Jess's Sad Story

"It all started before you were born," Jess began, "I was married to my childhood sweetheart; a man named Elliot Enduro. He and I were having trouble conceiving a child of our own so I made a visit to an apothecary shop in the newly built village of Doria. The woman there sold me some of her herbs that were used for fertility. However, not only did they help me to conceive, but I found that I was carrying a pair of twins; you and your brother. But one evening I received a vision that told me not to bear both of my children at once. So after thinking for a little bit, I asked to have the embryo of my little girl frozen. Although you were conceived at the same time, you were actually born nearly nine years after he was."

"But why don't I know him? If you and father were really in love, then you would have stayed together. I know that some of the people here only had children with lovers and then agreed to split up once the baby was born. So why did you leave him alone and abandon my brother?" Jessica yelled out.

Jess warned, "Do not be so quick to judge before I finish my story. It is also the explanation for why I became a priestess. I had been attacked by a group of monsters while on my way to the house of a midwife who would birth my baby. They were strong and I had to use my magic to protect myself. But this time a group of Drifters happened to be coming by. They saw my act of self defense as a test of evil magic that would bring catastrophe to the world. After finding out where I was headed, they went back to town to get supplies for the killing of a so-called witch. I saw them coming as my boy was being born."

Jessica felt a lump in her throat. Humans tended to jump to conclusions about her people. Since the Shamans weren't exactly considered "human" by the standards of other humans save the Baskar, they had stopped calling themselves human as well. Now, their race was called Dorian after the ancient language they used when communicating with the Guardians. That was why Doria Village was crated; Shamans wanted a place to practice their magic without being harmed. And the abnormally high levels of lifeforce energy in the area was perfect for a temple to the Life Guardian. Even in the current state of Filgaia they had an actual pair of lakes in the center of the city; one with salt water and the other with fresh water. Fish still swam in those lakes too. And herb women and midwives could grow their supplies.

Jess looked her daughter in the eye. "Yes, they were coming to kill me. I told the midwife to run with the boy and bring him to his father at the Leyline Observatory which wasn't too far away from her home. Well, actually it was another one of her offices since she kept the main one in Doria. She was to tell him that I had died of complications in childbirth. Meanwhile, I would fake my death and head for Doria. Once all that was settled, I headed to the temple to become a priestess. I became acquainted with a local midwife named Victoria Sylinia who was the childhood best friend of Princess Ekatrina Lilicia Roughnight. Each of them bore daughters within a month of one another as you well know; Emily being the elder and Princess Virginia being the younger. It was five months before Virginia's second birthday that I decided to finally become a mother once again. So the three month old embryo I had frozen was implanted into my womb and you were born a month after the Princess had her birthday. But I never stopped thinking about Elliot or the boy; I don't know his name since I had precious little time to send him away to the safety of his father. It was for the best, if I was thought to have survived they'd have begun to hunt me down. I would put not only your father and brother at risk, but the six co-workers of your father."

"So that is the reason," Jessica replied, "But what does my vision mean? What happened to my brother? And is Father in danger as well? The pieces of the puzzle haven't been put together to make a whole picture." She looked down at the ground and began to sigh; her life was complicated sometimes.

"It does seem strange. There is no such thing as reincarnation so he can't have died and been brought back to life as another child. But this thing about a stasis seems to give off the expression of an experiment gone awry. He might have encountered trouble helping his father at work," Jess deduced.

Jessica told her mother, "I'm going to find out the answers then. If my brother is in danger, then I will look for him. Once I get him back he can finally connect with us as a family. Especially if something has happened to Father; Guardians forbid it. He'll need us there with him. I will journey to find out the truth about my brother and then bring him back home. I'll start with what I do know. He looks like me and if my calculations serve me correctly he'll be around twenty at this time should he have lost four and a half years of aging. I know my birth father's name is Elliot Enduro and he worked at the Leyline Observatory."

Jess looked at her daughter and smiled. "There is another piece of evidence I can give you. In the months coming up to his birth, Elliot and I had a small disagreement over names. Since he had been named for his father, Elliot wanted the boy to take on his name. But the name I was going to give him was Jet; as in a stone. So either a youth named Jet or Elliot would be your brother. I doubt he would go and choose a random name but he might have given into my desires since he thought that I had died."

Jessica nodded and returned to her room. She opened her sword closet to pick out a weapon. Despite the fact that ARMs were the most advanced weapon on Filgaia, she still preferred a more archaic style. Besides a basic form of a short sword, long sword, katana, and broadsword, she also had a small collection of decorative weapons. Now she needed to find the one to use to take along with her on the quest.

"Dragonflare old buddy," she told her broadsword, "I guess you'll be the one. You are my favorite weapon for nothing." With that, she placed a leather belt around her torso in a diagonal line from her right shoulder to the bottom of her left side. On the back was a sheath to place the large weapon. Then she took out the thick double edged sword itself. You'd be surprised that a girl her size could carry it. For the blade alone went from a little above her shoulder down to her knees. The width of the blade was at least the same as both legs when they were held together; probably a little wider than that. Near the hilt there was a flame created from imbedding rubies into the blade. Another ruby was found near the top of the blade. The hilt was simple; not even wrapped in leather. But on the pommel's bottom there was a tooth of a deadly beast. Another tooth from the same creature was attached to the weapon by a small chain.

"I promise to find you Brother. No matter how long it takes or how hard I have to work I will bring you back home with me. Then you can meet Mother and things will all be ok again. Just be patient a little longer. We'll be a family," she vowed. Then, she walked out of the temple and left the village. She was in such a hurry that the girl didn't even bother to say goodbye to her friend Emily; who worried for her.

Teefa's Last Words...

Well, I decided to make her somewhat wild. She knew Virginia from the days when the girl would come with her mother to the village—more like a city but they call it a village anyway—to visit friends. The only reason Ginny doesn't find something strange with Jet's name is that they usually don't use their last names in Doria. Besides, they were six and eight when they last saw one another. You should hear what happens when I tell you about the funeral incident. And no she isn't disrespectful at the least; more like trying to keep the late woman's wishes. I actually thought about the incident first; but only Emily was involved since I already established they had met back then. However, then I decided on a partner-in-crime for her. Eventually, that led to the creation of Jet's sister. Isn't working backwards fun? And yes I was parodying "Finding Nemo" with the origins of Jet's name. Yes, I was bored.