Aether » Places

         - “Now go back… To sleep. So I don’t have… To worry about… You attacking… Me…”

With those words spoken Valerie’s eyes closed once again, she wasn’t able to answer at the time, ‘Why did I go down?... Oh yeah… She used that cheap attack at the end…’

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Valerie’s eyes opened again. She was lying in a green field filled with flowers. She sat up ”So it wasn’t a dream… Huh?” the horse of light was standing before her once again ”So how are you doing?... Erm… Messenger?”

“I must say I am a bit disappointed in you Hope.” A very familiar voice said behind her “But even I would have attacked a person holding something I had learned to be evil through my entire life.” Valerie felt a hand on each of her shoulders. “You must learn to listen to yourself instead of others. Wasn’t it you who said ”I believe in the good in everyone”?”

Valerie rose from the ground and turned around towards the heavy plated man, she had met in something she had thought to be a dream. ”Well I... You know… I…” Valerie didn’t know what to answer. The man was right; she had attacked a person without having a good reason. Her sight turned towards her feet, making her look very miserable.

“You don’t have to try to explain, as I said I understand your actions yet, I hope you have learned a lesson from what you’ve done. It was a good idea to lock the powers I gave you last time though. I had a feeling that it would end up as it did, but I do still believe that you are the only that can bring out my wish.” He put his hand on Valerie’s forehead “Now I unlock the powers I hid in your soul Valerie. I want you to learn to master these powers…” His hand started shaking. “The powers of Light… I Sol the god of light, give you my blessing!”

A bolt of light exploded between Sol and Valerie “Rise and do my biding!” He shouted “Rise and follow my dream!” Valerie was blinded by all the light occurring everywhere around them “Rise and free your kind!” as the last word was spoken Valerie fell unconsciousness.

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- “Now… Awaken and make your way home. Take Water with you. The fun will begin soon.”

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Valerie woke up very confused and believing she would have a headache that would make most people cry out in pain. But she couldn’t feel any pain, not even the slightest bit of exhaustion. She sat up and saw that she was lying in a bed, inside the cave she had fought in front of. She couldn’t see what the time was, the only thing she could think of was how thirsty she was. ’Where did I put that water?’ She put her hand where she was supposed to have a belt, but couldn’t feel it. She looked down herself and observed her body without her armor. ’Okaaaay… What happened exactly?’

She rose from the bed putting on a blanket that she had been sleeping with. She looked around to see if she could find her armor, instead she saw Liliana, still sleeping, in a bed not far from her. “Sorry” She walked over to her and put her hand on the girls forehead ”I shouldn’t have attacked you.”

Valerie turned around and walked outside to see if she could find her armor as well as her weapon. And luckily as she was she spotted it just as she went outside. She started looking for the two bottles of holy water she had in her belt. Truly the so-called holy water wasn’t holy at all; it was just distilled water that had been given a blessing by the head priest of the church. Meaning it was normal clean water. She found the bottles in her belt took one and drank it. ”Ah… There is nothing as good as clean water.”

Valerie put on her armor and shed her sword before she returned into the cave seeing that Liliana had opened her eyes. Valerie walked to the bed sat on the edge and handed her the other bottle of water. ”You asked of my name right? I believe I owe you that after you tended my wounds. The name is Valerie.”

         Valerie kept starring at the moon; the light coming from it was bluish; making everything seem beautiful in a new way. Suddenly it was as if the light became brighter and brighter; ending up brighter than the sun. But it didn’t blind Valerie despite the brightness. Instead she couldn’t help but staring, she couldn’t tell why, but it just felt right. Suddenly the light turned to a beam of light, which fell from the moon onto the earth somewhere outside the city, not too far away.

Valerie sheathed the claymore and walked towards the place she thought that the light had touched the ground. The further she walked the more she felt like she could see something in the distance. As she got to the town entrance she was sure that she could see a light coming from a forest just outside the village, and kept walking towards the light.

When she finally appeared in the forest she saw a horse, but it wasn’t like other horses, this one was made of pure white light. The illuminating horse looked at Valerie; they stood there looking at each other for a moment, when suddenly the horse set into run directly towards Valerie. ”What in heaven’s na…” She wasn’t able to end the sentence before the horse ran into her; making Valerie blind and unconscious.

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Valerie woke up ’What was that?’ She sat up ’Where… Am I?’ She looked from left to right; she was sitting on a green field filled with flowers. Suddenly the horse of light appeared before her once again. ”What are you?”

A voice appeared behind her “He is my messenger.” Valerie turned her head to see whom the voice belonged to. Before her stood a man with an armor filled with three colors; silver, red and gold. The armor was a long silver colored chainmail that hid his legs. Outside the chainmail, red and golden, plated armor could be seen; around his chest, arms and face. But instead of eyes showing through the two holes in the helmet two bright lights could be seen. “Take it easy Valerie Hope, I bring you no harm.” The heavy plated man walked over beside Valerie; towards the horse of light.

“Where do you know my name from?” Valerie wasn’t sure whether she needed to be afraid or not ”Where am I?” Her voice started shivering ”Who are you?”

The man stood before the horse now. He put a hand on its head patting it “So many questions you ask of me. Some I can explain, some I can’t.” His head turned towards her, as if he looked at her. “But I won’t answer any of them.” He started walking slowly towards her. “You see, mere questions like those of yours help no one understand.” More animals made of light appeared in a circle around him and her. “I need to be sure about one thing though before I tell anything else.” The man stood right in front of her now. “Who do you believe in?”

Valerie stood still staring into the man’s eyes ”I believe in no one yet in everyone.” She said ”I believe in the good in everyone.”

The man standing in front of her start laughing. “You are indeed the one I have chosen.” He put his head closer to Valerie’s, making her take a step back. “No more questions. My brothers, sisters and I have chosen to give you one last chance to show your worth.” His eyes began to glow in a fiery way “You will be the last hope of your race. You and the other chosen ones… Now, look into the light… What do you see?”

Valerie looked into the man’s eyes. ”I-I see a cave.” “What else?” Valerie tried to keep herself concentrated, but began feeling dizzy ”I see snow… And a lonely light illuminating the cave.” The man took a step backwards and Valerie fell to her knees. “I see… What you see is hard to tell… The light you saw is your first task to accomplish, on your journey… We have no more time.” The man put his hand on the head of Valerie. She felt an extraordinary pain as he touched her “Remember Hope, even in the darkest times you will be the light of the chosen.” The animals around them started running towards them, and as they collided into an explosion of light, Valerie fell unconscious. ‘Light.’

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Valerie woke up in her bed. ’A dream?’ She sat up looking towards the place where she normally put her claymore, and there is was; looking all new as if she hadn’t been out training in the middle of the night. She rose from her bed and put on the armor she had been given, by the Head Paladin few days ago, for the first time, sheathed her sword and went out into the city.

’One thing is for sure though.’ She put her hand through her hair ’I might as well go to see my true birthplace as the first thing on my journey to become a true paladin.’ She looked towards the sky ‘… Light?’