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 Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 10:27 pm
 The Lady of Ice
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2008 10:32 pm
For those of you who don't want to a lot of spoilers, here's a brief summary of every chapter.
Summary:
The Twins
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Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:22 am
The Twins It had been a sunny day when the twins, Maya and Aya, had arrived. The younger had been calm and quiet, at one with her surroundings. The older was spitting curses at every living thing in the world, fury gliding with her every movement. A priest greeted them, asking where their parents were. Like all children who came into the sanctuary of the temple, they too did not have parents. One had abandoned them to the harsh wilderness, opting to stay with the younger wife, while the other passed away along the road, killed by a broken heart and a weak body. The priest had expressed his remorse and immediately invited the twins into his warm home.
----
It was a sunny day when Maya sensed the danger in the air. Three years had passed since that fateful encounter and much has changed over the course of time. No longer was she defenseless and ignorant about the ways of the world. At fifteen, she already had the ability to cast powerful defensive and offensive spells. She had created three new spell circles and had discovered a new rune. Alchemy had been a walk in the park for her, unlike the other children in the temple, and she had quickly gained the respect of her mentors. Her melee skills were well above those of her age and the monks all fought over who would get to train her next. The girl was a prodigy of prodigies.
Beside her, Aya slumbered like a cat, ignoring the heat of the day and the rampant thoughts that were bothering the older sister. At fifteen, the girl was a natural born healer. The power of her defensive spells could rival those of an adult but her offensive capabilities were sorely lacking. She could not cast a single attack spell, never made potions that would cause harm to another, and never tried sparring with anyone even if her mentors condemned her for her half-heartedness. The girl was the exact antithesis of what the temple symbolized.
Maya sat up straight, a frown marring her face. She shook her sister awake and took pleasure at the disgruntled expression that was sent her way before she let her reason be heard. As usual, it was Aya that looked worried and suggested that they go back to the temple where it was safe. The hesitant Maya thought for a moment before she finally acquiesced to her sister’s pleading. And so, back to the warm temple they went, never noticing that they were being watched and that their reactions were just what the looming danger needed to descend.
---
It was also a sunny day when a tragedy occured.
The twins were on their way back from their herb gathering when they'd been ambushed by rogue elves. Aya had created a shield for them but the arrows that were sent their way could penetrate the temple's magic easily for these elves were from the neighboring forests, the very ones that the temple had forged an alliance with and as per the treaty, Aya's temple magic did not work on them. It was perhaps, a idiotic move for the temple people but seeing as they needed to assistance of the elves (for the time being anyway), they really had no choice.
Maya, recognizing their enemies, had jumped in front of her sister and had managed the protect her from most of the arrows. Aya had still been hit on the shoulder, and she had screamed in pain, feeling more than a little numb because of the poison, but she would live to tell the tale...if she managed to escape that is.
Maya on the other hand had not been as lucky. The more aggressive of the twins had been struck with five arrows on her back. She died even before she fell on her sister. And as Aya caught her in her trembling hands, she fell onto the forest floor, too weak to support both herself and her sister's weight. She looked at their attackers, all of which had their bows notched and their arrows pointed at her. She whispered one word.
Why?
The two factions had been allies for as long as Aya could remember. She could even recall going to their treetop villages and learning from their healers. So why? After everything they'd been through, why had they been betrayed?
"Kill her."
And the arrows were let loose, unmercifully peltering Aya's frail body.
---
It had also been a sunny day when Aya woke up from her comma. The priests and priestesses were all overjoyed that she had recovered. They hugged her, thanked their goddess, and prepared a feast for her. They had said that it was a miracle that she even survived and they hadn't really expected her to rise again. They told her she'd been out for a month and that Maya had not lived.
Aya had let out a bitter laugh then. Of course her sister had not survived. Maya had died in place of her. So it was probably Maya's spirit that had kept Aya's body alive back then.
