Aressa woke up slowly with what felt like the absolute worst headache she'd ever had in her entire 19 years of life. As she slowly sat up, she thought to herself "This hurts like a motherfucking bitch! Holy shit, this doesn't even compare to the hangover headache I got on my 18th birthday." She thought about the present her mom gave her when she got caught sippin’ on dad's good bourbon; she was so pissed, that she made her drink the entire bottle! This headache topped that, so she thought to herself, "it can't get any worse than this right?"As she opened her eyes, what appeared to be a soft gentle white light suddenly made her feel as if a heavy war hammer had just collided with her head; she passed out instantly.
She woke again some time later hearing what sounded like exhausted voices talking too low for her to hear. She wondered if it was because they were too far away, or possibly too exhausted to talk at a normal pitch? As she thought about this though, she realized her headache was receding. Her eyes instinctively tried to open again, and she quickly shut them tight so as to not risk passing out again.
While she kept her eyes closed, she quickly sensed the area around her like her odd uncle Josh had taught her as a child. First, she listened for any sounds she could pick up, but disturbingly all she heard was the sound of voices. “There’s always some kind of noise happening” she thought, “be it radios, heating or air conditioning, doors opening and closing, cars flying by; something!” Since she heard nothing, absolutely nothing but the voices, she concentrated on trying to verify their direction in case she needed to escape. As she focused on the voices, she cautiously opened her eyes to see the puzzlingly soft white light surrounding her and the bed she was on; she felt grateful it wasn’t painful this time. As she sat up, she noticed that she wasn’t restrained in any way, nor did it feel like it was the intent of the voices she heard . At this point, she heard a voice more clearly then the rest. “Was the owner getting closer, she thought?”.
The voice sounded exhausted but beautiful, cold but gentle as a mother could only be "...is she truly the only survivor? The only survivor out of this entire timeline? You couldn't find anyone else Hermes?" Aressa gasped at what she just heard, “Only survivor? Timeline? What is going on?” she thought. Her gasp apparently startled the owner of the voice since she quickly said, "She's awake?..... Why didn't i sense that happening? Everyone! The girl is finally awake! We don’t want to overwhelm her so only around ten of us should go. Who shall greet her?"
All of the sudden, the voice of a man sounded; Aressa immediately recognized it as belonging to a man who had seen countless battlefields. The voice just simply said "The child though female bears my name and is a stalwart warrior. She will not break under this pressure, but become mighty.... Which is a good thing i think." Then another voice, simplistic, young and mellifluously vibrant said " I do not know how long it will last, but she is chaste and a swift hunter, making her perfect in my eyes." Then, yet another voice booming with thunder laughed and said "Indeed she is a mighty maiden fair and gallant, yet her temper has been shown to be thunderous when roused, however unlike me she can keep it in check so i too will go."
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At this point, an elderly voice spoke containing the vicissitudes of time, "I sense she has passed beyond my power, but she is wise for her years, I too must go." Then a husky low pitched female voice spoke saying " She is beautiful, kind, and longing for a true love by her side so i must also speak with her," and left it at that. Finally, one last voice spoke. It was kind and caring but simply said " Old one while she is beyond your power, she is not yet beyond mine, which is exactly why we are gathered here. Only when she has fully come into her power and accepts what she has become, will she be free of even death."
The voices got closer and closer as Aressa listened to their conversation. As she processed what she was hearing, she finally understood what was happening; years of training has taught her the name of Hermes, the harbinger of the gods. She quickly got up, and flung herself off the bed the best she could. She then quickly knelt in the ancient warrior’s pose used to greet their lord; one fist propping her up and one fist held to her chest showing respect and honor. This pose seemed quite fitting when matched with the armor she was wearing when the light that had knocked her out appeared and caused this. As she finally heard footsteps, she connected them with the voices in her head. When she sensed them stop in a semi-circle in front of her, she raised her head to look at the legends in front of her.
On the left of the woman in the center was a man strong and tall wearing ancient grecian armor, which she had expected and beside him stood a young man with a fierce temperament wielding a hammer. Beside him stood an aged elder that seemed young and old at the same time. To the right of the woman in the center stood a young vibrant woman wielding a bow and wearing simple leather armor. To that young huntress' right stood a mature woman who wore a simple outfit that while covering her body, did little to hide her beauty. And finally, on the extreme right stood yet another beautiful woman in a black dress who while standing there simply looked at Aressa with sorrow in her eyes.
As Aressa looked them over again quickly, she swiftly and firmly, starting from the center outward, greeted these people. " Hail the Mother Goddess who is kind! Hail Ares, the God of War who walks the battlefield by the side of all soldiers! Hail the Goddess Artemis, the Chaste Huntress who hunts by moonlight! Hail Thor, God of Thunder he who wields Mjolnir with great might! Hail the Goddess Venus, who loves! Hail the most ancient god, Father Time! And hail last but not least, the Goddess of Vengeance and Death Scathach!"
After saying these ancient and powerful names, as was in line with teachings of the ancient warrior rites, Aressa then stood and proudly said " I am Aressa Rayehk daughter to Lineas and Yevira Rayehk of the Rayehk family, and I humbly ask for your assistance!" When Aressa finished her sentence, she immediately fell to floor unconscious yet again.