Epic Nguyen

It was early morning, the sun was hidden from behind the tall mountains and were overshadowed by clouds that bore releasing water. It was raining against the Earth as it woke from its night sleep. Beneath the mountains in a valley, was a village. The village people crowded themselves around the center, chanting words of death and salvation as a girl was bound by her hands, standing on a platform elevated from the ground. Droplets of water on the platform reflected the village peoples' wide and outreached faces bearing torches. Tears were running down the girl's face.

"I cried. Water ran down my face, but no one could tell as it was raining that day. People said that I was the root of all evil in this world. They said that they would find me, capture me, then...end the evil...forever, by killing me. So here I am, facing my deluded destiny created by my once friends and family. My foster dad didn't seem to care at all, for he was truly an evil man. He had made a deal with the king. If I were to die, the king would then reward him with great riches as he believed I would harm his kingdom and dethrone him. Brining an end to the terrible reign that he and his family had brought upon this continent."

There was a big opening in the center of the village named Argethëim. The hand built homes and buildings were made with stone and wood, held together by hardened clay or mud. They lived on the continent of Nëimlorá, ruled under the mislead Silver Empire. The platform was built for public execution of traitors who have violated the rules of the continent, performed by soldiers of the Silver Empire. The girl on the platform had blonde hair that sticked to her skin because of the rain.

"As I neared my death, I looked at my foster parents. My mother...cared. She showed emotions, her emotions could be seen even with the rain. My dad on the other hand...I could see right through him. Fake tears, fake sad emotions. I knew he was happy on the inside, for riches were being brought his way. The people believed that I was a demon and that they could kill me with holy water. I don't know what I am, or...even if I am human or even a demon. The only thing I knew was...that I could only die of old age. And, when I come back, I will be needing some help taking this wretched kingdom down. Then, create a shining future on Nëimlorá. The people were making a mistake, the empire will bring the true evil...I just wish they knew."

The girl looked up at the gray and white sky and then to the crowd. Behind the crowd was a father and his daughter. They grieved at the sight of her nearing death, the daughter was holding two swords shielded in silver sheaths with red cloths tied around them. The girl atop the platform who was about to be executed looked at them with tearful eyes and talked to them through their minds.

"Now is the time. You must go, bring the swords to them." she said.

The daughter from behind the crowd asked, "What if they're not ready?"

The girl on the platform closed and opened her eyes slowly, forcing more tears down her face. "We'll just have to hope that they are."

The daughter nodded. She had brown hair that was covered by the hood on her silver-colored cloak. Her father wore a brown cloak, he was tall and had bulky healthy arms and legs for he was a smith and a fighter. They both said goodbye to the blonde girl and started running away from the center of the village, towards the airship docks. Airships were giant boat-like ships that flew in the sky, they could by powered by the wind with their hand weaved highly durable sail cloths or propelled by fans powered by unknown crystals. They reached the docks. The father motioned the girl aboard an airship while he unhooked the rope that bound the ship to the landing dock. He ran aboard and pushed the plank that allowed them onto the ship off. The plank made a splash sound as it hit the water, it sank down for a moment but then rebounded to the surface for air. The airship had a finished brown wood haul engraved with handcrafted designs and bore whitish-tan sails, fins and fans. The father ran to the upper level to where the steering wheel was. It was a giant steering wheel like in pirate ships. As a matter of fact, airships are very similar to pirate ships except that they could fly. He put his hand on a knob, grabbed it tightly, turned it one quarter clockwise and pulled it towards him. This ignited the crystal of which was the ship's engine. Fans made of extremely durable wood and well-made handcrafted cloth mounted behind and to the sides of the ship started to spin. The airship slowly rose above the water.

"Vanessa!" yelled the father to his daughter on the lower deck. "Set the sails!"

She replied, "Yes father!" Vanessa latched the two swords that she was carrying onto her belt and pulled out another from behind her back. Vanessa's sword had a silver-colored hilt and blade. The hilt had a red piece of cloth tied around it. The blade part nearest to the hilt had a shape representing the wind carved out and a piece of pearl was fitted into the shape. Her sword was straight up double edged with a sharp point, it was a claymore. As she held it, rain droplets of which fell on the sword took its color then dropped on the deck, turning brown then eventually fading through the wood. Vanessa cut the ropes of which bound the sails, that caused the three poles on the ship to open big and wide to catch the wind, propelling the ship forward. Her father pulled on a lever on the ground to make the ship sail upwards. As it reached his desired height, he pulled on the lever again to level the flight.

"Sails are set, father!"

"Good! Keep and eye for anyone following us."

