"Like A Petal Flying In The Wind, I Find Myself Flying Through The World… Looking For The Flower That Would Embrace My Heart"-Aaliyah
In The Early Years Of Her Life, Young Aaliyah Often Found Herself Seeking Knowledge On Sorcery And Yearning To Find Meaning In Life, As She Roamed The Colorless World She Had Lived In…
Underneath Night Sky, A Blood Moon In The Sky In A Field Of Many Dead And Withered Flowers, Stained With Blood… Aaliyah Sits In An Open Circle On The Ground… With Dead Flowers Surrounding Her.
Her Eyes Red And Puffy As She Sits With Her Face Planted In Her Knees, With Her Arms Wrapped Around Her Legs.
Then A Cool Breeze Blew Past Her, With Petals From The Flowers Flying Past Her… Aaliyah's Head Lift's As She Reached Her Hand Out, Catching One Of The Petals…
This Particular Petal, Had A Hole In The Middle Of It. She Looks Through It With One Of Her Eyes, Peeking Through The Hole… As Then A Bright Light Shines In Front Of Her…
**A Few Month's Earlier**
Sitting Inside Of The Main Household Of The Yamikei Clan, Aaliyah Sat Against A Wall In A Room Next To The One Which The Clan Heads Were Meeting… Her Sad Eyes Glued To A Single Withering Flower To Her Right As The Heads Of The Other Households Of The Clan Sat At A Floor Table In The Room Down The Hall Which Aaliyah Sat In.
In Front Of Aaliyah's Mother, Amaya Who Is The Current Head Of The Main Branch Of The Clan.
Sitting Across From Amaya, Were Branch Family Heads, Haruta Arashi Of The (Storm) Household, Akihiro Hoshizora Of The Hoshizora(Starry Sky) Branch…
The Air Of The Room Was Filled With Unsettling Tension, The Clan Heads Bickering While Aaliyah Sat Across The Hall, In The Next Room Over.
"As I'm Sure You're Aware Amaya, The Blood Moon Ceremony Is Approaching In The Next Few Months" Haruta Spoke Out, His Voice Laced With Malice… "Soon Aaliyah Will Have To Prove Herself Worthy Of Becoming The Head Of The Main Branch Of The Clan"…
Haruta Disliked The Idea Of Aaliyah Who Was Fourteen At This Time, Becoming The Head Of The Clan… Mainly Due To The Fact That Aaliyah Cared Very Little Of The Clans Tradition To Stay True To The Ways Of Sorcery Which Stretch Back To The Golden Age…
"It Would Be In Your Best Interest To Put Aside Your Childish Frustration Haruta" Amaya Spoke Out, Her Voice Tinged With Annoyance…
"Everyone In The Clan Knows That My Son Should Be The Rightful Leader Of The Clan, Aaliyah Is The Least Qualified To Become-
Suddenly, Haruta Was Interrupted… A Voice Tanged With Annoyance Pierced Through The Unsettling Tension In The Room, "I've Had Enough Of Your Pathetic Insults Haruta… Lord Elder Has Already Selected Aaliyah As The Bearer Of The Title To The Head Of The Clan", Amaya Spoke Out.
From The Other Room To The Right Side Of The Hall, Aaliyah Sat Up Against A Wall, Clasping Her Legs As She Buried Her Face In Her Knees.
Aaliyah Never Found Herself To Be Much Interested In The Clan Affairs, Much More So… She Herself Didn't Even Know What She Truly Wanted In A World Filled With Nothing But Conflict And Bloodshed.
Through An Open Window Next To Aaliyah, A Cherry Blossom Flower Petal Flew Right Through The Open Window, And Landed Right Next To Her Foot.
Picking Up Her Head, She Reached For The Pink Petal, And Noticed A Hole In The Center Of It Which She Peaked Through With One Of Her Grey Eyes.
"Just Like This Petal, A Void In The Center Of It's Being… I'm So Sick Of Everyone Dictating My Life", Aaliyah Thought To Herself While Standing Up To Walk Slowly Over To The Open Window…
A Cool Breeze Blew Right Past Aaliyah And Through The Window, Lifting Up Aaliyah's Black Hair With Two Grey Strands On Each Sides… Looking Out The Window, What Befell Her Eyes Were Many Cherry Blossom Flower Petals Flying With The Wind.
"Just Like Those Petals, Being Guided By The Wind, In Search For The Flower To Attach Themselves To… It's Almost The Same As Me", Aaliyah Thought To Herself…
In The Next Room, Haruta Continued To Express His Distain Of Aaliyah As The Heir To The Clan… "Amaya, The Future Of This Clan Rests Upon Your Daughter's Hands… Lord Elder May Approve Of This, But Once Aaliyah Takes Seat Amongst The Future Heads Of The Clan, Who's To Say This Won't Spark Distrust Of Among The Heads Of The Branch Families?!".
Amaya Understood Full Well The Conflicts That Would Spark Amongst The Clan's Hierarchy… The Grand Elder Had Specifically Selected Aaliyah To Head The Clan, Despite Her Obvious Reluctance To Take On Such A Role.
