-info dump for the beginning of the prologue with very little dialogue, apologies to anyone it annoys. Welcoming all criticism and suggestions on this. Technically not my first story, but considering the other one got put on an indefinite hiatus before it even got to chapter 1 thanks to a dead laptop and no backup precautions. So it might as well be the 1st xD.-
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Ryan Krentz had always lived his life in a rather secluded manner. Given up from birth to adoption, Ryan had no idea who his biological parents were, and had almost no memory of his life before age 5. His years from age 5 were spent with his foster father, Sam, near Aleknagik, Alaska.. It was not exactly what most consider a loving home, mostly because both Ryan and his father were both of the same reclusive nature, but despite appearances they did get along well. Around the age of 7 Ryan took an interest in his fathers work as a bowyer, allowing them to further their relationship through a common practice. Sam was a man of few words, but that didn't stop him from providing very clear mentoring to Ryan while he discovered his budding talent in bow making. The materials Sam used were all natural, even going as far as the decorative paints, he produced everything himself. Glue from the Hide/Sinew, wood, horn, snake-skin, leather, and almost all of it was obtained by Sam himself during his frequent excursions into the woods.
Ryan finally created a bow that earned Sam's approval at the age of 10. He even caught a glint of pride in Sam's eyes as he looked over the Dall sheep horn bow. Though Ryan's triumph was short lived as Sam gave him his next task, learning how to use it properly. The next 5 years Ryan's time was spent Gathering materials, Hunting, Tracking, studying all sorts of fauna and animals, admiring the birds as the flew, and all this without ever stopping his efforts as a bowyer as well as reading extensively in any downtime. Once he knew every bit of Sam's enormous property like the back of his hand, Ryan was usually in the forest completely on his own. Unfortunately this meant that Sam and Ryan barely had any interaction from that point on. Despite his outward impassiveness Ryan discovered that he missed having Sam with him, so the surprise that came 3 years later was great news to him. That year Sam told him his activities were no longer limited to Sam's private land, and he gave Ryan a 80 pound draw longbow with the wraps painted like feathers, knocks like a beak, and a grip that perfectly fit his hand and gave the appearance of a hawk. Ryan was blown away because he'd never spoken of his love of avian creatures aloud. Feeling touched that he spent the time and effort to make a bow suited to his tastes, one of the only smiles that ever touched his expressionless face formed.
Snapping out of his reflection, Ryan finished waking up, and reached towards his favorite jacket with one arm while feeling the large maul scar on his collar bone with the other. This was an unconscious morning ritual he had developed due to the fact that the material used to make this black jacket was the same panther that made the scar, and every time he remembered the naïve mistake he made to get it. Generally it's a normal thing to be excited when you successfully prevail against your target, but immediately running up to it with no wariness after making the “kill” can come back to bite you... literally. After getting dressed and having a morning stretch Ryan left to his workshop to gather the materials he needed into his truck.
It had been over 6 years since Ryan had stopped travelling the world with Sam, he had now started fulfilling orders as a bowyer and trading meats/pelts to town to sustain himself in the cabin he lived in. He was still living on Sam's land, in fact he was living only 3 and a half miles away from Sam's cabin, yet he had rarely spoken to any human being in the last 6 years, including Sam. Despite the reclusive lifestyle Ryan had attracted quite a few eyes without realizing it, mostly female. Seeing a 24 year old man so reclusive was interesting to the townspeople so many tried to engage in conversation with him on the rare occasion that he went into town to trade. Most, if not all, failed. This mysteriousness got a lot of attention, not to mention that, even though he never put effort into it, Ryan's appearance rated highly with almost every woman he came across. The years of trekking through the wilderness, his hide clothes and bow, his impassive nature and expressions, and finally his model like face framed by sleek midnight black hair garnered him a lot of unnoticed attention. Unfortunately Ryan had a “little” less than a normal amount of common sense, so he usually just considered the gazes as people considering to commission a bow. It always kind of wounded him having so much interest, but comparatively small number's of people who actually ordered from him.
