Salvation of a New World

[Poprockz]

She remembered it as though it was yesterday, the way her breath had caught in her throat, her heart almost stopping entirely. The word seemed as though it had repeated endlessly in her head in an ungodly echo-chamber: recurrence. It had come back. Despite all their hopes, efforts, and the doctors' reassurances, it had reared its ugly head again and infiltrated her body once again. Her brown hair had just grown to shoulder-length, only to be doomed to the razor and the bin.

Though it had been difficult to accept, she had assumed with treatment that she could beat it this time as well. Unfortunately, she had been wrong. Emily had smiled for her parents and thanked them as she tried to lift the forkful of vanilla birthday cake to her chapped lips. Her hand had shaken so much that the mouthful had dropped onto her hospital gown instead, this being met with the fork being taken from her and subsequently used to feed her the rest. On her eighteenth birthday she hadn't even had the strength to feed herself, let alone blow out any candles. Besides, fires were a hazard in the hospital due to the proximity of the oxygen canisters.

The doctors had warned her parents that it might be too rich for her at that point, but she had begged them to sneak it in for her. Even if she couldn't keep it down, she wanted the comforting taste of vanilla on her tongue to remind her of the good, sweet things in life. She was even able to keep it down until they left for the night, finally allowing herself to vomit down her shoulder with a shuddering heave. It was strange. The vanilla cake hadn't had any red dye in it at all, and yet when she looked to her shoulder the vomit had been red.

That was the last thing she remembered before drifting off again into the soft embrace of what she assumed was sleep.

...

"Mm..." Emily stirred, feeling a warm, comforting light upon herself. Though she had just been roused, it felt like she had slept better than she had in years. None of her nightmares plagued her, nor the constant interruptions of pain or stomach upset. It was as though she was resting on a cotton cloud in the sun.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and peered around. What she saw made her half-convinced that she was dreaming, as she was in a throne room of pure white marble. Yet at the same time, it was as though the upper walls and ceiling didn't exist, masked by a soft glow of light that was oddly comforting and familiar.

Where in the world was she?

 

[Veroe]

IC: The Goddess Ereletheia

The Goddess of all that was light and good in her universe looked down at the young woman she had summoned before her. Her throne room in the heaves was pristine white marble and gold with views beyond of clouds and stars. She watched as her chosen took this all in.

"Welcome child," She said softly but the voice reverberated through the throne room like the clamor of bells. When she spun around at her words Emily would see a beautiful woman towering above her in a colossal throne of golden down her wings spread out shining with silvery feathers from her back and the halo over her head flaring bright as the first rays of dawn. "Approach me please. For we have much to discuss and little time to do it."

"You do not know me, but I am known as Ereletheia." She explained to the bewildered girl, "The sad truth was your long struggle with the ailment you fought all of your life has finally claimed your life, child, but at the point of your death I reached out my power and brought you here to ask you to do me a favor. Here my world is in danger."

She gestured to the side and the clouds along the outside the columns of her throne room turned dark and rumbled and flashed with thunder and lightning. The stars above began to dim as their light was siphoned by a massive black hole in their midst. "Here I am goddess of light and life, but my counterpart seeks only death and destruction. We have been held in a perpetual state of balance for eons until he has dispatched an avatar to my world, a demon king, to destroy everything there."

She waved her hand and the view outside returned to the tranquil cloud and starscape. "So I have chosen you to be my hand in the world. To unite my peoples to defend themselves against the demon king's hoards. To do this I have granted you a new body whole and healthy free of the disease that cost you your life in your previous world. Also you have my power within you to aid you in your mission. I-"

She cut off looking to side as the clouds in the distance began to part and a monstrous figure with horns and tail began to ascend up from the rent surface.

She turned back to Emily. "There is no more time. My counterpart has noticed your presence here." The openings between the columns shuddered closed with thick metal plates of armor. She reached out a hand and the floor opened up beneath her just as the armor plates shuddered from a massive blow from outside.

As she fell Ereletheia called out after her. "Remember, you are my chosen child. Do what you can? Save my peoples. Save my world. You will have my power whenever you need it."

 

[Poprockz]

To say she was awed by the figure in front of her was an understatement. It was as though she truly was made of the most blessed light and harmony, a figure too beautiful and harmonious to have imagined. All she could do was stare as the Goddess spoke to her in a voice that she would have begged with her nose to the marble to be able to hear for just a little while longer. It simultaneously seemed unreal and too real to deny.

