The Riftwalker

[misles]

Nazara: The Rift Walker

Silverwood, many years ago

Prince Hylas gripped the young High Elf by the shoulder, forcing her to face Shyla. “See the fear of your people?! They are not prepared to aid those Mathosian dogs against Regulos, Shyla! Even this little brat knows that her only hope is with me in our ancestral home. Or does she?”

Shyla held her hand out. “Hylas! She’s just a maiden! Leave her be!”

Hylas leaned down and spoke hatefully into the maiden’s ear. “You see, my sweet little Amera? She tries desperately to save you by just calling you a maiden. You are nothing to her. Swear yourself to me and you will know power and safety from Regulos.”

Amera. Amera Moontear. That was her name. Some of her closest friends use to call her Nazara, the Riftwalker. When Regulos first arrived, she was able to move quickly through areas where rifts had opened, avoiding being seen to bring Shyla important information. But she was one girl among many that Shyla entrusted to help the Mathosians. Sometimes, she saw Shyla as the mother she never had. Sitting in and listening to some of her lessons about Tavril. Feeling warm and at peace. But now her life was in the hands of the one who spurned Shyla. She prayed that she would be worthy to the Vigil and be brought to their arms should she die.

“He can promise you nothing, maiden. Only lies.” Shyla retorted.

“Oh…I can promise her one thing.” Hylas grinned. He drove his blade though Amera’s back and straight through her chest.

Amera shuttered as the blade ripped through her. The look of horror on her face as she saw the blade with her blood on it.

“NO!” Shyla screamed.

Hylas pulled the blade out, laughing.

Amera tried to say something, but only blood came from her mouth. She staggered backwards towards the ledge. Tears falling down her cheek. She muttered only one word as she fell to the depths below. “Vi…gil…..”

Shyla tried to reach for the girl but Hylas blocked her path. “YOU BASTARD!” She screamed.

As Amera’s bloodied body hit the water and floated to the surface, her eyes looked to the sky. Towards the Vigil. She prayed…she prayed. But as the world fell to darkness, nothing. She couldn’t see them…couldn’t hear them. Only one final thought went through her mind as she passed into the realm of Alsbeth. “Forsaken……”

Months later:

Forsaken…

*A small heartbeat sounds.*

They have forsaken me….

*A second heartbeat*

Hatred…

*A third heartbeat*

Rage…

*A forth heartbeat*

“Sylver, I think the Ascended is waking up!” A muffled voice calls out.

“The soul transference was a success!” a second voice calls out emphatically. Presumably Sylver’s. “Open the chamber!”

The Ascension chamber slowly opened with a hiss. Pressure releasing and steam rising from the machine. The Kelari inside hadn’t opened her eyes yet. She was breathing. But hadn’t fully come to yet.

Sylver walked over and placed his hand on the Kelari’s cheek. “Ascended? Are you alright?”

The Kelari slowly opened her eyes. She slowly lifted her head and blinked as her eyes were trying to adjust to the light in the room. “Wh…where..?”

“You’re in the Arc of the Ascended. You gave us quite a scare, Ascended.” Sylver smiled.

The Kelari looked at her hands and gasped. “What happened to me?!”

Slyver placed his hands on the Kelari’s shoulders. “Ascended, please calm down. I’ll explain everything. But first, let’s get you out of the chamber.” He helped the Kelari down and sat her in a chair. “Now. Do you remember what happened to you? Do you remember your name?”

The Kelari looked at Sylver. “My name is…was…Amera Moontear. A..High Elf in service to the Priestess Shyla.”

Sylver looked at his assistant. Both looked back at Amera. “Go on.” Sylver urged.

“The prince, Hylas…put a sword through me. I..prayed….” Amera trailed off.

Sylver knelt down and took Amera’s hand. He nodded to a body covered in a sheet. “When we found you, you were floating in the river near the bridge not far from here. Bloodied. But amazingly, your soul had not been taken from your body. But your body was beyond any healing of our priestesses. Thankfully, there was a young Kelari who had lost her soul to Regulos not days ago. And..well..here you are.”

Amera narrowed her eyes angrily. “The Vigil has forsaken me. They left my soul to rot. Shyla lied.”

“They all lied, Ascended. The Vigil cares not for those on this world. And we don’t need them to show us where to go. No gods decide our fates. We decide our own.” Sylver nodded sagely. “And that is why we were able to give you a second chance through our machinery.”

