No one can seem to remember exactly. Was it forever ago? It feels like it was, but⌠when you blink away the shadows lurking at the corner of your vision, you agree that it canât have been more than a few years, since he made his appearance in Karkaton, turning the land into a fiery shadow of its former self. When you think on it⌠yes, yes. You clearly remember hearing the news about Karkaton. It wasnât too long ago.
And yet, you canât shake the feeling like the shadows in the corner of your eye have been there longer than you can remember.
How odd.
Story Averett is sixteen years old. She is five feet and eleven inches tall, though itâs a few inches shorter in practicality given her tendency to slump, and she weighs a hundred and forty eight pounds. And most importantly, she is alone.
Sheâs been alone for quite some time, really, and sheâs traveled an awful long distance away from home. Sheâs hungry a lot, and cold a lot, and itâs hard to find places to sleep when youâre a sixteen year old girl traveling alone with no money, and itâs hard to travel very far very fast when you have to avoid monsters lurking around every shadow-infested corner of Miitopia, which is apparently all of them. She canât seem to catch a break.
Despite traveling for months trying to find a part of Miitopia that hasnât been taken over at least in part by the Dark Lordâs forces, she hasnât reached one yet. All she wants is one spot of light, and so she travels west, west, west, every day and night, alone and cold and hungry and scared.
Story Averett arrives in Greenhorne with a heavy feeling in her heart. Greenhorne borders the coast. If the Dark Lord is here, there isnât any place she can go where he wonât be. For better or for worse, this is the end of her journey.
Or so she thought.
[...] years ago.
âWe canât keep doing this,â says a tired voice.
âYou, maybe,â laughs another. âI can keep doing this forever.â
âIf we keep [...],â argues [RXXXXXXX], âthe structural integrity of this world-â
â-will [...], I know, youâve said it over and over,â [OXXXXXXX] says exasperatedly. âThen we can [...].â
âI donât want to give up on this world,â [RXXXXXXX] pleads. [...]
[OXXXXXXX] laughs. âYou know me. Itâs just not in my nature. Now, come on. Letâs [...]â
No response. And then, a tired, quiet, âMaybe this time it will be different.â
âYou and I both know it wonât be,â [OXXXXXXX] says. âUnless you decide to give up this time and let me win.â
âYou know I canât do that.â
âThen it seems like weâre at an impasse, then.â
Silence.
âCome on, [RXXXXXXX]. Letâs go.â Thereâs an audible grin in [OXXXXXXX]âs voice. âWeâve got a lot to do.â
Somewhere, there is a cleric mourning the loss of her mother.
Somewhere, there is a warrior running from a past he knows will catch up to him one day.
Somewhere, there is a mage following orders and wondering if itâs really the right thing to do.
Somewhere, there is an imp locked up and crying for the light of day.
Somewhere, there is a chef biding his time for the right time to strike.
Somewhere, there is a scientist wishing for something more than what she has.
Somewhere, there is a pop star singing a message she isnât sure she believes in anymore.
Somewhere, there is a tank looking after the only thing she has left to protect.
Somewhere, there is a flower ruminating on the life they lost long ago.
Somewhere, there is a Dark Lord in a castle, planning an attack on the last city to the west.
Somewhere, there is a Guardian Spirit locked away, waiting to be discovered, craving to be used again.
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So letâs skip straight to the parts that matterâ
Story Averett, all sixteen years, five feet eleven inches, and one hundred and forty eight pounds of her, did not expect to become an adventurer today. But, well, here we are, anywayâa resplendent show of lights and sparks leaves her breathless and dizzy with newfound power under her fingertips. The charm around her neck, nestled safely under her bandana, glimmers with the same power she felt surging through her veins.
It may not seem like much from the outside, just a fancy new outfit and a knife, but Story can feel it coursing through her. This is the difference between being a traveler and an adventurer, a heroâthis is the thrill Story had been seeking.
She catches her breath after rescuing the face of the young child from the village, looking at the knife in her hands.
Story knows she should be more worried, because this place, this kingdomâthis is a Greenhorne a little different from the one you know, perhaps, and heroes are harder to come by and much less appreciated than you might think. Especially thieves, who have a reputation for, well, theyâre not called thieves for no reason. Sheâs not likely to get much welcome, now. But something in her thinks that maybe itâs worth it, just for this.
