Elona Bound: Part 1
----- Through the Mirror, Darkly -----
Demitra stared into
the sky. "The stars here; they are
all different." Then the
surrounding buildings of Divinity's Reach reminded her: everything was
different here. The bustling city seemed
to be in a constant state of motion, the ambiance of chatter consistently
echoing off the seemingly endless maze of buildings. She pondered how anyone could do anything of
solidarity in this hydra labyrinth. Not
one moment passed when there wasn't someone bumping into her - sometimes
purposefully so, attempting to either rob the woman or brush against her
shapely figure. This particular district
had been swarming with those praying on the weak. To this, Demitra was not; yet in the rainy
weather she wandered weakly with no money and no place to call home. Home: the miraculous palaces and wondrous
gardens of Vabbi. Home: the amazing
pyramids and sand dunes in the deserts of Elona. In contrast, this crowded, wet, miserable
place, Divinity's Reach and its hard cobblestone-lined roads. The circumstances that brought her here
weighed on her every thought, and she wondered if it was all for naught.
---Earlier---
The stench was
almost overwhelming and Demitra wrinkled her nose. While the Awakened weren't exactly rotting
corpses, they definitely shared similarities.
They were undead, in a state of perpetual servitude for Palawa Joko's
personal army. Joko, the self-proclaimed
god-king of Elona, would take from the living the very essence that made them
alive, their soul and spirit. What was
left behind was something that Demitra despised: a shell of a person; a shadow
of what they once were enslaved, forced to do the tyrant's bidding.
It was this bidding
the Awakened now executed, lined in formation at the portal's entrance. Demitra glanced back up the entranceway
ramp. She knew she should fall back,
gather the reinforcements of her regiment, then come at the monsters in full
force; there simply wasn't time. She,
alone, must stop the portal from opening and stop the horde from invading
wherever their destination may take them.
And, it was, by all accounts going to be a suicide mission. The Elonian was confident in her own
abilities, but the sheer number of enemies she would need to vanquish seemed
insurmountable. Her objective was clear:
destroy the mechanisms which operated the gateway to stop the teleport from
happening. After that, well… Demitra
took in a deep breath. If this was her
destiny's end, then so be it.
She moved as quiet
as a desert fox, stealthily approaching her prey, before gaining her footing,
and seeing an opportunity to strike.
With the full force of her blade, she slashed, immediately began
thinning the herd. Her presence known,
additional Awakened broke formation, began to attack the woman. In a flurry of attacks with her axe, she flew
through the oppressors, fighting her way to the gate control panel. As if knowing her destination, one Awakened
preemptively activated the portal. It
sprung to life in a brilliant flash of pink energy.
Demitra looked back
at the active gateway. "No…"
she exhaled.
Her hesitation was
an opening for the Awakened and several slammed into Demitra, knocking her
closer to the portal. She scrambled to
her feet as the horde began to surround the Elonian, blades and spears hungry
to pierce her flesh. She looked back at
the portal, then to the encroaching enemies, and finally to the gateway
control. A smile came to her face as the
plan solidified.
A fuchsia glow
emanated from the woman's outstretched arm, and where there was once one
Demitra, now stood two. Without
hesitation, the second Demitra ran to the gateway control panel, began spinning
and created a vortex of blades which slashed into the console. A shard of metal broke free, flew into the
phantasm. It suddenly flattened and
shattered like glass, dissipating in a cloud of smoke. The clone's job had been completed, however,
and the console sparked and caught fire.
Demitra grinned, watching the copy of herself accomplish the job.
She quickly spun
around and leaped through the closing portal before it collapsed.
With a thud, the
Elonian crashed into the ground, the portal, deactivated from the other side
blinked out of existence. Seeing this,
Demitra let out a chuckle. While it
wasn't quite the expected plan, she was elated it worked. A bit more laughter came from the woman as
she lay celebrating in the grass and staring at the stars, then her brow
furrowed. "The stars, they're all different..."
Alarmingly, she sat up, glanced
around at the grassy fields blowing in the evening breeze. "Where… Where am I?" Her attention was pulled to a large cityscape
some distance away, its pillars piercing the sky calling upon the admiration of
all those gazing upon its splendor.
Divinity's Reach was a marvel to behold externally, and Demitra quickly
learned the interior of the city was much of the same: feats of engineering
that competed against the largest pyramids breaching the skies of Elona. While the city wasn't as lavishly beautiful
as Vabbi's Garden of Seborhin, it was simply amazing.
At least… It was in
the beginning.
After arriving and
soaking in the spectacle that was the city, Demitra quickly found not only an
unfamiliar monetary system, but also a social one which seemed to celebrate the
wealthy and condemn the poor. Having no
coin, no way back to Elona, she wandered the city. Destiny's fortuitous hand pushed the Elonian
toward an establishment with its doors opened: a guild recruitment party, as it
were.
The smell of food
lured the woman inside, despite her hesitation.
It had been three days since she last had a solid meal. A small Asura approached her as she entered. The race was unfamiliar to Demitra; in Elona
there were very few of the Tyrian natives.
