- Intermission -
"There is an old story, long since lost to time. It tells a tale of bravery and sorrow. A simple catalyst, a single regret destroyed every achievement, every hard earned victory. From a single action bore unending consequences. It was the story of Bella Goldenrod. In an almost sardonic sense, a simple bed time story could tell us where it all went wrong..."
- The Tale of Bella Goldenrod -
Bella Goldenrod, legendary huntress.
Born of a prosperous manor house atop a hill.
She left her home to seek glory and fame.
To battle monsters and minions of evil.
And most importantly, to help those in need.
She trained her sword arm and began her adventure.
In a sleepy little village called Rain she found her first foe.
A raggety beowolf of six feet high.
She fought with steel in her hand.
With fire in her blood she beat the beast senseless.
Her first foe defeated, the people celebrated her name.
She felt joy unlike any other, she set off to find her next foe.
In a bustling port called Hope she found her next foe.
A vile and vicious Boarbatusk.
She avoid it until it tired, when it fell weak she plunged her sword.
Her next foe beaten and the village celebrated.
She wanted more.
She set off to find a bigger foe.
In a city called Vale she found her next foe.
A fiersome nevermore attacked the people in the streets.
She battled it for a day and a night.
The clock struck dawn, the blade struck nevermore.
She smiled, the people praised her heroism.
The crowd was bigger than any she'd seen before.
She wanted more.
She set off again.
In a small hamlet of Silence, she found a new foe.
The people were weak, the town small.
They were nowhere near the size of the crowd in Vale.
Their cheer would be quiet, their praise a whisper.
She didn't see it worth her time.
She set off for a bigger crowd.
In this time she encountered many towns like Silence.
Each time she abandoned them like the last.
Eventually she found a town big enough for her liking.
In a town called Petal she would find her next foe.
A mighty ursa ransacked the market.
She battled the beast but it was struck by another.
It was there she met a warrior named Brand.
He fought with a mighty axe in hand.
Together they traveled, battling and celebrating.
A perfect pair.
On a quite road they found a grizzly sight.
A town called Silence.
The streets were bare, the houses rubble.
Bones litter the streets.
Bella was devastated. She felt sick to her stomach.
She admitted her guilt to her friend.
He left her in that small town in silence.
She knelt in the ashes and cried.
In a small town called Pardon she battled her next foe.
Her heart weary, her sword hand heavy she struggled.
The beast finally fell and the people rallied.
She couldn't find joy in it, her guilt gnawing deep.
She buried the feeling and smiled.
She continued on, battling and winning.
The people praised her name and Silence fell forgotten.
Buried under a lie.
In a town called Meadow she found a new foe.
She battled the beast, a Goliath of incredible size.
She felled it, the people cheered.
All but one.
A single figure stepped from the crowd.
He told them her secret.
The crowd grew angry.
The man told them of Silence.
That man, was Brand.
It didn't take long for news to spread.
Her name in ruins, people spat on her in the streets.
Those who once praised her, now condemned her.
Her own family disowned her.
As did her friends, as did her fellow warriors.
She was called a Bella the Craven.
Bella the Heartless.
In a town called Silence she knelt in sorrow.
She buried the bones of those she had forgotten.
She stumbled through the ashes of their lives.
She learned their names, she learned their stories.
She carved their names in the great oak in town square.
Then she wept beneath it.
She finally understood.
In her vanity she forgot why she began her journey.
The most important reason.
To help those in need.
In the city of Vale, a panicked crowd hid in their homes.
A massive winged beast brought fire to the streets.
A wicked horror unlike anything seen before.
In the ashes she found a familiar face.
The warrior Brand lie burned.
She begged for forgiveness.
He died in her arms.
She turned to the beast, it towered over the city.
She drew her sword, as she had done nearly a hundred times now.
She marched on, as she had done before.
She climbed it like a mountain, she brought it down from the sky.
It roared fire, it bellowed thunder.
It tore a hole through soil and rock.
The beast buried itself deep beneath the earthen soil.
From this hole, Bella never emerged.
Above this hole lay a landmark.
Not far through the trees.
Was a small town.
It's name was Silence.
There she had failed.
There she was buried.
"An old tale albeit a long winded one but it's moral still holds true. All it takes is a catalyst, a single spark, and the whole world will be changed forever. More often than not, that single spark, is a mistake."
