Untitled.

[Caster13]

- 1 -

The alley was dark, lights from nearby house windows casted unmoving shadows along the ground and walls. Despite the little shed by those windows however, to the two Owervian guards running down the alley, it was nearly pitch black. "Damn helmets!" One said as he tried to push the his steel helmet back up and away from his eyes. "Did you see him anywhere?"

The two armed men slowed to a stop, the one yet to speak held a burning torch higher up into the air as he too pushed his helmet up a bit. "Nothing," He answered as he slowly glanced across the piles of boxes filled with trash along the side of the alley way. "What did the captain say was stolen again?"

"Some gem," The other replied. "Yeah, I know, not very descriptive. But we'll have to work it."

The two continued walking down the alleyway, as the one with the torch held the light source up, the other took hold of the rifle that slung over his shoulder and thumbed open the chamber of the weapon. He detached a small leather bag from his belt and poured a black fine grained material into the weapon. After putting the leather bag back onto his belt he reached into another bag on his belt and took out a small lead ball and placed it in the chamber as well. "Keep that torch up," The armed one said as he rested the stock of his rifle against his armpit and held the weapon at the ready.

They continued walking for a few moments without being able to see far ahead of them. "By now, he probably got away wouldn't he?" The torch bearing one asked. The armed one agreed, but he really didn't care that much anymore, he just wanted to get back to the barracks and get some sleep.

"Might as well head back, there's no way we'll find him in this darkness," The two of them turned around but froze still when they caught sight of a slender figure in black standing in their way. The two guards quickly prepared themselves, the one with the torch moved his other hand towards the scabbard holding his sabre. The one with the rifle quickly pulled up his firearm and aimed at the figure ahead of them, "And what exactly are you doing in such a place as this, civilian?"

The shadowy figure didn't answer with any words but instead held up a gem between two fingers with one hand. Even in the darkness, the green gem was able to capture the light from the torch and sparkle it outwards in all directions. Both Owervian guards had to blink at the sight of the oddly bright gem in the dark alley. During the time their eyelids were closed however, the figure moved its other hand and displayed a pistol aimed directly at the guard holding the rifle.

Before he could even mutter a curse or pull the trigger of his rifle, the sound of the pistol being fired was followed by the weapon exploding in his hands. The strong wooden frame splintered in his hands and he felt a tearing pain erupt in his arm and shoulder. Looking back towards the shadowy figure through eyelids nearly clenched by pain he saw the tell tale shape of another pistol come up as the green sparkling gem disappeared into a pocket and the hand which previously held it appeared armed.

This new pistol however was aimed elsewhere, the pull of the trigger was followed by the torch in the other Owervian guard's hand exploding into bits of burning wood and showering over both the guards. The figure moved its hands, putting both pistols in a holster behind its back. Quickly, it jumped forward and closed in. The guard with the injured shoulder charged forward intending to throw his body at the figure. Effortlessly the figure quickly dodged aside as the guard flung himself to the ground, with a fluid motion the figure produced a dagger in one hand and stabbed it into the guard's back, making sure he wouldn't be able to get up again.

Without the torch in his hand and quickly realizing that his partner had already fallen, the other guard pulled the sabre out of his scabbard and quickly held it up to deflect another dagger held in the hands of the shadowy figure. Again the guard deflected another blow and quickly tried stepping back to gain some ground and so that the longer length of his sabre would give him an advantage. The figure stood its ground however and didn't launch a third assault.

"At least you lasted longer than your friend there," The figure said sardonically with a feminine voice.

The guard blinked, "You're a women?" Within a split second of those words leaving his mouth she lunged forward again. The guard held up his sabre and stopped the dagger inches away from his face. The two of them locked blades and fought to gain a stronger footing on the cemented alley ground. From this close, he could see that she had short black hair that was kept tight against her scalp and the back of her neck. Grey eyes stared into his with no hint of emotion, no fear or determination could be seen in her eyes.

"What does that have to do with anything?" The guard saw her smile slightly as she said that, tightening her small and soft pale pink lips.

"I can't fight a woman!"

"Oh," The woman quickly disengaged--he saw a flash of amusement in those eyes suddenly--jumped back shortly and before the guard could recover, the blade of her dagger was in his chest plunged through his heart. "That's too bad."

The guard dropped his sabre as he felt his arms go limp, he was able to move one of his arms however to the wound on his chest. He watched as the woman took a few steps towards his parter and retrieved the sword that was in the prone man's back. "You certainly made it easier for me, however," She looked at him with a grin.

Coughing up blood, the guard fell to a knee but kept his eyes on the woman as she cleaned the blades of both her daggers on the pants of his dead partner. She looked at him, an amused smile on her face, "Just fall down and die already." As if on command, the guard finally fell to his side and laid still as the blood continued to seep out of his body slowly.

Lucelle pulled that green sparkling gem from out of a pant pocket and looked at it. "Hmm, fifty gold pieces at most," She said to herself thinking about the amount of money she could make by selling it at the Thieves' Black Market.

