1/4/16 Update:

The Prologue has been revamped and parts have been rewritten. This story has also been cross-posted to A3O. My penname is the same there as it is here. If this story shows up anywhere else under a name that is not Seriyan, then that is not me. :C

That being said, enjoy!

Summary:

Important things don't always happen with a 'bang' or an explosion. It doesn't always have a special flair, or fanfare. Sometimes, the greatest heroes are the ones who aren't, well "hero-ly," But alas, sometimes all that's needed to spark a series of events is a simple cry or a whisper. The unnamed heroes never have a chance to tell their story until now. Welcome to the end of the world. Please keep all appendages you'd like to keep near you at all times. Remember to remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop.

Notes from the Authoress:

This story's setting is loosely based of of the game Mabinogi. All events placed in this fic happen in an AU version of Erinn where death can happen. All events in this story are fictional and anything parallel to real life is purely coincidental.

The characters in this story belong to their rightful owners: my guildmates, close friends, and myself. Please respect that we all put a lot of time and thought into our OC's and wouldn't appreciate having them stolen.

Trigger Warnings:

There probably be several instances of;but not limited to: demons, fairies, vampires, humanoids, stupidity, loopholes, mental disorders, sociopaths, homicide, genocide, plain insanity, OOC-ness, raging fires, dimension hopping, crackships, filler chapters, crack, stupid off topic tangents, slightly-to-heavily referenced/applied sex, homosexuality, heterosexuality, sexuality in general, blood, gore, torture, general weapons with sound effects included, and maybe an occasional death or twenty. You have been warned.

If you can handle that, continue with the story. If that bothers you, then please do not read; or simply skim over the trigger spots. I'll do my best to leave a heads up, but I make no promises.

That being said, please enjoy the read.


"And we run with a lonely heart; And we run for this killing love

And we run 'til the heavens above; Yeah, we run running in the dark

And we run 'til we fall apart; And we run 'til the heavens above"


Scowls, disgust, frowns, whispers, bold declarations - it was all too much for her to bare; she couldn't do it anymore, she refused to. In a last ditch effort to block it out, with tears streaming down her face, she covered her ears like a small child and ran, far from the place she called home.

"Traitor, Just like her, Failure, Screw up. Must be in their blood. Stop tormenting the animals, Sheepie."

The words seemed to chase her through the Longa Sands carried by the fierce desert winds. Make it stop, make it stop! her heart cried silently, as her body was whipped by the airborne sand grains, the words of those ones who were supposed to be her people ringing endlessly in her ears. The desert sun beat down on her skin, intensifying the sting.

Running without ceasing until she just could not run anymore, she found herself crawling to an oasis; praying desperately that it wasn't a mirage, fearing her already bad luck had run out.

Wind battered and exhausted, she finally collapsed near a shallow pool of water, dipping her hands in it experimentally, nearly crying tears of joy when she found it wasn't a mirage.

The sun was beginning to set as she splashed her space and drank greedily from the fresh spring. As the sun gradually faded away, the temperature dropped in accordance. She was unfazed by this though; having grown quite used to the harsh conditions after living there all her life. Then again, she thought dryly, harsh conditions never bothered me too much.

After filling herself with more water, she made herself as comfortable as she could; curling up with her back near a rock structure, she immediately fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Come morning, she was awakened by the sensation of a small, harmless lizard crawling on her exposed leg. With a yawn she looked at the little creature before gently picking it and putting it on a nearby rock where it could sunbathe in peace.

Rubbing her eyes, she rose and walked over to the pool, regarding her reflection. "Rough" was probably the nicest way of putting it.

Her long, rich blonde hair remained windblown and was visibly lightened from the dust blown into it from the combination of sleeping on sand as well as the desert winds. Her scarlet eyes were bloodshot with circles under them - she'd been tired for a long time. Truly that night on the ground was one of the best nights of sleep she'd gotten since that day.