Pulling into the town Ryan was greeted by the usual stares as he made his way to the trading post. He loaded quite a large amount of hides, jerky, arrows, herbs, and some longbows into a cart before he walked into the post. Him dragging in the cart quickly drew the attention of the owner Jack Hanzley.
(Ryan) “Morning. Jack.”
(Jack) “Good morning Ryan, I see you brought in quite a haul this time”
(Ryan) “...nn”
(Jack) ”Alright then, then I guess let's get started here.”
Ryan watched Jack fumble around to bring out a few lists with the current prices and start combing through Ryan's cart while jotting down notes for quality, ages, colors. If he wasn't so expressionless, watching the old man would have definitely brought a smile to his face. Jack was an old friend of Sam's, and the one reason Ryan didn't bother selling his pelts by mail, or going to some place less personal. He was friendly, never treated Ryan oddly, and most of all he was always completely fair in his deals. Jack stood, apparently reaching completion in his list, and handed it to Ryan.
(Jack) ”that's what I can offer you right now”
Ryan didn't even bother to check the note, Jack had never cheated him and he knew he could be trusted, "That's, good. Have any, good timber?". Jack broke into a wide grin, "Actually I do. Follow me, can't wait till you see this."
After being led into a back room Ryan's eyes widen as he sees a large stack of Osage Orange, European Yew, Hickory, Bamboo, and even several sets of long horns, all of which have no visible flaws. For one of the first times in his life ,Ryan wasn't just silent, he was speechless.
(Jack) “So. What do you think”
(Ryan) “It's... incredible. How much. Can I afford?”
(Jack) “Wow, it's worth just about as much as what you sold just now. Just a few bucks over it, let's call that a birthday present then”
Actually the difference was well over a thousand dollars in Ryan's favour, but you'd never get him to admit that.
Ryan's eyes flashed with a few hints of excitement, "Really? You sure, Jack?" while he spoke he thought to himself, it seems like it would cost more than that. Putting on a haughty face, Jack confidently spoke out, "Of course I am! When is the last time I ever miscalculated a price sonny?". Despite assurance, Ryan still had a few suspicions, "I guess, That's right... Thank you, Jack. How, did you, get, all this?".
Jack's face returned to a beaming smile, "Just called in a few favours from some old contacts. Figured I'd surprise you with it the first time I saw you after your birthday, but who'd have expected you came in on the actual day" he said with a laugh.
(Ryan) “Actually. Forgot it. Will have. To go see. Sam soon.”
(Jack) “Haaa... leave it to you to forget your own birthday. Well you better get going, Sam will probably want to see you today... Anyway lets get this all loaded up”
After a bit of time and sweat, the back of Ryan's truck is overflowing with materials at an almost dangerous level. Seeing his truck sinking under the weight of all his new crafting material makes Ryan extremely eager with anticipation, almost ravenous as he imagines all the different bows he can pull out of these treasure's he had received. He expresses his heartfelt thanks to jack again as he starts to get in the truck.
Suddenly Jack's voice rang out, "Wait a sec!". After yelling he ran back inside. A few seconds later he came back out with a small stack of books, "Actually almost forgot something myself. Here's another present for you kid. Guessing you're probably going to be needing a few more soon."
Ryan's face showed a hint of a smile as he grabbed the books. Seeing all of them were fantasy themed he was even happier, "Th....thank you, very much" I really was about to finish off the last ones I had, Wah! These three are even about dragons!. Jack's smile widened ever further seeing the small cues of happiness in Ryan's expression, "Well I won't hold you up any longer kid, you better get going. Take care."
(Ryan) “I will jack. Really thank. You again.”
(Jack) “Oh, and how's the progress coming on that bow for Tim's boy?”
(Ryan) “Almost done. Taking it on, a hunt, tomorrow. If it works, well it, will be, ready, tomorrow.”
(jack) “Haha good to hear. Alright, I'll be sure to pass that news along to Tim, sure he'll be happy. Swear you're making them faster every day. See ya kid, say high to Sam for me.”
When Jack complimented his skills, Ryan's eyes glinted with a bit of happiness and pride as he responded, "Thank you, but I'm, still a, novice next, to Sam, and I'll, be sure, To. Take care, Jack.", before he drove off towards his workshop.
