Gaia wept. Wept for she had to be the one to bear the blood that was shed that day. The vivid scene of a young maiden holding a man with his fleeting life. As fire poured from the sky like stars descending from the heavens, the scene fell silent. A thousand people screamed, yet no sound was heard. The general had lost all hope, and soon, the soldiers collapsed.
The war of Zekr- those who remember, shall never forget.
The Present.
The eyes of a young boy slowly open to sunlight piercing lush green leaves and burning his eyes. As he placed his hand to cover his eyes, the realization hit.
"Oh, hell nah".
He was now going to be late for the assignment, Shawn packed his tools and headed down to town. As the young man went down the hill - the wind moved his unkempt hair- a fiery orange color, that shines as Carnelians in the sun- to show his smiling face, and gleaming golden eyes. His clothes are unwashed, and the loose tracks he wears lets him perform the coolest flip ever-
And down he fell, face-first into hay.
"Ah come on Shawn, we have stuff to get done- how long are you going to fool around for?"
It's a girl, seemingly a little older than Shawn.
Her amber eyes gleamed in the sunlight, casting a magic of want over anyone who lay their eyes on her. Even in the plain clothes and uncombed hair, her presence was magnetic enough to stop time itself. This serene beauty was Shawn's roommate and caretaker.
"Okayy Amber- don't go bossing me around just cause you were the one to be chosen as the village representative now."
"Did you get firewood?"
"I didn't."
Amber pulled on Shawn's ear, almost as if to rip it out. Shawn grumbled, wincing in pain.
"Come on Amber, it's just one day- I hope chief forgives me"
"Didn't you do this yesterday, too?"
"Sorry."
Another ear pull.
"Well, whatever now, get ready- we have to get out today; apparently the men are going hunting. Ever since you came into town, none of us have seen you do any work."
"That's because I'm tired all the time dealing with you."
An apology followed another smack, and the insolent boy got out of the hay, and started following the beauty of the town back into their humble home.
This is the village of Emrald, the location most south to the continent of Zekr. The residents here are people displaced from the ongoing battle in the North. They are survivors, and strive for nothing but a quiet life.
As Shawn walked out of his place, a hunched back man, with wrinkles all over his face showed up.
"Young boy, get Amber out already, the emissaries from Rubi are waiting to get a glimpse of her."
"Yes chief, I shall do so immediately"
He did, in fact, not do that immediately.
Amber walked out half an hour later, with a dress of silk that made her seem drenched in velvet, and ornaments that would make the salesmen of Bloom- the western capital- stare in awe.
In that audience of about 300 members, Amber was greeted with the kind eyes of the people of Emrald, and of the steel-clad emissaries of Rubi. Her legs trembled, not from the weight of her dress, but from the weight that she bore- one of the future of this village.
Staring down, the maiden caught but a small glimpse of Shawn having his fill of the fish from a small store. A subtle smile softened all of her fears, and with a quick exhale, her posture straightened as she addressed the masses.
"And I will, rest assured, work for you, for the betterment of the residents- the outcasts and the thrown away- for the village of Emrald."
Upon the completion of her speech- the village roared in satisfaction- that finally after the previous representative ran away, Amber would be the one to bring light to the village.
However, Amber knew.
As she was escorted out and the village was cheering on, Shawn noticed a tear run down her cheeks. Yet he did not say a word, but took a bite out of his fish.
As Amber removed the ornaments she got ready for her speech, she wept.
Going back, the village of Emrald always has wanted a peaceful life. Whether it be a joke from fate or certain death following them around, they happened to settle on the turf of Glen- the Angel of Lust.
Following a contract with the admiral of Glen's army- the village was destined to provide a young woman each year to the Angel of Lust- as a gift of sorts to leave them alone.
This year was Amber's turn, and Shawn didn't know.
Meanwhile, Amber had known since she turned 17- known that she would be a sacrifice for a better future. She had reached her breaking point, and now tears ran down her face- as a river cascading into the sea.
"I wanted to live a bit more selfishly."
Her regrets piled on- she wanted to tell Shawn to live on happily, to find purpose. It seemed like only yesterday when Shawn was assigned to her- and how she vowed in that moment to protect the precious smile of the boy from the North. She wanted to see her mother smile- her mother that knew of only war. She wanted to taste Bison meat, wear pretty clothes everyday and,
and drink wine…
Alas, all this was too much of a dream for the young maiden.
