*M i d n a*
Æsir Scribe
Alright, so here is this brief introduction. Okay, it's sorta long, lol. And it would have been longer since I had planned to introduce this and three other chapters so as to give you an idea of the whole plot right away. But I had not the time, I got busy and so this is what you get to start the fan fic off.
This is jut a Fan-Fic, all rights of Fire Emblem belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
I dedicate this Fan-Fic to all my friends here, readers I don't know of who read my stories, and to all Fire Emblem Fan out there.
I guess this story is rated G, for everyone.
Come then, and enjoy this great tale alongside the Great One!
The current running year in Magvel is 836, Seventh Month, Day 15th. Nothing unusual about that...
But thirty years ago the Demon King ceased to exist at the hands of a group of brave heroes. Known also as Fomortiis, the Demon King is no more, his soul forever has been lost in the chasm of non-existence, the oppressor has been utterly destroyed.
But in his wake for total power, and for the opportunity to rule the world in darkness, which dates back as far to the year 3, Fomortiis left an untraceable dark past behind that was unknown even to the five brave heroes who disposed of him for the first time back in the year 3. That past...even with his foul soul removed forever from existence, is returning to engulf the world of Magvel.
This is the story of the next generation of heroes. Read at your own risk...
Ashie's cute face brightened in satisfaction and showed a sly smile when she noticed her friend's frightened reaction at what she had just told her. It was always priceless, the silver haired mage thought just by looking at her, Bezzel's reaction always was and would be priceless to Ashie, the apprentice mage Princess was just too easily frightened.
"You can't possibly be serious, Ashie!" Bezzel's young voice sounded too worried, and her face showed fear clearly. "Seriously? Are you out of your mind? You want to disobey the Matriarch's direct order, sneak out and head to the Black Temple?"
"Oh, she won't say anything," Ashie went on, enjoying staring at her friend's frightened semblance, which didn't change right away and possibly wouldn't be changing any time soon. "Matriarch Lute loves me too much to chastise me in any way."
Bezzel, who was of short stature and had long, aqua blue hair, rolled her brown eyes, but she nodded lightly, for it was true, Ashie was the Matriarch's preferred student at the Academy of Magic. Not even she, who was one of several Princesses from the realm of Renais attending the academy, was considered a favorite. Princess Bezzel didn't care about that though, never had since her arrival at the Academy of Magic six months ago. She had known before attending such a place that the academy would be filled with other students who were better at the magical arts than she was.
"Come on, it will be so much fun sneaking around past Sammy," Ashie pressed on, her voice sweet, too convincing. "And besides, we'll be back long before the Matriarch even returns, I swear."
"Well I am sorry, my dear friend," Bezzel said, admiring her friend's silky hair. "Fun as it surely would be sneaking past the cleric, I think you are going too far this time."
"Too far?" Ashie showed an innocent face before her friend. "Come on, what are you saying? I never go too far, you're being paranoid, that's all, Princess."
"I know of the many tales that exist about the Black Temple," countered Bezzel, ignoring the innocent and hurtful face Ashie had shown her. "My mother and sister have related them to me countless of times back in my homeland, and I've heard quite a lot from friends as well, even my own cousins. So count me out, even if that place and its creepy inhabitants were wiped out long ago. The place just gives me the creeps merely by knowing what happened there."
"Ah, so you are scared of the place?" Ashie smiled teasingly. "Of...the Demon King?"
"Call it what you want, Ashie," said Princess Bezzel in a solid tone. "I am not going anywhere near that place. Fear or not, I just don't want to get in trouble with Matriarch Lute. My parents would have my head for that."
Ashie showed a bitter, disappointed face then, her best friend noticing her gesture but quickly lowering her dark brown eyes back to the book she had been reading.
Ashie studied Princess Bezzel for a few seconds before returning her stare back to her own copy of The Trinity of Magic, which mainly gave the reader information about the three principal magic disciplines in existence in the world: Anima, Light, and Dark. The mage couldn't blame the fourteen year old Princess for feeling that way: scared or insecure. The Black Temple had a very dark history, and though such a place remained opened and free to roam for whoever felt like exploring the place, many simply stayed away from that place. So it was no surprise that the Princess of Renais felt fearful of going near the place, and besides, Ashie knew she was five years younger than her, after all. Because of that, Ashie considered her still just a girl even though she was months away from becoming of age.
"What is the hurry?" Bezzel asked dryly as she kept on reading the book, the Princess not really wanting to see Ashie's disappointed face. "We will be having a glance at the Temple soon enough anyway, but with the Matriarch leading us."
"It's just that..." Ashie started to reply but left it that. "Never mind, just go back to reading your book."
Bezzel did not object.
The two girls were inside a large tent of a deep blue color. The opening of this tent, which opened and shut via a large zipper, was shut tight. Within the tent there were two bedrolls off to one side, and close to those bedrolls were two large oaken chests and white sacks where the girls kept their belongings and provisions.
There was a small round wooden table set in the middle space afforded by the large tent. The table was covered with a silky white cloth, and it held in place a magical three-candle silver holder right in the middle of the table.
Because it was sort of dark within the tent, what with the opening zipped tight, the candles were lit at the moment, providing the girls ample light to go on with their studying.
The girls sat opposite of each other on wooden chairs, for before the trouble-maker Ashie had suggested that they should sneak out, they had been studying for their next up-coming test at Grado's Academy of Magic, which the two girls attended.
They were not at the academy at that time, rather near a forest and close to the Black Temple, a place already known mostly for its dark history. The Matriarch of the Academy had brought a handful of apprentices and mages out on an excursion to enjoy the views and to learn of past events concerning the Black Temple. Five days they were scheduled to be there, and they had just arrived this day. The Matriarch, though, was not there with them any more, she suddenly had to depart after an urgent call had come from the academy an hour after their arrival to the Rausten region. And so the Matriarch left the students under the guidance and care of a cleric.
The girls studied in total silence for about ten minutes before they were disrupted by a shout outside. More than a shout it was the cleric calling out to them by their names.
Ashie gazed at Bezzel, the Princess noticing that Ashie still seemed a bit upset.
"We should go and see what Sammy wants," proposed Bezzel right away, folding the book close.
Ashie closed her book as well and nodded. She beat Bezzel to standing up and to the opening of the tent as well, which Ashie pulled open right away. Without waiting for the Princess to catch up, she stepped outside to the still lit wonderful day.
