Chapter Two

Arabella looked around at the desolate landscape and sighed with relief. For a while now she had been worried that someone was following them. They had passed a Council Outpost and had slipped past without them knowing they were there. Still her paranoia got the best of her as they continued. She had worried that they had been noticed. Now as she journeyed through this desolate land she could no longer picture what this world used to look like. Did anything remain? She asked herself sadly. She had been excited when she learned that she was to go on a journey to a place that she had only read about. Now she sighed sadly. How had the world come to this kind of state? She asked herself again. She had spent many years learning all about the world before the Great Calamity and the world after.

Arabella continued to walk and investigate the area that she was traveling through. She was sad to see that, like so many other areas that she had traveled to, it had long since been abandoned after the Great Calamity or caught up in the Council's search for the Vosat. Arabella had spent many years hearing about the destruction of the planet. When she became the proper age she was allowed into the library. There she was able to satiate her hunger to learn more about the world and its people before the Great Calamity. Arabella had been astonished to learn that a demon was laying dormant in a mountain. The more she learned the more curious she became. What was this planet and its people like? She still found herself wondering these things. She often found herself lost in thought on this subject.

Arabella sighed and pushed the thought out of her head. She pulled the map from her pack and looked at it long and hard. Even with this map she couldn't be sure that she was going in the right direction. Almost all of the marks were gone and and almost no one left the village any more. That meant that the map had not been updated in hundreds of years. Arabella frowned in confusion. The Elders had been reluctant to let her leave the safety of the village. However, it was decided after much discussion that she needed to travel to the Great Tsaligu. Arabella had been surprised to receive a summons from the Council of the Elders. Even more surprising was the appearance of the Grand Elder.

The old woman never showed up to these kinds of meetings unless something important was about to happen. To Arabella, who had no power, there was no reason for her to leave the village. She had no idea what was so important regarding her that the Grand Elder had to be there. Arabella sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

Genova, Arabella's best friend since childhood, cleared his throat. She looked up at him and smiled sadly. He walked quietly towards her and smiled.

"Are you still struggling with the map?" He asked gently.

"Yeah. Genova, I have no idea what I am even doing out here." She said frowning.

"You know that the Grand Elder has her reasons for sending you."

"I know but she didn't even tell me what I am supposed to be looking for or doing other than marking down the villages and Council Outposts that we see." She said. "That crazy old bat just said to go to the tree." She continued walking. "Then she smiled. You know that creepy smile she does when she knows something but no one else does." Genova nodded laughing. "Then said that I would understand soon enough. I mean how much more confusing can you get?"

Genova laughed. He had known her since they were children. In fact, his family had been selected to protect her. This was something that was not knowledgeable to Arabella or the rest of the village. They just thought that he was being kind to the girl with no family and no powers.

"You never did tell me, Genova, how on earth did you get roped into this craziness?" She asked without looking behind her. Genova swallowed nervously.

"Come on! You are my best friend. Wherever you go, I go!" He said making a hurt face. Arabella glanced back at him dubiously and pushed a long black lock of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, okay." She said casting a look at the sky. "We need to find a place to bed down for the night." Genova nodded in agreement.

He had already begun to notice the changes in her demeanor even if she hadn't noticed it yet. That was the whole reason for this journey he assumed. Once the power awakened in her many of the people in the village would be targeted again. After meeting with the Grand Elder it was determined that not only was the power within her beginning to awaken but that she was unaware of the changes taking place. When he had met with the old woman she had been adamant that Arabella should leave the village. She wouldn't fully tell him why she was so sure that Arabella should leave the village except that it was a very important journey that she needed to go on.

As they walked Arabella noticed smoke a not far ahead. Her eyes shifted over to Genova. He knew from that look on her face that she wanted to investigate what was happening. He also knew that there was no talking her out of it. He sighed and nodded his head. As soon as he nodded his head she took off running ahead of him.

"Arabella," He whispered but it was no use. She would not listen to him.