She pockets her knife and heads towards town. Sheâs got a kid to make sure is all right.
This is a Miitopia where being a hero is not just a title. Being a hero of the light means having divinity on your sideânameless gods from times before strung on charms or hidden in pockets, lending you strength and power. When youâre facing the forces of darkness, you need more than just the light of one lonely soul to guide you. Without a little extra to back you up, youâll have no chance, and soon the forces of darkness will seep in and puppet you, too, just like the things you tried so valiantly to fight against.
This is a Greenhorne where, maybe, things are a little darker than they have been. A place where whispers of the Dark Lord to the east have long since reached like fingers into the minds of people, metaphorically if not literally, spreading panic and hysteria rippling through every town. There used to be light, there used to be heroes. But then the heroes started losing, and as the forces of darkness poured in people turned against those they once trusted to keep them safe. Darkness is drawn to light like a moth to a flame, after all, and whoâs to say these heroes arenât the ones bringing it to us in the first place? They were driven out, or worse, and now, instead of heroes, high walls and bright lanterns fueled by divine energy keep the darkness out.
Itâs not working particularly well. But hardly anyone notices when a few shadows slip in through the cracks until itâs too late. Cities of shadow puppets dance in the flickering candles, and no oneâs the wiser.
The town of Greenhorne is not shadow puppets, though there is certainly more darkness than there should be. Itâs farther west, almost right on the edge of the continent, and the Dark Lordâs influence hasnât spread quite that far yet. Or at least, it hadnât, not until today, not until the last place of light to the west fell to the shadows as the Dark Lord paid it a personal visit.
Now, with a burning light inside her, as Story steps through the gates, itâs all she can feel, shadows writing and creeping all around her. She curls around the guardian charm instinctively, though whether itâs to protect them or so they can protect her she doesnât know. Still, she keeps a bright smile on her face, walking past people who stare at her from the places where their faces should be and towards the mother clutching her child.
âThank you,â she says, her eyes tearful. âThank you, so much.â
âOf course,â Story responds. âItâs what a hero would do, right?â
Thereâs something in the motherâs eyes, and Story wonders if maybe sheâd used the antique charm before. Certainly enough to know the dangers of the shadows, more than the others in this town who think this facelessness is the end of it. (It is not the end of it. Story had always thought it was, too, but under the light she can feel something growing inside the faceless ones. She wonders how deep the Dark Lordâs influence goes.)
âYes,â the mother says. âYes, it is.â
Story can tell the others in town are wary. Itâs been so long since a real hero has been around, and they donât quite know how to act around her, especially since thieves donât exactly have the best reputation to begin with. Being a hero - a real hero, a divine hero - is something thatâs become so uncommon that Story herself had only heard legends and whispers.
(But thatâs odd. Something in her frowns. Hasnât the Dark Lord only been here a few years? Why have heroes been gone for as long as she can remember? Why is it that when the Guardian Spirit lent her its divine power, she could feel shadows that had been there so long she couldnât remember a time without them receding from her mind?)
So Story puts on a smile as she approaches the mayor of the town.
âMy name is Story,â she says. âIâm a hero. Iâm here to help.â
The mayor eyes her suspiciously, but heâs in absolutely no place to deny her help at this point, not in the sorry state the town is in. âAll right,â he says. âThe town is in shambles, thief⌠I donât know what to do. Can you help fight off the Dark Lordâs forces?â
Story isnât sure she can, but something compels her to nod anyway. âOf course,â she says. âIâll get everyoneâs faces back. I promise.â
The mayor looks like he still isnât sure, but, well, she did save that childâs face. He nods. âAll right. Here.â He gestures for her to follow him into his office.
She does so, and he pulls out some parchment and stops writing. âWhat are you doing, sir?â
âWell, if youâre going to be saving us, we may as well be paying you,â he grumbles. âHow does 200 gold for every face you find sound?â
Storyâs eyes widen. âThatâs more than enough, sir.â
He nods quickly. âWell, I donât know about more than enough, but itâll cover your travel expenses, at least.â He holds out the piece of paper, a contract. âThis is the last city to the west, thief. We cannot let it fall.â
Story looks at it and wavers. Just today she was a hopeless runaway with nothing to her name. A hero? Really?