Vanessa nodded. She swiftly ran to the center pole and climbed up it with an agile body, reaching an outlook post that enabled the user to look around with a telescope. That is exactly what she did, although she did not use a telescope. Her eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, allowing her to see a great distance without any disruptions.


Back in the village, a soldier atop a roof on a nearby building readied his bow and arrow, dipping the arrow tip in a bowl of water. He drew back the string and pointed it at the blonde haired girl, she looked at him with powerful eyes. He hesitated.

"I could've ran, but I chose not too. I had to let these people see my death. I had to make them believe that I was truly dead, so that they would not come after me again. I have only been on this planet for fifteen years and have yet to feel great pain or death. I wondered how death would feel, since...I could only die of old age, and that was quite a long time. What would happen when the arrow struck me? Would I feel pain? All that would be answered...in just a few moments..."

The soldier released the arrow with a snap of the bowstring. The iron tipped arrow flew through the air with precision, slicing through the raindrops. It struck her in the heart, the tip had gone into her body, the feathered end stuck out of her. Her legs lengthened from each other to keep her standing, her back and head had bent forward as blood had seeped out from the puncture of the skin. She fell to the ground with a thud, causing water to fly upward, then down again. Rain still pouring. The crowd cheered with joy and salvation. The girl's father smiled an icy cold smile.

"Pain. Death. I couldn't feel those emotions. I had come to the conclusion that I wasn't human, that I was a demon. Though...could demons feel no pain? Maybe...maybe I was something else. I set those feelings and thoughts aside as my plan to save this continent was about to begin. I closed my eyes and let my body loosen as I waited for the soldiers to carry me to my grave. No one wanted to see the burial of a demon, so the two soldiers carried me alone."

As they reached the outskirts of Argethëim, the soldiers set the girl on her feet. Her eyes were still closed. The dirt road had muddy patches and were aligned with grass fields to one side and a sturdy tall wood fence leading into the village.

"Faith...you can open your eyes now." said one soldier.

She opened one eye to make sure no one else was around and eventually opened another. The rain was still pouring and the skies still gray.

"How was my acting?" asked Faith. She put one hand on her heart and the other hand on the feathered end of the arrow, she pulled the arrow out. Blood dripped to the ground.

"It wasn't bad, the village people were pretty fouled at your fake death..."

She dropped the arrow on the ground. Her wound healed itself. "Good...now." Faith said raising both her arms, slapping each soldier on the chest. They rubbed their chest and one verbally showcased his pain with his mouth. "The real salvation of Nëimlorá..." she continued, "has begun!" Faith raised her arms and lifted her head to the sky.

"Faith, why such dramati--" started one soldier.

"Ah ah ah," butted in Faith putting one hand over the soldier's mouth. "Gaius, this is my dramatic moment!"

Still rubbing his chest, Gaius said, "Ok...geez. Now what?"

"Ok. Now we just have to hope Vanessa got the swords delivered and meet her with them at Amhèrst. You got the horses, Neil?"

The other soldier pointed behind him, "Yes ma'am, I do!"

"Cut the accent, Neil. I don't see them..." said Faith.

Neil continued in his normal accent, "Erm...the horses are behind me."

"I don't see 'em." said Gaius lifting his shoulders.

"Uhm...Far behind me!"

Gaius turned around and Faith leaned over to see past Neil. "Nope, I still don't see any horses." she said.

"Faaaaarther back...in town." Neil gave a big grin.

"I thought our plan was to bring the horses here!" yelled Faith.

"Heh heh..." Neil rubbed the back of his head. "I forgot..."

Faith sighed, "Saving this continent is going to be harder than I thought...even if I can't die by any means other than old age." She put her hands on her hips and walked around, each step required some effort as the wet dirt road stuck to her feet, making a slight splashing sound.

"You got it easy." said Gaius, "You think serving the Silver Empire with Neil is easy?" He pointed at her. "Heck. If they find out we're traitors, we'll be dead!"

Faith put her hand on Gaius' shoulder, "Don't worry, I'll protect both of you. Since we can't go back to town, we'll have to borrow some horses in a nearby farm. Let's go."

They had reached the farm. No one was there, it was quiet with the winds now blowing harder and the rain continuing to fall. They entered the stable and grabbed three horses, riding off into the distant mountains towards Amhèrst that resided on the other side.

"My plan had begun. All aspects of it went somewhat well...I had many questions and thoughts. Questions and thoughts of who and what I was...how I would bring down the empire and what would I do after I had done that...those questions and thoughts...I hoped, would be answered in time. Right now, all I could do and all I could think of...was hope. I had faith."

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