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Journal 5

"Of course I couldn't fall for a normal sister, no that would make things all too easy. I couldn't fall for a fellow warrior, no I had to make my life more difficult. Just like with Ilyra, I couldn't just have my own daughter I had to adopt an albino sister who had the energy of five younglings. Why can't I ever do the normal thing?" Briella mumbled to herself as she walked through the forest with Amadi chatting away also at her side. The little sprite seemed to have a lot to say on the matter, though she had no clue what it was that he was saying. She also wasn't sure if he was talking to her or just talking, she decided to believe he was speaking to her so she didn't feel crazy talking to herself. Finally she had admitted to herself that the feelings that she held for Kadriye weren't like the ones she held for all her sisters. What she felt for Kadriye was more, much more, and after talking to her mothers a little she realized that it was the same kind of feelings that the two of them held for each other... But that didn't fix anything, if anything it made things even worse!

If Kadriye was just a normal sister she would be able to just come out and tell her how she felt. She would admit her feelings and hope that Kadriye felt the same way about her. It wouldn't be all that big of a deal. But no Kadriye was special, and Briella didn't just mean she was special as in the normal kind of way you think someone you like was special, not Kadriye was a mystic and Briella wasn't sure what that meant exactly. Did that mean that she was unavailable? She obviously had more work to do than most sisters, and played a more important role, but what did that mean about dating? About getting married? She had never seen Eshe with a sister, but that didn't mean that mystics couldn't be with someone. But who did she asked about that, she had asked her mothers but they had no clue. She also went to her one living grandmother, but she also had no answer for Briella. Briella was worried, no one could ever remember a mystic being with someone else which meant that there was a good chance it didn't happen...

That brought Briella to another issue, should she tell Kadriye how she felt? There were so many possible outcomes that Briella couldn't pick which one was most likely. On one hand Kadriye could tell Briella that she felt the same, and than they could figure out a way to be together. Or Kadriye could feel the same but be unable to do anything about it due to her being a mystic and than the two of them would be forced to feel for each other from afar for their whole lives, knowing that they both had feelings for each other but being unable to do anything about them. It was also likely that Kadriye didn't even see Briella that way. That she just thought Briella was another sister, and a good friend. In that case Briella cold be possibly ruining their friendship by saying something to the other girl. There were so many things that could happen and Briella didn't know what to do about it.

As this all went through her head Amadi sat on her shoulder, playing with her hair and keeping up his chattering. "You are no help, no help at all you know that? Why can't you just tell me yes I should, or no I shouldn't. You are the only person I can talk to about this!" she scolded him. He fell silent, and after a few more steps Briella realized how ridiculous she was being. She shouldn't take her frustrations out on him, it wasn't fair. "I'm sorry Amadi, that was was wrong of me... I'm just stressed. Forgive me?" she asked and the little sprite nodded his head once before resuming his chattering. She shook her head lightly before she started to climb a tree in front of her for fruits. That was one of the times where she felt he really did understand her, if only the two of them could communicate somehow.

Reaching the fruit she grabbed two, one for her and one for Amadi, and sat on a sturdy branch. As the day went by Briella slowly realized that there was no way that she couldn't say something. She needed to know how Kadriye felt about her. At least if she said something than maybe she could move forward with her life. She would be moving forward with the knowledge that Kadriye felt the same as she did and the two of them were together, or she would move forward knowing there was no chance that they could be together but that Kadriye felt the same way, or she would just be moving forward alone knowing that she confessed to Kadriye but that the other girl didn't feel the same way. No matter what she would be moving forward, and that was the right thing to do.

With her mind made up Briella started to climb down rapidly. She couldn't wait, she would go to Kadriye and confess her feelings for the other girl. All she had to do was stop by the house and get what she needed to make the trip. It wouldn't take to much time, Briella planned to run most of the way, and she wasn't going to give herself a chance to back out. The sooner that she left the easier that it would be. Reaching the house she found no one was home. She wrote a note to Ilyra explaining that she was going to the main island and that she would be back, to take care of Dyakida and Amadi while she was gone she gave it to the little sprite. "Make sure that Ilyra get's this Amadi, this is important and I'm trusting you." she said with a smile and a laugh.