Later that evening, when the lone twin was alone in her room, she had sworn revenge against those that had taken away the only family she had left. But unlike most people hell bent on revenge, she didn't escape from the sanctuary of her temple. She was not reckless and she would not go prancing about into her enemy's hands and let Maya's sacrifice go to waste. She wouldn't last a second if she faced them with her powers now.
In order for her to get her revenge, she had to abandon her code of honor. She needed to learn how to hurt people. She had to become more than a healer.
She had to become a killer as well.
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Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 1:10 am
The War It had been a week before Aya had learned that her temple was at war with the elves. She was informed that it was 'they' that had pelted the first stone by killing every last one of the temple's young disciples except for a lucky few that had surived through sheer luck. Aya's hate increased in intensity as she learned that her friends had suffered the same fate as her sister and to make matters worse, those wretched elves had severed the heads of the children and thrown them onto the temple windows. She and Maya had been spared because the temple soldiers had found them before the elves could do the job.
The barbarians!
It was a month before Aya had been allowed to join the healers in caring for the wounded. If the priestess that commanded her had had her way about it, then Aya would still be resting on her bed at this very moment. But seeing as Aya was one of the most talented healers and that they needed all the help they could get, the young healer had been assigned to the hospital wing. And soon enough, she was saving as many lives as she could with her alchemy and healing knowledge. She was up all day, tending to the wounded and comforting those that had lost their limbs.
She didn't sleep much, only took her energy potions, as her dreams of blood and the lifeless eyes of her sister, never gave her any rest. During those times when she wasn't in the hospital wing, she was pouring over the manuscripts of the library, absorbing every spell she thought was worthy enough for her to learn. Of course, the head priestess knew of the hate that had taken hold of her young student but she did nothing to stop Aya for if she did, Aya would only grow angry and perhaps see the head priestess as an enemy rather than the ally that she was.
She trusted Aya and she knew that her young disciple would be able to pull through this turmoil even if it was with a few scars.
Two years later, the war had ended with the temple as the victor. Aya had not joined in any of the battles, much to her chagrin, since she had yet to attain an adequate level of offensive magic even though her martial arts capabilities had increased tenfold. Instead, she had joined the hunt for the remaining enemy survivors. The temple soldiers had all been ordered to seek out and eliminate every elf they spotted.
This was more than enough for Aya to quench her thirst for vengence. Every elf she encountered, whether they were man, woman, or child, she exterminated. Whether they were begging for their lives, trembling in fear of her, furious at her for slaying their comrades...Aya spared no one. Why should she? They hadn't spared any of her friends back then. They hadn't spared Maya. They would have killed her too if only she hadn't been saved by the temple soldiers.
They were all lined up, waiting for the axe to detatch their heads from their bodies. She was their executioner, taking their last words and throwing it at their faces. She was the audience, cheering on their deaths, and pelting them with rotten vegetables, further adding to their humiliation.
And she enjoyed every minute of it.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 1:12 am
Demon Hunt After the war, Aya had been teamed with a group of demon hunters. One of which had been an Ilurian named Ian. It was he that had calmed her raging sea of hate and it was he that had taken her love. They had all gotten along, killing demons wherever they found them and healing the wounded whenever they were at a village. All of them became close friends, more like brothers and sisters. Life, it seemed, was finally taking a turn for the better for Aya but that was not it at all. For this was only the calm before the storm.
Ian, the one man she had many times sealed her lips with, had been working for a demon. In fact, he had been a demon. He had disguised himself as a human, hoping to catch the demon hunters with their guard down. In a single night of flames and screams, he had wiped out their squad, leaving only Aya alive. The priestess had stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief as he summoned his sword in order to behead her. And just like on that day two years ago, she whispered one word.
Why?
This time, she got an answer.
"Revenge. Just like you Aya," and he swung his sword sideways to cut her head off. Aya had closed her eyes, waiting for her inevitable death. It was ironic. She had lived for vengence and here she was, about to die for it. But the sword never came. She had opened her eyes to find Ian glaring at her, with his blade at her neck. His hand was shaking and after a few seconds of staring at each other, he turned his back from her.
