I woke up, my head hazy, my vision blurred. With a great heave, I struggled to stand, but instead fell back onto the warm soil. There were only a few things in my mind.
My name is Irene. It means peace, it means forgiveness.
It contains emotion I will never lose.
Before my mind ventured farther, my body betrayed me and forced me to lay on the ground, silent and still. I felt the world drift away before my eyes. And I didn't understand.
2 days later
I blinked my eyes open, and immediately saw a low ceiling above me. The roof was made out of brown straw, and the walls look old and ragged, like they had been standing there for many years.
Seeing myself in an unknown place, I panicked inwardly, but my instincts told me to remain quiet, so I forced myself to wait on the bed until I finally heard voices.
"Do you think she's awake now?"
"I hope so. I wonder what happened to her. A pretty young maiden left in the woods alone? And she's been asleep for a while..."
There was a pause as both of them stopped outside of the door.
"You wait here, I will go to check on her." The same man spoke in a smooth voice.
I opened my eyes slightly and saw a white haired young man with emerald green eyes, walking into the dimly lit room.
He had a sharp metal dagger strapped to his waist and a book in his hand, I immediately noted, my heart beating quickly in my chest.
I waited until he neared the bed, his disappointed voice flowing to my ears as he thought I was still asleep.
Just... a little, bit, closer. Adrenaline rushed from my legs all the way to the tips of my fingertips. One, more, step. I thought.
The man looked over me, and in a swift motion, I grabbed the dagger from his belt and held it up threateningly. It felt surprisingly natural to be holding a dagger.
"Where... am I." I asked slowly, my voice betraying the confidence I had wanted to emit.
"My my," the man's deep green eyes became slits as a small smile appeared on his face.
"I mean no harm, I promise. You were laying in the woods all alone when the village guards found you. The man outside offered to take care of you so they brought you back to this village."
A shiver ran up my arms at his seemingly deceiving voice.
"What's your name, Lady....." the man said, his gaze never leaving my own.
I stared back at him hesitantly, then said quietly the word I had heard in my mind when I first arrived into this world, "Irene."
The man dipped his head slowly. "My name is Enki, and the man waiting outside is Harith."
I lowered the knife cautiously, and my surroundings came rushing back at me. The small room seemed to suffocate me.
I stumbled off the bed, and pushed past the stranger towards the door of the room.
An elderly man was waiting outside in the hallway and reached out a hand to stop me, but I ran past him, my head whirling.
My feet finally stopped moving as I reached clean air. Then I saw the outskirts of the village.
It looked like the village had been recently attacked. The crops were trampled over and the land was picked bare. The village well was broken and crumbling. Strange ghost-shaped spirits floated up from the soil.
I had just been born into this world, but I could feel my mind whirling. No life deserved to live like this. Withered and broken.
Seeing the desolate fields of the town, a strange urge suddenly overtook me. I walked over to one of the large plantations, now empty, and reached down and touched the soil.
The soil felt like it was hurting. I wanted so desperately to heal it. I knew it was more than just an inanimate object. It had a life, and right now it's life had been destroyed.
The dry dust swirled around me. I closed my eyes and felt nauseous waves overwhelm my head. The yearning of the dirt grew larger. It called out to me greedily, but I still gathered up power.
I pushed it into the dirt, and a bright flash of white light appeared. Underneath my hands, I suddenly felt the once hard as rock soil turn to dark and moist ground. I felt green sprouts shoot out to form the beginning of a cucumber vine.
The ground was no longer its withered and empty self. It was cured of its emptiness.
However my body's energy felt like it was draining away.
Turning around slowly, I saw Enki and Harith staring at me open-mouthed. A crowd of people
had gathered behind them, and they were all muttering vigorously.
"You... just healed. How?!" Enki stuttered.
Harith shook his head in disbelief as he eyed the land behind me. New and fresh. Something I had healed.
"I... I'm sorry." I cried out, not sure how to take their short response.
Enki opened his eyes wide. "What are you sorry for? You just restored the land and the hopes of these people. May the gods bless you!"