Pulling into the workshop, Ryan viewed the truck bed with happiness for a few moments, before grabbing a nearby bow and heading out. He wanted to get the testing over with as soon as possible and then try to find Sam to tell him the good news. Honestly he was already sure that the bow was fine, every stationary target test had gone perfectly. It is just a tradition of his that every bow he makes, he takes out on one hunt. After hiking through the woods for about half an hour he stumbled onto the trail of a lone buck. time to get started.
About 7 hours later steadied his breath and took a drawing stance. In his sight was a 5ft Grizzly feasting on a recently departed buck about 50m away. Ryan had taken too much time tracking the buck and would have to just find a different game, but when he locked eyes on the Grizzly that had stolen his kill, a dangerous glint had appeared in his eyes. Somehow he felt something weird about this thing. He never really feared any predator before, but this one had his body screaming to pull back. He somewhat regretted the recurve bow in his hand. Despite it being his own bow, Ryan wasn't exactly comfortable wielding the small bow, and feeling the approximately 40 pounds of resistance as he ran his fingers against the sinew string made Ryan grimace a bit. This hunt was only a small test for an order made bow, Ryan's personal bows all had a draw of at least 60+. Forty pounds may not produce enough force to take down this Grizzly even with his rather heavy arrows. Not to mention that, even though he had used it quite a bit, he wasn't anywhere near as familiar with this bow as his, but Ryan was never one to step back from a challenge. With a sudden flash of fire in his eye's he knocked one of his 650 grain arrows, drew back the bow, and let the arrow fly at the unsuspecting grizzly
(Ryan) everything's so black
(???) “so.... worth it?”
(Ryan) “wha.... who... where.... was what, worth it?”
(???) “Obviously I'm referring to challenging one of the deadliest creatures you know of, with no preparation, no backup, and an unfamiliar weapon”
(Ryan) what's she mea....oh yeah, I remember shooting at that Grizzly and then... “Apparently, I lost, to it. so no, I guess”
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(???) “Lost??? apparently??? YOU MEAN YOU DON'T REMEMBER!?... I guess the shock must have kept the memory from sticking to your soul before you died”
(Ryan) “so... I really am...”
(???) “yes yes you're dead, but we'll get back to this. I don't care if you're shocked or what, but I'm not letting you forget this one”
Suddenly a bright light fills the blackness, and a window appears in front of Ryan showing himself staring at the grizzly
(Ryan) “is that... me???”
(???) “.... you don't know? Yes it's you. How long has it been since you looked in a mirror that you forgot your own appearance?!”
Ryan suddenly took on a serious expression, combing his memory, while counting on his fingers, "7.... i guess"
(???) “seven weeks? Well sure your hair would change quite a bit, but I don't thin...”
(Ryan) “years”
(???) “how.... how do you even.... never mind, not important. Anyway watch the screen in front of you things are about to get interesting.”
Ryan turned his attention back to the screen just as the arrow releases. It flies with a slight deviation to where he had intended, but still buries itself into the neck of the bear, right in front of the shoulder. By the time the arrow had hit, Ryan could see himself already knocking and drawing the next. The moment the bear turned towards him, Ryan was already behind a different tree, and another arrow was already on the way. It buried itself into the bears torso, surprisingly making it past the ribs and into the lung. At the point Ryan was confused as he couldn't figure out why he was dead, between blood loss and the punctured lung there shouldn't be enough time for the bear to reach him much less find him. Unfortunately the reality of it was beyond belief. The Ryan on the screen couldn't see due to hiding, but the current Ryan just stared in disbelief as the bear just charged directly at the tree he had hidden behind. He knew for a fact that the bear couldn't have seen him, and he also knew that he was downwind. There was no reason the bear could have found him, and there shouldn't even have been a way it would have made it to him in the first place, but there it was. He watched in horror as this supposedly mortally wounded bear dashed all the way to the tree, at this point the Ryan in the screen had realized something was wrong because of the sound and dashed away, but it was obviously too late. The bear even seemed to have known which direction he would run. Getting away from a bear charging at you from less than 7 meters, easier said than done. Ryan watched himself knock another arrow and turn around, clearly he had known he had no chance, but it didn't seem to bother him at all... Ryan saw something that shocked him even more than the immortal bear. On the screen... on his own face.... was a wide smile. A complete wide smile, and a face filled with joy. Ryan may not know his own face, but he was absolutely certain he had never made a face like that.
