It was a dark and calm night with no moon. In a place barren of creatures and vegetation a single ripple erupted from an unknown source. The ethereal ripple travelled from the center of the barren plane outwards to its edge, it was as if the gods threw a pebble into a sea of earth. Following this single ripple a second chased, then a third, a fourth! Soon a melodic pattern could be seen as the ground shimmered. Solid stone turned to liquid earth. If anyone was around to witness such a strange phenomenon they would be left speechless.
These ripples continued to beat for some time into the night. Right when the darkest hour of the night came around… stillness. The calm and peace returned to the barren land as if everything up to this point were just an illusion of the mind. The liquid earth hardened into solid rock, compressing itself layer over layer. Soon an unnatural flat surface appeared in the place where the rocky ground used to be hours before. The sheer magnitude and effort someone would have to put in to create such a perfectly flat surface would cause even the most famous artisan to kneel down in respect. If one were to look closer they would be able to notice that the smooth surface was in fact polished marble of the highest grade.
Just when one suspected the strange phenomenon to be over the wind began to pick up. Great swathes of tropical wind blew in from the east, caressing the northern border of the polished land. Meanwhile, from the west a frigid breath of air flowed along the southern edge of the marbled land. No, the winds weren’t simply blowing past this piece of land but were actually encircling it! Tropical wind merged with frigid air and cold mixed with hot, blending into a delicate balance between hot and cold. The counter clockwise rotation of such a delicate balance generated a great whirlwind which blew away any debris that was left on the land.
As the wall of violent but contained winds continue to rotate, strange objects began to form within the eye of the vortex. Upon closer inspection, they weren’t simply objects! They were guardians of stone, statues, their structure reminiscent of the ancient High Elven Order of Balance! They also weren’t simply being formed, but chiseled away by the world’s best sculptor. In under an hour twelve statues fully appeared, their domineering auras gave them the illusion of being alive. Though these works of art that would cause any artisan to drool, they appeared as if they were protecting something, something much more precious and incomparable to themselves.
Guardians they were! The twelve guardian statues guard the shrine of the Divine Beast of Balance. Within the encirclement of the twelve guardians a huge shrine was etched out of the standing marble. Two delicate wings fanned out to the sides as a tall proud beast looked down upon the kneeling high elven statue. The proud beast sported a sharp beak and lofty gaze that revealed great wisdom inside its polished ruby eyes. It was the Divine Beast of Balance: the Phoenix and its High Oracle: Nirvana.
As soon as these statues were finished being sculpted by the wind, the wind left a parting gift: a single red feather which seemed to bloom with the fires of life. This feather gently floated down carefreely unto the giant bird. Silence soon returned to the area and time seem to flow in reverse. In the second that the feather made contact with the Phoenix statue thousands of years began to rewind itself. Millenniums began to run in reverse, days and nights stripped by and yet the statue remained quiet. Only when a total of 100,000 years rewound itself did a small crack appeared on the flawless surface of the marble. The Phoenix’s jewel eyes flashed briefly signaling the coming of a great being and dulled; if one weren’t paying attention they would’ve easily missed it.
Soon a deep rumbling coming from the depths of the phoenix shook the statue. A pretense to the eruption of a volcanic mountain, sounds engulfed the surrounding area. This very sound drew in the sole inhabitant of the nearby area onto the barren plot of polished land. As cracks began to appear on the marble phoenix so do footsteps appeared far off in the distant. A great wizened lord with a feeble aura as if clutching to the last straws of life, dragged himself to see this strange phenomenon; he was the sole witness. Once the man arrived at the outlook over the barren land he was breathless, whether if it was because of the sight that he beheld or because of his own vitality, but one thing was for certain: a great change was to come.
Down on the marbled ground the phoenix was filled with cracks, residue of marble were drifting away from the bird like ashes in the wind. The red feather began to grow bright red, becoming the sole source of sunlight within the otherwise moonless night. The statue of High Oracle Nirvana also became riddled with cracks and joined with the phoenix in molting its veil. The ashes of both beast and elf continued to blow away endlessly without a single gust of wind in the area. The old lordly man on the outlook suppressed his reverence and looked upon the phenomenon, his speechless jaw agape with wonder and awe.
