the ceiling stared down at Ayame as she gazed into the white plaster. Sometimes she used the cracks in the ceiling as a thing to relieve boredom while she sleeked rest. Other times, it was just something to stare at. Nonetheless, they were there all the time. Night or day. Asleep or awake.

Before long, Ayame's eyes once again began to droop and become heavy. Why was she so tired lately? She'd been getting more and more tired over the last few months. Of course, she didn’t resist. Sleep was her most favorite past time. An escape from reality into a land of dreams...

"Why are you sleeping?"

The room was dark all but the dim glow from a nearby window. Ayame's eyes widened to their fullest width, attempting to adjust to the darkness but to no avail. The speaker in the room wasn’t in sight; however Ayame somehow knew who it was.

"Are you really tired?"

Her eyes once again darted about the dark chamber. The glow from the window illuminated nothing. Frustration grew in Ayame as she searched for the speaker, her head desperatly scanning about the room.

"What are you so tired of?"

Was the room lightening? Or was that just her eyes playing tricks on her. No matter, the room was definatly becoming clearer. It was easy to tell where she was. Her bedroom. However, the speaker was still nowhere in sight.

"Ayame?"

She caught the voice and finally turned her head and was caught by a bright flash of light. She glanced away just for a split second then focused her attention on the figure illuminating the room.

He was a familiar sight. Many a time Ayame had met him in her dreams. She never learned his name or had been able to talk to him but he was there. Watching, listening, and waiting. At first Ayame was confused about the mysterious boy but had finally given up on trying to understand his meaning. He caused her no pain so she caused him none.

The glow grew brighter.

"Ayame?"

Ayame's eyes slowly fluttered open, gazing up at the welcoming cracks in the ceiling. She was once again in her bedroom however now there was no mysterious voice or unknown stranger. The room was filled with the orange-ish light from her desk lamp. Ayame was back in reality.

She sat up and gazed around the room tiredly. Yes, she was definatly back in the real world.

With a sigh, she forced herself to her feet and stretched leisurely in the room. With a glance at her wall clock, Ayame confirmed that it was well past dusk. Her mother must have fallen asleep otherwise she would have woken her daughter up long ago and had her go retrieve some alcohol.

Ayame yawned and slowly made her way out of her bed chamber and into the cold, dark hall. The blare from the television was visible, emitting from the living room. She took it upon herself to glance into the room and was awarded by the sickening sight of her mother, collapsed in her recliner, snoring in a drunken stupor.

With a gentle shake of her head, Ayame continued down the hall until she came upon the front door. It came open and she was greeted with the chilling, nighttime breeze. She shoved her hands into her jean pockets and made her way out into the dark outdoors.

The night was cold. However, it didn’t bother Ayame. She continued down the dark streets, slowly making her way towards her chosen destination. Her emerald eyes stared of reward through the blackness as if driven of reward by an unknown force.

Soon, Ayame was entering the local park. She knowingly ignored the sign that read "Closed from Dusk to Dawn." and continued on her way down the walkway.

Here, in the open park area, the coldness was much brisker. The wind seemed to cut to the bone and Ayame could see her own breath flowing in front of her. She didn’t even think about how strange it was for it to get so cold this time of the year. All she thought about was her destination.

The bench was right where it always was, positioned next to the walkway at the top of a small hill. From a distance, it appeared as though a dark figure was seated in her familiar spot but as she got closer it seemed to be nothing more than a shadow.

Ayame came upon her spot and took her seat welcomingly. She was immediately filled with a sense of comfort and safety. The seat was cold and metallic however; it gave Ayame such a feeling of homeliness that she couldn’t even feel it.

Her head came to rest against the back of the bench. Her eyes lay open, gazing up at the towering stars above. It was strange how the stars didn’t even show up anywhere else in town and even when they did, they didn’t even compare to the stars at this particular spot.

Her eyelids wavered as she fought a losing battle to keep them open. Sleep would soon overcome her. Deep down inside, there was a sense of urgency. As if something was going to happen other than her simply falling asleep in the park once more. Wither it was bad or good, it was hard to tell in Ayame's tiresome state.