Outside stood a young woman of dark, short hair and fair complexion. She had greenish eyes and wore a bluish headband around her head, which mostly kept her hair at bay from falling onto her face. As it was typical with every student learning at the Academy of Magic, they had to be dressed in proper clothing. And so Sammy was dressed in a long rainbow colored robe, which had been imported to Grado's Academy of Magic from the neighboring realm of Carcino. The robe matched the headband she wore, it showed many eccentric symbols and figures, such as a fish and an elongated dragon.
"You called for us, Mistress Sammy?" asked Ashie as Bezzel was barely making her appearance from within the tent. The two stood next to each other, and both puffed out their chests to give the impression that they were ready to obey.
Sammy, who had been facing in the other direction, for she had been glancing at the sun, turned right away and smiled at the girls.
"I did," she said, holding the smile. Although she was eighteen, her looks were still sort of girlish and depicted her as being too sweet and a little dumb.
"Look, girls, I know you two told me that you would be studying for the upcoming test, but I really need your help out here."
Ashie glanced over at Bezzel, and the Princess glanced back briefly at her before returning her stare to the cleric and asking her. "What do you need, Mistress Sammy?"
"Oh, Princess," Sammy stared at her. "I've told you many times that just calling me Sammy is fine, you don't have to refer to me as a mistress that I am, that's only a position I hold at the Academy."
"Sorry," Bezzel lowered her head almost as if she was timid of the mistress, no, it was more like self-felt embarrassment. "I keep forgetting."
"It's alright," smiled Sammy, turning to regard Ashie, who was just a year older than she was. "Listen, girls. The Matriarch is away and she did not tell me when she would be returning. And it's getting late, nightfall will cover the land in just about an hour."
Ashie coughed lightly, and Princess Bezzel remained with her attention on the cleric.
"I am afraid I got busy arranging my possessions within my tent that I forgot to take care of the duty that was assigned to me," explained Sammy, and after she said that, she added a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her neck.
"Well you didn't forget," Ashie scratched her right forearm. "You have been keeping a good eye on us, have you not? That's what Matriarch Lute told you to do, eh? To watch over us while she was away?"
"Haha," laughed Sammy tenderly, closing her eyes briefly as she did. "Yes, perhaps, but the Matriarch left me another task. One that you did not hear about, I'm afraid, you little eavesdropper."
"Oh," Ashie understood, turning her glance aside in mild embarrassment.
"And you want us to help you now?" Bezzel asked curiously, thinking she knew what Sammy wanted from them.
"I just need your company," explained Sammy. "I have to go into the nearby forest and gather some wood to light a fire later tonight. The Matriarch will have my soul if I don't gather any."
Both Ashie and the Princess noticed the mild tremble behind her words. They both thought that Sammy probably felt nervous going out there by herself. The Black Temple was close, after all, so maybe that was the case.
"Hehe," laughed Ashie, pointing at Sammy. "Your soul, that's a good one, Sammy, what with us being so close to the Black Temple."
Knowing that her fear had been most likely discovered, Sammy bit her upper lip nervously before Ashie's stare, but she didn't say anything, to what Ashie added as she crossed her arms. "But tell me, why us and not anyone else from the group? You could have asked Petronila or Bogba. Or even Leoné for that matter."
Sammy rose her eyebrows in surprise, the cleric had not been expecting the apprentice mage to ask her that.
"I know you two better than I do the others that came out here," she merely confessed, and it was true. "I just feel a little better with you two around me."
Ashie's face brightened at the possibility that they could get in some kind of mischievous trouble while helping the cleric, perhaps run off and have her worry for a while before coming back to appease her.
"You just tell us where to go get it," Ashie said. "We'll make sure to gather enough firewood for you and to please the Matriarch's old bones."
"No, Ashie," Sammy informed, suppressing a chuckle. "I just need you two for the company, that's all. I will take care of the task, I will be gathering the firewood."
"Fine, then lead the way, Sammy," chirped Ashie, looking energetic. "We are right behind you, right Princess?" And she turned to regard Princess Bezzel and gave her an exaggerated wink.
Bezzel could easily tell about Ashie's hidden intentions. She knew her too well by now after all those months she had spent studying magic at her side at the Academy. Bezzel had seen Ashie getting in trouble many times during the span of their relationship as friends, although the apprentice mage had hardly ever paid for it in any way. Mostly those had been pranks on friends and Instructors, but Ashie had gone as far as to evade Academy security and make it out to a close by village.
Forgetting about those thoughts, though, the Princess nodded at Sammy, who relaxed and smiled right back.
"Great!" cried Sammy, waving her hand invitingly at them. "Come on, follow me. We'll just go to my tent to get a sack, some provisions, my heal staff and fire tomes for you two just in case we need them. Then we'll be off."
The girls nodded and followed after their superior, who had begun to leave.
"And don't think for one moment that I will have your help without compensation," alerted Sammy as she led them away past a few other tents that composed the small encampment. "I will surely be giving you two something nice once we get back to the Academy."
As she followed along, Ashie rose her eyebrows at that, and her eyes brightened in anticipation of what that something could turn out to be. She continued to walk after the cleric with a wide smile. So did Princess Bezzel, but she was not smiling widely and she was not really dreaming about the compensation that Sammy could have in store for her, rather the Princess was concerned about something and something alone: Ashie doing her thing while they were in the forest.
***
"What is this forest called, Sammy?" Bezzel asked as her beautiful brown eyes scanned the greenery of the trees and brush all around her.
Ashie, who was walking beside Bezzel and behind Sammy, stared in silence about the place and held a face as though she was a little bored.
"Forest Morion," Sammy answered the Princess' question. "This forest was baptized with such a name five years ago by Queen L'Arachel herself."
The cleric bent low to pick up several pieces of fat twigs that had been laying on a spot of barren ground. She tossed them into a large white sack, stood back up straight, and moved on. The girls, who carried a satchel with provisions inside, followed right behind her.
"They say that many years ago, a prince by that name fell here," Sammy went on to relate to them a tale she knew of. "That is why this place feels cozy and looks marvelous."
"Really?" Bezzel shot right away, interested. "A prince? Oh go on, what happened to him?"
Ashie rolled her eyes, but she heard the tale nonetheless, for somewhere deep within her heart she also wanted to hear about it.
"The fable says a prince came seeking the most beautiful flower he could get his hands on," Sammy went on with the story, her mind recalling it vividly from that time that she had read about it. "Of all the places out there, this forest was rumored to spring the most beautiful flowers. The red flower, Dunbabela by name, was intended to be a gift to the maiden he fancied. The prince had in mind giving the flower to her right before professing his love for her."
