1 Prologue
Fly, fly my child.
Forget about your past.
You are wild…wild…wild.
You are not who you are…
You are someone different…
I am your mother…
You are Noami Nemesia.
"…we are very sorry to inform you this but… your parents, Mila Spirit and Nathan Spirit are dead from the car accident."
Thump.
"At least we still have each other, Noami."
"I love you Ander."
"Love you too, little sis."
Thump.
"Where's Ander?"
"I don't know! He's not in the house!"
Thump.
"Noami! N-Noami! Y-your brother i-is found."
"Where? Ander is found! Where?"
"B-but it's just b-body."
Thump.
"Ander! Please no… You're acting, right? You love to act! Just don't for this time! Ander! Ander!"
Thump.
"Noami Spirit, we are very sorry to inform you that your brother was shot in the chest, by poachers, when guarding the animals in the Preserve Park."
Thump.
"What are you doing Noami?"
"Death is not to be feared when you have nothing to live on, love on…"
Thump.
"Noami, no!"
Thump.
"Mother! Mother! N-Noami, she's j-jumping of the c-cliff!"
"She wants to feed herself to the wolves? Quick go! Save her!"
Thump.
"Noami! No! Please!"
THUD.
"Ahhh… you are finally awake."
"Who are you?"
"I am your mother, Mother Nature."
"Hello, mother."
"Serve as the guardian of wildlife my dear. They depend on you."[AC1] [AC2]
"Yes, mother."
"You may go now."
"Wait-mother- who am I?"
"Dear, you are Noami Nemesia, Guardian of Wildlife. I saved you from monsters, almost killing you."
"I am Noami Nemesia? Guardian of Wildlife?"
"Yes."
"I am Noami Nemesia, Guardian of Wildlife."
~~~
Crunch. Crunch.
"Where are you Mom, Dad? You said you would come back!" Artica moaned, kneeling in the snow.
Crunch. Crunch.
"Are you Artica Gust?"
"Where are you Mom and Dad?" Artica continued, seemingly not hearing the officers.
"This girl must have gone crazy." They whispered.
"We can't send her to an orphanage. She'll scare the others!"
"Does she have other relatives?"
"Yes, I think she has her grandparents."
The police stopped whispering.
"Hey, little girl, I think you want to see this."
"You found Mom and Dad?"
"Uh-I guess?"
"Show me now!" Artica showed a great smile.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch…
"Where? Where are they?" Artica asked, looking at the site of a car crash on a snowy road.
"I'm sorry kiddo, it's your parents who crashed."
"What!?! You didn't tell me they were dead! You lied to me! Liar! Get back! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Artica screamed, furious.
"Artica! Wait!" A familiar voice yelled.
"GRANDMA? GRANDMA!" Artica ran into her Grandmother's arms, sobbing. A tear ran down her Grandmother's cheek as well.
"You're living with us, Artica. We will keep you safe. We promise." Her Grandmother choked out.
Crunch, Crunch.
"Oh! Umm… Artica? Would you…like to go skiing with us?" Her Grandparents looked down.
"No."
"Why not?"
Artica stared straight ahead and said nothing.
"Well, is it fine if we go? You can stay home."
Artica nodded her head silently.
"Alright then. See you later Artica. We'll be back."
The door closed but Artica could still hear the footsteps in the snow.
Hours later…
Crunch. Crunch.
"Hello? Does Artica Gust live here?"
"Who is it?"
"The police."
Artica trudged slowly to the door and twisted the door-nob.
"Little girl, your grandparents died in a skiing accident."
Slam
"Little girl, open up! We can give you whatever you want!"
The door slowly opens.
"W-Whatever I want?"
"Yes."
"L-Lay me in the snow. I will tell you when I am ready."
"Er-okay?"
10 hours later…
"Maybe we should check on her. Ten hours have already passed! What if she dies?"
They find Artica lifeless in the snow.
"L-leave me here. At least I will be with them."
Her eyes fluttered and then they closed.
~~~
Jade strolled through the city's most elegant park with a smile on her face. The warm air, the bright sunlight, nothing could ruin her day. Except...