Soon, it all became a moot point as her eyes finally drooped shut and Ayame slept. She slept the most peaceful and serene sleep she could later remember.

The birds chirped.

The peaceful sounds of a somber morning filled Ayame's head as she finally drifted out of sleep. She could feel the wind blowing gently and the sounds of the many animals up and about.

These were things that would be generally heard when one wakes up in the park. Ayame slowly opened her eyes with that in mind and was quietly shocked with the sight before her.

It wasn’t the open, sunny park that stood before her when she awoke. What Ayame saw wasn’t even the outside world. She looked about herself at the unfamiliar scenery.

Ayame lay on a small, white-sheet clad bed inside a small, sun-lit room. It wasn’t any room Ayame was familiar with. It was quaintly decorated with two windows on opposite walls that were dressed with dim-white curtains. There was no carpet other than the wooden floors and the entire room seemed to be made of a dark lumber. There were no dressers or cabinets. No television. Nothing but a small table seated next to the bed. On the desk sat a small candle with nearly all the wax melted away.

The only way out of the room other than the open windows was a small door at the far side of the room. To her relief, Ayame still wore the clothes she'd fallen asleep in minus her shoes. They sat in a neat way next to her bed. Ayame quickly slipped on the tennis shoes and quietly made her way over to the door.

Biting her lip, Ayame attempted to turn the knob on the door and was relieved when it clicked open. With a gentle push, she was able to open the door to yet another unfamiliar chamber.

This room was much larger and much brighter. There were various windows all about the chamber as well as two large double-doors on each side, one of which was open to the bright outside.

The walls were made of the same dark wood as before but here the hard-wood floor was covered with a long, honey-colored carpet. There were various wall hangings and paintings lining the walls and in the middle of the floor sat a rather large, strange monument.

It was made of a dark stone, possibly obsidian and had been cut into an awkward shape. The bottom of the monument was long and square-ish but as it rose it changed into the shape of the torso of a 

man. As the statue grew, the person became more defined. He had a muscular build and bald head. The only visible limb was an up-raised arm. In its hand was a large, gleaming sword that rose nearly to the ceiling.

With curiosity in her eyes, Ayame walked closer to the statue. To her surprise, the man depicted in the monument had no face. She cocked her head and silently wondered over the strange image.

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted however. Ayame jerked her head to the side to find the source of the noise and was surprised to see a little, elderly woman standing in the open doorway. Her hands covered her mouth as she stared at Ayame with a shocked expression. The two stared at each other for a moment before both moved in unison.

Just as soon as Ayame made any movement, the old woman turned and scampered away, crying out in a strange accent. Ayame stopped in her tracks and stared strongly at the fleeing woman. Why did she run?

Ayame blinked a few times then slowly followed after the woman into the warm, outside air. She blinked into the bright sunlight and waited for her eyes to adjust. Once they did, Ayame's surprise grew.

The town she opened her eyes to be in no way likes her home. It seemed many years more primitive. The many homes in sight were all made of crude wood; some were larger and made of stone or brick. The land itself didn’t appear the same. It was very green as the majority of it was grass. There was a long, stone road that seemed to go throughout the town. Little sidewalks of stone or just dirt sprouted from the mother road and extended to each of the homes.

The sky was a bright shade of blue, blotched with various white clouds. The bright sun shone in the distance but it seemed different. As if it was farther away. Ayame didn’t get much time to ponder that however as the sound of chatter caught her attention.

Coming up the large road was the same old woman from before however, now she had another figure with her. The man was elderly as well with dark gray hair that he had cut short. His skin was tan and his build was rather feeble. The couple walked up the road slowly until they finally came upon Ayame. The man stood in front, looking her over curiously.

"See?" The old woman said quietly behind the male, "I told you."

The man shushed the woman quickly and regarded Ayame once more, "So, you finally woke up, eh?"

The question brought many questions to Ayame. Finally? How long had she been asleep and before that, how did she get here and where was she.

Ayame blinked a few times and stared at the man. The male scratched his chin strangely and sighed, "How long have you been up?" She shook her head silently, "I see. I bet you're pretty confused, huh?"