While he was still in shock, the bear progressed towards his grinning image on the screen. Ryan had fully drawn the bow, and at the same time the bear reared up sending a vicious swipe at him. The bears arm missed the arrows release by a few hundredths of a second, but it sure didn't miss Ryan. With a horrifying tearing and crunching sound, Ryan watched his own arm get crushed and torn, along with his bow. Half of his arm might as well have been torn off, as it was mostly separated halfway down the forearm. The front half was hanging by the muscles and tendons, and blood was literally pouring down the arm. The top of the arm honestly wasn't much better, the bicep was flayed and the elbow was clearly shattered, but the most disturbing thing Ryan saw on the screen... that smile still hadn't left his lips. The bear surprisingly didn't follow up the attack, and it took a while to observe why.... an arrow was lodged into it's eye, sunk all the way to the fletching, and the arrowhead sticking out the back. Ryan realized the reason the grin stayed was because he had achieved what he wanted, even if it had come at the cost of his craft, his hunting, his arm, and probably even his life.... he still triumphed. That grin had never faded even as the bear tipped over towards him. Ryan watched as his entire body was crushed under the weight of the bear. His body was obviously too mangled to get out of the way.
Looking away from the screen Ryan took notice that the mysterious girl he was talking to was actually visible now. She had tan skin, raven black hair, carried an unusual green bow, and surprisingly enough.... she was an... elf. He loved fantasy stories for as long as he remembered, and two of his favourite aspects were always 4 things. Dragons, Magic, Beastmen,.... and ELVES. Appearing to have sense the sudden intensity in his gaze the woman turned towards him and sighed
(???) “You know if you don't start paying attention you'll miss something important.”
Ryan titled his head in confusion, honestly still fighting to come to terms, "What, do... you mean? I'm clear...ly already, dead."
(Sam) “RYAN!!!!!!”
Ryan rapidly turned towards the source of the voice in surprise, "Sam!?". What he saw from the direction he heard the voice is the screen showing him pinned under the bear. Next to him Sam was there cradling his head, and staring in disbelief at the parts of his broken body uncovered by the bear. Sam was not inexperienced with wounds, and he certainly knew enough about the body to know there was no hope for the crushed and mangled body in his hands, but that still didn't stop him from begging Ryan to wake up. Saying over and over that it'll be all right... most likely desperate to convince himself of that even more than Ryan. To Ryan's surprise he heard his own voice amid the yells of Sam.
(Ryan) “never, knew *cough* you, could, make... such... *wheeze* an uproar, old man. ”
(Sam) “stupid boy, don't waste your energy *hick* I called for help, they'll be here soon just hold on”
Ryan laughed a little, causing himself to wheeze and cough up blood, “you, know, I, can't *wheeze*, but I, can hol*cough*, hold on, long, enough. To tell, you tha*cough* thank you, Sam. The *wheeze* lessons you, taught me. The times I *cough* spent, with, you. Made, my, life, all *cough* I could ev*wheeze* ever wa..want. I may, have, only... lived 24, years... but yo*cough* you, made them, more *wheeze* than.... *wheeze*....i...could.......ask”. By the time he finished, Sam was openly weeping, “shut up fool boy *sob*, you've forgotten what today is, you've lived 25 years already *sob* and you've got way more than 25 left *sob* you're not allowed to die *sob* especially not before an old man like me*sob*.... Ryan?? …..hhnnnngg. no.... .noo.... please just talk fool boy *broken words and sobs*”
In the present Ryan could barely see the screen through his tears. He had always known Sam cared, but actually seeing it, and knowing just how strongly, completely broke through his impassive nature. Ryan openly wept several minutes after the screen had faded out. Finally regaining some notion of himself again Ryan turned back to the elven woman, his joy at seeing her elven form was still there, but it was definitely suppressed at this moment. Through his teary eyes he saw the woman staring at him with a warm understanding gaze, the status quo continued for awhile before he finally broke the silence.
