Miscommunications
By Riyukku Sayuri
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated any of the characters nor the creators of the game, and etc., except for my own characters.
Summary/Plot: Bella, Terresia's new descender has just begun her life while Mormo, the descender of the world Yaoon, teaches her the ropes of her fated destiny. While she learns of herself and her powers, she gives way to her heart and learns lessons of love, life, and even that of death.
Author's Note: Okay, I really don't have any idea what I'm doing, as I've only played the Tales of Symphonia games, but I hope I do the characters in the games justice. So there's probably going to be a lot of AUness and OOCness. So, you know, just a heads up. Read and review! Thanks!
Chapter One
Birth
I awoke to a great darkness. I had no idea what was going on until flashes and flecks of green began clouding my vision. The dark faded away to the mesmerizing greens and I could hear the gentle flow of water in the back of my mind. I heard a strange, almost irritable voice calling me. Like he knew my name. And my eyes flickered open and everything began flooding into me at once.
I looked up at a sort of catlike creature staring down at me with big blue eyes. He was small and sleek and was levitating with small fluttery wings on his back.
"Bella? Bella are you awake?" he asked me. I did not even know my own name until he called me this.
I sat up straight and stared at my ragged garments and stared back at this thing.
"Who are you?" I demanded in a soft, quiet voice.
"I am Mormo," he chirped.
"Mormo? What? What's going on?"
He explained quickly who he was and why he was here. He told me that I was a descender of Terresia and was created for the soul purpose of protecting Terresia, which was in a great danger now. He told me of the Devourer, a monster eating away at many other worlds and stealing their mana. Somehow all these things made sense, but at the same time, I did not understand any of it.
Mormo tugged on my hand and I got up unwillingly. My legs were wobbly, like I was some sort of newborn that knew how to walk, yet had no experience with it. I felt like a baby with the knowledge of the thousands of years past before me.
And that's when we heard the scream of a young girl like me. Mormo told me to hurry up and fluttered on ahead of him. It seemed foolish to be following this strange creature, but I did anyway.
We found a pink-haired girl being attacked by some sort of soldier. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know how. That was when Mormo called out to me.
"Your ax, Bella! Your ax!"
I didn't realize I was holding a dangerous-looking weapon in my hand. And purely by instinct, my body lurched forward between the girl and the soldier.
The soldier huffed in complete annoyance and pushed forward. Before I knew what I was doing, I was fighting back with him in some sort of strange, clumsy dance. He was weak and I was strong. I assumed that this was because I had just awakened from a comfortable slumber.
It was easy. Almost too easy. He couldn't defend against my blows and his weak sword was no match for this thing I wielded in between my fragile-looking hands. And as soon as we had fought, the soldier crumpled to the ground and was defeated. He then burst into nothingness and was gone.
"Bella, you did it!" Mormo cheered happily. I was already beginning to take a liking towards Mormo. He seemed to know how to effectively teach me.
"Oh thank you for your kindness!" the girl said in a sweet, singsong voice.
"Kanonno!" somebody called. A male voice, no less, and not Mormo's.
Mormo and I spun around to meet a tall man who had a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder and a bow in hand, as if he were ready to attack us. Mormo and I stared in silent disbelief and aching fear. For I knew if I had to fight him, he'd be much stronger than the weak soldier I'd just fought. His strength seemed to radiate off of him.
"Chester!" the girl called back.
"Kanonno, Kanonno are you all right?" Chester asked. His frame and figure was truly magnificent. His hair was the color of the happiest skies and his skin was a creamy pale that set off his eyes.
Chester enveloped Kanonno in a thankful hug and she gladly hugged him back. They looked liked they shared some sort of sibling bond, though they looked nothing alike.
"Oh Chester, these nice people saved me! I was being attacked and they appeared out of nowhere, saving me!" the girl named Kanonno responded.
The man turned to his, his smile radiant, and thanked us.
He said, "Thank you so much for saving Kanonno back there. Say, who are you?"
