Before the Trial of Rebirth

By: Requa Posted on: May 22, 2010

"I'm not going to let you become an adventurer, Ilya."

Her blue eyes brimming with tears, Ilya gazed imploringly at her father. "But
Father! Sheni and Tobias are both going to the Trial of Rebirth tomorrow!
They're going to see the world, and do wonderful deeds, and bring fame to our
village. Don't you want that for me?" she pleaded.

Athias sighed and rubbed his face wearily with one hand, his stentorian
expression softening as he looked at his blue-eyed, golden haired daughter.
"Ilya, you're only 18. You've hardly ever set foot out of this village. You
haven't seen the things I've seen, the things I know those who call themselves
'adventurers' are capable of doing."

Standing up, he paced slowly around the wooden table, the candlelight flickering
as he passed. "They're all the same, these adventurers. They slaughter innocent
villagers in the name of getting stronger, and the minute the village begins to
heal from the carnage, they come back and do it all over again."

His tone hardened, and Ilya stiffened slightly. "Even those who profess to save
the innocents, serve Good, are no better. They only stay away from those that
have been fortunate enough to receive the 'innocent' label - if you're not
'innocent' enough for the Church, well then, you're free game. And even then,
there are those of the Church that could care less who falls before them if they
think they can get away with it!"

Athias's abrupt change in tone startled Ilya, who gazed wide-eyed at her father
as he whirled to face her. "Is this really what you want to be a part of, Ilya?
Do you want the blood of thousands of innocent villagers on your hands in the
name of progress? Is this the price you're willing to pay for fame and glory?"
he asked angrily.

Ilya's bottom lip trembled. "I...I..." Unable to meet her father's gaze, she
looked down, and found herself unconsciously tracing the light scars on her
wrist.

Remembering why she had wanted to become an adventurer, she looked up again, and
there was a renewed sense of purposeness in her voice. "Maybe some adventurers
are like that, but not all of them are, Father." Ilya held up her wrist, the
scars barely visible in the candlelight.

"I may not have seen all of what adventurers are capable of, but I've seen a bit
of what they can do. What I could do. If it weren't for adventurers, I'd still
be trapped in those..those horrible caves with those awful Gnolls..." Athias
flinched as she blinked back tears at the long-suppressed memory.

Gaining courage, she lifted her chin stubbornly. "All I want to do is repay that
favour. If someday I can rescue someone else who was just like me, then I'll
consider my life's work worth it," she said quietly.

"I'm not a child any more, Father. You say I have never been out of this
village..well, then let me go. Let me experience the outside world, for only
then can I understand the evils of the world you speak of, and mayhaps even
discover good that you have not been privy to."

Athias opened his mouth to speak, but Ilya cut him off. "You can't stop me from
going, Father," she said with a note of finality.

Anger and sadness warred within Athias's heart, the conflict clearly written
across his face. "Nothing I can say will change your mind, then? Even though you
know the cost of becoming one of -them-?"

Ilya took a deep breath, and nodded resolutely. "My mind is set, Father." Her
expression softened, and she looked at him pleadingly. "I would not have us part
like this...please try to understand."

"No, Ilya." She shrank back at his curt tone even as he strode to the door,
throwing it open. Pausing with his hand on the doorknob, a flash of deep sadness
crossed his face as he turned to look back at her, suddenly seeming years older.
"It is you who does not understand."

As Athias slammed the door shut, the subsequent gust of wind extinguished the
candle flame, leaving Ilya sitting alone in the darkness.

**********************************************************************

Dawn was just breaking as Ilya struggled up the top of a grassy hill in the
Sangre Plains, a cool breeze tousling her dark gold locks as it blew past.
Finally reaching the top, she paused for a moment to catch her breath, admiring
the pink and gold hue of the lightening sky as the solstar gradually spread its
rays to all corners of the world.

"Ilya!"

She turned just in time to feel the full-blown impact of a young female Mhun
colliding into her at top speed, the force of the collision bowling them both
over onto the ground.

