Fan Fiction ❯ Lessa's Journey(Subject to change) ❯ Chapter 1
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Strausse 
Lessa awakens with no memory, and is already being chased.
Please R&R
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.06.2005 | Updated On: 06.06.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 312 | Status: Work In Progress
Lessa awakens with no memory, and is already being chased.
Please R&R
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Fantasy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.06.2005 | Updated On: 06.06.2005 | Pages: 1 | Words: 1.9K | Visits: 312 | Status: Work In Progress
Lessa's Journey
Chapter 1
"Lessa, we have to go." Lessa grumbled incoherently and rolled away from the annoying voice that insisted she move. She buried her face into a pillow that stank of rot and mould. This startling scent woke Lessa enough to realize that she didn't recognize the voice trying to wake her.
Lessa pushed herself up from the half rotted mattress and pushed herself into the corner, eyes scanning the dank room. It appeared as though she had been sleeping in an abandoned hotel, dust covered the surface of every horizontal surface, the windows and the antique television were both smashed. What held Lessa's attention the most was the young man standing near the bed. He was dressed in long robes that almost touched the ground and held a long wooden staff in a white knuckled grip. In the dim light, Lessa could see a look of terror etched into his features. "Lessa, we have to get out of here now."
"Who are you? What happened?" Lessa didn't move from where she pressed herself against the wall.
"My name is Timothy, the rest will take much too long to explain, but we have to get out of here now, they are coming." Lessa flinched away when he reached down, but it was only to pick up a leather sack from the floor. He dropped it on the bed at Lessa's feet, "I assume that that's yours, don't worry about the plate, just put on the vest."
Lessa looked at him, confused, "The plate?"
"Plate armor. You know, the stuff the keeps you from dying." He sighed disgustedly as he grabbed the bag and pulled it open. After digging around through some amount of metal, he pulled out a thick leather vest. "Put this on, tie it off tightly."
Lessa took the vest and slid it on, taking in for the first time what she was wearing. She was wearing a white shirt made of some light material, its tails hanging halfway to her knees, loose pants made of some form of soft leather, tucked into leather boots. She silently slipped the vest on and automatically tied off its leather thongs. She took the bag and pulled out a set of daggers in a single sheath and strapped them to her upper leg without thinking. She stopped and stared at them.
"Is something wrong, Lessa?"
"It's just... None of this seems right." She saw a sword in a leather scabbard leaning against the bed and picked it up as she talked. "I shouldn't know how to do this, how to put this stuff on." She belted the sword around her waist and positioned the handle where she could grab it in an instant. "Everything is so automatic, like I've done it a hundred times before, but why would I need to know how to use a sword?"
Timothy gaped at her, "What do you mean? In case you haven't noticed, it's not safe to walk around unarmed, and you've obviously had extensive training in the use of the sword. Just try to remember your training."
Lessa thought back, trying to remember her training, anything that would explain how she knew how to use an archaic weapon. She gasped at what she found, "I don't remember anything."
"What do you mean?"
"I know my name, my name is Lessa, but that's all I remember, nothing before waking up here." Cold terror settled in her marrow, she felt herself breathing hard, hyperventilating, but was unable to stop herself.
"Lessa, look at me." When she gave no response he repeated his order with more force, "Look at me, Lessa, we don't have time for this now." He laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him, "We will get your memory back, but right now we have to go."
He ran to the door as Lessa hefted the bag containing her plate armor and slung it over one shoulder, strapping it to her back, freeing her hands. Timothy cracked the door open and carefully looked out, "The coast is clear, hurry up."
Lessa ran to the door, her hand falling unconsciously to the hilt of her sword. Together they stepped out into the hallway and looked around. "Follow me and stay close, Lessa, we really don't want to get split up." They ran to the end of the hall and Timothy pulled open the door to the fire stairs. On the first floor, they found themselves in a foyer area, as dilapidated as the rest of the building. They ran out the grimy front doors and into a field that surrounded the building. To Lessa it seemed as though the building was dropped in this field, the concrete extended several feet, but stopped on a knife's edge, too clean for it to have decayed, yet no roads led out. She glanced up and saw the sign on the building, "Budget Traveler’s"
Timothy grabbed Lessa's hand and practically dragged her towards the nearby forest that seemed to surround the field they were in. He stopped suddenly, almost causing Lessa to run into him. "What's wrong?" she asked him.
