Author's Note: This is a disclaimer for this entire
fanfic. I do not own Legend of Mana or
any of its characters. Squaresoft, on
the other hand, does. Please don't sue
me. I'm poor and have very little
money. LEGEND OF MANA IS NOT MINE…
::sniffle.::
By the way, this story is a bit boring in the beginning
since I had to explain a few things. I
mean, the main character had to notice that her house was the only
visible location that had living things on the entire planet before those
wonderful colored blocks came around…
Don't worry though, the story picks up once the main character reaches
Domina.
Oy, I kept changing the chapter and the second one over and
over again because I was never happy with them. I hope they're better this time.
Chapter 1: Colored Blocks and Mystic Illusions
Somewhere deep within a land of vast and beautiful flora,
rising up from a misty haze of color, a mystical, ancient tree loomed above all
other types of vegetation. It towered
over everything, almost pulsing with an invisible aura of power and warmth that
washed over the entire world. It's
impressive size and beauty was breathtaking, yet one could feel the distinct
jolt of pain that was surging outwards from the mysterious tree. A motherly voice suddenly spoke where there
was once silence… and it appeared to be a voice coming directly from the tree
itself…
"Nine centuries ago, the
Mana Tree burned to ashes. The power of
Mana lived on inside Mana Stones, enchanted instruments, and artifacts. Sages fought with each other for control of
these last remnants of Mana. Then…
after hundreds of years of war, as the power of Mana began to wane, those who
sought it grew scarce, and the world returned to peace… After that, mankind grew afraid to
desire. Their hearts filled with empty
emotions, and grew estranged from my hands… They turned their eyes away from my
infinite power, and were troubled by their petty disputes…
Remember me!
Need me!
I can provide you with everything!
I am Love…
Find me, and walk beside me…"
The Mana Tree flickered and blazed with brilliant color as
its voice soon started to die off. It
radiated so much light that it was almost blinding and eventually… it faded
from sight… Deep within that spectral
brilliance, a human form could be seen, walking closer and closer until one
could make out a pair of deep, crystalline blue eyes and brownish-blonde
hair. The form belonged to that of a
young man and there was a vague expression of loneliness and need on his rather
handsome features… He reached out a
red, gloved hand and almost quivered from a pain that was slicing though his
heart. It looked as if the blonde youth
had seen several friends come and go, snatched away from him by death. "Guardian of Mana… Mana Child…" He had a gentle, quiet tone of voice that
carried a slight hint of the painful dark emotions of misery that consumed his
soul. "Guardian of Mana… Please, Help me…" The sound of his voice trailed off growing fainter and fainter
with each passing second.
…………
"Guardian of Mana?!
Wait…! Why do you call me
that?! How- how can I help you?!!"
Bolting up into a sitting position, Reia woke up in cold
sweat, tightly gripping the cottony, quilt blankets that were spread over her
bed. Beads of salty water trickled down
the sides of her face as her ragged, quick breathing began to slow back to a
normal rate. She lifted those pale
green eyes to glance at her surroundings and calm her shattered nerves. She realized where she was
immediately. It was her bedroom
after all. Old, fluffy rugs and mats sprawled
across the aged wooden floor and towards the area opposite her bed was a sturdy
little coffee table and a single chair.
A plain, white porcelain tea set was on top of this simple wooden coffee
table and two flickering wax candles lit up the dark corners of her room. If there was any doubt, whatsoever about
where she was, all of it would have disappeared as soon as she set eyes upon
the potted cactus that sat neatly against the wall by the table. It was a rather small cactus with an
impressive, pink blossom on its head.
The only thing that made it different from any other spiny desert plant
was the fact that it had two eyes, a mouth, and the amazing ability to speak…
"…Morning! …"
Yep, this was definitely her room…
Hopping off her bed, the golden haired girl rubbed the sides
of her arms, shuddering as she thought about the strange dream that she had
last night. This had been the fifteenth
time she had had the same exact dream this month. The endless vegetation stretching out from the enormous Tree of
Mana… and the words it spoke…
*…Remember me!
Need me!
I can provide you with everything!
I am Love…
Find me, and walk beside me…*
The Mana Tree had actually spoke…? To her…?
Hastily shaking her head, Reia brushed the thought
away. It was only a dream… dreams never
meant anything. They didn't have
anything to do with real life… did they?