But⌠they need her. They all do. All of Miitopia does.
She sets her face in determination and nods firmly. âI wonât let you down, sir.â
The mayor grins. âYou better not, thief.â
A little while later, Story settles herself into a room at the inn and sighs. Itâs still early, but itâs been a long day, and Story just wants to rest.
But thereâs something she has to do first.
She holds the guardian charm in both hands. Despite having only just picked it up, the glass feels warm under her fingers, almost like sheâs been holding it for a while. Or, no - the warmth is coming from inside the glass, like a tiny bit of sunlight has been trapped inside, swirling in shades of blue.
âCan we talk?â Story asks, holding her breath.
Nothing happens, for a minute, and Story scowls. âJust gonna give me the silent treatment? I oughta-â She lets out a yelp as the charm heats up and starts to glow, and she feels her soul separate from her body with a distinct ripping sensation - but faster than pain can set in, itâs soothed by a calming feeling of magic swirling through her, and then sheâs back in the endless blue of the guardian charm.
â...hi,â she says.
Hello, my child, the guardian spirit says. Itâs been a long day, and I understand I didnât have the time to explain very well beforehand. I suspect you have questions?
âHeck yeah, I do,â she says. âYouâd better have answers.â
Weâll see, they say. Ask away, my child.
Story nods, despite not being sure if this mysterious voice can see them, and thinks a minute. âWhy⌠why me?â
Why you? The guardian spirit seems to chuckle. You were meant to be a hero, Story.
âI.â Story shifts uncomfortably. âIâm not too sure that I am, actually? I mean, not to be, like, rude, but⌠I really donât think I was, um, the best⌠choice, maybe?â
What do you mean by that?
She fidgets, tugging at the bandana around her neck. âIâm not⌠Iâm not a hero. Iâm just - some dumb runaway. I donât think Iâm cut out to save anyone, let alone⌠all of Greenhorne.â
Story⌠oh, my child. The spirit sighs, its voice a warm and gentle breeze against her - well, not her ears, exactly, sheâs not sure sheâs exactly hearing things in this weird blue pocket-dimension, but itâs like a pure sensation of comfort blooming in her chest. Story Averett, from the moment I came into contact with you I could sense the spark of a heroâs soul within you. You may not think youâre cut out to save Greenhorne, but with time, I know you could save all of Miitopia.
Storyâs breath hitched, and she swallowed thickly. âA-all of Miitopia? Thatâs kind of a⌠a hefty order⌠I thought heroes were just supposed to, um, protect-â
-towns? the guardian finishes. Story, weâre much past small-town protectors. The Dark Lord has taken over almost all of southern Miitopia. If you donât stop him now⌠Thereâs no one else who will.
âAh,â Story says. âBut no pressure, though, right?â
Oh, Story⌠Do not feel afraid, they reassure her. Iâm certain you can do it.
âRight,â Story says quietly. Sheâs... not so certain, to say the least.
But⌠this guardian spirit, this god, or whatever they are, they believe in her. Story closes her eyes and steels herself. If sheâs all theyâve got, then⌠sheâs at least got to try. For Miitopia. For her family.
A hero, huh?
âSo, uh, whatâs the game plan here, GS?â she asks. âHow do I defeat the Dark Lord?â
The guardian spirit seems pleased with her determination as they reply, Focus on Greenhorne now. On getting stronger. Save this town, and travel east. All the way to Karkaton, where the Dark Lordâs forces lie. Thatâs where youâll face him.
Story lets out a breath. âThatâs a long way away.â
It is, the guardian concedes. But you wonât have to do it alone. Iâve called forth some companions for you. They should arrive within a few days. And⌠you have myself, as well. Always.
Story smiles slightly, a little nervous. âGood to know,â she says.
The abilities Iâve given you are powerful, but you need to learn how to use them, they say. Luckily, the Dark Lord is weak in this area. You should have no trouble defeating his minions, which will in turn give you more strength. And donât be afraid to call on my abilities if you need extra assistance.
âThank you,â Story says. âIâll probably need it.â
I suspect youâll need it less than you think you will, child, they chuckle. You should set out eastward, for the first face, in the morning. In the meantime, however, you need rest. Itâs been a long day.