The Grand Elder Gave Very Vague Answers As To Why Aaliyah Was Chosen, Such As "Aaliyah Has A Unnaturally High Affinity For Chaos Energy", Which Is The Demon Power Source And Life Force, But Never Gave An Answer As To Why This Is The Case.
"Lord Elder Has Already Made His Decision Haruta… If You Wish To Sway His Mind, Then Do As You See Fit, But You're Time Would Be Much Better Spent Making Sure You're Son Is Prepared For The Blood Moon Ceremony" Akihiro Spoke Out…
The Blood Moon Ceremony Was A Traditional Event, Taking Place Each Year… An Event Which Determined Who Was The Most Suitable To Head The Yamikei Clan, One Where Each Heir Would Bathe Their Souls In A Bath Of Blood…
It Had To Be Underneath A Blood Moon, Because Once A Blood Moon Appeared In The Sky, That's When The Power Of Demons Which Possessed The Children's Souls Would Boost Past Its Limits And Turn The Children Into Blood Lusted Mindless Demons…
[Primary Skillsets And Technique's Are Predetermined At Birth, Sometimes They Don't Awaken Until The Sorcerer Awakens Their Spiritual Energy…]
[However For The Children Of The Yamikei Clan Who's Souls Had Been "Tainted" From The Ritual Performed On Them Moments After Birth, Their Primary Technique Is Dominated By Their Demon Power.]
Haruta And Akihiro Had Just Left The Main Household Of The Yamikei Clan As Their Meeting With Amaya Ended… "Aaliyah, Come Here!", Amaya Shouted… A Hint Of Annoyance Could Be Felt In Her Voice Which Flew Through Aaliyah's Ear And Left Out The Other…
Just As Aaliyah Had Entered The Next Room, Amaya Stood There, Looking At A White Flower… Blooming As The Sunlight From The Open Window Next To It Had Hit It's Petals.
"Yes Mother?" Aaliyah Said In A Soft Voice, Her Eyes Had Been Glued To The Ground, Unable To Look Her Mother In The Eyes…
"I'm Sure You Know, The Blood Moon Ceremony Is Coming Up… You'll Have To Demonstrate Your Power In Front Of The Other Clan Heads, And Lord Elder", Amaya Spoke In A Tone That Would Intimidate Most That Would Approach Her"…
"Lord Elder Has Specifically Chosen You To Head The Main Branch Of Our Clan, Do You Know Why That Is?"… "How Could I? Why Would He Choose Someone Like Me To Head The Clan, Especially At My Age?!", Aaliyah's Voice Was Filled With Both Frustration And Annoyance…
Amaya Had Walked Over To Aaliyah, And Placed Her Hands On Her Shoulders As She Stood Behind Her And Directed Her Attention To The Blooming Flower In Front Of The Window…
"A Flower Blooms When Radiant Light Reaches It… Often Times A Flower Can Only Bloom Once In A Lifetime, However Aaliyah…
"Your Soul Has Yet To Bloom On It's Own… You Can't Bloom Until You Let Go Of The Roots That Bind You To The Ground", Amaya Said In A Soft Voice Aaliyah Rarely Heard From Her.
Aaliyah's Dark Grey Eyes Remained Focused On The White Flower Petals, Trembling In The Breeze That Had Entered Through The Window… "What If I Want To Bloom On My Own, And Find My Own Destiny?".
Amaya Suddenly Paused For A Brief Moment, The Reflection In Her Eyes Flickering, A Slight Frown Had Momentarily Appeared On Her Expression Before She Had Responded…
"It's Better To Just Accept The Destiny That Has Been Laid Out For You Rather Than To Just Try To Defy "Him"… "If You Don't Accept The Light He's Given You, You'll Never Bloom, You'll Just Wither Away, Amaya Said With A Barely noticeable Frown On Her Face…
Aaliyah Didn't Know What She Had Meant By That, But Didn't Care Enough To Bother Pressing The Words From Her Mother…
————————————————————————
———————
A Few Days Had Passed Since Then… Aaliyah Walked Outside, By Herself… With No Clear Destination In Mind…
She Had Planned To Just Walk, Until She Stumbled Across A Field Of Blooming Flowers, Underneath The Sunlit Sky In An Open Field…
Her Eyes Slightly Widened, While They Reflected The Countless Flowers In The Field… "Beautiful", She Thought To Herself While She Roamed Through The Field…
The Air Was Warm While The Sunlight Hit Her Skin… Most Of The Flowers There Were Red, However She Stumbled Upon An Unusual One That Had Stuck Out From The Rest…
In An Open Circle, A White Lily Flower With One Pink Petal Attached To It, Had Sat Alone… Separated From The Other Flowers.
"This Is Unique", Aaliyah Thought… This Flower Stood Out From The Others, Yet There Was Something Beautiful And Alluring About It…
Aaliyah Suddenly Felt A Cool Breeze… Looking Up To See A Girl Wearing A Torn Long White Shirt, With Nothing On Her Feet, And Messy Black Hair, Sitting In Front Of A Blue Puddle…
"Who Is She?"
To Be Continued, In Part II…