"The town of Soula was built as a peace-haven in the kingdom of Karash, during the BladeMaster War,for all those who enjoyed peace and practice the craft of BladeMastering without the pressure of using to kill people in the War. The city is located west of the kingdom's capital and is mostly surrounded by wastelands, where various roads were built to lead the town everywhere in the continent, should the town need resources from outer towns and the capital. In the beginning, it was that way,but soon the town became self-sufficient and only sometimes needs specific items from the capital nowadays.
Soula is home to the most talented scholars in the Kingdom, many which helped develop new means of energy for the entire Kingdom-no, world, such as electricity and the mineral that fuels airships and other large machinery. Much of the Order's technology was based off of Soula's craftsmanship. Soula is also home of the most famous BladeMaster school in the Kingdom, appropriately named the BladeMaster Academy, so the future generation can learn to use their powers for the good of the people and not for violence.
Soula's BladeMasters were asked many times to join the ranks of the Kingdom's army and even the Order's force but it kept over the years a strong, neutral position in the War, even to this day. It was a shame for both parties since the Kingdom's, no, the world's strongest BladeMaster also happened to live right there to begin with..."
From "Gaia's Historia".
*
A bright light blinded all the townspeople for a couple of seconds. It seemed like a normal day for everyone, until the column of light descended dead center in the middle of Soula and gave its citizens the scare of a lifetime. Many people rushed to the site to see what happened, many panicked, others curious to see if it left anything in its wake. Leaving their market stands, they soon filled the brick-floored streets.
At least that's what she thought. Abnormalities draw people's attention and it gives them the spice their life needs from time to time. Some needed it more than others.
The young woman stood there awestruck and fascinated with that sudden phenomenon. It happened just as she was looking, from her room's window, at a weird looking black bird,with wings grazed white, like a weird mix with a crow and a dove. Of course crows were much better, in her opinion. Then, that column of light blinded her for a brief moment, but she could still see that, when she opened her eyes again, the light was continuously shining right in the center of town, a couple of blocks away.
Suddenly, she heard steps and knocking on her door. Everybody must have noticed it too.
-Come in, don't knock down my door...*again*..!-she yelled.
A boy, one of her subordinates came in, amazed and scared at the same time, panting heavily and almost crashing through the door.
-H-holy crap, Lucy, did ya see that?!
-No, silly, I've become blind today. An ostrich with its face on the dirt could see it!
-Do you think its the Order coming to attack us?!
-Nah, they wouldn't be that flashy. They'd might as well put up a sign saying "Hey, we are going to attack the city now!". I think it's something else entirely.
-What makes you say that?
-Woman's intuition.
-That's pretty farfetched...
-Hey, don't doubt a girl's heart! We know about these things! Go ask any girl that.
-The only girl we have here anyways is Mercedes and she'll kick our butts if we call her girly.
-Yeah, that would be a poor choice. Well, is Eldus on hold?
-He told us immediately that he'd be going there now.
-Then it seems I should take my leave. "Can't keep girls and the elderly waiting", that's what I always say.
-Yeah sure, you just say that because you'll write it down on the "Smart things Lucy Crow said" section of your journal and act it around like its public knowledge.
-First, it's "wisdom" and you tell the guys to stop breaking into my room and reading my diary or I will be forced to be nasty.- then, the woman ran past the boy and out of the building.
Outside, the people where feverishly talking about the phenomenon and many were headed the way Lucy wanted to go. She ran past them, forced to shove her fair amount of people. She, of all people, had to see what was going on. Because if there was a threat to the town over there, she was the one that would stop it.
Carriages carrying various merchandises tried to ride around the wave of people, but to no avail. The streets were far too tight for any decent movement to be done in an emergency. And it had to happen in the central plaza, right next to the marketplace. She kept running, excusing any rough pushes she might give to someone.
Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder and, when she looked to the side, the familiar face of Eldus appeared before her, running right next to to the young woman. As usual, he was wearing his usual white tunic, a purple sash with unfamiliar runes placed around his neck and making its way downwards,along the middle of the robe, until it almost touched the ground. Strapped around him was a long wooden cane with an emerald sphere lodged on the top.
-Pretty rough traffic, huh?-he asked with a smirk on his wrinkly lips.
-Yup, everyone's gone bananas to see what all of this about.- she grinned back at him.
-Aren't you too?- a coy expression splashed on his face.
-Ya know I am! You seem pretty psyched about this too. I never saw you run so fast before! Ya got strong legs for an old man!
-Don't underestimate a scholar's curiosity. This might be the discovery of the century!
-I just hope it's some hotshot BladeMaster so I can kick his butt! We've been running out of jobs lately.
-When you get that good at your craft, it's to be expected. I'm surprised you aren't jobless already!
-You flatter me, Eldus... It's seems we're getting there, I can kind of see it! Outta the way people, Lucy Crow coming in!
Hearing that, everybody dispersed and let them both pass. Sometimes it was pretty good getting such authority. All her hard work for the city finally payed off!
Soon,they reached the epicenter of the column on the town square, near a stone fountain. Lucy couldn't quite see it but there seemed to be some kind of object on the floor... She approached it and finally realized. It was shining, but it appeared to be...a body!
-It's...a boy..! This is incredible!- said Eldus, kneeling by her side.
Lucy nodded and knelt next to him. The boy seemed much younger than her, still a teenager. Probably around 16. His messy blonde hair shone, with the aura that he came down with fading slowly around his body. He was very thin, probably spent days without eating from wherever he came from. His body was covered by a white cloth. An angel? Nah, she didn't believe in those kinds of things. Real angels didn't exist anyways...
-Is he...dead?-asked Eldus.
-I dunno...he's not breathing... I'll check for a pulse...
She pressed her fingers around the side of his neck to check if he had a heartbeat. Suddenly, his eyes crashed open.
-Holy...!- yelled Lucy as she jumped back. She could seem them. His scarlet eyes, like they were out of this world...Who was this kid anyways?
- I guess...he's awake,then...- she said slowly, looking at the boy.