"Sweet, but how'd he fall?" Ashie, walking with her hands behind her back, was the one who asked.
Sammy stopped and retrieved another twig from the ground before answering with much sincerity and a little bit of sadness. "No one really knows, Ashie. The fable says he was attacked by monsters. Other forgotten tales say he was swallowed by the ground, which was the mouth of our beloved maiden: Mother Nature. It is rumored that the prince was so handsome that she kept him for herself once he'd cut the flower."
Silence. Neither Ashie nor Princess Bezzel said anything, they just smiled at Sammy, who regarded them curiously.
"So you see now," Sammy nearly shouted in satisfaction, knowing her fable had been liked. "Queen L'Arachel loved the tale so much that she had to personally come here and name this forest after the prince."
"I would have done the same thing," said Bezzel, and Ashie nodded at that and bent to retrieve a small stone from the ground. She tossed it away and hit the trunk of a far off tree, scaring a couple of birds away.
"Nice shot," cried Bezzel, amazed a little that she had hit the target.
"Yes, I know it," said Ashie as she bent to pick up two more stones. Offering one to the Princess, she said, "Now you try, show me that arm of yours."
Bezzel shook her head, but Ashie shoved the stone on to her hand, telling her that she would be alright. "Just try it, what do you lose? Nothing but a little bit of energy, perhaps."
The Princess agreed to do it then. She moved aside, got into position, aimed, drew her arm back, and let the stone fly away. The stone sailed towards the tree and missed it badly by at least five meters.
"At least you were close enough," Ashie comforted with a teasing laugh. She threw the stone away at the tree and hit it again, raising the Princess' and Sammy's eyebrows in the process.
"You got a sharp eye and perfect aim, you would have made a mighty archer," Sammy babbled. "Maybe as mighty as our own General, Lady Neimi."
"I knew a little bit about archery," confessed Ashie with a smile before them. "Grew up learning how to fire a bow, my Papa taught me a lot, but I went for the magical arts instead, I guess I listened to my mother."
"The girl's got some multiple mad skills," laughed the Princess. Ashie smiled at the flattering remark, so did Sammy.
"Come," Sammy told them then. "Let us proceed further in, these small twigs won't last us but an hour, I need to fill the sack if we are to stay warm during the night."
Without protesting one bit, the girls went after her, Bezzel truly enjoying herself and admiring the forest and its sights. As to Ashie, she was wondering to herself whether she'd run off any second now or not. Somewhere within her mind an image of a beautiful prince appeared and stole a smile from her. What if she ran off and met his ghostly form? To the mage's reasoning, that would be a great thing to experience.
***
The forest was always alive in some way or another. There were many creatures about who called that place their home. Because not far to the south laid the Black Temple and the area that housed it: Darkling Woods, many of the residents in the forest had come from that dark place and made it their home.
And so as the trio continued to immerse themselves deeper in the forest, they heard birds chirping, some merely flew away from branches on trees that they had been standing on when they felt the presence of the two mages and the cleric. The trio also heard rabbits and other rodents dashing by, saw bugs crawling up the trunks of trees, saw butterflies flying about, and even heard an owl hooting somewhere off in the distance, the creature perhaps preparing itself for when nighttime came.
Besides life in the forest, the place smelt fresh and earthly, which felt good to the trio's senses. By having felt the soft, barren ground, the group had known that it had rained there at least two days ago. Although the day had been mildly hot, the forest felt invitingly cool.
"Is this forest always green like the forests we have back in our home?" Ashie asked, curious about it, her eyes following a bluish dragonfly as this one flew about her face, nearly coming to a stop at the tip of her nose before taking off, what with Ashie taking a nasty swat at it. "Get away from me, you winged little nasty!"
Sammy, who had just dumped another piece of wood into the sack, regarded her and responded. "In two months all the green that you see before your eyes will disappear. Autumn will hit here full force before it does anywhere else, it's a proven fact. And so the barren ground beneath you will be covered with yellow leaves and fallen, old branches, not to mention other forms of waste. You should enjoy the sight this place offers you now, my two friends, its beauty is right before your eyes right now."
"I agree," said Bezzel, admiring the place with her eyes, seeming as if she was enchanted of the place. "This forest is as beautiful as other forests I've been in back in Renais, but perhaps this one is a tad bit more, I don't know, there is something here that tells me so."
Sammy smiled at that and her eyes seemed to gleam with pride. "As you can see, Princess, Rausten has its beauties just as our lovely Renais has its own."
"Got that right," Ashie said, smiling while she ran her hand smoothly down her right cheek.
Sammy smiled, and Bezzel just laughed.
"Come on," invited Sammy. "Let's go further in, I still have half a sack to fill before we can go back, and though I could easily fill it here, I just want you two to see a lake before we return."
"A lake?" Ashie and Bezzel asked at the same time.
Their superior smiled at them with a nod. "It's small but enchanting to the eye, you'll see why. Come on, I guarantee you that it will be worth the visit."
"Lead on," said Ashie, and Bezzel, interested in seeing the lake, nodded right away.
Sammy led them on, the girls went after her.
***
To the two mages it was as if they had just walked into paradise, a dream land. Not for the cleric, for though she was taking in the scene ahead, she had already seen it several times during other excursions.
"Oh," Bezzel covered her mouth with her hands, astonished at the sight. Ashie did not cover her mouth, but she felt her heart vibrate emotionally. And Sammy was all smiles, after seeing their immediate reaction.
There was a lake, alright, its waters crystal clear, its northern and eastern surroundings being nothing but trees of assorted sizes mostly garbed in green and brown, but there were several donning a red leafy coat and a darker brown trunk. And the ground around the area was not barren at all, rather it was covered by thin green grass. But the lake and its surroundings was not what stole their breath away, it was the three-foot tall stone statue that stood erected in the middle of the small lake.
The statue had not been created by human hands, rather, as the trio of girls neared closely to one edge, the two mages understood that the stone had been molded by mother nature alone, eroded by constant rainfalls and turned into the figure of a maiden child with wings who appeared to be staring up at the sky.
Curiously, Bezzel regarded Sammy for answers.
"H-how...?"
"Just admire it," Sammy replied with a smile. "I also had similar questions when I first laid eyes on it. I thought magic had been used to create it, but I assure you there was no magic used for its creation. Until recently, Queen L'Arachel has ordered that a protective coating of magic be set upon it to protect it from further erosion."
"This is beautiful," cried Ashie, who had knelt near the edge only to wet her hands in the waters of the lake. "Is this safe to drink?" she looked upon Sammy.
