- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 16,468
- Reputation score
- 430
HP = 37, PP = 38, EP = 41, Status = Fine
Vivian awoke with a start, her dream still vivid in her mind as she very nearly hurled herself out of bed. She'd been with her parents, the day having apparently been like any other, when suddenly, the world itself had changed around her. Gone were the trees that surrounded her home, a village hidden in Southern Badaria, away from those that might seek to wipe out its inhabitants. Gone were its people; the escaped slaves, the naga, the living plants, the fey, and even the demons who had fled rather than fight when their kind had invaded two years ago. Gone were the small but comfortable wooden buildings, and the small lake that sat at its Eastern border, where she'd sat and watched the sun rise over the crystal clear water so many times. Gone was everything and everyone that she'd ever cared for in her admittedly short life.
In its place had been... Emptiness. Lifeless earth, with lifeless beings that trod upon it, serving masters which they never saw, their existence a greater misery than any hell she had ever imagined. She saw a dead place, filled with unthinking slaves, and lorded over by titanic monstrosities that consumed all that came within reach. She saw, herself, her parents, her friends.... All slaves, soul-less, consumed by that horrid alien creature.
After a moment, Vivian shook herself out of her dreamy haze, reminding herself that it had just been a dream. She rose from her bed, which had been empty last night, and dressed quickly. She had her own room in the small cabin that her family lived in, while her parents shared a room together, the small building only having one other room in which they all ate and cooked. It was the middle of spring, so they all had a lot of work to do, helping the small community of misfits and outcasts grow enough food to keep them all alive through the mild Badarian winter. They were supposed to help plant the crops today, and afterwords she had planned to go fishing with one of her friends in the evening, assuming she got her work done on time. It was a peaceful, if boring life, and Vivian had begun to grow restless, especially since her mother (or one of them at any rate,) Mina, had been telling stories about her life as a mercenary the previous night.
She intended, tomorrow, to ask her mother if she might be allowed to leave the Hidden Village, and explore the world beyond their sanctuary a little. Vivian knew that Tabitha might disapprove, but Mina would surely agree. Surely her mother, a former mercenary, one who had fought the demonic invasion, would understand her daughters wanderlust, and allow her to try and appease it. Regardless, she still had a day to get through if she wanted to try and present her case before her parents.