The corpses faded, as the golden light encompassed everything. There was no more stench, no more bear, no more tears. Everything faded away.
All that remained were memories.
A small toddler, playing with parents that were so familiar and yet so foreign. Their faces were blurry as if to hide who they were. I reached out, hoping to touch them, to hold them, to never let go again, but it was impossible. No matter how much I tried, they always stayed just out of reach.
“Stop playing in the dirt and come here.” The woman spoke picking up the toddler. She said a name I could almost hear, but it was distant… forgotten.
I watched the man and woman as time slipped past. The toddler grew into a small curious child, constantly getting into trouble. The parents were always so kind. They did not have much, barely enough food to live, but they small child always had what it needed even if they had to go hungry. Every moment of the happy family burned permanently in my mind.
Then one day, as the family walked through the small village they called home, he came. The Collector.
The mother tried to stop him, but he struck her down with a sword embedded with a glowing purple crystal. The father moved to save his wife, but he was powerless in front of the Collector. Two bodies laid unmoving in a pool of blood, holding each other tightly until their last moment.
The small child cried as she shook the bodies. “Mommy, Daddy why aren’t you moving? Get up.” She pleaded in tears, but no matter how she begged, they remained still.
The Collector kicked one of the bodies, cursed, and spat on them. The small girl screamed in rage as bright green flames poured from her body. The Collector did not give the girl time to act. Before the flames could do anything, the metal hilt of the sword stuck her head. The world faded to black.
When the girl awoke, she was alone. There were no windows, no furniture, no light, only a small stone room deep underground and a single locked door.
The small girl sat alone in the dark. The sounds of distant screams echoed from the only door. The girl shivered and shook on the cold stone floor for what seemed like ages before the door finally opened. The Collector had finally come for her.
The collector hurt her, beat her, cut her until she did as she was told. He wanted to see the green flames again, but she had no idea how they had appeared the first time. So, the pain continued.
Eventually, the girl learned to do as the Collector asked, and he brought her to others that poked and prodded her. When they were done, the collector threw the girl back into the small black room.
Again, and again, the process was repeated. The small girl started marking the wall each time the Collector came. Soon, the wall was covered in marks as far up as she could reach, all the way down to the floor. With nowhere left to mark, the girl started over. Wiping the marks clean and starting when the Collector came again.
Then, one day there was something different. The screams had stopped. There was shouting, but soon that fell quite as well.
The door to her small cell was opened, but there was no Collector. A new man stood there. A man the girl did not recognize.
The man held out his hand to the small girl and spoke in a soft, silky voice. “What is your name little one?”
“Two four one eight one four.” The girl replied with a blank look.
The girl could tell the man looked angry, angrier than she had ever seen the Collector. Anger meant pain.
The girl flinched away from the stranger, fearing what was coming.
“It is ok. I am not here to hurt you.” The man spoke as the anger faded away. His words were strangely calming, and the girl did not flinch away again when he moved to pick her up.
The man caried the girl down a hallway filled with doors, all of them open. People dressed in rags were running down the hallway, scattering in every direction.
On the ground, the girl saw familiar people. The ones that poked and prodded and hurt her over and over again, laid unmoving. Their eyes wide, but empty.
The man carried the girl past the bodies and up a spiral staircase. There, she saw the light of the sun for the first time in… she did not know how long, but she had always dreamed of it. The warmth and bright golden glow that only existed in her mind was finally in front of her, and she cried.
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The girl and the man watched the sunrise as the girl cried tears of joy, she thought were impossible.
Once there were no more tears, the man picked up the girl again and carried her away from the stone monstrosity that had imprisoned her for so long.
A group of soldiers attempted to stop us, but the moment they approached, the man’s eyes glowed and all the soldiers simply fell to the ground. They never moved again.
This event repeated itself more than once as the man caried the girl to safety. Even the giant golems that towered over men fell to pieces after a single glance from the man.
That power fascinated her. the man never had to worry about getting hurt. He never had to be afraid. He was strong.
Once they were both away, the man set the girl down in the grass and knelt in front of her. “My name is Michael. I will find you somewhere safe to live. Until then, we need something to call you. Do you remember your name?”
“Two three one eig-“
“A number is not a name.” Michael said, the anger flaring up again.
“I… I don’t…” The girl mumbled, unable to answer the question. She did not remember anything before the dark and cold and pain.