Sammy nodded. "It's safe, plus you will feel very refreshed."
Ashie drank the water stored in her hand. And she nodded. "You're right. It's refreshing, it's cool."
The silver haired mage grabbed her satchel from the ground where she had put it, stood up, and said. "There is something I don't get, though."
Sammy just regarded her, as did Princess Bezzel.
"Why isn't there any protection for such a beautiful place as this?" she asked. "Queen L'Arachel could surely afford to place a few soldiers about. I'd hate for it to get destroyed or something in the future."
Sammy lowered her sight briefly, rose it back again and then replied. "That's not going to happen anytime soon. There is protection, dear Ashie, it's always been here since Queen L'Arachel named the forest. Rangers come about every day and make sure the place is kept safe and well tended to. No one has dared to mess with the place, and why would they? It's a treat to the eyes...to the senses. But really, I think no one comes by here too often, this forest is so close to the Black Temple that it makes the bravest of adventures think it twice."
"Good," Ashie said, sounding relieved and staring back at the lake and then back at Sammy. "I want this place to remain as it is. When I get married, I will be bringing my husband here, and any kids we might have."
Sammy smiled at that, Ashie smiled right back and winked at her. "I'm not kidding, I will."
"So will I," Sammy couldn't believe those words had left her lips, but she licked then bit her lower lip knowing it was only the truth.
"Are we allowed to take a dip?" Bezzel asked out of curiosity.
"There are no rules against that," Sammy declared with a laugh. "Why, you want to take a bath? Be my guest, Princess, the lake does not go deeper than eight feet."
"I'd love to," said Bezzel, staring at the water. "But I will pass. The sighting is enough for me." She walked away from Sammy and headed towards the edge of the lake where Ashie stood admiring the stone figure. "This just looks so..."
"Beautiful," Ashie stole the words from her, and the Princess nodded in agreement.
"Yes it does," Sammy joined them. "Enjoy the view, girls. It's not often that you come in sight of places like these."
The three remained standing there just admiring the place for three minutes, listening to the sounds produced by the forest and its inhabitants. Then the girls walked around the lake, to get looks of the place from all possible perspectives. Ashie, from the distance where she stood, even produced a reading magical aura that let her know that there was indeed powerful protective magic set upon the stony figure.
"I feel the magic working its protection on the stone," she let them know. Just to have that same feeling, Princess Bezzel cast a reading spell of her own, and she was glad that there was such protection keeping the figure as it was.
After being there for ten or so minutes, Sammy told the girls that it was time to head back to the camp.
"Nightfall will fall upon us in just twenty minutes or so," she told them. "Plenty of time for us to get back to the camp, not that I am worried, there is no danger here."
After having one last good look at the place, the three girls began to head back to the camp, all satisfied in some way. Ashie had even forgotten about running off, and when she remembered about that as they were halfway out of the forest, she didn't want to anymore, not after Sammy the cleric had been kind enough to show them that gorgeous place.
Then, it suddenly happened.
***
Its roar was so thunderous that it was heard for many miles, its ruinous power so strong that the earthquake was felt in three realms: Rausten, Jehanna and Carcino.
It had taken the trio of girls--and everyone else who felt it elsewhere--by surprise. It had all begun with a mild rumble off in the distance, as if the clouds had been announcing a thunderstorm.
"What is that?" Princess Bezzel had been the one who had heard the faint, roaring sound first before it had grown to thunderous effect. She had suddenly detained her walk, and so had Ashie and Sammy, wondering what the young Princess was about.
"What is what?" Ashie had asked in a quiet voice.
Then Ashie and Sammy had heard it as well, and they easily had known that it was coming from the north. The three turned in that direction simultaneously, wondering what the rumbling sound was.
But neither of the three had had the time to ponder about it for too long, for as the roaring grew, the ground underneath them had begun to shake violently, so strong was the quake that it had sent them flying away to fall in different directions.
Rausten was the realm that had felt the power of the quake more than any other region, the quake had originated on its northern edge. The ground, which once had been solidly whole, split up in many sections as the quake gathered force and ran its deadly course. Some parts of the land and everything it held in place collapsed, swallowed down in a gulp as if the ground had lost its own footing all of a sudden.
Tree upon tree came crashing down all around the mages as sections of the ground gave way to the brute force running underneath, a brute force that would not be denied.
Feeling their hearts on their throats, and a grasping fear that sent many shivers running down their spines, the girls did not know what to do.
"Stay down, grab on to something," was all Sammy could offer them in her fear, dismay, and desperation for the incident to end. Her two companions did not hear her, the noise was too deafening that it even hurt their ears.
The trio had been separated from each other due to the violent tremble of the ground, and though they all had wanted to get to wherever the others were, they simply could not, the trembling kept knocking them down. Sammy tried to reach Ashie, who was closest to her, but as she had tried to run to her, the shaking of the ground had tossed her to the ground once again. She stood up again, only to fall flat on her back a second later.
In all her fear and desperation, it was Ashie who suddenly witnessed the Princess' disappearance from view as the whole section where she had been kneeling at was suddenly swallowed.
"Nouuuuu!" Princess Bezzel cried out, but no one heard her shout of terror.
Ashie took this heart-stopping, impact moment with bulging, shocked eyes. Then her lips started to tremble in fear when comprehension finally hit her.
Ashie shouted something, or tried to, but her throat was completely knotted with her own fear that she could not. She had wanted to shout the Princess' name out of fear for her own safety, but she had not even uttered a single word before terror struck her hard, the terror that lets you know that you can't do anything about it, that the foul occurrence has happened. But Ashie, during those dark moments, during that terrible time in which she felt as dying, also struck her senses hard. She gritted her teeth, shook her head in total denial and rose up, not wanting to believe what she had just witnessed. Bezzel, the youngest Princess of Renais, her dear friend, was gone! The tremor had claimed her!
"Noooo!" she finally issued a cry of terror when in her mind she believed that the person who had given her smiles and laughs during some of the days of her life, was probably dead. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she ran on towards the section where last she had seen the Princess, but she did not even take three steps when she was thrown down to the ground by the same quaking ground. Ashie soon found herself laying against the hard ground, her back, neck and arms aching, but she did not care. She wanted to die there!
Something hit her hard on the back of the head then, making her feel a tremendous sharp pain. That is the last thing the silver haired beauty felt before everything went pitch black for her.
*End of Prelude*
This is jut a Fan-Fic, all rights of Fire Emblem belong to Nintendo/Intelligent Systems.
