Word From Leara -- Welcome to Name Inside a Ring. I know it's not very good but I was asked to post this up here. Personaly I would have not posted it up because I not that good of a speller, and I do offten miss spelling mistakes when I edit. So where I'm getting at is don't reem me over spelling, flame me over the way the story is not the spelling, other wise I will consider you as nothing worth my time and will icnore you. Sorry if I sound rude I don't mean to really I swear!

Background info -- "Who am I?" Rin asked herself stareing at the wall oh her new a clamed room. "The only reason I'm named Rin is because of the ring I had. How do I even know that it belongs to me?" She closed her eyes letting her head fall to her pillow. "How do I even know I'm me?"

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, or anything made by Namco or Nintendo.


Name inside a Ring

Prologue

Once upon a time,

There existed a giant tree that was the source of all mana.

A war, however, caused this tree to wither away,

And a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place.

Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappered unto the heavens.

The goddess left the angels with this Edict:

You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed.

The angels bore the Chosen one, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world.

Pain, that was all I could feel. The rain beating down on my sore head. I could feel the rain dripping down the side of my face, down my nose on to the ground. I could feel so many things at once, pain, sadness, regret, and deep down happiness. I was still alive and I was free at last. I was free to die.

I could feel my head throb again. I softly moaned in pain. My neck felt sticky almost like some one had put honey on it. I tried to move my hand to where the stickiness was but as soon as I tried to move pain shot though my limps to my head. I took a sharp intake of breath. I froze not wanting to move in hopes the pain would fade again. I did not fad it seemed to get worse. Finally I lifted my arm up and rested my hand on my neck. The pain would only seem to get worse the more I lay on the wet ground. I rubbed the sticky spot and it glided quite easily on my neck. I lifted my hand again ignoring the pain and set it down in front of my face. I slowly opened my eyes.

I breathed in with shock all over my throat. My entire hand was covered in blood. I could smell it now the iron was sickening to my senses. I set my palm down on to the wet mud and pushed it away from me. But the smell did not fade.

I pulled my hand back and looked at my palm again, almost all of the blood was gone but my hand was now covered in mud. I lifted it back to where the blood had been and rubbed it again pulled it back and looked. The blood was still there on my neck. I rubbed my hand back on the mud and rested my hand back on the face by my ear, then pulled it back, Blood.

Rub hand in mud and repeat but a bit above my ear. Pull back more blood, this blood seemed more pure then the rest. Once again hand in the mud and pulled up hand close to the back of my head. Even before my hand touched my hair I knew this was going to hurt. I lightly set my hand to the back of my head and gasped pulling my hand back to my face. That's where the wound was…well one of them. I looked and my hand and sure enough, blood coated my palm mixing with the mud.

I blinked or at least I tried. Half way though the blink I gasped again. My right eye hurt. I pushed my hand though the mud over to my right eye witch was closes to the ground and was now closed. I lightly touched my eye lid with the tips of my fingers and I gasped once again. It seemed like a large cut had been implanted right under my eyebrow.

I started to breath unevenly. I was scared, really scared. Not that long ago I just wanted to just lay here on the wet muddy ground and die. But now I was to scared to even think of dieing. He hit me really hard I think he was really trying to kill me. If he was then he'll be looking for me soon or he thinks he looking for my dead corpse. I have to get out of here before he finds me. I thought feverishly to my self looking at my surroundings almost as if I was going to see him, I guess I don't want to die yet. At lest not by him. I finished my thought and moved my hand so my palm was facing the ground and I tried to push myself up. The pain ran though my head but I kept pushing.

I pushed my self up just enough so I moved my right arm out from under me and pushed myself onto my knees. My breathing becoming more and more uneven as timed pasted.

When I was on my knees I just sat there trying as hard as I could not to fall to the ground and pass out. I then pushed myself off my hands so I was sitting on my knees. Almost immediately I started to fall back down to the ground. I fell back so I landed on my hand behind me. Pain shot though my body once again. I shifted onto my right hip and pushed myself over to the tree that was not that far away from me.

