Tears of a Dove

Part 1 Overview

· Arwel Ghongzhou - A fifteen-year-old orphan with a dark history. He was left to live on his own at age 11 after suffering periods of mental and physical abuse. Since then, he has looked after himself in Tochinokori.

· Kobe Okilo - A tall, strong, brave fifteen-year-old who met Arwel a week after he was abandoned. He has been working and making money since age 7. Kobe has no memory of his parents or when he was left to be alone.

· Ingrid Leino - A small raven-haired fourteen-year-old who has been through many traumatizing events. Having murdered several people to protect her life in Kinji, she ran away and walked several miles to reach Tochinokori. Relying on the hot sun for warmth during the day, looking up at it caused her to permanently damage her vision. She barely survived the long trip with only warm clothing and food rations. Nobody knows where Ingrid's parents ran off to, or if they're even alive.

· Princess Miku Shirata of Tochinokori - A beautiful fifteen-year-old girl; Tochinokori's right hand. She gains a bad reputation because of her father, but everybody obeys her because it is the law. She was given an opportunity to find someone to marry on her own (it is the King's choice to arrange a marriage), and eventually meets star-crossed with Arwel. Miku represents everything innocent and beautiful in the world.

· King Kazu Shirata of Tochinokori - First in command and supreme leader of Tochinokori. He gains the opportunity to further expand his economy by joining the South Division and becomes insanely power hungry, which led to the banishing of Arwel.

· Queen Yukina Shirata of Tochinokori - Represents silence and by-association; she is anything but a leader.

· Sir Alexander Ukabe - A middle-aged man who hired Kobe at a young age to help him work around Tochinokori.

· Mr. Claude Akira - An old wise man who owns Tochinokori's general inn.

The story opens up lightly with a happy, friendly vibe, and introduces the continent Pentaus, which is very advanced and ahead of its time. Arwel sees the Princess and feels a connection as she approaches him and Kobe. Miku finds him interesting and immediately trusts him with her life, due to her being kind. In the second chapter, the connection between them grows rapid and strong without realizing that the King strongly disapproves of Arwel. Haven Valé, Miku's self-grown garden, is mentioned many times in this chapter, as well as a brief mention of a marble dove statue. The dove represents a Christian belief of peace. Miku can also be seen as the dove, as she is very peaceful and easygoing, but receives nothing but negativity because of her power-hungry father. In the following chapter, Kobe meets a young girl named Ingrid, who passed out and almost froze to death. She would have died if Kobe was not there to save her. Realizing she lost her vision the next morning, she acts as if she can take care of herself just fine, but quickly realizes she needs someone in her life since she has nobody there for her. Kobe quickly gains interest in this young girl, and their relationship grew strong and fast. Because of her intimidating and childish appearance, many people avoid Ingrid.

The final part of the story starts with the King giving a very vague and brief speech during the opening of the Solstice celebration. Leaving the citizens of Tochinokori confused, Miku, Arwel, Kobe, and Ingrid proceed with the Solstice party. When the party ends, Miku confronts her father and learns that he made a very odd decision by allying with the South Division. She quickly becomes upset and runs to Haven Valé and cries herself to sleep in the grass. As Arwel returned to the home that Miku bought for him Kobe, and Ingrid to share, before he even thought about sleeping, a bad vibe suddenly overtakes his mind. He runs back to Haven Valé and comforts Miku. They eventually get interrupted by King Kazu, who quickly becomes angry and warns Arwel to leave the castle and not marry Miku. It quickly becomes a heated fight, Miku and Arwel against Kazu. Because Kazu holds so much power, he doesn't want to lose to two teenagers. He then banishes Arwel from Tochinokori. It all ended in tears from Miku, Kobe, Arwel, and even Ingrid--as they said their final goodbyes to Arwel.