I dedicate this Fan-Fic to all my friends here, readers I don't know of who read my stories, and to all Fire Emblem Fan out there.
I guess this story is rated G, for everyone.
Come then, and enjoy this great tale alongside the Great One!
Introduction
The current running year in Magvel is 836, Seventh Month, Day 15th. Nothing unusual about that...
But thirty years ago the Demon King ceased to exist at the hands of a group of brave heroes. Known also as Fomortiis, the Demon King is no more, his soul forever has been lost in the chasm of non-existence, the oppressor has been utterly destroyed.
But in his wake for total power, and for the opportunity to rule the world in darkness, which dates back as far to the year 3, Fomortiis left an untraceable dark past behind that was unknown even to the five brave heroes who disposed of him for the first time back in the year 3. That past...even with his foul soul removed forever from existence, is returning to engulf the world of Magvel.
This is the story of the next generation of heroes. Read at your own risk...
Fire Emblem: The Force
A Fan-Fic by Atsuma
Prelude
Near the Black Temple
A Fan-Fic by Atsuma
Prelude
Near the Black Temple
Ashie's cute face brightened in satisfaction and showed a sly smile when she noticed her friend's frightened reaction at what she had just told her. It was always priceless, the silver haired mage thought just by looking at her, Bezzel's reaction always was and would be priceless to Ashie, the apprentice mage Princess was just too easily frightened.
"You can't possibly be serious, Ashie!" Bezzel's young voice sounded too worried, and her face showed fear clearly. "Seriously? Are you out of your mind? You want to disobey the Matriarch's direct order, sneak out and head to the Black Temple?"
"Oh, she won't say anything," Ashie went on, enjoying staring at her friend's frightened semblance, which didn't change right away and possibly wouldn't be changing any time soon. "Matriarch Lute loves me too much to chastise me in any way."
Bezzel, who was of short stature and had long, aqua blue hair, rolled her brown eyes, but she nodded lightly, for it was true, Ashie was the Matriarch's preferred student at the Academy of Magic. Not even she, who was one of several Princesses from the realm of Renais attending the academy, was considered a favorite. Princess Bezzel didn't care about that though, never had since her arrival at the Academy of Magic six months ago. She had known before attending such a place that the academy would be filled with other students who were better at the magical arts than she was.
"Come on, it will be so much fun sneaking around past Sammy," Ashie pressed on, her voice sweet, too convincing. "And besides, we'll be back long before the Matriarch even returns, I swear."
"Well I am sorry, my dear friend," Bezzel said, admiring her friend's silky hair. "Fun as it surely would be sneaking past the cleric, I think you are going too far this time."
"Too far?" Ashie showed an innocent face before her friend. "Come on, what are you saying? I never go too far, you're being paranoid, that's all, Princess."
"I know of the many tales that exist about the Black Temple," countered Bezzel, ignoring the innocent and hurtful face Ashie had shown her. "My mother and sister have related them to me countless of times back in my homeland, and I've heard quite a lot from friends as well, even my own cousins. So count me out, even if that place and its creepy inhabitants were wiped out long ago. The place just gives me the creeps merely by knowing what happened there."
"Ah, so you are scared of the place?" Ashie smiled teasingly. "Of...the Demon King?"
"Call it what you want, Ashie," said Princess Bezzel in a solid tone. "I am not going anywhere near that place. Fear or not, I just don't want to get in trouble with Matriarch Lute. My parents would have my head for that."
Ashie showed a bitter, disappointed face then, her best friend noticing her gesture but quickly lowering her dark brown eyes back to the book she had been reading.
Ashie studied Princess Bezzel for a few seconds before returning her stare back to her own copy of The Trinity of Magic, which mainly gave the reader information about the three principal magic disciplines in existence in the world: Anima, Light, and Dark. The mage couldn't blame the fourteen year old Princess for feeling that way: scared or insecure. The Black Temple had a very dark history, and though such a place remained opened and free to roam for whoever felt like exploring the place, many simply stayed away from that place. So it was no surprise that the Princess of Renais felt fearful of going near the place, and besides, Ashie knew she was five years younger than her, after all. Because of that, Ashie considered her still just a girl even though she was months away from becoming of age.
"What is the hurry?" Bezzel asked dryly as she kept on reading the book, the Princess not really wanting to see Ashie's disappointed face. "We will be having a glance at the Temple soon enough anyway, but with the Matriarch leading us."
"It's just that..." Ashie started to reply but left it that. "Never mind, just go back to reading your book."
Bezzel did not object.
The two girls were inside a large tent of a deep blue color. The opening of this tent, which opened and shut via a large zipper, was shut tight. Within the tent there were two bedrolls off to one side, and close to those bedrolls were two large oaken chests and white sacks where the girls kept their belongings and provisions.
There was a small round wooden table set in the middle space afforded by the large tent. The table was covered with a silky white cloth, and it held in place a magical three-candle silver holder right in the middle of the table.
Because it was sort of dark within the tent, what with the opening zipped tight, the candles were lit at the moment, providing the girls ample light to go on with their studying.
The girls sat opposite of each other on wooden chairs, for before the trouble-maker Ashie had suggested that they should sneak out, they had been studying for their next up-coming test at Grado's Academy of Magic, which the two girls attended.
They were not at the academy at that time, rather near a forest and close to the Black Temple, a place already known mostly for its dark history. The Matriarch of the Academy had brought a handful of apprentices and mages out on an excursion to enjoy the views and to learn of past events concerning the Black Temple. Five days they were scheduled to be there, and they had just arrived this day. The Matriarch, though, was not there with them any more, she suddenly had to depart after an urgent call had come from the academy an hour after their arrival to the Rausten region. And so the Matriarch left the students under the guidance and care of a cleric.
The girls studied in total silence for about ten minutes before they were disrupted by a shout outside. More than a shout it was the cleric calling out to them by their names.
Ashie gazed at Bezzel, the Princess noticing that Ashie still seemed a bit upset.
"We should go and see what Sammy wants," proposed Bezzel right away, folding the book close.
Ashie closed her book as well and nodded. She beat Bezzel to standing up and to the opening of the tent as well, which Ashie pulled open right away. Without waiting for the Princess to catch up, she stepped outside to the still lit wonderful day.
Outside stood a young woman of dark, short hair and fair complexion. She had greenish eyes and wore a bluish headband around her head, which mostly kept her hair at bay from falling onto her face. As it was typical with every student learning at the Academy of Magic, they had to be dressed in proper clothing. And so Sammy was dressed in a long rainbow colored robe, which had been imported to Grado's Academy of Magic from the neighboring realm of Carcino. The robe matched the headband she wore, it showed many eccentric symbols and figures, such as a fish and an elongated dragon.