After she was sure she had everything Briella was off, off to hopefully change her life.

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Journal 6

It had been some time since the fire, but it wasn't something that Briella thought she would ever forget. Everything about that day was so clear to her. She remembered waking up like every other day, and taking Ilyra out to the woods to practice and also gather fruit for their home. Ilyra was getting bigger but Briella still didn't like the youngling being around without her. It was well into the afternoon when the smell of smoke reached Briella and Ilyra. Still the two of them didn't worry, and didn't rush home but rather took the long way so they could talk about things and relax a little. With all the people living in their home tree, and two younglings no doubt, things were rarely peaceful so when the two of them had time to just relax and enjoy each others company they did so. There was a pillar of smoke in the distance, but they paid no mind to it. It looked like it was coming from the same direction as their home, and since Ast was pretty close to their home tree they both figured it had something to do with the Shifters. Maybe they were celebrating something, or maybe a fire had got out of hand. Either way it wasn't their problem, it was the Shifters.

It wasn't until Amadi came flying at Briella and started pulling at her hair, and with a strength that he rarely did, that Briella realize anything was wrong at all. The sprite often wandered off, but it was rarely that he came back with such urgency. At once Briella grabbed her blades and stopped moving, shielding Ilyra with her body. Her first thought was that there was dangerous Earthlings close by. Although she knew some of them weren't all that bad she also knew that there were some who would kill her and maybe take Ilyra as a trophy due to her unique appearence. There was no way that she was letting that happen. However surprisingly when she drew her weapons Amadi didn't calm down like he normally would have, if anything he was even crazier! After a few moments she put one sword away and took Ilyra's hand, trying to comfort the girl as they walked in the direction of their home. Something was wrong, but it didn't seem like the danger was anywhere close to them. She was sure that if it was something close by that Amadi would have enough sense to be quiet about it. Briella plan was to leave Ilyra home with the others before going off to see what the problem that Amadi was worried about. Maybe she would ask Maya to come with her, two was always better than one.

The closer the two of them got to their home tree the more abundant the smoke seemed to be getting, though at the same time it looked as if the fire that caused the smoke was dead since the smoke was thinning out. All at once it hit her, the fire wasn't coming from Ast, it was coming from her home. Breaking out into a run Briella practically dragged Ilyra behind her to the clearing that they lived in, though once they got there Briella stopped dead in her track. It was gone, just gone. She could see Dyakida and Pelya in the ashes looking for things but Briella couldn't even bring herself to say anything. Her home, their home was gone. Where was Maya, Niebet, Teiluj and Elder Kishku? Why was it that she only saw Dyakida there?

Briella wiped a tear from her eye, stunned that just her memories could have such an effect on her. It was hard after that, Maya, Niebet, Teiluj and Elder Kishku were no where to be found and only from gossip and things told from other sisters did she know that the four of them had lived and now were living somewhere else. It pained her to think that they just life her, Dyakida and Ilyra, but it was their choice. Plus she didn't know if the fire was a result of them leaving or if it was an accident that happened out of no where. She really didn't think she would ever find out either, she had no plans to go and seek out her old family members who obviously didn't want to seek her out.

It took about a week but with the help of Dyakida and Ilyra, Briella found another tree that was suitable for the three of them. It had room for two others, but she didn't really worry about that. She didn't see anyone living with them, at least not for a long time. The tree seemed to have been inhabited before, but long abandoned since there was no sign of anything that someone would need to live in there currently. The tree was a little closer to Ast than Briella would have liked, but they didn't have much trouble with Earthlings in the past so she wasn't overly worried about it all. Hopefully their new tree would bring them nothing but joy and happiness. The three of them never talked about the fire, or about the sisters that once lived with them, but Briella thought that it was for the best. Luckily Ilyra hadn't lived in the home for very long so she didn't have a strong attachment to the sisters that they lost. Sometimes Briella reminisced on her times with Maya, and was sad that Elder Kishku wouldn't be the one to give Ilyra her first bow as a apprentice, but those were always fleeting thoughts and she made sure not to dwell on them. After all it was pointless for her to think on things that no longer mattered. She needed to move on. Start over.

