HOME | DD

Description
Weiss woke up, and noticed three things. One, he was laying on the ground, which was rocky and hard compared to the carpeting of his house. Two, it was nighttime, and it had been daytime the last time he checked. Three, there was a very strange man standing directly above him. The man was very pale and slender, with very long tresses of bright red hair. From not too far away, it would be easy to mistake this person for a woman. He was wearing very feminine clothes, including a pair of high-heeled shoes, and plenty of makeup.
“Hiiii,” the man sang at Weiss while waving energetically at him. “Where’d you come from?” His voice was high pitched and sing-song, and it grated on every nerve Weiss had. “You just sort of came from out of nowhere!”
Weiss groaned. “I don’t know. Who are you… and why are you dressed like that?” He looked around at his surroundings, and saw a desolate, soulless wasteland of deep red rock and dust, with only a few dead trees dotting the landscape here and there. “You know what? Never mind. I’m dreaming, so there’s your answer. And if I’m dreaming, it’s my mind that created you, so I should get to name you. It’s a bit disturbing that my subconscious would create such a... special person… but whatever. I’ll call you Manfred.”
“Well, that’s not my name,” the man said, “but… that sort of makes sense…” He thought for a moment, but came up with nothing. “I guess you’ll have to call me Manfred, then.”
“Still,” Weiss wondered, “why are you dressed like that?”
“Must be your subco-whatsit. You must have this sort of thing down in there somewhere, right?” Manfred was grinning triumphantly, and Weiss was silent for a while. After a moment, he got up and started to walk away. Manfred followed him. “Where ya going?”
“Away from you,” Weiss replied. “There must be something interesting around here, and it sure as hell isn’t you.”
“Oh, come on,” Manfred whined, “I’m not that bad, am I? Shouldn’t you be a bit more-“
“No.”
Manfred paused. “Well, you’re going the wrong way. There’s a town off that way,” He pointed to the south. “And as far as I can tell a whole lot of nothing, the way you’re headed.”
Weiss gave him a dirty look, then turned around and went south.

…

After a couple of hours of walking, the two of them came across the town Manfred mentioned. It was a tiny village, with about twenty little houses grouped around a well. It was also completely deserted. It looked as if there was a large struggle long ago. Most of the houses were badly damaged; not a single window was intact. There were a few weapons scattered on the ground, simple things probably made by the village people. Weiss picked up a rusty old sword, and swung it around a bit. He never had any experience with any weapons, but he was always sort of interested, so he put it on his belt for later. At this point, he was fairly sure he wasn’t dreaming, because he was thirsty. He went over to the well to get a drink.
The well was nothing but a simple hole in the ground with a bucket on a rope next to it. It was obviously the focal point of the town. All of the houses faced it, and the ground was worn down into a circle around it. Weiss took the bucket and lowered it into the hole. The well was very deep, and it took him quite a while to get the bucket all the way down. He eventually got to the water, and dragged a bucketful up to the surface. It was cold, clear, and very refreshing. After his drink, he left the town, and continued to travel.
Weiss was starting to get worried. He didn’t know where he was or how to get back home, he didn’t have any food, and this place was hot, dry, and deserted. There was a dark aura here, and Weiss could feel it. He was deep in thought, when Manfred hopped in front of him. “Hey!”
Weiss nearly ran into him, but jumped out of the way. He groaned. “What are you still doing following me?”
“I dunno,” Manfred replied hastily. “But hey, what are you gonna do now? Where are you going?”
“Well, I’d like to get home.” Weiss looked around. “This place sucks. There’s… nothing to do.” He was starting to trail off.
“Hey, you’re not looking too good. Maybe you should-“
Weiss stopped him with an extended hand. “Shut up for a second.” He was more alert now. He had heard something. “I think someone’s coming,” he noticed. He looked around, and sure enough, someone was running after them. He stopped, wary of the newcomer. He had his hand on his new sword. As the person got closer, he could make out some of their details. It was a young woman, tall and slender, with long red hair. Something about her seemed out of place in this dark place, something radiant and pure. Weiss couldn’t tell what it was, or even where that feeling was coming from.
She ran up to them, hardly winded at all. “Did you just pass through that town to the south?” She looked very concerned, and was looking very carefully at Weiss’s eyes.
“Um, yeah,” Weiss replied. “Why?”
“Did you drink from the well in the center of town?” She asked sternly.
“Yeah, but the water was great. It-“
“I’m really sorry for this,” she interrupted with an apologetic look on her face. She punched him in the gut just beneath his sternum, causing him to retch up the water. “That water was contaminated. If I had given you another hour, you would be dead. Lie down.” Weiss was doubled over, so she helped him to the ground. She passed her hands, which glowed with a white light, over his stomach. Immediately, the wooziness he was feeling earlier abated, although now he was completely winded.
“Th… thanks,” he panted. He lay there for a moment, catching his breath. He looked at the woman who had just saved his life. She was wearing a long white gown, adding to her air of light. “Who are you?” he asked.
“My name is Anemonae.” Her voice was gentle and kind. “I don’t have any title or anything, but I guess you could call me a traveler if you wanted to. And you are…?”
“I’m Weiss.” He shook her hand from his position on the ground. “Thanks, Anemonae.”
She beamed. “No problem. I always try to help people out when I can. And I’m really sorry for hitting you like that, I was just thinking fast, and I’m kinda distracted, so, sorry. Can I ask what you’re doing here? You don’t look like you come from the Dark Realm.”
“Uh… I’m not sure, actually. What do you mean, the Dark Realm?”
Anemonae looked at him quizzically. “You must be from the Neutral Realm, huh? Well, you’re in for a bit of a head-scratcher, then. You see, there are two main parts of the universe: the Light Realm, and the Dark Realm. They converge to make the Neutral Realm. For a long time, the Light Realm and Dark Realm were at war, so everybody in those places knows of the other side. The Neutral Realm was left out of it, so most people there don’t know about the other Realms. I come from the Light Realm, and the world we’re in is the Dark Realm. Get it?”
Weiss got up, and scratched his head. “Yeah, but… if you’re from the Light Realm, what are you doing here?”
“Good question. I lost… something very valuable. It was stolen, actually, and I think it was taken here.”
“Oh… well, I hope you find it, Anemonae. But, uh, on a different note, how am I supposed to get home?”
Anemonae smiled, wryly. “Well, I could help you. But, you know, I’m kind of lonely by myself. I’ll tell you what: if you come with me to get the thing I lost, I’ll send you home. If you don’t want to, I guess I could just get you home now…”
“No, that’s alright. I’ll come with you…” Weiss sighed. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
“Great!” She indicated Manfred. “And what about you? Are you coming with us?”
“Why not?” Manfred replied. Weiss was about to protest, but Anemonae was already walking off. He and Manfred followed her.
For the first time since he had arrived in this strange world, Weiss was actually excited. He had never done anything remotely interesting in his entire life, and now he was being thrown into this adventure. Of course, he’d rather not be with Manfred, but he tried not to complain too much. They walked onwards for a while, and a forest came into view. It was getting dark, though, so they made a little camp for the night.