As they stood there, many more people appeared. People emerged from homes or appeared from around the corner and immediately grew curious at the sight. Ayame looked around her at the many strange people, her eyes wide.

"Let's go inside the shrine." The man said, "Where we can have some privacy."

The couple walked past Ayame and entered the large place she'd woken up in. Her mind boggled, Ayame followed them. Once inside, the old woman shut the doors and the room grew dimmer, the only light coming from the windows.

The man left the large room for a moment and emerged a moment later with a chair in arm. He laid it down heavily and beckoned for Ayame to have a seat. She did so welcomingly as a headache soon began to grow in her mind.

Once seated, the man crossed his arms and looked her over, "You look tired."

She glanced up at him but quickly looked away to gaze out the window, "What's going on?"

The room grew silent for a moment until it was broken by the woman, "You woke up."

"How did I get here?" Ayame looked up at the couple in confusion.

The man glanced at his female companion for a moment and looked back to Ayame, "We found you outside the village. Everyone tried to wake you up but you seemed to be out cold."

The woman continued, "We were about to give up when the village priest came. He said to keep you here and care for you. He said a lot of things about but when we asked how he knew, he just mumbled something about the world and told us to take you to the shrine and leave you there until you awoke." She crossed her arms, "So, that's what we did. You've been lying in that bed for the past four or five months."

Ayame looked up at the couple in shock at the statement. Five months? It was just last night that she fell asleep in the park.

"Five months?" She asked and the couple nodded calmly, "But..."

The words fell flat as she was dragged into her own thought. Questions floated about inside her mind, no answers in sight. They swirled about and pulled her in circles until she was on the brink of tears. Finally, a firm hand gripped her shoulder. She looked up into the old man's blue eyes.

"I take it you don’t understand anything." He said calmly, "We'll take you to the priest, maybe he'll know something. Is that okay?"

Ayame did nothing in confirmation. She simply looked back down and stared at the floor in confusion. Nothing made sense. Was it a dream? She always dreamt of strange things but none were like this. Somehow, she knew it wasn’t a dream but then, how could it be reality?

The man's voice tore through her thoughts once more, "If you feel up to it, we'll go now."

Anything was better than staying in this 'shrine' and killing herself in thought. She nodded and forced herself to her feet. At her first step, she nearly fell but was able to regain herself enough to walk.

The elderly man whispered something to the woman and she nodded briskly and scurried out of the shrine, pushing the doors open as she did so. The man once again looked at Ayame and smiled crookedly, "I'm Papal, by the way."

"Ayame..." She whispered.

With the slight introduction out of the way, Papal led Ayame out of the shrine and once again out into the bright daylight. The crowds had parted and only a few individuals lingered. The woman was nowhere in sight. Ayame gazed about the village in wonder once more.

"Where am I?" She asked quietly, not to anyone in particular.

Papal apparently heard her as he answered, "This is the village of Sagrad. You recognize it?" She shook her head, "You must not be from around here then. Do you have any idea where you're from?"

Her home echoed in mind and she spoke quietly, "Mihoshi."

He glanced at her strangely and shrugged, "Never heard of it. Where's it at?"

Ayame couldn’t think. She couldn’t think of a way to describe the location of her home so she simply said, "I don’t know."

"I see." Papal said as he led her down the large road and turned a corner swiftly, "Well, Sagrad is probably the smallest village in Hoi."

"Hoi?"

"You don’t know what Hoi is?" He asked awkwardly. When she shook her head sadly, he continued, "Hoi is one of the largest continents on Wurld." He paused a moment, "You do know what Wurld is, right?"

Ayame stayed silent as the word had no meaning to her.

He sighed then extended his arms, "This is Wurld. Everything is Wurld. It's the name of the planet."

She watched him, her eyes blinking. She wasn’t even on Earth anymore? Now she was even more confused than ever, and more scared.

Papal patted her on the shoulder, "You'll be fine. I'm sure everything will come back to you like that." and he snapped his fingers.

The rest of the walk was a quiet one. Ayame left her questions to her own mind, trying without success to sort everything out. She silently hoped that the 'priest' would be able to help her.