I was leaning against the tree now. Breathing in and out in pain and fear. My eyes were closed as I held my arm as I let the pain pass. The pain would not fade. It just stabbed at me with the utmost malice towards my body. I sat there breathing in and out, once in a while closing my left eye. I tried not to move my right eye in hopes that the pain would numb.

Then I forced myself to slowly stand up against the tree. Standing on my shaky feet, I rested my back against the tree trunk along with my hands. A few moments past as I stood there. Finally after the long gruesome moments I pushed myself away form the tree and tried to walk down the long line of trees. I stumbled with almost every step I took.

I started to talk to my self to make sure I was able to stay awake and concentrate on something other then the pain. Why didn't he come after me? I thought to myself, I would have thought that he would have found out what happened by now after all, if word spread fast enough my death would be the biggest topic on everyone's lips a long time ago. I walked though the dense forest, every thought that past though my mind was completely random. I never would have thought that in my entire life that every single one of those thoughts would soon leave me and stay away from my mind forever.

Not long after I found a path out side of the long line of trees. I stumbled over to the path and saw monsters jumping in and out of the forest onto the path. It was strange to watch. I decided not to risk a monster attacking me so I continued to walk thought long line of trees. I walked, stumbled, and once in a while almost fell on my face. I could feel my blood running down my almost every part of my body, it felt like just stepping out of the pool and all the water dripping off your body. My eye sight had started to go fad when I started walking and it was getting worse.

With each step I took, the weaker I got. At that point, I just wanted to just fall to the ground and sleep. I looked up and down the path as I was walking and saw the thing I was hopping to see. A house, it was small from where I was standing and I could see lights in some of the windows. I began to stager to the house not really sure what I was doing at this point. My eyesight had almost gone out complete on me multiple times now and then suddenly came back. It was starting to get to the point that it was gone.

Then what was left of my strength left me and my legs gave out. Falling to my knees I prepared myself for the crash. When my knees made contacted with the ground I fell forward ramming my head onto the wet earth, falling out of consciousness.

Something was nudging my head.

I couldn't move.

It nudged me again, and then it whined nudging my head once again. For some reason I couldn't feel any pain any more did my body gone numb I asked my self. Then the thing whined right in my ear. Ow… that hurts. I yelled inside my own head. What ever it was seemed to back way a bit like it had heard what I said. It let out a small whine of caution to me. I slowly tried to open my eyes to see what it was that was whining at me, but I could only open them half way. I saw this green and white animal standing in front of me with large ears. I remember my eyes trying to widen but was unsuccessful.

The animal bent its head down so its eyes were level with my own. It blinked then whined again, is that all you can say? I asked in my mind. It whined once again, I'll take that as a yes the animal tilted its head to the side then lifted it up turning around and ran away from me uh… hey where are you going? I asked myself again feeling myself lose consciousness again but this time I fought it off. I can't fall sleep again I mite die. I…don't want to die, at least not yet.

I heard the whine again but much farther away, huh what is it doing? I asked myself the rain clouding my eyesight.

Whine…

Whine…

WHINE

"What is it Noishe?" it was a voice, then the sound of a door opening. The animal whined again. The animal must have been Noishe.

I could feel the looming feeling of tiredness sweep over me as I lay on the wet ground. That's when it happened. I started to give up. The feeling of wanting to live dripped out of my body like the blood slipping out of my wounded head. I just…I just felt tired, I wanted to sleep. Maybe even see him again, the only person I ever really care for. But then again if I slept then I couldn't see him at all, after all it is death. You can't come back from the dead.

Why can't people understand that simple fact? You can't come back when you die. It just how things go and yet people keep on trying and trying and never succeeded, they don't understand the simple truth. No the refuse to see that truth. But he did. He understood that truth. He understood that death is death…and why I wanted to sleep and not wake up. Why couldn't you let me die… father?

