In the beginning, there was fighting. Brutal, relentless fighting. Fire consumed the forests and fields. Water drowned the valleys, flooding the rivers. Lightning fell from the sky and charred the ground. The land was getting destroyed, becoming unsustainable. With every passing day, the destruction spread, leaving innocent humans and Pokémon out of homes and safe havens. Days turned into nights, nights into days. The days eventually became weeks, which eventually became months. Sadly, those months would become years, and the fighting would only evolve in its brutality. Lives would be lost, the land would be ruined beyond repair, families would be broken. It seemed as though the fighting would last forever. Until one day.
A single man, who had lost everything to the destruction, prayed day in and day out to Arceus, the universe's creator. This man prayed for the land to return to its original glory, he prayed all the brutality would come to an end. He prayed that he could have his family back. His life from before was simple, he wasn't special in any way. But when his family had been ripped from him, he felt the rawness of his grief. He felt the hopelessness starting to consume him, but he tried to hold onto something. He wanted to hold onto the memories of his old life, the emotions he felt with his family. To him, those were the most important things in the world. That was why he started praying to Arceus. If the Alpha Pokémon could reverse the damage that had been done, then maybe he could have a second chance at the life that had been taken away. He wouldn't be able to forget what he'd seen or experienced, but he could learn to put it behind him. He'd figure out a way.
And he did. Only, it wasn't due to the outcome he expected. One night, after five years of terrible fighting, the sky seemed to burst into bright, colorful lights. Everything stopped for a moment, everyone and everything looking upwards. It was there, in the center of the sky - Arceus. The Alpha Pokémon looked down at the humans and Pokémon in the battlefield, filthy and exhausted from seemingly never ending fighting.
Scanning the crowd carefully, Arceus let out a sound similar to a huff. "(Which of you humans have been praying to me)?" he announced. Tension rolled off the tiny creatures below. Arceus could feel their discomfort, their unsettling emotions. How were they supposed to react? The creator of the universe was before them, floating high above the air. In one swift attack, Arceus could obliterate all of them. "(One of you humans have been praying to me)," Arceus announced, "(for quite some time. Whoever it is, please step forward)." Still, there was no response. With a soft hum, Arceus lifted his head, as if looking somewhere they couldn't see. With a sound of confirmation, he disappeared again in the same burst of colorful lights. Leaving many humans and Pokémon feeling equally confused and scared.
O.O.O.O
Arceus had found the man, Pierce, sitting in an abandoned village. Pierce's clothes were tattered and filthy, his eyes were cast downward, as if he were thinking. The village itself was a mess, looking as if it had seen its fair share of misfortunes as the years progressed. Deciding to make his presence known, Arceus appeared before Pierce in the same colorful flashes of light. That alone caused the young man to shoot up from where he sat, looking up with a panicked expression.
"(Are you the one who prayed to me)?" Arceus asked, looking down at the human.
Pierce's blue eyes widened in surprise. In all the years he prayed, he didn't think the Alpha Pokémon would actually respond. How was he supposed to answer? Was there a proper way to address Arceus in person? If there was, what was it? Pierce kept looking at the Mythical Pokémon in front of him, unsure on what to do. He couldn't find his words.
Lowering to the ground, Arceus looked at Pierce closely, studying him in a way that made Pierce a bit anxious.
"(You are, aren't you)?" All Pierce could do was nod silently. "(Well then, I think it's time we discuss what you've been praying for)."
O.O.O.O
Elsie let out a sigh, looking at her parents with disinterest. They were retelling the story of her region's formation. Elsie had heard the story countless times - she knew it inside and out; she could recite it forward and backwards. That's how many times she heard it. Compared to when she was a lot younger, the story's magical feel just. . . .wasn't there anymore. Elsie couldn't remember when she stopped seeing the wonder in the story, but all she knew was that she couldn't stand hearing it anymore. But for some reason, her parents kept retelling it.
