When my skin is not my own and the heart is tainted, there is still one thing that will always belong to me. My soul! No more shall it weep in the darkest of nights but it shall become a beacon of light for all those who cannot see. I am a warrior...
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Balencia stood with her legs wide apart giving unlimited stability in her stance like that of pillars engraved into the roots of the earth. Her fists were clenched as she illuminated her veins like a firefly in the dark. She was so delicate and petite but the illumination was sharp and mesmerising. Two Armala men came marching towards the controller of electricity, ready for battle, their eyes fixated on their target like flying arrows.
"LEAVE!" One of the men bellowed with a voice so razor-edged it sounded like it was made to cut even metal.
"The kingdom of Laham is not welcome here!" The other man followed with an accent so unfamiliar yet familiar. It was evident that whatever Laham had done to this tribe was so horrid, so unimaginable that they were programmed to destroy even a speck of dust that came from the kingdom.
The two men came to stand in front of the raging warrior and in that moment, Balencia could tell by their features and complexion that they was not that from this land. They looked similar to Jamshar and Balencia was not foreign to the land of her husband.
One of the men was Lazarus. He had a long angular face with piercing teal tinted eyes that when wide open had elements of extreme intricacy, like that of geranium flowers. His hair was pulled back in a high ponytail with cornrows falling out of it like an arctic waterfall. The other one was Senescent. His face shape and hair was similar but his eyes were alluring as the hood of them slid down over the chocolate brown windows to the soul. They both had similar cinnamon brown complextion.
"I'm from kingdom Laham yes, but I am not from he. I am Balencia, the daughter of the unknown and..." something inside of Balencia urged her to continue and mention the name of her lover perhaps it was the remembrance of his people, or maybe something greater than her guided her to speak of him and so, she did.
"I am the wife of Jamshar Iwaloye" An eerie quietness took over the scenery as the two men looked at eachother exchanging words through glances. Their bodies became relaxed as if the mention of Jamshar showed Balencia as something other than a threat.
"Iwa... Iwaloye?" Senescent muttered opening his hands to stare down at them.
"We don't care! Go back to your kingdom and leave our home!" Lazarus interrupted filled with aggression but it was the type of eruptiveness that held a sentiment of protection.
"Home? This isn't your home, is it? You come from the land of Jamshar, don't you?" Balencia said fiercely waiting for a response but the two men had heard of the warrior that was building her ocean of armies with the tribes, they just didn't think it would be in the vessel of a small, petite, heir of Laham.
"I guess we can aid you for a while" Senescent said ignoring her question, pointing at their huts.
"Come, this way" Lazarus contuined as he led the way.
They entered one of the huts and upon entering were two female Armala's. The young one was Igazu, she had a small chubby face with plump lips like the freshness of a peach plucked from the fullest of trees. Her round eyes were a grayish green like wet pebbles. Her deep brown hair was tied up in two small buns on each side. Her skin was the colour of wheat. The older one, was Jazera. Her crooked smile engolfed in a beautiful deep dark red was something that told stories of who she was. Her left eye was a light brown whilst the right was a pale green. Her nude hair was long and held loosely together with a drooping hair tie half way through the locks. Her skin was like that of wet sand.
"Look who we found, she's from Laham" Lazarus boosted with his arms crossed rolling his eyes at the maiden.
"LAHAM! Get her out! Immedi-" Jazera's words were cut off by Senescent that calmly explained.
"She knew of Jamshar" their faces turned into despair by the mention of the bushi warrior and their faces fell like that of pink corals turning gray. How do they know my lover? And why do their eyes fill with grievance of his name? Will I finally know how my husband died?, Balencia stressed in her mind as confusion had struck that femme fatale.
"How do you know of him?" Igazu asked as the rest had silenced into despondency like a rain filled cloud letting it's content fall out.
"He was my husband" Balencia boosted proudly but inside she felt a heavy sadness wash over her even the mention of his name made her want to cry for years and years.
"She must have been the one he spoke of" Jazera concluded. They all sat down by a rectangular table made of wood and elm. It seemed as if the Armala's wanted Balencia to sit down for the volcano they were about to erupt upon her.
"In ways... you are like us" Jazera started as she was about to unravel the tales of Armala.
"We all once had... lovers...We use to heal people with our medicine from plants and herbs but Laham didn't like that. He feared the power we had so he caused us destruction by killing our spouses. I watched my husband... bleed out... his last words cutting me so deep that I would forever remain bleeding" Jazera had stopped as the words she spoke reminded her of the one she used to lean on and now all she was, was a grieving widow. Igazu took over,
"My husband was Sameeranda Usuwam. He was strong and fierce, weird and funny" she giggled and continued "but Laham cut our life together short for he hated and feared our natural remedies. Every one of us here... we are widows and widowers. Jamshar isn't a stranger to us, he came not long before Laham took him and told us that if the wife of Jamshar ever comes across us, we should aid her" Balencia's eyes shot up and open like a lioness protecting the pride, she slammed her fists into the wooden table, her electric illuminance causing the wood to split open like the two seas and crack down in the middle.
"LAHAM TOOK HIM YOU SAY?!" She yelled enraged and scared for she knew that Laham was no man to spare another.
"Laham tortured Jamshar in ways that even a hero wouldn't be able to endure yet somehow... Jamshar came out alive" Lazarus interrupted.
Jamshar... was...alive? Could he still be alive? Balencia frantically panicked within before being interrupted once again by the Armala's.
"Jamshar was from our land. The land beyond the Ghamdoor sea. We don't know how we got here but Jamshar willingly traveled here for a mission only he knows of" Senescent confessed and it all started to make sense for Balencia. Her lover had told her he was from the land across the sea, in fact, many of the people were but slavery tied their arms and throats like nooks and anchors and they were forced away from their homes. Jamshar had a story of his own, but one he hadn't told anyone yet.
"OBSIDIAN...you were from the land Obsidian" Balencia said as she looked back up with eyes that had linked dots she never thought would be able to connect.
"Ho..how do you know?" Lazarus questioned frightened for perhaps he was one step closer to knowing his own true origin. They were all just wondering unknown since birth, their origin, their families, were nothing but floating mysteries that no one ever knew the answers to.
"I know of things that his land has yet to master" Balencia muttered calmly as her golden illuminances automatically shot up and fired electricity through her veins in a way it had never done before. It turned into the most saturated hue of gold, it became so bright that the Armala's were forced to squint. Balencia was acending.
"You're... you're beautiful Balencia" Lazarus muttered as his eyes were captivated by the warmth of her light. The sight of her illuminances caused insight and reflection for the Armala's, like a lucid mirror and for the first time they saw themselves clearly.
"We used to heal people... now... we only cause destruction and have become outcasts just as...Laham...wanted" Jazera said, as she had come back from her daydreaming wonders of what once embraced her.
"How did we turn into this?" Senescent pondered hopeless.
"The child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel it's warmth" Balencia muttered loud enough for the four to hear.
"How... how do we stop it from burning?" Jazera questioned in despair for what they had created.