The young blonde woman lowered her head, a bit shaken by the image of
the blue-eyed stranger that wandered her dreams…
Changing out of the simple white tunic she always wore when
she went to sleep, the Guardian of Mana slipped into a lavender-colored skirt
laced with a thin line of gold. The top
half of her body was covered by a long, pale red cloth that crisscrossed over
her chest and was tied neatly at the base of her neck. On her hands were a pair of
fingerless-gloves that were a similar reddish color as the cloth she wore over
her chest. Reia smiled a bit as she
brushed her long tresses of sunny blond hair and fitted in her trademark
stick-like hair ornaments. She had her
own unique style that was completely unlike anyone else's…
But then again…
She hadn't quite gotten the chance to meet another living
being besides Li'l Cactus and the Sproutling that lived just outside her
home. Reia had always lived alone
within her simple house and could vaguely remember two people who could have
been her parents. Besides that, Reia
had never once met another human being.
The young fair-haired woman had tried to go out and travel the world
before, but no matter how far she went there wasn't another human being in
sight. The earth was a barren, rocky
place of complete loneliness…
Of course, she did have her potted cactus friend, but
he was a cactus of very few words.
The unusual Sproutling outside her house always prattled on and on,
about how it was a sproutling and how it liked leaves, clouds, and tako
bugs. Other things he said, hardly made
any sense to her and she found it pointless to try and have a conversation with
the queer little creature. She did know
that other people beside herself existed, the numerous books in her study told
her so. They spoke of towns, cities,
and thousands of strange new people she had never heard of. The more Reia read about them, the more she
wanted to meet them for herself.
Using the knowledge she gained from her own personal
library, Reia had quickly taught herself how to use many different kinds of
weapons, but the spear was her favorite.
She imagined that in a real battle, keeping the enemy at a distance to
avoid being dealt some hefty damage was the best way to go. She took up the Menos Spear that sat on the
other side of the room and, after smiling cheerily at Li'l Cactus, walked down
the steps to the bottom level of her house.
The weather looked reasonably fair today and once again, she
found herself looking out the window to the endless, empty horizon. Everyday she searched that emptiness, with
the vain hope of finding at least one person out in that bleak land of desolate
earth and it looked like today she would be doing the same. There wasn't much else she could do, and it
seemed that searching the vast expanse of nothingness was the only thing that
could ease the pangs of loneliness that ate at her very soul. Opening up a treasure chest that sat next to
her kitchen table, Reia pulled out a hundred Lucre coins and put them carefully
into a worn, leather money pouch at her waist.
She wasn't sure whether or not she would be able to use Lucre coins as
money if she actually found a town, but that could be dealt with later.
Stepping out into the glory of the sun, the blonde guardian
walked lightly down the dusty path that lead out of her property. She was about to wander out into the bleak
landscape, when the sproutling stopped her.
It smiled up at Reia innocently and spoke in a friendly, disarming kind
of way.
"I am a Sproutling…
The world can be shaped by your imagination! Did you know that?"
For some reason… the sproutling's words were actually
starting to make some sense today and Reia shook her head slowly while answering
softly. "No, I didn't."
The sproutling grinned up at her in a merry little way. "Pokiehl the Poet told me that the town of
Domina exists because I think so.
People say this world isn't an illusion, but the sproutlings know! If you can't find Domina, use your
imagination to find it. Here, use
this."
Reia blinked, a look of pure confusion crossed over her face
as she accepted a bunch of colored blocks from the sproutling. She didn't quite know what they were for but
she smiled at the queer little sproutling anyway. "Thank you very much.
I'll speak to you later, little sproutling."
The Sproutling smiled again and continued on its way,
waddling back and forth across her lawn.
Moving out of her property, the golden-haired youth examined the colored
blocks the sproutling had given her.
Although they looked like any sort of child's plaything, these blocks
emanated with a powerful magic energy.
Reia could feel it's power, tingling her fingertips and a sudden image
flowed into her mind.
It was a bustling town of life, people walking around, left
and right… It didn't take her long to
figure out what this place was…
-Domina…-
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(I saw other people
making teasers at the end of each chapter and found it to be a good idea ^_^,
so here's the teaser.)
Teaser for Chapter 2
The second stranger was the boy's complete opposite. With piercing blue eyes and a cape of sand,
the youthful stranger made quite an impression. A rather menacing looking blade was sheathed at his side and he
had the outward appearance of a very skilled swordsman. Judging by the grim expression etched onto
his handsome features, he was deeply troubled by a very serious problem. A gorgeous blue lapis lazuli gem protruded
from the center of his chest as a tell tale sign that he was a Jumi
Knight. He stood, mysterious and
strong, his eyes never wavering as he eyed the onion boy nonchalantly.
Glaring back at the lapis lazuli-bearing stranger, the onion
child spoke with an edge of frustration.
"At least tell me your name!"
The blue-eyed stranger was silent for a moment before he
finally answered.
"……
Elazul."
Author's Note:
I'm sorry that this was such a boring, boring, BORING, short
chapter! I hope someone's actually
reading this o.o;; I promise I'll try
really hard to make things much more interesting! If you find any errors ( like spelling mistakes ) please tell me!
