Kilae's Journey

[moosick2]

Hey, Fiestans! This is my first Fan-fic (ever) so please don’t judge it too quickly. Before I start, I’d like to thank everyone that wrote a character story. You guys are great writers, and I hope that I’ll meet the same success that you have had. :D This fic isn’t based on any real character (that I know of), so any suggestions on where to go with the story would be appreciated. Anyways, without further ado, our story begins...

As she draws her final breaths, she hears her murderer say, “You think you have hope, but here you will find none. You too will fall like the others in that miserable failure you call a family history. The line you came from is ended, for you shall no longer exist. This is the fate of all Pearls, including you.” She closed her eyes, waiting for her doom.
When she re-opened her eyes, Kilae realized that it was just a dream. Having regained her composure, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, she couldn't help wonder if there was truth in the recurring nightmare. What if she really was going to die by that same...creature…that killed her family, the Pearls, for 7 generations?
Kilae pulled out her journal and tallied her nightmare. The pages were nearly full. For as long as she could remember, after her parents died, she'd been having that same dream every night. Every night for 6 years, it was the same dream, over and over again. And every morning, after she tallied the dark vision, she would think about the ones who had died before her. They all knew that the beast would eventually come for them and kill them, so they became a solitary family...a family that no one would miss once it was gone.
Kilae is now 9 years old, the youngest in her entire line to be parentless because of the monster. Strong willed and intuitive, she has long since learned to fend for herself; she has mastered the arts of pity, thievery, and stealth. She lived this way, until one day...
Kilae is making her rounds through the city. She has already pilfered enough bread to feed her for the entire day, as well as enough money for a decent night at the inn, but decides to make one more pass. She spies a strange looking man, clad completely in green with gold trim around the edges of his clothes.

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"He MUST be rich to have such clothes! And, he isn't paying any attention to the people around him. He'll be an easy steal."
Little did she know that HE had his eye on HER. He had seen the way that she easily pilfered the villagers. So he continued. She silently followed him, getting closer every time he stopped at a shop. Suddenly, he left the marketplace, and began walking towards the edge of town. She quickly followed him, and just when she was about to reach into his pouch, he whirled on her with such suddenness, that she jumped backwards. Even while she was still in the air, he shot her with a poisoned arrow, and she fell unconscious to the ground.
When Kilae awoke, she found herself in a dark room. As she searches the darkness for some hint of where she was, she spied a light in the distance. Not knowing what else to do, she walked toward it, and it slowly became brighter. As she moved towards it, she found that the air around her was becoming less congested, as if she was outside. She reached the light, and found that it was a torch. All of a sudden, the entire area was lit by the fires of many torches. A man walked into the light.
“Welcome to the Karasian Temple, child. See, my followers, the girl is here!” Kilae searched the environment for the source of the deafening roar that followed. “What is your name, girl?”
“Don’t ask for what you won’t get. I‘m not telling you my name,” she replied.
“Good, you have a strong will. I will enjoy breaking it.”
Kilae was filled with fear. She recognized the voice of the man as the voice in her dreams! She looked for a place to run to, but the area was completely flat. The man withdrew a scroll and began to read. Kilae was paralyzed as the man moved toward her.