Go, he told her, I never want to see your face again.
Then, he calmly walked away, leaving her in the midst of her fallen comrades. Leaving her heart and her faith shattered. And as he disappeared into the horizon, Aya felt her tears quietly slip down her cheeks. It would have been better if he'd just killed her. That way, she wouldn't have known that he had loved her, even if it was just a small piece of his heart that he'd given. In the silence of the blood soaked earth, she let her sorrows be known.
Once again, she had been the only one left. Why could she never protect those that were important to her? She'd laughed as she cried. For one that had mastered the art of creating shields, she could never provide cover for those that were depending on her. It was such an irony, a cruel twist of fate.
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Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:10 am
The Shinigami Library At nineteen, she'd left the temple, unable to bear the memories any longer. She'd joined a band of elite warriors whom called themselves the Shinigami Clan. She'd been assigned to Guyy's unit in Durem and it had only been a couple of days before she was called to war and for the first time, had met one of the leaders of the clan. The war had ended with neither team the victor and she'd been ordered to head for their base of operations, a castle in some remote island. There she witnessed the death and the rebirth of their leader.
When her team had returned to the library, she'd once again, come face to face with Ian. She'd gone pale. Everything about the past coming back to her in full force. He wanted to kill her. She had wanted to laugh then. Oh what a cruel twist of fate indeed. Finally she'd found a place where she could feel at ease and then here comes someone from her past, ready to tear it to pieces. It was much too soon for her to handle and as a result she'd retreated into her room and hadn't come out until the opening ball of the library commenced.
It was during the ball that she had fled the library, leaving a message to her lord that she would be at Gambino's Mansion. That she had a score to settle and that only death could prevent her from coming back. She'd faced Ian at that abandoned ruin but with his superior strength and speed, she had lost and he'd done what he couldn't do before. He'd stabbed her with his sword and as she gasped for breath, she gave him her last words.
"May you find peace."
As soon as he heard her words, he'd pulled out his sword, and let her body fall onto the floor, her poisoned blood painting it and creating a grotesque painting of the priestess. She didn't know what had happened after that, just that she had been floating in darkness, being pulled from one place to another until she had heard a voice call out to her. She'd concentrated, as hard as it was with her head being so fuzzy, and it told her that she could live again if only she would cut the chains that bound the voice.
She had thought long and hard. Did she want to live again? It wasn't a very difficult question to answer. Of course she didn't. All she wanted was to sleep and forget everything that had happened but she had said 'yes'. She had a responsibility to the clan and with Aya, the clan always came first before herself. She would not abandon them like this, not when they had just established themselves. With a wave of her power, she'd shattered the chains that held the voice and it entered her soul, becoming one with her and restoring her body, making it stronger but also adding more weaknesses. It had taken her a long while to realize it but the chains she had shattered hadn't been holding down the voice. It had been holding her down. Why though, she didn't understand. Perhaps the knowledge would come to her in time, for now though, she had to take care of the clan.
---
It was a few months after her resurection that she had been ripped away from her home. She had been on her way back to the library from her walk when she had been attacked by some unknown pursuers. She'd jumped from building to building, trying to lose her tails. Her PAD had been rendered useless by the shockwave that they had sent out and thus, she could not call for back up. She was heading for the library to ask for assistance when she'd bumped into a shield and had been electricuted. Luckily, her body was quite strong against elemental attacks and she'd managed to stand up after an attack that should have by all rights killed her.
They'd formed a seal around her, rendering her powers useless. They had taken her prisoner and put her in their dungeon. They had asked her what she knew of the Shinigami Clan and she spat in their faces. Enraged, they'd tortured her, starved her, and never let her see the light of day. Even after a week of pain and illusions, she hadn't given them any information on her beloved clan. Her loyalty and natural stubborness were not letting her give in to her pain. Twice she'd failed in protecting those she cared about.
She would not fail a third time.
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