Star looked around her as clouds gathered and shivered. "A storm is coming. I need to hurry off the mountain face."
She turned and saw the bird masked warrior looking at her. "Climb well, climb better. Storm… danger."
She cursed as the first drops of rain started to land on her. She looked up at the cliff face seeing how far she had to go and felt her heart drop. "I've still got a long way to go…" She sat in thought and jumped in surprise when the warrior was next to her.
"Think distance… fall die. Think far you die… See rock here."
She watched him touch the rock in front of her and nodded. "I'm still weak, I feel like I want to give up, but I know I shouldn't." She looked at him. "How about a rest at least for a moment to catch our breath?"
"No time, hurry."
"How do you see the path to climb so well? What am I doing wrong?"
"Boom!"
She looked as lightning shot across the sky and cursed.
"Eyes. Blood. Open eyes. Eyes see path. No fear. No doubt."
"He's right. I do have the blood and eyes for it. My tribe is from the top of this mountain. I belong up there…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "No fear… No doubt… I can make my own path, my own journey, my own choices."
She opened her eyes and felt her heart settle. The sounds of thunder and lightning lessened. She looked at the rocks in front of her and smiled.
"I can see my path… The rocks are different colors… I can do this."
She ignored the storm around her and started climbing up the mountain focusing on her path.
"Baby bird start fly… Good."
She smiled at the bird masked warrior and watched as they increased their speed up the mountain. She turned her head and looked at the storm clouds.
"Hahahahaha… Bring it storm!"
She moved quickly up the mountain keeping level with the masked warrior. She climbed up on an overhang and watched as the warrior ran across it before jumping to hang from another overhang.
"Baby bird… You do?" She watched as they climbed up and stood on the overhand.
She smiled and started running. Instead of jumping she took a step towards the wall and ran across the face before jumping and landing on the same overhang as the warrior.
"I've got some skills. Hahahaha."
"No climb… Walk. Path here."
She looked at the path ahead and felt her breathing become heavier. "Those statues… Do they protect the path?"
"I stop… Statues keep safe… I wait."
She turned and looked at the masked warrior that bowed at one of the statues before sitting at its feet.
She nodded. "This path I must walk alone. I understand…" She looked up the path and took a deep breath. "I can do this"
"BOOM!"
She looked at the sky as thunder and lightning danced above her. "I'm almost there… I'm not turning back now. I'll find out what I need to do and then decide what to do next."
She stopped at a statue of a large masked warrior and shivered. "It's like it's staring at me…" She kept walking and stopped at another statue looking at it confused.
"Out of the statues that I've seen so far this one is strange. It's too short and has a rather large stomach… All the other's have weapons in their hands, but this one has some sort of meat…"
She kept walking past the statues that lined the path until she came to a set of stone steps. She climbed the steps and stopped halfway looking down at the path she had come.
"I can see the entire valley… These statues… Who are they? I'll ask the queen when I return to the city." She kept walking up the stairs and stopped at the last stair and stared at a large wooden gate. Her heart pounded at the fallen gate and she ran into the village.
"Hello! Anyone here?"
She walked into the middle of the village looking at all the destruction and felt tears fall from her eyes. "Hello!"
She walked amongst the buildings forgetting about the storm over her head. "Overgrown trees, fire and stopped at a wall in confusion. "This should not be here… How did you get here?"
She put her hand on the scarred wall in thought. "This is the same as I saw in the circus… What's it doing here?"
She shuddered in thought and walked back to the middle of the village.
"Tap… Tap…"
She looked down. "The ground is covered in some sort of metal." She sat on it looking at the village with tears in her eyes. "I was told to come here, but there is nothing here except for ruins. This was my home, and I couldn't do anything to save them."
"BANG!"
She hit the metallic ground with her hands and looked up in surprise. "The rain…"
She hit the ground again.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Her eyes opened wide as a figure appeared in the rain and started dancing. She cursed as the figure faded in the rain and looked at the ground in thought. "It seems I need to keep hitting it and I'll see the figure…"
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
She watched as the figure formed and just stood looking back at her. Star stood up in confusion and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Dance… Dance…"
She nodded at the figure and put her bow on the ground and removing all her clothes and stood, letting the rain fall over her naked body. She closed her eyes and took a breath.
