Chapter 1 - Reminisce

One of my first memories was the back of my mother. At least I think she was my mother. We were running real fast away from someone. I can't seem to remember quite clearly but I can hear panic and fear in her voice as she urges me to run a bit faster and a bit more farther, something that a four year old girl like me was having a problem doing. It has been a while since we entered the forest beside our burning village. I can still remember the screams of the people in the village as we flee from there just an hour ago. It was utter chaos, mothers dragging their crying children by the hand away from the village, fathers trying to defend our village from those who attacked us with the desire for our women and children and few belongings our farming village have.

You see we were being attacked by bandits. Thieves and scoundrels who made it their lives mission to make the lives of simple people like us hell. It took all the effort of our village men to give us enough time to flee our burning village. We were being pillaged and not only that they were here to captures us and sell us as slaves to anyone who would buy us. Our mothers would face a more horrible future as they would be sold to the brothels and become prostitutes. From early on we knew that being stuck so far away from the capital or even a major city made this kinds of situations more likely to happen but our ancestors wanted to remain communed with nature and so we remained in a clearing at the west side of Flowergate Forest and on our west side is the border to the great Empire of Archidias which still allows slavery to remain legal. That is where all these bandits came from and where they will sell us if we were captured.

I can see the tears clouding my mother's eyes as she continued to drag me inside the Flowergate Forest. I can see the pain of losing her husband and yet I can also see the determination bordering desperation to flee the village and find safety somewhere. Flowergate Forest might seem nice to the ears but it was anything but nice. Entering the forest is actually the easiest way to reach the nearest city in our vicinity, the Merchant city of Brahil. But travelers tend to take the long way around the forest to reach our village instead. It is because Flowergate Forest is known for its nature/poison type beasts. They are ferocious and does not take kindly to intruders.

While running for about another hour our luck finally ran out. When we thought we lost the bandits who were chasing us we were met with something much more sinister. Stopping for a quick breath I heard a hissing sound nearing us. My mother turned instantly pale. I can see in her emerald eyes that the fear has now increased. I was starting to also panic, she was the only reason why I can still remain somewhat calm and not crying my eyes out but now I can see tears running down her eyes as she stares at something behind the giant tree in our left. When I turned my eyes to see what was there, I saw death. It was a Petal Snake. Again with the nice name. And I tell you it was anything but nice. It was horrifying. A snake as long as 4 adult male combine and as wide as two of them side by side. Its pinkish scales that when you look closely somehow looks more like petals instead of scales. But what makes it much more deadly is that this petal like scales when applied vibration on releases paralyzing spores in the air disabling its prey in the process. It is then that this huge snake will slowly gobble up its prey while it is still alive. It does not release poison in its fang but a strong acid that it injects to its victim to help digest it that much quicker. And it looks at us like we were its next meal and well we were.

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I saw my mom look at me. With tears in her eyes I can see that she decided to protect me until the end. My mom puts me behind her to make sure that she was between me and the Petal Snake.

Erina's Mom: "Honey do not look at the pretty snake. Look at me okay?!"

I nodded my head as a confirmation and listened to her continue talking.

Erina's Mom: "Honey, listen to me very carefully. Mommy cannot go with you to the city, okay dear?!"

Kid Erina: "But why mom?"

Erina's Mom: "Just please be a good girl and listen to mommy, okay?! You have to slowly back away and run as fast as you can. Do you hear me baby?"

Kid Erina: "But mom I am tired."

Erina's Mom: "I know sweety, but you need to get to the city okay?! Promise mommy that in the count of three you will back away and then run really really fast. And just like a while ago you cannot look back. Do you understand baby?"

Kid Erina: "Mommy I'm scared."

Erina's Mom: "I know baby but you are a brave girl. You can do it. I know you can. Remember that mommy and daddy loves you so very much."

Kid Erina: "I love you too mom."

Erina's Mom: "Okay now let me count to three. One...two...three! Run baby!"

As my mom counted I slowly backed away from her and when I heard her tell me to run I ran as fast as my little feet can run. If only I looked back I may have seen how my mom in her last moments tried desperately to protect me from the Petal Snake by sacrificing her own life.

It took no time at all for the petal snake to swallow my mother. She was after all a normal human farmer's wife. But with her sacrifice the Petal Snake was satisfied and slithered back to where it came from giving me all the time to run as far away from there as possible and into the waiting arms of the the people we were running from to begin with.