"You called for us, Mistress Sammy?" asked Ashie as Bezzel was barely making her appearance from within the tent. The two stood next to each other, and both puffed out their chests to give the impression that they were ready to obey.
Sammy, who had been facing in the other direction, for she had been glancing at the sun, turned right away and smiled at the girls.
"I did," she said, holding the smile. Although she was eighteen, her looks were still sort of girlish and depicted her as being too sweet and a little dumb.
"Look, girls, I know you two told me that you would be studying for the upcoming test, but I really need your help out here."
Ashie glanced over at Bezzel, and the Princess glanced back briefly at her before returning her stare to the cleric and asking her. "What do you need, Mistress Sammy?"
"Oh, Princess," Sammy stared at her. "I've told you many times that just calling me Sammy is fine, you don't have to refer to me as a mistress that I am, that's only a position I hold at the Academy."
"Sorry," Bezzel lowered her head almost as if she was timid of the mistress, no, it was more like self-felt embarrassment. "I keep forgetting."
"It's alright," smiled Sammy, turning to regard Ashie, who was just a year older than she was. "Listen, girls. The Matriarch is away and she did not tell me when she would be returning. And it's getting late, nightfall will cover the land in just about an hour."
Ashie coughed lightly, and Princess Bezzel remained with her attention on the cleric.
"I am afraid I got busy arranging my possessions within my tent that I forgot to take care of the duty that was assigned to me," explained Sammy, and after she said that, she added a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her neck.
"Well you didn't forget," Ashie scratched her right forearm. "You have been keeping a good eye on us, have you not? That's what Matriarch Lute told you to do, eh? To watch over us while she was away?"
"Haha," laughed Sammy tenderly, closing her eyes briefly as she did. "Yes, perhaps, but the Matriarch left me another task. One that you did not hear about, I'm afraid, you little eavesdropper."
"Oh," Ashie understood, turning her glance aside in mild embarrassment.
"And you want us to help you now?" Bezzel asked curiously, thinking she knew what Sammy wanted from them.
"I just need your company," explained Sammy. "I have to go into the nearby forest and gather some wood to light a fire later tonight. The Matriarch will have my soul if I don't gather any."
Both Ashie and the Princess noticed the mild tremble behind her words. They both thought that Sammy probably felt nervous going out there by herself. The Black Temple was close, after all, so maybe that was the case.
"Hehe," laughed Ashie, pointing at Sammy. "Your soul, that's a good one, Sammy, what with us being so close to the Black Temple."
Knowing that her fear had been most likely discovered, Sammy bit her upper lip nervously before Ashie's stare, but she didn't say anything, to what Ashie added as she crossed her arms. "But tell me, why us and not anyone else from the group? You could have asked Petronila or Bogba. Or even Leoné for that matter."
Sammy rose her eyebrows in surprise, the cleric had not been expecting the apprentice mage to ask her that.
"I know you two better than I do the others that came out here," she merely confessed, and it was true. "I just feel a little better with you two around me."
Ashie's face brightened at the possibility that they could get in some kind of mischievous trouble while helping the cleric, perhaps run off and have her worry for a while before coming back to appease her.
"You just tell us where to go get it," Ashie said. "We'll make sure to gather enough firewood for you and to please the Matriarch's old bones."
"No, Ashie," Sammy informed, suppressing a chuckle. "I just need you two for the company, that's all. I will take care of the task, I will be gathering the firewood."
"Fine, then lead the way, Sammy," chirped Ashie, looking energetic. "We are right behind you, right Princess?" And she turned to regard Princess Bezzel and gave her an exaggerated wink.
Bezzel could easily tell about Ashie's hidden intentions. She knew her too well by now after all those months she had spent studying magic at her side at the Academy. Bezzel had seen Ashie getting in trouble many times during the span of their relationship as friends, although the apprentice mage had hardly ever paid for it in any way. Mostly those had been pranks on friends and Instructors, but Ashie had gone as far as to evade Academy security and make it out to a close by village.
Forgetting about those thoughts, though, the Princess nodded at Sammy, who relaxed and smiled right back.
"Great!" cried Sammy, waving her hand invitingly at them. "Come on, follow me. We'll just go to my tent to get a sack, some provisions, my heal staff and fire tomes for you two just in case we need them. Then we'll be off."
The girls nodded and followed after their superior, who had begun to leave.
"And don't think for one moment that I will have your help without compensation," alerted Sammy as she led them away past a few other tents that composed the small encampment. "I will surely be giving you two something nice once we get back to the Academy."
As she followed along, Ashie rose her eyebrows at that, and her eyes brightened in anticipation of what that something could turn out to be. She continued to walk after the cleric with a wide smile. So did Princess Bezzel, but she was not smiling widely and she was not really dreaming about the compensation that Sammy could have in store for her, rather the Princess was concerned about something and something alone: Ashie doing her thing while they were in the forest.
***
"What is this forest called, Sammy?" Bezzel asked as her beautiful brown eyes scanned the greenery of the trees and brush all around her.
Ashie, who was walking beside Bezzel and behind Sammy, stared in silence about the place and held a face as though she was a little bored.
"Forest Morion," Sammy answered the Princess' question. "This forest was baptized with such a name five years ago by Queen L'Arachel herself."
The cleric bent low to pick up several pieces of fat twigs that had been laying on a spot of barren ground. She tossed them into a large white sack, stood back up straight, and moved on. The girls, who carried a satchel with provisions inside, followed right behind her.
"They say that many years ago, a prince by that name fell here," Sammy went on to relate to them a tale she knew of. "That is why this place feels cozy and looks marvelous."
"Really?" Bezzel shot right away, interested. "A prince? Oh go on, what happened to him?"
Ashie rolled her eyes, but she heard the tale nonetheless, for somewhere deep within her heart she also wanted to hear about it.
"The fable says a prince came seeking the most beautiful flower he could get his hands on," Sammy went on with the story, her mind recalling it vividly from that time that she had read about it. "Of all the places out there, this forest was rumored to spring the most beautiful flowers. The red flower, Dunbabela by name, was intended to be a gift to the maiden he fancied. The prince had in mind giving the flower to her right before professing his love for her."
"Sweet, but how'd he fall?" Ashie, walking with her hands behind her back, was the one who asked.
