I'll start with the disclaimer. Legend of Dragoon is not owned by me, only the characters I have made up for this series are owned by me. This story is sort of a free writing project for me, something to try and expand my writing. For those that don't understand, I don't know what is going to happen, I am just writing and whatever happens, happens. I am going to try and keep this going as an alternate version of the LOD story, or maybe a different story all together. That is the thing about free writing, I guess.
Tell me what you think, I know I am starting it off a bit clichéd, but that is why I am writing it. I am trying to start off simple, then slowly build up to a more complex writing style. ________________________________________________________________________

Legend of Dragoon: An alternate story
By: Yun Nightseer

".What the hell?" Yun said, sitting up. His breath was ragged and quick, as he held a hand up to his head. "That dream again." He stood from the bed and went to look out the window.
He pushed open the wooden shutters and took a breath of fresh air. The town below was still quiet, the moon in the sky shining at it's peak in the sky.
"Only midnight." he said, closing the shutters again. He walked over to the table by his bed and lit the candle which sat upon it, illuminating the room in just enough light to see. He pulled up a stool and sat down, opening the journal that sat upon the table.
He took the quill from the inkwell and began to write.

Dear journal,
I had the dream again tonight, and this time it is more vivid then ever. I was in a different land, one of beauty and danger. I was walking toward a mountain, and was attacked by a group of giant monsters, ones of which I have never seen. Strangely enough I was not afraid.
In my hand I held a strange, red, glowing orb, which couldn't have been much bigger then a shooter for marbles. I emitted a phrase that has been burned into my mind since I first had this dream, months ago. "Awaken, Dragoon of the Red-Eye dragon."
A blazing inferno engulfed me, and yet I was not harmed. The bastard sword in my hand was changed into a great, yet light, blade that seemed strong enough to resist the strongest of blows.
Upon my body appeared red armor, highlighted by green "gems" for lack of a better word. Then I was wrapped in and extra extension to my body, wings. The red supports and emerald webbing giving me the ability to fly over the beasts, while the armor allowed me to still move freely and swiftly.
I soared over the strange creatures and flew towards the mountain, where I could see a group of people, similar to me, waiting. One seemed especially happy to see me, one of the other things that has been burned into my memory.
She wore a silvery-white and aqua version of the armor I wore, some changes here and there, and was also supported on the air by a pair of slivery-white and emerald wings.
As I landed, we all turned and were suddenly on a battlefield. The strange creatures were all around us.and that is where the dream ended.
I have no doubt that this dream has some connection to the strange grove a few days before the dreams started, the one which I must be alone to see.
Tomorrow I will be heading to that grove once more.I have a feeling there is something waiting for me there.

Yun put the quill back into the ink well and allowed the ink to dry before closing the book and blowing the candle out. He laid back on the bed and slowly closed his eyes, letting himself fall asleep. The last thought on his mind, ".I'm coming for you.silver one."