You were a father to me and yet you let him give me that pain…that pain of life. You didn't want me to feel the pain as I lived again, again not ever dieing, not ever sleeping, falling into an abyss of pain.

"I don't want you in pain."

"Then let me die."

I remember that…I was about to die again.

Whine

"Okay, Noishe I get it, I'm coming just let go of my shirt." That voice again. It's coming closer. I…wait…Noishe, I remember that name…but it's fading away…the memory…Noishe…I.

That's when the darkness took me again. The voice I had heard earlier was still talking to Noishe as he was dragged along, at least that what it sounded like.

"Hey! Are you okay?" That voice again. I felt my body being turned onto my back. I let out a gasp of pain. My whole head throbbed at the motion. I could feel the wound pulsate since the rain wasn't hitting it any more.

Someone was staring at me, I could feel it.

"Are you alive? Okay that was a stupid question." The voice started to ramble. I wasn't able to understand half of what he was saying…I pretty sure the voice was a male. It was too deep to be female.

I slowly opened my tired eyes; I winced remembering the cut over my right eye. At my wince the voice looked down at me. Well it was safe to say I was right. A brown eyed boy was looking down at me.

"Hey, your awake that's a good sign." He said in a rush. I just stared at him not really seeing him. Those brown eyes…It was hard to take my eyes off them. They reminded me something, no someone but…I can't remember what it was that they reminded me of.

I opened my mouth to try and say something but nothing came out. I tried again, this time I was able to let out a grunt of pain. I could see worry in those brown eyes. Then he started thinking, it was easy to tell, the look he gave me was very unique. He had this dazed off stare as if he was not even looking at me.

Then it happened.

Pain ran though my body, Starting in my head and going down, till it hit my feet and came right back to my head. I could hear myself as the pain went its course. I was unable to explain what sounds I had made. But I was able to hear him, his deep voice speaking to me.

Don't die

Then I was consumed by darkness.

I could feel myself breathing, my chest going up and down at a steady rhythm. I could feel a strange stinging sensation all though my body every time I took a breath. I tried to stop breathing to make the stinging stop, but I had to breathe. So after a few seconds of the uncomfortable feeling of no air, I would take a breath, letting the stinging feeling stab at my chest.

I let out a cough and oh did that hurt. It was almost like someone trying to pull my heart up my chest and out of my throat. I groaned once the coughing had stopped. I took slow unsteady breaths letting the sting run its course.

I started to open my eyes.

But they wouldn't open. I sat there for a moment, and then tried again. Once again my eyes would not open. I took a pained breath and tried again. This time I could feel my eye lids pealing away from each other. For some reason my right eye didn't want to move very much. Once my eyes had opened at least half way I noticed had I could only see out of my left eye. My right could only see a giant mass of black.

I blinked trying to understand why I couldn't see. I had decided that it was a good idea to move my hand to my eye and touch it to make sure it was still there.

There were two things wrong with my plan. Number one if my eye wasn't there I would start to panic. If you didn't freak out on finding out that you eyes was missing then you are crazy. The second reason was my arm wouldn't move. Neither of them would move.

I tried to move my right arm and for some reason it wouldn't move. This continued for a while and…well nothing happened. I groaned in frustration.

"Ah are ye awake?" I quickly turned my head to face to voice. I could feel my neck muscles strain with the effort.

"Ah ye are away. That's good to see you awake." It was a man…but he was short really short, like a dwarf…he is a dwarf.

"If ya are wondering yes, I am a dwarf." The dwarf man told me walking towards the chair that was sitting by the head of the bed. I had not noticed it till now. The dwarf grabbed the head of the chair and pulled it next to my head sitting down. I blinked not fully understanding, but then again I didn't understand much of anything at the moment.

"Ya gave us quite a scare young lady. I thought for sure that you weren't going to make it." The dwarf said with a strange tone that I could not place. I just laid there wondering why he seemed to be concerned about me in the first place.

I took a deep breath trying to prepare my self for what I was about to do. I let my body relax and I opened my mouth to speak.