Though the subject matter was difficult to grasp. It seemed as though the Goddess was beseeching her to save her world, as though she was some important figure that needed to step in and save the day. Fighting Demons? Her? Emily? No, it felt like there was some kind of mistake. She wanted to voice this concern, but she couldn't bring herself to interrupt the magnificent woman before her. It also seemed like she was being told that she had died back in that hospital. That in particular was the most believable part of the entire encounter. That didn't stop her heart from twinging in pain at the thought of losing all she had in her previous life. She had been told once that death was a natural part of life, but that didn't make things any easier on her.

That malevolent presence she saw when the clouds parted put the most awful feeling in her gut- she knew that terror all too well. It was the fear whenever a doctor would come in with a status report, the fear that crept up on her at night when there were no distractions, it was the darkness, hatred, and fear that threatened to consume her at times when she had felt weak and helpless. It made her jump when the thing banged upon the entrance, the urge to run coursing through her veins.

"No, wait! I can't! I don't know-" before she could even ask the Goddess for more of an explanation, she fell back into that comfortable sleep yet again.

...

When she floated back to consciousness once more, it was as though she still felt the Goddess's light upon her; though it was but a mere fraction of its warmth. She cringed slightly when she opened her eyes, as a ray of sunshine was shining down directly upon her, a cracked hole in the ceiling of the room. It looked as though the place was crumbling slightly, that hole likely having been made when some stone fell to the floor. Her back was cold, and she realized she was laying upon a slab of stone. Upon looking around, she could see that she was in the center of the room at the top of a pyramid of steps.

Emily sat up and felt something slide down her shoulder, almost causing her to jump. It was... hair. The hair was a silvery white and was softer than her hair had ever been. She had to look over her shoulder to realize that it wasn't someone else's hair but her own, the sheet of perfect strands moving whenever her head did as well. The Goddess had said that she was awarded a new body, but she hadn't really been able to comprehend what that would entail at the time. She hadn't even had time to make any assumptions as to what kind of body she would be given.

Her gaze traveled down and she saw with amazement that her skin was soft and pale with not a blemish upon it, unlike her old body. If she had looked down a month ago, she would see a sickly pallor with a spattering of bruises. More shocking though, was the fact that her breasts were large and perky through the white robe she was wearing.

She couldn't take much more stock of herself for the moment as she soon heard what sounded like a mix between a growl and a gurgle. At the far end of the room, something stalking toward her very slowly in the shadows. Even so, there was something very evil about it that she could sense in her gut.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

Aram was an adventurer. He had only been registered in the Lorenstown adventuring guild for a year and a half. He was eighteen and he'd lied about his age to get in, but despite that he was still only copper rank. That was just the beginner rank with missions available for only small amounts of gold upon completion. He needed more. Every coin he earned went to his brothers and sisters and old granny Mila at the orphanage. They needed the roof repaired and winter was coming in a few months. If he was going to pay to get it repaired so everyone could sleep warm and safe from the cold he was going to need missions that paid him more. So he'd snuck off to clean out the nest of giant rats that had claimed the ancient run-down ruins in the center of the woods outside Lorenstown.

It was technically a silver rank mission but none of the silver rank adventurers had accepted it, and it had languished on the board for months. So, he figured if he completed the mission, he'd get the reward and maybe promotion to silver rank as well. And then he could actually earn enough gold to get the orphanage's roof repaired.

Giant rats weren't especially challenging but there were a lot of them scurrying through the corridors here. Too many for one copper rank adventurer, but Aram needed that reward money.

He wasn't stupid about it. He slinked through the hallways avoiding large groups and picking off stragglers one by one. He'd just severed the ear of the latest one he'd gotten the drop on. Now there was only the nest itself. He'd surmised it must be in the large central chamber down the hallway. Maybe he could lure them out one by one.

Then he heard something that changed everything. There came the cry of someone else from deep within the large chamber that was undoubtedly the giant rats' nest location. It sounded like a girl. Why would someone else be here. Was there another adventurer on this mission too.

Well, if there was another adventurer here then she was clearly in a whole lot of trouble from the sound of things. Aram raised the broadsword, the only piece of adventuring gear he'd so far been able to afford for himself. and threw any thoughts of caution to the wind. It sounded like whoever it was in there didn't have long. So, he charged down the corridor and up the steps into the large chamber.

What he found, shocked him. There was definitely someone else here, and she was quite frankly the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, but she was clearly in trouble being menaced by three giant rats one he took to be the matriarch of the nest far bigger and meaner than any of the others.

