Starry skies shimmered over the port town of Alternia, and a girl ran. She enjoyed running errands, even at her small age of 3 sweeps, and her masters loved her for it. They were always kind to her, plus all the errand runs allowed her to go past the docks and see all the beautiful ships. Oh how she longed to venture out into those waters. What mysteries did they hold? What adventures would lie in wait for the girl with dreams of grandeur? She would most likely never know. Her feet traipsed gleefully against the cobbled stones of the dockyard. Even this early into the night it was buzzing with activity, more than usual. And she was here just as many others were who's excitement filled the air. There was news of a royal family coming into this port. None as high as the Empress but more like, sub-royalty. Her small size allowed her to squeeze through the amassing crowd and push her way closer to where the arriving ships would be. As she breached the sea of legs and dresses she saw what she came for. High purple sails towered over the grand body of the ship. It's masts looking like the grand horns of a proud adult troll. It was amazing, the combination of the sea breeze brushing her face and the purple sails billowing as it blew was intoxicating. She continued forward despite the few warnings of the adult crowd behind her. What harm could come in getting a closer look. Crouching down behind a stack of boxes she waited for the show.
Not long after the royals began to depart. Women in flowing gowns of the highest caliber and men in dapper suits that made them really look like proper gentlemen. All of their clothing was adorned with some form of that royal purple color, marking their blood status. The crowd behind gasped in awe and respect. A few of the blue bloods bowed and curtsied at the arrivals but most just stared at their glory. She didn't care about their status all she saw was their beauty and grace and, oh, those wonderful gowns. How she wished she could twirl and be beautiful like them. She ducked behind another set of boxes ever closer to the beautiful royals but keeping her back to a store wall. Continuing to stare, she was shocked when something brushed up against her. Jolting to the side to hide herself a little more from the crowd, she looked at her visitor. It was a boy but him being there wasn't all that shocked her. He was dressed in the same regal purple as the visitors. He was a noble, a royal, and a sea dweller at that. He gave hr a happy smile and gestured for her to sit again. She didn't know what to do, obey out of respect or sit because he looked kind or to run like a squeakbird out of hell. She sat, slightly more out of fear than anything, and took more glances at her royal compatriot than at the workings of the dockyard. His horns were much different from hers. Hers being straight and simple, his were wavy like the oceans he resided in. His eyes were curious and gleeful and didn't seem to account her own blood status, being the exact polar opposite of his. He was within the second highest cast, she the second lowest. Even being a curious child like herself, she was still obligated to hold him in high regard, she was to remember her place in society. He noticed her looking, smiled that infectious grin and began to say something. But was cut short by the calls of a woman, whom she presumed to be the envoy the boy traveled with, and ran off before saying anything.
The girl was in shock. Never did she expect her dockyard escapade to turn out like this. Thinking that this was probably enough for one day, she gathered the materials of her errand and returned to her masters, but not before receiving another grin and a wave from the sea-dwelling boy as he passed down the road she traveled.
Sweeps pass and the girl has grown. Now 9 sweeps, the girl has seen a lot. She has seen the start of a rebellion, and she does not remember the day of wonder when she met the sea-dwelling boy. Still living with the same masters she still does the same errands every week and it has become more of a monotony than the exiting adventure it used to be. The dock, similar to what it has always been, was larger than years past. Capable of containing many more ships than before. The port town has changed little but is now full of sailors and soldiers of the high-bloods. Walking down the main street she noticed a glow. It was an odd glow, an orange glow, akin to that of the dawn. But it was nowhere near dawn, the night had just started. Then there was the smell on the wind and she knew what it was. Fire. There was a fire burning far into town. It wasn't scary more like a bug to a lamp, intoxicating. Moving closer she saw people running towards her carrying things, long, slender thing she couldn't quite make out in the light of the fire. That was until they got closer. It was the rebellion itself attacking their town. Her eyes widened in fear and she darted into the closest alleyway at a running pace. Faster than she knew possible the buildings around her were ablaze, screams of fear, delight and cries of battle echoed through out the halls of buildings. She reached a small square, two exists already blocked off by the collapsed walkways burning and blocking her exits. She tried to go back the way she came but in her stupor it had become blocked as well. She was trapped in an all encompassing fire. The heat burned her skin and it felt as if it were searing her without touching it. She stood, twirling around in a panic. Until one of the exits blazed red and blue and seeming to gain a life of its own, lifting from the ground and being sent hurtling in the other direction. A girl leaped in, her hair like the mane of a meowbeast, followed by a man in yellow with dual horns. She grabbed her arm and pulled her along behind her. The yellow clad man ran out ahead and stopped short. "Disciple, Psiioniic! The Signless is in trouble. I'll help the girl." Said a woman in beautiful jade colored garb. Fear visibly gripped the Disciple as she tensed, her meowbeast like eyes widening in terror. The Disciple and the Psiioniic took no other word and ran off in a flurry of green and yellow The woman grabbed her hand and dragged her along to where she must have believed her to be safe. "Who are you?" she cried as she turned to return to the fray. "You can call me the Dolorosa, and you'll be safe as long as you stay here." and without another word she left.
But the girl was stubborn and far too curious for her own good. Even the scare of her own life, trapped within the confines of burning buildings, and facing her death did not deter her from satisfying her curiosity. Dashing across the docks, searing fire meeting ice cold water, she came to the fray of battle. That is, just in time to see the end of it. To see the grey clad Signless being defeated and captured.
She began to back up and run, back to the place she considered home, but rough hands grabbed her and pain laced up her body.
Medennas jolted awake. The nightmares of the Sufferer's defeat and his martyrdom in the days that followed plagued her dreams and, though almost an entire sweep later, still shook her to her core. That single rough moment at the end of her dream is what landed her here of all places. She was accused of being part of the rebellion and was placed into slavery which inevitably landed her under the ownership of her current master. A much crueler man than her previous masters, whom she could have almost considered family.
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