The Greatest Tale (Or: Two Kids on an Epic Quest to Save the World)

Chapter Two

Now in most fantasy stories you'll read, the orphaned child usually comes in the middle of a storming night and is left on the doorstep of an orphanage with an anonymous note saying something like:

"This child is destined for greatness;

So we decided to abandon him.

Because hey, only orphans become heroes.

That's the way of life in this world."

-No one of importance

There's a reason orphanages were always full in this village.

I'm happy to say though, this story is no different. Du'ling, the 56th orphaned child left in the village, arrived on a dark and stormy night. However, she wasn't a baby.

You may ask, why on earth is that important? Well you see, most people who abandon their children prefer them to not have any memories of them. Since people don't remember the first few years of their life, dropping them off in the village as babies is a convenient way to do that. It becomes a lot harder to do so when they are older.

A simple solution to that problem however, is to whack the kid on the head hard enough to give him amnesia. The only concern with this method is that the kid might regain his memories at some point, but the chances are pretty slim. It only ever happens at a convenient time and chances are, he's going to have a chaotic life anyway. He won't have time for self-discovery.

Unless of course, he goes off on an epic quest like so many of the village men are known to do. But who'd want to do that?

Du'ling was different though (aren't all main characters?) She didn't have a nasty bruise on the back of her head. She did however have a scar.

For the next several years of her life, she would come to question where that scar came from, how on earth she got it and who did it to her. She wondered while she worked, played and slept (Yes, even her dreams wondered about this mystery). But no answers ever came to her. It was quite a shame, really. The entire town wondered along with her, but no one ever had a plausible solution. It became a pastime for boys and girls to come up with scar theories. And that, dear friends, was the origin of fan theories. You're welcome.

Her big quest was coming though. And it started on yet another dark and stormy night.

But first, we need to KNOW...HER...BACKSTORY!

She was raised in an orphanage under the rule of cruel mistress Han'gan until she reached the age of twelve. Then she was apprenticed to a seamstress for five years. (This was quite a skill to learn. Seamstresses were incredibly talented at predicting the customer who would eventually purchase the outfit. And even if it didn't fit, it could take them less than an hour to whip up another suit entirely! It honestly is quite a miracle.) By the time she was fourteen though, the seamstress died and Du'ling was sacked by her daughter, who had always hated her for her looks. (She was not a pretty girl by any means, but in this town...a not so pretty girl could do quite well.) She left the shop in search of adventure and found it the next day...with Tu'f. (Boy, what a fortunate stroke of luck!)

And so, the backstory of Du'ling is finished. Her entire life up until now has been summerized for your pleasure. Now for the real story, if such a thing exists...

Yes, yes we're all wondering if a real story actually exists in this world. xD

Anyway, this too is a book I'm working on for NaNoWriMo. You're welcome.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to work on tests and science labs. :P