So, Ayame was relieved when they came upon the outskirts of Sagrad and Papal motioned towards a very small hut off the side of the road. He walked up to it with Ayame on his tail and rapped on the door slowly. It only took a few seconds for the knob to turn and the door itself to creak open.

Standing in the doorway was not the sight Ayame expected. The person that stood there wasn’t exactly Ayame's idea of a priest. The person was very large with a bright red face. His stomach stuck out several inches outside the door and he was clothed in many robes of different colors. On top of his cone-shaped head sat a little round hat. Around his thick neck was a medallion with the inscription of a sword on it.

The man looked from Papal to Ayame curiously and nodded solemnly, "So the princess awoke." His voice was deep and resounding. Ayame wringed her hands behind her back as she stared up at the towering being.

Papal glanced at her, "I thought you would want to see her."

"You thought correctly." He said and crossed his arms over his large chest, "Now, if you would excuse us, I'm sure there is quite a bit the two of us need to discuss."

He glanced at Ayame once more before nodding to the priest and turning to leave, "If she needs a place to stay, she will always be welcome at our home." With that, Papal headed back off down the road they came from.

After Papal left, the priest looked down at Ayame and nodded, "I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Kuy, Priest of this little village."

She nodded briskly and looked down, "I'm-"

"I know who you are, Ayame Kisaragi." She looked up at the priest and he grinned at her lightly, "The gods have spoken to me many times of you. I've been waiting a long time for you to awake."

"I don’t understand."

"Neither do I." Kuy said quietly and moved away from the small hut. He motioned for Ayame to follow as he sat his large bulk down into the grass. Ayame did the same and looked at him, "I don’t know why you came or from where."

Ayame sighed and looked down into the grass, "This all seems so unreal."

"I'm sure it does but I have to tell you that it is as real as it gets." He couched lightly, "I'm sure you have no idea where you are, right?"

"Papal said that this village is called Sagrad or something like that."

He nodded, "On the continent of Hoi on the planet Wurld." Ayame fell silent, "I know you're not from here but I do know that your presence is very important to this planet."

Ayame looked up into the large round eyes of the priest, "What?"

Kuy shifted his weight to his elbow and nodded, "The gods have spoken to me about it. I don’t know why or by what meaning but you are very important to the planet. They told me to tell the villagers to care for you until you awake."

"I don’t even know anything about this place."

He nodded, "I know."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"I couldn’t tell ya." Kuy said along with a shrug, "I just know what I'm told."

Ayame fell silent and lowered her head. It still made no sense. Nothing made sense and it scared Ayame more than anything.

Kuy spoke again, "I don’t have any answers for you, princess. All I can say is stay here until we find out more. I hoped you wouldn’t awaken until I knew more so now all you can do is waiting for the gods to do their work."

She said nothing. What was there to say? What could a person who knew nothing say?

"Okay."

Kuy heaved himself to his feet and regarded the girl openly, "Papal and Gama live in the first brick house when you enter the village. You can’t miss it as it has their names on the front door. They'll let you stay with them for now."

As the large priest started for his hut once more, Ayame turned around and headed for the road quietly. She didn’t turn around when she heard his voice again, "The gods' plans shall go into action soon enough, princess."

The walk back into the village wasn’t as hard as Ayame expected. She did meet a few people along the way, all of which gave her strange looks and stared as she walked away. She wasn’t sure if it was because they knew who she was or because of how different she looked than everyone else.

It was easy to tell Ayame wasn’t from around Sagrad. Her clothing was the same as the last time she was home, everyone in the new world wore strange clothing. Some were flashy and made of fine material but most was just common apparel. Nothing bright just common clothing from a primitive time.

So, Ayame hurried to Papal's home. It took her a few minutes but she was finally able to find the brick home that had the names on the front door. She stepped onto the porch and rapped on the wooden door quickly. In a moment, the door swung open and Ayame was greeted by a smiling Papal.

"Come in." He said and Ayame pushed her way into the small home. The interior was simple. The living room was little and quaintly decorated with a few chairs, a couch, and a fire place. Nothing too special. It faintly reminded Ayame of her grandparent's home from her childhood.

Papal grinned and the old woman from before entered the room from another doorway. She smiled as well, "How did it go with Kuy?"

