No, I do not own Capcom's Dragon's Dogma.

Chapter 2: The Pawns

The scene: a settlement with tall, pointed logs for walls. There are pawns and soldiers wandering about and there are several white tents set up.

The moment I stepped through the gates of the Encampment, I heard several voices speak, "Well met, young Arisen. Can you hear our voice?"

I looked around every which way, but there was no one talking to me. I asked the pawn that led me here, "Did you hear that?"

"This way, Arisen." He walked off.

As I followed him to a large tent, I said to the pawn, "You know, it doesn't hurt to have manners."

The pawn seemed to ignore me as we reached the back of the tent. In it was a rock with blue writing and a swirl on it. Curious as to why there was a rock in a tent, I walked up to it and brushed my fingers lightly on its surface.

"Well met, Arisen." The same voices from earlier spoke up. "Can you hear our voice?"

"You don't have to repeat yourselves twice." I said. I realized that I was talking to a rock.

"We speak to you across a great distance. The pawn legion has awaited you. Pray, forgive this strange and impersonal greeting."

"I'll say." I mumbled.

"This rift serves as a gate that connects our kind to your world. It opens to the Arisen, for they possess the will powerful enough to guide the legion. If you would claim to be among the Arisen, prove the strength of your resolve."

" 'Will powerful enough to guide the legion'? Sorry, I may be an Arisen, but I can't go around leading armies! You're going to have to find someone-."

"Very well. Then we shall guide you in your trial. If you are an Arisen in truth, this humble task will prove no obstacle."

I gaped and backed away from the rock. Did these voices not hear what I had just said? I was about to protest when the voices continued, "The Arisen must possess the valor to stand against all threats, and the power to quell them. A tireless spirit of self-improvement grants the strength to lead the legion. Pray, show it now."

I blurted out, "Listen here, I told you I'm an Arisen, but I don't have any of these qualities! I'm the Smartass Slacker of Cassardis, not a hero! It wasn't my choice to be an Arisen!"

Before I could say anything more, there came sudden shouts from outside the tent. Wondering what was happening now, me and my pawn ran out of the tent to see what all the commotion was about. There were warriors running out of the second gate of the Encampment, with some of them shouting things along the lines of, "The monster must be stopped!"

"This way, Arisen!" The pawn shouted as he ran after the warriors.

"Are you kidding me?" I shouted back. How could a monster show up, right after the voices said I needed to prove myself? I shook my head. I had already died once today, and I was not going to do it again anytime soon.

I was about to leave through the other exit when a guilty thought crossed my mind. I was somewhat of a good fighter, even if I didn't care to fight, so I should be able to help out. I cursed my guilty conscious as I followed the last of the warriors out of the other exit. What I saw caused me to gape.

Standing tall and ugly a few yards away from the gate was a Cyclops. Many warriors were either hacking away at its ankles, climbing on its back to whack at its head, or were shooting arrows at its eye, and with that thing rampaging about, their numbers were dwindling quickly. I knew that I was way out of my league, and that it would be best if I let all these guys kill the thing.

Somewhere in the fray, I saw that one pawn standing off to the side, healing anyone who was unfortunate enough to get clubbed by the Cyclops with his magic. He noticed me and he shouted, "You must shoot the eye!"

"Alright already!" I took out my bow and nocked an arrow.

Seeing that the eye was such a big target, I had no problems shooting an arrow at it. For some reason, it was my shot, and not anyone else's, that caused the Cyclops to stagger and drop to its knees. The warriors surrounded the beast and unleashed a flurry of attacks on its hide. Within seconds, the Cyclops was dead. Everyone present cheered for their victory, except me. As far as the situation went, I barely contributed to anything.

The pawn ran past me, saying, "Let's head back to the riftstone, Arisen."

"What?" I ran after the pawn. "Do you ever take a break?"

He led me back to the tent, where the stone was unchanged.

"With that," the voices said, "your trial is complete. You are an Arisen in truth, proven beyond any doubt."

"I only shot one arrow," I protested, "and that wasn't even the finishing blow! How does that prove that I am an Arisen?"

"You have already displayed the will and courage to fight-."

"Just like the dozens of warriors who killed the Cyclops. Do you have anything new to add?"

"Now, I bid you to select a companion for the journey ahead. They shall serve you and you alone, to share in your hardships and aid you in every endeavor."

Everything went dark and, the next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of a dark void with blue fog covering the ground. I looked every which way for some way out, but there was none.

"Hoy!" I called out to the voices. "Where am I?"

"This is the Rift," the voices said, "our home."

"Well," I folded my arms, "this place looks pretty boring, and how is this your home if no one is here?"

"Now, what do you want your main pawn to be?"

"Uh…a guy?"

