Origins

Greatness from Small Beginnings

The hazy sun rose each summer morning at six, and at the sight of the light, a breeze would flow through the town and pass each window. In a way, it was the sun sleepily pleading the town to awaken; the light nagging like an old mother for her boy to get to school. However, there was a small soul already awake for this sight. She placed herself upon her roof top every morning to watch this blissful sight in hopes of inspiration.

In Polperro, the sky was a sight to behold; the reds, oranges and yellows of the sunset, timidly fading into bright purples and blues, like it did not believe it was not beautiful enough to show its face. Of course, this was an idiotic idea, Alia thought to herself. She also reminded herself that the sun didn't have a brain. But alas, only a few thousand had the pleasure of seeing this sunset from the town.

The way the sky grounds merged with the sun temple was a sight worth the quiet life, which Alia had known ever since she had been born in the town hospital 17 years ago. Being the daughter of the towns best known builder wasn't easy work, as there were many early mornings and late nights, no matter the day or the weather. She had frequently assisted in making food and drinks.

Racing down the stairs, her foot slipped and she started to fall, but managed to keep her balance enough to get to the wall at the end. "I can't be late for work again" she reminded herself as she did every morning. Still, with her thick auburn hair sleeked back, scruffy old black boots gripping her huge feet, and baggy jacket thrown on, she heaved herself out the door into the workshop. Her entrance, like almost every day for the past 7 years, came with a trip over the old paint bucket and a thud to the ground. "Hey dad" Alia groaned painfully; her father sighed at the sight of her clothes and floor now spritzed with paint primer. Hearing his daughter laughing was a rarity those days. He smiled, savoring the moment. It had been a while since Alia could be pleased with herself.

By the age of fourteen, most children would find their other transformations, Alia was now nineteen with only one species available; human. True, the human was very useful with opposable thumbs, extensive dialect features, and strong muscles, but there was only so much they could do. Alia wasn't special in her eyes. She couldn't climb walls or trees, she couldn't fly into the clouds and look upon the town, nor did she possess the ability to protect herself very well. this made her more vulnerable, which she didn't appreciate. But she knew how to use a gun- and she was good at it.

There had always been rumors that swarmed around the town that she couldn't change because her father stayed in full human form and her mother was never a part of Alia's life in the first place. A weakness, a deficiency almost. Her mother, Una, had fled from the town soon after Alia's birth, in hopes of 'protecting Alia' from herself. At least, that's all her father, Olvir, had ever bothered to mention to her. Alia didn't mind the rumors of her mother, because she never knew her at all to be able to defend her.

What she did mind was the others in town thinking she was weaker, and therefore easier to bully. They were wrong. Alia was in fact one of the few people to receive any training in fighting. In the end, they were all made from flesh that could be cut, and bones that could be broken.

But still, her father still saw her as a fragile egg, always unprepared for what really lies ahead. And so, she had become accustomed now to the small dwelling which she was forced to stay in for her 'protection'.

As Alia rose back up to meet her father's eyes she felt a flicker of joy in her core. His happiness was her confidence as it meant that he was in a calming mood. This was it; Alia's chance. Today she had finally decided to tell Olvir that she was going to travel.
She had often looked to the horizon and wished to know more. There wasn't a book in town she hadn't read, nor a fact or piece of knowledge she had gathered from the townsfolk. She knew it all.