Sammy stopped and retrieved another twig from the ground before answering with much sincerity and a little bit of sadness. "No one really knows, Ashie. The fable says he was attacked by monsters. Other forgotten tales say he was swallowed by the ground, which was the mouth of our beloved maiden: Mother Nature. It is rumored that the prince was so handsome that she kept him for herself once he'd cut the flower."
Silence. Neither Ashie nor Princess Bezzel said anything, they just smiled at Sammy, who regarded them curiously.
"So you see now," Sammy nearly shouted in satisfaction, knowing her fable had been liked. "Queen L'Arachel loved the tale so much that she had to personally come here and name this forest after the prince."
"I would have done the same thing," said Bezzel, and Ashie nodded at that and bent to retrieve a small stone from the ground. She tossed it away and hit the trunk of a far off tree, scaring a couple of birds away.
"Nice shot," cried Bezzel, amazed a little that she had hit the target.
"Yes, I know it," said Ashie as she bent to pick up two more stones. Offering one to the Princess, she said, "Now you try, show me that arm of yours."
Bezzel shook her head, but Ashie shoved the stone on to her hand, telling her that she would be alright. "Just try it, what do you lose? Nothing but a little bit of energy, perhaps."
The Princess agreed to do it then. She moved aside, got into position, aimed, drew her arm back, and let the stone fly away. The stone sailed towards the tree and missed it badly by at least five meters.
"At least you were close enough," Ashie comforted with a teasing laugh. She threw the stone away at the tree and hit it again, raising the Princess' and Sammy's eyebrows in the process.
"You got a sharp eye and perfect aim, you would have made a mighty archer," Sammy babbled. "Maybe as mighty as our own General, Lady Neimi."
"I knew a little bit about archery," confessed Ashie with a smile before them. "Grew up learning how to fire a bow, my Papa taught me a lot, but I went for the magical arts instead, I guess I listened to my mother."
"The girl's got some multiple mad skills," laughed the Princess. Ashie smiled at the flattering remark, so did Sammy.
"Come," Sammy told them then. "Let us proceed further in, these small twigs won't last us but an hour, I need to fill the sack if we are to stay warm during the night."
Without protesting one bit, the girls went after her, Bezzel truly enjoying herself and admiring the forest and its sights. As to Ashie, she was wondering to herself whether she'd run off any second now or not. Somewhere within her mind an image of a beautiful prince appeared and stole a smile from her. What if she ran off and met his ghostly form? To the mage's reasoning, that would be a great thing to experience.
***
The forest was always alive in some way or another. There were many creatures about who called that place their home. Because not far to the south laid the Black Temple and the area that housed it: Darkling Woods, many of the residents in the forest had come from that dark place and made it their home.
And so as the trio continued to immerse themselves deeper in the forest, they heard birds chirping, some merely flew away from branches on trees that they had been standing on when they felt the presence of the two mages and the cleric. The trio also heard rabbits and other rodents dashing by, saw bugs crawling up the trunks of trees, saw butterflies flying about, and even heard an owl hooting somewhere off in the distance, the creature perhaps preparing itself for when nighttime came.
Besides life in the forest, the place smelt fresh and earthly, which felt good to the trio's senses. By having felt the soft, barren ground, the group had known that it had rained there at least two days ago. Although the day had been mildly hot, the forest felt invitingly cool.
"Is this forest always green like the forests we have back in our home?" Ashie asked, curious about it, her eyes following a bluish dragonfly as this one flew about her face, nearly coming to a stop at the tip of her nose before taking off, what with Ashie taking a nasty swat at it. "Get away from me, you winged little nasty!"
Sammy, who had just dumped another piece of wood into the sack, regarded her and responded. "In two months all the green that you see before your eyes will disappear. Autumn will hit here full force before it does anywhere else, it's a proven fact. And so the barren ground beneath you will be covered with yellow leaves and fallen, old branches, not to mention other forms of waste. You should enjoy the sight this place offers you now, my two friends, its beauty is right before your eyes right now."
"I agree," said Bezzel, admiring the place with her eyes, seeming as if she was enchanted of the place. "This forest is as beautiful as other forests I've been in back in Renais, but perhaps this one is a tad bit more, I don't know, there is something here that tells me so."
Sammy smiled at that and her eyes seemed to gleam with pride. "As you can see, Princess, Rausten has its beauties just as our lovely Renais has its own."
"Got that right," Ashie said, smiling while she ran her hand smoothly down her right cheek.
Sammy smiled, and Bezzel just laughed.
"Come on," invited Sammy. "Let's go further in, I still have half a sack to fill before we can go back, and though I could easily fill it here, I just want you two to see a lake before we return."
"A lake?" Ashie and Bezzel asked at the same time.
Their superior smiled at them with a nod. "It's small but enchanting to the eye, you'll see why. Come on, I guarantee you that it will be worth the visit."
"Lead on," said Ashie, and Bezzel, interested in seeing the lake, nodded right away.
Sammy led them on, the girls went after her.
***
To the two mages it was as if they had just walked into paradise, a dream land. Not for the cleric, for though she was taking in the scene ahead, she had already seen it several times during other excursions.
"Oh," Bezzel covered her mouth with her hands, astonished at the sight. Ashie did not cover her mouth, but she felt her heart vibrate emotionally. And Sammy was all smiles, after seeing their immediate reaction.
There was a lake, alright, its waters crystal clear, its northern and eastern surroundings being nothing but trees of assorted sizes mostly garbed in green and brown, but there were several donning a red leafy coat and a darker brown trunk. And the ground around the area was not barren at all, rather it was covered by thin green grass. But the lake and its surroundings was not what stole their breath away, it was the three-foot tall stone statue that stood erected in the middle of the small lake.
The statue had not been created by human hands, rather, as the trio of girls neared closely to one edge, the two mages understood that the stone had been molded by mother nature alone, eroded by constant rainfalls and turned into the figure of a maiden child with wings who appeared to be staring up at the sky.
Curiously, Bezzel regarded Sammy for answers.
"H-how...?"
"Just admire it," Sammy replied with a smile. "I also had similar questions when I first laid eyes on it. I thought magic had been used to create it, but I assure you there was no magic used for its creation. Until recently, Queen L'Arachel has ordered that a protective coating of magic be set upon it to protect it from further erosion."
"This is beautiful," cried Ashie, who had knelt near the edge only to wet her hands in the waters of the lake. "Is this safe to drink?" she looked upon Sammy.
Sammy nodded. "It's safe, plus you will feel very refreshed."