Giggling happily, the Mhun threw herself onto Ilya and hugged her so tightly she
was gasping for air. "Ilya! I thought you weren't going to make it and I would
be stuck alone with Tobias for the whole long trek!" she exclaimed.

A blonde-haired Human appeared over the crest of the hill, a broad grin on his
face. "I heard that, Sheni!"

Laughing at her friends' antics, Ilya finally managed to extricate herself from
Sheni's grip. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

Out of breath, Sheni threw herself down beside Ilya, sweeping her long, dark
braids over her shoulders. "I heard your father didn't want you to go, Ilya. Did
he finally say yes then?"

The Tsol'aa looked away, her blue eyes sad. "We didn't really part on the best
of terms."

Tobias walked over and gave Ilya a comforting hug, wrapping her up in his strong
arms. "Hey, he'll come around sooner or later. I mean, what better way to help
the world than to become an adventurer? Certainly staying in Petra and rotting
away isn't going to do anyone any good."

Ilya nodded slightly, returning the hug. "Well, let's not ruin this momentous
occasion by talking about sad things. After all, we're about to start a journey
of a lifetime!"

Picking up her pack, she slung it over her shoulder and looked back at her
friends. "Come on. We've got a long way to go if we're going to reach Thera by
noon!"

Sheni groaned. "But this grass is so soft and the sky is so pretty and-hey! Hey!
Put me down!"

Laughter rang across the plains as a grinning Tobias ran past Ilya, balancing an
indignant, struggling Sheni over his shoulder.

For the moment, the world was at their feet.

**********************************************************************

"So where exactly are we heading, Sheni?"

The young Mhun was poring over a piece of yellowed parchment, her brow furrowed
in concentration. "Give me just one second, I can't figure this out with all
your yelling!"

Rolling his eyes at Ilya, Tobias sat down next to Sheni and peered over at the
map she was holding. "Wow, it looks like someone split mead over Mhaldor and
half of Central Wilderness seems to be forever lost to the Sea of Chocolate and
Cream."

"Hey, if you don't like my map, don't read it!" said Sheni in an affronted tone
as she snatched the map away. "It was the best I could do for fifty sovereigns,
and even then Jiayle would only give it to me if I ran all the way to that bar
in Ashtan for that special jambalaya she likes so much. It took me a full three
hours!"

"We'll take what we can get, Sheni," said Ilya, twisting her hair into a long
braid like the Mhun's to keep it out of her face. "Any idea where we are now?"

Sheni traced a long finger over the faded drawings. "It looks like we're just
about to leave the plains now, and get onto the road that leads to Ashtan. We
don't want to go north to Ashtan, though, we want to keep heading south until we
reach Thera. Supposedly..someone will meet us there.." She gazed uncertainly at
her two friends, chewing her bottom lip.

"I've heard rumours that an old crone is supposed to meet you there and lead you
to the Flame," said Tobias. His green eyes turned thoughtful. "Do you think
it'll hurt much, going into the Flame? I burnt my hand once when I was helping
Mother with dinner, and it wasn't pretty.."

Ilya rubbed her slender arms nervously, imagining herself being consumed in a
fiery inferno. "Well, we won't ever know if we don't get moving." Shielding her
eyes from the bright sun, she looked up towards the sky, trying to gauge the
time. "It looks like we're three hours short of midday. Come on, we don't have
much time."

**********************************************************************

"What are you doing here, Cesline?! There's too many of them! Go back! Take Ilya
somewhere safe!"

"She's fine, she's with Estell! They need me out here, Athias! They don't have
enough Magi for a Cataclysm! I'm just going to help imbue the crystals, then
I'll go home. I promise!"

"Wait! Cesline, come back!"

Deathsense tingles. Red-flooded vision. So much blood.

An unearthly scream - whose?

His mouth.

His scream.

Bursting through the crowd.

A Tsol'aa's head piked under the Zarathustran Eagle.

Blank staring eyes. Gaping mouth.

Blonde hair streaked blood red.