That one day her world was torn upside down. Her older sister vanished - the one person who promised to be with her forever. The adults seemed to know nothing at all about it. She was there one day, and then gone the next. The only straight answer she was given was the general consensus that her sister had run away.

She was young, a preteen at oldest; but in that moment, she felt like she was older than the ground she stood on.

"Now... let's see what I actually remember about survival..." she murmured aloud before laughing bitterly as she searched through the small satchel she'd picked up before running the previous afternoon, visibly face palming when she saw the actual contents that should have been in the bag were gone thanks to a large hole. "And this is what I get for not checking beforehand. Good job Kirshea," she muttered bitterly to herself, "you messed up again." Unable to do anything aside from groan in frustration, I thought it seemed kind of light come to think of it... she thought, before angrily throwing the satchel at the nearby rock wall.

"My my, " a sudden appearance of another person caused Kirshea to shriek and spin on her heels before promptly landing on her rear before shrieking at said person in a fit of embarrassment and anger, "What was that for? Wait why are you out here?" her voice raised several octaves. "If you're here to take me back to Filia, I'm not going," she quickly blurted out before giving him a chance to speakl

Stifling a chuckle, the man brushed some of his snow white hair out of his face, "Now now, let's not get ahead of ourselves." he answered in a tone that while sincere, still held and undertone of sarcasm, "I'm just a traveler passing through the area. Besides, child, do I look like an elf to you?"

"..." She stared blankly at him, pulling her hair up off her neck and holding it with her hands before exhaling sharply and letting her hair fall back onto her shoulders and down her back. "I uh..." she trailed off, unsure of how to answer him. "Well… no you don't.."

Deep crimson eyes scanned the thrown satchel before darting back to the young lady in front of him, "Runnin' away?" he asked without a hint of judgement in his voice, eyes clear in understanding.

"Uh..." she trailed off before sighing, "yeah." She watched him intently, frowning slightly. This man spoke with an air of importance, but his lazy-tongue accent made it seem as if everything was a joke to him. It confused her.

"Ah," he said softly, sitting down near her, "must be pretty bad, huh?"

"Well... yeah," she answered weakly, taking a seat beside the man, unsure of how to explain the need of escaping the oppressive atmosphere of Filia without coming off as a spoiled preteen with a pre-midlife crisis.

"Oz Kuolema, by the way," he introduced himself, adjusting his white shirt, beads of sweat rolling down his face. "I hate the sun," he murmured dryly. "I guess you're used to it as an elf though, aren't you?"

"Oh, Kirshea Yanae," she greeted, extending her hand politely. "Well, we're in a desert, its supposed to be hot," she responded, smiling when he laughed.

"Pleasure to meet you," he responded automatically shaking her hand. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Um..." she trailed off, hesitating.

"If it'll help you get it off your chest, then please talk. I don't mind listenin' and I have all the time in the world," he assured her in a soft tone, going as far as to ruffle her hair in an affectionate and comforting gesture.

"Oh, well… about ten years ago I lived in Filia with my big sister and then one night she left and never came home. None of the grown ups seem to be able to give me a straight answer on what happened to her. All I get told is that she ran away… and well after she left the other kids started bullying me even more… but I can ignore that," she insisted quickly, "I just want my sister back."

"That must'a been tough," he commented, "was she a prodigy?"

"It was," she answered sadly, "and well... in a sense, I guess. She was really good at magic and singing," her expression perked slightly, "we were best friends though, we did everything together..." she trailed off again, her voice going flat, "and then she just... disappeared."

"Hm... That's sad," Oz lamented, "so... findin' her's gonna be a real pain in the ass, isn' it?"

"... that's putting it mildly," she answered after an extended silence, still baffled by the strange man before her.

"So... Yanae... hm..." he tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Kirshea. Your sister wouldn't happen'ta be named Seriyan would she?"

"H-How do you know that!?" She half gasped, half shrieked.