"I thought I saw something move." He studied the tall grass for another moment, until a small green creature popped its head up. "A goblin!"
The creature let out a shriek in surprise and fear. "I must tell the others! They are getting away!"
The creature turned and started running away from them, until it suddenly jumped half a foot into the air and fell face first into the dirt, dead. Lessa's arm dropped back to her side from the throwing position it was in. She looked down at the sheath on her hip and saw one of the daggers missing.
"Very good, Lessa." Timothy patted her on the shoulder, "If that got back to it's war mob, we would have been in serious trouble."
Lessa felt numb. One though kept echoing through her mind until she managed to put it into words, "I killed it."
"Yes, quite efficiently at that, I've never..." Timothy trailed off when he realized that Lessa was nearing tears. "It would have alerted the others, trust me you don't want to fall into their hands."
"But, I killed it, I..." She stared down at her hand, almost in horror.
"Lessa, hold it together, please. We still have to get out of here."
Lessa swallowed hard, biting back her revulsion. "Right, we have to run.” She walked the thirty feet to the small body and saw the knife planted firmly in the base of its skull. She grabbed the handle and gave it a firm tug, pulling it out with ease. After cleaning the blade on the goblin's shirt, she slid it into its place and stood. "I'm ready."
"Alright. They won't know I got you out of the building, so they'll search there first. If we keep moving until nightfall, we should be safe."
Lessa looked up at the sun, high overhead. "It's barely past noon. You want to move until nightfall?"
"It's that or get captured."
Lessa nodded, "Alright then, let's get going."
--------------------
Lessa collapsed in front of the small camp fire. She sighed as the aches and pains he acquired while running worked their way through her. Once they entered the woods, Lessa and Timothy had run nonstop until the sun hit the horizon. Now Timothy, who seemed barely fazed from the long run, was stirring a small pot on the fire. "Dinner will be done in a little while. Are you okay?"
"Oh, peachy." Lessa answered, sarcastically. She covered her face with her hands, letting the events of the day go through her mind. "This is all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"People don't use swords any more."
"Oh? Then what do they use?"
"I don't know, I don't remember." She sat up, leaning against a tree stump, "And goblins, they don't exists."
"You killed one earlier today."
"I know, but it's like a little voice in my head screaming, 'It's all wrong!' over an over again."
"Well, don't worry about it, maybe once we've regained your memories, you'll understand it all better."
Lessa stared into the small fire, entranced by her exhaustion and the dancing flames. She sat up, trying to will herself to stay awake. In order to keep her hands busy she pulled her bag over and opened it, looking inside. The first thing that she pulled out was the plate armor that Timothy had mentioned earlier. It was thin metal plates that would cover her arm and shoulder, but offer not other protection. She stood and experimentally pulled it onto her left arm, tying the leather thongs that would hold it on. "How is this supposed to protect me?"
Timothy looked up and studied her arm. "It's designed for a specific style of swordsmanship. You keep that arm facing the opponent at all times, and use it as kind of a shield. That style relies more on dodging than blocking, though."
Lessa removed the armor before sitting back down. She looked in the bag again and saw a smaller leather pouch and a long dagger. She pulled both of these out and dropped the bag next to her. She pulled the dagger out of its sheath and tested its edge on her thumb, almost cutting herself. "This is sharp."
"It had better be, it's not for show, you know."
Lessa slid the dagger back into its sheath and opened the leather pouch. Inside the pouch was a small stone, with the image of a flame carved into it. "What's this?"
Timothy took the stone and studied it carefully. "I don't know, never seen one like it before."
Lessa dropped it back into its pouch and returned all of her sparse belongings to the bag.
Timothy looked up from his pot and studied Lessa for a moment, "Is something bothering you?"
"After all that's happened today? There's lots that’s bothering me."
"Is something bothering you especially, I mean?"
"Do you think that I can get them back? My memories, I mean."
"I don't know, but if it can be done, then the elder will know how."
"Who's that?"
"She is the leader of the war band that I travel with, we'll meet up with the others tomorrow."
"War band?"
"A rebellion actually."
"I see. So, are you the good guys?"
"Yeah."
"What do you fight for?"
"Well, to answer that, I would have to tell you a rather long story."
"So, tell me, I don't mind."
"Well, to tell you what we fight for, I'd have to start at the beginning." He pulled two bowls out of a sack that he had and ladled some thick stew into them. He handed one to Lessa with a spoon. "No meat in this one, hope it's okay."