Ayame shook her head and crossed her arms.

"I'm sure everything will turn out alright." Papal said and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Until then, you're always welcome in our home. Right, Gama?"

The old woman nodded, "As long as you'd like, darling."

Ayame forced a light smile onto her face. The walk to the house had given her time to think and she tried to force herself to try and feel better. It had worked a little bit and the kindness of the elderly couple would only make things easier.

Papal motioned for her to take a seat and rest and she did so thankfully. Gama re-entered the kitchen in an attempt to fix lunch. It wasn’t until then that Ayame noticed how hungry she was. The smell of the unfamiliar food only added to her hunger.

In what seemed like no time, Ayame was pulling up a seat at the kitchen table and staring with a saliva-filled mouth at the food. She had no idea what it was but she knew there was some kind of meat, a unfamiliar bowl of vegetables, and some kind of oddly-shaped fruit within the meal. Gama supplied a cup of hot liquid to go along with it and Ayame silently thanked her.

Papal had left awhile ago to do some errands but Gama told her not to wait for him. She seated herself and it wasn’t long before Ayame was cleaning her plate and asking for seconds. Gama stared with wide-eyes at the appetite of the small girl but smiled and nodded for her to help herself. Ayame forgot all manners and ate without refuse.

After she had taken in her full of Wurld food, Ayame leaned back in her seat and smiled at Gama who had long ago given up her share to the hungry girl. Ayame was just about to thank her host when the sound of commotion of outside caught their attention. She tilted her head so that she could see outside the small window, a group was gathering outside along the road.

Standing from her seat, Ayame silently walked over to the window and peered out into the daylight, attempting to see the source of the crowd. Gama joined her side and nodded knowingly.

"The Traditionalists..."

"The what?" Ayame asked as she tried without success to see through the crowd.

"Traditionalists." Gama repeated as she looked as well, "I suppose you wouldn’t know much about them, would you?" Ayame shook her head and the old woman cleared her throat, "About two years ago, Hoi, along with the majority of the world, was under the rule of the Kingdom of Medion. Medion ruled pretty much all of Wurld and had for many, many centuries."

She paused a moment then continued, "Anyways, two years ago a rather small group of radicals known as the Xawseers started causing trouble in the Kingdom. The Xawseers are a religious faction. I don’t completely understand their religion but I know it is much like my own, Xawsecism." She shrugged a bit, "The Xawseers claimed that the gods had chosen them to establish the Empire of Xawsecar and in order to do that, they must eliminate Medion."

"The Kingdom originally saw the Xawseers as a small annoyance and only treated them with mild disgust, sending small groups of soldiers to try and handle them. However, it didn’t take long for them to gain popularity. Before long, The Xawseers had grown nearly triple their original size and were then a real threat to Medion. Civil war broke out. The results of the war were the death of many. By the end, the death toll was so high that no one even cared who ruled anymore. What followed was the fall of the Kingdom of Medion and all of Wurld being overtaken by the Xawseers."

"The Empire of Xawsecar now controls all of Wurld. Their leader, and the Emperor, is a man named Bishoup Kingsburn, Priest of Xawseer. He is a heartless man who believes that the will of the gods is pressed down unto him." Gama grew silent for a second then looked out the window once more, "The Traditionalists are the people who oppose Xawseer. They're a ragtag bunch full of former Medion-supporters, rebels, and even mercenaries. However, they are the only people brave enough to fight and for that, this village has supported them ever since the start."

Ayame nodded at the elderly woman's tale and once again peered into the crowd, curious to see who these 'Traditionalists' were. Suddenly, the crowd parted as their attraction came nearer and Ayame was finally able to see the group.

There were only a few of them. Five to be exact. four men and a woman. She stared at them for a moment until Gama's voice broke her concentration.

"The man in the middle is the leader of the Traditionalists." Ayame moved her eyes to peer at the man. His hair was pitch black and hung loosely over his forehead. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and a good build. His attire was dark with black trousers and a black vest over a white shirt. His boots were brown and his flowing cape was the same shade. Attached to his belt was a long scabbard, a golden hilt stuck out from the leather case. "His name is Kliff and he is a direct descendant of the last ruler of Medion. An honorable man indeed but his lust for vengeance runs deep."