"Well," he paused to clear his throat, "there's rumors circulatin'round Uladh of a lil' gypsy who goes by the name Seriyan Yanae. She's said to be a phenomenal singer and musician, pretty good dancer too" he explained blinking slightly, studying her face. So many emotions passed through Kirshea's scarlet eyes; ranging from fear to sheer joy. He saw and could name them all.

"Hmmm… I think I still have one of these somewhere" he spoke more to himself than to her as he rummaged around in his bag before pulling out a flyer featuring a beautiful musician. "Tell me dear, is this your sister?"

Hands shaking, she took the flyer from his hands. Eyes widening in disbelief. There it was on the paper in her hands. Actual proof her sister was alive. Warm eyes of identical color stared back at her. A cute pale face was framed by pink curls, and she smiled with such warmth, Kirshea felt like she were seeing it in person once again.

"S...Ser..." tears streamed down her face. "...its her... Its..." Her grip on the paper tightened and the paper wrinkled and tore in her shaking hands.

"Whadaya say we mak'a partnership of sorts?" Oz suggested, after giving the emotion filled female a moment to compose herself, "I'll help ya find ya sis, if you can help me with one thing."

"Really!?" she squealed excitedly, nodding with enthusiasm.

"Of course," Oz calmly responded, extending his hand.

It was with vigor that Kirshea shook it, still a messy bundle of emotions.

The sun beat down on the duo, and the wind whipped through their hair and clothes, but they smiled in understanding and in hopes of a successful journey.

"First things first," Oz grunted, "Let's get out of this desert and I'll tell you a bit of what I need your help with."

With the first genuine laugh since Seriyan had vanished, Kirshea nodded happily, "Agreed."

Finally. She wasn't alone anymore. She was no longer an outcast. She'd found a home. It was everything she'd ever wanted.


Dark absinthe eyes scanned the area as a slight breeze danced through his long black hair. The mid day sun beat down on his lightly tanned skin. Frowning when he failed to see what he was looking for, "She's late," he spoke softly, leaning farther out the window looking at the streets below. "She's never late. Taku," he called to his lover, obvious worry etched in his voice. "I think something happened to her."

Glancing at Rasier in the mirror, Taku calmly continued getting ready for work - he was a royal chef in the palace - and ran a hand through his light lilac hair, "Baby, she may have gotten tied up, and you're gonna have to let go of the reigns sometime. She's not a child anymore, no matter how much you deny it. Not to mention she's not "never late," as you put it. She's just usually punctual," he corrected his lover.

"But she's late," Ras persisted, finally bringing his upper body back into the room. "She usually sends word if she's gonna be late."

"I'm sure she's fine, Baby," Taku reasoned calmly, "she'd send word if she was in danger, don't you think? Face it, we'd probably have a lil poo-faced Tsuki barking at the gate guardians."

"Yes I don't deny that, but she's late!" Ras continued his tangent, seemingly unable to say anything else, still worried about his princess. "I'm gonna go look for her."

"You really need to chill Ras, give Princess until nightfall and if she's not back by then, then go look for her. She was coming from Emain, was she not? She probably slept in. You know this," Taku reassured his lover with a warm embrace while placing a quick kiss on Rasier's forehead.

"Alright," Rasier finally relented, relaxing in Taku's arms.

"And Baby," Taku continued, hugging his lover tighter, "when she gets here, don't jump her with fifty-questions and demand to know how every second of her morning went."

"I don't do that," Ras defended, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You did that last time, and you even asked her if her," he paused to clear his throat, "ahem, cycle was still normal, if I remember correctly," Taku deadpanned, struggling not to shutter. He was still mentally scarred from that. He and his adoptive daughter had worn identical looks of stupefaction.

Light scarlet met light amethyst as the duo exchanged baffled glances. The wordless "Did he really just?" passed between them.

"Seriyan. I'm waiting. Is it?" Rasier asked again with a stern tone that held more concern than anger.