"Hang on," He cried as he continued running for the steps in the center of the large chamber. "I'm coming."

He reached the first giant rat and got a solid slice down the back of the creature before it knew he was there. It and another turned on him, He used swings of his sword to keep them back as they began circling around him. Better him than the girl. Still the matriarch rat was still after her though, and he had no idea how they were going to get out of this. Why wasn't she trying to defend herself from the monster.

"Hey, if you have a weapon now's the time to use it."

 

[Poprockz]

God, that was a big rat. The other two were bigger than any rats she had ever seen, but the obvious leader of the bunch was about the size of a large dog with teeth to match. It seemed unfair that the Goddess would put her in a world where she was instantly going to be eaten by giant rodents. Wasn't there a safer place she could have been put?

One of the rats ventured a bit closer to her and snapped its teeth as though thinking to itself. They seemed somewhat hesitant to approach her for some reason, preferring to simply size her up and inch forward when they felt a bit braver. It was almost as though she made them instinctively nervous. The bigger one of the three took a couple steps closer and squeaked menacingly, causing her to squeal in fear and jump to her feet. She quickly moved behind the altar, putting it between herself and the rat.

"Ereletheia, help me!" she hesitantly pleaded, the big rat starting to circle around the altar with the other two lingering behind it.

Suddenly, she saw a man run in, sword in hand. It seemed to be a strange thing to charge toward danger, but she wasn't going to complain about any help she could get. While he took care of the other rats though, the big rat decided that now was the time to strike. It skittered toward her with murder in its eyes, her own eyes wide with terror as she struggled with what to do.

She couldn't let this be the end. She had gone through far too much, struggled for far too long to die in what seemed like some old, abandoned ruin.

Emily held her arms out toward the rat as if to stop it from lunging at her, an odd feeling welling up from within her.

"NO!"

Beams of blinding light shot from her palms right into the matriarch in a continuous stream, the rat squealing in pain and shuddering as it slowly started swelling. Small rays of light started to shine out from within the rat's body as the sound of it grew louder and louder. It reminded her of a machine powering up, or a train picking up speed. Indeed, she assumed that if she could see the waves of light that they would be coming in faster and faster waves. Soon the giant rat looked like a balloon, or perhaps a disco ball was more accurate due to the refracting light coming out from all angles. In any case, the thing let out a final shriek before it exploded, bits of rat flying every which-way. An ear here, a paw there, and the tail itself landing mere inches from the door.

Such an explosion had unfortunately splattered them both with bits of rat, her once white robes now specked with pink and red. The only saving grace was that none of it had gotten onto her face. She blinked in shock, looked up at the adventurer as if to confirm what had just happened. Her eyes were like white opals, glittering with different colors depending on what angle one looked at her.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

He reached the first giant rat and got a solid slice down the back of the creature before it knew he was there. It and another turned on him, He used swings of his sword to keep them back as they began circling around him. Better him than the girl. Still the matriarch rat was still after her though, and he had no idea how they were going to get out of this. Why wasn't she trying to defend herself from the monster.

"Hey, if you have a weapon now's the time to use it."

The two rats circled Aram and he had to use wide swipes of his blade to keep them from attacking him from behind him. Then he heard the girl say something strange, "Ereletheia help me!"

What did she say? Ereletheia? He'd heard that name before somewhere, hadn't he?

There was little to no time to dwell on that right now, however. One lunged and he got a good slice across its snout before he had spin around to fend off the complimentary lunge at the back of his legs from its compatriot.

"Just hang on," He called out to the girl, "I will protect you."

The Matriarch giant rat jumped up onto the stone altar the girl was hiding behind, she was cornered now. He had to do something. He took a chance and made a lunge of his own stabbing the rat in front of him between the ribs and straight into the heart. It squeaked and clawed at him before it died. He immediately felt the rush as the other rat from behind. He had known it was coming so even as he had stabbed the first rat he was already in the process of moving around it to put its body between it and the other one. It didn't work entirely. He'd moved enough to avoid the snap of thos sharp teeth but felt the raking of its claws to the back of his thigh. He grunted from the pain withdrawing the blade from the corpse of the rat he'd killed. He then brought the bloody blade to bear on the other fending it back with quick tight swings.

He could already feel his leg begin to throb and the cuts had been shallow but burned like no one's business.

How was the girl doing? Was she okay?

He then suddenly heard her cry out loud, "No!"

When she screamed that she would've heard the words. "Fear not. I am with you, child, always."