Calming herself down, Amber smiled through her tears, her resolve crumbling under the weight of the village's future. She wanted to live, to laugh freely, and to die with a prince of her own. But the path had been torn, and the gears set in motion.
She was the only one who could do this.
And so straightening up her posture once more, with a smile that was a veneer to her purpose, she waited for the moment to come.
Tall men, covered in steel so as to not show a portion of their bodies, were introduced as emissaries from the other village, however Amber could say at first sight- these were Glen's men- having come about to take her away.
As she took a step onto the carriage, she stopped and turned around, running to the little boy she had come to adore over the past year- someone who was now her family.
Knowing this would be the last time, she hugged Shawn tightly, knowing that this child would have to live on without her.
"I love you."
The silence that followed spoke more than words. The boy wrapped his arm around the maiden- seemingly assuring her that it would be fine. However, she knew it was in vain. As the village chief looked away in shame, she took the first step towards her end.
From the carriage, as she looked back one last time, Shawn was no longer there. He was gone- without a trace, as if he had never been there from the very beginning.
The roads were clear, and Amber's eyes gleamed from the light of the milky way stretching across the sky. The people from the depths told her of Glens castle, a majestic structure spanning as tall as the sky itself- seen even from the shore of Bloom. With two sections protruding out as sky snakes wrapped around each other. It would be the architect from the heavens- Raja who constructed this masterpiece..
The carriage suddenly stopped.
It was all too sudden, but an eerie silence followed the halting- one that made Amber's beating heart more and more apparent to her.
As the men from the back looked into the driver's seat, they got out, with all the weapons in their arsenal, leaving Amber alone in the carriage.
Something was off.
The carriage was beginning to crumble- and with a slash through the vehicle that missed the young maidens feet by a tiny bit, the carriage finally split in two. As Amber, still in the shackles placed on her, tried moving out of the rubble, she saw a hand extend out for her.
A woman- with pink, vibrant hair cascading into a braid, eyes black as void itself, with skin as pale to make the moon ashamed. Amber didn't think about who this person was, and without hesitation she extended her hand out. Power surged through her body, as if to remind her all of her sins were washed away, and that she now stood pure. She got out of the rubble, and witnessed her shackles get cut off one by one.
"Oh no-"
"What have you done-"
"Because of me- the village will-"
A warm embrace, the kind your mother gave you once you've had a long day at work. It was not a feeling new to Amber, yet the nostalgia and remorse only fueled her desire to cry.
"There he goes again, I told him to hold back though"
Back there, Amber barely made out a dark silhouette cloaked in blood.
Shawn.
The moonlight only complemented the deep red blood on his bright orange hair. He was looking up, seemingly to call for the stars, Shawn was seen with a smile on his face. A crimson scythe bigger than the boy in itself created curves of velvet blood, painting them with space as its canvas.
This gentle man, who bade farewell to his big sister only a few hours ago, was here, in the middle of nowhere, with his kind smile wiped off his face, replaced with a much more grueling one. It seemed not long ago he was but a helpless boy, but what Amber saw in front of her was the emissary of death. Chaos in his blood, and violence his calling.
"Shawn…" murmured Amber.
"Scary, isn't he?", Amber looked up to the woman whispering this to her.
She was confused, but she couldn't care any less.
All she felt was relief, that two people had come to save her from her gruesome fate.
Shawn had always been a fool- at least that's how it seemed to everyone else. But underneath it all, something was always waiting to break free. And now it has.
The gears of fate are once again set into motion.
Pointing that crimson scythe in his hand to the seas, with the blood dripping off the tip as though to remind its wielder the worth of the lives he has claimed, Shawn was heard saying,
"Hey Lia, it's a bit early, but let's do this."
A small chuckle followed a "Yes yes, my knight in shining armor".
"What do you me-" was followed by Amber getting onto her knees, her pupils dilating as her jaw dropped in shock, and in horror. As she regained her senses, she saw in the middle of the sea- what she had heard before- a magnificent castle that has no end- that pierced the sky, and went into the heavens.
This is a story of the Angel Lia, and the human Shawn- bound by love, and by hate. Transcending times and ages to represent love in its finest form. History would bear witness to Gaia bowing her head to the story of these two souls- bound to defeat time and space to find their glory in Legend.
As the eerie structure loomed on the horizon, Shawn and Lia stood shoulder to shoulder- their silhouettes etched among the stars.
"Well then," said Shawn. "Shall we?",
A gentle smile from the pink maiden followed a "Let's go."
Here begins legend.