âRight,â Story says, closing her eyes. âGoodnight, GS.â
Goodnight, my child, comes the voice like a whisper, and a fluttery feeling of magic and the movement of her soul. When she opens her eyes again, sheâs back in the inn room.
Story curls her hand around the guardian charm for comfort, and then sets it carefully down on the table by her bed.
âWatch out, Dark Lord,â she says weakly, trying to convince herself more than anything. âIâm coming for you.â
She passes out the minute her head hits the pillow.
The next day finds Story standing shakily in front of a monster just outside of Greenhorne, knife in hand. Itâs just a butterfly, she tells herself. A butterfly with someoneâs eyes, her brain responds. Shut up, she tells herself, and charges.
Her knife makes contact and Story thinks it does some damage, but itâs hard to tell exactly because this thing is made of, like, rock or something and doesnât have any blood. Story, on the other hand, does have blood, but thankfully none of it comes out when the rock moth hits her back. Hard.
Story is knocked backwards, and before she can muster the strength to get back on her feet again the rock moth has fluttered away. She lets out a groan and clutches her stomach, where the monster had hit her.
âI donât think I can do this,â she says, not for the first time that day.
The sound of the guardian spiritâs spiritual âvoiceâ is something Story has quickly become accustomed to, and so when it filters into her brain with a Donât worry, she doesnât even jump. Youâve hit a bit of trouble there, donât you? Iâve got just the thing to help.
And then that familiar burst of magic swirls through her hand and out of it, and Story is holding a small container of⌠something. It looks almost like a salt shaker, but itâs yellow, and whatâs inside looks like flecks of gold.
âWhat is this?â Story asks, turning it around in her hands.
Itâs called⌠Well, itâs been given a lot of names, but theyâre technically called HP sprinkles. Theyâll restore your health in a pinch, by-
âSprinkles⌠Like cake? Can I eat them?â
No, Story, youâre not supposed toâ
âIâm gonna eat âem.â Story opens her mouth and turns the shaker upside down over it, a few flakes falling into it. Almost immediately, she spits them out. âEuch!â
I did warn you, dear.
âCouldâve warned me a little better!â
I tried, my child. The guardian spirit sounds exasperated. You didnât listen. The way youâre actually supposed to use them is by sprinkling them over your head.
âLike, uh.â Story hesitantly holds up the bottle. âLike this?
Yes.
âFeels a little silly, but okay.â Story shakes, and golden flakes come out and dance through her hair before turning into golden magic that swirls into her. She blinks, stretching. âOh, wow. That is a lot better. Thank you!â
Of course, the guardian spirit says. Iâm here to help you, Story. Donât forget that.
âRight,â Story says. âThanks, um⌠You know, youâve helped me out so much and I donât even know your name!â
The guardian spirit seems a bit surprised at the question. Itâs been some time since someone asked my name⌠Hm. You may call me Radiance.
âRadiance,â Story says. âFunky.â
Is it not good?
âNo, itâs a cool name! I like funky.â She pockets the bottle of HP sprinkles and tosses her knife in the air, trying to catch it.
She misses, of course, and it falls to the ground, but she doesnât let that bother her, scooping it back up. âLetâs go find another monster to fight. I think I can beat it this time.â
Thatâs the spirit, Story!
Story grins. âThe guardian spirit - sorry, sorry, I had to.â She holds her knife at the ready and proceeds down the route.
The next rock moth she comes across, sheâs ready. She takes a deep breath and holds up the knife, feeling her shaking hand still, light and magic swirling around inside her.
She throws the knife, which hits the moth and ricochets off, and then neatly grabs it back out of the air.
Story lets out a gasping breath. âI did it!â
Yes, you did - now look out!
Story yelps and is just a bit too late dodging the rock mothâs attack, getting hit again, and winces. But she gets back up, huffing out a breath, and tosses her knife.
This time, the rock moth bursts into the same light energy the first slime sheâd fought had turned into, a floating bubble with someoneâs face in it floating off into the sky towards its owner.
âI did it!â Story says, hopping from one leg to the other eagerly. âI did it!â
Iâm proud of you, my child, Radiance says. Every monster you defeat helps another person get their face back, and brings you one step closer to defeating the Dark Lord.