“Do not worry.” The man said, placing a warm hand on her head. “I will give you a name. At least until you can remember yours. How about… Aurielle.”
The small girl grabbed hold of the big warm hand and held it tightly. “Aurielle… I am Aurielle.”
Michael never did find a home for Aurielle. He tried, but anyone with an innate talent was rounded up and taken away by the empire. Nowhere was safe for long. So, Aurielle followed Michael as she grew up. He taught her how to use her talent, how to fight, and how to kill.
Together, the two of them dismantled the Corvus empire piece by piece. In just a few years, nearly half the populace had risen up in revolt.
It was then that Aurielle saw the Collector again. Cylon Corvus, prince and soon to be Emperor… The man that had tortured her for years.
Filled with fury and rage, Aurielle was no longer content with her teacher’s underhanded methods of slowly dismantling the empire. She raised an army of undead and marched on the capital. With every battle her army grew until its numbers blotted out the horizon.
Eventually sheer numbers overwhelmed the empire and it collapsed. She executed the man she hated so much in front of a giant crowd of loyal supporters she gained during the war.
Aurielle was unanimously declared Empress, but she had no interest in ruling. She appointed the most loyal and skilled of the people she knew as chancellors that would run the country in her absence, and left to rejoin her teacher in a much greater war. There, she met Azreal and joined his merry band of calamities.
The war waged for centuries. Victories were rare. Blood and death became all that remained.
In the beginning, Aurielle visited her empire regularly. She spent countless effort trying to make the realm a better place for everyone, but over time, she returned to the empire less and less. Her once loyal chancellors grew old and one by one new faces replaced those she knew.
One day she arrived at the palace only to realize that there was not a single familiar face among anyone there. Unable to stand what her empire had become Aurielle decided to act.
She disguised herself as a sorceress, and found a young, brave soul, full of dreams and light. She trained this soul to take her place and become her protégé. She surrounded them with skilled and valiant knights who each had gifts that would be useful in ruling a kingdom. For years, she provided them with guidance. She treated them like her own children, but before her plan could be completed, disaster struck.
The Archdemon had mounted a new offensive. All the territories connected to the realm were lost and Envy moved to invade. In a move of desperation, Aurielle closed all of the doorways that connected the realm. Locking it away, but at a price.
Her protégé had been caught up in the defense of the realm. She had sacrificed herself to protect her husband and friends and began mutating into a Demon.
Knowing there was no saving her, Aurielle struck down her protégé before she could become a monster. Her hope for the future of the Empire died. Everything she left for her was useless.
Enraged, her husband started a war to bring down Aurielle, and with all her armies lost to Envy, he easily succeeded.
Aurielle died, and reincarnated herself outside the realm to join the defense in the Endless War. In a desperate counter attack the Thirteen Divisions marched on the Archdemon. Many died, and once again, so did Aurielle.
The memories faded into a golden light as they caught up with the present day and Wren's short life began to play. Everything I had ever done had flashed before my eyes. I had no idea how long I had been lost in the past.
I looked up at the giant bear, wrinkling my nose as the stench of the room returned. Tears still ran freely down my face. “You did not kill me?”
“I pass the realm’s judgement, not my own.” The bear spoke with a great booming voice. “You are far from innocent, but the good you have done outweighs your evil.”
“My family? Are they safe?”
“Yes. They have sins of their own, but despite my protests, the realm does not pass punishment for simply being human.” The bear spoke.
I felt a great weight lift from my shoulder, knowing they were safe. I hesitated for a moment, looking at the giant bear. “The memories at the very beginning… Can you show them to me again?”
“I can, but I will not.” The bear replied. “Dwelling on the past only leads to more pain.”
“Says bear living in a giant pile of rotting corpses.”
“I was born from their hatred to pass judgement on those who do evil. I brought you here so that you could see the consequences of your mistakes. To teach you that doing nothing can be just as bad as those who actively commit atrocities. The realm may have judged you innocent, but I still hold you responsible.”
I shivered as I was unable to look directly at the pile of corpses. “I know. I was the empress. It was my responsibility.”
The bear hunched down till its massive maw was even with me. Its glowing gold eyes staring at me, as if seeing into my soul. “You carry the weight of their lives on your shoulders. Go and prove to me that you are worthy of their sacrifice.”
A golden light once again filled my vision as everything faded away.
I awoke to the patter of rain on cold stone bricks.