Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ The Trials of Time ❯ ~Part One~ The commencement of the early years. ( Chapter 1 )

Vision of Escaflowne Fan-fiction:

~ Part One ~

The commencement of the early years

The soft touch of the wind blew through the jade leaves of the Astellen forest, as the day gave way completely to the darkness of the enveloping night. The night's sky was that of a dark royal blue that led its way into the forceful pull of navy, though there seemed to be something strangely eerie about this night. No stars shone in the crystal-hood of the sky. Though the lack of the stars only made the Moon and even more so the Mystic Moon stands higher and increasingly more perceptible in the vastness. The forest was calm and silent, only the sound of the wind against the leaves and underlying brush could be heard and the soft melancholy twittering of the night birds. This forest and surrounding areas tranquil and unbiased land for all who dared to enter a regime filled with dragons and travelers of privilege. At this time though the Zaibach Empire had only commenced their expansion and claiming of land and territories, though they now have much more deference and revere than they will earn in years to come.

In the heart of the forest however, a murder of birds took to the sky, as the silence was abruptly disturbed. Close to this mild distraction the figure of a young girl, that of perhaps seven years of age, sped through the forest. A skill being shown as she took different courses around the many obstacles, almost never losing a beat on the uneven terrain. Her soft and smooth skin had somehow a sheen to it, as a small all but miniature katana glinted in the modest light of the night. A large crashing and heavy pounding on the earth came from behind her, as her young expression showed fear and defeat. She reached a small clearing and continued, forcing her tired body to carry on. Breaking through two trees into the clearing a large dragon entered into the subdued light. When it did so the weaker of the two trees fell into the clearing, barely missing the child as she quickly jumped to the side. Looking back in time only to see the massive dragon as it swung its tail down at her. She pulled back as quickly as she could but the tail struck her face, and she flew back into the ground. Sliding across it as her skid came to an end, yet managing to keep a grip on her small sword, and a hand over her left eye, as the blood ran down her cheek and through the partings of her fingers. The dragon advanced slowly on her position, its eyes focusing and its teeth showing as the slaver rolled down its lower jaw. She trembles with fear at its sight, crawling backwards the best she could as she moved her head up to see the dragon practically towering over her. Tears formed in her eyes, and she winced terribly as tears rolled down her pale cheeks; the tears from her left eye looking like watered down blood as they came down her face.

Then at that moment a young man, maybe in his twenties perhaps even younger, ran out in front of the girl seemingly coming from nowhere. He wore no shirt and his arms were spread out to the sides making somewhat of a barrier, though his right arm is not normal at all. It looked somewhat like a metal skeleton of an arm, but was completely filled in with mechanics and material. The dragon stepped back slightly and snarled as it locked its eyes on him.

He looked over his shoulder whispering to her though his voice is strong and obediently commanding, "Drop your sword," and then looked back and to meet with the dragon's eyes.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she looked down to her sword forgetfully, then hesitating for a second, she dropped it to the ground. The man tensed his shoulders almost as if preparing for something, but the dragon eyed them both over carefully before it snorted and turned, leaving as quickly as it had come.

The man turned to her, as he pulled the top piece to his uniform up on to his shoulders, his whitish, light blue-gray hair, brushing to the side of his neck gently as the breeze blew again. He quickly covered up his mechanical arm, as he extended his left hand to her. A slight smile on his face as his crimson eyes; showed a small sign of concern, a blue tear drop tattoo under one eye. She pushed herself back with her one arm, the other hand still cupping her eye. Her lower lip quivered slightly, before she gave out a small whimper and collapsed to her left side, lying motionlessly on the ground. He smirked slightly though it is almost inaudible as he scanned her over. She lay on the ground as her body gave a small tremble, and her hand fell limply to the ground, staining the impacted soil a crimson red as the blood slowly dripped off the end of her fingers, and rolled its way over her palm to the ground. The left side of her face now visible as the blood trickled down her cheek, hitting the ground after running partway down her neck, or dripping from the fine edge of her face, forming a small puddle on the ground that slowly soaks into the soft soil beneath it. The large gash down her eye and down the part of her cheek bled profusely; the dark liquid following the trail of the old and already crusted blood, as more slowly beaded to the surface of the wound. Miraculously through the gruesome sight of the blood drenched skin, and the ripped and bleached flesh, not much damage had touched her eyelid but both sections nearer to the ends of the wound, had their own small puddles of dark liquid; these sections were extremely deep, where the flesh that had been gouged out, and what was left still hung . The young girl moaned slightly still seeming to be out of it, as a few tears rolled down her tender cheeks streaking their way through the blood. A faint light caught the man's attention as he turned his view over to her upper right arm; there on her arm was a diamond-shaped jewel as though it had been embedded into her arm. Though the skin around it had grown naturally, it was originally tinted the colour of blue glass, but at the moment it glowed a soft yet brilliant blue, the faint light piercing the foggy darkness encircling them. He knelt down on to one knee as he looked intently at the jewel, the light staying constant as it shimmered in his eyes. The edging of the four sided jewel was wrapped in an ebony border, looking like a flawless tattoo, each side having writing along the edging of the black; the ebony writing strange, and holding characters of olden days long forgotten and almost impossible to make out.