The ashes of both elf and beast soon became an endless tide of marble sand. How could such small statues house such an abundance of sand? It was unnatural! However, these two statues finally became dust in the windless night and their ashes that blew away began to converge upon the very place their previous forms stood. Soon two large spheres floated over the center of the twelve stone guardians. The feather that was formerly on the phoenix statue began to draw towards the larger sphere of ash. As soon as the glowing red feather made contact with the ball a bright red light shot up into the darkened sky. It was as if the sun were challenging the domain of the moon. The bright light that shot up into the night sky received a reply; the moon that had hidden itself from the prying eyes of mortals revealed itself for a brief moment and sent back a bright blue beam onto the second sphere of ash.
With one glowing radiant red and the other blossoming blue these polar opposites of ice cold and blazing hot began to draw unto one another. They began to dance ever so slowly in a circular motion meanwhile the stone guardians and a lone old man watched. As these two spheres revolved around the feather in a counter clockwise motion they continued to draw closer and closer unto the sole feather. Closer and closer they became. Closer and closer the climax drew near. Closer and closer the old man drew towards the last breath of his existence. The old man knew he didn’t have much time left, the only thing that kept him in this plane for so long was his oath and even with that he will not be able to hold on much longer. He began to climb down from his outlook and went towards the strange event.
By this point, the two spheres of red and blue were revolving at a terrifying speed. Red began to blend to blue as the physical shape of the two spheres disappeared from the naked eye. A wall of blending red and blue was left in its place and in the center of it the bright red feather began pulse as if it were a heart. Each pulse the feather made a loud drum beat followed close behind.
Dum…Dum…Dum…
The feather pulsed. The wall of transparent red and blue also pulsed, reciprocating the calling of the feather. Just as the man grabbed onto the outermost edge of the marbled land the two spheres finally embraced the calling of the feather. A bright light as white and pure as the birth of the cosmos exploded out from the center of the plot of land nearly blinding the old man who barely managed to duck under the edge. A heavenly chorus chimed out from the bright white sphere of light in the center, it was as if these heavenly voices where singing praises of the birth of a goddess. Who knows if this was real or just an illusion brought onto the situation because of the vast amount of energy that was emitted from the ball of light.
As the divine chorus died down so did the light. The old man who could finally see again peered out from the marbled edge and witnessed a sight that would cause any mortal to shed tears of reverence. The whole time that the old lordly figure was here he never said a word, but at the sight before his eyes he finally uttered a phrase, “Nirvana, that is you?”
Upon the area where the event transpired a single figure stood in its place. It was an elegant figure full of life and warmth. Her lush hair of silver hair glowed softly in the darkness of the night. Her delicate milky skin laid bare as she snuggled pleasantly against her knees. Her long lashes were gently curled up and her refined facial features calmed the man that was staring at her. She was the exact image of High Oracle Nirvana, only younger, much younger. At the mention of the name “Nirvana” the young maiden stirred from her slumber. She looked as if her gentle mother had awoken her from her sleep. The man looked up as she opened her eyes; the eyes reflect the character of the person and her eyes were very pronounced. She finally opened her golden eyes to survey her surroundings, though her eyes looked gentle and maternal, they also hinted at great pride and a lofty personality full of wisdom and charm.
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“Who was it that have awakened me?” Her soft voice, reminiscent of a nightingale spoke out. Neither did she sound too proud nor too servile. It was the perfect balance and harmony of both and as if viewing everything equally.
“It… is I… Your beloved Valefyr…” The old man stammered out. “B-but how can this be? I witnessed the moment when you fell in battle… I witnessed you being sent to the farplane… That was over fifty millenniums ago…” The old man clutched at his white bed of hair in confusion.