"Wha…cough cough…what's…your name? cough" I spoke so quietly that I was sure that he didn't hear me. I closed my eyes letting the pain pass though my body. Man it hurt. I took many deep breaths trying to let the air in my lungs which wasn't helping me as much as I had hopped.

"My name is Dirk." I turned to face the dwarf. He had heard me, I was glad I didn't have to ask him again. I smiled at Dirk and he smiled back.

"Dose your head hurt at all Miss? The back of your head had been hit pretty hard." I stared at him for a moment and shook my head slightly. I gasped. When I moved my head something rubbed agent the back of it.

"Ah, the bandages must need to be changed." Dirk thought out loud. I turned my head to face him and sent him a look that clearly said bandages! What bandages?

Dirk could clearly tell I was more or less freaked out. "Oh you don't need to worry Miss; you have multiple wounds all over your body. The bandages were set last night to help them heal…but you must know that already?" Dirk told me with a smile spread on his beard covered lips.

Once again I was confused. How did I get wounds? Wait, did I get hurt? Ohhhh…my head hurts.

Dirk seemed to notice the look I had made once I had started thinking.

"Miss what is your name?" It was a simple question, one that I could have answered without much thought…But this time my mind had been plunged into deep thought.

"My name?" I mouthed this thought not realizing what I had done. Dirk seemed to understand something that I didn't.

"You don't remember your name Miss?" He asked me quietly. My eyes drifted over to Dirk giving him a sad look. Then my sight changed to face the ceiling. I heard him sigh. All I could do was blink at the ceiling. I couldn't make myself turn my head to face him again. I head Dirk hop down from the chair and walk towards the staircase.

"Don't worry about it for now Miss just get some rest while you have the change." He then turned and walked down the stairs.

I listened to Dirk as he walked down those steps. I could hear every step he took, but I just didn't want to. I was confused…I just wanted answers, but I couldn't get those answers could I…I repeating myself…ha, ha what do you know, maybe I do need to sleep. Yeah…I guess…I'll…go to bed…now. I slowly closed my eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up to the sound of a loud bang.

"Dad, dad is she okay? Did something happen to her? Ah, don't tell me that she's gotten worse!" Who was that?

"Lloyd, Lloyd calm down, and stop yelling. She sleeping up stairs, and she don't need to be woken up by your yelling." Ah, that's Dirk's voice.

"Huh? Oh, sorry about that?" Wait I think I know that voice.

"Don't say sorry to me. Go see if you woke her up and say sorry to her." Huh?

"Wha…but dad if she is asleep I don't want to wake her up." But it was the bang that woke me up.

"Lloyd go check."

"But…"

"Now!" there was a long pause

"Uh…okay."

I laughed in the back of my mind, (Since I didn't want to try laughing out loud and hurting myself again.) I started to hear, what I believed to be Lloyd's foot steps walking across the hard wood floor. I started to hear the sound of boots hitting the wooden steps going up to where I was.

I closed my eyes.

The clunk of boots entered the room. They stooped at the top and did not move. Then those boots took a small wary step towards me. The steps paused then walk slowly forward. My breathing had been steady and was staying that that pace, in which I was glad.

The foot steps continued in my direction but then stopped. I was temped to open my eyes and see the person that had come to see me, but I don't do it. It was almost like I was afraid to see him. I heard someone sit down. There was a long pause; there was no sound to be heard besides my raged breathing. Then he spoke.

"Well I guess you're still asleep huh?" He spoke in a quiet tone. He must be afraid I would wake up or that Dirk would hear. "Uh…Well I don't really think I have to say I'm sorry anymore…ha, ha…uh…well I mite as well tell you now. You really scared my and dad you know. We had both thought that you had died or were about to. Professor Raine said that you had a very slim chance to live and…well you are alive, right?" He stopped talking for a long time. He must have been thinking of something important or something.

I…I was kind of worried that he would leave. Leave my alone in the cold room where I could only sit and wait for someone to come see me. I had this feeling that if he left that this strange feeling of loneliness would wash over me and would just leave my to rot. For some reason I didn't want to be alone.

