The Other Side/Rise Of The Crow

"Are you kids okay? Sorry I couldn't be here the whole time!" Kira says, her voice full of concern.

"No need to apologize Kira! They actually held their own pretty good for novices! With a little bit of work, even little Crow could become a formidable warrior." Layla says jokingly.

"You can't give a normal compliment, can you?" I ask, my voice full of annoyance.

"Nope! When you can beat me, you'll finally get my respect!" Layla says as she smiles confidently.

"Okay, knock it off! This isn't over yet, we still have to–" Kira says, as all of sudden we can hear large wings flapping towards us.

"Everyone run!" Jack yells.

The strange woman is heading towards us with her black and red dragon.

"Why is it going after us?" Mari asks as the dragon is gaining on us.

"Don't any of you dare try to fight it! Run with everything you have! Your life depends on it!" Kira says as this is the first time I've seen her genuinely scared.

"You can't escape me!" The strange woman says, as her dragon opens its jaws wide about to shoot fire at us.

"NO! I can only transport 5 at a time but I won't let you all die! Scavian Art: Dark Transportation!" Kira says as all of us are instantly transported away from the Dragon's attack.

We're all on a roof about 50 feet away from the dragon. We can see Kira getting ready to fight it off!

"No! Kira don't!" Layla says as she jumps off the roof.

"Can we even make it in time?" Sachi asks nervously.

"Crap, let's get a move on!" Jack says, as we all hoop off the roof.

"Hmph, too bad I have to hurt one of my own! Especially one as strong as you, but I have to make an example! Scavian Art: Dark Dragon Blast!" The strange woman says as the dragon shoots a red and black fireball out of its mouth.

"KIRA!" Layla says as she stretches her arms out.

"Mardian Art: Radiant Seal!" Adora says as she shoots an enormous blue magic beam at the strange woman.

"Damnit Adora! You got me again!" The strange woman says as she and the dragon start disappearing.

"Just in time too! I won't let you continue to torture my people!" Adora says, her voice full of exhaustion.

"HAHA! Don't make me laugh! You're only delaying the inevitable! All of the Colossi are waking up and the more that do, the easier it'll be for me to return! I'll destroy all your precious people and your children! They'll all feel my fury!" The strange woman says, as she finally disappears.

"Oh yeah? Well, better luck next time you witch!" Adora says as she falls to the ground.

"Mother Adora!" I yell as we all run to her.

"I barely managed to stop her, but at least you all will be safe for a little while." Adora says as she starts breathing hard.

"Who was the woman? Why did she attack us?" Jack asks as he helps Adora sit up.

"That was Vedora! Wasn't it?" Kira asks, her voice full of anticipation.

"That's right… Ever since the first Colossal Analach awakened over a century ago, she's been plotting her return." Adora says.

"But why does she want to destroy everything?" Mari asks.

"It's as if she has a grudge on our people, even though she's a Scavian." Sachi says.

"That's a long story for another day. I don't have too much time left in this form, but there are some important things you four must know! Are you listening?" Adora asks.

"Yes, Mother Adora!" We all say in unison.

"First, all 12 of the legendary Colossi are slowly awakening! One of them is already wreaking havoc on Goliath, but for some reason it stopped attacking recently. I'd put most of them to sleep thousands of years ago, but thanks to Vedora they're definitely coming back! I don't know which specific ones will show up first, but you all must be prepared." Adora says anxiously.

"How long until they show?" Layla asks.

"I'd say within a year or so… In the meantime, you all must get stronger and gain more allies! Since none of you are well versed in our culture yet that means–" Adora says.

"They have to get their education right? I'll see to it that they do within a year, Mother Adora!" Kira says as she kneels.

"Good, that makes me feel better. I'm counting on you Kira Jane of Umbra!" Adora says, as her body is slowly disappearing.

"Mother Adora! Are you really leaving us?" I ask as she grabs my hand.

"I'm sorry Crow, this won't be forever though! When the time is right I'll return to the land of Goliath and help you all protect it from Vedora's wrath. But until then I'm counting on all of you to grow into strong Frodian's that can inspire the next generations." Adora says.

"Don't worry, I'll make them into protectors of this land if it's the last thing I do!" Kira says, her voice full of passion.

"Lastly, be sure to always take care of each other. I know you feel robbed of your old lives, but I want you guys to ultimately be happy. I know I've put a lot of pressure on you and I know it isn't going to be easy. But when is life ever easy?" Adora says, as her body is really fading now.

"We understand! I'll be sure to keep all of us focused!" Jack says.

"That makes me happy! Good luck my children, I'll see you soon!" Adora says, as she finally disappears.

We all sit in silence as we try to process everything that has happened. Things have really changed now, I went from having no goal, to basically being forced into one. The weight of the world has literally been put on our shoulders and it makes me wonder if we'll all be able to handle it.

"Okay, let's all just stick together for now. We're going to do checks all around the districts and look for any injured civilians or casualties… I'd prepare yourselves, seeing it for the first time is never easy." Kira says as she walks ahead of us.

As we walk through the capital, the upbeat lively vibe is dead and gone. Many of our newly acquired brethren are injured, Mardians are putting out fires with water spells, Bracadiers are picking up rubble and helping up some of the injured, Scavians are searching around the place and checking if there are any enemies hiding, and Windians are doing lookout duty to be sure another attack doesn't come. All of our people vary in appearance, but they're all working together to help the capital.

