First Day

[The Rogue Prince]

𝒮𝒾𝓁𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝒶𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑔𝒶𝓏𝑒 𝓊𝓅𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓎𝓂𝒷𝑜𝓁𝓈.

]|I{•------» . «------•}I|[

It's quite clear who is who.
Ophelia is clearly a strong, opinionated leader and you wonder if she gave you the choice based on her ability to read you so easily? Surely that wasn't the case. All of them seem so kind, stern in nature at times, but overall peculiar people. You aren't certain if they're the good guys or the bad guys.

Do you have a choice ultimately though?
You don't have a choice in making a decision right now; they are asking you to, not suggesting.

You laugh to yourself as this thought swims about in your mind. All eyes are on you and it makes you feel a bit pressured, so keeping your gaze down, your eyes fall upon each of the symbols again.

'That one,' something inside tells you and as you approach, the yellow symbol glows brightly. It's as though it were meant to be, you and this symbol. Placing your foot upon it, you look up to the council and to your surprise, one of their halos is glowing.

It's that boy from the hallway that greeted you prior to all of this. What was his name again?

"You've chosen Keru," the head arch angel states in all of her glory. Her blue wings fold inward behind her as she proudly sits upon her throne, gazing down upon you as if you were just a little bunny that found its way into a den of wolves. Her golden bangles dangle on her wrist as she gestures to the one sitting farthest to the right.

"Keru will guide you home," she says while the others nod in agreement. Keru stands, bowing his head respectfully before stepping from his position high up and descends the stairs, walking towards you.

...  

[BeautifuIIy Tragic]

"Hello again," your angel greets you.

His feather coated halo shines half with gold, the other with silver briefly before it fades into its usual tone of white. Those piercing, red orbs give you a softened expression as he offers you a smile.

"It's a pleasure to see you and I'm very excited to be working with you."
"You too," you answer, at a loss for words. This wasn't exactly a routine of your daily life or anyone you knew for that matter.

He stands at what you'd guesstimate to be around 5 11" and his body was more difficult to distinguish beneath all of those white robes that carelessly draped onto the smooth floor the two of you stood on.
You watch as the symbol beneath your feet disperses into golden particles and drains of all color creating a dull, grey symbol that is faded into glass. He was unavailable because his time belonged to you right now. What a selfish thought.

"I will do my best," Keru says, gazing upon his leader and smiles.
"I know you won't disappoint," Ophelia responds and waves the both of you on your way. Keru offers you a side glance and gestures for you to follow him. You're in awe as his wings fold inwards and seem to meld into his body as if he were made of clay. His halo never loses its glow, but you find that these angelic creatures were definitely something you'd see in a paradise of sorts.

If this wasn't heaven, a dream, or even hell for that matter, what would one name this?

Almost like a story book, the pages being worn from turning so much from the previous generations. The pages would yellow and the binding would be falling apart. It's a story of the ancients, a time when free was free and the world still had a chance. That's why Damien came here so much and that's why he hid that gem from the world as if were the rarest treasure known to man. He bestowed it to you because he knew that somehow you'd find your way here.

With Keru beside you, what adventures await?

...  

[BeautifuIIy Tragic]

"In order to get you home, we'll have to figure out where it was you came from exactly. I'll have to ask you a series of questions in order to figure it out."
'Oh no,' you think. 'Not this again.'
"There's no other way to tell?" you ask.
"I'm afraid not, but don't worry, I can show you around as we talk. Won't that be fun? Though Lycidia isn't much in shape for tourism nowadays..."
"Is that what this place is?"
"Well no, this is Paradise. It's a form of divine realm created by the gods. There's endless means of holy and light magic here."

The two of you walk down the long corridor and you politely wave as you listen to your companion speak.

"It is a realm meant for healing, but sometimes our methods are not always appreciated. I don't know if I can give you all the details, but since you're going home I hardly see the harm."
"Details for what?"
"The war to end all wars. So they say."

Your footsteps tread gently over the clouds that somehow became the floor when you existed the large building resembling of cathedral and a coliseum in one. You feel weightless, as if you were to jump, you would fly across the realm and drift into the everlands of the unknown. Peaceful in some ways.

"Why is there a war going on?" you ask. "Who is it between?"
Keru shuts his eyes, his smile fading.


