Amita opened her eyes to find she no longer stood on a platform surrounded by endless white skies. Instead, the area had several tall trees, grass and dirt on the ground, and wildlife scurrying about. She looked further down the slope to see Nao waving at her, but she was not alone. A small man wearing helmet stood beside her. She took her first step forward and then heard a sudden yelp below. She looked down to see that she had stepped on a raccoon's tail. Lifting her foot up, the raccoon then bit her shoe and ran off. Amita shrugged her arms before resuming her walk, stopping in front of Nao and the mysterious little man.

"I was beginning to worry about you, Amita." Nao voiced her concern. "I feared that your body may have rejected the portal warp to Erinn, but I see now that isn't the case. Welcome to the world of Erinn; we are now in a place known as the 'Forest of Souls'. This is my friend Tin. He will be helping you on your first steps into the world. I will be back momentarily with a present for you."

Nao lifted herself off the ground and vanished. Amita turned her attention to Tin who held out his hand to her.

"I know she already introduced me, but I'll say it again: I'm Tin." He said.

"Amita Ilene." She introduced herself, shaking his hand. "How will you be helping me?"

"Well, I'm here to tell you some things about where you'll be going."

Tin turned around and pointed forward. In the distance, there was a town. Amita stood next to Tin and leaned on the wooden fence blocking off the cliff edge.

"That is known as the village of Tir Chonaill. It's a small town whose population consists mostly of farmers and ranchers raising crops and cattle. It's a peaceful enough place, a great starting point for Milletians like yourself that are just beginning to venture out in this world." Tin explained. "Most Milletians eventually move on to Dunbarton, but we can talk about that place some other time. Nao will be back soon."

The two waited a few seconds before Nao reappeared before them with a sack and a short sword. She offered them to Amita. She donned the bag behind her and holstered the sword around her waist. However, a small light emanated from the sword which surprised the three.

"This is strange. Tin, I thought the spirit guides were removed from all the basic weaponry?" Nao asked.

"They were. I was there when the others were told to strip all the basic weapons of spirit guides. This one shouldn't be doing this." Tin said with uneasiness in his tone.

A small golden orb emerged from Amita's sword and floated beside her. It then took the form of a little girl with wings, long ears, and a book in her hand. She looked around, confused by her surroundings. Then she stared at Amita and gave her a smile.

"It is an honor to meet you, Mistress Amita." She spoke politely, bowing her head. "My name is Eiry, and I am here to aid you on your journey. I hope we get along well."

Eiry returned to her earlier form of a golden sphere and disappeared into Amita's sword.

"It looks you will not be alone during your travels, Amita." Nao said. "You've been given a spirit companion, which is something not many Milletians have the privilege of acquiring anymore."

"So…You will not be coming with me, Nao?" Amita asked.

"I'm sorry, but I have my duties as guide of the Soul Stream. I would love to travel with you, truly, but this is all that I can do for you." Nao said, looking another way. "But inside that sack is a pendant. When you want to come see me, just think of the Soul Stream…or myself. I hope you find the answer to who you want to be very soon, Amita."

Nao gestured her arms for a hug which Amita obliged. Releasing each other from their embrace, Nao smiled and waved one last time before disappearing again. Amita sighed before turning back to Tin.

"So my destination is Tir Chonaill." She stated. "I guess that means you're not coming with me too?"

"Actually, I have some business with Chief Duncan there, so I'll be heading to Tir Chonaill as well. But there are some creatures I need to take care of here in the Forest of Souls." Tin then pointed towards a path leading into a thicket of trees. "Take that road there and keep following it. Eventually, you'll reach Tir Chonaill."

"Okay. I'll see you there then." Amita nodded her head.

The two went their separate ways. As Amita entered the dense path of trees and bushes, Eiry reappeared beside Amita to offer her company. Amita didn't mind.

"Hey, good job today! Come back tomorrow! I'll more work orders then!"

Lorna Rissa waved goodbye to Deian as she walked away with a small gold pouch. It was just another day of making a living in Tir Chonaill. Every payday took her one step closer to gearing up for the travel to Dunbarton. She made her way to Piaras Inn, where Nora was working outside, cleaning the laundry. She whistled an upbeat tune as she worked, which Lorna found kind of infectious. Nora's eyes somehow found its way to Lorna. She smiled and waved at her, Lorna returned the gesture before entering the inn.

"Hello, Miss Lorna. How are you?" Piaras greeted her.

"I'm fine, Piaras." She said. "I'm here to pay the rent for my room, like always."

Gold exchanged hands and Piaras smiled as he counted the coins. When he finished counting, he nodded his head and Lorna headed upstairs to her room. Upon opening the door, a black Labrador tackled her into the ground. The dog eagerly licked the girl's face as she giggled from affectionate assault.

"Hey, Pan, sorry I kept you waiting!" Lorna said as she rubbed her pet's head. "Are you ready for our usual walk?"

The dog barked enthusiastically.

"All right, let's go then!"

Nao returned to the Soul Stream intent on finding out Amita's earlier life. She needed to find more information on just who Amita really was. An owl soared by, dropping the book on the platform. Picking up the tome, she opened the first page and gasped. Instead of words, the page was blank now. She skimmed through the other pages and it was the same on every page: nothing.

What happened to the words? Did they disappear when I resurrected Amita's soul?