The other people in the group were quite... diverse.

To the first man's left stood a taller, more lean figure. His head was shaved bald but his face was ridden with whiskers. Not a full beard but enough to make him look rather rugged. His attire was simple with brown britches and a torn, ragged shirt. Black boots and a sword buckled across his back completed his clothing. The man walked with a swagger and held his head high, looking more like a lord than the actual Royalty.

Next to the bald man stood a short, red-haired girl of young age. She stood possibly the same height as Ayame but seemed shorter standing next to her tall comrade. Her hair was dark red and hung well past her shoulders. Her skin was light and lips full and red. Her clothing included a pair of tight, leather britches and a more feminine blouse. The girl carried no arms but Ayame had the slightest suspicion that the girl was carrying a knife in her left shoe.

The seemingly oldest one in the group stood to the right of the one known as Kliff. He was stooped and walked with the aid of a wooden cane. The little hair the old man had was silver, clashing with his dark skin and eyes. His simple clothing looked much like his bald companion, except his shirt was dark green and pants held a tan color. The only weapon the elderly man carried seemed to be his cane, a flimsy piece of wood that looked like it would crack at the slightest contact. Much like how it's owner's very bones would.

The last member of the little entourage caught Ayame's attention. She squinted in the light to make out the man better and was quite surprised at his features.

"Who is that?" She asked, motioning to the young male.

Gama squinted to see him then grinned a bit, "A good looking lad, aint he?" She chuckled a bit, "I'm not sure what his name is but he's been with the Traditionalists for quite awhile. There's plenty of rumors that go about so it's tough to tell exactly who he is and why he's fighting."

The male was shorter than the other men but his build was muscular and compact. His hair was a dirty blonde color and stood out dramatically against his dark skin. It hung to about his neck. The boy's clothing was more dark in colors but was still simple. His pants were a very dark blue, almost black like his shirt. Strapped across the male's lower back was a long scabbard that held a seemingly simple blade.

The reason Ayame stared at him so much was because he looked nearly identical to the man she'd been seeing in her dreams so much.

The small group continued through the crowd until they paused in front of the building Ayame had awoken in. The Shrine. The doors opened a moment later and the entourage vanished inside the building, the doors closing behind them.

Ayame stepped back and resumed her seat at the table, quietly pondering the young man that traveled with them. The man from her dreams that always disappeared just as quickly as he came. With no reason for either.

The commotion outside slowly died down and peacefulness presided over Sagrad once again. Ayame found herself surprisingly tired after the whole ordeal and had quickly fallen asleep on the sofa. She didn’t dream that time for the first time in many months.

Ayame was awoken near dusk at the closing of the front door. She sat up and waited for her eyes to adjust to the light and was welcomed by the site of Papal entering the room. Her smiled briefly to her then proceeded into the kitchen.

Moments later, Papal returned and approached Ayame. He nodded to her and crossed his arms.

"Feel better?" He asked as he looked her over.

Ayame shrugged a bit and pushed herself into a sitting position, "A little."

He nodded, "Kuy has requested that you stay with us until he figures out what to do. That okay?"

"Yes." She said and smiled briefly to the old man, "Thanks."

"It's no trouble at all." He chuckled, "Gama tells me you got quite an appetite."

Ayame laughed and the old man retreated back into the kitchen. Gama came out just as he entered and smiled to the girl.

"You can sleep in the spare room." She said quietly and gestured to a door to the right of the sofa, "It's small and hardly furnished but I hope it will do." Ayame nodded in agreement, "Papal and I stay upstairs. If you need anything, don’t worry about asking."

She quietly thanked the couple and Gama nodded slowly and brushed past the girl, heading up the stairway to her room. Papal soon followed as darkness crept over the village. Ayame leaned back in her seat and sighed.

It was true that Ayame did feel better even though she was still sufficiently confused about what was going on. It was now obvious she was not dreaming. However, it wasn’t obvious why she was in this land known as Wurld.

Ayame laid on the sofa for awhile later, thinking about different things. Sometimes trying to get her mind off her problem, others trying desperatly just to think about them.