"The gunshots came from over here!" A harsh voice said somewhere not too far away. Lucelle groaned at the prospect of having to deal with more of the pitiful Owervian guards, she quickly replaced the gem back into her pocket and walked towards a near wall. A steel drain pipe that lead upwards was attached to the brick wall and she quickly grabbed a hold of it, using it to help her scale the wall towards the roofs of the houses along that dark and bloody alley.

- 2 -

Amy floated in pitch blackness, but she wasn't scared or worried. She was comfortable, there was an odd but soothing presence all around her in the inky space. It felt as if she was a mere child again, bathing with her mother in a warm tub of flower scented water. That is, at least, what she imagine it to be. After all, she didn't exist with any corporeal form, she was just floating around in the darkness that felt so very comfortable.

A voice started calling out to her then at some indefinable moment in time. No, not a voice, for voices belong to a body. A thought, a conscious will to communicate reached her in the ether. She couldn't understand it, she doesn't remember words or languages, not in this place. But she felt sadness and maybe even pain? She wasn't very sure, but someone was upset. Something was wrong. The thought of righting wrongs came to her, a will to go out and stop the sadness. Nothing was definitive, but she simply felt a will to make things right.

Something that never happened before suddenly did. As if a strong breeze appeared out of nowhere, Amy felt herself pulled through the inky blackness, as if she was flung halfway across the realm of existence. Abruptly she stopped, and slowly she felt another sensation. This feeling was different from what she had been experiencing before however, it felt different as if what she felt wasn't truly experienced by her being but simply conveyed to her from another part of her.

Instantly, she felt pain. Hot burning sensations completely enveloped her as if she was exposed raw to the element of fire with nothing to protect her. She yearned to make her pain known, she wanted to let out this painful experience in tears, in trashing about her limbs and in a scream. And soon enough, she was screaming. Amy realized that she had a throat, it was letting out a wail of pain. She realized she had ears to hear her own screams. Slowly, she remembered what it was to have a body, the blessing and the curse to experience the corporeal and material world. She felt her bones coming into existence, she felt the network of nerves spreading across her body and felt the pain they transmitted to her mind ease as they were covered in flesh, muscle and skin.

Amy stopped screaming. She shook her head and blinked away the tears in her eyes. She wondered however, if her eyes were working for she still she saw nothing but darkness. Sight wasn't working, maybe something else?

She screamed again, she grunted, she said words that she barely remembered and probably didn't make sense in the ways that she ordered them into a sentence. She heard herself.

Amy tried moving the muscles below her lungs, she flexed her nostrils and tried to sniff, she felt cold air pass through her nose and throat into her lungs. She remembered the familiar smell of cold, damp dirt and the smell of an oddly comforting earth.

She opened her mouth again but this time focused on moving her tongue. She felt and tasted saliva she placed her fingers to her touch and tasted skin. Her fingers dabbed at the wet trail of tears from her eyes and her tongue tasted the mix of moist skin and salty tears. Three out of four senses wasn't so bad she thought to herself.

She tried touch next, she moved her arms and her feet, she used her hands to touch her own smooth naked skin. Slowly she placed her fingers along her stomach, her chest, her face and neck. Her sense of touch was working as well, and not just her fingers, but the skin all over her body recognized the touch of skin from her fingers. She moved her hands outward and was surprised to find them blocked by a barrier, she moved her hands around and felt the same barrier around her. Beneath her buttocks and back she felt it too. She tried to remember what it was that caged her, it was a rough texture that felt dusty and coarse, but strangely natural. Natural like a tree. She was caged in a box made of wood.

Amy figured there wasn't much else to do now but, think. Hearing, smell, taste and touch were working fine. But why not sight? And could it some how be related to the smell of earth and the touch of wood? She thought to herself, but shook her head. She might as well practice speech while she could. "Where... am I?"

The process of speech was a strain on her mind, she figured she needed to exercise her mind as well and reversed her first outspoken question. "I... am?" Her mind raced, slowly, as if two tortoises were seeing who could wait at the beginning line of a race the longest. "Amy. My... name is Amy."

"Where am I?" She repeated her first question and she moved her hands about, her fingers touching at the barrier. "I am in... a wooden box."? She sniffed again. "And it... smells like dirt..."

"What kind of wooden box smells like dirt?" She asked herself but couldn't answer. She tried changing the subject, as if the one on the other end of the conservation had something else to talk about. "My eyes... Why don't they work?"

The answer came to her suddenly and she answered with enthusiasm. "Because there's no light!" Despite this leap in logic and thought, she was still very confused as to where she is. "Why... Where is there no light?" She started making a mental list and once she ran out of ideas, said the list out loud.

"...In a house with no windows. In a tunnel. Under a big shady tree..." The word 'tree' brought back so many memories, and the touch of word and smell of dirt helped a lot. "Trees... Wood is made of trees and trees grow in dirt..." She frowned, some how she felt as if her guesses were going in the wrong direction.

