Aelene

Aelene's birthplace was the city/town of Caliginous.  The city was much decayed from its supposedly previous glories.

Caliginous sat in the middle of a shadowy dark valley between black forested hills.  The center of town was an old ruined collection of buildings that surrounded the tall semi collapsed fortress of her family. To the east, ruins scattered with the occasional dwelling filled the space between the city and a dark, deep, shadowy crevasse on the city's edge.  One well kept cathedral (The Grand Cathedral) sat perched at the edge of the crevasse, forbidden and off limits to all within the city.

The west side of the city was where the nobles of the area (other than her family) dwelled, ensconced withing elaborate buildings and towers amid the scattered copses of black trees.  The bulk of the cities population, such that it was, lived outside the circles of ruins from family fortress to the south, leading up to the Grand Gate, a large edifice of black stone and twisted metal.

Aelene's life was hard, both mentally and physically.  She was bounced back and forth from being "worthless" and "of no value" to being expected to perform expertly and precisely during her training.  Which was to learn to kill.

Her father was harsh and unforgiving until the "incident".  Her mother and brothers were distant and aloof.  But, after showing her powers, her father began to show more interest in Aelene.  But not really a fatherly interest.  More like the interest you would show a tool or an instrument that was performing better than you expected.

The day before her escape she spied her father headed towards the Grand Cathedral.  Using all her skill, and fearful because she knew her father's powers greatly exceeded hers, she followed him into the cathedral.  Her father stood in front of an open archway that looked out over and into the crevasse.  Soon the archway filled with shadow and her father began conversing with something within it.  Aelene crept closer until she could barely hear her father's words.  "She grows stronger" her father said "and soon may be strong enough."  A strange voice said something unintelligible and her father replied "Yes, as I have sworn, I will sacrifice her and drain her power myself, no need for you to be involved".

Involuntarily, one of the few times in her life, Aelene gasped in shock.  Her father heard it and sighed "But I had hoped not to do it quite yet" as he turned into a great dire shadow hound and leaped after Aelene, who fled into the city.

Long did she flee, and how she escaped she was not sure. (see previous fleeing scene).

Aelene ran through the dark streets, dodging between looming buildings that cast even darker shadows.  There was no moon, no stars, only the wind.  Suddenly she was in a dark forest, time and distance had no meaning. She ran and she ran. She never saw anything chasing her, but she knew things were there. 

A rustle of a cloak, a single footstep, a low growl. How long did she run?  She had no idea.  She just wanted AWAY.  The forest began to change, growing lighter and brighter.  Colors and flowers surrounded her.  It became too bright, too colorful, too much for her senses, so she continued to run and run. Bright blurry images tried to stop her, but she ran faster and faster, leaping from place to place. 

Eventually the brightness faded, a more tolerable light, less brilliant colors, and normal shadows, a duller forest enveloped her and for the first time (in how long?) she stopped running.  She fell intowhat felt like an endless sleep, until she was awoken by the smiling face of a mothlike fairy.