"As far as I know its normal. I mean I haven't done anything that would cause it to change," their petite child answered honestly, blinking in confusion, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Good. Good. That's my babygirl~" Ras trilled in a happy tone, hugging the young lady who continued to send questioning glances to Taku who shrugged and left the room to go prepare dinner for his family while Rasier proceeded to make rather silly cooing noises as he rubbed his cheek against Seriyan's.

Maybe I shouldn't have left her to fend for herself against Ras, he thought in hindsight,stifling a snicker, brought only back to reality from his musings when he heard Rasier's defensive stammering.

"Well, I uh... well that was me making sure -"

"Our Princess is fine, she can handle herself, unless you are trying to call yourself a bad teacher since you're the one who taught her magic," Taku interrupted his stammering husband. He was unable to prevent the teasing sing-song voice he was using, adoring the flustered blush across Rasier's face.

"I'm a great teacher and I have no idea what you're talking about," Rasier defended with gusto; recovering from his temporary loss of words rather quickly. "My princess can take care of any ruffian that tries to get in her way!" he bragged, hands on his hips with his chest puffed out.

"Of course she can," Taku encouraged, thankful his little tactic worked. Maybe he'll be calm for a few hours, he thought. "So why don't you go get her a dress or something for when she gets here?" the pale haired man suggested, letting go of his lover to get his chef's hat.

"That's a great idea! Hm... Ribbon, lace... OH! Both!" Rasier declared passionately with both fists clenched and fire in his eyes while in a dramatic pose; causing Taku to sweatdrop in an anime-like fashion.

"Mhm... I'm gonna go to work now, Baby. You... go do that shopping thing and please don't break the bank," he added the last part as more of a mutter to himself before stealing a quick kiss from Rasier. "I'll see you when my shift is over. If she hasn't made it back by then, then we will go looking for her, alright?"

With a heavy sigh, knowing he would be unable to change Taku's mind, Rasier relented, "Sounds good."

With a nod, Takuto left the room to head down to the lower levels to start his work day leaving Rasier to his own business of his wonderful preparations to break the bank.

Coughing violently, Takori gazed at the blackened, charred remains of what had once been fish with nausea. The scent of the burnt fish flooded his nostrils and he felt like he'd be smelling the stench for weeks on end.

Lovely, he thought, tossing his failed dish into the fire; his stomach letting out a rumble in protest as he made a mental note to stop at the pub once he got to Port Cobh. That probably would have been the dish that killed me, he added bitterly, absently wondering why even even bothered to try cooking anymore these days.

Kicking dirt at his small cooking fire until it was extinguished, the vagabond picked up his bag and trudged on his path due southeast.

The midafternoon sun beat down on his skin as he continued onwards. As he drew closer to his destination, he could smell the salty sea breeze as he felt the wind kiss his ochre hair, lightly blowing it out of his eyes.

Just through the thicket of trees, his destination, he could already see the sparkle of the sun upon the ocean. Another rumble courtesy of his stomach. "Shut up, I'll feed you when its time," he muttered under his breath, slapping his belly.

Ignoring the nearby path usually taken by travelers, he staggered haphazardly through the thicket, his clothing getting tangled in the brambles. Knowing he looked rather foolish, its worth it, he reasoned, having a shorter distance to walk.

After nearly landing on his face leaving the thicket, thankful there'd been no other pedestrians around to see it, he easily brushed his clothes off and smiled, seeing the pub was right down the hill upon which he was standing.

Moving quickly, he skid down the hill easily catching himself upon landing before calmly walking into the building, receiving a cheerful greeting from Annick; which he gladly returned, "The usual!" He told her upon sitting down.

"You got it~" the owner chirped, "Give me ten."

"Yes, Ma'am," he responded politely, absently looking out the window. Zoning peacefully as he gazed at the waves. Surprised when his drink was brought to him, quickly murmuring a "thank you," as he returned to watching the sailors hard at work on the docks.

It'd be fun to be a sailor, he mused, traveling everywhere, seeing everything… new things… new foods… maybe some cooking lessons…. Absently picturing himself on a ship with his own crew; offhandedly imagining being a pirate captain, nearly bursting into spontaneous laughter at the thought of himself and Equi in pirate gear. His friend sporting a rainbow eyepatch while he himself drowned in an oversized hat while they'd both donned random chicken suits and called themselves "Tuna."