That was what life was all about, starting over. Starting fresh.

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Journal 8

It wasn't a dead end, which Briella found out as soon as the door was opened and she got sight of her daughter on a bed. Without words she pushed past the Matori woman and to her daughter's bedside. "Oh hunny, I'm here. I'm so sorry I haven't been here all this time, but don't worry mommy is home now. Ah my poor baby." She stroked Ilyra's hair, tears welling up in her eyes. She had finally found her, she had finally found Ilyra.

To Kagiso's credit she didn't attack Briella, but then again considering her age it didn't seem like she was even capable of such a thing. She just nodded and walked over to the pair of them. "I was wondering when someone would come for her, what's her name? It's crazy that I've been taking care of her all this time and I don't even know her name."

"Ilyra. Her name is Ilyra. Please can you tell me what's wrong for her? From what I hear you got her off the battle field?"

Kagiso nodded. "We were liberated after the battle, but I was there with my masters at the time. So when I found out that I was free I went out to see if anyone against the Oban was harmed. I found her laying next too two dead bodies. At first I thought she was dead, she wasn't moving, but after feeling for her pulse I found she was alive. I took her to the healing tents and waited for a few days, but one no one came to claim her I brought her back here."

Briella frowned. Where she thought that she had done the right thing by going home and waiting for Ilyra, her daughter was simply at the tents with the rest of the wounded. Of course Briella looked there, but it must have been before Kagiso brought her there. "Thank you, but you still haven't told me what is wrong with her."

"Well I'm not sure honestly. She's been asleep this whole time. I spoon feed her broth, but she hasn't been able to eat on her own and she's loosing weight. If she doesn't wake up soon... Well I'm worried for her."

Briella nodded. "Don't give up on her just yet. She's stronger then most. And I'm here now." she looked over at her daughter. "You here that Ilyra, mommy is here. So you need to hurry up and wake up, we need to get home." She watched as her daughter's fingers twitched. She looked over at Kagiso and smiled. "See, she's improving already. Just you wait and see, she'll wake up soon. She'll wake up and things will be all better."


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Journal 10

Upon coming home Briella realized that things weren't going to be better like she had hoped, in fact from what she understood they were getting a lot worse. She was by close friends that sisters of hers that were creating problems, that they had formed a group and were called the extremist. Although Briella knew that her race already had extreme views on some subjects, this new group took those things to the extreme. They pretty much wanted to kill off all the earthlings, and take over other lands that were far off. From what she understood they wanted to take over places other then Jauhar, which to her was the only place she thought they might be able to claim. To make matters worse they were lead by the youngest mystic from what she understood. Personally she was surprised that a mystic would be dragged into something so crazy, but then they didn't always have to be so levelheaded. Mystics were just like other sisters, she of all people should know that. Having a mystic with them would make people want to join, it would make sisters that didn't have these extreme thoughts join with those that did just because they thought it all the will of their mother Aisha.

With a sigh she started to work on dinner. She wasn't sure if Ilyra would be home to eat, she spent a lot of her time with Tahi now that she was back, but Briella would make enough for the two of them just in case. As she prepared the meat with the spices she had in the kitchen Amadi flew around, bringing her little things when he could. "Thank you Amadi." she said happily. That was one thing she could count on being the same. He had gotten older and wasn't as mischievous as before, but he was still there with her and caused mayhem every once in a while. The only thing he could do to make him better was to talk, though she knew that it was impossible. Plus if he could talk she bet her wouldn't ever shut up, or he would go and talk about her to everyone he saw. No, maybe it was best that he didn't talk. Getting back to task at hand she continued to work with the meat, allowing her mind to wander once more since this was a task she had done many times before.

There had to be something to be done about these extremist. Personally she was disappointed that the Elders hadn't taken care of things yet. That could mean a few things. It could mean that they were getting lazy in their old age, that they simply hadn't noticed because they didn't talk with those bellow them enough, or they supported the extremists. Even though she didn't like the idea of it being any of those options she would rather it be one of the first two and not the last. In her opinion they needed to step up and take control of all this nonsense. Just because Alkidikes were the better race didn't mean they needed to take away the world from the Earthlings, or that the Earthlings weren't amazing by their own right. If only all of her sisters had been around the Earthlings as much as she had, then maybe they would see that this fighting was just plain stupid. She moved to start cooking the meat, thinking of plans of her own.