He then saw from her outstretched hands beams of light blast out from them hitting the big matriarch rat square on and other beams of light poured out from the inside of the rat. It began to bloat and swell up before bursting apart in an explosion of light and rat guts. It rained down over Aram and the rat he was contending with. Seeing what happened to its mother the last rat squealed in sudden fear and wheeled around and fled as fast as it's squat little legs could scamper away.

Seeing that he took a breath of relief before turning to look up at the girl who seemed just as bewildered by what had happened as he was. "Hello, I didn't realize another adventurer had taken this mission, much less a mage of such skill as you obviously are. I thought you'd need a wand or magic components to cast a spell of such power? Come to think about it, I didn't hear you chant an incantation or draw a glyph on the ground either for that matter? You must be a really powerful wizard to do that without any of that."

He climbed up the steps to her, "My name's Aram, and I'm an adventurer too, copper rank."

He held out his hand to her to take in greeting. "And you are?"

 

[Poprockz]

She blinked in confusion, hesitantly reaching out and taking his hand in hers for a handshake. Her hand was soft and dainty with not a callous on it, her grip soft and tentative. A lot of the things he was saying didn't really make sense to her, especially the bit about magic and wizards and stuff. Come to think of it, she couldn't deny that what she had done was like magic. Literal beams of light had come from her hands and killed something in front of her, so it wasn't as though she could deny the possibility of such a thing. Perhaps this is what the Goddess had meant when she had stated that Emily would have her power.

Normally, she wouldn't have trusted someone she just met out and about, but he had risked his life to save her and seemed like a good sort on the whole.

"I'm Emily," she replied, shaking his hand up and down.

Now that she was here (wherever "here" was), she realized that not only did she have no home, no food, no money, and no idea about anything in this place other than the fact that it had giant rats and sword-swinging adventurers. It sounded like this place was included in some kind of "quest," which was why he was here in the first place. Would she sound crazy if she asked him where they were? Well, if they tried to lock her up or something, at least she would have food and shelter until she figured everything out.

"Um, this is going to sound a bit crazy, but I just kind of... woke up here? I uh... well, I don't really know where I am. Like at all. I'm from somewhere..." she paused and thought for a moment before finishing with, "very far away." There was vulnerability in her eyes, and a hope that he wasn't going to laugh in her face.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

He climbed up the steps to her, "My name's Aram, and I'm an adventurer too, copper rank."

He held out his hand to her to take in greeting. "And you are?"

She looked back at him a little lost but took his hand in hers. Wow, her hands were so soft and smooth. She must be from a very well-off rich family. In fact, he knew most mage adventurers were at least silver rank and ones of her apparent skill had to be a gold rank if not the legendary diamond rank. It made him feel very self-conscious about his calloused swordsman gutter rat hands against hers.

Also she was wearing really nice and pristine white robes-though currently splattered with rat blood, but he could tell that it was fine and expensive fabric a far cry from his commoners' woolen pants and shirt. Was she going to look down her nose at him for being a street rat too?

She shook his head replying, "I'm Emily."

"Emily?" He repeated testing the odd combination of sounds out as it rolled off the tongue, "That's a strange name,,,is it foreign?"

She glanced around the grand chamber cast in relative darkness other than the daylight streaming through holes in the ceiling of the ancient structure. Then to him she said, "Um, this is going to sound a bit crazy. but I just kind of....woke up here?"

"Interesting," He asked upon hearing that, "Were you lost or taken from your home, my lady?"

"I uh...well," She replied, "I don't really know where I am. Like at all."

"I can help you with that," He smiled. "You are in an ancient ruin in the woods outside of Lorenstown in the kingdom of Nasphrellia." He gave her a speculative look, "Did you hit your head? I've heard blows there have been known to make some lose their memories."

He looked into her eyes...such pretty deep and radiant eyes and such fragility like she was afraid he'd mock her...it was...endearing...ahem...anyway..."Are you certain you have no idea where you come from?"

"I'm from somewhere...." She paused and he assumed she was working hard to access the information in a mind too hurt to recall that one crucial peice, "...very far away."

"Alright," He nodded to her accepting what she'd told him without further content, "We should get you to guildhouse in Lorenstown...if they don't know what's affecting your memory no one around here will."

Suddenly with a start Aram realized he'd been holding her hand for far far too long than what would be considered proper. His blush as he looked back up at her was telling. He immediately let her hand go and tried to change the subject.

"We should probably get going, Emily," He told her, "Giant rats are nocturnal creatures and we might not have killed all of them here. If we leave now..." He looked up to see the angle of the sun's rays to judge how long before sundown. "...we should just about make it to the Pixies' grove. It's a safe place to make camp...no monsters would dare enter there."