Both her unease at trespassing and regard to the little one made Demitra
freeze.
"You here for
recruitment?" the Asura asked, staring up at the woman.
"Er… Yes? I suppose?" Demitra was flustered.
"Ah yes, very
well then. Sign in here and then help
yourself to some food! Meet people and
see if we'll be a good fit."
Demitra blinked,
completely surprised by the Asura's kindness.
Thus far in Divinity's Reach, such kindness had not been encountered, in
fact, mostly the opposite had been her experience. While it may not have been prevalent in the
upper promenade and market streets, Demitra came across quite a few
unscrupulous individuals.
"You
okay?" the Asura asked.
"Oh, um, yes
sir. I am alright. It is just this kindness you offer; it has
touched me profoundly. It is a great
thing, indeed!" Demitra blushed.
"It's the right
thing to do! And the name's Prymi, and
I'm a 'she,' not a 'he.'"
Demitra's face grew
red. "I'm so sorry! I have only recently arrived in Elona; we do
not have many of your kind there."
Prymi tapped on the
ledger, signaling for the Elonian's signature.
"I've been there once. Lots
of sand."
"Oh, there is
quite a bit of that there, indeed!" Demitra joked.
"Demitra Naja…
Ny… mah?"
"Nyimah...
Demitra Naja Nyimah, Prymi. And it is a
pleasure to meet you."
Prymi smiled a sharp-toothed smile, led Demitra down the corridor, explaining the guild's mission as they went.
The night grew long,
proceeded with a few more incidents mostly caused by social and cultural
differences. A few laughs were had and
Demitra met Orabella and Ryoichi, a pregnant couple which whom she'd enjoyed
conversing. In addition to the bountiful
feast spread out for all guests, Ryo offered the woman lodging at the local
tavern. Her thankfulness transcended any
language barriers. The ending of the
night saw one last member of the guild to arrive, Sirinous.
"Siri, for
short," she introduced herself, with a mild curtsy. Demitra locked eyes onto the woman: she was
radiant, with sparkling sky blue eyes, thin lips and golden cascading hair.
"Ahai. I am called Demitra Naja Nyimah," the
Elonian said, with a copied curtsy.
Sirinous
giggled. "That's quite a mouth
full." Her eyes were immediately
drawn to the exotic woman's thick ruby lips.
A few additional
pleasantries were exchanged before the banquet was to be closed. Noting their mutual infatuation, Ryo slyly
offered Sirinous to help escort Demitra to the tavern, in which he had a tab. The two strolled to the tavern as they spoke.
"I love your
outfit." Sirinous confessed.
Demitra
blushed. "As do I, yours. Perhaps I shall find new attire here, as it
seems my stay is to be a bit longer than I would have anticipated."
Siri raised an
eyebrow. "Oh? You don't like it
here in the Reach?"
"It is so very
different from Elona; the city, the people… the sky above even. I long to be back home, if not for my own,
then for the stabilization of the region; my people are oppressed, and I must
continue doing my part to end the tyrant's rampage."
Siri stared at
Demitra, the passion written all over her face.
"I see…" After a few
moments of silence, they came to the tavern's entrance. "Well," Siri considered as she
swiped her hair from her shoulder, "perhaps I can take you some place
that's not so… foreign? Within
Divinity's Reach there is a district that has had Elonian influence, both in
architecture and design. Hell, the rooms
are probably more accommodating than this place for you, anyway!"
Full lips smiled
warmly. "That would be… Yes,
Sirinous, I would like that very much."
"Good! Then it's a date!" Siri blurted, not
necessarily meaning to.
A few days passed
before the pair would enjoy their date.
In this time, Demitra attempted to explain to gain audience with Queen
Jennah, but was met with impedance from the royal guard. While her message was righteous, her
credentials were not enough to allow direct contact and she failed to explain
the situation with Joko and Elona to the one person in Divinity's Reach with
the resources to help. Defeated, Demitra
returned back to the absurdity of gaining coin to pay for travel or transport
to her homeland. This plight weighed
heavily on her shoulders and continued to do so well into the night Sirinous
brought her to the city's Ossan Quarter.
"You don't like
it?" Sirinous looked concerned.
"Oh it's not
that," Demitra said with a reassuring smile. "I just…" her attention was
suddenly drawn to Siri's outfit. It was
white fabric, outline by red ornate metallic fasteners, and an exposed
midriff. In contrast, Demitra had on
proper evening wear, lavender and light purple features affixed with leather
edges and a boosted top. She felt
completely overdressed, and bashfully apologized for it.
Siri blinked in
confusion. "It's so lovely; don't say
you're sorry... I'm not," she said
standing close to the woman. Flushed,
Demitra looked away, Siri took the opportunity, leaned in and pressed her lips
to the woman's.
Demitra's eyes were
wide with surprise, but was quickly replaced by emeralds of passion as the two
embraced. Though neither knew what the
future held, the night -at the very least - was theirs. Demitra found solace in her arms, and for the
first time since her arrival, she felt comforted.
The comfort was
fleeting however, for it would be the first and last night they would spend
together.
[To Be Continued...]