Ashie drank the water stored in her hand. And she nodded. "You're right. It's refreshing, it's cool."
The silver haired mage grabbed her satchel from the ground where she had put it, stood up, and said. "There is something I don't get, though."
Sammy just regarded her, as did Princess Bezzel.
"Why isn't there any protection for such a beautiful place as this?" she asked. "Queen L'Arachel could surely afford to place a few soldiers about. I'd hate for it to get destroyed or something in the future."
Sammy lowered her sight briefly, rose it back again and then replied. "That's not going to happen anytime soon. There is protection, dear Ashie, it's always been here since Queen L'Arachel named the forest. Rangers come about every day and make sure the place is kept safe and well tended to. No one has dared to mess with the place, and why would they? It's a treat to the eyes...to the senses. But really, I think no one comes by here too often, this forest is so close to the Black Temple that it makes the bravest of adventures think it twice."
"Good," Ashie said, sounding relieved and staring back at the lake and then back at Sammy. "I want this place to remain as it is. When I get married, I will be bringing my husband here, and any kids we might have."
Sammy smiled at that, Ashie smiled right back and winked at her. "I'm not kidding, I will."
"So will I," Sammy couldn't believe those words had left her lips, but she licked then bit her lower lip knowing it was only the truth.
"Are we allowed to take a dip?" Bezzel asked out of curiosity.
"There are no rules against that," Sammy declared with a laugh. "Why, you want to take a bath? Be my guest, Princess, the lake does not go deeper than eight feet."
"I'd love to," said Bezzel, staring at the water. "But I will pass. The sighting is enough for me." She walked away from Sammy and headed towards the edge of the lake where Ashie stood admiring the stone figure. "This just looks so..."
"Beautiful," Ashie stole the words from her, and the Princess nodded in agreement.
"Yes it does," Sammy joined them. "Enjoy the view, girls. It's not often that you come in sight of places like these."
The three remained standing there just admiring the place for three minutes, listening to the sounds produced by the forest and its inhabitants. Then the girls walked around the lake, to get looks of the place from all possible perspectives. Ashie, from the distance where she stood, even produced a reading magical aura that let her know that there was indeed powerful protective magic set upon the stony figure.
"I feel the magic working its protection on the stone," she let them know. Just to have that same feeling, Princess Bezzel cast a reading spell of her own, and she was glad that there was such protection keeping the figure as it was.
After being there for ten or so minutes, Sammy told the girls that it was time to head back to the camp.
"Nightfall will fall upon us in just twenty minutes or so," she told them. "Plenty of time for us to get back to the camp, not that I am worried, there is no danger here."
After having one last good look at the place, the three girls began to head back to the camp, all satisfied in some way. Ashie had even forgotten about running off, and when she remembered about that as they were halfway out of the forest, she didn't want to anymore, not after Sammy the cleric had been kind enough to show them that gorgeous place.
Then, it suddenly happened.
***
Its roar was so thunderous that it was heard for many miles, its ruinous power so strong that the earthquake was felt in three realms: Rausten, Jehanna and Carcino.
It had taken the trio of girls--and everyone else who felt it elsewhere--by surprise. It had all begun with a mild rumble off in the distance, as if the clouds had been announcing a thunderstorm.
"What is that?" Princess Bezzel had been the one who had heard the faint, roaring sound first before it had grown to thunderous effect. She had suddenly detained her walk, and so had Ashie and Sammy, wondering what the young Princess was about.
"What is what?" Ashie had asked in a quiet voice.
Then Ashie and Sammy had heard it as well, and they easily had known that it was coming from the north. The three turned in that direction simultaneously, wondering what the rumbling sound was.
But neither of the three had had the time to ponder about it for too long, for as the roaring grew, the ground underneath them had begun to shake violently, so strong was the quake that it had sent them flying away to fall in different directions.
Rausten was the realm that had felt the power of the quake more than any other region, the quake had originated on its northern edge. The ground, which once had been solidly whole, split up in many sections as the quake gathered force and ran its deadly course. Some parts of the land and everything it held in place collapsed, swallowed down in a gulp as if the ground had lost its own footing all of a sudden.
Tree upon tree came crashing down all around the mages as sections of the ground gave way to the brute force running underneath, a brute force that would not be denied.
Feeling their hearts on their throats, and a grasping fear that sent many shivers running down their spines, the girls did not know what to do.
"Stay down, grab on to something," was all Sammy could offer them in her fear, dismay, and desperation for the incident to end. Her two companions did not hear her, the noise was too deafening that it even hurt their ears.
The trio had been separated from each other due to the violent tremble of the ground, and though they all had wanted to get to wherever the others were, they simply could not, the trembling kept knocking them down. Sammy tried to reach Ashie, who was closest to her, but as she had tried to run to her, the shaking of the ground had tossed her to the ground once again. She stood up again, only to fall flat on her back a second later.
In all her fear and desperation, it was Ashie who suddenly witnessed the Princess' disappearance from view as the whole section where she had been kneeling at was suddenly swallowed.
"Nouuuuu!" Princess Bezzel cried out, but no one heard her shout of terror.
Ashie took this heart-stopping, impact moment with bulging, shocked eyes. Then her lips started to tremble in fear when comprehension finally hit her.
Ashie shouted something, or tried to, but her throat was completely knotted with her own fear that she could not. She had wanted to shout the Princess' name out of fear for her own safety, but she had not even uttered a single word before terror struck her hard, the terror that lets you know that you can't do anything about it, that the foul occurrence has happened. But Ashie, during those dark moments, during that terrible time in which she felt as dying, also struck her senses hard. She gritted her teeth, shook her head in total denial and rose up, not wanting to believe what she had just witnessed. Bezzel, the youngest Princess of Renais, her dear friend, was gone! The tremor had claimed her!
"Noooo!" she finally issued a cry of terror when in her mind she believed that the person who had given her smiles and laughs during some of the days of her life, was probably dead. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she ran on towards the section where last she had seen the Princess, but she did not even take three steps when she was thrown down to the ground by the same quaking ground. Ashie soon found herself laying against the hard ground, her back, neck and arms aching, but she did not care. She wanted to die there!
Something hit her hard on the back of the head then, making her feel a tremendous sharp pain. That is the last thing the silver haired beauty felt before everything went pitch black for her.
*End of Prelude*
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Absolutely can't wait to read more!^^
Overall it was a good read, and I am looking forward to more…..Lord Vain approved :yes:
Overall good read again, Lord Atsuma…..I am certainly looking forward to more ^::^ Lord Vain approved :yes: