The full moon cast a silver glow on the City State of Ionia. The Placidium, towering over the rest of the buildings in Ionia from its position atop a raging waterfall, glowed with firelight that contrasted with the metallic sheen of the moon. It was quite a sight to behold, and on another night, the girl would have gazed upon it, taken by its beauty. But now, it may as well have been an old shack on hill.
She wove through the crowds lining the streets, hood pulled down to hide her face, and cloak wrapped around her to hide her tails. No one could recognize her if she was to succeed.
She had made her way into the city a few hours prior. She had heard Jihl say that the thieves would be at the Festival, stealing fortunes from the pockets of the Festival attendees, no doubt. She smirked inwardly at the notion of a violent street gang in Ionia, of all places. It would appear that the paradigm of a noble, peace-loving city state was not completely true. Not everyone in Ionia was content to dedicate their lives to peaceful enlightenment, it seemed.
That said, the city state was quite beautiful. Trees lined the spacious sidewalks and overhung the streets, pink blossoms rustling in the wind. Thousands of red paper lanterns hung from them, casting the streets in an orange glow that made the very air seem like it was aflame. The girl could hear the telltale whistling and dull explosions of multicolored fireworks overhead.
It would be easy to forget one's troubles in place like this, thought the girl. But she was on a mission, and she would not rest until she saw it completed.
She threaded through the din of the crowd until she came to where the focus of the festival appeared to be. It was a massive garden, and at the center rose a great tree that towered overhead, its drooping branches coming down to just above the girl's hooded head. Many smiling people were gathered around it, and were writing on small scrolls that they then hung from the tree. Curious, the girl ambled closer.
She lightly took one of the scrolls hanging above her head in the palm of her hand. It bore a single word; "fear". Intrigued, the girl looked at another. This one read "sadness".
They all bore similar words, phrases and concepts, and some even held people's names. Perplexed, the girl continued inspecting the scrolls, when she heard a stern feminine voice from behind her.
"The people of Ionia write their worries and fears upon these scrolls," It said evenly. "When they are set ablaze in the morning, what is written on the scroll will be cleansed from the mind of the writer."
The girl whirled. A woman stood there, of slight build but taller than her. Long silver-blue hair hung freely to her thighs, and a massive four pointed blade hovered near her. Behind her head floated what must have been a crown of sorts, and she wore glistening red and silver armor. The girl could sense power radiating from her like light from a candle. She continued speaking.
"Such is the purpose of the Festival of Fire. The purification of our minds and souls."
"Who are you?" The girl inquired warily.
"A simple soldier, no more. I am called Irelia."
"What do you want?"
Irelia shrugged. "To help, only. I can tell by looking at you that there is much that plagues you. Deep in your soul, you are at war with yourself."
The girl tried to hide her surprise from the strange woman. "How can you know that?"
She simply shrugged. "There are ways of knowing someone without the need for words."
"Yeah well, you know what they say," she growled from under her hood, glaring. "Curiosity killed the cat."
"I mean no disrespect," Irelia replied, blade bobbing lightly in the air beside her. "But as we are at war, I have met many men and women dealing with inner turmoil as you are now. In many cases, it helps to talk about our problems."
"Look, I'm kind of busy. So if you'll excuse me."
Irelia frowned slightly, but it passed quickly. "Very well. But before I leave, I must ask, do you know of the tale of Reina?"
"No." The girl replied impatiently.
"It tells of a woman who is plagued by a malevolent spirit for many years. It disappeared only after she faced it at last, frightened by her courage."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"It is metaphor for the cleansing of one's soul. We must all face that in ourselves that we would rather keep hidden, so that it may be cast out, thus making us stronger. You would do well to remember this tale."
The girl cocked her head. There was clearly more to this woman than she was letting on. "What makes you think I want to change myself?"
"We all have baggage we wish to rid ourselves of. Even I." She looked at the girl as if she could see through her. "One final thing before I leave." She said casually. "I see hatred burning in your heart. That is something you would do well to rid yourself of, before it consumes you. The path of anger brings naught but despair."
With that, she spun on a heel and disappeared into the crowd, floating blades bobbing after her.
The girl's temper flared. That strange woman had seen right through her as if she were as transparent as glass. Who was she that could sense that she was struggling internally with the murders she had committed, her darkest secret?
She snarled in disgust as she turned back towards the tree. She would be rid of her hatred, soon enough, after Isaya's head rolled. But for now, there actually was a burden she could remove from her heart once and for all.
She snatched up a blank scroll and a quill from a table nearby and hastily scrawled a single word upon it. She fastened a string to it and hung it from a branch just above her head, and stepped back to survey her work. Satisfied, she spun and wove through the crowd, out of the verdant garden to pursue her quarry elsewhere.
Behind her, the scroll swung gently from its branch in the cool night breeze. Upon it was the one thing the girl hoped to remove from her heart. The one thing that was holding her back from true humanity.
Written on the scroll in black ink was the word "mercy".