Latens Paradis [Arc 1]

     Rebirth. Transformation. A second chance. Thousands of years past the perils of man, Illephia was born from its ashes. Learning from a history of genocide, pollution, and greed; people had adapted and evolved into new beings with magical abilities. They had much deeper respect and appreciation for nature and worked with it instead of manipulating it for their own desires. A prime belief of Illephians was the idea of give and take, push and pull; to live within a balance. This idea was implemented into all life and practiced through various forms. Technology was stripped back and served only for communication and information archiving. Medicine and commerce was created through alchemy. Transportation was solely dependent on enchantments and energy absorption. And many practical day-to-day services revolved around a person's magical skills. In fact, all of Illephia ran on magic. Think of it as the blood or battery; circulating throughout Illephia and keeping its heart beating. Magic was vastly important to life and far more valued than anything else. It was more important than money, more than material possessions, more than anything from Earth or “The World Before” as everyone called it. Magic was essential to life and everything used magic to some degree.

     Well, not everything.

     Because most had evolved, humans went nearly extinct. Nearly. The few humans that did still live, did so quietly while doing what they could to preserve The World Before. They were the last glimpse of the faults and triumphs of humankind. However, that was really the extent of their value to the rest of Illephia. Humans had no magical powers and therefore, couldn’t compare to someone with extraordinary strength or the ability to fly. To create things from thin air or to weave powers within objects. In the eyes of all, humans were trivial at best. But that didn’t stop them from trying to live their best lives.

     The humans that did remain mostly lived in groups. They were close-knitted and looked out for each other like a family. A particular group was quite popular within their community. Despite their species' lack of reputation, they wanted to live positively and kept their doors open for all. They would often hold sermons and historical lessons on The World Before. And they would never hesitate to help someone who needed it. This group, known simply as the Clements, lived in a modest but beautifully built church, a couple miles outside of downtown Eos Bay. Resting along an ocean cliff, the church had a built-in building that housed the living spaces for each member of the family. The Clements consisted of many ages, from young adults to elders. One rather spunky girl, Aeris, had freshly become the head caretaker for the church and was thrilled to be in the role she worked so many years for. She was always so full of energy and never seemed to let anything get her down. Many would say she was a firecracker with a can-do attitude. Rather fitting for a girl with fire-red hair.

     After a day of teachings and chores around the church, it wasn’t unlike Aeris to walk along the water’s edge; feeling the warm, soft sand under her feet. Her favorite thing was always visiting at night and gazing at the moon. It was so bright and pure. All her stress and worries would become so little and melt away. On a night she would never forget, she walked up to shore and noticed a very tiny child standing in the water. Stunned at the sight of this, Aeris ran down to the child to help and perhaps find their missing parents.

     The child was a girl, no older than two years old, with big, dazed eyes. Her hair was short, slowly growing soft seafoam green locks. Aeris was fully expecting her to be hysterical but she was so quiet and fogged. “Maybe something happened to her? I don’t see any injuries or signs of struggle though..” Aeris thought, trying to quickly assess the girl. 

     Growing with concern and attempting to find any answers, Aeris asked, “Where are your parents?”. 

     No answer. 

     “What happened to you?” 

     No answer. 

     She couldn't help but notice how despite the little girl's aloofness, her eyes looked hollow and sad. She asked a slew of more questions, again with no answers. If anything, the lack of answers just raised more questions. Who was this mysterious girl and what happened to her? Why was such a young toddler here? In such a dangerous place all by herself? Aeris was sure whatever happened, she could find the answers and return the little one home.

❖       ❖       ❖

     A warm summer breeze danced through the trees. The day was bright, and it wouldn’t be summer without the banter of children playing and birds chirping. A popular spot was the town’s playground. It was not too far from the beach and the perfect way to keep them entertained when there wasn’t much else to do. Playing pretend, hide-and-seek, making “potions” out of dirt and grass, or any sort of play to last them through the day. 

      Today was like any other. A seemingly endless amount of fun; running around the structures and jumping over rocks. Every bit of play included using magic. Fly ball was just as it sounded; throwing a ball back and forth while flying at great heights. A game of hide-and-seek could easily be won by someone with invisibility. The skill to levitate objects was great for striking rocks and marbles. A few of the children, still very young and not the best with hand-eye coordination, tossed a ball back and forth haphazardly. One missed reach and the ball flew past the group and rolled several feet away and stopped by a small pair of mary jane shoes. The girl stared down at the ball and picked it up, looking a little nervous. The other children were surprised at seeing the new face and became quickly excited by the newcomer, skipping over to her.

     “Thanks!”, a girl with long chestnut brown braids grabbed the ball. She was slightly taller than the other two boys and dressed in an elegant manner. She radiated with poise and maturity, especially compared to the others. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. I’m Madeleine. What’s your name?”.

     “My name’s Yun”, the new girl answered with glee, albeit a little nervously as well.

     “Hey! Aren’t you that girl from the Clement's church? The one they found on the beach?”, one of the two boys jumped in to ask. The other peered over Madeleine’s shoulder, surprised at the sudden news, “No way, that was her?”.

     “Uh, yeah. That’s… me,” Yun wasn’t quite sure what to make of those questions, “How did you know?”.

     “I have foresight! I’m able to read into anything I focus on faster than anyone else”. “Is it true you don’t have parents?”

     “Oh, please. Everyone knows she’s a Clement. This town’s too small not to know. And stop being so rude! Pestering her with all these questions..”, Madeleine sighed out of shame for her “less mature” friends. “Sorry about them. Boys… you know how undeveloped they are… This is Cael”, pointing to a boy with soft eyes and an equally laidback energy. He wore loose-fitted clothing and had shagged hair. “And the one with the wacky imagination is Juniper”.

