08 Nov “Preface” Section I: Orientation, Scene III: BlueEarth History (Edited Version)

“Preface” Section I: Orientation, Scene III: BlueEarth History

All three of us quickly made our way out of the Sanctuary. I had no choice but to move quickly, for Clarity had a tight grip on my hand. We walked towards the top of the staircase, the same staircase Lance & I rushed up earlier, to meet with Clarity in the Sanctuary. I looked at Clarity oddly as she loosened the tight grip on my hand & gazed at the crowd socializing and wandering below. It wasn’t long until everyone below caught view of the Goddess of Summer, gazing at them from above. Suddenly they all came to a silence, giving Clarity full attention. “Attention citizens of BlueEarth!” Clarity exclaimed raising her voice to quite high lengths, “Today I would like to make a very important announcement! “This young man here, by the name of Towaile, is a boy from the outside world, the world known as Earth!” My eyes widened the moment I heard her say, earth, and how ironic it was to me for her to be describing me, as from the “outside” world. Eventually it all made sense. Since technically, I was intruding their world, and I was coming from a world different than there’s. But was I really the outsider? Or were they? My thinking was cut short the moment Clarity continued on with her, introductory announcement of me. “I am proud to announce, that for the first time in Fourteen years! Today, we are joined by a new citizen of BlueEarth!” Clarity raised my hand in the air as the crowd of people below began to cheer and clap. It was odd to me, for only not to long ago these people were staring me down so strangely, they could have sworn me to be an alien, but then again, that’s probably exactly what they were thinking. I was an outsider. An alien would just be an under-statement.

Clarity looked at me and smiled, I was flustered but nonetheless I bowed first to her, and then to the crowd. I turned towards Clarity once again and thanked her for introducing me to the rest of the Citizens. She looked towards Lance, and at that moment, I knew my time inside this great hall was over. “Lance?” Clarity questioned with a sudden wondering in her voice. “Yes, my elegance?” Lance replied as he began to kneel on one knee. “Please watch over the Chamber while I familiarize Towaile with BlueEarth.” Clarity requested. “Yes, my eminence” Lance agreed. Clarity smiled, and then seized my hand once again. We quickly made our way down the staircase, and the crowd began to part as we made our way too the exit.

The moment we left the Chamber and stepped out outside, a chilling, yet loving breeze blew over the entire town. Now, unlike the winds that blow within my world, this one was different, perhaps it was just the moment it happened, or perhaps maybe, It was because I was standing with one of the most elegant beings that had probably ever walked foot on this land, while even at this moment, I still remained unsure; but this breeze was unlike any I’ve ever felt before, and the moment it blew across the town I knew it wouldn’t be long until I would fall captive to BlueEarth’s charms. Clarity stared down at me once again and smiled lightly, “The town greets you” she said softly to me. I just smiled back, for, I was a bit to flustered to come up with anything decent to say in return. We made our way off the front entrance to the Chamber, and began following a path down to what seemed to be the middle of the town. I gazed all around my surroundings, in awe of the view and architecture that was being bestowed upon my eyes. As we continued to walk, I couldn’t help but fix my eyes on what looked to be a giant maple tree in the distance. The tree stood dead center within a grassy plaza, surrounded by statues of some sort, for we were still quite far away for me to make any sort of assumption as to whom the statues may be of, or what. “I see you have caught glimpse of the Habituate Tree.” Clarity said staring at it herself straight ahead. “Habituate?” I asked, hoping for an explanation regarding the name. Clarity nodded “Yes, Habituate.” She answered. “You see, this tree is no ordinary Maple Tree. This tree has stood over this land ever since the Dawn of BlueEarth, planted by our ancient ancestors. The tree represents time here, changing time, and new life, despite it being quite old.” Clarity further explained. We made our way closer to the tree, and finally reached the Plaza. It wasn’t until then, that I realized we were standing in the dead center of BlueEarth, right at that moment.