After a long day of helping out, all of us return to hideout for some much-needed R & R.

"Wow, I haven't seen you guys this quiet since you've gotten here." Layla says as all of us sit at the table.

"After what they just saw, I can't really blame them." Kira says as she chugs down her drink.

"I guess it didn't really hit me until earlier, this really isn't a fantasy, this is just as real as our old world… Seeing that many people hurt and other people dead, left a bad taste in my mouth. Why would Vedora do this to our people?" I ask as I feel a huge amount of sadness in my heart.

"I wish I knew kiddo… I can't think of any reason to justify all of this death and destruction." Kira says as it's clear she's a little buzzed now.

"To think everyone was so happy earlier, it was almost like our ritual didn't even happen. I'm sure it's the last thing on everyone's mind now." Mari says, her eyes full of sadness.

"How can we hope to stand a chance against those things? I mean they did this much damage in only a couple of hours. Now imagine if a Colossal shows up, will we actually be prepared?" Sachi says as she's adjusting the string on her bow.

"Who knows?" I reply.

It's clear how much Vedora's attack has affected all of us. I thought this would be an easier life, but in reality, it's actually much harder. Adora's words ring more true the more I think about them.

"You know what, no! I'm tired of this!" Jack says as he gets up promptly.

"Huh? What's gotten into you? Mari asks.

"I should be asking the same question to all of you! Are we all going to sit down here moping when Mother Adora trusted us to help this land and our people! Well, are we?" Jack says, his voice full of anger.

"But Jack–" Sachi says.

"No, I don't wanna hear any excuses! We're here! We're actually still alive and we have the power to do good in this world! Crow, you told me we'd figure all of this crap out together, right?" Jack asks passionately.

"Yeah, I did." I reply.

"Well, I hope those weren't just empty words to make me feel better! Listen, all of us have lost something since we were brought here! Every single second my heart is in pain that I can't reach my brother and that I can no longer take care of him. But I have to move forward! We all have to move forward!" Jack says as everyone's mood seems to have changed.

"He's right. To be blunt with all of you, life in the land of Goliath is cruel. Death is around every corner, some of our kind is fighting against each other, the Colossi are returning, and to make matters worse all of you have to become stronger if you even hope to stand a chance. But, I'll be there with all of you for every step. I promise I'll do my best to protect you all! When I leave this life I don't want to have any regrets… " Kira says her voice full sincerity.

"Wow, I've never seen you this vulnerable before Kira! You haven't been like this since you broke up with–" Layla says, as Kira covers her mouth.

"Alright now, let's try not to talk about that okay?" Kira says, with a psychotic grin on her face.

"Yes Ma'am!" Layla says, her voice full of fear.

"Haha! So Layla actually is afraid of someone?" Mari says as she's laughing really hard.

"Good to know!" I say as I start laughing with her.

"To be fair, I'd be afraid of Kira too!" Jack says as he chuckles lightly.

"Got it, Mari's weakness is Kira!" Sachi says.

"Mari!" Layla says, her face full of embarrassment.

We all laugh and talk with each other for the rest of the night trying to lift each other's spirits up.

Everyone has fallen asleep and I decide to walk outside and sit on the rooftop. Memories of my time with my foster parents instantly flood back into my mind. I really wonder what they'd think if they saw me now? Eh, they'd probably run away knowing them.

Out of nowhere, I hear someone else start to climb on the roof.

"Who's there?" I ask as I pull my dagger out.

"EEK! Crow, it's just me!" Sachi says, with her hands up.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Sachi! It's a bad habit… " I say as I feel really bad.

"No worries, I saw you weren't in your bed and got a little bit worried." Sachi says as she sits next to me on the roof.

"Can you believe we're actually living here now?" I ask as we both look up at the stars.

"Nope, it boggles my mind. I went from playing video games like this world from the comfort of my home, to now I'm actually a part of one. It's a little surreal, to say the least." Sachi says.

"You said you were an athlete in your past life right?" I ask.

"I played for an E-Sports team actually! We were in the top three in the world for battle royales!" Sachi says, her voice full of excitement.

"Wow, I never really got a chance to play too many video games. I was more of a book worm, but I definitely could see the appeal in them." I reply.

"I've been playing games for as long as I can remember. There was something really cool about pulling off impressive feats that I couldn't possibly do in the real world. Maybe that's why I was so obsessed with them? Maybe that's why it was so hard for me to make friends? Everyone at my school just always ignored me even when I would try to be friends with them… " Sachi says.

"There's nothing wrong with that, you had a passion just like everyone else. Plus, having geunine connections is better than having fake ones. Real friends are really rare to find, so if people couldn't accept the real you, then they were missing out!" I say.

"Fair enough. But now look at me, I'm a wood elf in another world. My siblings would trip if they saw me like this, haha!" Sachi says, as she chuckles.

"Do you feel better about being here yet?" I ask.

"To be honest, no. But, I'm really thankful I came to this world with you all! It's made the weirdness of it feel less weird I guess." Sachi says.

"I agree, I wouldn't have this any other way!" I say as Sachi and I enjoy the night sky.