"No light..." She started again from the beginning. "Inside a dark place, inside a cave... No... Underneath... underground..."

She didn't like the thought of that. Her hands quickly jolted outward, trying to get a sense of the shape of the box. She panicked and started screaming again, "Underground! Dirt! Earth! Box made of wood! No! No! This can't be!" The movement of her hands indicated that she was in more than just a rectangular box, but inside something the shape of a... "A fucking coffin!"

Amy stopped screaming and simply started to cry. She couldn't control herself, couldn't stop herself from occupying herself with such a horrible thought; to come back into the physical world inside a coffin. "What kind of sick and twisted son of a bitch monster are you?" She screamed out loud, at fate, God and the world. She started crying again, and couldn't think of any reason to stop. She blinked away her tears and wiped them away with her hands, but through the blurring effect of the salty and pure liquid, she could see a wide array of the colour green.

Something around her was beginning to glow. She shook her head, looking left and right and tried to twist her body around enough so that she could look below her. Everything was glowing green. She never thought she could ever experience such a soothing and calming feeling from a mere glowing colour.

"Good," She said as she sniffled. "My eyes are working."

The green glow simply brightened over time, eventually all of Amy's vision was blanketed by green and that was when she started to feel the earth shake, the ground around her move and the world push her up and outwards. As if she was being reborn, as if the world was giving birth to her.

- 3 -

Lucelle continued her race along the rooftops of Owervian houses with her billowing black cape behind her. The two moons were up high and bright tonight but she was steadily running out of time. The Thieves’ Market would be closed down and the so called merchants would scatter once news about the break into the Owervian Imperial Museum reaches their ears. The Owervian civil protection guards will no doubt be combing through the city, searching for the green emerald in Lucelle’s pocket and the dagger that killed the two guards back in that alleyway.

Normally Lucelle’s footsteps would be soft and quiet on the rooftops of the sleeping city but she was more interested in the gold the emerald gem could be traded for. Her feet loudly pounded onto the rooftops, loosening roofing tiles and kicking debris into the air. She continued to jump from roof to roof, making her way towards the slums of Owervia.

The height of the roofs began to decline as Lucelle started to reach the more desolate and poorer end of the city. She took a long leap off of a ceramic roof atop a brick house and landed hard on the wooden roof of a two level slum house. Her left foot breached a hole into the wooden roof and she ended up having to brace herself into a crouch to keep her balance. There was no doubt the sound of splintering wood had awoken the people sleeping inside the house. Lucelle paused a moment to let the pain in her left leg diminish before she burst into another dash along the roofs of wooden houses. A few more houses down Lucelle took a break and pressed her back close to a large chimney stack to hide in its shadow. She let the air return to her lungs and relaxed for a moment.

The sound of armoured men running on the ground surprised Lucelle. The guards mobilized faster than she would have guessed and were already running about the slums. Maybe the emerald was worth more than just fifty gold pieces, she thought to herself. Peaking around the chimney she carefully looked down to see a pair of guards running about with their torches and rifles.

Lucelle had to make a change of plans, with all of these guards running about the streets the Thieves’ Market would have disappeared by now to avoid being caught and shut down. She would have to hold onto the emerald gem for another night. Looking up into the sky she noted the positions of the two moons, she could think of little else to do but to head for home.

Cocking an ear, Lucelle checked to listen for the familiar sound of guards on the street. Satisfied that the guards had moved on, she mapped out in her mind her path back to her home. She started moving along the rooftops again though this time at a more slower and stealthier pace. Her steps were softer now and she concentrated on making her jumps quick but quiet.

Lucelle was slowly walking atop one rooftop when she looked down at a row of tombstones in the backyard of a decrepit run down house and spotted a bunch of animals. What were all those furry little animals doing down there? She thought to herself.

Her vision banked sharply, pain seared through her left ankle. She had missed a step. The air in her lungs forcefully escaped as her body slammed into a downward angled part of the roof. She rolled once and felt splinters of wood rub and pierce against her back as she began to slide towards the edge of the house.

Lucelle flailed her arms around trying to grab a hold of anything that would prevent her from flying into the air and into the backyard below. A great many tombstones were littered about in the makeshift graveyard and she could only imagine the possibilities of breaking whatever bones if she landed on one of them.

Lucelle flew through the air in a downward arc as she slipped off the roof. In the air she managed to turn to look up into the sky. She stopped struggling once she saw the stars and the moons in the dark blue night, they were very beautiful up there but all of a sudden they were covered in a dark red haze as a powerful force completely shattered her mind.

Blinking her eyes Lucelle slowly tried to get up off the cold damp ground but could hardly move any muscles. She had landed flat on her back and it seemed as if nothing was broken, everything was just painfully bruised. After a few more moments she let out a groan as she rolled over and pushed herself up with her arms.