I quickly gazed around me and caught view of the statues once again, gazing up at them. There were many, both around the tree, and more further in the distance within the center of the town. The ones that lie within the plaza were of both men and woman, standing proudly, all with differently shaped bow & arrows on their back. “Who are these people?” I asked turning towards Clarity. “Ah, these are statues of the many great archers of this town, the guardians of BlueEarth” she explained while gazing up at the statues herself. “Many of these men and women within these statues, you may see around the town, some perhaps you may have very well have seen already, some of which have either passed on, or have left this town to forge a new life for themselves.” She turned towards me once again “Now allow me to teach you a bit about the town. Yes it is indeed a small town, however the activities, and happenings that happen both within and outside of the town can be quite large. As you can see, the great Habituate marks the middle of the town, once you’ve reached this plaza, in case you are ever lost, it should not be hard for you to find your desired destination as long as you know which direction it lies in.” Clarity turned towards the west, which was the direction of the town we were in from the plaza to get there. “Now you see, the western side of town contains basically two major locations that you personally should know of, firstly and most importantly, the exit of your world, or, entrance to our world, lies just beyond the woods past the Chamber. Simply follow the cobblestone road from here to the Chamber, to the woods to get home, simple as that.” Clarity then turned towards the South, “Now in this direction lies the Witches Woods, as well as your main facility to buy weapons, armor, and really anything self-protection related.” “But, what’s with the Witches part?” I asked curiously, but at the same time with trembling fear inside. A concerned look fell over Clarity’s face, “The Witches Woods, is where very wicked woman of this land conduct dangerous and dark ceremonies, which occasionally get out of hand. They aren’t exactly evil, however they aren’t quite on the friendly side either, they have a very care-free attitude; and while they are rarely seen during the day however, any-time after sunset you can often expect them to be roaming the woods, and even sometimes the town.” After hearing sunset, I quickly gazed up at the sky and noticed it was in-fact coming very close to nightfall, and I still had not have made it home yet. I felt anxious to get going, yet, I held it back, and let Clarity continue her explanation of the town. “Now if you turn to the east, you will see that this dirt path leads to another batch of woods, these woods have been known for reports of infamous cases of talking animals and other creatures being encountered.” My eyes short wide open. Did you just say, talking animals?!” Clarity chuckled softly, “That’s right, it’s no surprise to me that some people here are able to hear the animals speak directly to them, for I am able to speak to them, and it is truly a gift I am very happy to have, but other people are fearful of obtaining this gift. But enough of that, on the other side of the (Talking Animal Forest) if you will, lies a beautiful large open plain that I am more than familiar with, following a giant lake that leads to-“ Clarity continued to turn North which was straight ahead of us, past the great Habituate, “Ales & the Kispin Mountain!” Clarity announced. I could see far in the distance, miles and miles away, a large giant mountain covered with snow. “Where, and what is Alese?” I asked, still gazing at the giant mountain far in the distance. “Alese is a much larger town, that lies on the other side of the Kispin Mountain, my other two sisters live in both of these locations.” Clarity explained, smiling at me once again. “You have more sisters?” I asked in awe, “Yes I do, Crystal, and Rose, both of them in which are goddesses themselves. Crystal, Goddess of Winter, lives in a palace on the peak of the mountain, and my other sister, who in which is the youngest, Rose, lives in a Chamber similar to mine within the center of Alese.” “So there were more goddesses”, I thought to myself, it was quite amazing to hear how all of these locations were in a fact connected to each other in one way or another, well every location except for the Witches Woods, which I was already quite frightened to hear about. It was not long afterwards that I decided to take another glimpse at the great Habituate once again. The beauty of this tree was like non others, tall, elegant, with branches spiraling in different directions, covered with bright red, yellow, and orange leaves. The town felt so pure, yet at the same time, I felt some un-easy feeling coming from Clarity as she gazed up at the tree herself. It was at that moment I decided I would try and get an explanation out of her regarding the catastrophe she briefly mentioned earlier.

“So, Clarity, what exactly happened fourteen years ago, what was this catastrophe you speak of?” I asked in a very patient tone. She turned for me for just a few seconds, and then continued to gaze back at the giant tree, and then, began to speak. “My memory remains quite blurred of this situation to be honest, I do know however, when It happened, strange beings from some outside world, perhaps yours, perhaps another, invaded the town, seeking to take it over. They wanted to live in a world that was hidden from others, that was hard to find, with new resources, and new wonders. There was so much fire, so much fighting, many people believe that the people were of Alese blood, planned an invasion to siege the town. And many others, mainly people from Alese, believe it was our people from BlueEarth, who turned their back on both towns and tried to take them both over for themselves, killing many in the process.” Clarity then tilted her head towards the ground, “After that war ended, many people simply disappeared, the bodies were never found, my mother and father were one of those people.” I gripped Clarity’s hand, in an effort to comfort her, I wasn’t for sure if I was over-stepping my boundaries, “I’m extremely sorry to hear that Clarity” I said softly. “Unfortunately these sort of things occur my dear”, Clarity said gazing at the tree once again. “But even though time here remains frozen, ever since that dreadful night, the citizens of BlueEarth still stand strong, and as one!” she exclaimed proudly. I wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by time being “frozen”, and I wasn’t about to ask. It had quickly grown darker outside, and I knew at that moment I had to be getting back. “Clarity, I’m sorry to interrupt but, it’s almost nightfall, and I promised my father I’d be home thirty minutes from the time I had left, it’s been over three hours, and it’s beginning to get late, I’m afraid he might be looking for me by now.” Clarity’s eyes shot open widely, “Why did you not inform me of this?! Quickly! Make your way westward towards the Chamber, remember, follow the cobblestone path, from here, past the chamber, into the woods, and you should find yourself back into your world without much difficulty.” Clarity raised her hand in the air, as a slight breeze began to pick up, suddenly a bright green bird made its way out of the branches of the great Habituate, and landed on her shoulder. “She will guide you home.” Clarity said as she smiled at me. The bird quickly took off, and began darting westward towards the Chamber, without even thinking I dashed after it eyes locked on the bird. I lifted my hand in the air, and shouted, “I shall return tomorrow! Thank you for everything!” I then, found myself smiling, and darted even faster after the bird, as I made my way out of BlueEarth.