An Epic Tale
Hello, if you've read my other story, you'd probably know this is only my second fic. I came up with this on a whim, so don't expect it to be too good. I plan on updating this regularly, so expect more chapters coming up soon.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rune Factory, or any of the other games made by its creators.
Chapter 1: An Accident
"Yawn…"
Stretching, I looked around my one roomed home, which was recently remodeled by Neumann, the town carpenter. The early morning atmosphere, made it feel empty though. Ignoring this feeling, I felt around my pillow, looking for something. Finding what I was looking for, I took out a small, brilliant stone.
"The White Stone…" I said mouth agape. I still didn't believe I'd found it, having spent days searching Toros Cave, nearly killing this season's crops through neglect, so focused on the task I was. Slowly, I stood up and began putting on my armor and work gloves. As perverse as this sounded, I started thinking of her as I did this. With her brilliant smile, sandy blond hair, and crimson eyes, I could hardly believe I was… involved with her.
"Rosetta." That one word alone brought a smile to my face. Remembering what I had to do, I shook my head, banishing the distracting thoughts. I took my favorite sword from its regular place at my bedside, marveling at the runes I carved into it. I named the weapon 'Rune Sword' because of this. Reading the inscriptions, I blushed as I always did, remembering what they stood for. Sighing, I strapped the sword to my side, tied a shield to my back, and carried all the tools of my trade in two bundles under my arms.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Pluck the uh…Cockadoodle crowed from my rooftop. At the sound, I immediately took to work, plowing, sowing, fertilizing, and slicing. I stopped at around nine, buying seeds from Jean's shop, and pausing to exchange words with my squealing girlfriend. Finally able to leave the establishment, I… ran back to the Farm.
"Beautiful…" I said, finishing up my work while admiring the sunset. I sat near a tree with Spot, a silver wolf with whom I'd formed a close bond. For almost half an hour I stayed there, mesmerized by the sunset as it changed the color of my fields from a golden yellow, to a deep red. Suddenly, the earth shook as an explosion ripped through the area. I jumped up, alert and looking for the source of the explosion. Breaking into a run, I headed for the source.
Mist's House.
I barreled through the door, with Spot following closely.
"Stay Here" I ordered. Spot sat on his haunches and wagged his tail, but still managing to look fierce. Hurrying, I ran through the house, jumping over furniture, and practically bouncing off the walls. I ended up outside, behind the house. There, in a makeshift backyard, stood something I never wanted to see.
"Oh…My…Goddess…" Standing there, in the middle of a ring of blackened grass…was a Monster Generator. A few feet from it, stood a pink-haired woman writing on a clipboard.
"Lynette…" I hissed, walking over to interrogate the former Sechs Lieutenant.
"What ARE you DOING!?!? I thought you were done with this…this…" I trailed off, leaving her to finish the sentence; instead, she looked angry and exasperated by my outburst.
"I am not doing what you think I am doing." She said, looking as if the machine in front of her hadn't just exploded. Still listing things in her clipboard, she added,
"This is a Time Machine, not a Monster Generator."
"Time Machine?" I asked, not familiar with the device.
"Yes, Time Machine. It allows anyone to travel through time, past or future." Still saying this, she looks at me,
"If only I could find a Test Subject…" With her suggestive tone, it only took me a moment to figure out her intentions.
"No."
"Please?" She asked.
"NO." I shouted.
We would have carried on like this for a while, but after ten minutes of arguing, we were interrupted by a certain…turnip-lover.
"Llyynneettttee!!!!" Mist yelled, running over to us and blatantly ignoring all the debris scattered about. I would have laughed at her silly appearance, if not for the fact that she tripped over all piece of garbage, pushing me while she fell, causing me to fall into the open doors of Lynette's machine.
"HA!" shouted a triumphant Lynette, quickly closing the doors to the machine. Having hit my head, I wasn't able to fight back when she closed them.
"Hey…don't…" I cried weakly, pounding on the doors with my hand.
"Do not worry, this is just a test! You will come back sooner or later!" Lynette yelled into the chamber, all the while typing something into the keypad next to the machine. Numbers appeared above my head in a screen, I realized she'd put in a date.
"Spring 1st…" I read, my eyes widening when I saw she put in the date of spring 1st… ten years from now! Adrenaline pumping, I pounded on the doors with renewed energy, denting the metal and hurting my hands.
Too late…
Lynette pushes a button, and my vision is filled with white.
"Huh?" surprised, I looked around, and there was nothing I could see besides… white. I felt like I was sitting on something, but I couldn't see what it was.
"That's weird…maybe…I'm dead?" my words echoed off unseen walls. Then, in a flash of light, a woman appeared before me. With her sea green hair and flowing white dress, I thought her nothing short of a Goddess… which, in reality, made my death theory that much more plausible.
"Who are you?" I asked her, I didn't really need to ask her, she was going to tell me anyway.
"TADAA! I am the Harvest Goddess!" she answered, with a voice like birdsong. If I could move, I would've been on the floor, worshipping her, but I couldn't, so I settled with questioning.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, thinking I had died, and gone crazy.