She was suddenly aware of all the animals around her. Rabbits, squirrels and a badger were all just standing amid the tall grass in the backyard. Birds of all kinds were perched on some of the taller tombstones and none of them moved a bit as Lucelle pushed herself into a sitting position. “Is that a deer?” She asked out loud in a croaky voice. She shook her head and cleared her vision. It was a deer and it along with all of the other animals, Lucelle realized, were standstill as marble sculptures. They all simply stared at a small tombstone at the corner of the backyard which was obscured by a bit of tall grass.

After idly sitting for a minute, Lucelle forced herself to stand up. Her left ankle was badly bruised but she managed to put enough pressure on it walk. The animals had continued to stare at the corner tombstone and at this point Lucelle could not resist investigating to see what was so interesting about it.

She slowly made her way towards the tombstone limping with each step and crouched down once she reached it. She brushed away the tall grass and read the inscribed text, Here Lies our Beautiful Amy, was all it said.

The ground started to shake very softly, but then the small quake become so violent that Lucelle lost her balanced and fell onto her back. She quickly scrambled away from the grave despite her injured ankle and looked all around her as all of the animals seemed to bow their heads.

The ground in front of her rose up as dirt flew into the air in an explosion of dust. An audible groan traveled through the ground and it seemed as if the world was screaming as cracks began to appear. Slowly it seemed as if the earth spread itself wide, emitting a soft but powerful green glow from deep inside. The earth moved and from within was pushed forth a large rectangular wooden coffin, covered in wet mud and dirt.

Once everything had stopped moving, once the earth had stopped shaking and the ground was no longer animated as if in pain, a muffled wailing scream became audible in the air. Lucelle blinked as she pinpointed the source of the screams, they were coming from inside the wooden coffin on the ground before her which was being pounded at from the inside out. Lucelle made her way to the coffin as fast as she could with her injured ankle. She pulled out one of her daggers from its scabbard with one hand and ran her other hand along the wood, looking for a crack that she could slide the blade into to break open the coffin.

Finally she found the space where a plank of wood was nailed into another, Lucelle stabbed her dagger in between the two pieces. The screaming stopped and was replaced by a muffled yelp of surprise. Lucelle gripped the hilt of her dagger like a lever and started forcing the coffin open. The wood splintered and cracks began to appear across the wood but the nails were loosening and an opening slowly began to appear with each push down onto the dagger’s hilt. Lucelle broke open the coffin with one final forceful shove and looked inside.

Laying inside was a naked, scared and confused girl.

- 4 -

Lucelle quickly moved out of the way as the young girl scrambled out of the coffin. The girl hysterically climbed out, deeply breathing erratically during the process. Her lungs were sucking in fresh air now and they could not get enough of it.

The girl started to sob slightly as Lucelle pushed herself up. Once she stood up straight she continued to watch the girl some more, silently asking herself where in the world could she have come from. “Who are you?” Lucelle whispered silently.

A shudder traveled through out the girl’s body. She slowly started to sit up a bit as her breathing began to return to normal. Slowly, she turned her head to look around and she noticed the still present animals. “What are they looking at?” she quietly whispered back.

Lucelle walked around a bit while watching the animals. “You,” she answered as she noticed that the animals’ eyes were fixed upon the girl and did not follow her movements at all. “After all, you did just magically come out of that coffin buried six feet under.”

The girl turned her head to look at the tombstone nearby the head of the now desecrated coffin. She read the inscription and shuddered at the realization her mind experienced, “That was me buried there.”

“So you’re Amy?” Lucelle asked.

“I am.”

The animals began to move about. They slowly made their way into the tall grass, into the bushes, up the trees and made use of the little hidden pathways that only little creatures know about. Amy stood up and shivered. The air seemed oddly cold this night, or maybe it was just her skin living once again.

Lucelle’s eyes looked the naked girl up and down. With a bit of a condescending snort, she removed her cape and held it out to the girl. Amy took it without a word and wrapped it around her shoulders, tightening the surprisingly warm cloth around her body. “Who are you?” She said while keeping an eye on Lucelle.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m just about to leave—”

One of the doors of a surrounding house burst open. “Halt!” Both Lucelle and Amy turned to see an Owervian civil protection guard with his rifle at the ready. A half second of silence passed before Lucelle made her move. Quickly she dodged to the side into a thicket of bushes and tall grass, the guard fired his rifle but struck little more than leaves.

Startled by the loud gun fire, Amy fell to the ground and covered her head. The Owervian guard began to reload his rifle. As he fumbled with the small bag of gun powder however, another loud burst came from the direction of the thick bushes and the guard fell backwards onto the floor.

Amy looked around and saw Lucelle crawl out of the bushes with a smoking pistol in her hand. She started to quickly head towards another door of another one of the surrounding houses. “Where are you going?” Amy yelled out.

“I’m not very keen of getting arrested,” Lucelle yelled back. She reached her hand out to grab at a doorknob but two more guards appeared at the first door that had been kicked open.