Finally, a noise from outside caught Ayame's attention. The girl stirred and searched for a window. Outside it was dark. The sky was littered with many, many stars, reminding her of the last thing she saw before she came to Wurld. The moon was in a crescent shape as it floated above Sagrad. Like the sun, it seemed to be further away than Ayame remembered.

The noise had come from a little ways down the street and it was not difficult for Ayame to find the source. A single dim light illuminated the large front doors of the Shrine. Three figures could be seen silhouetted against the walls. One was rather large, one was tall, and the last was short. The figures stood outside of the shrine for only a moment before retreating into the building, not bothering to shut the doors behind them.

Curiosity stuck in Ayame's mind as she pondered over what could be going on. She quickly recalled seeing the Traditionalists heading into the Shrine earlier and flirted with the idea of doing a little eavesdropping.

She debated over the problem for only second before she came to a solution. Perhaps listening in on the Traditionalists little meeting would aid Ayame in figuring out why she was there. Without another moment's thought, Ayame was quietly sneaking out the front door and creeping down the street towards the building she'd first awakened in.

Torches rested on the walls outside of the majority of the homes, illuminating the street with a dim glow. Mounted on the walls of the Shrine, however were round lights that shone brightly in the darkness.

As she approached the building, Ayame stuck to the side of the road. Faint voices could already be heard as she neared the doors. No sentries or guards were in sight so the girl simply treaded across the grass and came to rest outside the doors in a low crouch.

The voices were much clearer but still faint. Still, they were loud enough for Ayame to make out the words. She listened intently to the conversation that went on inside.

"You have the reports then?" Asked a deep, defined voice.

Another answered, this one was more casual and loud. "Yes. Rafael sent them a few days ago."

"What do they say?" The deep voice asked once again.

"Nothing we don’t already know." Said the other, "The 'seers are doing a pretty good job of keeping everything under wraps. The reports say Rafael is still trying to figure out what they're looking for."

A quieter, more raspy voice spoke out. Ayame had to listen intently to make out the words, "So, still nobody knows what the Xawseers are trying to get their hands on?" A moment of silence, "No hints or anything?"

The deep voice spoke again, "Tell Rafael to continue following their movements but to lay low. We don’t want them knowing that we're onto them."

"I'll send a messenger right away, Kliff."

The room grew quiet and Ayame inched closer in an attempt to hear anything. When she finally heard the footsteps, it was too late for her to do anything.

Ayame attempted a hurried escape but only succeeded in falling flat in the cool grass. The large, dark figure emerged from the building and immediately caught sight of the girl lying in the grass. His large, white eyes stared down at her then narrowed as he figured out what she was doing there.

Inside the building, Ayame was hurried into a corner and stood there against the wall as her captor rounded up his companions. The group stood before her with ponderous eyes.

She recognized the majority of the group from before all except for the one who had captured her. This man was very large with a muscular build, nearly pitch black skin, and a high forehead. His white eyes stood out dramatically on his face and his long, wavy hair swayed with the slightest movement.

One man walked of reward from the group and scrutinized the girl. She recognized him as Kliff, the royal out of the group. He'd removed his black vest and stood before her in a common white shirt. Lean muscle stood out on his arms and the sword at his side seemed ever more deadly.

Kliff took a breath and spoke clearly to her, "Who are you and what were you doing outside?"

She took a second to answer as attempted to think of a proper lie, "Ayame Kisaragi." She said in answer to the first question.

The man stared at her for a second as if recognizing the name then took a step back and consulted with his comrades. Ayame leaned of reward a bit in an attempt to hear their conversation.

Kliff looked at the oldest member of the group. A stooped old man with gray hair and a cane, "Why is that name familiar?"

"The fat priest spoke of her." He said in answer, "Said she is a vassal of the gods."

He nodded, "I remember now. He said she held quite a bit of importance, didn’t he?" The elderly man nodded slowly, "Okay then."

The black-haired man turned around once more to look at Ayame. His dark eyes scanned over her for a second then locked with Ayame's own, "What were you doing outside?"

Ayame fell silent for a moment as she pondered over the question, trying to come up with a lie that made some sort of sense. The group all looked down at her, arms crossed over their chests as they awaited her response.

