Diary of a Wandering Girl
Entry 1: Start of a New Life

Dear Diary,

Whee! This is my very first time writing in you, so I hope I will be able you trust you into keeping my memories. My name is Kori Yuki Tetsugaia, or just Kori for short. I got you from my dad, and he wanted me to record anything that happened to me along the way in my adventure. He sent you all the way from a way bigger island, and it's called Victoria Island! Mom says the island we're on right now is really FLOATING above Victoria Island, and it's called Maple Island. I really hope that things will be good for me down there, and I hope everything will work out for me.

It's time for me to go now! Mom's calling me. I'll write to you later.

Sincerely,
Kori Tetsugaia

Snapping the lock shut on her new, black diary, a young girl, only at the age of eight years, prepared to meet her father for the very first time, yet in turn leaving her mother behind. Taking the key to the diary, she tied it onto a brand-new black silk ribbon, slipping it around her neck to keep it safe. Stuffing the diary into her pack, she shouldered it, and stepped out of her room in her Maple Island home.

Her mother awaited her outside the house, bright, morning sunshine washing over them as a sweet scent of flowers wafted around them. A glowing smile covered her face, but Kori could still feel a sting of sadness as she and her mother walked down to Southperry, her mother keeping her safe by casting an odd spell called "Thunderbolt", killing any snails willing to come near them. She did not want to leave, yet she wanted to meet her father so badly. But she knew she had no choice to stay either.

As they arrived in Southperry, sunlight shimmered against the white, stone floors of, casting a beautiful reflection. There was Captain Shanks standing near the wooden steps up towards a large and majestic boat called The Victoria. Kori gazed at it in faint wonder until her mother pulled her forward gently, a warm smile on her face. Kneeling to her height, she spoke.

"Goodbye, my Kori. I will see you, perhaps when you are able to come back to Maple Island. For now, I hope that your path may be bathed in light, and no shadows come to cloud your way. Choose your path well, Kori." Kori nodded, eyes slightly watering.

"Goodbye, Mom," she said, giving her mother a farewell hug. Walking uncertainly towards Captain Shanks, she noticed with a start that she was taller than him… Holding a hand to her mouth to keep from giggling, she handed him a wad of one-hundred-and-fifty mesos. Captain Shanks accepted the mesos, and he leapt into the cabin of the boat, starting it up in a few seconds. Walking up the steps, Kori prepared to leave this world and to enter a new one.

Turning around to wave goodbye to her mother, she heard her call, "And say hello to your father for me!"

The boat ride was awfully lonely, yet mainly because there was no one else on the boat except for her. Staring out the window in a small daydream, she wondered what the inhabitants of Victoria Island would be like. Would they be kind, and welcome her, or would they be mean, and shun her for no reason? Would they perhaps be both?

A loud 'thump' of the boat landing jolted her out of her daydream.

"C'mon, girlie, you're here," called Captain Shanks from the pilot room. Gripping her pack tightly, she opened the cabin door, and stepped out to greet a new world.

Like in Maple Island, the sunlight was strong here, washing over this new place called Lith Harbor. Using her arm to shield the sun from her eyes, she made her way towards the east side of the harbor.

Suddenly, in her view was a large brute of a man clad in green, a rather silly looking Viking helmet on his head.

"Well, 'ello there, kid!" he called jovially. "'ow would yeh like to perti-suh-pate in a lil' quiz I got fer youngun's like you?" It took a moment for Kori to understand this man, but she slowly nodded.

"Good, good! Muh name's Olaf, yeh see, so… let's begin wit' the quiz, eh?" Olaf proceeded to tell Kori about the island of Victoria Island, and then started to ask her a bunch of questions about what he just told her. It took a while, but she finally answered all questions. Olaf laughed, a large booming sound that echoed all over Lith.

"Mm, good, good! I'm glad yeh know what's ter come, 'cause this place ain't gonna be too easy for yeh." He winked at her. "Bu' I think yer dad'll like to meet yeh now." Kori was confused, but suddenly she felt someone gently lifting her high into the air. Looking behind her, she saw a man, wearing black clothes. Hugging her close to him, he smiled at her.

Kori realized that this must be her dad, and she felt a burst of joy through her heart.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed, hugging him back, and he laughed, a soft, gentle sound that she liked.

"Hello, my daughter," he said softly into her ear, holding her close to him for a few moments.

… Huh, my dad smells like vanilla, Kori thought. But she liked that smell.

In a moment, her dad placed her back down on the ground, looking at her with kind eyes.

"How is your mother doing?" he asked, patting Kori on the head softly. Kori smiled, and replied, "She told me to tell you she said hi." He laughed again, and then Kori saw her dad had long, black hair he kept in a ponytail at the back.

"Would you like to go home now, Kori? Or would you rather explore first?" her dad asked. Kori thought for a moment.