"No problem." She carefully took a taste of the still hot stew. "It's good."
"Thank you."
"So, you have to start at the beginning?" she reminded him. "What beginning?"
"The beginning of everything. Our cause has roots in the foundations of creation."
Chapter 1
"Lessa, we have to go." Lessa grumbled incoherently and rolled away from the annoying voice that insisted she move. She buried her face into a pillow that stank of rot and mould. This startling scent woke Lessa enough to realize that she didn't recognize the voice trying to wake her.
Lessa pushed herself up from the half rotted mattress and pushed herself into the corner, eyes scanning the dank room. It appeared as though she had been sleeping in an abandoned hotel, dust covered the surface of every horizontal surface, the windows and the antique television were both smashed. What held Lessa's attention the most was the young man standing near the bed. He was dressed in long robes that almost touched the ground and held a long wooden staff in a white knuckled grip. In the dim light, Lessa could see a look of terror etched into his features. "Lessa, we have to get out of here now."
"Who are you? What happened?" Lessa didn't move from where she pressed herself against the wall.
"My name is Timothy, the rest will take much too long to explain, but we have to get out of here now, they are coming." Lessa flinched away when he reached down, but it was only to pick up a leather sack from the floor. He dropped it on the bed at Lessa's feet, "I assume that that's yours, don't worry about the plate, just put on the vest."
Lessa looked at him, confused, "The plate?"
"Plate armor. You know, the stuff the keeps you from dying." He sighed disgustedly as he grabbed the bag and pulled it open. After digging around through some amount of metal, he pulled out a thick leather vest. "Put this on, tie it off tightly."
Lessa took the vest and slid it on, taking in for the first time what she was wearing. She was wearing a white shirt made of some light material, its tails hanging halfway to her knees, loose pants made of some form of soft leather, tucked into leather boots. She silently slipped the vest on and automatically tied off its leather thongs. She took the bag and pulled out a set of daggers in a single sheath and strapped them to her upper leg without thinking. She stopped and stared at them.
"Is something wrong, Lessa?"
"It's just... None of this seems right." She saw a sword in a leather scabbard leaning against the bed and picked it up as she talked. "I shouldn't know how to do this, how to put this stuff on." She belted the sword around her waist and positioned the handle where she could grab it in an instant. "Everything is so automatic, like I've done it a hundred times before, but why would I need to know how to use a sword?"
Timothy gaped at her, "What do you mean? In case you haven't noticed, it's not safe to walk around unarmed, and you've obviously had extensive training in the use of the sword. Just try to remember your training."
Lessa thought back, trying to remember her training, anything that would explain how she knew how to use an archaic weapon. She gasped at what she found, "I don't remember anything."
"What do you mean?"
"I know my name, my name is Lessa, but that's all I remember, nothing before waking up here." Cold terror settled in her marrow, she felt herself breathing hard, hyperventilating, but was unable to stop herself.
"Lessa, look at me." When she gave no response he repeated his order with more force, "Look at me, Lessa, we don't have time for this now." He laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him, "We will get your memory back, but right now we have to go."
He ran to the door as Lessa hefted the bag containing her plate armor and slung it over one shoulder, strapping it to her back, freeing her hands. Timothy cracked the door open and carefully looked out, "The coast is clear, hurry up."
Lessa ran to the door, her hand falling unconsciously to the hilt of her sword. Together they stepped out into the hallway and looked around. "Follow me and stay close, Lessa, we really don't want to get split up." They ran to the end of the hall and Timothy pulled open the door to the fire stairs. On the first floor, they found themselves in a foyer area, as dilapidated as the rest of the building. They ran out the grimy front doors and into a field that surrounded the building. To Lessa it seemed as though the building was dropped in this field, the concrete extended several feet, but stopped on a knife's edge, too clean for it to have decayed, yet no roads led out. She glanced up and saw the sign on the building, "Budget Traveler’s"
Timothy grabbed Lessa's hand and practically dragged her towards the nearby forest that seemed to surround the field they were in. He stopped suddenly, almost causing Lessa to run into him. "What's wrong?" she asked him.
"I thought I saw something move." He studied the tall grass for another moment, until a small green creature popped its head up. "A goblin!"
The creature let out a shriek in surprise and fear. "I must tell the others! They are getting away!"