"CESLINE!!!"

He shot up, gasping, flailing, eyes wide and staring, until he realised that it
had just been a nightmare.

The same nightmare he'd been having for ten years.

Tears flooded Athias's dark eyes as he gazed over at the miniature portrait of a
beautiful, smiling Tsol'aa standing upon his bedside table.

"Cesline..why didn't you listen to me?"

He picked up the portrait, caressing it gently. "She's gone too, Cesline. She
doesn't know..she went to be an adventurer, too. I couldn't stop her..."

He thought of his daughter, trudging her way towards Thera. "She really wants to
be an adventurer, the foolish girl. I guess it's in her blood, eh?" he smiled
humourlessly.

A gleam caught the corner of his eye, and he looked towards the cupboard in the
corner of the room. One door had swung open, and the sunlight streaming in from
the window glanced off something with a metallic sheen.

He looked at Cesline's portrait again. "I guess if being an adventurer is her
destiny, I can at least make sure she gets there safely, eh?"

The Tsol'aa's smile never changed.

**********************************************************************

The small party made their way uneventfully through the plains, occasionally
sneaking quietly past a grazing buffalo so as not to startle it.

After some time of walking through wide open fields, their feet finally stepped
upon hard, well-trodden dirt, and Ilya knew that they had hit the Prelatorian
Highway.

"Well, it looks like we're close," said Sheni as she folded up the map and
stuffed it in her pack. "All we have to do is follow this south, and it should
lead us to Thera."

Turning to Tobias, Ilya noticed that he had a frown on his face. "Something
wrong, Tobias?" she asked.

He pondered for a minute. "I just don't like the look of those foggy areas
around the path. They look dangerous..and did you notice it actually seems
harder to breathe now?"

Sheni inhaled deeply, ending with a splutter and choke as she tried to regain
her breath. "I'd know that stench anywhere..those are the infamous bogs around
Ashtan. Don't put a foot off the path, or you'll lose your way and either be
swallowed up by the bog, or eaten by a bog hound," she warned.

Ilya shivered slightly, then remembered that she had packed some rope before she
left home. "I have an idea. We should tie ourselves together so that we all stay
in a group and nobody gets lost," she suggested, taking the length of rope out
from her pack.

Tobias nodded approvingly as he took one end of the rope and began to wind it
around his waist. "Good idea. I'll go last, and Sheni can go first."

"Me?! But why??" Sheni exclaimed. "I don't want to go first into that thing!"

"Sheni, we're about to be adventurers, you can't get cold feet now," Tobias
stared at her sternly as he tightened the knot around his waist. "Besides, for
one you have the map, and secondly you're the only one who's been anywhere near
here before."

"Besides, Sheni, we'll be right behind you," Ilya said soothingly as the Mhun
picked up the rope, grumbling under her breath.

"Nothing's going to happen."

**********************************************************************

The fog thickened with each step they took deeper into the bog, making it very
slow going as visibility was reduced to a mere few feet in front of them, and
the acrid odour made it increasingly difficult to breathe.

"Can't you go any faster, Sheni?" Tobias coughed. "It's getting harder to
breathe back here."

"No, Tobias, I can't go any faster unless you want me to walk straight into the
bog," she hissed in response. "It's hard enough feeling the path under you
without being rushed, thank you very much!"

"Don't let's fight and just concentrate on getting out of here," said Ilya,
looking about herself nervously as she readjusted her grip on her pack. "I don't
like this place."

The group travelled further and further into the bog, unaware of the eyes
tracking their every move.

"Uh, we may have a problem..."

"Don't joke around, Sheni, this is no time for games."

"No, I'm serious..." the Mhun gulped. "I don't think we're on the path any
more...the ground doesn't feel solid at all."

"Okay, that's okay," said Ilya, trying to keep her voice calm. "Let's just
backtrack and hopefully we can find-"

"I, uh, don't think backtracking is an option," said Tobias in an unsteady
voice.

"Why not?" asked Ilya, trying to peer around him.

