Hello!
New chapter!
Santrarya
Year X787
It was winter in Iceberg, this great kingdom of ice covered in pine forests and mountain chains. Eternal snow fell permanently on this country, a thick white mantle covered as far as the eye could see the vast expanses and forests of this kingdom.
In a small town of wooden cottages, a small silhouette, hooded in dark green, moved forward in the snow, leaving a wake behind it. A huge deer with magnificent antlers decorated with paintings, feathers and bells was advancing beside it, roaming between the chalets. An eagle with gray wings also decorated with paintings was flying above the deer, gliding on the cold winds of the Iceberg kingdom. A mysterious murmur came from the silhouette, a language that had not been spoken for centuries and which was once intended for the animals that lived in the ancestral forests of this world.
The small village, situated between two huge pine forests where the deers roared, did not often receive such special visitors. At the windows of the cottages were the faces of the inhabitants who watched this strange spectacle with suspicion. The light sound of the bells broke the eternal silence that reigned over this kingdom, punctuated by the rare strident cries of the eagle.
The strange procession stopped in front of an inn. The silhouette whispered a few words, stopping the progress of the deer and the eagle that landed on the roof of the inn, before entering the establishment.
The hostel was very small, but warm, offering the rare travelers passing through a few rooms and something to warm up with, either with a good meal or by stopping for a few hours by the fire. There were only two visitors that day, so the eyes turned to the newcomer who had just entered and ended up lifting his hood. Beneath the cloth was a young girl with an infant face and a big smile. She was small, very thin, with short blond hair cut short, and big green eyes. She looked like a child of about ten years old, and yet... Few people could have guessed her true age.
The young lady felt the looks on her face, but she didn't care. She knew that she was attracting attention, that people were wondering why such a strange child, and especially such a young one, was travelling alone. However, even if she looked nice, people did not come near her, because a strange, dangerous and violent aura emanated from her body. Children and women avoided her in fear of being the victim of some evil spell. Unfortunately, this solitude did not please her, and the little blonde dreamed of adventures and fights with allies and friends.
The little girl approached the counter, asking a few questions in a crystalline voice before thanking the innkeeper warmly for his answers and promptly leaving the cottage.
The eagle perched on the roof took off as soon as she came out, and the child put her hood back on, resuming her progress, the huge deer advancing again at her side. She continued on her way and disappeared between the fir trees of the forest with a decided look.
oO§o§Oo
Thousands to the south of the Kingdom of Iceberg was the kingdom of Joya, where, in contrast, it was perpetually warm. The land was red and barren, and was like a desert, with all its cacti and thorny bushes. There were many sandstorms in this kingdom, and the fine red dust was everywhere, sticking to the skin and clothing. In order to protect themselves from the heat and these storms, cities were dug underground, almost invisible to the unwary eye.
In an underground bar, a young girl looked very cheerful. She was talking very loudly with a barrel of sake in her arms, and about twenty men around them who were constantly making advances to her, to which she seemed totally insensitive. Her red dreadlocks were agitated when she screamed, and her brown skin reddened slightly under the effect of alcohol. Her eyes, as red as her hair, sparkled with mischief, testifying to her immense joy.
The redhead provoked each person into a duel, under the pretext that the other person seemed sad, or that they squinted a little too much at the redhead's drink. She laughed very loudly and nothing seemed to be able to spoil her good mood, except that the sake barrels emptied too quickly.
She kept shouting an incomprehensible name and jabbering other sentences that no one could decipher. Several men, thinking they could take advantage of the drunken lady, were given a magnificent punch or kick in return, sending them back to their starting place immediately.
When the bar closed, the bartender had a great deal of trouble getting her out of his seat, and unhooking the girl from his neck, who seemed to be the happiest person in the world. The redhead ended up sitting outside on the floor, laughing like crazy and insulting the few passers-by who looked at her a little too strangely.
She laid down on the floor, her hair spread in a halo around her head, continuing to laugh, less and less, until she calmed down completely. A smile was still drawn on her face, revealing canines slightly longer than normal. The redhead got up, rubbing herself to try to remove the dust that had clung to her clothes. Eventually she realized that the dust would not leave her skin.