A second chance. To be chosen by the Defiants. Amera finally knew where her loyalties would lie. Amera. No. She wasn’t Amera anymore. Amera died and was left for dead by the Vigil. Now the one who stands before the inventor was Nazara. The Riftwalker.

“Unless you have any other questions, Amera Moontear…” Sylver was cut off.

“Amera Moontear is dead. I am Nazara. The Riftwalker. And a proud Defiant, Lord Sylver.” She made it official.

Sylver smiled. “Well then, Nazara. There is much to do and little time to do it in. The Guardians destroyed our machines that helped to keep Regulos at bay. And now Regulos is about to destroy our world. Our only hope is to send you back in time to keep this future from happening. You are our last hope, Ascended. Now hurry.”

Nazara made her way to a Defiant outpost near the machine Orphiel had built. But before she could move on…

“Ascended! One of Regulos’ minions has appeared! You must stop her!” A guard called out.

Nazara melded with the shadows and moved to the location of the follower of Regulos. To her surprise, and her anger, it was Shyla. Fallen to Regulos. She was being held by a few Defiant guards. But Shyla broke free, throwing them into fallen buildings. Nazara emerged from the shadows, two swords at the ready.

“You are too late, Ascended. Regulos will have this world!” Shyla the Fallen called out.

“So you finally show your true colors, ‘Priestess’.” Nazara snapped. “To think I looked up to you as a mother and teacher. My only regret was that Hylas didn’t kill me sooner.”

Shyla stopped. She looked into the eyes of the Defiant standing before her. Realization hit her. “Amera….? What…how…?”

“The Defiants saved me. They did more for me than you ever did!” She spun her blades in her hands. “Amera Moontear is dead thanks to you! So you and the Vigil be DAMNED! Only Nazara lives on!” Nazara charged at the fallen priestess. The fight didn’t last long. A few minutes at best as Shyla tried to summon undead to keep Nazara at bay. But it was a futile attempt. Nazara slashed through and brought Shyla down.

As death was taking Shyla, she looked up at Nazara. “Please…forgive….me.”

Nazara narrowed her eyes and spit on Shyla. “Rot in the Plane of Death, b***h.” Nazara turned her back and headed back to the outpost.

Nazara had finally made it to the machine that sent her back in time. Thus began the life of the Ascended known as Nazara.

[HawtMama]

Hehe...nice so far. Keep it up xD

[misles]

Freemarch, just outside of Meridian:

It had been several weeks since Nazara had used the machine to send her back in time. She was still adjusting to being a Kelari. But she felt comfortable in the body. She didn't feel out of place. She actaully felt as she belonged. But the only place she did feel lost in was the ways of the Kelari. When the Kelari were banished, their customs had changed. She saw some prayer services to the Ancestors the other Kelari held. But she never understood them. It was time she learned.

She had gone to the great library in Meridian and taken some books to study on the history of the Defiants and the Kelari. This is where she had to start. She wanted to learn about the other races but that would have to wait. She sat under a tree and began reading through the books. Her wolf, Nmoran, lay on the ground next to her napping in the cool shade. He huffed a few times as he slept. Nazara had always enjoyed reading. Books could always tell her so much. As she read the pages of the book on the Defiants, she caught a figure out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over to see a Kelari priestess standing at the ramp into Meridian looking at her, then turning around and walking away. Could she tell that Nazara wasn't who she was suppose to be? She shrugged and went back to reading.

Time meant nothing to Nazara as she continued to read, and eventually fell asleep reading the massive history book. During the night, Nazara woke up to find herself covered in a blanket. She looked around, but saw no one nearby. A passing goods trader? She pulled out her bow and laid it near her. Her wolf paced around a bit sniffing the area, came back and laid back down. The next morning, Nazara stretched as the morning sun broke the horizon. Nmoran yawned widely and looked up at its mistress.

"I suppose we should try to find something that passes as breakfast, huh?" She said to her wolf. As a High Elf, unless they were scouts, maidens never hunted. The food was prepared before hand. This new life had many adjustments that sometimes made Nazara queezy. Nazara hunted down a boar and caught some fish for breakfast. She was suprised at how good the meat and fish tasted. Maybe this new life wouldn't be so hard. "Enjoying your kibble?" She asked her wolf. The wolf panted happily as she petted the thick fur on it.

Nazara pulled out the book again from her pack. She opened it and started reading the history of the Kelari. But as she did...

"Serela? But all the spirits I was told you were dead!" The Kelari priestess said.