“Halt!” they both yelled with their rifles up and ready to fire. Lucelle habitually ducked low as a large hole was punched through the door she was about to open. The Owervians had a reputation for shooting anyway whether or not people complied with their commands. Lucelle risked a second to take a look back at the pair of newly arrived guards. Her eyes widen with annoyance as she saw Amy scrambling to get up and running towards her. The last thing she needed was someone to hold her back.

As Amy finally started to cover some distance, Lucelle spotted the other guard with his unfired rifle shifting his aim. The barrel of his weapon was now aimed at Amy’s back. “Get down!” she screamed out loud.

When Amy heard Lucelle’s warning, she turned her head around and spotted the weapon being aimed at her. In a panic she tried to run even faster but she only managed to stumble and knocked a foot against a large stone. Her mind raced as she fell towards the ground, she twisted her body to face the rifle and felt the cold hard earth strike her back. She didn’t have time to think but only to act. She shut her eyes and clenched her fists, holding them up over her chest as if to shield herself.

Amy heard the sound of a rifle firing followed by a solid thud. She thought that thud was the sound of a bullet tearing through her chest but when she opened her eyes she was surprised to see a pillar of brown dirt in front of her. A shield of clay, stone and dust had risen to protect her and everybody who witnessed the earth move was stunned into silence.

The guard who just fired lowered his rifle and pondered out loud, “Was that sorcery?” Lucelle pondered the same question but decided to act first. She jumped towards Amy and plowed into her, pushing her violently onto the ground. “Do it again!” she screamed at Amy.

“Do what?” Amy screamed back in confusion.

“The other guard finished reloading his rifle!”

Another bout of fear struck Amy at the realization that the two of them were still under fire. She wished that she could have a better shield to protect herself with. The ground shook for a moment and almost instantly a small wall rose between her and the guards. Another rifle was fired and again the earth absorbed the assault.

Lucelle began to look around for an escape now that there was some time. The hole in the door that had been shot by one of the guards caught her attention just as her ears picked up the sound of a shrill whistle, reinforcements would be arriving any second now. It was likely any other guards nearby would have already been alerted by the sound of gunfire. She turned to Amy who was lying on the ground in a state of near panic. “Force the wind to blow downwards,” she ordered.

“What?” Amy said, this time with more anger than confusion. She realized she didn’t even know who this woman giving her orders was. “I don’t even know who the hell you are, I’m not doing anything more until you tell me who you are!”

Lucelle sighed with an obvious tint of aggravation “My name’s Lucelle,” she pointed at the magical protective wall. “Now turn that wall to dust and have the wind blow downwards to kick the dust into the air!”

“Why?” Amy shot back, not understanding Lucelle’s plan.

The loud voice of a guard could be heard as he yelled out orders. “They’re behind that wall! Get around it quickly!”

Amy didn’t need Lucelle to explain. She shut her eyes and imagined the wall of solid earth turning into the finest sand. She felt an affirmative notion in her mind, as if the earth was complying to her will. Then she asked the wind to blow with all of its might and it answered gleefully.

A powerful gust of wind suddenly materialized and the sand quickly swirled into the air. Amy felt something tugging on her arm and pull her up onto her feet. Strong fingers wrapped themselves around her wrist and pulled her into a run in the midst of the sand storm. Despite the howling winds and the sound of sand grinding in the air, she heard a door being forced open and found herself being dragged by Lucelle into one of the abandoned houses surrounding the grave yard.

Lucelle looked back through the smashed opened doorway. The vortex of wind and sand continued restricted within the graveyard, she wasn’t sure but she thought she saw a body flying within the magical cyclone. Both Amy and Lucelle jumped when a nearby shut window was loudly shattered as a guard was flung through it. The guard landed hard on the wooden floor of the abandoned house and stayed there unmoving.

Amy looked at Lucelle as she tugged on her wrist again. “Come on, we’ve got to get far away from here.”

- 5 -

A group of four Owervian civil protection guards ran down a street. Their boots pounded on the ground and the noise resounded off of the mostly ramshackle homes along both sides. The four guards stopped for a moment and stood still in front of a church, one of them--the obviously decorated captained--seemed to take a slow look around and quickly gave a hand signal order. Quickly, they ran down the rest of the length of the street and took the next turn.

Once the guards had ran out of sight, Lucelle came out from the shadow of a tight alleyway followed by Amy whom was still merely clad in Lucelle's black cape. Lucelle looked down both ways of the street to make sure that the guards were gone. Having deemed the area to be clear she began to walk towards the church.

Amy followed suite right behind Lucelle, her feet moving quickly to make up for Lucelle's long strides. "Who are you?" Amy asked, nearly out of breath.

"Didn't you already ask that question?" Lucelle tersely said

"You never answered!" Amy nearly shouted out loud.

Lucelle stopped midstride and turned around, "Quiet!" She said fiercely. "Who do you think the civil protection guards are looking for?"