Mormo spoke for us. "I am Mormo, descender of the world Yaoon. And this, this is Bella." He failed to mention me as a descender and I wondered why.
"Thank you. I cannot thank you enough. We are from the town Ailily and are members of Ad Libitum. I'm sure the other members would like to thank you too. Look for us, if you please," he said in response to Mormo's introduction.
Mormo simply nodded, deep in thought, and said carefully, "We will see, for Bella is no more than newborn in your world."
Chester nodded and Kanonno gave us a warm smile before they turned and left. I still had no clue where we were, for Mormo had not told us that, but when the two were gone he turned back to me.
"Bella, there are a lot of things that you may not understand now, but don't worry. I'll tell you of them. But I think it may be best for us to see this Ad Libitum in Ailily. They may help us with the Devourer," Mormo said solemnly.
I simply nodded mutely and followed him as he led me out of the green forestry.
Soon we arrived at a small wooded town. We were in the plaza of the town when we saw a tyrannical mayor scolding one of the inhabitants of Ailily. My mind was elsewhere, so I could hardly make out what the mayor was saying. He was scolding the man for having left the town, or something of the sort, and accused him as a traitor.
Before I knew it, Mormo hissed at me and tugged on my ragged hem to pull me into the bushes. We hid there as the mayor stomped out with his soldiers dragging the pitiful man who was screaming and begging for his life. I felt a surge of pity for the man and wished to help him. He said he'd left for his sick daughter. I felt instant fear and sadness at this.
When they had gone and all was clear, Mormo looked distraught. He told me we had to find this Ad Libitum soon before something worse was to happen.
For about twenty minutes we stumbled aimlessly around the town, making sure not to be seen by anyone that might put us in danger with the tyrant we'd just seen. But eventually we found an inconspicuous building made of gangly wood. It looked almost shabby, but the way the wood was sanded made it gleam with opulence. A great "AL" was carved unpretentiously into the great wooden door that was sanded to the point of irrevocable shine.
"This must be it," Mormo muttered more to himself than to me.
I pushed the door open and stepped into a gleaming lobby. It looked almost like an inn, only it wasn't at all. In the middle of the large, beautiful room was a gigantic desk carved of a beautiful wood, similar to that of the rest of the building. The lady behind the desk did not look much human either. She seemed half. She had the beautiful elegance of an elf, but the height and similarities of a human. I instantly knew she was a half-elf. And she was also one of the most beautiful creatures my young eyes had ever seen.
"Hello, may I help you?" the lady asked in a calming, soothing voice.
Mormo spoke up for me again. He explained the same as he had with Chester and Kanonno. And as soon as the words were out, the girl I'd saved earlier ran full-speed towards us. Behind her was the man named Chester.
"Raine! Raine! These are the people that saved me! The very ones I told you about earlier!" Kanonno giggled.
"Hello Bella! Hello Mormo!" she exclaimed cheerily.
"Hello," I said in a soft, meek tone. It was embarrassing for me because when Kanonno exulted us, we had many pairs of eyes upon us. Kanonno was looking at us with happy, gleaming eyes, Chester was staring with thankful sympathy, the lady named Raine glanced with furious curiosity, and there were more behind them. There was one man, taller and definitely older than Chester, that stared with eyes that bore into me. His eyes made me feel unendingly nervous and self-conscious.
Mormo seemed totally at peace, introducing us and mingling with these people. I simply stayed behind him, listening politely and straying my eyes, taking in the entire wooden room that looked like simple royalty. The man, though, never took his eyes off of me. It was as if he was scrutinizing the two of us and calculating unknown things as he took in all my physical traits. His eyes seemed to linger on certain areas of me sometimes. Like he was trying to figure out how to put me best to use. I felt his eyes digging into me and sometimes had to excuse myself from eager conversation and step outside.
Finally, after all the informal introductions and the explanations of what Ad Libitum was, Mormo decided we ought to join.
