Kestrel

Chapter 1 - Assembly

I

Life itself.

The water's shimmering surface radiantly glistened as the coruscating light of the afternoon sun shone brightly upon it. The beaming sphere nestled upon the peaceful clouds of the sky bathed the stream in its brilliance completely, almost to a blinding degree. A pair of delirious eyes tried to capture the sight ahead, blinking frantically to clear the image. But as the dreamy moment passed, the blurred image finally resolved itself. Now it was clear to her vision, her surroundings completely unfolding itself before her eyes.

There was a coursing river of life-giving water, evergreen forests of bountiful nature surrounding it along its banks for miles ahead. Above, the sun was at its zenith, shining down its brilliant rays like a god of the ancient days. She looked below her where the water flowed at level with her knees, local fresh water fish swimming upstream past her shins visible amidst the clear, pristine water.

She could hear nothing but the tide of the river coursing ever onwards upstream, and the faint rustling of leaves as the occasional breeze passed by the treeline.

It reminded her of the countryside back in the Aurellian heartlands itself.

A peaceful retreat, for the body and the soul.

A calm soon broken.

There was a shrill noise carried by the wind, a piercing cry that broke the peaceful silence of the moment.

She faced the direction of the call, and gazed above as a bird loomed on the horizon. It soared with outstretched wings of brown plumage, predatory eyes keenly sweeping the riverbed for prey.

Perhaps this was a sign.

Tempestus of the water, Gaia of the earth, and finally, Aurora of the heavens.

The circle of the three Fates was complete, the forces of Nova in complete concord.

Harmonia.

But that peaceful moment was not to last. In a second, it was all plunged into an ignoble end. The raptor let out another piercing cry as its avian form swept past her.

Then all the world was dark.

II

Faint sunlight stabbed in through the windows of her sleeping quarters, slipping between the gaps of the blinds. The digital chronometer display sitting on the small table at her bedside finally hit its mark.

"05:45".

The clock let out a buzzing alarm that utterly destroyed the silence in her chambers. The female sleeping peacefully on the bed jolted at the disruption but fell short of rousing up. But slowly, she woke, eyes fluttering open at the pulsing noise of the machine. She held her hand out to her bedside, blindly groping for the whining little device and pressed the power-off stud down.

Alicia Octavia Vostroya awakened.

The female sat up straight on her bed, with her disheveled faded crimson-red hair covering part of her face. She set her locks right, stroking it back with her right hand, revealing green eyes that shone like precious emeralds. She yawned satisfactorily for she had slept comfortably. In fact, it was the first time she had ever slept easy in the base since arriving a week ago. It's been seven days she thought, and it was only now that she was adjusting to her new home – her new life.

Alicia stood up and left the cot. With nothing but her red woolen army-issue tunic on, she walked towards a basin at one side of her room with a mirror hanging on the wall. She turned the faucet on and cupped her hands to receive a filling gush of clear, cold water. She splashed the water on her face to wash it gently, the refreshing water reinvigorating her silken skin. The female then humbly looked into the mirror. She saw a beautiful young woman with the entire world ahead of her. With an ironic smirk, Alicia retraced her steps, recounting the last few events that led her to the present.