 

[Poprockz]

Though his hand was calloused and rough (with a bit of wetness from the rat blood), it was warm and comforting. He was the first contact with the people of this world, and he gripped with what seemed like respectful friendliness. She too hadn't noticed how long they had been holding hands until he pulled away with a red flush growing on his cheeks. It made her feel a bit embarrassed, her own cheeks becoming a bit pink as well. Had she been holding on to him for too long? She hoped he hadn't felt too awkward about it.

"Lorenstown..." she mumbled, thinking to herself that she had never heard of such a place back in her own world. In any case, she decided with one last glance around that she definitely didn't want to be caught in this place when the sun went down. If this was how dangerous it was in the daytime, then the darkness would truly swallow her up.

"Alright, yeah. Let's go to um... Pixie's Grove, was it? Why won't monsters go in there?" She walked down the stairs and started heading toward the entrance, her blood-speckled robes fluttering as she went. The curtain of silvery-white hair swayed behind her, giving her an air of grace.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

"We should probably get going, Emily," He told her, "Giant rats are nocturnal creatures and we might not have killed all of them here. If we leave now..." He looked up to see the angle of the sun's rays to judge how long before sundown. "...we should just about make it to the Pixies' grove. It's a safe place to make camp...no monsters would dare enter there."

"Alright, yeah. Let's go to um... Pixie's Grove, was it? Why won't monsters go in there?" She walked down the stairs and started heading toward the entrance, her blood-speckled robes fluttering as she went. The curtain of silvery-white hair swayed behind her, giving her an air of grace.

He led her through the shadowed halls of the old ruins and climbing down the steps to the deep forest. "The Pixies that live there won't allow them to enter. They'll drive them off, but they tolerate people if only for short amounts of times. So, lots of adventurers use it as a safe place to camp over night during missions here in the forest."

They trekked through the forest for some time. Overhead was the green leaves of the trees rustled by the late-afternoon breeze. The air was rich with the smell of pine and oak and maple. In the branches they saw squirrels chattering and birds singing. In the distance they came across a doe and her baby deer and watched them bound over a hill. As they continued the sun got lower and lower to the horizon.

Then as the shadows were deepening and the sky was turning that orange color as sunset began, they entered a ring of trees. These trees were tall and straight with purple, blue or white perpetually flowering leaves. All these trees made a perfect ring over an open patch carpeted with wildflowers again purple, blue, and white about twenty feet wide with a small pristine clear pond in the center.

"As usual there's no Pixies out." He told Emily as they entered the grove. "They'll let us use their space here, but they'll always hide themselves from all people whenever we do come here."

Before they lost all daylight he set about making camp laying out a blanket for Emily to sit on surrounded by the wildflowers as he worked on gathering tinder and firewood for a small campfire. "You know from here it's just a few hours walk to the river and Lorenstown. Don't worry Emily I'll get you the help you need to recover your memories."

Now that he had the fire going he opened his pack and pulled out his rations. "I hope you don't mind Beans and potatoes. I do have a little bit of salted venison to go with it, but no mu-"

He stopped in midsentence as he looked up to see from the trees and flowers rising on fluttering wings were the Pixies, dozens of them, small-winged girls flashing blue, violet, and white they spun around dancing around her. Some landed on her palms or lap or head prancing and pirouetting arms up singing in their own language, but Aram caught at least the name of one person in their song. The name of that Ereletheia person Emily had shouted the name of before.

Awestruck Aram sat down watching this happen. "I've never actually seen them before...I don't think anyone's seen so many in centuries..." He looked at her in the eyes. "Emily please tell me, who is this Ereletheia person?"

 

[Poprockz]

Though she didn’t say anything in response to his explanation, her eyebrows raised upon hearing that the “Pixie Hollow” was named for actual pixies. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined that she would be walking through the forest with a swordsmen, off to a pixie haven. Even if none of them had been seen for a long while, the very fact that they had been seen at all was amazing to her. It made her wonder whether they were like the stories of her own world, or something else entirely.

She wondered about this as they walked, though she was soon distracted by the beauty of the forest itself. When was the last time she had walked in a forest? Try as she might, she couldn't remember when she had last walked amongst any trees. Typically, she would be too weak or immunocompromised to be out and about without careful planning and many restrictions. Upon walking what most would consider short distances, her legs would start to get weak and her body would become tired, the labored sound of her breath causing those around her to shoot her worried looks.