Equi… ah… his friend. He thought back to the day they'd parted ways sadly. I wonder what he's up to, he thought bitterly.

It'd been his decision to walk away, and he knew he'd have to stick to it no matter how painful it was. He couldn't bare the thought of hurting his best friend. He admittedly loved the other man like family and thought of him as his own brother.

With a heavy sigh, he banished thoughts of his friend from his mind. His mood perking up when Annick brought him his favorite dish. He had to admit as he greedily scarfed his food down, he really needed more sleep.

Tuna Pirates? Pfft they'd call us all Sea Chickens, we'd be the laughing stalk of the pirate world, he reasoned rationally, a small smile played at his lips as he took a drink before wiping his mouth clean with his napkin. Tonight, he promised himself silently, I'm sleeping in a proper bed at the inn, and then continued to eat his food in a way that could only be described as 'starving lion.'

Well, he thought lightly, at least we'd be able to sneak attack while our enemies laughed to death.


Achoo! The force of his sneeze literally left him sitting at the base of a tree. The humanoid male sat, dazed, fox ears erect and tail bushed up in a way that matched his messy deep indigo hair.

They were passing through Sliab Cullen, on route to Tir Chonaill after meeting up with a friend who'd willingly fixed Equi's gear.

"Are you catching cold, Equi?" the vixen asked in a hushed tone that only her companion could hear.

"Nah, I'm fine Katni," he answered, scratching his head sheepishly. "I guess Tako's talking about me somewhere!" he declared with gusto, his tail swishing excitedly, blue-violet eyes sparkling.

The fox before him face-pawed. "Somehow, I highly doubt that," she muttered more to herself than to him. "Come on Equi. Put your ears and tail away. This is a well-traveled path, it wouldn't do good for you to be mistaken for a formor."

"Yeah yeah," he agreed, relaxing and allowing his ears and tail to go back to their hidden state. "Hey Katni, about how close are we?"

"We're about five minutes from the logging camp," she answered automatically, hopping up on his shoulder, giving his cheek an affectionate nuzzle. "You gonna visit Tracy again?"

"You know it! He owes me a game of poker! I can't wait to beat him again!"

His zest was contagious and Katni started laughing cheerfully, "Make him buy us dinner this time," she joked, her tail swishing, playfully swatting the back of her friend's head, "and pay for our stay at Tir Chonaill's inn."

"We'll eat like royalty!" he declared with a laugh, mouth watering as he thought of Nora's cooking.

Their idle chatter passed the time and before long the sounds of the busy logging camp reached their ears. The scent of the fresh pines was overwhelming and Equi felt his nose wanting to run; right when Katni herself sneezed.

"Bless you," Equi responded automatically, stepping out of the trees and into the sunlight.

"Eeeeeyyy Tracy!" he yelled loudly, "I didn't come all this way for you to give me the cold shoulder!"

"Now now my boy!" the old lumberjack sassed back with a gruff voice, "is that anyway to greet an old man? How've ya been, kiddo?"

With pleasantries out of the way, the two then sat down for what really mattered; an all out war in a game of poker. Equi having a slight advantage. "You're gonna pay for my stay at the inn!" he bragged in jest.

"You'll be singing a different tune when you're working for me," Tracy bragged back.

Both donning identical grins, the games began.


"And we run with a lonely heart

And we run for this killing love

And we run for a heavenly heart"

"And We Run" - Within Temptation


Characters in this chapter:

Takuto13, Rasier, Takori, Ksenny, Deadoz. equinox78

Mentioned in this chapter:

Deathsai, Seriyan

Also, it should be noted that this is the prologue~

Stay tuned for chapter 1. COMING SOON!

Feedback is always welcomed and extremely appreciated! Thank you for reading and I hope it was enjoyable.