Amarylla's Awakening

Amarylla sat back against the trunk of the tree she had just climbed, looking out on a fantastic view through the tree tops, her spiky pink hair falling down over her forehead. The branch she had chosen was wide and sun dappled, perfect for napping. She loved to come here whenever she snuck away from the elders and her lessons.

So what if she couldn't summon a Cardian to save her life, she had her Botankinesis and she could out-grow anyone else on Meida with it. With those thoughts floating through her mind, Amarylla closed her eyes and grinned, before dozing off.

☘

The calls of the birds as they began to find roosts woke Amarylla up; the sun was setting, she hadn't meant to sleep for so long. It wasn't safe at night this far from the Tree, it was Ranhana territory belonging to one of the more nocturnal tribes and they tended to not appreciate her presence when it got dark.

Jumping off her perch, Amarylla grabbed one of the vines she had grown up the side of the tree and used it to slow her fall, jumping into a light run as soon as she hit the ground. She was confident she'd be alright, but she didn't want to damage the delicate relationship her people had with the Ranhana.

As she jogged through the jungle, jumping over large tangles of roots and dodging low hanging branches, the light of Palladium faded more and more. As dusk hit, Amarylla stumbled into a small clearing full of large rocks she didn't recognise. Confused, she reached out with her power to activate some nearby bioluminescent plants to assist her vision, and was surprised to find the rocks were in fact corpses.

In the middle of the bodies was a Ranhana, one she thought she recognised as a local venerated warrior, though she was not in the collared outfit Amarylla was used to seeing her in. Ranhana did tend to look rather similar though, so perhaps she was mistaken. Her body was relatively intact, though she had clearly succumbed to a build up of wounds.

The surrounding corpses were in a much worse state, they were a mix of species Amarylla couldn't recognise, and had clearly been taken out by the Ranhana, though not without taking their toll on her. There was something strange about them though, despite the wounds and some separated limbs, there didn't seem to be any blood.

Stepping back from the unsettling sight, Amarylla felt a sharp stab in the pad of her foot and looked down to find a strange earring unlike those of the Edionan style. It was a simple hook with a small blue drop-shaped stone hanging at the end of a silver chain. As she picked it up she felt a zap go through her, and nearly dropped it.

Suddenly she realised the sun had set, and here she was alone but for a mound of corpses. She shivered as a chill set over her, and soon found herself running home again. She'd have to tell the elders about it. Ranhana bodies were not unusual, but off-worlders were something worth reporting. She jabbed the earring into her ear in order to free her hands, and set off running.

☘

It had been several days since she reported the massacre to the elders. They hadn't quite taken her seriously at first, until she'd shown them the bodies. Then they had looked quite concerned and said something about reporting to the home world. Amarylla wasn't sure what was going on, but it was becoming apparent that it was more serious that she realised.

Ignoring the niggling concern in the back of her mind, she tried to focus on other things, climbing, hanging with her friends, even her lessons. She managed to lose herself in the rhythms of her life when she felt a zap in her ear.

The earring, she had forgotten to mention it to the elders. In fact, no-one had commented on it. She had somehow forgotten about it herself, even though she didn't have a pair herself. It was strange.

The zap came again, and this time she realised it was a pulsing energy. There was a rustling in the forest just outside the clearing that marked the main territory of the Edionan colony. Amarylla stopped working on the garden bed she had been growing, leaving a delicate plant to wither and die as she cut off her support so abruptly. Her teacher opened her mouth to reprimand her, but she had already set off running into the bush.

Her ear continued to pulse, directing her towards the source of the disturbance. It was further than Amarylla had realised, and she found herself running and jumping over the large roots, and dodging the hanging vines as she navigated the giant trees around her.

She had been picking up speed when all of a sudden the sounds heightened in volume and intensity, and she found she had burst into a battlefield.

There were Ranhana everywhere, and at first she thought she had encountered one of their border skirmishes, but she quickly realised they weren't fighting each other. Their opponents were a mismatch of off-worlders, and like the ones she had seen in that grove of death, they looked like they were dead already.

Amarylla took a step back, she would have to tell the elders again, but she instinctively new it would be too late. The Ranhana were fierce warriors, but this was only a small patrol force, and their opponents outnumbered them by a small margin. It wasn't the numbers that concerned her though, but rather the way in which these off-worlders fought. They were monstrous, using strange abilities and fought viciously with no regards for their own lives. Lives that seemed rather hard to end, as many were carrying what should have been mortal wounds, yet fought on as if they were unharmed.

There was one that stood out, it seemed to be the leader - she would later find out it was a Page - and sending a chill through her bones, it turned and looked her directly in the eyes. It began moving towards her, and panic charged her with energy. She reached out with her power and raised a wall of vines between this monster and herself, and turned to scurry up a tree where she would feel safe.

In her rush she didn't notice that another off-worlder had snuck around behind her, and as she turned she came face to face with it. Without a chance to react she felt vicious claws tear across her belly and she cried out in pain.

Amarylla fell back against her wall of vines, clutching her wound, shocked and scared. She had never been in a real fight before, never been injured beyond a scratch from a branch. Looking at the monster before her, she knew she was going to die.

☘

Suddenly there was a flash of light; Amarylla was confused at first, and then she realised it had come from her earring. She reached her hand to it and energy poured through her; she knew what to do.

"Meida Lunar Power! Make-up!"

As she cried out the words, she was encased by a ball of warm light, stripped of her bodysuit. Vines sprung out and webbed around her before coalescing into a new outfit complete with gloves, a cape, a crown, and most importantly a sailor collar.

The ball of light released her and she set back on the ground, with no pain and no blood. She looked at the monster before her and felt some new instinct kick in.

"Your turn." She quipped before lifting her arm and forming a fist as she called out "Meida Kinetic Crush!"

As if mimicking her action, the creature's lower legs were hit with force from all sides, crushing them. But as she had seen before in the battle, it continued on, crippled as it was.

While a small part of her felt afraid at that, this newfound power gave her confidence, and she leapt forward, tapping into the kinetic energy she now had control over and delivered a finishing blow.

"Meida Kinetic Kick!" She yelled, as though compelled to call out her attack, and twisted out with her leg, kicking the monster's head clean off.

With its head severed from its body it fell in a lifeless heap. She felt a little unnerved at what she had just done, but as she peered at the remains of her opponent, she surmised that although its attacks were strong, its pre-deceased state left it's body soft and weak.

Rather than continuing to process what had just happened, her natural tendency to bounce around in action rather than stay still with thoughts kicked in and had her leaping on top the small wall she had created only a few minutes earlier.

She looked down across the crowd, noticing the leader was nearly upon her, and decided to announce herself, words once again coming freely to her seemingly out of nowhere.

"I am Sailor Meida, and in the name of this lovely little moon, I am going to wreck your shit!"