Episode Arri: Chapter 2: Predecessor

Chapter 2 of Arri's adventure.

            Arri continued to pour over whatever records she could find in regards to the history of the village, hoping to find even a single mention in regards to the figures she saw in her vision.  But as she kept looking, nothing seemed to stand out.  Her vision clearly showed that the tree was still a sapling when the figures were alive, but every single record she found said the tree was full grown and in full bloom like it was today.

            “Are these the oldest records you have of this place?” Arri asked one of the villagers who had taken her to the records hall.

            “Are you looking for a specific time frame?” the villager asked Arri.

            “Is there anything of when this tree was a sapling or just barely starting to grow?”

            “My apologies, many of our records that may have included that information were lost during one of the many conflicts over the generations.”

            “Curse the Great War….” Arri said under her breath.

            “No, not the Great War.  There have been conflicts over the course of generations not necessarily solely related to the Kingdoms.  Perhaps a bandit raid, perhaps a skirmish between the high-houses of the years before the Kingdoms, or perhaps just a bad storm.”

            “So I’m stuck with records only a few generations old.”

            “I wish I could help more Huntress, but….” As the villager said this, he paused and began to think.  “Well, there may be no official records, but perhaps an old fairy tale?”

            “A fairy tale?”

            “While records have been lost, many stories and fairy tales about the tree and this town have been passed down over generations.  Perhaps they could contain some hidden truths in regards to what you are attempting to find?”

            “Well, it’s better than nothing” Arri said with a sigh.  With that, the villager lead her out of the records room and into a different wing with different books, these with far more colorful covers and bindings much like the storybooks that Natalie and Ruby used to read her and Hera when they were growing up.  Arri started flipping through some of the books trying to find anything unique to this town.  Some of them seemed to be more re-interpretations of fairy tales she had read beforehand, such as a retelling of “The Girl Who Fell Through the World” but instead of the mighty Yggrdasil it was the Tree of Spring Eternal, obviously referencing the tree of the village.  There were a few other retellings focused around the village.  There was one about how the Indecisive King actually lived in this village, as well as the Warrior in the Woods was actually about this village.  Arri began to think this was mostly just the village taking fairy tales from other parts of the world to try and convince the children that their home was truly special, but then she turned another page and saw a drawing that caused her to stop.  It was a crude drawing of two women standing next to a pool of darkness with a small tree sapling floating above it glowing with light.  The two women at first glance didn’t seem all that eye-catching, but one of them was distinctly drawn with having skin white like snow while the other didn’t have any unique colors outside of green hair.  Arri began reading the text that accompanied the picture:

 

 

Once upon a time, there was a woman with a lot of rage.

Her Rage created power, and that created feelings in others she hated.

She hated her neighbors because of their jealousy

She hated her friends because of their insincerity.

She hated her father because of his passiveness.

And she hatted her brother for his naivety.

But one day she found friends.

Friends who taught her much.

The Lady of Sun taught her composure in the heat of rage.

The Lady of Snow taught her calm in the sharp cold.

The Lady of Twilight taught her mastery of the storm of life.

And the Lady of Dawn taught her the beauty of rebirth.

The Woman once wished to destroy the world.

To wipe it all away herself.

In a pit of darkness, she placed a part of herself.

A Darkness to Destroy all of Reality.

But the Lady of Dawn stopped her.

She did not cut nor break nor bend the woman,

She simply gave her love.

The Woman regrated her actions, but did not know what to do to stop the darkness.

The Lady of Dawn then built a cave around the darkness

And planted a seed.

A Promise.

The chance for something to grow over the world

And hide the darkness.

When the Woman asked why, the Lady of the Dawn simply said,

“So that rebirth is inevitable.”

 

 

 

            Arri reached the end of the passage and flipped over the page to see if there was any more.

            “That can’t be it” she said scratching her head.  “This is too relevant, there has to be something more.”  Arri kept flipping through the pages of the book the fairy tale was in, but didn’t seem to find much.  She tried a few other tomes to see if there were any other references to the dark pool and the sapling.  But as she was reaching for another book, she heard the alarm bells ringing yet again.  She quickly turned around and made her way back out towards the defensive perimeter, but as she did so the book she was about to examine fell off the shelf and hit the floor, revealing a tiny piece of paper wedged between some of the pages.

 

 

            Arri quickly ran towards the main gates, but didn’t notice any fighting taking place on the onset.  As she got up to the lookout tower, she saw two of the village guard looking out with horrified looks on their faces.  When she turned her attention to what they were looking at as well, she was as shocked as they were.  Unlike the hordes of generic Grimm that had been plaguing the town for the last few weeks, she saw a horde of giant-type Grimm such as Goliaths and Beringels, but the one that was causing everyone to hesitate was the giant Nuckelavee that was approaching with them.  The city guard was terrified, and Arri knew that was only going to attract even more Grimm.  She quickly pulled out her Scroll, made a few quick taps before putting it away, then leapt outside of the town walls and drew her weapon.  She also channeled some of her Aura into her Semblance to summon a few strong roots to reinforce the walls of the town.  She took a deep breath, and prepared herself for what she was about to face.

Author's Note

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