She heard a piercing scream [NC12] [JR13] coming from the next block over. Quickly she checked her surroundings and decided to duck behind a large rock and see what happened. Two men in uniform jogged over to the park. They immediately spotted her, being trained soldiers.
"Hey! You over there! What's your name?" The first soldier shouted.
Shivering from fear, Jade answered. "My name is Jade Dawson."
The soldiers looked at each other. "Did you say... Dawson?"
Jade nodded.
Their faces immediately became solemn. "I'm sorry, but your family was killed with an explosion near the battlefield."
Jade gasped. "What battlefield? The last war ended 3 years ago!"
They glanced at one another again. "You don't know? The new empire split itself apart and everywhere there's chaos and horror. Your family... was trying to escape a massive group of enemy soldiers and died."
Jade looked down at her feet. She couldn't believe the war had started again and her family died. In her mind, there was only one thought left. Avenge the death of her family. She eyed the soldiers. "Would you mind lending a gun?"
Knowing what she felt, one of them handed her a fully loaded pistol. The glanced at her from head to toe. "If you're going out there, you'll need a disguise. You won't survive a second on that battlefield dressed like that."
"Alright, any ideas?" Jade looked at the two soldiers. "Would one of you mind lending me directions to the nearest enemy base?"
"Why do you need that? That's like the stupidest thing you could do if you're trying to avenge your family."
"But it's exactly what I need for a good disguise. Now, do you have those directions or not?"
"Well..." The soldiers looked at each other. "I supposed you could take the forest road close to here, it would take you to their nearest camp. But...it is the most dangerous..."
Jade tucked the pistol in her belt. "Where can I find the road?"
A few minutes later, Jade arrived at the forest path. The trees all around her were extremely overgrown, perfect for hiding behind. She took out her pistol and warily looked around. Seeing nothing, Jade ran down the road. Suddenly, she heard a frightening yell and froze in place. It sounded exactly like her mother! She ran towards the noise and found that it was only another woman, but she was in a lot of pain.
"Ma'am? Are you all right?" Jade sympathetically asked.
The woman shook her head. "They...the soldiers, they took my family away from me!" She burst into tears.
Seeing how devastated she was, Jade decided to help the woman. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to get them back for you."
The woman looked at her with admiration. "It's been a long time since I met someone with your courage and sympathy." She smiled slightly.
Jade smiled back. "I guess...I'll get going, then. It was nice meeting you." Jade sprinted off in pursuit of the enemy.
Jade arrived at the battlefield. She looked around and saw a group of prisoners chained nearby.
"Hey" Jade whispered. "Over here!" The prisoners looked at her in shock. One of them whispered back. "What're you doing here! They'll catch you and put you in chains!" He glanced around in worry. Suddenly, a dozen or so soldiers ran over. Jade swiftly ducked behind a tree. Thankfully, all their attention was on the prisoners and didn't see her.
Their leading officer harshly grabbed a man and his child and dragged them over to a nearby patch of ground. He motioned for the soldiers to hold the man in place. He then brutally pulled the child from his arms.
"Former General, for the actions you and your army have done against, the new great empire, you and your family will be punished by losing your newborn son."
The man clenched his fists and thrashed against the chains and the men holding him. "No! Don't do this!"
Jade was horrified. How could they do this to a child? She had to do something.
"Hey!" Jade sprinted out from the forest just as the officer raised his gun. He looked at her in surprise mixed with fury.
"What are you doing here? Soldiers get her! He turned his attention back to the baby. "As for you..."
Jade screamed. She pulled out the pistol and fired it in the air to get his attention.
"MEN! Lock her up! I'm tired of all these interruptions!" He turned once again towards the child.
"No! Please!" All her anger fired up inside her and she rose up into the air. Bright light burst out from her fingertips and her fury was brought down towards the enemy, with a luminous flash of light. Having used all her strength, Jade fell unconscious to the ground.
"Huh?" Jade woke up to find a woman peering at her. "Who are you?"
"I am Mother Nature, young one."
"What happened to me?"
"That I cannot tell you, but know this. You are Jade Luminia, Guardian of Light and Flame. It is your duty to keep light and flame in balance with the rest of the world. More than this, I cannot say. It is up to you to decide your destiny and place in the world. You, my dear, can choose how you want to impact the world." Mother Nature smiled and disappeared, leaving Jade alone in her thoughts.