"Because I don't think they're going to let us pass."

A low growling began, increasing in volume as shapes moved slowly through the
gloom. As the the three youngsters huddled together for comfort and protection,
one shape emerged from the fog, dripping chunks of swampland to reveal a
skeletal, dog-like animal with an elongated snout and twin rows of sharp yellow
teeth. It advanced slowly towards them, growling loudly, and the stench rolling
off it was almost unbearable.

"That...is a bog hound," Sheni whispered, terror in her voice. "What are we
going to do? We don't know how to fight yet!"

"Maybe we can outrun it," whispered Tobias urgently.

All thoughts of escaping, however, soon vanished when three more bog hounds
materialised out of the gloom, cutting off any escape routes.

As the pack advanced, Ilya knew they were doomed. She thought only of her
father, and closed her eyes as she prayed to the Gods that one day he would be
able to forgive her.

"Ilya!"

Her eyes flew open just in time to see another shape burst through the gloom,
startling the bog hounds as it crashed into their midst. The tall figure was
humanoid, wearing a suit of rusty but serviceable fullplate armour, and wielding
two wicked-looking scimitars. Their saviour's dark hair looked surprisingly
familiar...

"Father?!"

Without warning, the bog hounds launched themselves at the party, and even as
Ilya, Tobias and Sheni cringed, Athias fended them off by swinging his scimitar
in a wide arc, slashing the hounds and wounding two severely.

Unwilling to give up, the hounds attacked again, and Athias threw his body in
front of them, acting as a shield between the hounds and the open-mouthed youths
as he battled the hounds furiously.

Numerous slashes and jabs later, four bog hounds lay dead at their feet. Athias
himself was injured, but not severely, and he coughed apologetically at Ilya as
she bandaged his wound with a strip of cloth torn from her skirt.

"Your old man's a little out of practice, I'm afraid, but I suppose I didn't do
too badly."

"Thank you for saving our lives, sir," said Sheni shyly, apparently awed by
Athias's exertions.

"That was incredible! Where did you learn to do that, sir? Were you once an
adventurer?" asked Tobias eagerly.

"Yes, where did you learn to do that?" repeated Ilya as she gazed evenly at her
father, who looked away.

"I was once a Runewarden of Ashtan, and your mother was an Ashtani Magi as well.
She...she was killed by a raiding party that invaded Ashtan after she left home
to help the Ashtani forces spin a Cataclysm," he said quietly, pain in his
voice.

"After her death I gave up adventuring and settled down in Petra with you,
thinking to keep you safe. But trouble always seems to find you, doesn't
it...first getting kidnapped by Gnolls, then trying to get to the Trial and
getting attacked by bog hounds.." he smiled wanly.

"That explains so much..." Ilya trailed off, digesting the information. She
returned his wan smile. "I'm sorry for arguing with you earlier, Father. But it
seems adventuring is in my blood. Even if you would try to keep me safe, trouble
would find me anyway. The least I can do is learn how to handle it."

"I know," he said simply. "I came to make sure you had safe passage to Thera."

Sheni and Tobias smiled as Ilya beamed with delight and threw her arms around
Athias, who returned the hug enthusiastically, glad to have his daughter safe.

**********************************************************************

"Here we are then..north of the town of New Thera."

Ilya peered around at the dusty junction, noting the trampled, flattened grass
at the edges of the road. "This is it?"

"Doesn't look like much," said Sheni, disappointed. "Are you sure this is the
right place?"

"It should be..." Tobias said uncertainly.

As they were gazing about themselves, unsure how to proceed, a wizened old crone
came tottering up to them, leaning heavily on a staff. "So you are the new meat
then?" she cackled, eyeing them up and down in turn.

They stared back at her, momentarily dumbstruck.

"What's the matter?" asked the crone. "Can't you SAY your NAME?"

Ilya turned her head to look at her father, who smiled softly and nodded his
head slightly in encouragement.

She turned back to look at the crone, who was waiting expectantly.

"Ilya."

And so it began.