He looked at the small words patterned around the jewel before returning his gaze entirely to the jewel itself, unknowingly reaching his hand out to touch its smooth surface. She groaned a bit more and tensed her shoulders at the returning pain. He looked back to her face quickly, and the wound that needed immediate attention then tenderly put an arm under her knees, as his other held her along the back of her shoulders to lift her up gently. The young girl crunched her expression in pain at the movement, but pressed herself into his chest gently, staining his clothes with the still flowing blood, and leftover grit. He stood up partially before going down to both knees and he rested her gently on them still supporting her head with his hand, using the other hand to reach down to the ground, taking her small katana and sliding it into her sheath. He then placed his hand underneath her knees again, and stood back up, looking down at her in his arms before he walked back into the forest from whence he had come.

* * *

She twitched slightly, as her eye flickered open, immediately putting her hand to her left eye, feeling the soft cloth over it, and pressing down unintentionally, then also feeling the gauze underneath it. She winced and took her hand away, trying to make the sharp pang leave her cheek. She looked around the small room, to find that she was on a small cot, a desk to her right and a chair in the corner ahead of the cot but to the left. A cast iron door was ahead and to her right. She could hear a few voices outside the door, and leaned back against the wall, hugging her knees. The soldiers' voices immediately stopped as a new deeper voice entered the conversation, and one of the soldiers mumbled something in coherent. The clicking of the locks on the door seemed to echo through her room as she cowered against the wall, and then slid herself off the bed quickly. The man from earlier entered, his emotionless eyes searching the room quickly, before he smirked and walked to the end of the cot, looking over to the other side of it, in which there is a narrow space between the cot and the wall. The girl was now sitting there upon the ground, hugging her knees tightly, and keeping her head down, making a point not to look up. The light from the lamp overtop the cot shone down on the top off her head, illuminating her blood, and dirt stained clothes, her shirt having two large rips on the back, the two rips facing parallel to one another, then more small and crudely made rips covering the rest, as the blood stains radiated blotches over the material, and many green and brown grass and dirt stains, on her once white silky shirt. Her pants were not in such bad condition, made of what seems to be a denim-like material, and they only reach her knees. They were worn and stained as well, with small rips, revealing scabbed over wounds underneath.

She looked up slightly, quivering at his sight. The man was now dressed in a long black cloak or cape-like fashion with a large neck facing up and out, revealing the light purple material, of the inside of the garment. She pressed her head back into her knees, trying to ignore the pressure on her eye, and the trembling of her small body.

He came a little closer to her, and went down lower to the ground, pushing the frame of the cot farther away from the wall as he crouched down, his voice ringing out, its soft, and gentle tone streaking through the air, "Don't worry child, you are safe here…" his voice's trustfulness, not completely convincing, but still more than it maybe should have been.

She looked up again, letting her dark-brown hair fall in front of her face, or the little that could, from the wrappings around her head. A whimper grasping the air for a moment, but she forced herself to hold back her tears, "Where… where am I?"

He reached out his hand, its palm facing up, but still slanting down slightly as an invitation, "You are on the Vione… come Little one, your wrappings need to be changed."

She looked down at herself for a moment, noticing the wrappings around her lower arm, on the opposite arm a wrapping of raven black cloth covering her jewel, and the one wrapped tightly around her upper leg visible through one of the larger slashes in her pants. She brushed back her dark hair from her face, and felt the cloth wrapping around her head. She looked back up to him, as her ebony eye scanned over his hand carefully. Hesitating for a moment, before placing her small and delicate hand on to his, using her other one to push herself from the ground slowly. He pulled her up gingerly then placed his hand on her shoulder, and ushered her back through the small room. She followed his lead though she did push back on his hand slightly making it harder to guide her along, but at this he only watched her from the corner of his eyes as she looked around timidly though a gleam of curiosity streaked through her dark eye. He led her out of the room and down the dimly lit hallway, coming finally to another room other than many cells and storage rooms, as he guided her inside. Leaning over slightly, he went to pick her up, but she pulled back, and looked at him heatedly. He stood up straight again and then with not a word points over to the table. She backed away slightly before managing to difficultly climb up and on to it. He then undid her bandages and cleaned the wounds. She grimaced fiercely and bit her lip so as to not make sounds of pain, but he finished them quickly enough, leaving only her wounded eye unattended, but for this his mechanical arm rose up and out more dominantly from behind his cloak, as he placed the cold metal on the back of her neck. She pulled back again in protest forcing her neck into his hand involuntarily, as he felt her tense up he, without any sign or warning, flicked his finger, as a small pin-point needle appeared or even more so came from his fingertip and he pushed it into the back of her overwrought neck. He withdrew it just as quickly and she opened her mouth to some extent, before her right eye closed slowly, and she fell back into his other, already waiting hand, and supporting arm.

* * *

Her eyes flickered open as she looked around the room, noticing she was back in the first room she initially found herself in before. Looking around she found the same man now sitting on the chair in the corner. He quickly got up and walked to the side of the bed. She sat up labouriously feeling the stiffness of the new wrapping especially the one pulling at the left side of her face.

He knelt down beside the bed, looking her in the eyes, as he said in his soft, but serious tone, "Do not worry child, I am Folken Stratego of the Zaibach Empire." He put his hand on her small shoulder, and she could feel his force not really in it, but in him, as he continued, "Do not fear, Zaibach will protect you…"

She knew now her life had changed, hoping for the best, she nodded uncertainly knowing nothing else to do, although her whole body was filling with an extreme fear for the worse…