Aion: The Dawn of Twilight
Note: As we do not know of Aion down to every last little exact detail, I will try by best to make logical guesses in order to fill in unknown or possible future areas. I will also keep monster description to a minimum, although there aren't many monster-involved events anyway. I'm saying this so that nobody has to worry about whether something I mention that's questionable is true or not. Unless it's included in the Aion Source Wiki, it's made up. Okay?
Chapter 1: Bright Wings Take Flight
'Darkness... Blood... I don't know what they are... But... They're... everywhere...'
Blurry blots of sunlight twinkled through the leaves. Trying to get her vision to adjust, she squinted her eyes, and looked around. She could smell the earth that she was laying on, the grass between her fingers and brushing against her face. Strange, tall brown structures were the foundations to what seemed like hundreds of huge green dots that were blocking the sky.
No, wait... Those were... What were they called again? Yes! Trees. She rolled onto her side painfully. Where were these sharp pains coming from? She looked down at her body, or at least she supposed that it was her body, awkwardly. Deep wounds adorned her flesh, and she smelt of sweat and dried blood. It did not hurt as much as it looked like it should, but why? More questions arose that she could not answer.
And then, she was overcome with a sudden feeling of fatigue. What was it called again? Oh, that's right. Sleepy. Why couldn't she remember such simple little things? How did she get there in the first place? And where was she? The whole situation sounded very much like a dream, before she realized one thing that blew her away. She pondered it for what felt like hours until she could no longer resist, and finally allowed herself to doze off in the middle of her whispers.
"What is... my... name? Why can't I... remember... my name...?"
-
"Trust me, it was hilarious! He dived right off the balcony, boasting that he was getting ready to perform his mighty aerial loop-de-loop, and then he plummeted straight into the lake."
"That's not funny, Ryusei. He could have died from hitting the water too hard!"
"Aurora, please. That incredibly hard head of his could withstand anything. I highly doubt he'd die from a tiny bit of water."
Aurora giggled as she and her best friend Ryusei walked through the forest. It was a wonderful afternoon, as most days were in Elysea, where the sun was bright and the breezes were warm and crisp. Aurora Bialy was of sixteen, bearing lime green hair and cherry brown eyes. She normally wore it tied back into in a braid, but today it was flowing with no restraints. Her childhood friend, Ryusei Kotokanoh, was more conservative though. Having reached his manhood already, for he was eighteen and a half, Ryusei sported clean cut sky blue hair and complementing navy blue eyes.
"Remember? When we were kids, we always played hide and go seek here."
"Yeah, and for some reason I always lost both ways. I couldn't pick a good place to hide to save my life, and you were the master of being unfindable."
"I wonder why we haven't been here in so long. It's literally been years."
"Well... Frankly, we grew up. I'm the town's full-time cleric, and you teach archery to the younger daevas part-time. We have agendas now, Aurora. With the war growing more and more gruesome by the second, the less free time we'll have."
"Hee, you're usually so hotheaded and self-centered but you really do care. That's adorable."
Ryusei scowled at Aurora, and then they both laughed together. They missed the days where everything seemed so perfect and innocent. Their walk continued, silently embracing the refreshing break from the everyday routines they had become so accustomed to.
Coming to a mini hill in the road, Aurora excitedly ran up the path. Ryusei followed her eagerly. This place was where their most favorite view resided. Reaching the top, they smiled. It was exactly the same. The rolling hills, the white mountain tops far off in the distance, and the winding brooks; they were all just as beautiful now as they were back then.
"However... We're so tall now that it seems smaller, don't cha think?"
Ryusei nodded and chuckled. Aurora looked away and visually absorbed the area lovingly. Such pure beauty was truly unrivaled... What? That's when something strange caught Aurora's eye. Down the dirt path they were on, behind some bushes lining the trail, there was a hand. As if someone were laying on the ground, and their arm was outstretched. Not knowing whether to laugh or to be scared, she touched Ryusei's arm gently.
He asked Aurora what was wrong, and studied her face for the answer when she did not respond. Following her gaze, his eyes fell upon the very same thing. He told her that they should go check it out. She refused, but he ended up getting her to follow reluctantly. They approached the bushes with caution. What if it was a trap? Or, what if it really was a dead person? The sight and smell would probably be horrible...
Aurora couldn't stand it anymore so she ran around the bushes almost in a panic from the building curiosity. Ryusei called out after her, but it was too late. He ventured around them after her, and paused at what he saw. Aurora was smiling.
"Oh, thank goodness! She's not dead! She's breathing, see?"
It was a young girl. She couldn't be more than sixteen years of age, and had long blonde hair that was so silvery, it was nearly white. Her skin had a pale peach glow to it, yet it was covered with so many wounds that Ryusei was surprised with the fact that she was still alive. She wore only a simple gown, which was almost torn to shreds.
The girl voiced a violent storm of coughing. Blood spurted from her rosy lips. She moaned as she squirmed in her sleep, wounds continuing to bleed.
"Ryusei, can you do anything for her? Oh, can you?"
"Well, of course. Whoever attacked her must've figured that there were no towns around whatsoever. She was most likely left for dead, or beaten enough so that she would die off sooner or later... Poor girl. But surely, I can save her. This is no problem at all."
Aurora smiled happily at Ryusei as he prepared to heal her. Ryusei held his hands over the girl's body and closed his eyes. He was going to shoot for a full recovery in one casting. As energy gathered in his palms, his hands began to glow with an eerie blue. The lights grew brighter and brighter until he couldn't hold it anymore and, with some struggle it seemed, he released this buildup of holy magic upon the young girl before him.
Ryusei panted just a bit before gathering himself and standing up. Observing his work, the little lady no longer had a single scratch on her.
"Everything okay, Ryu-kun?"
"Well it wasn't as easy as I thought... The cuts ran pretty deep. I'm really surprised she survived this long. See? Blood everywhere."
Gesturing over the general area, Ryusei pointed out a long and heavy trail of blood that led up right to where the girl was lying, which ended in a oval-sized pool of blood. However, all blood had been cleansed from the girl's body now. Aurora scooped her up in one swift motion.
"There's nothing scrawny about this child; she's blossoming into a beautiful figure. I wonder where she came from... She can't be more than sixteen; the youngest she could be is maybe fourteen."
"We'll find out later. For now, let's return to River's Grove. It's best to get her warm, rested, and fed as soon as possible. She's still extremely weak energy-wise, so if she gets a fever or virus she won't be able to fight it off without heavy medication."
Aurora agreed. In a quick flash of golden light, they both spread giant wings and took flight. The early evening wind was gentle against their cream feathers (Aurora's wings happened to have Jade Green tips). They reached River's Grove in no time, and made a hasty landing right in the middle of the town square. Many of the town locals eyed them in curiosity. They were well known throughout River's Grove, so if any commotion came about having to do with them, the whole town knew about it in under ten minutes... literally.
Ryusei led the way into the local inn, where they booked a room and tucked the girl into bed. They decided to stay by her side that night, just incase something were to transpire. All they could do was wait until she awakened, to see if they could possibly learn anything about her.