Location: Astra (Town)
Time: Mid Afternoon
The gates of Astra before them our party enters the town, Amara rendered speechless as the hustle and bustle of the town captivated his young mind. "Granpa....." a young females voice coming from the distance, "Ah, Mira is that you? rejoice for the greatest foot glove merchant has returned". The young woman no older than 15 or 16 approached the carriage, throwing herself into Elu's fluffy body. Catching a glance at the young Amara, she threw a sharp look at Sebal and said, "Grandpa... why is this child wearing nothing but an oversized trench coat and old dirty socks?" sending a chill down Sebal's spine. Mira glanced back at the young Amara and said, "Hello, my name is Mira, what is your name?" "I'm...Am... Amara," he responded. Mira, with fire in her eyes, glanced back in Sebal's direction. "Take care of him, ill be home later tonight." Sebal said in the distance scurrying away by himself with a sweat-covered face, "GET BACK HERE, YOU PERVERTED OLD DRUNK," Mira shouted with her legs flailing in the air, Elu holding her back in her mouth.
A grumble coming from the direction of the young Amara caught Mira's attention. "You must be hungry. Let's go get you some clothes, then we can see what we can do about that". So she took him to a nearby clothing store and said, "Here we are, find something you like I'll wait outside," giving the merchant some coins on her way out. Amara came out of the store a while later wearing nothing but a new coat that fit and the same old socks.
Mira, mortified, took Amara by the hand and walked him back into the store and picked out some clothes, and had him try them on. She noticed the strange mark on Amara's chest but quickly continuing to assist him. Finally, the mission was successful, Amara had appropriate clothes on, and now they could find him something to eat. "Strange child," she thought to herself, walking through the town's market Amara entranced by all around him. "You seem to be a long way from home Amara, how did you and that drunk I call grandpa meet."
The grumble of Amara's stomach turned to a growl. "Sorry," Amara said, his face flush, reddened cheeks. "It's okay.." Mira laughed out, "Here we are. Can we get a table outside and the children's menu, please". Mira said to the server. The menu overwhelmed Amara with the number of choices. He had been embarrassed to ask Mira what meat he had been eating on his journey with Sebal as he had no way to describe it to her. "Can you read the words, Amara?" she asked politely. Amara shook his head and scrunched the menu as his arms retracted into his body. "It's okay, here look, this part has pictures, so just point at what looks tasty" Amara saw and chose something similar to the meat he remembered, if only having a cleaner presentation.
The food arrived, the trailing scent lingering from the kitchen. Amara took a bite, and tears met his cheeks once more. "You are a little weird, aren't you, Amara?" Mira said contently, "So do you think you could tell me about what happened and why you are alone now?"
Mouth full, Amara told Mira everything from when he met Sebal in a valley with two seasons, their travels through a forest with beautiful blackened trees. Their encounter with a pale lady he never got a chance to know and the spirits in the woods that test the hearts of men. Mira putting two and two together from the words of a child could deduce the gravity of what he was saying, "You are a special one, Amara," she thought to herself. Amara recited the tale of the spirit of the woods Blue told them that last night in the forgotten woods.
*** long ago, one could find the woodland spirits in every corner of Aiona (world). Those who were found worthy would gift them their earthly possessions. In return, the spirits cultivated the then barren lands. Years passed, and the grounds were flourishing, having learned how to maintain these lands, further creating wealth and growth. Man forgot about these spirits, and they slowly disappeared. Some gathered around holy grounds containing magic strong enough to sustain them. Spirits were born from need and only existed in it. As greed grew, those who would seek power caught spirits using them in rituals to enhance their magic. Those that did not disappear hid from the world. It had been millennia since a spirit appeared. As the darkness in Aiona grew, even holy ground where the spirits found solace was shadow kissed. ***
Amara, with a tight grip around his fork, eyes damp, said, "I will get stronger...". a deep silence washed across the room, even if it was but a brief moment. "Amara, you..." Mira uttered, slumped back in her chair in disbelief. Mira smiled and silently thought about the mark young Amara had on his chest "The symbols etched into that mark are most likely not of this world; who are you..." she thought in silence.
That evening in the stables, a few hours later, Mira watched Amara asleep in Elu's fluff from the porch. "You have the light in you," she thought to herself. "He is a terrifying one," Sebal said from outside Mira's vision. "Welcome home, grandpa. You brought back something interesting this time around," she said with an eerily calm.
*** Meanwhile, in the dark lands ***
A female figure staring at the night obscured by the shimmering darkness said, "The night is heavier than usual; perhaps the time is near," slowly, out of her shadow, the silhouette of a man with two tails emerged, kneeled. "It's in the east," she said, an air of command filled the room. "Yes, my lord," said the male figure as he pushed off the ground forward into the air with an intensity that left the balcony floor beneath him cracked and the female figure's shadow reforming itself. "Non but me shall have that power," the female figure said to herself.