Yun woke with the early sun in his eyes, unable to stay asleep much longer then two or three hours past dawn. His emerald green eyes were bright with enthusiasm as he brushed back the bangs of his shoulder length brown hair. He grabbed a travel sack and filled it with a few days worth of supplies, and slung it over his back. He tied it crossing the bastard sword which he kept right shoulder to left, within easy reach of his right hand. He thought about taking his leather armor, but decided against it.
Wearing his worn leather boots, a pair of dark gray pants, and a crimson shirt, he left his house and headed for the grove.
As he stepped in, he felt the familiar warmth, which he came to call the magic energy of this sacred realm. The area was beautiful, similar to the world in which he dreamed about.
Green plants were everywhere, spotted with budding flowers and animals he had seen nowhere else but in his dreams, and this grove. In the center was a crystal clear pool of water, barely a foot deep, and about 10 feet in diameter. He walked along the small path toward the pool, and stopped as he spotted something.
In the center of the pool, sitting at the bottom, was a red orb, about the size of a shooter.
Yun blinked, then doubled his pace as he hurried to the edge of the pool. He didn't even take off his boots, he just walked into the water, which reached only a few inches under the cuff of the boot.
He knelt down and reached in the water, plucking up the orb, then standing again, staring at it. The surface seemed like glass, and inside was a swirling, moving mass. After a moment, the movement inside stopped, and a red light began to emit from the stone.
Closing his eyes, he felt a warmth and gentleness, as if the entire entity of a creature had been hiding in this gem, and was released. As he opened them, he realized he was still in the pool in the grove.but the grove was different. It seemed to have lost it's magical feel, everything seemed.real.
What finally told him he was actually there was a scream from past a few bushes. In the blink of an eye he had his sword drawn and was dashing past the bushes. Standing against a tree was a girl, but not just any girl. Yun almost stopped moving as he realized she was the one from his dream.
She was no alone, however. Two bandits had her pinned, one with a knife at her throat, the other getting ready to do god knows what to her.
"You there, leave the girl alone!" Yun said. The bandits turned their heads to him, and laughed.
"You're waisting your time, boy! Go home and play soldier with your friends, and leave us alone!" They turned back towards the girl, getting ready to do what they would do.
Yun looked down to the orb, still clutched in his left hand, "I said get away from her, or you will be sorry." He looked back to them, his eyes blazing with intensity. The bandits laughed, and the one holding the knife looked to the other.
"Go take care of him." He said, and the second man nodded, stepping towards un and drawing his own knife.
".I warned you." he said, thinking to himself, ".Please work." He then spoke the words that were burned into is mind.
"Awaken, Dragoon of the Red-eye dragon!" a few seconds passed, with nothing happening but the bandits laughing. Then, just as the man was getting ready to attack, a blazing inferno engulfed Yun, just as it had in his dreams. The weapon in his hand changed, armor appeared, wings sprouted from his back.
Within seconds he had changed from a 18 year old boy, to a dragoon warrior.
Without thinking, his left hand went ablaze, and he tossed a small fireball at the bandit who had the knife to the girl's throat. So shocked was he from the ordeal, that he didn't dodge or move till it was too late, and he dropped the knife.
"Wh.what are you!?" the one that was about to attack him asked.
".I am a dragoon, and you are my enemy. Now leave here, and be glad I am sparing you." The men nodded and left without hesitation. Yun looked to the girl, who seemed to be in a bit of shock as well, but seemed thankful in any case.
Yun nodded, then felt the power surge from his body as he became himself once more. He looked her in the eyes, then said ".You are real." before passing out.