Amy stood still for a moment, shocked by Lucelle's harshness. She began to walk again right after Lucelle continued. "You," She tried to answer with a strong voice but only managed to show restraint timidness. "I just appeared out of the ground, they would have no interest in me when they were already looking for another."

Lucelle remained silent as she continued to walk, making her way towards the church. "What did you do to stir up the guards?" Amy asked with a more steady and controlled voice. "What are you a thief? All dressed in black, armed with such weapons. You perform acrobats like a cat burglar."

Lucelle suddenly turned around, shoving a hand towards Amy's face. Amy shrieked in surprised and shut her eyes. Slowly she began to open them and saw that in Lucelle's hand she held a glowing green gem. The green light seemed so familiar to her. "I simply can't ignore an opportunity to brag," Lucelle said as she smild at Amy's shaken face. "This I just successfully stolen from the Owervian Imperial Museum."

"You are just a thief," Amy whispered with a slight hint of disappointment.

"Ha! Just a thief?" Lucelle began walking again as she put away the green gem. "No mere thief could steal such a gem as this out of the Museum. This treasure had twenty guards watching over it. Believe me, no thief could kill three quarters of them and still manage to get out without getting scratched by their swords."

"Actually, when you gave me your cape I noticed these two tears in it as if a sword had cut through them," Amy said as she held up the mentioned parts.

Lucelle stopped walking yet again and turned around to give Amy an annoyed look. "My clothing doesn't count! The fact is those guards never drew blood. None of mine, anyhow. But enough talk about myself, we've reached my hideout."

Amy looked at the church on the left side of the street. "A church? I can't think of anything more sacrilegious than a thief using God's house as a hideout."

"No, not the church!" Lucelle sighed annoyingly. "Indeed the Brotherhood in that church consider my presence to be far from enlightening, but I was referring to the building beside it."

Beside the church stood a small wooden house. The windows were boarded up and so were cracks in the wall. The door, on the other hand, appeared to be reinforced and extremely durable. "Pardon me if I've not impressed," Amy said with feign disappointment.

"Good," Lucelle knocked lightly on the corner of the door three times which was followed by the sound of a metallic click. "If it doesn't look as if anyone would live here, then the guards won't care much about it."

"What makes you think I'd enter a house with you? Specifically your own home?" Amy asked, suddenly curious.

Lucelle shoved the door open and took a single step inside. "I just saved your life, but it won't be the first time. The guards managed to get a good look at you, they'll be searching for you eventually as you'll be considered an accomplice to my crimes. Now come inside before another patrol comes by."

Amy didn't answer or move at all. "It's because of the sorcery isn't it? You were quite eager to escape those guards by yourself when they first showed up."

"Okay, fine," Lucelle confessed. "I suppose I did think that a person of your capabilities could come in handy. I could use your help, and you definitely need mine."

"I'm not going to help a thief such as yourself! I am no thief!"

"How old are you?" Lucelle asked seriously. "Seventeen? Maybe eighteen winters?"

Amy was about to make another retort but stopped short. She searched her mind, began asking questions about herself instead of Lucelle. "The last thing I remember was that it was two weeks before my nineteenth birthday... When I caught the yellow fever..."

"Do you have any family around these parts? Do you have a home?" Lucelle continued, she smiled slightly, seeing Amy become as confused and as lost as when she first appeared out of the coffin. She definitely put up a bit of a fight, but it seemed as if it wouldn't be too difficult to persuade her to lend her abilities in return for safety.

"My family...?" Amy whispered. "The house we escaped through, it was mine, but empty--"

Lucelle sprung the final trap. "No family then. Now, how in this God cursed city do you plan on surviving alone? Especially in this shit end of the slums? You don't have any money either do you?"

Fear began to fall upon Amy's mind. Fear at the realization that she is as prone and as vulnerable as the day she was born naked and young. This time however, there was no mother, no father. No one to watch over her as she grew. Only this woman who no doubt had a far from virtuous character offered to protect her. She began to look around, to the sides, to the ground. Lucelle was starring at her, just waiting for her to come closer before she could snatch her away for her own selfish reasons.

"The Brotherhood," Amy answered as she caught sight of the church to the side of Lucelle's hideout. "I'll go there."

Lucelle continued her speech, seemingly unaware of Amy's answer. "Face it, Amy. You can't survive without me--Wait? The Brotherhood? What?" Lucelle realized that she wasn't talking to anyone, she heard the sound of a door knock. She stepped outside her door and looked towards the church. A massive door was partially open and Amy had just stepped through it.

"Shit," Lucelle cursed as the door slowly closed with a thud. "Stupid bitch stole my cape."

- 6 -


"Welcome to our humble church, child," The brother said with a low bow. "How may we be of service?"