They would explore the forest the next day.

Description
Weiss woke up, and noticed three things. One, he was laying on the ground, which was rocky and hard compared to the carpeting of his house. Two, it was nighttime, and it had been daytime the last time he checked. Three, there was a very strange man standing directly above him. The man was very pale and slender, with very long tresses of bright red hair. From not too far away, it would be easy to mistake this person for a woman. He was wearing very feminine clothes, including a pair of high-heeled shoes, and plenty of makeup.
“Hiiii,” the man sang at Weiss while waving energetically at him. “Where’d you come from?” His voice was high pitched and sing-song, and it grated on every nerve Weiss had. “You just sort of came from out of nowhere!”
Weiss groaned. “I don’t know. Who are you… and why are you dressed like that?” He looked around at his surroundings, and saw a desolate, soulless wasteland of deep red rock and dust, with only a few dead trees dotting the landscape here and there. “You know what? Never mind. I’m dreaming, so there’s your answer. And if I’m dreaming, it’s my mind that created you, so I should get to name you. It’s a bit disturbing that my subconscious would create such a... special person… but whatever. I’ll call you Manfred.”
“Well, that’s not my name,” the man said, “but… that sort of makes sense…” He thought for a moment, but came up with nothing. “I guess you’ll have to call me Manfred, then.”
“Still,” Weiss wondered, “why are you dressed like that?”
“Must be your subco-whatsit. You must have this sort of thing down in there somewhere, right?” Manfred was grinning triumphantly, and Weiss was silent for a while. After a moment, he got up and started to walk away. Manfred followed him. “Where ya going?”
“Away from you,” Weiss replied. “There must be something interesting around here, and it sure as hell isn’t you.”
“Oh, come on,” Manfred whined, “I’m not that bad, am I? Shouldn’t you be a bit more-“
“No.”
Manfred paused. “Well, you’re going the wrong way. There’s a town off that way,” He pointed to the south. “And as far as I can tell a whole lot of nothing, the way you’re headed.”
Weiss gave him a dirty look, then turned around and went south.