Genova sprinted after her. When he caught up with her her face was a mask of horror. His eyes followed her line of sight and his face paled. At the entrance of a small village children were being strung up as their parents watched in horror helpless against the Council Guards. Arabella made a move to help them but Genova reached out an arm to stop her. Arabella glared at him.

"Get out of my way, Genova." She ordered. Genova looked at her helplessly.

"What would you have me do?" He asked.

"Send a transmission to the Grand Elder. I won't wait while they kill children." She said. Genova looked at her face. It was twisted in pain and one hand clenched at the spot where her scar was. He knew that this was not something that she would turn away from. He nodded his head and sent a transmission to the Grand Elder.

Arabella did not wait for his assistance. Instead she grabbed her bow and an arrow. She lined up her shot and let the arrow fly. It flew true and pierced one of the guards in the neck. The looked to see where the arrow came from. While they were busy looking Arabella drew her katanas and charged at the Council Guards.

When Genova finished the transmission he found Arabella engaged in battle against the guards. He drew his sword and ran to join the battle. He noticed that the parents were too frightened to move so he took out two of the guards and cut the children down. He knew that Arabella would never forgive him if he had let the children die. Genova and Arabella continued to push the guards back. When he was sure that she was out of the way he threw out his arm. Energy pulsed down it and flames lit up the ground around the guards. Arabella pulled out her bow and an arrow and lined up her shot. She let arrow after arrow fly until their wasn't a single guard standing. When they turned around guards were coming from behind them. Arabella drew her katanas and charged them with a fierce yell. Some of the guards turned and fled when they saw that their numbers were dwindling. Arabella and Genova fought until the last guard fell. Arabella flicked the blood off of here swords and sheathed them in their scabbards.

When the fighting was over Arabella instructed Genova to put out the fires that had been set. They had not expected to come into such a war zone on their travels. For Arabella witnessing such horrors reaffirmed her desire to see the Council torn down no matter how long it took. Genova and Arabella checked on the remaining villagers who were staring at them wide eyed. They had never seen anyone stand up to the Council. Most people ran away when they knew the Council Guard was nearby. Many of the people from their village had already fled taking the sick and children with them. Those who couldn't make the journey stayed at the village and hoped that the Council Guards showed mercy.

"Thank you." One woman said walking feebly towards them. Arabella reached out a hand to steady her.

"Thank you? Are you kidding me?" A man scoffed. "When they come back no one will be left alive. We're all going to die now because of you!" He raged.

Arabella stepped back as he stepped towards her. Genova raised his sword and pointed it at his neck. Arabella placed a hand on his arm.

"Genova, he's just scared."

"I do not care." He said staring the man down. "You do not come near her or I will cut your head from your shoulders." The man trembled at the ferociousness of his words. He held his hands up and backed away slowly.

"Genova, I said, 'it's fine'." She said calming him.

"No it's not! You don't have any power of your own and you put them ahead of yourself! Do you think that I could let something like this slid?" His hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. Arabella's hand snaked out and struck him in the face.

"Get a grip, Genova. I am okay. These people don't know who we are and are scared. That's all." She said. Genova held a hand against the side of his face and stared at her in shock. "Are you calm now?" She asked.

"Yeah. I guess." He said.

"Good. Now," She said turning to face the people before her. "Mister, I don't know what was going on here. What I do know is that I saw children about to be murdered for no reason and that not one of you were brave enough to fight back." She said glaring at him. "That you would let children die because you were afraid to fight for your home is sad." She said. She looked at him and noticed that most of them were either old or sick, except for this man. "You look healthy. Why did you stay behind?" She asked. He looked away from her his face blushing in embarrassment. From the look that he gave her she understood the situation.

"How often do they attack?" She demanded.

"No one answer that." He ordered. Arabella glared at him.

"Genova, take him somewhere else and try not to kill him." She said. Genova grabbed him from behind and drug him away from the group. Everyone watched in surprise. "Now how often do the Council Guards come to this village?" She asked as she sat on the ground in front of them. Everyone bowed their heads in embarrassment. Arabella rolled her eyes. "Okay I am going to assume that they come once a month." She said. No one answered her. "I am also going to assume that people are selected to stay behind and that families are permitted to either stay behind and say goodbye or leave." She said.

