[center][h1][b][u]Alys[/u][/b][/h1][/center]

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For the entire day, Alys had ran, and wept.

Her mother was gone. Her father was gone. Her village burned, and she had helped burn it. She did not know where she had obtained such power, and she had been unable to control it. She could still remember the screams of all those who burned. Not just the marauders, but some had been other villagers. 

In the moment, she had been gripped by fear and grief, and had not given much thought to those who burned. But now that the danger was over, she felt a sudden sense of regret. She had hurt and killed so many… some of whom were her own people. She remembered hearing Carn scream. Her own family…

She came to a stop at the edge of a creek, and fell to her knees. She would cry, but she was all out of tears. Her throat was parched after the day’s exertions. She leaned down to take a drink from the small stream…

...and just then, a small ball of water seemed to rise to meet her. She fell back with a start, and the tendril immediately collapse. She stared at the water for a few moments, then focused. Once again, another ball of water rose, then dropped. She stared at her hands. This, and the fire from before. 

What was she? She thought back to the stories she and her siblings had been told.

A monster?

A druid?

A mage?

She did not know, and it frightened her. But she was still thirsty. She looked to the river, and focused once more. Yet another small orb of water rose, and with a wave of her hand, she was able to bring it up from her lips to drink from it. It was cool and refreshing. She desperately needed it, after everything she had been through. She drank the entire orb, until nothing remained.

Whatever she was, she was powerful.

She thought back to the destruction of her village, and began to perceive things in a different light. Although she was young, and knew little of the world, she was still fully aware of some key aspects of life. Such as the fact that the strong and the beautiful held authority over the weak and the frail. She was already beautiful, and with this power, she was strong. 

She had avenged her father, seeing nearly all of his killers die in excruciating agony, and they deserved it. Her heart swelled with pride when she thought of how she made them all pay. Some of her own people had died, but she had barely known any of them, so why had their deaths made her so sad in the first place? Her village had been destroyed, but ultimately a village was just a bunch of smelly old huts surrounded by a wall. It was such a boring place, really, and its destruction meant she was no longer cooped up.

Then there was her family… and once more a wave of grief and regret washed over her. She had failed to save her mother or her father. She had hurt Carn. She did not know where Evette or Brundt were. She had ran, and now she might never see them again. She was alone.

Alone, and without a family or home.

That meant she had to be strong. She was nearly ten years old, anyway. Too old to cry. She had never cried before. She had seen Brundt and Evette run to mother, or father, or even Carn while in distress, and they needed to be consoled in order to calm down. But Alys had never done that, for she had never needed it. In hindsight she suddenly realized that was something she should have been proud of. So why should she start crying now, just because her family was gone? It was time for her to grow up.

She used her powers to draw more water from the stream, and drank once again, as she thought of what the future had in store. She did not know. But… since she no longer had to answer to her parents or older siblings, didn’t that mean she was free to decide for herself? Yes… she knew what she wanted to do. She would wander. She would master her power. She would see the world. She would make it her own. And anyone who tried to hurt her would burn.

Alys smiled widely, as the thoughts made her feel giddy. She was finally making her own decisions! She laid down on the riverbank, and looked up at the stars. She would sleep here. In the morning, she would find food. Then she would begin travelling again, to somewhere new. To somewhere better.

And with those thoughts in mind, the young witch eventually drifted off to sleep.

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[hider=Post Summary]
Alys has been on the run. Night falls, and she stops at a river for drinks. She reflects on what happened to her village. She grieves for her family, regrets her role in its discussion, and wonders just what the hell is going on with her and her weird powers.

Then she tries to look at it in another light, and begins to think that she was overreacting to this whole “my parents are dead, my village is destroyed, and I’m lost in the woods with nowhere to go” thing. She begins to look at the bright side of things and realizes she’s free to basically do whatever she wants.
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[hider=Prestige Summary]
[u]Alys[/u]
[b]Beginning:[/b] 5
+2
[b]Ending:[/b] 7
[/hider]