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Enjoy…

Eternal Breath

One, who recites a tale for many years, becomes the tale itself.

Beginnings

1

At the darkest hour of night, a critically wounded woman flees an army of malicious soldiers in the streets of Deling City. Engulfed in distraught and anguish, she hastily cut through the murky alleyways that were illuminated faintly by lanterns posted at road corners and intersections of the city streets, which helped her to see the pathway that would liberate her from town. Maintaining her bold getaway, she ran between the monstrous constructions that bypassed vaguely in her sight until she could smell the city's offending stench no more. When taking a short glance behind, the face of a formless capital instantly haunted her, causing her to fight harder to escape. She also discovered troops emerging from its gloomy realm that were now keeping up with her sprinting.

But exhaustion got the better of her, and she lost her footing, collapsing to the muddy grounds on the outskirts of town. She yelped aloud and the men immediately threw their spears and swords in the direction of her scream; anything that could be used as a weapon was lunged at the injured woman wounded by her own fall to the ground; however, in their eyes she was no woman. She was a wicked witch, an animal…a sorceress. No sorceress deserved their pity; sorceresses were feared and took anything of their liking, such greed was their nature. Although she appeared harmless, this woman was no different than the other witches before her; she could instantly bring devastation upon their kingdom with a single wave of her hand.

The injured sorceress struggled to see through the muddy locks of hair that covered her eyes, hiding every detail of her youthful face. She desperately tried to dig her fingers into the ground, boosting herself from its depths, but had failed and plunged onto the soil once more. The Sorceress inhaled deeply what were most likely her last breaths of life.

All the soldiers gathered around her, holding up their swords, readying to slay the injured sorceress.

"Attack!" The captain ordered, and each man raised his weapon high as the moment was his for the taking, his victory.

Just as she rested her hands onto the ground and prepared herself for death, a blue light had shone across the pitch-black sky and caused every soldier to cease his movement. Seconds later, the mighty roar of a beast's cry surrounded them all, causing a few men to drop their swords and run for safety.

Through the amazing blue rays, the beast shaped to be Griever, the great lion and protector of sorceresses. In this night, Griever had answered the silent prayer of the dying sorceress, and in one sweep upon landing, took down dozens of soldiers with its mighty paws. From its powerful jaws, the lion cast great fires upon the men who were now scrambling in fear. The fire burned intensely, and hadn't at all resembled natural fire. Its black and purple mists exploded with clouds of white, and smoke surpassed all the nearby lands.

Escaping men were either caught in the fire, or died by inhaling the flames of smoke. Though many men had fled, Griever was not yet finished. Most of what those soldiers could see of this beast were its fair, yet pure golden eyes glimmering in the night's darkness as it lunged out toward them, striking down bodies, and ripping them to pieces as though it held no restraint at all.

Screams of many men were heard far away, and most of the lights from Deling City's walls had faded, one by one.

-G-Griever…I will not make it, hurry…flee…before your soul is drawn back...- The sorceress called to her protector through telepathy.

The beast growled, unsatisfied with its incomplete objective, and returned to her as she lay on the ground, having not moved from the same spot since its arrival. Through her wounds and weaknesses so had Griever endured the pains of her suffering as well. Quickly, the great lion backed away from its dying sorceress, and ignored her requests; thus, thrusted itself back into battle and slaughtered countless men until the urge to kill had subsided.

-Griever! – She pleaded with the lion, but realized her calls were futile, for the beast followed only its own instincts. Using her telepathy caused her to expend more energy, and the sorceress found herself struggling to go on.

With her last breaths, she wished herself almost a thousand miles away, to a small town near the shimmering sea where the sun had been on the verge of setting; she believed it to be a peaceful sight to intake before her death would come. There, her soul sauntered the grassy plains a few yards out of town.

A girl of ten years, taking the remainder of the day to gather a few wild flowers from the grasslands, saw a woman walking slowly toward her home. The girl, sensing that something had troubled the lone wanderer, ran toward her in hopes of being of help. As she neared the woman, a feeling of trust, and insecurity overtook her being.

The woman fell onto her hands and muttered in such a sweet voice, caused the young girl to have sympathy for her, despite the developing tension that presented itself with this woman's presence, "…I am Edea…and I can sense your tranquil spirit young child. Here, I bestow unto you a gift. Use it well, young one…but beware the terrible power that now lies and grows… within you."

Now, gasping for the loss of her life, Edea emitted a purple light unto the young girl, causing them both to scream out as the transfer of mystical powers took place. Gradually, the young girl felt the searing heat of supernatural energy diminish with each passing second, until it was no more, usurped by her vessel.

The young girl opened her eyes, which had closed just as the woman first began to glow violet, and saw that the woman no longer knelt on the ground before her. Edea had vanished into the gusty air around, suddenly and quietly; even the girl hadn't known of her disappearance until after the matter.

She looked into her hands and saw that each remained unchanged, and contained a complete set of eight fingers, two thumbs, all nails and natural lifelines. Seeing that none of her fingers were missing, her search continued onward. She moved her hands to her face, feeling her eyes, nose, mouth and ears even…still, no different than before. Even though she could feel a slight change within herself, nothing appeared different, at least anything she hadn't yet inspected.

Although frightened, she never left the area where the woman had vanished. It was all unbelievable, unreal, and was a dream no doubt: A dream, right? The girl pinched the skin of her arm, "Ouch!" No, she was still there…but what happened just a few moments ago? She scratched the back of her neck and scanned the area once more, but nothing came of her search.

"Rinoa! Time to come inside!" Her father called to her from the doorstep of their country house in Dollet. He was bemused that his daughter had been staring at something in the distance for more than an hour or so. The man sipped warm tea from his mug and sighed with a shrug of his shoulders, "That girl gets stranger everyday." Sniggering inwardly, the thirty-two year old widower moved from the doorway, and disappeared into the tall cabin.

Rinoa, upon hearing her father's call, turned back once more to ensure the woman wouldn't magically reappear before her very eyes, but after a few moments, gave up and began to walk away. "Rinoa!" He yelled out once more.

"Coming daddy!" She announced as her speed increased, and she was now running to the stillness of her cozy home.

That very same night, Rinoa, as she tucked herself into bed, heard a creak of the floor in her room. Upon opening her eyes to investigate the darkness, swore she saw a pair of yellow eyes staring back at her, but in that instant, the glimmering eyes were gone.

Thinking it might have been a star in her eyes, the ten year old shrugged off the uneasiness and was fast asleep. Unbeknownst to her, no star had rested in her sight, for those glimmering fair eyes watched her peacefulness warily from a darkened corner as she slept through the night…

Seven Years Later…

Author's Note:
Welcome! This story is a tad bit unusual, I know. (I happen to enjoy strange things...) Anyway, the next chapter will follow, I just wanted to make an open, you know, the grand entrance. Well, this story is simply considered a Fantasy/Action-Adventure/Romance Fic. Heh!

(And thanks to those who've been reviewing the stories I've finished, thanks so much! You guys are wonderful!) This story was Beta-Read, but practically co-authored by Blue, you're the greatest man! Thanks!

If you're interested, please leave a review. Thank you!

StardustRay