Character:Altievia Solitaire\History

Altievia Solitaire
I dash around the corner, the strange and powerful creature laughing cruelly as it slowly and confidently follows me. The dark passages were unnerving, it felt like someone was always watching me. Still I ran, there was no way a simple girl like myself was going to fight a monstrosity like him! My ankle length jet black hair with its dark red and bright blue tips trailed behind me, the green ribbon having long since fallen off. I had no weapons, no special powers like the Dragon Blooded, I had nothing to protect me. Nothing especially against the Anathema! I pick up the pace and dive into a smooth and small passage, bruising most likely my firm legs, slender arms, and chest I squirm my way into this crawlspace hoping beyond hope that the end opened somewhere else.

Something cold and slimy grabs my ankle and I cry out as it tries to pull me back. Reaching forward in a hope to find something to grab I use my free foot to kick at the offending appendage. A piercing and frightening howl causes me to freeze and tremble and soon I am pulled from the crawlspace. As I dangle before the not quite dead, dead creature I cross my arms and pout, while I glare at the powerful undead and tentacle thing, four red eyes gleefully looks at me, and I can just tell it was going to use me as some sort of play thing if not kill me outright.

“So Altievia Solitaire,” my pursuer says as he steps from behind the mass of slim, death, and rot, “how do you like finally being caught.”

“Really Cor,” I snap at the thing that had at one point been a prospective suitor. Now he was less handsome, with his black eyes, and very pale skin, of course his behavior hasn’t at all be nice. It was no wonder he was an Anathema. “You should know by now that you can’t keep me. I will get away.”

He laughs coldly, though I can’t blame him. It won’t take much to kill me after a long torture session. All I had was false bravado.

“Altievia, Little Alt, when I’m done with you, you will be wishing you had not spurned me all those years ago.”

“Master, we should kill her now, I smell something strange about her,” the creature says with a deep growl in its voice.

“Don’t be silly, she is easily destroyed.”

And then I felt it, something awakening inside of me, and my green eyes flashed with a greenish light as began to glow from me. My eyes are wide as the light gleams on the slimy mass and I shiver slightly as I dangle there. Cor glares at me drawing a black bladed daiklave from its back’s position and the creature lefts me up higher, better to impale me at this height. I squirm and flail about knowing that I was about to die and then suddenly I fall to the ground, dropped. Standing before me was a red haired woman, dressed in a green outfit and holding a sword before her, a bow was strapped to her back. I could make out a strange symbol on one of her arms. I knew it, from my hunt for it anyway. Excelsior.

“Go on,” she snaps, “Get out of here. I’ll take care of the boy.”

“Oh will you now,” Cor sneers as he steps forward while his creature writhes in pain. I look between then and without a second thought return to the crawl space. I come out at the other side and start to run but then I stop as a critical sounding crack echoes in the dark passageway. Then the crack grows louder and in surprise I find myself falling into the darkest of darkness. There is a sudden flash of light and then darkness engulfs me.

Opening my eyes is painful but as soon as I do so I really honestly wish I hadn’t. Around me were several large spiders, mechanical in nature starting at me, around me was a disconcerting place, that made me feel quite uneasy. Strings of shimmering light cross all over the place in the very large room, give me a terrible sense that I was somewhere where I really shouldn’t be. They move aside and the largest spider ever towers over me and I can’t help but feel fear grow. What were these things?

“Altievia Solitaire, your identity is no more, your existence has changed, and your power has grown.” It says in a decidedly buzzing mechanical voice. “I am Asna Firstborn, Mother of the Patternspiders that control the Loom of Fate. And you are needed.”

“Me? W, whatever for,” I say looking up at the large spider as it regards me.

“The Sidereal are gone, and Creation slips further into destruction. There is plenty more to discuss, and fate has brought you as it was told.”

“What if I’d rather not, and go home.”

“You cannot return to Creation without training, and if you remain you will die, you must learn.”

I frown thoughtful, this was curious indeed. No one ever in my life has depended on me, not once. I slowly stand ignoring the pain in my body. “Very well, Asna Firstborn, I am willing to learn then.”

“The Loom itself, and others will teach you in secret, you will remain in this sanctum and you will remain out of sight. For the hope of Creation I do hope you can learn quickly.” A leg points to one of the smaller yet larger than the smaller spiders. “This one will be your guardian, do not abuse it.”

“Oh, well I would never do that.” Even if I could I’m sure Asna could easily be able to crush me. Besides if I could gain an edge against Cor then so much the better.

And so I was ushered away and for months I was trained. The stars, the guardianship of the Sidereal, of what the old Sidereal have done and what the new Solars and Lunars might do. I was horrified to know of a lot of things and a bit unhappy when even the Spiders couldn’t tell me the answers. First and foremost was the fact that I was no longer known, my identity hidden by the broken Mask, I disliked the fact that I couldn’t be remembered but as the spiders told me, sometimes it would help me get through some places. Oh and let me tell you how many times I have been admonished by my caretakers for touching this, exploring that, after awhile the Loom of Fate gets to be quite boring.

At the end of my training time, after I had mastered all they could teach me alarms started going off and we all looked to Asna Firstborne as she sighed heavily. “Send her to the Anvil.”

“What, but surely there is more for me to know,” I exclaimed with sudden dismay.

“Yes there is much for you to know, but soon Lookshy will fall and the Sword of Creation is to be used. Damage to the Loom is inevitable, you must go and do what your predecessors could not.”

“But what is the anvil? Why must I go there?”

“It will be there you will find the weapon fated to be yours. With it you will be protected, you have proven worthy both in ranged and melee combat and your learning of the Celestial Martial Arts and the specially granted Endless River Martial Art is going very well.” The large spider turns and checks the threads, many had been fading, disappearing of late. “After you have acquired the weapon you will go to Lookshy, an event is about to transpire that may irrevocably destroy Creation. At most the breaches in Malfeas will be large enough for them to escape from.”

“What about you, Asna Firstborn, what of the Loom, the rest of you?”

“If nothing changes the Loom will fail catastrophically, and we will be no more.”

I stand and stare at the largest spider with determination in my eyes. “I swear it then, upon my ability I restore the Loom to its former glory.”

“I hope that you won’t perish, Atavin will be with you.” And with that the large spider headed into the major parts of the Loom and I was left with Atavin. It turned to me and motioned me into the one of the darkest passageways. We travel for the winding passageways until we come to a large room hex shaped, with a pillar of red light that seems to pierce the room from floor to high ceiling. A raised dais sat at the center of the room with a large looking jet black sword stabbed into the ground. A voice echoes as the door closes behind me.

“Please authorize your access to the Sunderer’s Anvil.”

Continued in the Current Events Page...