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Suddenly, she was surrounded by a blinding light. She covers her eyes, and when the light is gone, the first thing she realizes is she's no longer in the temple! The second thing she notices is the woman standing in front of her. “Thank goodness you’re ok! I didn’t think I would be able to break through the barrier in time.”
“What’s going on? Who are you? Where am I? How did I get here? Who were those weird people? How do I get back home?”
“Peace, Kilae! I can only answer one question at a time. You were kidnapped by a member of the Karasian Cult. They placed a barrier around the area where you were taken, so that nothing would interfere with their practices. My name is Teva. You are in my home, a place where I bring every adventurer when they first begin their journey. I used my power to take you away from the cult and brought you here. I’ve been watching your family for a long time, Kilae. I know the troubles that have been haunting you, and I know the beast that searches for you.”
“If you know what’s been happening, why haven’t you done something about it? And why didn’t you answer the last question?”
“I haven’t been able to help you, Kilae, because you were outside of Isya. My power is connected to the land and its people here, so I am bound to it as its protector. When your family left Isya, I lost the ability to help them.”
“When they left? You mean that Isya is my real home?”
“Yes, my dear child. However, your family fled Isya when the Karasian Templar moved against my people. Your unfortunate family was the first to oppose them, and so Karas has chosen to hunt your family until every remnant of it is destroyed. Only you, little one, remain.”
“Then that man, the one in the temple, was Karas?”
“Yes, Kilae. He was about to finally destroy the Pearl line forever, but your will was strong enough to weaken the barrier from the inside, and it enabled me to break through and bring you here.”
Kilae thought for a moment. “What can I do to fight back?”

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“Your battle is the reason I brought you here. I have four cards, and each of them will set out a path for you by assigning you to a class. Choose your class wisely, for you can’t change your mind once you begin your journey.”
“OK, tell me the different paths.”
“Fighters are skilled warriors. Among the four classes, they have un-matched physical strength and stamina, but are very weak against magic spells. Clerics are the main supporting class, because they are able to raise different attributes in other people as well as themselves. While neither as strong nor as durable as fighters, clerics are still valued because they have the sole ability to heal people other than themselves. Mages are known as glass cannons. They have devastating power through their spells, can attack from a distance, and can defeat most enemies when they have enough experience with their abilities; even so, if an enemy can get close enough to attack them, then they will quickly be defeated, for what they have in magic power, they lack in physical defense.”
“What is the last class?”
“The archer. They aren’t very important, so I left them out.”
“Tell me about them too.”
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes, Teva, I do.”
“Very well. Archers are the least favored class in all of Isya. They lack in almost every area, including strength and endurance, and they cannot use spells. People often take little notice of them because they are so weak compared to the rest. Despite this, they have amazing agility and dexterity. Because of this, they hit their target more often than the other classes, and take a hit much less often. They can attack from a distance, like the mages, and have learned to use poisons and barbed arrows to cause their opponents to bleed. These skills damage enemies over a period of time to make up for their lack in physical strength.”
“I choose the archer class,” Kilae said, without hesitation. Her immediate decision puzzled Teva.
“Wouldn’t you rather have something more powerful? You won’t be able to defeat Karas if you can’t damage him.” Kilae simply shook her head and repeated, “I choose the archer class.”
“Very well. I’ll keep my eye on you to make sure you don’t get into too much trouble early on, but once you become strong enough, I won’t be able to help you. After all, I have others to aid as well.”
“I understand, Teva. Thank you for the advice. I appreciate your kindness, and I’m thankful that you rescued me from Karas, but I need to learn to defend myself on my own.”
“Good luck, then, Kilae”

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Kilae found herself in another strange town. She immediately found why there were so few archers. “Oh great, another worthless archer.“ “What’s this? More trash littering the ground?“ “hey, weakling! Wanna see the meaning of FAIL? Look in a mirror!“ These were the first things she heard as she viewed her surroundings.
As she looked around, she saw a woman standing on a box. “You there, come here! I need to talk with you,” the woman said. “My name is Remi. I give advice to new-comers, like yourself.”
“I don’t have time for advice! If I don’t hurry, then I won’t be able to defend myself against Karas! If it’s important, then tell me now. If it isn’t, then it can wait.”
“Go and talk to Julia. She will tell you how to heal yourself when you get injured. You can find her at the top of the stairs.”
“That’s useful advice. Thanks, Remi.” So Kilae went and talked with Julia. She learned how to use healing stones, and was told to return whenever she needed more. She explored the town, Roumen, and discovered it was on the edge of a forest. She was about to encounter her first battle.