"Open your eyes…"
She opened her eyes and looked around. "Is anyone there?" She sighed and stood on the metallic surface listening to the rain hitting it.
"Bang!"
She stomped her foot on the metallic ground and watched as figures in the rain formed around her with raised hands. She followed the figures and raised her hands.
"Ahhh… My head. It hurts."
She bent over and clutched her head in pain. She took deep breaths and stood again with her hands raised. "I must dance… No matter the pain."
She tilted her head listening to the rain fall and started to dance with the figures in the rain.
"Watch… You'll see the truth…"
Her mouth fell open. "Am I dreaming?"
She watched as figures made of rain walked around the village. She felt tears run down her cheeks. "I must dance… I can dance."
She continued to dance as she watched the small rain figures run around playing with each other while other figures stood watching the dancers around her.
"Don't run from the truth. Watch child…"
She nodded and kept dancing. She watched as the rain figures stopped and all looked up. She turned her head watching as a large multi-headed beast landed and started to attack the figures now running away. She shook her head. "No… No… No…" More tears fell
She watched as the beast walked through the village biting and attacking with large claws. She moved her arms. "What's on top of the beast?"
She watched with horror as the beast jumped onto a building and attacked the sign to the entrance of the village and then jumped down and crouched in front of her as she kept dancing. "Who is that? Why are you so familiar to me?"
She turned as the rain figure jumped down from the back of the beast and walked towards a small group of small rain figures. Her mouth fell open as the beast became small and turned into another figure. "Agnia?"
She turned to the large figure and shook her head. "Red? It can't be? Why did they? How did Agnia change her body?"
She watched as the rain figures of Red and Agnia picked up each of the small rain figures seeming to look at them then killing them. She shook her head. "No, please no… They couldn't do that… Could they?"
She looked at them as they picked up a small figure and then tapped the figure on the head. She felt her heart skip a beat. "Is that me?" Her tears didn't stop falling as the figure that looked like Agnia once again turn into the beast with the Red figure carrying the small figure onto the beast and jumped into the sky.
She stopped dancing and crouched in a ball shaking her head. "No, no, no, no. This can't be true."
"Look up child."
Star looked up and watched as a rain figure crouched in front of her. "Why did they do that to my home?"
"Child… I'm too weak to move, this is all I can do… This is my final message and gift to you. You must become the head of our village, bring rest to our souls. To do that, your father and I'll give you a gift… Grow it, become stronger, and get revenge for us."
She wiped her tears and looked at the figure as it touched her. "Mmmmother… Mother!"
She watched as the figure touched her face.
"Mother…"She put her hand to it and felt the hand fade turning back into rain. She looked around and just saw herself sitting in the rain alone.
She looked up into the sky and watched as lightning fell onto the metallic.
"Relax child… This is my gift to you… I'm sorry this is all we can do. The rest is up to you…"
She nodded and stood up and watched as lightning bolts hit her in the face. "Ahhhhh… Wait there is no pain…" She looked at her hands as the lightning faded.
"I feel different, but I don't see anything different about me…"
She picked up her clothes and got dressed in the rain picking up her bow she felt a slight tingle in her hands as it clenched the bow. She walked off the metallic floor and stood in the middle of the village.
"The enemy of my village and blood destroyed this place and took me away… Red is gone, but nothing has been heard about Agnia. I'll be the vengeance that my family ask of me."
She walked out of the village and stood at the entrance. She bowed and clenched her fists. "Now I know the truth, and now what I have to do…"
She walked back down the path stopping at each statue and bowed.
"I carry your revenge. I'll bring peace. I'll find out why they did what they did."
"You back… Have answers?"
Star nodded at the masked warrior. "I have answers, but it also leads to more questions."
"Let's go… Eat… Bathe… Queen miss you I think."
"Hahahaha… She probably does. Let's go home."
"No baby bird… Now sister. Sister sore in sky rain… lightning."
She nodded. "You're right… I must sore above all and finish what I need to do… Things are going to change."