However, when she returned to the first page, she saw words beginning to appear. It looks like the book seemed to hold the thoughts of the mind and since Amita was someone new entirely, the recorded entry of the old mind vanished meaning…

These are all Amita's thoughts. She concluded. I wonder what she is thinking about now. She is fairly straightforward like most Milletians I've met; but the fact of the matter is I chose to awaken her as a new person while other Milletians were already themselves with their own set of ideals, morality, and choices. So, in a way, am I…a mother to Amita?

She read the first page once it looked finished writing itself.

I…do not know who I really am. And yet I am content leaving that as it is. A woman by the name of Nao told me I could be anyone I want to be. So my name is Amita Ilene. I am heading to the town of Tir Chonaill. Eiry is accompanying me through the forest. Although she says nothing unless I ask her a question, I appreciate her presence. It is…comforting…in this lonely world I've been thrust into on my own.

Nao felt her heart drop a little reading the passage. Amita did not express her emotions, but the girl felt out-of-place and lonely in Erinn. However, Nao hoped Amita's perspective would change once she made friends in Erinn. She prayed for Amita's happiness and that she would be able to enjoy a happier life than her previous one, where everything seemed hopeless. Nao found herself giggling at this.

Look at me, fretting over Amita…Just like a mother.

Her laughter was short-lived when she felt a disturbance in the world. Like something bad was going to happen.

And it would be soon.

Lorna Rissa noticed a new face in town. Other Milletians were always so eager to push on to the next town that most leave immediately after they've trained enough at the Alby and Ciar dungeons and raised enough gold for themselves. Occasionally, some really strong adventurers would come back to battle in the arena or help some of the newer Milletians, but those occurrences were far and few in-between.

It was a girl, a pretty one at that, who had long black hair with spiky bangs. Her eyes were a captivating gray that actually glowed. What surprised Lorna was that she wasn't alone. The girl had a flying child with long pointy ears and wings. Perhaps she was a spirit companion of some sort? At any rate, the girl looked like an approachable person, so Lorna took a bold step to wave at the girl as she walked towards her. Lorna hoped to make a friend.

Hopefully, a friend that will not abandon me…

"Hi there, you're new to Erinn, huh?" She said once she stopped in front of the girl. "Welcome to Tir Chonaill! I'm Lorna Rissa and this is my dog Pan. Say hello, Pan."

The dog barked. The girl nodded her head while the floating spirit bowed politely.

"My name is Amita Ilene and this is my companion Eiry." She introduced herself while motioning her hand to 'Eiry'.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rissa." Eiry said.

"So what are you guys planning on doing here?"

Amita's expression darkened slightly which caused Lorna to gulp. Did she hit a sensitive subject by accident? While most Milletians had an idea of what they wanted to do, she always heard of a few that had no goal in mind. Those usually wandered around aimlessly in the world, sometimes even becoming evil people in the process.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I struck a nerve! Sometimes words just spout out of my mouth!" She apologized, waving her hands frantically.

"It's all right…" Amita said. "I don't have any plans or goals right now…but I hope to find one someday."

Lorna stopped her frazzled state upon hearing the way Amita said it. She sounded resolute, yet at the same time, there was sadness in those words. Before Lorna could say anything else, a loud horn bellowed throughout the town. She recognized that sound anywhere.

Is that…Trefor's battle horn? But why would he -

"Get down!"

Amita shoved her into the ground, pulling out her sword as she thrust her blade into the body of a big red spider. Blood splattered and Pan began barking loudly as the spider squirmed while stuck in the blade. Amita slammed her blade down into the ground and pulled the sword out of the spider to deliver the killing blow, the sharp steel piercing through its head, ending the arachnid's life instantly.

"MONSTER ATTACK!" She heard a male cry out.

Lorna quickly got back on her feet and looked around. Villagers ran for their lives while red and white spiders pursued them. The few warriors in the town were fighting against the monsters, but there was complete and utter chaos. She turned to Amita who was staring at her own sword, which dripped of spider blood. Amita eyes looked mesmerized, but she snapped out of it before turning to Lorna.

"Looks like we've got ourselves one heck of a welcoming committee for you, Amita! Please, do what you can to protect the town and its villagers who can't fight! I need to grab my gear!"

Lorna sped off with Pan following after her. How could this be happening in Tir Chonaill!? With very few warriors in town, she feared the worst for the fate of this town.

Amita watched as Lorna sprinted to retrieve her weapons and armor. She turned back to all the disarray that was happening around her. She looked at Eiry, who stared back before nodding her head. Eiry reverted back to an orb and disappeared. With a quick twirl of her blade, she readied herself as a pack of four spiders charged at her.

"Into the fray once more, the battle never ends…" She said.

But those were not her words. They were an echo.

An echo from what, though?

Mabinogi New Additions:

Trefor's Battle Horn: A horn that Trefor carries and uses when there is an attack on the town.

Lorna and Pan play a more significant role in this story. Pan is now a dog and not a sheep. Because reasons.

If you know who Eiry is that means you've been around Mabinogi for a long time. She will be a more notable character in this story and she will be much more useful in this story than the game.

Monster Attack: An event when a town is under siege by a large group of monsters.

Hey everyone, Wings here back with another installment, and here I'm doing something a little out of the ordinary, or so I'd like to believe anyways. If you want, this would be the perfect opportunity to send me your OC via review or message, but otherwise, the story must go on. I'll see you all in the next chapter. Allons-y!