Naraza jumped, the book tumbling to the ground. She drew her dagger and held it up. The wolf growled. "For the love of....don't EVER do that again! Who the hell are you and what do you want from me?!"

The priestess was taken aback. "Serela? Don't...don't you remember your sister?"

"Serela...? Who the..." Nazara stopped. She looks at herself a second. This body must have belonged to this Kelari's family. 'Dammit...' she thought. She slowly lowered the blade. Could Sylver have lied? Could this body her soul was in have been dead for more than a few days? By the sounds of it, this Kelari had died years ago. Most likely within the past year by this time. "Look...priestess? I don't know what you've been told. But my name is Nazara. I'm an Ascended."

"Serela. Stop playing games. We are both grown women..."

"For the love of....WHOEVER! I am NOT Serela! I was a High Elf from Silverwood before I was forsaken by my own people...BAH!" Nazara threw her hands up. "Why bother trying to explain this?! All I know is I am here in this body and an Ascended."

The priestess sank to the ground as tears filled her eyes. "Why...? Why do the spirits taunt me like this?" She covered her face with her hands.

Nazara groaned. 'Wonderful work. Nazara. Just wonderful.' She cursed at herself. She knelt down and took the priestesses hands. "Look. I'm...I'm sorry for my outburst. How do I explain all this?"

The priestess looked up at Nazara. "Just tell met the truth."

"Many years from now, I was a High Elf. I was born in Silverwood...." Nazara continued to explain the events that unfolded. Her death at the hands of the Prince Hylas, the Vigil forsaking her, and her soul being put in the current body she was in by Sylver.

The priestess listened carefully as Nazara continued to explain how she damned the Vigil and the Guardians, even damning Shyla for letting her die and leaving her soul in oblivion. And how she swore herself to the Defiants.

"I didn't know and nor did Sylver tell me that this body was part of a family. I guess, at the time, with Regulos destroying everything, there just wasn't time to tell me. But according to Sylver, your sister lost her soul to the Endless Council. I'm so sorry, priestess." She lowered her head.

"Maluna." The priestess said quietly. "My name is Maluna." She took a shakey breath. "I..I was hoping the others were lying about Serela. I had prayed to the spirits they were lying. I know how you feel, Ascended. To lose everything and to feel you have been forsaken. Our...my family has been shattered by the loss of Serela. She was the jewel of our family. Loved by many. She was to be a priestess like me." She studied Nazara. "And yet here you stand. Embodying the hopes of my family. And yet, you are not her."

Nazara leaned against the tree behind her. "I have no family. My parents died when I was very young. I was put into a home with many other orphaned elves. I...never know what it was like to have a mother's or father's love. To have siblings. None of this I had. And now I'm living a new life. A life I have hardly any idea how to live. I don't know what it means to be Kelari. And I barely know what it means to be Defiant. Other than the no gods deciding our fates." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. This isn't helping. I should just...." Nazara stood up to leave.

"Please. Don't go." Maluna pleaded quietly.

"I don't belong here." Nazara said.

Maluna shook her head. "You are a lost soul. My family and I...ever since Serela's death have been lost souls." She wiped a few tears away from her eyes. "You are as much a part of us as we are a part of you. Through you the memory of Serela lives on. As hard to believe as this will be, the blood of my family runs through your viens. We are family. We are the flesh and blood of our parents. Regardless of what you call yourself, Ascended. You are my sister. And I am yours."

Nazara blinked slowly as Maluna took her in her arms and hugged her. "And as part of this family, we will guide you and teach you our ways. Of what it is to be Kelari and Defiant. We will not forsake you."

Nazara closed her eyes and smiled at the warm embrace. This was something she wanted for so long. And it seems her dreams were about to come true.

"Come." Maluna said guiding Nazara. "There is much we'll have to explain to mother and father." The young priestess guding Nazara home.

[misles]

Freemarch, near the Scarred Mire

Nazara and Maluna were walking past the Scarred Mire. Laughing as Maluna was telling her about these young Kelari men that were trying to court them for years. And doing a fairly poor job at it.

"And you mean to tell me that they honestly thought bringing freshly killed boars to prove they were strong hunters would win us over?" Nazara couldn't keep the laughter in.

"Yes. Though they meant well, I thought both of us was going to be sick." Maluna giggled.

Nazara stopped suddenly. She grabbed Maluna's arm and held her back. "Wait..." She stared right at a tear not far from them. Maybe about 40 or 50 feet away. Nazara could feel the power coming from the tear.