~~~
"Why do you get to stay up later than me, Estella?" Sara complained.
"That's easy to answer. You're younger than me, so you need more rest." Estella giggled.
"Aww... come on. I like staying up late."
"And why are you talking about nighttime when it's the middle of the morning?"
"Uh..." Sara quickly rotated the subject by a bit. "Can I please stay up as late as you? Please?! I'm begging you!"
"Hm... uh... well—"
"Yes?!" Sara exclaimed eagerly.
"You can stay up late, as long as you stay hidden."[NC12] [JR13]
"Um..." Sara was a bit confused. "I don't know how to do that. Sorry."
"Then you just have to place a mannequin in your place and make sure to keep out of sight." She smiled, but it suddenly faded. "Except... it's just that normal people don't just have a few mannequins stored in their garage. Well, designers do use them for their work."
"Uh, yeah. At least we don't use mannequins for everyday actions, so... we don't have mannequins in the garage."
Just like that, Estella lived a happy childhood with her family. Everything was fine until one chilly autumn day...
"Mom, where's Sara?"
"Estella, I haven't seen her since morning. Maybe she's outside...?"
Estella hurried out of the back door and started searching in the backyard. She began around the row of ancient oak trees, then moved on to behind the tall bushes lining the fence. She didn't find anyone. Just a few insects and one earthworm.
"Where the heck is Sara?" muttered Estella as she exited the garden. "I can't find her anywhere!"
Suddenly, Estella heard a hissing voice in her head. "I have killed your sister, stupid little girl! Give me your powers or I will kill you too!"
"No!" Estella cried. "You're lying!"
"Oh," said the voice asking surprise. It continued pleasantly, "I am certainly not lying. You're lying by saying I'm lying."
"Well, whoever you are, I don't have powers, so you're lying!"
The voice merely laughed and cackled. "You do have powers, deep inside. Dark powers. Evil powers. Strong enough to destroy the world, Estella. With our strength combined, we could possibly rule the world!"
"I would kill all the children I hate in this world," the voice continued, "but children are the future of our world. If I kill you, if I do so, I will be tempted to kill others, others that I hate, now that I know that murder is so easy."
"Leave me alone!" Estella protested. "And no, I will not help you accomplish your so called 'great' deeds!"
"You will regret it when you realize that I can lead you to great power!"
Estella was left alone. She was still digesting what had happened.
Estella trudged with heavy feet away from her home. She needed to find a place to be alone. A silent place.
As she approached a dark forest surrounded with mist, she decided that would be the perfect spot. But then, she spotted a dark shadow looming over her. 'What the—" She slowly turned around, stumbled a few steps backwards, and gasped.
"My dear child, what were you trying to do to yourself, traveling across the boundaries of a dangerous land?"
Is it that the hissing voice again? But it doesn't sound the same as that voice... Different... Estella was confounded. "Who are you and what are you?"
"I am Mother Nature."
"Where am I?"
"You are deep within the woods you were heading to when attacked."
"By what, Mother Nature?"
"By one of the servants of your enemy."
"Who's my enemy again?"
"Your enemy is not something important right now. It will come to you later. But I will tell you something."
"I'm listening."
But instead of hearing it spoken, Estella could hear the words vibrating and echoing all around her.
You are no longer the Estella you once were. You are no longer the girl you once were.
You are Estella Nightshadow. You will forget your past and look ahead to your future. You are the guardian of darkness.
"Okay?" Estella stumbled.
"One more thing I must to tell you before I go."
"I'm still listening."
"You are Estella Nightshadow, guardian of darkness. Darkness is not evil. Only evil is evil. Darkness is gloomy yet full of peace and beauty. You are Estella Nightshadow, guardian of darkness. Darkness is not evil. Only evil is truly evil. Always remember this."
"Uh, no offense, but are you saying that... that hissing voice wasn't lying? That I actually have powers?"
"Yes, Estella, the voice was not lying. But that does not mean that you should have agreed."
You will find the others when the time has come. The enemy is attacking.
Estella couldn't feel Mother Nature's presence anymore. She sat up. Something was tugging on her neck. A pendant, a black one. But with a single purple bead at the end? Odd.