     “Wacky!? I’m not making it up; it’s true! I can find out things that others can’t. Like… how…”, Juniper started squinting, trying to concentrate on revealing more about Yun. 

     This couldn’t have been the first time Juniper brought it up as Madeleine was quickly annoyed, “Juniper, stop! We get it already! It’s not that impressive-”. She was cut off mid-sentence.

     “You don’t have any powers”, Juniper spilled out, slow to process what he said.

     “What?”, the other two were just as shocked at what he just said.

     “She doesn’t have any powers”.

     It couldn’t have been what they were thinking. They needed more of an explanation. Cael was the one to ask, “Wait, so you can’t do anything? Like, at all?” His eyebrows furrowed, confused.

     Beginning to feel pressured, Yun stuttered, “Um… I- I don’t know.. I haven’t noticed anything yet”. She began fidgeting with the hem on her dress,  still unsure how to answer.

     “Well… that’s okay, we-”, noticing Yun’s discomfort, Madeleine tried to keep the peace but she was cut off yet again.

     “‘Haven’t noticed?’ You’re human. There’s nothing to notice. Humans don’t develop powers like everyone else. What’s the point of playing if she can’t even keep up with any of us? She wouldn’t have a fair chance at all”, Juniper abruptly stated, not realizing how condescending he sounded. He probably didn’t know what that word meant either.

     Cael jumped in, quickly agreeing with Juniper. “Yeah, no wonder we’ve never seen you here before. You should go play with the other Clement kids. Don’t you think so, Madeleine?”, looking over to her for support.

     Madeleine was hesitant, but the pressure from Juniper and Cael held her back. “...well, I guess.. It makes sense”. She couldn’t help but keep her gaze away from Yun. She felt guilty but going against her friends was something she couldn’t do. After her agreement, the two boys began walking away. Madeleine noticed their exit and reluctantly began to leave as well. The energy of the situation was awkward and uneasy. Before walking away completely, she turned slightly without looking at Yun completely. All she felt she could do was let out a sad, small, “I’m sorry”.

     It was a day like any other. But not for Yun. Today was going to be different. It was supposed to be. After watching the other children play from a distance day after day, she finally mustered the courage to make herself known. To give herself a chance at making new friends and finding belonging among her peers. But at that moment, her chance was ripped away from her. She felt her heart drop and a heavy feeling of embarrassment sunk in. Face flush and eyes glossy, Yun didn’t know what else to do except run away. She kept running until she could fall into her mother’s arms. Wanting to bury herself deeper and deeper until she couldn’t be seen anymore. 

     “Mom!”, Yun cried out to Aeris as she jumped into her.

     “What’s the matter, Yun? Weren’t you going to play with the other kids today?”, Aeris asked, wrapping her arm around Yun and placing a gentle hand on her little head.

     “It’s pointless…”, Yun softly sobbed.

     “What do you mean? You seemed so excited”, Aeris said, blindsided and concerned by the sudden arrival of an extremely upset Yun. She had never seen her so distraught before.

     “They said I don’t have any powers. I’m pointless to play with..”, Yun’s voice cracked through her tears.

     Aeris could feel the pain and disappointment in her daughter. She held her a little tighter and stroked her hair, trying to think of the right thing to say. She took a deep breath and exhaled before beginning to speak. She wanted to take her time and carefully pick her words. Not saying too much and not saying too little. Yun deserved to have someone she could turn to. Someone who understood. Someone who loved her, no matter what.

     "I don't think they meant to hurt your feelings, Yun. You see, they've been around their families, around other kids; They've grown up with magic their entire lives. And they probably have no idea how hard it must be for you. But just because you don't have powers doesn't make you pointless. There's so many things that are just as special and fun and beautiful about you, and they can't take that away from you. They may not understand, and that's okay. It's okay to be different. You are special, and it's their loss if they can't see that". Aeris looked at Yun and saw that her face had softened. Her eyes had stopped crying and her sniffles were quieter. Aeris smiled warmly, knowing she had said the right things, "You'll find friends who understand someday, and they will be the greatest friends you will ever have".

Yun was still a little disappointed, but a part of her understood her mom's words. It was a tough pill to swallow, but her words were reassuring. And maybe someday she would feel as special as her mom said she was. She just had to find it. And she was willing to try looking, no matter how long it took. Aeris stood up, holding Yun's hand in hers. "Now, how about some ice cream?".

"Ice cream!", Yun's eyes lit up as she wiped the last of her tears away.

"I'll take that as a yes," Aeris giggled.

❖       ❖       ❖

     From then on, Yun pushed those self-doubting thoughts to the back of her mind. She spent her growing years challenging herself to find acceptance and what made her special. She would help out anyone she could; working odd jobs around town, running errands and delivering goods for the locals, being a role model for the younger children. Her constant involvement within the community made her well-known and liked. But it came at the price of forgetting about taking care of herself. To the point where some people would take notice and become concerned. Sometimes Yun would stretch herself so thin, she would be found sleeping in odd situations; by a broom closet, by the backside of whatever shop she was working at, or slumped over a book at the library. She was very determined. Determined to prove that she had a place among her peers, among everyone. Determined to show that she had the will and heart to keep up. There were many days when she wasn’t able to, and the doubt would creep back in. But she didn’t allow herself to wallow in those thoughts. She knew what her mother said was true. If she had a little faith, a little determination, she could do anything.