Amanda wandered through the charred remains of her village, her heart heavy with the weight of loss. Her family was gone, and her home was reduced to ashes. Her body ached with exhaustion, but there was no place to rest. She knew the nobles wouldn't let her live. Even if they left her for the wilderness, she was now a threat, someone with a power they didn't understand. In Pandora, that meant only one thing: she would have to become strong enough to survive or be crushed by those who already were. A world ruled by the strong and the weak left to either serve the strong or to die.
As she left the village behind, her childhood's familiar fields and forests turned into an unknown landscape. Amanda had never ventured beyond the farthest meadow, but she knew that somewhere out there, people trained in magic and swordsmanship, in the arts that allowed them to defend themselves and ascend to power. The thought both terrified and thrilled her. But where would she even begin? she knew nothing as a poor villager, except being able to write and read which was rare in such a rural area as they barely had enough for food.
As she walked, her thoughts drifted to the power she had felt awakening within her the night her family was killed. " I wonder if I can use it again, but how do I even use it", was one her ever-drifting thoughts. She didn't understand it, but she could still feel the remnants of it, a spark of energy humming beneath her skin, waiting to be unleashed. She closed her eyes, trying to sense it. She took a deep breath, focusing on the wind around her. At first, it was just a gentle breeze, rustling through the trees. But then, with a little effort, she felt it grow stronger, swirling around her, almost as if it were responding to her thoughts.
She felt delighted to know that she could at least protect herself, for her parents warned her multiple times about the beasts that were found deeper into the forest and vile bandits that sell people as slaves.
Amanda's heart pounded forgetting about all the warnings she received from her parents. The wind, the earth, the fire—they were connected to her somehow, like extensions of herself. Could it be that she had control over all of these elements? She'd heard stories of elemental mages, powerful beings who could command one of Pandora's elements, bending it to their will. But control over multiple elements was something rare, almost unheard of. Meeting a Mage was the highest honour one could ever receive in their lifetime.
She was commanding multiple elements, even further as a mere F-rank human, which has never happened. A blasphemy of the highest order. The world of Pandora ranked almost everything, be it items, races, dungeons etc, between F-rank to SSS-rank. It was all correlated to how much mana something/someone can contain. There are of course other factors but mana is the general one.
She decided to test it further. Kneeling down, she placed her hand against the ground and closed her eyes, trying to sense the earth beneath her. At first, she felt nothing but the cool soil beneath her palm. But as she focused, she felt a subtle shift, like the earth was listening. She concentrated harder, feeling the soil respond, and suddenly, a small mound of earth rose beneath her hand, lifting her palm off the ground. Mana followed her commands like how a leaf follows the flow of the wind which is once again something unheard of but that she did not know.
Amanda's eyes widened in surprise. She could control the earth, too. But the realization came with a new sense of urgency once again, but taking it seriously this time. This power might be her only chance at survival in a world ruled by the strong. She needed to learn more—she needed to train.
As night fell, Amanda found shelter beneath the boughs of an old tree. She sat cross-legged, focusing on each element she'd connected with the fire she'd felt in her rage, the earth beneath her, and the wind that had swirled around her. She spent hours practising, experimenting, and discovering the extent of her control. By dawn, she felt a deeper connection with each element, though her skills were still crude.
"Okay, so far fire is easier to use but it´s somehow intense and drains me, water makes me a bit calmer and is a bit harder to use. while I feel the excitement with wind, but still useful and lastly earth which is a bit hard as well but I like it a lot ", was Amand´s though after practice.
But it was enough to give her hope. If she could find a way to master these powers, she could grow strong enough to protect herself, and eventually, to confront those who had taken everything from her. She didn't just want to survive—she wanted revenge. So she has to somehow master them and fast.
In the early morning light, Amanda began her journey toward the nearest town, hoping to find more knowledge about her magical abilities and the world that lay ahead. She was no longer a simple peasant girl. She was someone with a power few understood, a power she would wield to change her fate. A fate that destined her to bathe in the blood of her enemies.