Long has it been foretold that a child born from an exile will come and bring forth redemption to the banished children of Eden. When the seventh moon rises over the ethereal plane, it will signal the dawning of a new age and the child will cleanse the world of all the evil that inhabits it. The gates of the promised land will be opened once more and the descendants of the children of Eden that has passed God’s trial will be welcomed home.
“What’s the promised land, mama?” A little girl with fiery red hair asked the beautiful woman sitting beside her.
“It’s a place where everyone can be happy.” The woman answered with a smile.
“So… Will there will be lots of sweets there?” The little girl cutely asked.
“Hahaha… Of-course there will.” The woman answered while gently patting the little girls head.
It was an old story, a story as old as man itself, a story that’s been handed down from father to son long before the discovery of magic and the war between the different races happened. A promise from the three Gods to their children, both a blessing and a curse, an ordeal that they need to overcome to prove to the Gods that they are really worthy of their love and blessings.
Mother and daughter sat side by side on the roof of their little hut while watching the night sky as the seventh moon lined up perfectly with the first six in the heavens. Surrounded by countless stars, they shine like a beacon, a reminder that the promised time is near. Soon, monsters and demons will crawl out from the abyss and bring forth with them chaos and destruction as they aim to end the life of the child of prophecy and the world.
“Chief! Chief!” A young woman shouted as she came running towards them from the direction of the village.
“What is it?” The Older woman calmly asked.
“Monsters! Hundreds of them!” The young woman reported in panic. She was having a hard time catching her breath but she was able to report what their scouts had seen from just beyond the border of their village. The Chief didn’t say anything but instead calmly reached for her daughter and brought her down her from the roof of their hut.
Their village was hidden in the heart of the Mist Forest near the edge of the Ethereal Plane. It was built there to serve as an outpost to watch-out for monsters climbing from the abyss. This was the sacred task entrusted to them by the seven heroes, to hunt down the monsters that appear and make sure that they cannot go further into the Ethereal plane. This was their reason for being so fighting monsters or demons was what they normally do, but hearing that hundreds of them suddenly appeared, the Chief felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She knew immediately that the time she had feared was finally upon them.
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“Mama?” The little girl worriedly called her mother’s attention.
“Don’t worry little one. Mama’s going to take care of it.” The mother assured her daughter.
“What are we going to do Chief?” The young woman asked when she was finally able to catch her breath.
“Get my gear from inside the hut.”
Without wasting another second, the younger woman disappeared inside the little hut to retrieve the Chief’s weapon and shield, leaving both mother and daughter outside to talk. The Chief looked at her beloved daughter and steeled her resolve of what she was about to do.
“Mama?”
She didn’t say anything to her daughter and instead hugged her little girl with all her might. If only the prophecy wasn’t there, if only the time of peace could last forever, if only it could have last just a little bit longer, at least until she saw her Aerie grow up.
“Chief.” The young woman said after coming out of the little hut with both spear and shield in hand.
“Don’t go, Mama! The monsters are scary! Please stay with me!” Aerie begged her mother as she clung to her leg tightly.
It took all that she had in that moment to not waver as she looked at her daughter’s pleading teary eyes. She knew that this was the last time that she was going to see her little girl. This is all for her, this is something that she must do and there is no one else who can do it for her.
“Enough!” Her mother shouted causing both Aerie and the young woman beside her to flinch.
“Aerie, I need you to be a good little girl now and obediently follow my words. I am the Chief of our Village, that means that I am the mother of everyone here. It is my duty to protect my children so I must fight those who wish to harm them. I need to do this to protect you and everyone we care about.” The Chief told her daughter as she gently released herself from the little girl’s grip.
“Lulu, I need you to take Aerie to my sister’s.”
“But I can fight with you!” The younger woman objected.
“I know you can. That’s why I am entrusting you with this very important task.” The Chief told her.
“I can’t go all out in this battle if I’m going to keep on worrying about Aerie’s safety. That’s why I need you, someone I can trust, to delivery Aerie to somewhere I know she will be safe.” The Chief explained as she took both her spear and shield from Lulu’s hands.
It took a couple of seconds but Lulu finally answered in resignation.
“I understand.”
Just as the Chief was finishing her preparations, a ferocious roar erupted from the direction of the village making all three of them look towards it. From their spot they could see fire and smoke rise from the village and the sound of fighting was carried by the wind. The Chief knew that there was no more time to waste, so with haste she ran with all her might towards the village, leaving Aerie and Lulu behind.
“Go! Get Aerie to my sister!” The Chief shouted back before her figure slowly faded into the shadows of the trees of the forest.
Lulu hit her shield hard as she could, causing a loud boom to echo throughout the woods. She raised her spear in both salute and farewell as she cried out to her respected Chief and Master.
“For the Goddess!”
Without turning her head to look back at the two people she had left behind, the Chief raised her spear and replied with all her might…
“For the Songstress!”