"Instead of being a hero, I chose to be someone else. I packed up my cloak and had lived with hunters over the years. Not only were they strong, but they were the only ones who could fend off The Astait people by using flame magic. However, when I reached my teenage years, I used the knowledge given by the pack of Flame Hunters and instead of going to Zomrack, I took a detour to Ernkshinkdle City."
"Throughout those remaining years in the city, I would study and retain anonymous status. I would do anything it comes to my advantage to make myself perfect so my actions will become noticed. Every word, every inch of determination, all of it poured into a bowl of ideal dreams. Fortunately enough, after years of hard work, It succeeded."
"It cost the faith of my allies to become this perfect image. Instead of looking up to me, they despised me, knowing that I was a traitor. But I never cared. If I took every opportunity I had to meet up with The Queen of Astait. There was a burning hatred in me that day. I wanted to assassinate her, and if possible; become the new King of Astait."
"Eyes. Yes, the eyes of the Queen of Ice. Bittersweet and filled with anger… yet carrying sadness all the ways down. Her ice-colored hair was bewitching enough to mesmerize a whole crowd. It is with these powers that she became the center of attention in the ice cold nation of Astait."
"When I finally reached this status getting an invitation to a meeting, as soon as I knew it, just as I was to lay a finger on The Queen, the lesser Queen sent her ice guards to overwhelm me. She had killer intentions, and yet, she dared not to kill me forwardly."
"Because she possessed unfathomable knowledge of magic, after many years of anticipation on seeing my father, I watched helplessly as my father got dragged into the throne room."
"Look at this, traitor!" Said the guards harmoniously.
"When I saw that familiar hardened face, I was shocked in the thought that he was alive. At first I had doubts that my father would survive sector three of Astait's prison, the most relentless stage of them all. But remembering of the bold situations he went through, it was no surprise to me at all that he was alive. "
"Despite all the relentless actions and people brewing in the dark side of the prison, my father was escorted out of prison. I couldn't stop crying after seeing the relieved smile plastered on his face as he saw my face again. His appearance looked noticeably different than before.
Instead of being thriving and bulky with muscle, instead he was nothing but a twig; an appearance differentiating me. I know now that it wasn't a prize The Queen of Astait was trying to give me… it was a punishment."
"Just before I could touch my crippled father's hands, the guards pushed me away and mercilessly slaughtered him in cold blood. I screamed in horror as his blood tainted the tiled floor, but then I heard a scream. It was my mother. She was far more beautiful than before, having beautiful gray hair and eyes.
However, she looked snobby; as if the wealth of Astait's benefits had consumed her. She looked different, a corrupted version of herself. She didn't even smile back at me, her own son. But even so, I was relieved to see my mother alive."
"I was filled with hope before. However she too was pummeled by the guards' spear and was killed right in front of my own eyes. I couldn't help it; my petrified screams echoed across the walls of the throne room as I heard everyone laughing at me, mocking me of my imperfections.
"They kicked and tossed my parents' bodies like ragdolls, treating me with absolute disrespect. All these years of accumulating knowledge and building status, all for nothing. The 'friends' that I made because of my 'perfections' betrayed me. Of course, no hero could be perfect. Every human must have flaws."
It was at this moment that the queen told me.
"Perfection is a delusion."
Once she had said that, she resurrected my parents from the dead and transformed them into growling ravenous wolves. As she grew amused that her power could reach such an incredible feat, she had hoped that they would obey her. She commanded the wolves.
"Kill that man, Ubel!"
But instead of following their orders, they angrily sabotaged the throne room, tearing one of the queen's limbs off and breaking the window. Though they may be phantoms, their paws had touched me, and they silently vowed to protect me as they did years ago.
We ran as fast as we could away from Astait until finally, we were greeted with the lush border of Linuxinia. It was from that day forward, that I would never return to Astait again, and instead… help others.
Now, when I wandered the lands of Linuxinia, there was something my parents (wolves) told me that changed my perspective on things; a lesson that I learned throughout this tragedy.
"You can't be perfect, there will always be some mistake in you that would drive anyone to hate you, even if it is the littlest of things. Perfection is just a delusion to make everything and everyone seem like a flawless object. It's the force that drives others to become, even nothing and no one will never be perfect; no matter how much you try. Perfection is subjective; as long as you believe you're perfect, you can do anything. As long as you think you're perfect, nothing can stop you."
As long as I think I'm perfect, then nothing can stop me. The flow of water brewers inside me; it was from my mother. Apparently, when The Queen of Astait summoned the magical wolves, she forced all their souls to connect to me. We would have to share pain throughout each other. If one of us dies, then all of us will follow. So just like magic, all of us would bear it as well.
. . .
After the recollections vanished off into space, Ubel finished his story with an apology.
"I'm sorry for going overboard on my story, Aletha. But I felt like I had to get my past out of my chest." Ubel took a guilty sigh and turned over, noticing Alai serving the food. "For years I have hid my past for perfection; to create a false image of me so that I can be accepted into this world. But it is just now, after years of holding it in, I told someone about my tragedy."
"Do you feel better? Are you okay?" Aletha asked with blinking eyes.
After a long pause, Ubel's ice cold frown transformed into a smile. He then replied with a dash of elegance.
"Yes Aletha. I Feel… better.". Just a little better though. Not a lot."
After a silence brewed in, Aletha gave Ubel a sneer before she ended her pause, saying.
"So what you are trying to tell me… is that your parents turned into wolves?"
"Wolves, yes. They are my family. My companions… My parents. They had vowed to protect me and me only because they felt like they had to serve a duty; To protect me out of their love for me."
After sliding a chair down to the side, Ubel continued while crossing his arms.