Story sighs. âBut we still havenât found any of the faces of people from Greenhorne TownâŚâ
You will, Story, donât worry. It will all come in due time. For now, just focus on getting stronger, and eventually, youâll be able to save the town.
â...Right,â Story says. âAnd - and then weâŚâ
Move on to the capital, Radiance says. Iâm certain that if we save the castle we can chase the Dark Lordâs forces out of Greenhorne entirely. And eventually, we can take back all of Miitopia.
Story feels anxiety fluttering in her gut again. â...Right,â she says. âWhat exactly, I mean⌠Whatâs the Dark Lordâs plan, even? Besides, like, taking over Miitopia? What are they gonna do once they do?â
She shivers as she feels something dark pass through the guardian spirit. Theyâre after control, my child. Control over everyone and everything. They just want to cover the whole land in darkness. And anyone who still stands with the light will be destroyed.
âOh,â Story says in a small voice.
Thatâs why youâre so important, Story, Radiance says. Why weâre so important. I could sense it from the first moment I met you, how much light you had inside of you. With my help, you can banish all of the darkness in Miitopia.
âRight,â Story says, squeezing her eyes shut. âRight. Right. I can do this. I can do this.â
Of course you can. I believe in you.
âThen.â Story takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. âThen letâs go fight some monsters.â
Elsewhere.
The Princess of Greenhorne is sitting on the roof of the castle.
Something is very, very wrong with her kingdom. She knows this, in the roots of her soul, and her heart hurts thinking about it. She wants to help, but every time she things about why it is wrong or what she can do to help, her thoughts turn fuzzy and her head feels like itâs splitting open until she stops.
Her father is doing nothing about it. He laughs off the reports heâs heard (for - for - for how long have they been coming in? She canât quite remember) and pretends that Greenhorne is still such a peaceful place.
The Princess knows that it is not. Something is hiding in the dark, something dangerous, something ruining them all. And no one is doing anything about it. Out of the corner of her eye, sometimes, she sees something lurking in the shadows, something that makes her brain hurt to think about but that she canât afford to stop thinking about. Everyone else in the castle may be able to pretend everything is fine, but she canât. She wonât allow herself to.
Everyone treats her like someone who must be protected. Like a damsel in distress. Her father, her guards, her lover - none of them want her to âwasteâ her time worrying about things, none of them want her in danger. Sheâs supposed to be pretty and ornamental and nothing else.
She canât abide by that.
Rhiannon is going to rule the kingdom one day and by God sheâs going to make sure she still has a kingdom to rule.
âTrade places with me,â she says to a guard in a whisper.
It takes a while to get the guard to trade places with her, but itâs almost a perfect match.
She wonders if anyone will even notice sheâs gone. If sheâs really so ornamental, so useless - they might not. She tells no one, not even her lover, and slips out of the castle one night with nothing to her name but a few gold pieces and a sword strapped to her belt. She grits her teeth.
Whoeverâs out there, threatening her kingdom -
They better watch out.
kind of a transition chapter, which is a bit weird for the first chapter? but i have never found the beginning of miitopia particularly compelling, and itâs been covered in a lot of stories, so this chapter is focusing less on plot and more on developing storyâs character. i also wanted to portray the effect that going from a âsimple travelerâ to a hero expected to save the whole world in one day might have on someone, which is why story was hesitant through much of this chapter and will continue to be that way for a while.
the part near the beginning describing the state of miitopia isnât just pretty prose. a lot of it will come back. both the stuff about the darkness and the stuff about heroes. i made the decision pretty early on in the planning process that heroes were going to be not super well-liked in this version of miitopia, and that there were going to be specific reasons why. i know thereâs a lot of weird stuff going on here, but hopefully itâll all get explained by the end!
also, the bit about the princess - i donât want to say much now, but keep an eye out for her, sheâll be back! :) sheâs only one of many changes iâm making to the plot, in an effort to make this more than a straight-up retelling of the game.
the official name of this story is now Cycles, by the way! if/when i ever get around to publishing it on AO3 itâll be under that name. itâll make more sense as time goes on.
if you have any questions, comments, or constructive criticism, my ears are always open! iâd love any kind of feedback! see you next time, whenever next time may end up being!