From the distance, many male pawns shrouded in blue light stepped forward. They all stopped in front of me and gave me blank stares. The pawns came in all sizes, colors, weights, and occupations, and I was pretty sure that no two pawns were exactly alike. As far as how many there were, well…I would guess…more thab everyone in Gransys. I might be exaggerating here, but at least there are more pawns than hte men in the duke's grand army. I knew that I would have to narrow my search down.

"And I want a warrior." I added.

All striders and mages turned around and left. However, there were still too many pawns present.

"And he has to be tall."

All pawns of short and medium height left.

"And…uh…not so much weight on his midsection."

All bulky pawns left.

"And blue eyes…" I went on. "…dark blue eyes… and short, blond hair…make that short, frizzy blond hair… uh, no crooked noses or freckles, please…oh, and I want him to be in his twenties…and, uh…" I was running out of things to say. "…how about a five o'clock shadow?"

In truth, all of these descriptions made up what I had always imagined my dream guy to be. Yes, just like almost every girl in the world, I have my own image of the perfect guy. Anyways, after a few minutes of this awkward process of elimination, there were still several pawns present.

At this point, I just shrugged, pointed at one pawn, and said, "You."

Everything went dark again and, after a few seconds, me and my pawn were back in the tent. He raised his hand to show me the scar on the palm of his hand, then he and the other pawn dropped to their knees. The mage pawn lifted his head and said, "Our fealty is sworn to you, Arisen. From this day, the legions called 'pawns' live and die by your command."

I stared at the two pawns with some surprise. I couldn't believe they were kneeling before me, the Smartass Slacker of Cassardis. Of course, in their eyes, they only saw the Arisen. I felt like this was all getting too ridiculous for me. I shook my head and said, "No. Get up, both of you. Just because a dragon stole my heart and I fired one arrow at a Cyclops does not mean that I'm a hero. I'm sorry, but I'm going home."

I walked past the two pawns and made my way out of the Encampment. I suddenly felt stupid for wanting to go after the dragon. Quina was right: I would only get myself killed…again. Just when I arrived at the front gates of Cassardis, I heard a voice ask, "This is your hometown, is it not, Arisen?"

I turned around and saw that the two pawns had followed me. I gave a frustrated sigh and asked, "Why are you following me?"

"We are sworn to serve you, Arisen." The main pawn said.

"Don't flatter me, and don't call me 'Arisen' either. I'm not going after that dragon."

"But thou must, if you are to save Gransys." The mage said.

I walked through the gates of my hometown and groaned, "Find someone else to save the world."

I only took a few steps forward when I heard an unfamiliar voice say, "Ah, the venerable Arisen returns…"

I turned my head to the direction of the voice and I saw a figure in a brown robe and hood standing off to the side. He asked, "Are you come to lead the pawns in a quest to slay the dragon? Those equivocal husks?"

"Uh, no." I simply shook my head.

"Will or nill, the Arisen is always drawn to the dragon, as puppets strung on fate's own thread. Many have come before you, eager to stand atop the grand capstone of worldly truth that is the dragon…"

I did not like the way this guy was talking. I said, "Well, it just so happens that I've decided not to follow the dragon anymore. Unlike any other Arisen in the past, I actually value my hide."

"Arrogance!" The robed man snapped. "The dragon is ever born anew into the world, and with it too, the Arisen. All Arisen seek out the dragon-."

"Not me."

"…but lucky are the few who attain an audience with the beast…while they yet live."

The man lifted his head up and I could see his face. His face was wrinkled, his eyes were bright, and the teeth in his grin were rotten. You could take one look at this guy and immediately tell that he was a bad guy.

"Ours is a weak, fragile world," he went on, "and little within it is more frail than man. In yon Encampment," he pointed towards the direction of the Encampment, "they gather up their knights and hired steel. They think to grow their numbers and hunt the dragon, but they shall soon learn…their lot will e'er be as prey."

With a slight stagger in his step, the man left Cassardis. I narrowed my eyes and muttered, "Creep."

Looking at the sky now, I saw that it was getting close to sunset. I figured that I would just sleep at my house for the night and do nothing from there. On the way home, I passed by the chief. Slightly surprised to see me back already, he jokingly asked, "Homesick already?"

"No," I answered, "I'm just going home for the day."

"So you'll start your journey tomorrow?"

"I'm not going on any journey."

The pawns stared at me, and the chief said to me, "You can't run away from your destiny as the Arisen, Kennedreth."

"But I'm not a fighter!" I protested.

Before anyone could protest, I ran to my house, opened the door, ran inside, and locked the door. I could hear the two pawns calling me from the other side of the door, but I ignored them. I walked slowly to my room and I removed my weapons and armor. I walked over to the fireplace and lit a fire. I sat in front of the fire for several minutes, replaying the events of today in my head over and over.

Stage three: bargaining.