"I thought I left something."

The group blinked a few times as they stared at her and Kliff's eyebrows rose, "What?"

"Well, I kinda woke up in that room earlier today." She said awkwardly and motioned to the door leading to the room Ayame had awoken in, "and I think I left something in there. So, I came down here to find it and saw all you guys here. Then that big guy rushed out and surprised me." She glanced at the large, dark-skinned man.

Kliff glanced at his comrades then focused once again on Ayame, "What were you doing sleeping in there?"

"I don’t know." She said simply. What else could she say?

The room grew silent for a moment as all eyes focused on Ayame awkwardly. Finally, Kliff pointed a finger at the door and shrugged, "Go find whatever you left and get going." He turned around, "Edger, go and watch the lady."

To Ayame's disgust, the dark-skinned man nodded obediently and led Ayame through the group and opened the door for her. The two entered and Edger shut the door behind them.

Once inside, Ayame nearly spat on the floor. She had no idea what to do so she simply went about the room, looking in corners and under the bed in search of nothing. She silently cursed her curiosity.

The large man behind her watched Ayame the entire time with quite a bit of curiosity. He said nothing but she felt his eyes on her. Watching with interest and wonder as if she was some kind of unknown animal. It was obvious that the large Edger had heard all the news about her.

Growing irritated, Ayame got on her hands and knees and looked under the bed tiredly. Still she felt Edger watching her and finally ventured far enough to speak, "Do I really look that bad?"

The words obviously caught the large man off guard and he stammered when he spoke, "What?"

She stood and brushed her jeans off, "It's been awhile since I took a bath. The way you're looking at me you'd think I was a yeti."

"No, it's not that." Edger's voice was casual and rough, nothing like the way his comrade Kliff spoke.

Ayame cocked her head at him, "Then what is it?"

Edger chuckled a bit, "Them clothes certainly are unusual. Mind if I ask where ya got them?"

"I can’t remember." Ayame said casually as she looked herself over. She definatly needed to get some 'local' clothing, "Your name's Edger, right?"

The behemoth nodded casually, "That's right."

"Can I ask you something, Edger?" Before the man could answer she continued, "What exactly have you heard about me?"

Edger went into a thoughtful state and leaned against the wall, "About you?" He tapped his chin slowly, "Not a whole lot. I just arrived in town about an hour ago."

"But your friends have certainly heard plenty of things."

"Yeah but I haven’t been told too much." Edger ran a large hand through his black locks, "Some stuff about the gods and Xawsecar."

Ayame blinked at the strange word that she'd heard too many times, "What exactly is Xawsecar?"

Edger's brows rose in surprise, "You don’t know what Xawsecar is?"

"No." She crossed her arms, "Should I?"

He shrugged absently, "Most people do." He pushed himself off the wall and motioned for the girl to follow, "If you can’t find what you're looking for, we'd best get going."

Ayame nodded with a sigh, noticing that she probably wasn’t going to get much more out of the big man. Edger opened the door and led Ayame out of the room.

The next room was the same as it was before. The same people say in a corner, discussing numerous things in hushed tones. Ayame's eyes immediately met with one of the men in the group and various memories of past dreams rushed into her mind.

The man from her dreams seemed to stare at Ayame for hours but finally broke the gaze to view at his companions once again. Kliff got to his feet tiredly and walked over to her.

"Find what you wanted?" He asked as he came upon her.

"No." Ayame said with a shake of her head, "I didn’t really expect to."

He nodded, "If anything comes up, I'll have it sent to you immediately. Go home and get some rest then, okay?"

Ayame nodded and headed for the exit to the Shrine after one last glance at the familiar boy. She passed into the cool night and gazed up into the star-filled sky tiredly. Her first day in Wurld was ending but somehow she knew it would not be the last.

To Be Continued...

Author Comments:

So ends the first chapter. I've been writing this for awhile as I really want to make a good original story. I hope this turns out pretty good but I'm not sure if I'm happy so far. I only have the skeleton of the plot figured up so far and I know this first chapter leaves a lot of shadows but everything will be explained in further chapters. I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter. Please review a ton!

-Ilze