If she could just get the Elders to see that they needed to step in then things would be fixed. However there were many ways to do that. If she just sat back and waited there would be no doubt that they would eventually take notice, but by then the bonds that had been developed over the years with the Earthlings could be ruined. She could also gather up a group of older sisters and demand a meeting with them. They wouldn't be happy about it, but if she got enough older sisters to join her they would have to listen. She knew of a few that were good friends with Earthlings, though she wasn't sure if she should bring ones that were involved with Earthlings or not. Maybe it would be best to find out if the Elders had feelings about this whole thing first. If they were for what the extremist stood for then bringing those associated with Earthlings would be a bad idea, but if they weren't then Briella didn't think it would hurt.

This was just too much. She stirred the meat in the pot and walked away, stew took a while and she could leave it without fear of the meat burning. She sat down at her kitchen table and thought back to the war with the Oban. After that she thought that things would get better. Many of her sisters that were harmed during the war were healed by Earthlings, and the two races fought proudly side by side. How could it be that that great war had already been forgotten? That the teamwork they had with the Earthlings was amazing, something that she knew would be told for generations to come. And now it was being thrown away? Forgotten? It hadn't even been that many years since the war and already her sisters were thinking of starting a new one.

Amadi came and curled up on her shoulder. "Why can't things just stay the same? All I wanted was to come home to peace and quiet, not this craziness." she told him quietly. Before she could say more she heard someone coming into the house. With a smile she realized that her daughter was home, which meant the extra food wouldn't go to waste. "I'm in the kitchen, food will be ready soon." she called towards her daughter. She knew that Ilyra had gone to the main island, or at least that was her plan, hopefully she would have some news.

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GROWTH SOLO

After talking to Dyakida about magic and what she wanted to with it Briella started to think. Magic didn't come easy to her, so how could she expect to wield it while using her swords? She knew the swords that she would get if she became a Sacred Heart would make it easier for her, only because they would be of the highest quality, but how much easier would it be? Would it be easy enough that if she was fighting she would be able to use both at the same time? She knew that if she had to focus as hard as she currently did to call forth the magic inside of her she would be killed and therefor unable to help anyone around her. She had been working Eshe for some time now, but she wondered if maybe when she became a Sacred Heart she would get a mentor to teach her the ways more thoroughly. Eshe was a wonderful teacher, but she had so much on her mind all the time that it would be nice to work with someone who was just focused on her. Although that seemed highly unlike, all other Sacred Hearts were most likely too busy doing important things to help her.

She walked along the shore Chibale Island, picking up rocks and other pretty things as she walked. There weren't many things for her to do for the day, other then think. She had to go through a trial to prove herself as a Sacred Heart, and it was due to happen in a weeks time. She was unsure what it would be like, it wasn't something that was talked about ever. She hoped that she would pass though, failure meant waiting another year before she could try again, or rather another year before she would allow herself to try again. If she wasn't strong enough this time it would be some time before she deemed herself worthy of even trying again. It would be hard to face her family if she didn't make it either, or even Kadriye. How would she be able to face her girlfriend if she wasn't promoted, if she wasn't able to master the magic that Kadriye had started teaching her so long ago.

Looking around Briella spotted a young bird with what appeared to be a broken leg and broken wing limping down the beach. It didn't take long for her to capture the injured bird in her hands. "Don't fret, I'm only trying to help you." She said as she tried to calm the frantic animal as she used her healing magic. The feeling that she got from using magic was wonderful. It started in her chest and slowly spread throughout her body till every piece of her was filled with warmth. Light spooled from her finger tips, encircling the bird from all sides. After a few seconds the light faded and the bird was again visible, this time with a healed wing and leg. It looked around for a second, tested its wings by flapping them a few times, and took off from Briella's hand.

"That was impressive."