I want to see how the house looks… but I want to explore too. Hmm…

"Can we go home?" she asked, looking up at her dad. He nodded, and took her in his arms again, a faint scent of vanilla washing over her senses, making her feel slightly sleepy. She waved goodbye to Olaf, as her dad casted something weird. A blue Chinese symbol briefly appeared in front of him for a moment, and then he was off, darting through the forest behind Lith.

Kori felt the rush of wind against her face, and buried her face into her father's chest.

So… sleepy…

"Kori… Kori, wake up, we're home…" A soft voice roused Kori from her sleep. Her eyes fluttered open as she was met with the sight of her father's face.

"Huh?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes with one hand. There was a gentle smile on her dad's face. Sitting up, Kori looked at her surroundings, noticing that they were in a sort of tree house, but actually in the tree instead of on top of it (which is silly, considering a tree house could fall out at any given moment if it were improperly built).

"What kind of place are we in?" Kori asked quietly, yawning one last time.

"We live in a town named Ellinia," her father responded warmly. Peering outside a clear, green-tinted window, her eyes sparkled as she took in the immense, bursting-with-life trees, watching strong rays of dazzling sunlight filter through the leafy canopy.

"Daddy, it's so pretty out here," she marveled, her eyes locked in place in wonder. "Do we live in the trees here?"

"We do… though sometimes it's very dangerous if you fall," he warned, motioning to the tall trees. Kori decided to move onto another topic.

"Dad, I'm only level seven… and mom was supposed to send me here when I was level nine. Why did she send me early?" Kori asked, a confused, childish look on her face. Her father gave a sigh, and responded, "Because your mother could not keep you there anymore. The, uh, 'terms' of Maple Island was that a person may only keep their children for eight years, which is how old you are right now."

Kori put a pouty look on her face. "Those are dumb rules." Her dad laughed, and brushed Kori's short hair from her large, innocent eyes. Her eyes… they had always been a different color from each other. For instance, her left eye was a deep, mysterious purple, while the other eye, the right, was a gentle ice-blue, though that may have been because his eyes were deep purple and her mother's eyes had been ice-blue.

"There's still a couple of hours before sundown," he remarked, glancing at a clock hanging from a wall. "You can go training if you like. I can come pick you up later from the Henesys Hunting Ground." Kori gave him a cute, happy smile.

"Okay, daddy!"

Kori swung her weak sword at a green slime that hopped by her, watching as it cut into its thin membrane, and green goo oozed out of it, giving a final squeak of death. Wincing slightly, Kori took an empty jar out of her bag and scooped up the green stuff with a spoon she had brought. Daddy said she could make lime jello out of it. (A/N: In my little world you can. x3)

Turning around after she had finished scooping up most of the jello stuff, she picked up her sword again and leaned against one of the random haystacks scattered around in the Henesys Hunting Ground. Poking at a green snail as it crawled by, she sighed, bored. She hadn't even decided what job she would take in the Maple World.

Yet unbeknownst to her, that wouldn't matter soon enough.

Maybe I should become a warrior… they look really strong even though they have to fight at a shorter range. Or maybe an archer, 'cause they look cool and they do lots of damage. Or a thief, like daddy. Or maybe a magician like mommy, so I can do random magic stuff too.

She giggled quietly to herself, catching a few strange looks from other passersby in the Hunting Ground. Picking up her sword again, she stabbed the green snail she had been poking at before, and it squealed and died, leaving only its green shell.

Fortunately for her, though, the green snail was a final trigger towards her level-up to eight, and she smiled a little. Maybe she could get another level in before dad came…

"Kori!"

Err, maybe not.

"I got to level eight today, daddy, and I wanna see if I can get another tomorrow!" Kori said excitedly during dinner, barely eating anything in her excitement. She poked at a piece of broccoli which she thought was staring at her, and then just stabbed it on her fork and ate it. It tasted nice.

Her father just gave her a quiet smile, and even though Kori and barely been here for a day, she knew that her daddy was thinking about something, so she decided to ask.

"Daddy, whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked, cocking her head to one side in a questioning manner. He looked up at her from his thoughts, and, smiling weakly, only said, "I'm thinking about your mother, Kori. I wonder how she's doing…" He trailed off and he sat there for a while, staring off into space. Kori took the liberty of clearing the table for her spaced-out dad, and poked him for a while until he realized she was poking him.

"I – what? Huh?" he asked, head shooting up to take notice of his surroundings again. Kori giggled.

"I'm gonna go to sleep now, 'kay daddy? I'm tired," she said, giving an adorable yawn. He gave a slow nod, apparently able to fall back into thought without a problem.

Shrugging to herself, Kori brushed her teeth quickly and scooted off to bed.

"Good night, daddy," she said, even though he wasn't there to hear. "Good night…" And then she plunged into sleep.

W00t, hooray for starting a new story. Watch as horror and adventure unfold:o

Till next time,
Kori Tetsugaia