Before True Light: The Awakening 2nd Edition

A bloodied hand exposed itself from under the debris that acted like a shallow grave. Slowly, more skin was exposed as the hand continued to reach out, seeming to pull the attached body out from behind itself. Once freed from the earth, a human form began crawling towards a shallow stream next to where it emerged. The body raised itself on hands and knees, and peered into the water. Izanami looked at her reflection, and saw that her face was badly bruised and encrusted with dark, dried blood. “Well, that’s just great,” she said. She washed her face off as best she could and fell back, breathing heavily. She was trying to recall what had transpired previously to finding herself half-buried in dirt. She had no sense of the length of time that she spent that way. Turning her head, her eyes fell on a rocky mountain wall. Scenes of distant events began to swim around Izanami’s mind, but she was unsure if they were real, or not. As she fought to make sense of the images, the most persistent one was the vision of a smiling face looking down on her as she was falling over the edge of a mountain; but, two things puzzled her. First, how did she survive such a fall and, second, how did she end up so far away from Mount Shi? At this point, Izanami was not sure where she was or what the mountain behind her was, because Mount Shi was surrounded by a forest and Izanami did not see a forest around her, only what appeared to be long-dead timber and stumps.

  Izanami wanted to climb the mountain to get a better view of where she was. Whether or not that was wise, considering her current physical condition, did not seem to cross her mind. However, the challenge Izanami faced was to simply stand up. All her muscles ached. When she was finally able to stand, Izanami’s legs shook and she struggled to support her weight. One step at a time, Izanami told herself. Each step she took was carefully thought out, even though it was as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.

  Once at the base of the mountain wall, Izanami looked up and said, “I must be crazy. This would be so much easier if Amyntas were here.” Shaking her head, Izanami placed one foot carefully on the mountain and grasped it tightly with both hands. Slowly, she began her ascent. Every so often Izanami had to stop to catch her breath. The pain that consumed every inch of her body was becoming more difficult to ignore.

  The sound of something flapping in the wind caught her attention. Looking over towards the sound, Izanami spotted a black piece of material. She reached out and grabbed her cloak that was snagged on a jagged rock. Her still-confused mind didn’t seem to register the oddness of finding her cloak there.

  As soon as Izanami reached a level area, she pulled herself up and lay motionless on her stomach for some time. Her hood fell onto her head. A cold mountain breeze wisped across her face. Finally, getting up and turning around, Izanami was startled and she could feel her senses slowly going numb. She perched herself on the edge of the cliff and stared at the dying land in front of her. Izanami was stunned. The entire forest was gone and the mountain range leading to Geijan Gorge was stripped of life. Where Palcelia River flowed was now an empty trench. In the far distance, an ocean of darkness was defiling life, as it continued on like a devastating tidal wave.

  So much life had been extinguished. The sky bled out reds and pinks, as if in empathy with how much blood was being spilled. Izanami lost all sense of time and feeling. She was still aware of her surroundings, but no longer seemed to see them. Mentally, she locked herself into her own world. All she could think about was that she was supposed to be the one to prevent this from happening. She had failed. In Izanami’s mind, it was her fault that this happened. A sudden, excruciating thought painfully shook her. What about the rest of the people of her village? They had no warning of this. There could not have been enough time for them to find safety. The legacy of the Red Mages was abolished in such a short time. For thousands of years, Red Mages protected mankind. Now, she feared they must be all but extinct. She slumped onto the ledge, and prayed for death to release her tormented mind.

  At a distance, two voices echoed between the rocks. They became louder as they approached closer to Izanami. One seemed familiar to her, but she was now so lost in her despair that she was unaware of the implication that there were survivors other than herself. The familiar voice spoke to her. It took some time before she thought to answer. When she looked up into the eyes of her rescuer, she recognized the soft features of the man and tried to speak. But she couldn’t find any words. Kyros looked at her with a mixture of sadness and relief. He helped Izanami up and they made their way down the mountain.

  For the rest of the time, Izanami did not speak a single word. She was completely silent. Kyros had taken her to a military/refugee camp in Geijan Gorge. She was surprised, but relieved, to see that there were some civilian survivors at the camp. However, besides Kyros, she did not see anyone that she knew.

  Nightfall came and Izanami still sat in her place at the campfire. She was gazing into the fire, as if in a trance.

  “I should probably go over there and try to talk to her,” said Kyros to one of his military aides. He walked over to Izanami. He was not quite sure what to say to her. He asked her how she felt, but she didn’t seem interested in small talk. Eventually, Izanami began to speak, and the melancholy in her voice betrayed her broken spirit.

  “…never did I imagine that it would end this way,” Izanami whispered softly and sadly, as she gazed up at the millions of stars and the majestic blue and red moons.

  “Who says this is the end? As long as we are still alive, it is not the end,” replied Kyros.

  “How can we possibly move forward after this? How can I possibly face the innocent after letting this happen?” Izanami began to cry.

  Kyros also looked up at the night sky. “The suns and moons of centuries past… the soul’s renewal of deep slumber. One chance… the last chance. The horizons bleed once more… before the true light…,” he whispered.

  Epilogue