Shocked to find she wasn't alone Briella turned towards the trees and spotted an Alkidike Elder sitting at the base of one of the large trees. She bowed at the waist before heading towards the woman. She was one of the older Elders, Briella had only met the woman once when she was younger, but she wasn't anyone too important so Briella thought nothing of it. "You flatter me. Healing seems to be the only thing I can do, magical wise. Not very impressive for someone who wants to be a Sacred Heart."

The woman shook her head. "On the contrary, being able to heal is very important for a Sacred Heart. Sure you need to learn other things, but you already know of destruction from your blades. It is much harder to learn how to heal then it is to harm."

Birella paused in front of the woman, her head tilting ever so slightly. She had never thought of things in that way. "Even so, I may know of destruction but I am unable to pull it out of me in the form of magic like I am with healing. And I can only heal while completely focused on what I'm doing, which isn't so helpful during a battle."

"For that you must practice, both to be able to cast your magic at any given moment and to be able to pull the more destructive spells out of you. It also helps if you have weapons capable of using magic. Come back with me to my place. I know you've been training with Eshe but she is often busy, she has so much on her plate, and it would benefit you to practice a little with a Sacred Heart." With that the older woman stood up and headed into the trees, not even looking back to see Briella following her eagerly.



For the two following weeks Briella had no free time. She was either training with Eshe or with the Elder Scared Heart Edku. Every night she went to bed exhausted and barely able to move an inch. During most of the day Eshe taught her how to use magic and wield it in different ways. As soon as Briella was done there she went straight to where Edku lived and learned more about how to use the magic while fighting. Training was hard as it was, but she was ridiculous how much she had to train her mind and body in order to use magic while fighting. She was learning so much from both women, and it was really help her see the world differently. In a more mature way.

From Eshe she was learning that magic was everywhere. Aisha had blessed them with magic and spread it all around them. The way the moon effected the tides and the birds had their children, it was all magic. Each tree that grew from the spoil was touched by it's own little but of magic. As silly as it might seem to some this helped Briella harness the magic and call it from within her. By realizing that magic was everywhere she was able to realize that it was all within her as well.

Edku taught her about the strength of her body in ways she didn't know. She taught her that when she was angry it was okay to produce fire to warm her soul and burn her enemies. She taught Briella that her body was even stronger then she though it was, and capable of much more amazing things.

Together Briella learned a lot, and when the two weeks were done she was much more confident in herself and her ability to pass to the next level.



There were three Elders seated in front of Briella. Eshe, Edku and a woman who she wasn't very familiar with. Already she had shown them what she could do and they hadn't seemed either impressed or let down by her little show. Although she thought she did good there was really no way to tell yet if she had passed or failed.

The three women were speaking amoung themselves quietly when finally they stopped and looked back at Briella. The woman who she didn't know her name spoke.

"Briella we know of your accomplishments as a sister. Of how you've aided in every war since you were able to, and how you took in a sister who was different but still needed love and was able to lover her as if she had been given to you from Aisha personally. You have grown, this much is clear by your performance of strength and ability with weapons as well as magic earlier, but I have one more question for you. You have proved able to do many things so why this, why become a Scared Heart? Why do you think this is the right fit for you?"

Briella was ready for just about anything, at least she thought she was. This was a question that caught her off guard, it was something she had never really sat down and thought about before that moment.

"Well..." She looked between the two women who had helped her grow recently before looking back at the Elder who seemed to be in control of the if she moved up or not, "To be honest it's the path I've always seen myself taking. I've always wanted to be able to use magic along side my physical skills. I didn't think I would be able to become one though, that I would be able to use magic, that was until I met our youngest mystic. She changed my ways in more then one, and showed me that I could use magic. However I was till very doubtful that I would be able to pull it off until Eshe and Edku started to train me. They taught me that not only was magic everywhere and that if I believed in myself I would be able to use it properly. And now I can, thanks to them. They helped me realize just how strong and capable I am. It's something that I hope one day can pass on to young sisters as well."

When she was done the tree women started to talk quietly to each other again. After what seemed like forever they all stood and bowed their heads to her. "Briella we think you will make a wonder Scared Heart and we look forward to the wonderful things you do with your new found rank."

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