Hey! So officially my first story let's hope it turns out okay. I wrote this more for myself than anything since I'm a big fan of self-inserts and what not. Feel free to comment if there's something I could do better. Anyways enjoy!

- MLi

Chapter 1: Somewhere Far Away

No one wins in war. No one except for the bigwigs who wanted the war in the first place. The ones who weren't on the ground in the searing heat and agony of battle. The ones who didn't have to press their shaking hands down on the flooding wound of their comrade and friend, whispering desperately over and over again that it was going to be okay. They didn't have to look into those empty eyes that once had a twinkle of mischief and warmth of humor. Of course they didn't. The presidents, dictators and other so called "leaders" were safely tucked away in some sort of fortified fortress with their families. Families they gladly kept alive while ours burned in the flames of their greed and selfishness. Once upon a time I was eager to fight for them, to fight for my "country and freedom." Once upon a time I didn't question orders and truly believe that what we were doing was protecting the people. Once upon a fucking time I thought this war could be won. No, no one will win this war except for the people standing above our ashes.

Most times when my thoughts and memories laid a heavy weight in the back my head, I would pick the most insignificant thing around and focus on it until my mind numbed. Sometimes it would be the cracks on worn walls. I would stare so intensely that I could almost see patterns and images from the random assortment of lines. Other times it would be dirt dried on my skin, pebbles disturbed along the road and even holes burned through fabric. Lately my new focus was dust, not the ones already settled and collecting on the surface of everything but the ones still floating about with no real destination.

Laying on the ground, my blood pooled around my waist as I released the pressure on the wound. It wouldn't be long now. It was getting dark, but I could still see the swirls of dust dance in the remaining blades of sunlight passing through the buildings. I pretended they were like fairy dust and if I closed my eyes right before they faded when the light dimmed that they would grant my wish. My wish of going somewhere far away from here, somewhere beautiful and full of life. Sadly when I opened my eyes there was nothing but darkness. I stared and waited for my eyes to adjust. Minutes passed and nothing.

Wait. Where was the blood?

I blinked hard several times over but there was still pure black in front of me.

Was this death?

I didn't know what I expected in the afterlife. I didn't follow any specific religion, just knew that there was something out there and if there was a form of hell it was probably where I would end up. Not that I thought I was particularly an evil person, but I wasn't a saint either. My hands were too bloody. Or so I thought but now it seems like I actually ended up in the better half of the afterlife.

When I had "woken up," the first thing I noticed was the smell. It was crisp and fresh, untainted from the odor of gunpowder, fire and blood. There were rolling hills of bright grass with towering trees and a blue – not grey like the one I've seen for the past seven years – sky stretched over the beautiful scenery. And the flowers! I haven't seen flowers in forever. I almost sobbed as I picked one up to my face, its petals tickling the tip of my nose. It so much more colorful and softer than I remembered. A breeze brushed pass me that suddenly made me realize I was completely naked. Like some kind of maniac I doubled over in unrestrained laughter for a solid amount of time, clutching my stomach and rolling around on the ground. By the time I was finished my sides were sore and my eyes blurry with tears.

Smiling to no one in particular I made my way to a dense area of trees to start exploring my new home. It seemed like hours of walking and occasional stumbling before I heard voices of other people. It didn't occur to me there would be people here too. Were they also dead or just extras created by my imagination? I felt a little guilty for thinking about latter. This isn't my world to have all to myself, other souls need a resting place too. Or something.

I got closer to the voices where the line of trees ended and found myself at the edge of a village of some sort. There were wooden houses randomly spaced from each other, people dressed in very old fashioned clothing, and half stone wall along the side of what seemed to be a road. It felt very much like I had travelled back in time. Maybe they didn't like technology in the afterlife or time flowed slower here. Storing the theories for later, I walked over to a woman with short red hair nearby. She was bent over trying to pick up something she dropped.

"Suse etme?" We both were jumped in surprised, her at my sudden appearance and me at whatever I said. She looked at me slightly scared with her eyes opening as wide as they can go and her mouth agape.

"Somme fore syting zu." Which meant 'sorry for scaring you' in my head, but all I could hear myself say was gibberish. Licking my lips before taking a deep breath, I tried again. "Uhti lak beldrik?"

What the hell! Why can't I speak correctly? Is this the language of this place? I huffed out a breath of frustration and was about to try again when she interrupted. "I'm sorry I don't understand what you're saying. Do you need help? Where are your clothes?"

Well I guess this ISN'T their language. "Judth urahtg sojjeh fji heuf jaii iefh nekjjw." That is definitely not how you say 'I don't really know what's going on.' I sighed as the look of confusion remained on her face. Giving up on trying to figure out how to speak I nodded and offered a closed-lip smile. She whipped her head sharply to the side at someone yelling, probably calling her. The woman then hurriedly ushered me to a house, made a gesture for me to stay and rushed into a different room. It was most likely too late, but I abruptly became self-conscious about my nakedness. Everyone in the village was clothed and this person seemed concerned about my state so it was safe to assume that nudity was certainly not a common thing to do. Here I was walking around with my bits showing and talking to strangers.

She returned with an armful of clothes and a pair of worn out boots which I hurriedly put on. It wasn't in the best condition but the faded blue dress fit decently enough. Afterwards I bowed and gave her what I hope was grateful smile which to my relief she returned.

"I'm sorry I don't have something better to give. Those were mine before I grew out of them a couple years ago." She had an accent to her voice that I couldn't place, but it sounded pleasantly familiar. I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively. These were more than I could ask for since I was the one who troubled her. "Can you speak any of the common tongue?"

Frowning in thought, I wanted to try to speak again but it was almost a guarantee that it would be the same results as earlier. I couldn't speak properly, but I could at least understand. Why would I be in an afterlife where I couldn't communicate to the others? Was this a punishment?

She took my silence as a yes and tried a different question. "Um, you answered that so I think you can understand it even if just a little. Do you speak Elvish?"

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Why would she think I spoke that? Elves aren't – subconsciously I reach up to ears, following the out shell to the pointed end. What! The woman was completely lost at the fact that I just discovered my ears.

"Did you forget you were an elf or something?" She joked and I nodded. "What? You really did forget?"

Shrugging I continued to play with my ears and started looking around for a mirror. Why was I an elf? To honest, if was going to turn into some kind of fantasy creature Elf would have been one of my top picks.

I heard her mumble something about memory lost and focused my attention back to her. "Do you have name?"

"Emyll." I shook my head. I couldn't even say my name! With much effort and concentration I attempted the sounds one by one.

"Emeri?" She laughs when I clap my hands excitedly over the achievement of saying my own name. "Well nice to meet you. I'm Flissa. If don't have any place to go, would you like to come to Haven with me?"

Haven? Where have I heard that name before?