Here though, she felt light as a feather and stronger than she ever had. Her body didn't tire until they reached the hollow, and even then she felt like she could have gone on longer. Due to the fact that she was wearing naught but sandals upon her feet though, they felt a bit sore from walking so far.

When they arrived and Aram pointed out the lack of pixies, she couldn't deny she felt a little bit disappointed. To see a real-live pixie would have been so unbelievably cool.

She appreciated his claims at helping her "find her memories," though secretly she knew that there weren't really any memories to be found. All of her memories were intact- it was just that it was another world's memories in her head. As for the food, she would have eaten most anything at this point, hungry as she was.

When he stopped mid-sentence, she looked around and her eyes became very wide. There were pixies everywhere! It was as though they had been invisible, but chose to shed their cloaks in order to greet her. The air seemed to glow around them and their vibrant colors, each of them beaming at her happily as though she were a long-lost friend. While a lot of them seemed quite energetic in their greeting, one of them simply sat down on her shoulder and started to braid her hair.

Emily's own eyes sparkled with wonder, her heart beating quickly in excitement. Was this real? If it wasn't, she would treasure it forever regardless.

His question brought her focus back to him and she hesitated before speaking. "She's... a Goddess. A Goddess of light and life. I guess you could say that I was chosen as her priestess or vessel in a way. I don't really understand all of it myself." Her gaze became more earnest. "To tell you the truth, I actually have all my memories. I remember growing up, playing, laughing... among other things." A darkness touched her eyes for a moment before she continued. "I'm not from... here. I think my world is an entirely different one from yours."

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

Awestruck Aram sat down watching this happen. "I've never actually seen them before...I don't think anyone's seen so many in centuries..." He looked at her in the eyes. "Emily please tell me, who is this Ereletheia person?"

She looked on at the dancing and flying Pixies. One was on her shoulder braiding the lustrous silver hair cascading down from her head. The sung and crooned to her. The way she watched them do this with wide-eyed wonder was deeply captivating to Aram. But she turned to look at him, "She's... a Goddess. A Goddess of light and life. I guess you could say that I was chosen as her priestess or vessel in a way. I don't really understand all of it myself." She looked at him and he could here the sincerity in her voice, "To tell you the truth, I actually have all my memories. I remember growing up, playing, laughing... among other things." He saw a shadow there in her eyes as she said that."I'm not from... here. I think my world is an entirely different one from yours."

"A different world?" Aram repeated wondering how much of what she had said he believed. He took a long time to parse his own feelings about that. In Lorenstown that sort of talk would earn someone odd looks or worse-much worse.

He offered her some of his food and they ate watching the Pixies dance and sing as the sun set and the moon came out and the stars twinkled in the night sky above them.

Once the meal was complete he told her, "Thank you for telling me that, Emily. But when you get to town...you should probably not tell that to anyone else....until we learn who we can trust with that information yet."

 

[Poprockz]

He had only made one comment before he went silent, which made her a bit anxious. She wasn't sure whether he was going to take her word at face value. To be fair to him, it was a lot to spring on another person, especially someone whom she had just met. It was life-altering information that might shake his very perception of the world itself. Even she hadn't really thought about what other worlds might be out there in other dimensions, or perhaps even in her own just galaxies away.

It seemed like he didn't know what to say based on his silence. Even throughout dinner, he spoke nary a word to her as they ate, the only sounds being the Pixies giggling, singing, and occasionally humming to themselves. One of them reached its hands out as though asking for food, so Emily gave it a bean. It happily munched on the bean as though it was a burrito or bun of some sort and it brought a smile to her face.

When he finally spoke, she looked up and nodded. "Yeah, I think most people would just think that I've gone off the deep end." Emily tilted her head and added, "do you think I'm crazy?"

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

Once the meal was complete he told her, "Thank you for telling me that, Emily. But when you get to town...you should probably not tell that to anyone else....until we learn who we can trust with that information yet."

"Yeah, I think most people would just think that I've gone off the deep end." Sheh gave a nod then tilted her head to gauge his reaction when she aked. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"The thought has crossed my mind, Emily," He replied with blunt honesty, "But, no, as crazy as it makes me sound...you don't feel like you're a lunatic to me." He shruggged, "I don't really do much in the way of thinking things through. I tend to trust my instincts, and my instincts tell me to trust you."

"Still...once we get into town tomorrow," He cautioned her, "Be careful who you tell that to. I shudder to think just how the Church of Prophets would react to you."