"I have a request I'd like to make of you…" she said, lifting my head with her hand, at the touch, I suddenly felt like touching her back…
"What is it?" I asked through half-closed eyes, barely aware of my blushing face.
"I need you to save the world yet again…" she whispered in my ear…which did feel pretty good…
"Wait. WHAT!?" I asked, startled.
"Why?" Drawing up to her full height, she explained the situation.
"You see, several years from now, problems will arise in the Norad Kingdom. Now, Fate has already chosen a Champion to defeat the source of the problem, but I do not think that he is ready to take on such an important role. While I was still in that time period, I heard tell of a Legendary farmer, who took a stand against an invading empire, and defeated them. I came to seek him out. THAT is where you come in. I need you to help this potential hero. Guide him, and eventually solve this crisis." When she finished, I simply stared at her.
"Wait…so, I'M the legendary farmer?" I asked. She nodded.
"But won't it be…unusual for someone to see me… knowing how supposedly 'famous' I am?"
"No, I will enchant you with several gifts… one of which will stop anyone from fully recognize you." She said. I thought about this. While farming had been my primary occupation since my past 'exploits', it was terribly boring. I could do this for some fun. But I didn't want anyone to worry about me while I was away… especially Rosetta…
"What will happen to the citizens of Kardia while I'm gone?" I asked, I didn't want to tell her about my background. No matter how beautiful she was. She smiled knowingly at me.
"Do not worry, when you come back, it will be as if no time at all had gone by. You will be reunited with your friends and loved one soon, they will not even know you were gone." She stated. Surprised she knew about my concerns, I blinked. But it seemed she had me beat, I weighted my options, and found them not in my favor. And so, reluctantly, I made my decision.
"Okay… I'll do it…" I said, my head drooping down.
"Wise choice." With that, she sat down in front of me, leaned towards me until her face was inches from mine. The scent of Spring filled the air around us.
"I will reveal the use of one last gift to you… it will allow you to interact with the hero without causing too much suspicion. This gift will allow you to transform into a form that best suits your personality. You will be able to do this after coming into contact with the hero, after that encounter, you will do activate the gift at will." She then made to leave, but I still wanted to know something.
"wait... how will I know who the hero is?" She paused, and smiled another beautiful smile at me.
"You will know when the time is right… You will know…" She said.
"Wha—"My response was cut off when I felt a sudden rush of motion, which was followed by the sensation of her lips pressed against my own. An instant later,
Darkness.
I woke up, sitting on a bench under a cherry blossom tree. When my vision cleared, I saw a pair of honey brown eyes staring at me.
"Aah!" I yelled, not expecting to wake up to that. When I recovered, I saw that those eyes belonged to a man. I looked closer, observing him, committing his face to memory, just in case. He had fiery red hair, held up with a sky blue bandana. The large sword strapped to his back gave him away, he was a warrior. But by the way he stood, and by the well-used hoe he carried in his hand, he was also a farmer.
'Just like me…' I thought. The man seemed irritated at me scrutinizing him. To break the silence, he spoke.
"Who are you?" He stated. Fixing me with a smoldering glare, for just a moment, his face started to look like the ones of many daemons I had fought.
"Ra—"I started, but stopped. I probably shouldn't, people might recognize me, Goddess' spell or no. I decided to use one of my monster's names instead.
"Uh… the name's Ren…" I finished…maybe that wasn't the best name… My worries didn't seem to reach the other guy though. He still looked at me warily, his eyes lingering on my sword a little too long for my comfort, but he found nothing about me that was a threat. He held out his hand.
"My name's Kyle." He said. I was going to respond, when he suddenly took my hand and shook it, all the while beaming a big smile at me. Maybe he wasn't so hostile after all…
"Nice to meet you, Ren! We don't have many visitors here in Alvarna! So what brings you here?" Breaking away from his death grip of a hand shake, only to find hid other hand on my shoulder, I had other choice but to talk to him.
"… I'm taking a vacation from my farm work, I was going to take it here… in Alvarna." I hurriedly explained… not too bad for an excuse made up on the fly. Kyle seemed to buy it.
"So you're a farmer? Cool, I am too. Wait… your…on vacation? I never seem to have time to take one, what with managing work and a family and all… you know…"
"WHAT?" He had a family? He didn't look older than me… Heck, he looker younger.
"Yeah, happily married, a kid running around… and another on the way!" He said, still grinning at me. I stared at him, just slightly disturbed. Finally, I decided to change the subject.
"So, I barely arrived here an hour ago…" I lied.
"… So you mind showing me around?" Kyle thinks about my request, seeing nothing wrong about it, he agrees.
"…Sure…" with that, he turns around, and starts walking. I stand up, test my legs, and seeing nothing wrong with them, follow. Our first stop was a very familiar place to me.
A Farm.
-End
Author:
So that's the end of it… a little long… but it was worth it. Hoped you readers liked it!
Please remember to review, 'till then, bye!