"For a long time now, the Council has done their best to prevent the Rebellion from growing into a riot. They seek a world without organized law. They see it as a threat to freedom of choice, speech and living. For centuries this war has been going on since the split of the Shnieder Clan in Stelonia. There were those that sought to conquer the worlds, bringing down other kingdoms so they could be the most powerful. The ones that remained behind in Stelonia to rule, helped the lands and the tribes therein thrive. They were the chosen children of Nydaria, the Goddess which made the realm of Lycidia. Later on, the ones that burned down villages and lived a life of destruction became the children of the Lord of Chaos, Drakul. They formed cults in his name and from the ashes rose another kingdom across the desert sands called Zelphrim. They say the queen there was born of the soot of Darkness and the blood of the God of War, Nexus. With the God of War being Nydaria's father, everyone was surprised her father was so brash a man due to her gentle nature. Ever changing her paths of river, Nydaria became the Goddess of Water so that she may always provide a way."

"Sounds like a legend you'd hear in folklore," you state. "So let me get this straight. Some goddess made a bunch of people that split in two. One stands for peace, the other for war. And then those war people made a kingdom and they're fighting now?"

He laughs softly and smiles, gazing at you from beneath his silver locks.

"Well, when you put it so simply, I guess it sounds silly and fictional. Yes, though. That's the summary. The rebels didn't stop at just one kingdom though. They formed the Northern Trade Routes further north on the Floating Isles. There, the air pirates dwell and cause chaos all over the lands from their raids. Then as I mentioned prior, the cults and the rituals. I often come across creatures of the Underworld that have been summoned here."
"Like demons?"
"And other beings..."

You both stop in front of a wall of clouds. It's very thick, almost like fog during a winter evening and impossible to see through.

"We will step through a portal here and go see someone in order to get you back to the right time. It must be down to the approximate second," Keru explains.
"We're walking through clouds to get there?" Keru blinks and stares at you a moment before shaking his head.
"No, we'll go through the portal I form. We must limit the portals we make because you age eleven minutes every time you pass through one and I know you're human, your life span is very short and so time is precious."
"Oh what? I do? Why?"
"I'm not certain. It has to do with the time space continuum. Your body needs to be 'rebuilt' from the particles you become when you travel. That takes eleven minutes I suppose, even if the teleportation seems abrupt, it isn't."
"Oh." What else could you say?

.....  

[BeautifuIIy Tragic]

You watch Keru reach into a pocket within his robes and retrieve what looks like a piece of chalk.
Using it to draw along the clouds, he seems to manipulate their shape to form a symbol.



At first you don't see it, but it kind of looks like a dragon and then it glows.
The clouds around it swirl faster each time around until it morphs and changes into a vortex.



The ground feels faintly warm as a glitter of the sun's rays and breeze blow about you.
Keru smiles and offers out his hand as he notices your expression upon staring into the dark void.



"Don't worry, it will be alright," he reassures you. "At first it feels terrifying, but before you know it...you're flying and all around you the world seems endless. You're nowhere and everywhere at the same time. It's as if you're a little orb, swimming through the skies with the sun warming your being and the flowers around you bloom all at the same time. You're one with all of the forces that be and then..you're back to being you."

"That's a very..intense way to put it," you point out, but take his hand anyway.
"I'm sorry," he laughs softly. "I just can't seem to describe it any other way. I don't want to frighten you."
"I think I'll be okay."
He nods just then and together the both of you enter through the portal, it feels just as he said, if not more spectacular. This could easily be a something you never experience again and so as the world around you melds, you see the colors and shapes collide. This is the space time continuum and everything that ever was is here, even the gods. It's like floating with the stars while the galaxies embroider themselves onto a part of your soul and before you know it, you're there. Everything around you falls into place as if putting together a puzzle and the colors are no longer blurry. Your mind takes a moment to register that yes, this all goes just like this while your body has long since surpassed that. It was the oddest experience you'd ever had.


"Here we are," Keru smiles. "This realm doesn't have a particular name, but I'm familiar with it. I've been keeping an eye on it."
"So it's a nameless realm then?" You look around to spot a dark cathedral in the distance, the place is silent and all around you are meadows and mountains with a small village near by.
"Yes. We're looking for someone here that can help us."
You follow him as he ventures forth. It's around twilight you notice and the place smells of all sorts of vegetation.
"Will they be able to tell my time line?"
"I hope so, but if not, they will know someone who does. This way."


.....