The maiden thought to be Nirvana’s ears perked up at the mention of “Valefyr”. She beckoned for him to approach and approached he did! “Valefyr of the East Gate?” She looked at the old ragged man who stood next to the statue that was the younger version of himself. Though it were barely relatable, the old man did retain some resemblance to the statue. “Valefyr where has everyone gone?”
Still confused the old man paused briefly and answered, “Do you not recall? Nirvana, everyone who has fought in the fall of Alfenheil has passed onto the farplane. Even the survivors has passed on. Only… *sigh* only I remain.” He paused once more, hesitating if she should ask, “Nirvana do you recall our oath?”
The maiden silently listened to the man as he continued to speak. No visible change on her face revealed her emotions. Only after the man asked about their oath did she reveal a perplexed gaze. “Multiple times, you have called me Nirvana. I am not she, do you not recognize myself?”
“By what do you mean? Nirvana my beloved, so you have forgotten our oath…” He broke eye contact with the maiden and hunched his shoulders. ‘To think that even my beloved has forgotten me, what was the use of waiting all these millenniums?’ He thought.
“I see. I may have forgotten, would my good Valefyr please refresh the memory of myself?”
“… We swore that even if one of us passed on to the farplane the other shall carry on the duty of both. We swore to watch over the shrine of Phoenix the Divine Beast of Balance. How could you have forgotten?” The old man clutched at his wounded heart.
The maiden’s eyes widened slightly and quickly returned to her gentle gaze. “Valefyr I am sorry to cause you to suffer like so. However, I must trouble you a bit further. What happened in the time that I was away?”
Valefyr was bewildered. The person before his eyes looked like his beloved Nirvana in her youth, but her personality and speech were quite different. He began to fear that he was speaking with an apparition, but after careful consideration he deemed that this cannot be. Such a pure and divine aura cannot be from a vile spawn of darkness. Convinced that he wasn’t being tricked, Valefyr answered her inquiries, “Nirvana, after you have fallen chaos broke out amongst our ranks. Your enchantments failed and dissolved away, opening us up for bombardment. I won’t blame you since it was not your fault but the fault of traitorous individuals within the inner circle. However, I digress, after you fell and chaos enveloped our ranks, Alfenheil soon fell after.” After the brief recollection of the past, a single tear crept down from his cheek.
“I see…” The maiden pondered, “What of you? What of the young ones?”
“I shall speak of the young ones first Nirvana. After determination that the city was lost, the rest of the guardians tasked me with the safety of the young ones. Beset on all sides by enemies the rest of the guardians risked their lives opening up a hole in the enemies ranks to grant us passage. However we were pursued by many and lost many on the run. It was only by a stroke of luck did the neighboring kingdom of Loder grant us asylum. With such a strong kingdom present the enemies were dissuaded from pursuing us further. Of course after confirming the safety and livelihood of the young ones I returned to a barren Alfenheil. To continue to perform my duties which led to me standing before you, Nirvana.”
Pity pulled at the maiden’s heart as she silently grieved for all the fallen persons of Alfenheil. “Have you found out the identity of the invaders? What of the treasures of the shrine?”
“Yes I have, but it were all for naught. The invaders were the kingdoms of Nibelskor to the north, Selbin to the south and Faldurn to the west. However, in the fifty millenniums that have come and gone these invaders soon faded into inexistence. Their greed and lust for power was their own downfall. As for the treasures of the shrine each of the twelve guardians held onto the most important of the treasures and escaped to our own separate paths. I know not of where they are now, only that the Talon of Phoenix is with myself.” He reached into his ragged cloak and pulled out a shortsword. The elegant design of such a blade doesn’t fit the image of a man wielding it, only a woman would achieve perfection with the weapon.
“That is a shame. To have awaken to such a situation pains me greatly.” The maiden reached out to grab the shortsword.
Valefyr reflexively pulled back. Ever since the fall of Alfenheil he had experienced many tragedies and on many occasions hunted because of the treasure he held. Only after noticing his actions did he embarrassingly handed over the magnificent blade. “Apologies Nirvana… I did not mean to…” He began to explain.