…

After a couple of hours of walking, the two of them came across the town Manfred mentioned. It was a tiny village, with about twenty little houses grouped around a well. It was also completely deserted. It looked as if there was a large struggle long ago. Most of the houses were badly damaged; not a single window was intact. There were a few weapons scattered on the ground, simple things probably made by the village people. Weiss picked up a rusty old sword, and swung it around a bit. He never had any experience with any weapons, but he was always sort of interested, so he put it on his belt for later. At this point, he was fairly sure he wasn’t dreaming, because he was thirsty. He went over to the well to get a drink.
The well was nothing but a simple hole in the ground with a bucket on a rope next to it. It was obviously the focal point of the town. All of the houses faced it, and the ground was worn down into a circle around it. Weiss took the bucket and lowered it into the hole. The well was very deep, and it took him quite a while to get the bucket all the way down. He eventually got to the water, and dragged a bucketful up to the surface. It was cold, clear, and very refreshing. After his drink, he left the town, and continued to travel.
Weiss was starting to get worried. He didn’t know where he was or how to get back home, he didn’t have any food, and this place was hot, dry, and deserted. There was a dark aura here, and Weiss could feel it. He was deep in thought, when Manfred hopped in front of him. “Hey!”
Weiss nearly ran into him, but jumped out of the way. He groaned. “What are you still doing following me?”
“I dunno,” Manfred replied hastily. “But hey, what are you gonna do now? Where are you going?”
“Well, I’d like to get home.” Weiss looked around. “This place sucks. There’s… nothing to do.” He was starting to trail off.
“Hey, you’re not looking too good. Maybe you should-“
Weiss stopped him with an extended hand. “Shut up for a second.” He was more alert now. He had heard something. “I think someone’s coming,” he noticed. He looked around, and sure enough, someone was running after them. He stopped, wary of the newcomer. He had his hand on his new sword. As the person got closer, he could make out some of their details. It was a young woman, tall and slender, with long red hair. Something about her seemed out of place in this dark place, something radiant and pure. Weiss couldn’t tell what it was, or even where that feeling was coming from.
She ran up to them, hardly winded at all. “Did you just pass through that town to the south?” She looked very concerned, and was looking very carefully at Weiss’s eyes.
“Um, yeah,” Weiss replied. “Why?”
“Did you drink from the well in the center of town?” She asked sternly.
“Yeah, but the water was great. It-“
“I’m really sorry for this,” she interrupted with an apologetic look on her face. She punched him in the gut just beneath his sternum, causing him to retch up the water. “That water was contaminated. If I had given you another hour, you would be dead. Lie down.” Weiss was doubled over, so she helped him to the ground. She passed her hands, which glowed with a white light, over his stomach. Immediately, the wooziness he was feeling earlier abated, although now he was completely winded.
“Th… thanks,” he panted. He lay there for a moment, catching his breath. He looked at the woman who had just saved his life. She was wearing a long white gown, adding to her air of light. “Who are you?” he asked.
“My name is Anemonae.” Her voice was gentle and kind. “I don’t have any title or anything, but I guess you could call me a traveler if you wanted to. And you are…?”
“I’m Weiss.” He shook her hand from his position on the ground. “Thanks, Anemonae.”
She beamed. “No problem. I always try to help people out when I can. And I’m really sorry for hitting you like that, I was just thinking fast, and I’m kinda distracted, so, sorry. Can I ask what you’re doing here? You don’t look like you come from the Dark Realm.”
“Uh… I’m not sure, actually. What do you mean, the Dark Realm?”
Anemonae looked at him quizzically. “You must be from the Neutral Realm, huh? Well, you’re in for a bit of a head-scratcher, then. You see, there are two main parts of the universe: the Light Realm, and the Dark Realm. They converge to make the Neutral Realm. For a long time, the Light Realm and Dark Realm were at war, so everybody in those places knows of the other side. The Neutral Realm was left out of it, so most people there don’t know about the other Realms. I come from the Light Realm, and the world we’re in is the Dark Realm. Get it?”
Weiss got up, and scratched his head. “Yeah, but… if you’re from the Light Realm, what are you doing here?”
“Good question. I lost… something very valuable. It was stolen, actually, and I think it was taken here.”
“Oh… well, I hope you find it, Anemonae. But, uh, on a different note, how am I supposed to get home?”
Anemonae smiled, wryly. “Well, I could help you. But, you know, I’m kind of lonely by myself. I’ll tell you what: if you come with me to get the thing I lost, I’ll send you home. If you don’t want to, I guess I could just get you home now…”
“No, that’s alright. I’ll come with you…” Weiss sighed. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.”
“Great!” She indicated Manfred. “And what about you? Are you coming with us?”
“Why not?” Manfred replied. Weiss was about to protest, but Anemonae was already walking off. He and Manfred followed her.
For the first time since he had arrived in this strange world, Weiss was actually excited. He had never done anything remotely interesting in his entire life, and now he was being thrown into this adventure. Of course, he’d rather not be with Manfred, but he tried not to complain too much. They walked onwards for a while, and a forest came into view. It was getting dark, though, so they made a little camp for the night.

They would explore the forest the next day.