Amy looked around the small church. It was dark, only a few torches were lit which reflected a pale orange glow off the large brick walls. A few window were spaced equally among the tall walls and a large stained glass window depicting various acts of good will among various people was just barely visible above the alter at the other end of the church. The church was just as silent as it was dark but considering the late hour it was not unexpected. Amy pulled Lucelle's cloak tighter around here, realizing that she was naked underneath it. She hoped the brother wouldn't notice. "Pardon me for intruding so late, brother," She said precariously. It was quite ackward asking for charity. "But I am in a bit of a predicament. Might I stay for the night?"

The brother nodded again, dipping low in his brown robes. "We always help when we can, child," The man turned around and gestured for Amy to follow. With his face turned towards the torchlight, Amy felt a little bit more at ease seeing the kind looking old man's face revealed in the light. "Child, you are shivering! I shall call for some warmer clothes to be prepared in your room."

Walking down a side corridor, Amy and the brother entered into a small office like room. Amy peered down another hallway and saw a row of doors, recognizing them as the dormitories of the Brotherhood. Near the entrance of that hallway stood a desk with another brother sitting at it who looked up from his pen and book when Amy and her guide entered. "Brother Udulph, this child requests a room and warm clothes for the night," Amy's guide said as they approached the desk.

The brother at the desk stood up and bowed. "Welcome, before we show you to a spare room, please sign your name into our guestbook," Brother Udulph said as he pushed towards Amy a book and held out a pen. Amy thanked Udulph as she took the pen and wrote down her name. She paused for a moment as she finished writing down her given name, she tried to think of her family name but only drew up a blank. Her mind searched through her memory which had been lying buried and dormant for some time. A name finally came to her and she wrote down "Flecher" following her given name.

"Welcome to our humble church, child," brother Udulph said as he took back the pen. He held his hand out towards a wooden bowl near the corner of the desk. "We would gladly appreciate any alms you can spare."

Guilt suddenly materialized in Amy's gut. It felt as if a few stones had formed in her stomach and weighed her down. Her heart felt just as heavy. "I'm sorry, brothers," She said to both of them. "But I don't have any money on me tonight. I greatly appreciate your care however and I will find a way to repay you one day."

"That is quite alright," Udolph said without skipping a beat. Amy scanned his face for any sort of disappointment or resent but only found understanding and compassion. "Brother Clove here will show you to a room. Sleep well, child."

Realizing that Clove was the name of the brother that opened the church doors for her and led her to the dormitories, she turned towards him and bowed her thanks. Brother Clove bowed in returned and turned towards the dormatory hallway, indicating to Amy to follow.

As brother Clove and Amy walked down the hallway towards a spare room. Udolph pulled the guestbook back towards him. "Amy Flecher..." He murmured quietly. It was very familiar. He had heard that name before, not so long ago. Or maybe he had read it somewhere or written it down in a record somewhere. Unable to resist his curiosity, Udolph walked towards a shelf against the wall filled with books which were filled with names. He picked up one of the books from the shelf, another guestbook that had recently been filled and began to look through it.

For the next hour Udolph flipped through page after page looking for another record of the name Amy Flecher. Once finished with the past guestbooks, he went through a book recording the names of those who have given charitable donations to the Brotherhood. After going through that book and various others, Udolph was about to give up when his finger stopped on the spine of a thick book, a book recording recent deaths and funerals. The book was free of dust because it had been opened and written into so often lately because of the yellow fever outbreak that began nearly three months ago. Udolph pulled the book half-way off the shelf but stopped. Of course her name wouldn't be in that book, Udolph thought, thinking how ridiculous he was being. As he was about to push the book back onto the shelf his fingers slipped and the book fell quickly pushing his hand aside. It landed open and facing upwards on the ground with a muffled thud.

Udolph bent down to pick up the book but stopped when his hands reached the pages and his eyes scanned through the list of the recently deceased. He tried to focus his eyes but the light was far too dim at such a distance to the ground. He picked up the book, making sure not to lose the page and brought it over to the desk with the candles. The orange light of the candle gracefully danced over the name of Amy Flecher who died of the yellow fever nearly a month ago.

* * *

Black. Again. Darkness all around.

Amy founded herself standing naked in pitch black darkness. She looked around in a panic but quickly began to realize where she was. She was back, from before she was reborn. This inky, calm darkness was the mother that held her soul comfortably and softly with complete care and affection. This was different however.

A round sphere appeared in front of her. Within arms reach a perfect globe coloured blue, green, brown and with some patches of white materialized in front of her. She was looking upon the Earth from a far way place. Amy looked down upon it as a doctor examines a patient, as a mother watches a child. The patient became gravely ill, the child deathly sick. Before her eyes, the lands of the Earth began to scar. The green lands turned dark brown than burned black. The oceans changed from a deep blue to an empty pale gray. Everything began to appear blurry, as if seen through a haze of thick fog, the air had turned thick with a heavy poison.

The Earth was dead. It began to crumble, within seconds the vision of the Earth seemed to implode in on itself as the ground, water and air was stripped away into oblivion. All that remained was a small glowing core, an orb of liquid crystal that was lit with all the colours of the rainbow.