"But we didn't know that this would happen." Someone finally answered.

"You were told that the selected would go to work in the Council." She said. They nodded their heads. "Then what happened?" She asked.

"One of the children didn't want to go to the Council Capital." Said a woman sadly. "But they were never going." She whispered.

"What do you mean?" Arabella asked angrily as she began to put the picture together.

"My son, he ran away because he over heard the village leader speaking with one of the guards. They never go to the Capital. The Council kills them... Each person is watched and then they select certain people who stand out. Leaders, people who could later become a threat to the Council. Each month they visit to cull them." A woman sobbed. Arabella's eyes filled with sadness and disgust. "We have always complied but then my son overheard them talking and he ran. He was so scared. He begged me not to make him go." She wailed.

"We thought that they would leave us be after the first cull." A man said. Arabella's eyes shifted towards him.

"You knew about this?" She demanded. He nodded his head sadly. "And what makes you think that they would ever leave you be?" He looked away embarrassed. Everyone averted their eyes from her in shame. "Let me tell you how the Council works." Arabella raged. They heard a rustling noise but no one had the courage to look at her. "Look at me!" She ordered. When they looked at her they gasped in shock. Arabella had taken off her shirt and revealed a huge scar that ran from her neck all the way down her torso. It was as if some had slashed at her with a sword.

"This is what the Council does to people." She said angrily. "I was eight! Tell me what did I do to deserve to be culled?" She demanded. "What did they do?" No one could answer her. They stared at her in horror.

"Arabella, what's going-" Genova came around the corner. "Hey! Why is your shirt-" Arabella turned to face him. It was the first time that he had seen the scar in its entirety. His eyes widened in horror.

"Go get him." She said.

Genova backed away and did as he was told. He knew that something had happened to her back then but he had no idea that she had been nearly cleaved in two. When he returned he had the man in tow and Arabella still stood shirtless. He looked away out of respect.

"Look at me you piece of shit!" Arabella ordered. The man turned his head and stared at her in horror. "This is what your beloved Council does to children." She hissed. "Burn this sight into your memory." She said then slipped her shirt back on over her head.

"I-," He began.

"I don't care to hear what you have to say. You should leave this village and never return." She ordered. "Don't ever let me see you again. Now leave." She ordered.

"What will we do now?" One of the women asked.

"Don't worry. I am not so cruel as to leave you without anyone to help you." She said. "We will stay here until help arrives." She said. "We need to talk." She said walking away.

"What was happening here?" He asked. He knew it was worse than he had imagined when he saw her without her shirt on. She always took care to cover that scar. She never talked about it and no one ever saw it.

"The Council does a monthly cull. Basically anyone who could be a problem in the future gets culled before they become a problem." She said with a sigh.

"What?" Genova all but shouted.

"Yeah. You know I don't remember much but I do remember the night my mom died and the boy that I saved though I don't remember who he was to me." She said sadly. "He must have been important."

Genova nodded his head. Before she could say anything else he was sending a transmission to the Grand Elder and explaining what they stumbled into. He requested help for the village as well.

"How bad was it?" She asked.

"She showed them the scar when she found out. She also banished the village head from the village." He said.

"I am surprised she showed them the scar." The grand elder said.

"They were angry that she stopped the cull." He said.

"More than angry. Genova, watch over her. She is very vulnerable right now."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Seeing that was probably like reliving that night all over again. When she feels especially vulnerable she thinks about him." She said.

"Why can't she remember him?" Genova asked.

"I don't know. It's probably from the trauma of that night. She lost her mother and nearly died then." She said sadly. "Maybe she will remember him soon." She said with hope. Genova sighed and nodded his head.

"I must go, Grand Elder." He said.

"Take care child." She said.

Genova nodded his head and ended the Transmission. He looked at Arabella sadly. He couldn't believe that she had managed to survive something like that when she was only a child. He found himself wondering how she didn't break.