“Fear not Good Valefyr. I understand that it was not easy holding onto this treasure.” The maiden had pulled the blade out of its sheath and closely examined the weapon. After judging that it really was her treasure, she reversed her grip.
“Nirvana my beloved! What are you doing?!” Valefyr frantically tried to snatch the blade out of her hand but couldn’t move closer. The tip of the blade quickly made for the heart of the maiden and just when Valefyr expected red blood to seep out instead a burst of flame took its place. Valefyr could only stare dumbfounded; only now realizing the context of the maiden’s actions. He immediately dropped down to all four and banged his head on the cold marble floor. “Guardian Valefyr greets the Phoenix!”
“You may stand.” The Phoenix answered. The blade had disappeared, merged with her body.
“Please excuse this one for being so impolite in the presence of one such as yourself!” Valefyr refused to stand.
“Do not worry. There is nothing to excuse. Please, I implore you, stand.”
“As you wish Phoenix!” Valefyr struggled to stand up. After realizing the presence before him was the Phoenix the time that had frozen inside his body began to flow once more. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and crumpled to the ground. His oath was complete.
“What has happened Good Valefyr?” A look of worry graced the divine being’s brow.
“Haha… I’m sorry Great Phoenix… I have not long for this world…” Breathing heavily Valefyr struggled to answer. “If I could, I would follow you once more, but alas this weary soul will soon depart for the farplane.”
“No.” She shook her head, “You’ve done enough. You deserve some well-earned rest.”
“Thank you… Great… Phoenix…” A smile gently appeared on his face as he drew his last breath. The Phoenix had laid his head down on her lap, ignoring his ragged and dirty hair. He was her guardian and spent over fifty millenniums waiting for her. To her, he garnered the highest respect.
‘At the rate that his soul is departing he won’t make it to the farplane. He wore down his soul too much clutching to the fires of life.’ The Phoenix judged.
“In honor of your dedication and loyalty, allow this one to send you off.” She grasped at the air and a pale and soft glow began to flow out from his body. The soul of the living. Normally it wasn’t possible to do such a thing, but because the soul is not attached to the dead body anymore it was possible. Normally this action by the Phoenix was deemed as taboo and forbidden, judged to be called necromancy. However, in the hands of the Phoenix who was the epitome of rebirth and the cycle of life and death, balance and harmony, this scene looked like a mother caressing her young. When the soul was finally gathered in her cupped hands, she carefully embraced the delicate soul and a warm fire engulfed the soul.
She raised her arms towards the dawning sky and said once final goodbye, “Travel safely Good Valefyr. You shall not be forgotten.” With her final goodbye, the fire-engulfed soul flew away from her palms and travelled up into the sky, soon becoming one of the many stars in the vast farplane.
“I’ve slept for far too long.” Phoenix pondered her next course of action. “First I need to return Valefyr’s body to the soil.” She knew that exposing the body was not the correct thing to do in mortal society so before returning Valefyr to the soil she thanked him for his old cloak that he wore. Though it was shabby and full of holes in some areas it was better than wearing nothing at all.
Ever since her rebirth, Phoenix found it strange that her form was that of an elven woman, precisely the form of her High Oracle Nirvana. However, she didn’t question this strange occurrence, after all physical appearances were fleeting and for one such as her, who have existed since the beginning of time, such an appearance hardly mattered. What she was more worried about were her plans and actions for the future. The most pressing matter were her treasures; each of her twelve most important treasures has the strength to rule the world. Thankfully all twelve have to be gathered together to fully reveal its powers, but even without all twelve treasures they were still formidable in their own right.
“I need to find out what happened in the time I was asleep. If I remember correctly, the Kingdom of Loder was to the east. Valefyr also said he sent the young ones to Loder. If that is so, then Loder shall be where I go first.” She began to walk towards the rising sun in the east, her lone shadow waved one final goodbye to the twelve guardian statues that guarded her shrine.