"None of that is relevant now. I just feel like this discussion with you is enough to pass the time. Now that I finished sharing, Come, sit down and let's discuss YOUR past."
Unlike Ubel, Aletha kept silent. If it were not for the memory loss, Aletha would have shared an entire story. Instead, she told Ubel about her adventures in Pladtioa and the events that led up to this point to pass the time.
"Oh… so you managed to resist a gigantic opening in the sky?!"
Silently, Aletha nodded.
"That's very interesting." Ubel said. "An ancient city suspended and hidden inside the clouds. I have to say that is indeed interesting."
"Cut with the talk. Get to the point, please." Being polite as she could be, Aletha decided that now isn't the time to discuss about her misadventures in Pladtioa. She in return responded to Ubel with a closure to the discussion by turning her head over toward the kitchen.
"Ehhh, when is the food ready?"
A response immediately flew out the steamy kitchen saying,
"Just give me a couple of seconds!"
Arising from the kitchen was Alai holding a plate of food.
"GAH!"
Following that scream was a rather foolish act. Alai had almost tripped on the rug but immediately she kept the plate and balanced herself to the table. The act made Ubel grin with a sweat whilie Aletha hesitatingly rushed over to Alai to ask if she was alright.
"I'm fine.. Just help me carry one plate. It's over there near the oven." Alai said with an appreciative smile.
After settling their bearings, Aletha said.
"Okay. Just…Please be careful next time."
"Yes. Keep your eyes on where you're going." Ubel added with a sneer.
As she grabbed the plate, Ubel ran off to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. After everything was prepared, Aletha, Alai, and Ubel sat at the table to eat dinner.
"I'm so sorry about that…" Aletha said after grabbing a fork. This in return led Alai to act with a pouty attitude.
"What are you saying sorry about? It's my fault!"
After Aletha had heard the response, she decided it was best to eat silently rather than have her mouth hanging open.
* * * * * *
When Aletha had opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by bright crooked crimson mountains and a field of bloodshed with corpses scattered everywhere. Arms. Yes, arms were what she could see all around, arms reaching out from the soil.
She was utterly speechless.
As she took a step, Aletha found herself ensnared by a circle of perpetual striking lightning. The shot extended across the crimson hills, striking all things in its path. After the lightning strikes came a deep tremor which shook and juggled the rocks, spreading smoldering debris everywhere.
Finding herself weightless, Aletha asked as she floated in place.
"Where… am I?"
Apart from the catastrophe happening in front of her, Aletha found herself untouched from the scene. To her she felt as if she was the audience of some sort of stage or play of epic proportions.
Fire and arrows could be seen crawling all over the fields, striking hundreds of people. Amid the midst of a pile of corpses appeared two powerful beings that made even the heavens follow their every command. They both raised their arms, and at once, a wave of energy spread through the air. Everything was destroyed in an instant.
A dark-haired woman fell to her knees in agony. Blood spilled from her mouth and chest.
"NO. Don't take this land. Please save me."
Aletha's face paled as she continued down this destructive battleground.
Arrows flew down in a storm like meteors crushing and impaling hundreds of lives.
The only thing Aletha could do was witness the catastrophe happen before her eyes..
"Someone help us!"
Aletha found someone ensnared by a circle of perpetual striking lightning. Just before she could save them, the shot extended across the crimson hills, striking all trees in its path and damaging everyone that went too close to it. What followed was a voice that screamed.
"Taste the delicious flavor of death!" Blonde hair and gray eyes were all that could be recognized. Wings spanned almost endlessly on the man before taking one fell swoop which ended the lives of dozens.
As the battle went on, there was no hope of survival. Everyone was dying.
After seeing that view Aletha heard villagers screaming as their hometown got razed by vicious lightning bolts.
Time seemed to tick slower than she realized, everything slowly converging in itself. Bullets flew, lightning struck and a dozen earthquakes were seen ripping apart the earth.
And among this smoldering battlefield, a woman with long dark hair, metal attire had a magical luminance that surrounded her. She seemed to be in the stance of a young knight doing what she was made to do; to fight.
"Not on my watch!"
Then as she swung her blade up into the sky, the glow overpowered the enemies and forced fifty monsters to evaporate into droplets. Her bold stance kept Aletha on her toes as she heroically ran to the battlefield and rescued hundreds of lives. Twenty giants could be seen crushing the landscape into two, but that did not stop this woman from saving the lives of this battleground. Just when they thought it was over the young knight struck and pulverized the giants into pieces forcing them to fall on their knees.
Each movement she made matched the speed of lightning bolts striking from the heavens.
Her dance with her blade forced the fabric of reality to converge and shatter into a vast flat plain of blue before immediately it shattered and the young woman impaled all giants into a pile.
"Come with me." The woman said as she held a shield in front of her. "To a better place."
Although Aletha was there, the woman bore no attention to her and instead focused her eyes on the helpless people. As she ran, she generated a blue shield which protected her and the people from incoming fire. Following the strike, flames had disrupted the move, slowly swallowing the people alive.
But before the flames had engulfed the people, they were senselessly pushed away like a torrent of water dividing into two.
In this instance this woman managed to protect the people, and struck fear into the heart of the horde.
This woman… for what it seemed to Aletha could have been The Protector people mentioned about; a legendary hero.
But seeing that Aletha had no part in this battlefield it drove her to conclude..
"Is what I am seeing… the past?"
After her voice echoed across the battlefield the dream shattered into pieces and forced Aletha to awake in a bedroom where the morning sun reached.
"Aletha! Aletha, wake up! Your training begins soon!"
And as soon as the fire came and went, so had an icy frozen chill.