"What?" I hissed. "I don't even know my purpose here except that I'm supposed to save this world. That I was birthed solely for its aid. How does joining Ad Libitum help us in any way?"
"You see Bella, if you'd been paying attention, you'd know these people help the residents of Ailily with supplies and missions for the greater good. They helped the entrapped people from their mayor while at the same time fighting the Devourer. Apparently there are more locations that the Ad Libitum guild spread to. While this guild, the Ailily section, is closed out from their tyrant, the other guilds are free to investigate and try to stop the Devourer," Mormo explained carefully.
I nodded in understanding and understood his point. Mormo took us to the man that'd been staring and measuring and sizing us up.
"Hello. I am Mormo, descender of the world Yaoon, and this is Bella…" Mormo seemed reluctant to speak my title. "Descender of your world."
This took everyone by surprise. It seemed that they were eavesdropping. Only the man did not seem shaken by this news. He simply nodded.
Then, as if for an eternity, he spoke.
He said, "I am Kratos. Leader of the Ailily Ad Libitum. I am sure that as descenders, you two must have a great power within you. For you were chosen by your own World Trees."
Mormo simply nodded with understanding and continued, "Kratos, we would like to join Ad Libitum."
Kratos considered this for a moment then said, "In order to become members, you must go through a series of tests to prove yourselves to us."
Mormo nodded his head eagerly. Kratos shifted his gaze to settle on me. I also nodded.
"Okay then. Well… first of all, you'll do some simple quests for the people of Ailily. We'll see when you're ready to become members," he said simply.
Mormo wanted to get started immediately when my stomach grumbled. That's when Kanonno appeared at my side.
"Oh Bella! You're hungry! Come with me to the inn! They have wonderful food. The innkeeper's a great chef," she said cheerily.
Kanonno took my hand and pulled me out of the guild. I turned back frantically to find Mormo. He was floating alongside me while I stared at the faces behind us. Kratos's expression was the most unnerving of them all. But still, there seemed to be a warmth in his eyes. As if he expected something great to come from us.
Moments after, when we reached the inn, news of us had traveled quickly. All the Ad Libitum members were there thanking us for saving Kanonno and wishing us well on our coming trials. We met Reid, a handsome young swordsman, Arche, a pretty mage, and Genis, a young mage about the same age as Reid. I learned that Chester was a hunter and that there was actually one more member of Ailily's Ad Libitum that was on his own mission. I learned much of these members and they were not quick to judge. In fact, they were very kind and very hospitable.
Kanonno treated me to a delicious meal of hot udon and miso soup. I had found myself famished and I was also brought a glass of sparkling crystal water, which I drank greedily. Mormo was also hungry and was fed fermented soybean paste, which he found delightful. Kanonno also ate with us and seemed to like us the most, of all our new friends.
Then, Kanonno quietly asked me if I had any memories.
"What brings this up?" I asked, completely caught off guard.
"Well… you seem to not know anyone. It's obvious you and Mormo have just met. I was just wondering… how you came to be? To exist?" she asked.
"I don't know. I don't have any memories of before. I just woke up and Mormo was there. I feel like I've got knowledge from long, long ago, but at the same time I feel completely newborn," I answered honestly.
Kanonno seemed deep in thought from this.
"Well, you see Kanonno… Bella actually is a newborn. This is only her first day alive. But you don't see her in swaddling clothes all wrapped up as a baby or anything because she's a descender. Your World Tree brought her here and birthed her as she is. She's created from the mana flow of the Tree. And though physically and somewhat mentally she is not a child, she's still a baby," Mormo explained easily.
Kanonno and I simply nodded, only half understanding.
But nonetheless that didn't matter. What mattered now was what Mormo and I were going to do.
As a month passed, we successfully carried out our quests for Ad Libitum without fail. We became closer to the other members and found that we were beginning to start bonds with these people. As friends, as family, as a whole.
That was when Kratos, now starting to accept us, gave us our passing mission.