Clashing Daggers

A New Beginning

Here I was. Standing on a cliff watching over a village as if it were my own; my own creation. This village...is not only the home to its inhabitants, but it is also the home to unimaginable measures of magic. It is a village without a ruler, without a human ruler of course. Magic runs wild throughout the village and deep into its forests. And no one has the power to rule over it. Now I am here. This is why I have come. Today is the day I become my own master. Today is the day I enter Xarmenia (Zar-men-e-yah) and will not leave until my ashes are being carried away by the waters on the shore of what is now my new home.

They call me Athena. I am a warrior who fights for what she believes in and fights to prove her knowledge.They also call me little because of my physical appearance in height, but the only thing little about me is my fear. Just as I don't let anyone take control over me, I don't let fear stop me from my intentions. I am underestimated but I am tough at heart. I am a newly mastered sorceress in seek of adventure, an adventure which has now just begun.

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I looked down estimating my journey from the cliff to the village until I heard a faint screeching noise. I walked toward the left end of the cliff, the noise getting clearer and clearer as I got closer and closer. They were screams. Cries for help. I looked down and saw a square of houses cloaked in black smoke with fire rushing across the dry grass surrounding it. I quickly ran to the edge and jumped off, landing on a small ledge poking out the side of the cliff. From there I jumped spreading my arms and legs as if I had wings and soared to the ground landing on a cart full of straw fighting the pain from the impact. I laid there for a good second waiting for the burning feeling crawling up my spine to fade away before getting back on my feet. With my dagger at my side and the sack on my back with my bow, arrows, and other necessities, I leapt across the dirt roads and to the scene of the fire. I ran to anyone I saw through the smoke, tugged at their shirts, pulled on their cloaks, but everyone was just still in shock. Finally a little boy runs to my side, gasping for breath, and frantically shouts "my sister! She's in there! You have to help her! Please!!" So I quickly surveyed the burning house and found an opening. Once I got inside I knew there was no turning back. A sudden memory of my former master came to me; a voice shouting "nature is nothing against you". I located the boy's sister and remembering the phrase, I made my hands claw-like facing each other and suddenly an orb started to form. The orb was sapphire blue with swirling waters, and glowing brighter than the moon. I took the levitating orb and made a gesture so that it was thrown in the air and expanded to cloak the entire house in water, putting out the fire and revealing the girl. I helped her up and with her arm around my neck and draped on my shoulder, I helped her out and onto a bench where she laid and the villagers crowded her in concern. I chose to let her breathe and instead backed away from the crowd and used the same technique to create various water orbs to put out the rest of the fires. After some time, the villagers continued with their concerns and started to back away making the crowd smaller and smaller, until I was able to make my way to her. She looked up at me with eyes that gleamed in shock. I asked her if she was alright and all of the other questions she was probably already bombarded with by the villagers, but what I really wanted to know was who she is. She cleared her throat until she was finally able to say "my name is Beatrice". She kept on thanking me, but once she finally felt content knowing that it was no trouble to me, she began to ask ME questions, such as where I came from and why I came. I told her "my past is not my present. I have come here for a new beginning but with battle wounds from my last end. I will continue the legacy of my unfortunate master and I will yet create my own. Why I came does not matter; but what I will do here is what makes a future worth discarding my past".

I turned around beginning my departure and eyes were staring me down in both shock and amazement. Power is nothing they haven't seen before, but power like mine is an ancient power that hasn't been seen in millennium. They gathered around me with fading concern of Beatrice and murmured among themselves. I continued to walk as people made way, hearing the faint whispers of those asking "who is she" or "where did she come from" until I was finally given a proper greeting. It was Beatrice's little brother, who had eventually introduced himself as Eric of Starglade, Xarmenia. It was there that I got a closer look at him. He was a little boy with hair long enough to be in a ponytail and with caramel colored skin clothed in a teal shirt with brown pants and rugged leather sandals. He stuttered in amazement, asking questions "a mile a minute" until his sister approached us, relieving me from my worries of him hurting himself. I asked her where she planned to go since her house was left in pieces, along with recommendations of a place for me to stay. She sat me down and with tears rolling down her cheeks she explained everything. Her parents had disowned her for falling in love and running away with someone lower of their standards. They later on passed away after losing a battle to protect their only son, who was then left to live with a close friend. I didn't really understand what she meant, but with the stress in her eyes I let her proceed. She continued to explain how the man she ran away with betrayed her and left her to live alone in that small house. Earlier that day, her brother came to visit, and as he walked into the neighborhood, he saw her house surrounded in flames and scurried for help, which is where I stepped in.