Yun woke up, almost expecting to be back in his small house, but instead was near the grove he knew so well, laying upon his back. He blinked, and saw that the sun was high, meaning he had been knocked out for a good two hours.
He looked around and saw the girl kneeling beside him, a small smile upon her face.
"Are you alright?" she asked, and he nodded as he sat up. They looked at each other a moment and, in unison, said "It's really you."
Both remained quiet a moment before the girl broke the silence.
"My name is Marina, and you are?"
".I'm Yun.and I'm not sure I understand what is going on here."
"Well.for the past few months I've been having this dream," she started, "I am surrounded by strange creatures."
".ones of which you have never seen," Yun recited, ".you are holding an orb."
".I speak the words "Awaken, Dragoon of the white-silver dragon."
".you are covered in armor, you fly towards a mountain."
".and you are there."
".I have had the same dream." Yun said.
Marina nodded, then said, ".In my dream, I start off in this grove.and something told me to come here."
"But where is your orb?" Yun asked.
"I.do not know." she said, standing up. She walked towards the road a few steps, and stared at the forest across from them. Her arms were crossed, and her face seemed to show that she expected to wake up at any moment.
Yun stood as well, but didn't follow her. Instead he started thinking about everything that had gone on.
".Come to think of it.this seems like something out of a story book." he said, looking toward the ground.
She nodded, still staring out across the road.
".It's weird," Yun said, looking to her and speaking at her back. ".I never knew your name, only your face.and I only saw you at night, and then only in my dreams.yet I knew you were real, and I knew I would see you."
".Yes.dreams." she said, ".this is a dream, isn't it? We can't really be standing here." She turned to him, a small tear running down her face. ".can we?"
Yun walked to her and wiped the tear from her face.
"If this is another dream," Yun said, "then I must have a vivid imagination."
Marina nodded, then looked into his eyes.
".If this is a dream, I never want to wake up." She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, as if praying.
"If I may ask a stupid question," Yun said, "Why is that?"
She opened her eyes again, looking up to him. ".You have haunted my dreams for months.I see you whenever I turn a corner, only to just miss you.now you are real, you are here, and I don't want you to leave.I don't want this to end.I."
".you," Yun finished, "Have fallen in love with your dream, and you don't want to see it ripped from you with the sunrise."
"You mean." Marina asked, a questioning look upon her face.
"Yes.I doubt it is by chance that we would have corresponding dreams, and meet each other like this.I left my world to pursue my dream, my obsession of the past few weeks. I have my dream, and I won't let it go."
Weather it be weakness or intentionally done, Marina melted into his arms, sobs of joy emitting from her.
He walked her into the grove, where he felt they would be safe, and sat against the largest tree by the water, holding her gently. They didn't need to talk, they merely sat there quietly, looking over the pool. Yun realized that, while they had never really met, he knew everything about her.as if the dreams had slowly been telling him about her, and vice versa.
For hours they sat, till neither one of them thought it was a dream anymore. The sky began to get dark as the sun set, and the air began to cool. Marina, who was in a short sleeved shirt and shorts, began to shiver slightly as the air cooled.
Yun pulled a blanket from his pack and wrapped it around her, before breaking the silence of hours.
".I'm going to make a fire.it seems we will be camping out here tonight." She nodded, smiling as she held the blanket against herself. In a few minutes Yun had a fire going, and was back against the tree, the blanket over both of them.
Marina snuggled up against him gently, her eyes half closed as she let her body relax, yet she wasn't tired.
".Yun?" She said, her voice a whisper, trying not to break the moment.
"hm?" he answered, ".what is it?"
".I need you to do one thing for me." she said, her eyes opening completely, and looking at him. "There is one part of my dream I didn't tell you about.and this is the last thing I need to test to make sure this isn't just a very long dream."
Yun nodded, "What is it?"
"She looked down a moment, ".In my dreams." she looked to him again, ".You are about to kiss me.and we get so close.but the dream ends."
".So.you want me to kiss you?" He asked, trying to get things straight. She nodded, a look of worry in her eyes. "Don't worry.I won't disappear, and you won't wake up.you will see."
Marina's lips quivered gently as he leaned in.
".will he disappear?" she asked herself, ".will I wake up?" But all her questions and doubts were lost, the moment his lips touched hers. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but to her it was an eternity. It was real, there was nothing anyone could say to convince her otherwise.
When the kiss broke, she was crying again, burying her face in his chest. Yun smiled, a hand rubbing her back gently.
Her sobbing stopped as she looked up into his eyes again. ".It's real.you're real.I'm real.we are here."
"Shhh.." Yun said, nodding, ".Yes, and I am not going anywhere."
"I." she said, risking her all in one statement, ".I love you." She looked away, blushing greatly after saying this.
"What are you looking away for?" he asked, bringing a hand to her chin, and turning her head back to face him. "If I didn't feel the same way, I wouldn't have kissed you." He smiled gently, placing his forehead against hers. ".Now we should get some sleep." He placed a gentle kiss upon her lips, then slipped away from her, Marina whimpering gently as he stood. He took up his travel bag and took out a sleeping bag, one with room for two people, and set it down beside the dieing fire. He walked over to her and helped her stand, taking the blanket and folding it up, making a makeshift pillow.
He slipped out of his boots and shirt, then opened the sleeping back and laid down, watching Marina as she took off her own walking boots and lay beside him. He closed the flap of the sleeping bag, wrapping his arms around her waist gently as she cuddled up against him.
".Kiss me again?" she asked, ".I woke up before a kiss.now I want to fall asleep after one."
Yun nodded, ".Of course, love." He kissed her again, letting this one last a bit longer. To Marina there was nothing better then this moment they had together, and she knew that this time, when she woke up, she would be there in his arms.