Maluna could see her sister tense up seeing the tear. "What do we do? Can we not just walk past it?"

Nazara narrowed her eyes, studying the unstable tear. "There's no telling how long that tears been there." She looked at her planar lure. It didn't seem to be reacting. That wasn't a good sign. Taking Maluna's hand, she guided the older Kelari sibling on the outskirt of the tear, moving carefully. But as they were about to step past it....

The tear erupted in power, climbing to the clouds.

Nazara could feel the type of power coming from it. "Dammit! DEATH RIFT!" She called out.

The Death Rift opened, driving its dark tentacles to the ground, tainting the land around it. Maluna fell backwards having never seen a rift this close before. And now she was standing right in the middle of it. Her eyes widened in fear seeing the minions of Regulos coming from the rift. She looked up at Nazara who already had her bow drawn, the planar lure around her neck glowing wildly. Nazara whistled and her wolf came running from the forest attacking one of the undead creatures. Nazara stayed very close to Maluna, but at one point of the fight, rift-walked to an undead sorcerer who was casting fireballs at them. She caught the sorcerer and drove her blade through it, sending back to Alsbeth.

Nazara looked around briefly. Something was wrong. Maluna felt the ground shake as the rift became unstable. "NAZARA!" Nazara looked up to see a massive ball of energy hit the ground. Emerging from the energy was what looked like a massive undead dragon. Or wyrm of some kind. It glared down at Maluna who screamed in horror. "SISTER! HELP ME!"

Without thinking, Nazara shot an arrow at the base of of the skull of the beast. The wyrm turned its attention at the foolish creature that attacked it. Nazara threw down her bow and drew both swords, rift-walking and drawing the attention of the beast away from her sister. Bone and steel clashed as the force of the Ascended and the wyrm were locked in battle. At one point in the fight, the wyrm slashed its boney claws at Nazara, catching her in the side. She staggered back. She was determined to not let her wound get the better of her. Though as commendable as the thought may have been, it didn't talk long for her to get winded. There was one chance. And it had to count. Nazara lept for her bow and drew it, nearly doubling over in pain from drawing it. She grunted but drew the bow again. Her side burning in pain. As the wyrm turned its head, she caught a glisten in the socket of the eye. Nazara loosed her bow and let the arrow fly to its mark. The arrow hit. The wyrm screamed only a minute before the bones fells to pieces. The Death rift lost its grip on the land from the immense loss of power. As the Death rift sealed, the smallest amount of power left behind was drawn into Nazara's body. She fell to her knees, holding her side.

Maluna couldn't believe what she just saw. She had heard tales but...never actually watched an Ascended seal a rift before. She shook herself from her awe-struck stare and ran over to Nazara, holding her steady. "Sister...is it bad?"

Nazara slowly moved her hand away from the wound. It was bleeding badly. "I've....felt better...."

Maluna lay her sister down on the ground. "By the spirits I will not lose you a second time." She placed her hands over the wound and began praying. Her hands glowing as she began to heal Nazara. After about twenty minutes, Maluna moved her hands away from the wound. She checked and and ensured that Nazara was healed. She smiled.

Nazara sat up. She ran her hand over the side where the wyrm slashed her. She looked at Maluna and grinned. "Well, this can be useful. Having a sister who can heal the most grievous of wounds." She looked down to see Maluna's hands shaking. The smiled on her face disappeared. "This was your first time ever seeing a rift wasn't it?"

Maluna's face paled. The smile was an attempt to hide the sheer terror she felt at seeing the rift and the minions of Regulos so close. Tears started to well up in the young priestess' eyes.

Nazara took Maluna in her arms and held her tight. "Dammit. I'm sorry, Maluna. I should have found another path around the tear." Oddly enough, Nazara felt no fear in fighting the rift. Anticipation? Anxiousness? But not fear. Was this normal of an Ascended? It was like her soul was prepared for this kind of thing. This bothered Nazara a bit. She stood up and helped Maluna up, still holding her. "Come on. Let's get away from this area before another tear forms."

Maluna looked at her sister's cold confidence. The grace and speed. The way her sister moved through the rifted area. The battle focus. As scared as Maluna was, somehow...she knew Nazara would not let her be taken by the Endless Court. Her sister truly was an Ascended. There was not question in her mind. Their family would not shun Nazara. They would embrace her.

The two continued to make their way to the Kelari Village.