It dimmed. Slowly at first, but than quickly. It dimmed to utter darkness and then appeared to be little more than just a piece of dead rock.

Amy reached out with one hand and grabbed onto the black rock floating in empty space. When her fingers wrapped arond it she was shocked by the utter coldness, but when her fingers squeezed lightly, the dead rock crumbled into ashes. Everything was dead.

The darkness disappeared in an instant. Amy was bathed in a light green light. She remembered this part clearly. She was about to come alive again. Amy braced herself, preparing herself mentally for whatever world she would find herself in. The green light began to pulsate suddenly and in her mind she heard a sweet, gentle, pleading voice.

"Save me. Find others with powers like your own. They will know who I am. They will know my suffering. Protect my heart, please."

A yellow light blinded Amy. She put her hands up to shade her eyes and rolled over to cover her face. She opened her eyes and found herself face down in a pillow, lying in a bed in one of the spare dormitory rooms of the Church of the Brotherhood. That dream was far to unsettling, and Amy was eager to forget it with the arriving morning.

Sunlight was pouring into the room from a window and Amy could hear the city of Owervia Grand coming to life in the streets. Amy pulled herself out of bed and rubbed her eyes. She jumped when a knock came from the door but she composed herself quickly. "Who is it?"

"Brother Udolph," The voice from the other side of the door answered. "I've come with breakfast."

"Just a moment, I've yet to dress, brother," Amy replied and began to get dress. She went to sleep with the tunic brother Clove supplied her last night and therefore didn't need to worry about that. A pair of loose traveller's pants were on a nearby chair and she quickly pulled those on. Also on the chair was Lucelle's black cape, Amy thought against putting that on at first but decided she'd be better prepared for travelling in the streets of Owervia Grand with it on. Finally, Amy pulled a pair of simple shoes onto her feet before opening the door.

Brother Udolph greeted Amy with a smile as he wished her a good morning. "It is not much," Udolph said as he stepped into the room and handed Amy a bowl of porridge. "But it is still breakfast."

Amy thanked him. "Brother, you've already been generous enough to be."

"Nonsense!" Udolph said as he turned to close the door behind him.

Amy hesisted for a moment, she didn't expect Udolph to stay long, and hoped that he wouldn't. When she saw Udolph glance at the bowl in her hands however, she quickly ate a spoonful. "I don't want to take up much of your time, child," Udolph said as he sat down on the chair. "But I wish to discuss something with you."

Amy swallowed another spoonful of the porridge and stayed silent, waiting for Udolph to begin.

"You're dead, aren't you?" He seemed to state more than ask.

Amy didn't know what to say. She stood still with the bowl of porridge in one hand and the spoon in another. Udolph continued, "Well, perhaps not dead, as you are clearly alive now. But you died a month ago, of the yellow fever."

"I remember," Amy finally said as she dropped the spoon into half full bowl.

Udulph remained silent, watching her carefully with his eyes, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I know I was dead, I remember being dead, but I also remember being reborn. Just yesterday. My coffin was pushed out of from the ground and I found myself with flesh and blood again. I don't know how to explain it or how it's possible, I probably sound like I'm raving mad!" Udolph raised his hand quickly, but not in any threatening matter to interrupt Amy.

"I believe you," He said. "There have been tales and stories within our records that go back countless centuries of people coming back from the dead."

"But," Amy asked, puzzled and confused, she sat down on the bed to steady herself. "Why?"

Udolph looked away as if to think. "The last tale of a person being reborn was nearly ten centuries ago. A dead man was said to be have appeared alive from a grave, and he went on to bring down the tyrannical Old Kingdom of Amikan. He rebuilt it into Nova Amika, the country that exists today--for the past ten centuries--on the far side of the continent east of Owervia."

Amy couldn't imagine herself bringing about a revolution. Despite coming back from the dead, she wouldn't believe it's just so she could over throw some despotic monarchy. "How did he discover the purpose of his rebirth? Of him coming back?"

"God told him in a dream," Udolph answered in a dream, seemingly not believing it himself. "At least, in the records, that was what he has always claimed."

Amy sighed, dreams of the world coming to an end she could do without. She sat quietly for a moment, eating a spoonful of porridge every now and then as she thought quietly to herself.

Udolph stood up. "Child, I don't know why you were given this second life. But I do not think it is something you should take for granted. Keep your mind alert, don't shut yourself in just because of an unbelievable miracle."

Amy watched Udolph turned towards the door. She called out to him just as he opened the door. "Brother, is God the only one to have communicated like that? Through dreams?"

Udolph stopped and turned to look at Amy. "Who else is there to do such a thing?"

"What abouth Mother?" Amy asked with a stutter, thinking to herself how the words coming out of her mouth were laced with insanity. "Earth? Nature herself?"

"I don't know," Udolph admitted. "But I don't see why not. And if she does, it is quite a blessing upon you child." With that Udolph bowed deeply and stepped out of the room.