The creature turned and started running away from them, until it suddenly jumped half a foot into the air and fell face first into the dirt, dead. Lessa's arm dropped back to her side from the throwing position it was in. She looked down at the sheath on her hip and saw one of the daggers missing.
"Very good, Lessa." Timothy patted her on the shoulder, "If that got back to it's war mob, we would have been in serious trouble."
Lessa felt numb. One though kept echoing through her mind until she managed to put it into words, "I killed it."
"Yes, quite efficiently at that, I've never..." Timothy trailed off when he realized that Lessa was nearing tears. "It would have alerted the others, trust me you don't want to fall into their hands."
"But, I killed it, I..." She stared down at her hand, almost in horror.
"Lessa, hold it together, please. We still have to get out of here."
Lessa swallowed hard, biting back her revulsion. "Right, we have to run.” She walked the thirty feet to the small body and saw the knife planted firmly in the base of its skull. She grabbed the handle and gave it a firm tug, pulling it out with ease. After cleaning the blade on the goblin's shirt, she slid it into its place and stood. "I'm ready."
"Alright. They won't know I got you out of the building, so they'll search there first. If we keep moving until nightfall, we should be safe."
Lessa looked up at the sun, high overhead. "It's barely past noon. You want to move until nightfall?"
"It's that or get captured."
Lessa nodded, "Alright then, let's get going."
--------------------
Lessa collapsed in front of the small camp fire. She sighed as the aches and pains he acquired while running worked their way through her. Once they entered the woods, Lessa and Timothy had run nonstop until the sun hit the horizon. Now Timothy, who seemed barely fazed from the long run, was stirring a small pot on the fire. "Dinner will be done in a little while. Are you okay?"
"Oh, peachy." Lessa answered, sarcastically. She covered her face with her hands, letting the events of the day go through her mind. "This is all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"People don't use swords any more."
"Oh? Then what do they use?"
"I don't know, I don't remember." She sat up, leaning against a tree stump, "And goblins, they don't exists."
"You killed one earlier today."
"I know, but it's like a little voice in my head screaming, 'It's all wrong!' over an over again."
"Well, don't worry about it, maybe once we've regained your memories, you'll understand it all better."
Lessa stared into the small fire, entranced by her exhaustion and the dancing flames. She sat up, trying to will herself to stay awake. In order to keep her hands busy she pulled her bag over and opened it, looking inside. The first thing that she pulled out was the plate armor that Timothy had mentioned earlier. It was thin metal plates that would cover her arm and shoulder, but offer not other protection. She stood and experimentally pulled it onto her left arm, tying the leather thongs that would hold it on. "How is this supposed to protect me?"
Timothy looked up and studied her arm. "It's designed for a specific style of swordsmanship. You keep that arm facing the opponent at all times, and use it as kind of a shield. That style relies more on dodging than blocking, though."
Lessa removed the armor before sitting back down. She looked in the bag again and saw a smaller leather pouch and a long dagger. She pulled both of these out and dropped the bag next to her. She pulled the dagger out of its sheath and tested its edge on her thumb, almost cutting herself. "This is sharp."
"It had better be, it's not for show, you know."
Lessa slid the dagger back into its sheath and opened the leather pouch. Inside the pouch was a small stone, with the image of a flame carved into it. "What's this?"
Timothy took the stone and studied it carefully. "I don't know, never seen one like it before."
Lessa dropped it back into its pouch and returned all of her sparse belongings to the bag.
Timothy looked up from his pot and studied Lessa for a moment, "Is something bothering you?"
"After all that's happened today? There's lots that’s bothering me."
"Is something bothering you especially, I mean?"
"Do you think that I can get them back? My memories, I mean."
"I don't know, but if it can be done, then the elder will know how."
"Who's that?"
"She is the leader of the war band that I travel with, we'll meet up with the others tomorrow."
"War band?"
"A rebellion actually."
"I see. So, are you the good guys?"
"Yeah."
"What do you fight for?"
"Well, to answer that, I would have to tell you a rather long story."
"So, tell me, I don't mind."
"Well, to tell you what we fight for, I'd have to start at the beginning." He pulled two bowls out of a sack that he had and ladled some thick stew into them. He handed one to Lessa with a spoon. "No meat in this one, hope it's okay."
"No problem." She carefully took a taste of the still hot stew. "It's good."
"Thank you."
"So, you have to start at the beginning?" she reminded him. "What beginning?"
"The beginning of everything. Our cause has roots in the foundations of creation."