 

[Poprockz]

She had to give him points for honesty, but it didn't seem like it came from a bad place. Anyone would be skeptical of her, so she wasn't offended.

It was interesting to her though that he had decided that she was trustworthy. They had known each other for only an evening, and he had already made a gut decision about her character. Of course she knew it was the right one, he was still staking a lot on faith. Perhaps faith was was what she needed right now though. It made her smile, grateful for being treated as though she was an honest, sane person.

The Church of Prophets? She wasn't quite sure who they were, but they sounded like the people she should tell about the impending threat. "I mean, we both know I don't know much about this place and how it works, but I feel like I really need to talk to them. I know it's weird and all, but the Goddess told me that the Demon King is coming to destroy everything pure and good in the world. If that's the case, then they have to help! They have to know!" There was a tinge of desperation in her voice, the memory of that demon beating on the Goddess's gate coming to the forefront of her mind.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

"Still...once we get into town tomorrow," He cautioned her, "Be careful who you tell that to. I shudder to think just how the Church of Prophets would react to you."

"I mean, we both know I don't know much about this place and how it works, but I feel like I really need to talk to them. I know it's weird and all," She told him with more and more desperation tinging her voice, "But the Goddess told me that the Demon King is coming to destroy everything pure and good in the world. If that's the case, then they have to help! They have to know!"

At this news he stopped what he was doing and looked at her, "A demon king? Are you certain? I mean, are you absolutely sure there's a demon king in the world right now."

 

[Poprockz]

She nodded, "I'm as sure of that as the fact that I'm alive and here right now." It was true- as the Goddess had taken her and given her new life, she had no reason to doubt her urgings. The fact that she hadn't actually seen the demon king was inconsequential to her, especially with the evil force behind him having been right in front of her in the holy temple. "He is coming, and we need to be prepared."

Emily had just been about to continue when her eyes landed upon his thigh, seeing the scratch a rat had given him. Her eyes widened and she leaned forward to inspect it more closely, her light fingertips landing near the cut. "Did this happen when we were fighting the rats? Are you okay? How deep is it?" All of the questions were fired off one after the other, her brows furrowed in worry.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

At this news he stopped what he was doing and looked at her, "A demon king? Are you certain? I mean, are you absolutely sure there's a demon king in the world right now."

To that she nodded quickly without any reluctance to the explosiveness of her answer, "I'm as sure of that as the fact that I'm alive and here right now." She was completely matter of fact as she continued, "He is coming, and we need to be prepared."

That sincerity to her words sent a chill down his spine. A demon king here? Now? There were few things in the world someone could say to start more of a panic.

Emily was looking down at his leg and her eyes narrowed. Aram looked down as she leaned in to get a closer look at it.

Her questions about the wound flowed outward like water out from the top of the fountain in the center of the town's square. "Did this happen when we were fighting the rats? Are you okay? How deep is it?"

He looked down at it too. "That? don't worry about it. I've gotten bites and gashes before, lots of times. I'm pretty healthy, and these were fairly shallow scrapes really. I've had way worse before."

That said the cuts had instead of bleeding now crusted over with sickly green puss, and he could feel the skin around it felt tingly, which was not really all that normal. "Maybe I should bandage it up."

 

[Poprockz]

He said "don't worry about it," but she could see some gnarly infection starting to come into the wound. Sure he may have gotten injured before by other things, but this was a rat scratch. While she hadn't really been around rats much in her life, the wild ones were known for being extremely dirty and unhygienic, carrying all sorts of diseases in their mouth, fur, and claws. The fact that he hadn't even been able to put some disinfectant on it was troubling, but perhaps there was some in his pack.

"Do you have any disinfectant like isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide?" The woman gestured at his pack with a worried urgency.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

That said the cuts had instead of bleeding now crusted over with sickly green puss, and he could feel the skin around it felt tingly, which was not really all that normal. "Maybe I should bandage it up."

That didn't seem to mollify her concerns over it. She continued looking at it and pointed to his bags asking him, "Do you have any disinfectant like isopropyl alcohol or hydrogen peroxide?"

He crinkled his nose at her, "The only word of that I recognize is the word alcohol, and we'd need to wait until we reach Lorenstown until we can visit a tavern, Emily."

 

[Poprockz]

That wouldn’t do… bandaging would hardly help him past preventing blood loss now that it already looked infected. Tavern ale sounded… suspect at best for preventing further disease, and it meant that they would have to wait. Time was the enemy with these things- she’d seen it before.