"Uh…well I let you sleep then since you can't really talk to me right now any way." I heard him stand up. I heard the sound of a chair being lifted off the ground and moved to a different location. He walked over to my bed again and stood there for a moment.

"Well I'll talk to you later." He then turned away from me and began to walk towards the stairs. I began to panic. With out meaning to I opened my eyes, used my right arm to push myself up almost off the bed and I reached out to him. For a split second I saw something. A tall man standing in fount of me he stared at for a moment then he turned away from me and walked in the opposite direction.

I felt my hand come in contact with something. Almost like a ribbon. I felt the ribbon nearly tug out of my grasp. I held on tighter feeling the pain run though my body from all the movements I had just made at once. The ribbon stopped moving it came towards me. I was able to pull back just a little.

My eye sight blurred. My body was trying to tell me to just pass out again and fall into that same darkness filled sleep. But I could let my self do that just yet I had to at least see his face. I wanted to know who he was.

My grip on the ribbon was feeble. I was surprised that it had not fallen out of my grasp. Lloyd had turned to face me long ago. All he did was stare at me like I was piece of art that deserved that stare. I looked up at him and said the first thing that came to mind.

"Plea…se don't…leave." Lloyd looked shocked.

"What?" Was all he said

"P…lease do not…leave." Great I was begging now.

Lloyd blinked in surprise

"Wha...What…?"

I tired to speck once again, but regretted it, I began to cough. My body was sending out violent tremors though out my body. The next thing I new was being held down on the bed by red gloved hands.

"You need to relax; Professor Raine will be here in a while. Don't push your self." Lloyd told me I guessed he was trying to make me feel better or to just relax I wasn't really sure. The violent coughs had slowed to a stop by this time. My hand was still attached to the ribbon like material that was apparently attached to Lloyd's back. At that moment Lloyd seemed to notice the added weight. He lifted his arm and looked at my hand.

"Okay I get it. I'm not going anywhere." He said with a kind smile, then gabbed the chair dragged it over so it sat not far from my head. He sat down and held onto his knees. I looked at the ceiling my hand did no move. Lloyd looked down at me.

"You can let go now, I won't leave, unless you want me to." He told me. I just squeezed tighter. I didn't want to let go. I still had the feeling that he was going to leave and the dark feeling would come back. Lloyd let out a hesitant laugh.

"Uh…ha ha ha uh well since you don't seem to want to go back to sleep how about we talk?" He asked me in such a kind way. I turned to face him then blinked.

"Uh oh yeah you can't really talk can you sorry." Lloyd said rubbing the back of his head "Well um…I might a well tell you my name, I'm Lloyd. I'm the one who brought you here thou it was Noishe who had found you."

"Huh?" I said in a whisper.

"Oh…Noishe, he's an animal I've known since I was really young." He told me with a smile. "Oh that's right." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver band ring. "I think this is yours. It was broken in half when I found it so I decided to fix it for you." He held it out to me. I blinked at the ring then I forced my right arm to pull out from under the blanket and extended my hand towards him. He set the ring in the palm of my hand, my fingers closed around the round piece of metal. I moved my hand up to my face and set the ring between my thumb and index fingers and stared at the piece of silver. It was kind of hard to see the spots where it had been broken.

Deep down I had this feeling the ring was mine but I couldn't remember ever owning it. I looked inside so I could see the welding marks but found something else. There were three thin letters that had been carved into the ring.

"R-I-N" I said quietly

"Huh?" Lloyd asked

"R-I-N" I repeated then held the ring towards him "Someone…inside…the ring." Lloyd slowly took the ring away from my fingers and looked inside.

"Rin…It's a name I think." He said handing it back to me.

"My…name." I whispered to the ring.

"Huh?"

"I don't…know my name. I think…it's mine."

"What? Really? Well then from now on I'll call you Rin." I turned to face Lloyd and his smile. I blinked for a moment then I smiled at him.

My name is Rin.