The story doesn't actually say, but the reader is meant to assume that Keyri lives in what used to be the United States. In this possible future, the US government no longer exists, and a dictator controls the nation. Religion and religious practices are outlawed in this regime, and the punishment is severe—the death sentence to anyone caught performing any religious practices or owning any religious items or symbols. One could be killed simply for having an old Bible or a gold cross necklace in one's house. Society has been divided into two parts—the haves and the have-nots. Those who are in control are rich and powerful, with access to superior technology, the comforts of modern living, abundant food and clean water, education, health care...they want for nothing. They also have considerable political power, and they serve much the same role as the nobility of medieval Europe, as each member of this society belongs to a respected family. The other half of society lives in poverty and squalor. Drinkable water is hard to come by, as is food; many live in the dilapidated wrecks of former suburban areas, or in inner city slums, or in out-of-the-way towns that are slowly falling apart. Vagabonds are common, wandering from place to place in search of somewhere they belong. Keyri is one of these.

Here you can read a summary of Keyri's story. I won't publish the entire thing online, mainly because I plan to get it published elsewhere someday. This is true of most of the original stories on this site. However, the summary alone is definitely interesting, and maybe some of my visitors will remember it and keep an eye out for the story's eventual publication!

Not too many goodies for this storyline; none of them are my original work, at any rate, aside from the actual story itself. First of all, the profile picture I have up for Keyri is of Asuka, from Neon Genesis Evangelion. I have it up because I used to play Keyri in Rivendell once in a while, although she really doesn't fit in there, not being from any sort of medieval or fantasy world. I'll post an actual picture of Keyri if I ever get around to drawing one. And because I feel I should post some sort of goodie, here's an interesting fact. After writing this story, I thought it would be nice to include a Bible verse, so I went to the bookmark in my Bible where my favorite verses were, from Psalm 33. Upon closer reading, however, I discovered that the entire Psalm seems oddly similar to the plot of my story, and the joyful writing style seems to go along particularly well with the celebration scene at the very end of the story. So here it is for you to read, in case you don't have a Bible or don't feel like looking it up. It's beautiful poetry. (For those of you who aren't too familiar with the Bible, the Psalms were written by King David—that's right, the very same guy from the David and Goliath story.)

Keyri's Story ©2001 Amy Unfred