[C O M P L E T E D]
Finished on 1 Jan 2019
It is now the 22th Century and the year is 2112. Times are extremely different from the 21st Century. Now, the world is divided into only four continents- and Alara Berrera resides in Excidium.
In Excidium...
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ALARA
After reading Jonek's book, her heart was as heavy as a stone and a gnawing need to escape from her home ate at her. Her godfather's words were like Pandora's box- perhaps it was never meant to be opened, only to be displayed, for the sheer weight of the knowledge that she had just been exposed to was now trapped in her.
There was only one way where she could free herself from the suffocating feeling- she had to go to the Excidium Forest.
Even for the poor, a favourite pastime of theirs was shopping, and it was common for families to save or eat less just to be able to afford some trinket that they truly yearned for
Not her.
For Alara, the Excidium Forest was it for her.
Her reason for her love for the forest was incomprehensible even to the poor. While the others usually grew valuable medicinal herbs to barter and sell with, Alara loved the forest not for the money it would bring her, but rather for the serenity it gave her.
The forest gave it to her as willingly as Jonek devoted his life to her and her family.
To her, the Excidium Forest was a place of solace. There was nothing she loved more other than listening to the hummingbirds' tuneful melodies; breathing in the less polluted air- the air in her hometown was polluted. When she felt like indulging in her silly whims, Alara would dance, her only audience the warm, non-judgemental Sun.
Everything is going to be alright. I can do this. Reluctantly, Alara got up on her feet, deciding to gather more herbs after she collected herself. My duties never end. Since I'm here, I might as well gather herbs to make a poultice for Mama.
Though one poultice does momentarily stop her mother's illness from deteriorating further, her mother required a continuous supply to prevent her illness from exacerbating.
Before she had picked up her worn satchel and left the house, she had taken a brief glance at her mother, who was, as per normal, sound asleep. Alara could only wish that at least in her dreams, her Mama was free from her demons.
Unlike others, she didn't pray as like her mother, she had lost faith in the Gods and no longer believed in their existence. Atheism became her belief.
Before the relentless series of misfortune, she had believed in them as that was what her father's choice of faith was. She had been inspired by his unwavering faith but after his death and her baby brother's kidnapping, that faith vanished along with them.
How could she when as soon as she lost her father, the Governors had taken over and started their reign of barbarity?
How could she when, not too long after the Governors' victory, Renald was cruelly stolen from her and her mother? How does one keep their faith and trust in the gods after enduring through all that?