In the hospital, infections were monsters that waited to swallow you up, demons that insidiously evolved and dragged people from the hospital halls to the emergency rooms. There were too many friends that had succumbed to infection during her treatment, and it made her gut feel like it was in a knot to see it in this new man.

He had rushed in when he heard her fearfully cry out, not hesitating to help her when she needed it. Not only that, but he had led her to safety, shared his food, and believed her when she spoke. In his eyes, she was worth trusting, worth saving. Aram was the only friend she had in this world, and she didn’t want to lose him.

Her hand slid up his thigh to his wound as though guided by some other power, the action just feeling right in her soul. She could hear a voice saying softly, full of love and warmth, “compassion will give you strength; share your strength with others and walk hand-in-hand in the light, my child.”

Magic bloomed from her palm, wrapping around his leg in ribbons of white light. It soothed him, penetrating his wound and purifying it from within. More than that, it started to reverse it, as though beseeching time itself to turn back on the injury.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

He crinkled his nose at her, "The only word of that I recognize is the word alcohol, and we'd need to wait until we reach Lorenstown until we can visit a tavern, Emily."

She only kept looking at the cuts. It was starting to worry Aram now that she was. He'd gotten hundreds of cuts and scrapes in his life. These didn't seem all that bad, but then she was really concerned about it apparently. Finally, he sighed, and reached into his bag for the linen bandages there. These things weren't cheap, and he had to mind every coin.

"Very well, Emily," He told her unwinding the roll of bandages, "If it will give you peace of mind, I'll-"

He paused in mid-sentence as she reached out and placed a hand on thigh directly over the wound. Light bloomed at her touch flowing out and around his leg, penetrating beneath the surface into the meat there, and all the way down to the bone. It felt warm like the sun on the first day of spring, or the feeling after a big score and all his brothers and sisters at the orphanage were fed and warm in their beds, and old granny Mila could lay off the constant hard work she put herself through. It was his greatest desire. The thing that drove him every day, fulfilled in a singular sensation.

Yeah, that was this warmth.

And then it was over. The warmth receded, and the ribbons of light from her hand faded away and was gone.

"What-" He said in a voice cracked with emotion. He reached up to wipe tears from his eyes from the memory of that warmth. "-was that?"

He blinked looking down and there under where her hand was and his cuts were gone. Not healed over. It was if they had never even occurred. The only sign of them were the rips in pants leg from the rats' claws.

He looked back up at her totally stunned. "What was that, Emily?"

 

[Poprockz]

She looked at the wound and was just as surprised. At the same time she felt in her heart that this was how it was meant to be and that it couldn’t have been any other way. It was an odd feeling, but she decided not to question it. Her desire had been granted and now she could sleep soundly knowing that his leg wasn’t being slowly poisoned by bacteria.

Her eyes ticked up to his and she beamed, exceedingly pleased. “I think the Goddess granted me the power to heal you! Where I’m from, people die from things like this all the time because they fester and poison your blood. I couldn’t bear the idea of losing my only friend.”

Her cheeks flushed when she realized how awkward that might sound, hoping she wasn’t putting too much pressure on him to agree about friendship.

 

[Veroe]

IC: Aram Stonemoor

He looked back up at her totally stunned. "What was that, Emily?"

She stared at the place where the wound had been on his leg and looked back up to him with a beaming smile, pleased with herself, “I think the Goddess granted me the power to heal you! Where I’m from, people die from things like this all the time because they fester and poison your blood. I couldn’t bear the idea of losing my only friend.”

Color came to her cheeks then as she may have put herself way too out there with someone she just met, but Aram just nodded to her with an answering smile. "I am pleased to have you as my friend, Emily."

"So, this goddess gave you magic to heal people and blast a rat or two," He asked her, "Can your magic do anything else?"

 

[Poprockz]

His smile was reassuring, a small breath of relief coming from her at that. Of course she was somewhat sociable, having been raised in polite society, but being in the hospital most of the time put one out-of-touch with the regular everyday people she assumed. Life was just different, perhaps harsher in the hospital.

Realizing that she still had her hand upon his thigh, she quickly pulled it back and used it to tuck some hair behind her ear. Maybe not the smoothest move she could have done to hide her misstep, but it would have to do. Clearing her throat she glanced around before meeting his eyes to answer his question. "Hm. Well, I hadn't really had time to think of it that much. If I'm a... vessel, or a priestess maybe, then I assume I could do healing, holy attacks, and maybe blessings." Emily reached up and scratched her cheek sheepishly, "she didn't really get into specifics."