"Sweetie, are you even listening?" Elsie's mother, Johanna, glared at the young girl. Johanna took great pride in her region's history, finding joy and excitement in telling it, no matter how many times she had beforehand. Elsie could appreciate her mother's enthusiasm for their history, but she just chose not to. Johanna's overwhelming need to retell and go over every single detail of what went down all those centuries ago made Elsie's head hurt. It was a war - a really brutal, five-year-long war. Elsie understood that. She knew that it was important to remember that aspect, but everything else seemed so unnecessary. The way people glorified the war, the way Pierce was displayed as some kind of martyr. For the young girl, she just couldn't comprehend it.
"Mom, I've been told this story hundreds of times," Elsie replied. "Why do you feel the need to tell it to me again?"
"Remembering our history will ensure we don't make the same mistakes." Elsie's father was the infamous Sebastian, said to be one of Pierce's last descendants before Elsie's birth. Sebastian's vivid, blue eyes pierced into Elsie's eyes without so much as faltering. "Pierce Ravenwood helped form what you see around you. If it hadn't been for him, we wouldn't be here."
"Technically, Arceus did a lot of the work," Elsie muttered. In a typical heroic story ending, the story of Pierce Ravenwood ended with him gaining some of Arceus' powers and singlehandedly stopping the war. But it was because of the soldiers' initial surprise over the Mythical Pokémon's appearance that Pierce found his opening. Sadly, however, Pierce would end up requesting the help of Arceus one last time, asking for enough power to restore the land. The request was granted, and all the land that had been ruined by the war was reborn. In their surprise and uncertainty, the soldiers and remaining Pokémon came to view Pierce as some sort of savior. In the end, the Grace Region formed, later being known worldwide as the most economically friendly region ever. "He's the one who had to travel all the way from his dimension to find Pierce and help him stop the war."
"Pierce is a hero to this region," Sebastian said sharply. "To disrespect him is to not only bring disregard to the region, but also to our family."
"The Ravenwoods are the oldest people to live in the Grace Region," Johanna stated. "It's important to acknowledge the sacrifices that were made."
"And the power that still flows within us." Sebastian's eyes narrowed slightly when he looked at his daughter. Descendants of Pierce were said to gain some of the power Arceus had given him. The power never diluted, despite the countless centuries that passed. "We just have to find your trigger," he murmured.
Elsie couldn't help but grimace. Among the Ravenwood family, it was tradition to find a certain trigger to awaken the dormant powers that resided in them. Somewhere down the line of descendants, Arceus' power became dormant within those who possessed it, later activating once a specific incident took place. The incident had to set off strong emotional outbursts, which would awaken the abilities. Elsie still hadn't figured out how to awaken her powers yet. It was obvious Sebastian was getting frustrated.
"No descendant of Pierce has ever been born powerless," Sebastian murmured.
"Maybe it stops with you," Elsie muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't get why it's such a big deal, anyway. Besides, I'm too young to be getting any weird powers."
"I was barely older than you when I received my abilities," Elsie's father announced. "You should have gotten yours by now."
That was another reason why she hated when her parents retold the story. It always led to situations like that. Why hasn't she awoken the family powers? Why didn't she care about the region's formation? Why did she act as if Pierce was a burden for her? There were so many reasons why she couldn't stand the story, or why she didn't care for Pierce, or why she was indifferent to the development of her powers. The main reason was she couldn't stand hearing the same old story anymore. It was unbearable.
Standing up from where she stood, Elsie was about to make her exit when her father stopped her.
"You may not care for your ancestry," Sebastian said softly, "but at least try to be a little more invested in it. Understanding the story is what will help you in the future."
Without another word, Elsie left.
(A/N):
I'm super sorry this story took so long to post. I got sidetracked by so many things it's not even funny! This may not be my best first chapter, but I did try to make it a bit interesting. If there's anything you think needs improvement, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? Constructive criticism is always welcome.
Nothing in this universe belongs to me.
Leave your thoughts!*
Thanks.
Glacia St. Cloud