(Ryan) “So..... the grim, reaper is, an elf?”
(???) “....ku...kuhahahhahhhah..... I'm no grim reaper kid. I'm Skadi. A god”
(Ryan) “A... god? Didn't, ever think, those were, real.”
Skadi looked at him with flat eyes that held no surprise, “Yeah, kind of expected that from a man who hasn't seen his own face in 7 years. I doubt you ever really considered anything other than your tasks at hand, much less the existence of all powerful beings *laughs*. Honestly I don't even have much influence in your world, but a certain recent event caught my attention enough to make me come here in person”
(Ryan) “What?”
At the reply, Skadi raised an eyebrow, "Consider I've got your soul here, and I've spent all this time talking to you. It should probably be obvious it's you."
(Ryan) “Why?”
(Skadi) “Haaa... Again just the one word, well maybe this will get a bit more out of you. You still remember that bear fight right, did you think there was anything disturbing about it?”
(Ryan) *nods*
Skadi's face fell into her palm, “Not even a word this time.... well anyway, you probably noticed that thing was acting beyond what one could expect from a fatally wounded beast. Everything from it's reaction time, it's finding you, and it's endurance are actually all linked to a god”. At this revelation, Ryan's eyes widened slightly, "Really?".
Immediately after his reply, Skadi's eyes hardened, and her jaw clenched, “Yes, really. I'm rather sure it was a being blessed by a god of combat. Either a god chose it specifically, or it was born with it by chance. Since it was an ordinary beast before the blessing, I'd say the latter is more likely. That being said being born with a blessing is a once in a trillion chance at most, but what I'm here for is even less likely.... An ordinary mortal who managed to take down an existence blessed by a god of combat, in a one on one fight, and nothing but a normal bow. The chances of that happening by luck are absolutely 0, and until today I would have assumed the same for skill. As such, I want to ask a question of you. Would you like to become my champion and reincarnate to my world. My primary blessings are related to hunting, specifically bow hunting, so I feel it would be a good match, but it's all your choice”
(Ryan)“Hm....sure”
Skadi's jaw clenched harder and her left eyelid twitched a bit, “Right, all that's settled then. I should tell you that you're going to have some difficulty in the next world, especially when it comes to memories. You'll be able to keep them all, but you will only slowly recall them as you age. If we tried to fit your entire consciousness into a 2 month old body it'd destroy it's brai... no honestly given the last replies it might not be a worry". As she said the last line, her expression became unbelievably cold. Not paying attention to her change, Ryan simply tilted his head a bit, asking "why?".
A vein starting to throb on Skadi's temple as she let out an unstable laugh. “Hohohohohoho why he asks, THAT'S EXACTLY WHY! Now since you answered my last question so concisely I'll ask a new one now. How many times will I be slapping you if you answer my entire statement with one word again”. As her rant concluded, Skadi's face was visibly dyed red with anger.
Drawing back out of fear, Ryan hesitated for a bit before replying, “....uh.... a few?”. Skadi's face completely flushed, and her fist tightly clenched by her side, as she stared daggers at him. “Uh... Gah...... Gruhhhhhhh!”. Slowly her face lost it's color, and she changed to a completely deadpan tone and expression, “We'll continue this conversation in about... 8 years for you. Please learn how to converse by then”
Ryan, still disturbed by her sudden changed, managed to squeeze out, “..... ok...”
*SLAP! SLAP!! SLAP!!!!!!!*
(Ryan)“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!!”
(???) “congratulations Kayla, it's a boy!”
Suddenly Ryan found himself moving rather fast through the air, coming to rest in the arms of a woman with black hair and tan skin.
(Kayla) “I'll call you, Ryzan. He seems to be crying quite loudly, wonder why”
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Ok I just recently converted the dialogue in this chapter(the previous way was annoying to me and the readers). The next few chapters right after this may use (name) *action and events* "spoken word". They will be converted soon. Please tell me if I made any errors, pretty likely I made a few more after changing the dialogue style.