Why did that dragon take my heart? Why couldn't it have taken someone else's heart instead? I'm the last adult in Cassardis that would be selected as hero of the world. I placed my hand over the scar again and asked, "Why me?"

"If you would face me," the dragon's voice said, "then take up arms, newly Arisen."

"Well," I moved my hand away from the scar, "you're no help."

I heard a light tapping on my window and I turned my head to see what it was. Staring at me through the window was Quina. I walked up to the window, opened it, and asked, "What is it?"

"I wanted to see how you were faring, coz." She said with a look of concern on her face.

"You were right, Quina," I lowered my head, "I can't face the dragon."

"What made you change your mind so quickly?"

I relayed the events that had happened at the Encampment to my cousin. Mostly, my concern was my inability to fight large monsters, like the Cyclops, and I was worried about getting killed in battle. I just didn't want to throw away my life fighting something I can't defeat.

Stage four: depression.

"Kennedreth," Quina reached her arm through the window and rested her hand on my shoulder, "did those thoughts cross your mind when you came to save me and the little ones?"

"Of course." I said.

"Then why did you rush in to fight the dragon?"

"I wanted to save you and those children. I didn't want you to die."

"Then I know you can muster the courage to fight the dragon."

Before I could ask, Quina explained, "If you care for the world as much as you care for everyone in Cassardis, then you can summon the courage to save it."

"But what if I die?" I asked. "Before you say anything, coz, I want you to know that I'm not afraid of failing, I'm afraid of dying."

The next thing I knew, I was ranting about my fear of death. I know that everyone questions death, and I was still in that questioning phase of my life. I didn't know what happens after death, and I didn't want anyone to mourn over me after I die. I just wish that everyone could live forever so that we wouldn't have to grieve and worry about death.

"Everyone dies eventually." Quina gave me the obvious reminder.

"But if I go after that dragon," I continued to protest, "then I'll just be throwing my life away!"

"Kennedreth!" My cousin suddenly snapped. "I don't want you to die either, but the elder is right: the world is at stake here! I have to stop being selfish, and you need to do the same."

I couldn't believe she had just said that. She removed her hand from my shoulder and she backed away from the window. I closed the window, shut the curtains, and I turned my back to her. She was right about everything, but I didn't want to admit it. I crawled into bed and thought for hours until I fell asleep.

The next morning, I decided to give the whole hero thing another shot. Why the sudden change of mind? Well, apart from the feeling of guilt from last night's conversation, if the world was destroyed, then I would no longer be able to do the things I like to do, like napping on the cliff by the chapel. Aye, the reasoning was anticlimactic, but what else can you expect from me? Also, I'm still not forgiving that dragon for taking my heart and dragging me into this whole mess.

Stage five: acceptance, for now, at least.

I got dressed and walked out of my house. To my surprise, the two pawns were waiting for me right outside the door. I asked, "How long have you been out here?"

"Since you shut us out, Arisen." The mage simply answered.

"But…didn't you guys get any sleep?"

"None at all." The main pawn answered.

"Well," I sighed, "I've decided to play Arisen a little while longer, but before we leave, can I at least have your names? Especially you." I pointed at the mage.

"Forgive me for not telling you sooner," the mage lowered his head, "I am called Rook."

I turned to the main pawn and said, "Let me guess, your name is Bishop?"

"If that is to be my name." The main pawn said.

"No no, I was just joking. I want to know your name."

"I have no name, but you may call me whatever you wish."

I thought for a minute, then said, "Aiken."

"Aiken?"

"You know, like in that children's rhyme? You just look like an Aiken to me." I took a few steps towards the gate of Cassardis and said to the pawns, "Well, I guess we go back to the Encampment."

"Then let us be off, Arisen." Rook suddenly bolted off towards the gate.

How could this pawn have so much energy after not sleeping for at least a day? Aiken bolted after him with the same energy Rook had. I followed shortly behind, with me shouting, "Hoy you guys, wait up!"

Next time, Kennedreth fights a Hydra and goes to Gran Soren.

Chapter 3: The Capital (excerpt)

"Rift Crystals can be found in your world," the pawn continued to explain, "either earned from quests that you do or from monsters that carry them."

"But how did they end up in my pocket without me knowing about it?"

The pawn paused before saying, "I fear I do not have the answer to that, Arisen."

I decided that it would be best not to question the matter further, so I held out my hand full of crystals and asked, "Will this cover your fee?"

The pawn examined the little crystals carefully, and he picked out a few. He bowed his head and said, "I am at your service. I am called OneBigFurby."

My eyes widened and I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Strangely, none of the other pawns turned to stare at my sudden outburst of laughter. I eventually calmed down and asked, "What kind of name is that?"

"It is the name that my original master gave me." The pawn said, apparently not offended by my laughter.