The girl stretched before she sighed. It was dark, and it was time for her to get back on the road. She set off towards the huge mountains on the horizon, red, burning mountains...
oo§o§o§o
Few people knew of the existence of the inhabitant of the hut near the lake of Teganuma, in a small area of the kingdom of Fiore, and even fewer had spoken to her. It was a small wooden hut blackened by humidity. The girl was brown with navy blue eyes and caramel skin, and had lived alone for years. She was rumored to be mute, and that she hated humans.
The only people who knew where this girl lived were the villagers who lived right next to the same lake, near a small fishing port. Usually, she would leave her small shack once a month to look for food in the village, when fishing was not enough. However, the day the villagers saw that the girl had travelled through their village twice in one week, they wondered what had caused the brunette to leave her home at such a short interval. What surprised them the most was the fact that as she walked through the village, she greeted almost everyone, something that had never happened before.
As she heard the inhabitants whispering about her, she returned to her cabin in the woods. When she reached her clearing, she undressed and slipped into the lake. Under the surface of the water shimmered and snaked, a green and blue reflection. The brunette looked up at the blue sky, a single tear running down her right cheek, a tear of joy. She, who had been alone for so long, had finally found her family.
oO§o§Oo
In the land of Minstrel, a land of myths and legends, where magic was only part of the stories told to children, a new rumor was circulating. In the very high mountains, there lived a little girl, purer than a diamond, lighter than a feather and as beautiful as dawn. A sublime young woman, who would know only the beauty of the clouds, and would never have seen the atrocities of the world. Her only company would be the birds and the sky, and she would meditate all day long.
However, this young girl was not a myth, she lived in these majestic mountains. She occupied a sanctuary of white stones perched at the highest point of the mountain chain and contemplated the expanse of snowy mountains and black rocks that was revealed every morning, sometimes covered with a mantle of clouds, sometimes under a bright sun.
Yet her loneliness weighed on her, and living alone did not enchant her. She dreamed of friendship and love, like all young girls her age. However, she could not access these distractions, because she was too different. She was tall, blonde and very beautiful, but her real difference was her eyes, her pupils of pure gold, pupils that should not exist and which made her so special. People worshipped her instead of just liking her, made offerings to her instead of feeding her, and prayed to her instead of talking to her. She had suffered loneliness in spite of the people around her, and had decided to live alone rather than be idolized, going into exile on the highest mountain.
One day, after many years, she finally found what she was missing, a family, friends. She had to prepare herself, to make everything perfect. She spent long weeks of reflection and meditation on a promontory on the edge of an abyss. Nothing seemed to be able to get her out of her deep reflection. Then, one day, she made up her mind, burst out laughing, and said goodbye to her sanctuary in a crystalline voice, because she was finally going to live a normal life...
oO§o§Oo
The last girl was even more different from the common human than the previous ones. She lived far away. Very far away. Farther away than anyone else.
She walked the extreme border of Earthland, near the Uncharted Territories, in the kingdom of Pergrande. It was a desolate land, ravaged by ancient battles, abandoned by humans and all living things. Bare rocks scattered what little grass was left, making it difficult to advance.
The girl sat on a rock with a blunt face, a huge panther with shiny black and blue striped fur, lying down and resting its head on her thighs. She stroked the animal's coat, her gaze fixed beyond the border, seeming to see the invisible where it wasn't. She had a grin on her lips, a sincere joy in her eyes.
At last.
She had finally found what she had been missing for years, what made her feel so empty, so hollow. After fleeing her home, her past, after years of searching for something, for someone, she had finally found a real reason to live, an honorable one. Not like the desire for violence, the thirst for blood that so often tormented her before, without her knowing what to do with it. Not like the desire to kill, but like the desire to protect.
She burst out laughing. She, who was so inhuman, had finally managed to understand humanity. She had understood what made a person a human being, and as a result, was a little more human every day.
She stuck out her tongue in the direction of the Uncharted Territories, and pushed the panther's head, making it stand up with a grunt of discontent. The girl climbed onto the panther's back, clinging to its fur. Her heavy wavy black hair fluttered in the wind as the panther started to run, and her blue eyes glowed with excitement.
She was going to live. To live as no one had ever lived before. She was going to see everything, do everything, earn everything and finally become someone, surrounded by a family that she had looked for and finally found herself.
It was a new beginning.
- TO BE CONTINUED -