Never in my life of knowledge have I ever experienced magicks or witchcraft so powerful..." he continued.
I felt my head lurch again at his words, and suddenly a burst of energy left me.
My mind blanked, and the world faded away.
The last thing I saw was Enki's powerful hands reaching for me.
3 Days Later
I woke up in the same musty smelling room, with the same cobwebs on the ceiling.
Before I had time to process what had happened, the door flung open and I was forced to look into Enki's gray-white hair.
"You're awake, m'lady," he said hesitantly.
I stared into his green eyes and remained silent.
He continued speaking. "You are aware of what you did right?"
"Yes," I said quietly.
Enki glanced at the hallway behind him. "I hate to ask you of this so soon, but do you think you can try doing... whatever you did, again?"
He fumbled his fingers on the book near him.
My eyes widened at his request but his voice was still steady.
"I am a librarian who seeks knowledge. Over many years, I have studied various magicks users, yet not one of them are able to save our world from its turmoil state.
But now you are here, and it would be a blessing for the land to be cured."
I finally responded. "I can try." My voice was bland of any emotion.
Enki's eyes lit up. "Thank you Irene! The villagers and guards of Phoenix Drop have been rejoicing over the aspect of being able to grow their own food again. The land has been empty for too long."
"Why has the land been empty?" I asked, interested.
"No one knows. One day, the soil suddenly became dry and withered. There were sparks of energy and witchcraft emerging from it. It was like it had been infected with the shadow realm's air."
"Shadow realm?"
Enki nodded slightly."It is a place of great danger and evil. Luckily, there are only very few portals that still lead to it. That is at least what I have read about it" He looked away towards the window.
"I see," I answered quietly. Perhaps the shadow realm was the reason this village, Phoenix Drop, was suffering so horribly.
"And additionally, other villages have been experiencing the same effects we have. Their lands were destroyed. There were wither marks found floating off the dead crops. People of our own world are the cause of this," Enki's normally pleasant voice had become dark.
I could immediately feel a plea coming from him as he turned to face me once more.
"Please Lady Irene, once you are done curing this village of emptiness, can you help my village, and the villages surrounding Phoenix Drop? You are a goddess, are you not?"
I answered softy, "I do not know what I am. I do not remember my past. But I do not believe I am a goddess. Just a child blessed from the gods."
"You don't remember anything?"
I nodded.
Enki smiled a little bit, the first time I've seen him. "Well, at least you remember how to speak."
I tried to smile, but my heart let me down.
Seeing my disheartened face, Enki reached out and grabbed my hands. "It's okay Lady Irene, these days, it doesn't matter what happened in the past. It's the future you make for yourself that counts."
The tips of his white flew up calmly as a burst of wind suddenly broke through the room, and his face became solemn.
Yet his gaze still calmed my heart, and his words stuck with me throughout the rest of the day. I had my answer now.
"I will do it. I will cure this world from emptiness."
5 Days Later
"It is time for us to go." I said, my voice was strong and certain, cured of any hesitation I might have had before.
My head was clear. My fingers were tingling with excitement at the thought of exploring a whole new world. A world that was mine.
"Lady Irene, thank you for doing this, and may the gods bless you. Go make yourself a new future out there. And if the fates may allow it, we will meet again." Enki said.
"Where are you going to go?" I questioned him.
He smiled and said, "Probably back to my own tribe, after all, I have succeeded in gaining knowledge from the villages of Bright Port and Phoenix Drop."
"Your tribe, it's called Warrior Tribe right?"
Enki nodded. "Maybe you can come and visit after you reach Bright Port. It is only a little farther after all."
I nodded slightly, then looked towards the villagers that were going to join me.
"Villagers of Phoenix Drop, I welcome you into the hands of adventure, pain, and hardship. Let us experience a world together, and save the world from emptiness. I thank you for joining me."
My eyes scanned over the crowd and I saw happy faces cheering. My heart settled down in my chest.
It was me. I was born into this world. And I was here to make peace.