A young woman from the small town of Saint Hope's Town, Alexandra Fotheeth, has lived her best life up until the point when she came into contact with a mysterious object, which changed the course of her life completely. In her ignorance, Alexandra...
For the past few weeks, Hugo and David have been pushing themselves to their limits at the monastery. Their training began immediately, with a focus on preparing their bodies to withstand extreme cold. As a part of this training, they were sent to the chilly, icy chamber that lies in the deepest depths of the monastery, where monks undergo rigorous training in a room called "Frost Flower." The temperature in this room is so low that just standing in the hallway leading to it sends shivers down one's spine.
Walking down the long, dark corridor that leads to the frost room, one can feel the temperature dropping with each step. At the end of the corridor is a thick stone door, with a carving of a flower etched into the surface.
Opening the door reveals a room that is completely covered in ice. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made of thick, glinting frozen ice, and the air is so cold that it makes the lungs quiver. Hanging down from the icy ceiling is an enormous ice flower, carved with intricate details, its petals made of delicate ice crystals.
Upon entering the room, the sound of ice crunching underfoot can be heard echoing through the room. The cold air is thick, and the chill radiates through the body, making it difficult to move or breathe. Standing in the frost room requires immense mental and physical strength, as the cold penetrates the very core of the body. For those who train in this room, the icy chill is a constant reminder of their resolve, and a test of their will to overcome the extreme temperatures.
David and Hugo were completely taken aback by the biting cold on their first day at the monastery. However, with time and patience, they were able to withstand the frigid temperature and gradually increased their tolerance, eventually being able to spend up to 40 minutes in the hallway without any discomfort.
Megan, on the other hand, was struggling to come to terms with the loss of her daughter. She had been trying to find inner peace by meditating in the monastery's specially designed pods, but every time she tried to forget, her daughter's voice would echo in her mind, making it impossible for her to find the tranquility she was seeking.
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Megan sat on the mat, lost in her thoughts, unable to concentrate on her training. Grandmaster Aeleth observed her from a distance, knowing that Megan was struggling with her grief.
"It's no use," Megan muttered. "I can't stop hearing her voice."
Grandmaster Aeleth approached gently, putting a reassuring hand on Megan's knee. "I know how it feels to lose a child," she said softly, her voice calm. "I lost all five of mine." she said lowly.
Megan looked up, eyes wide with surprise. "You've lost a child as well?"
"All five," Grandmaster Aeleth murmured, her voice heavy with the weight of her loss. "It's not an easy thing to bear, but you can find strength in it. You may feel alone, but you're not. We have all gone through pain, some of us more than others." She said as she sat in front of Megan.
Megan was taken aback by Grandmaster Aeleth's honesty. "I'm so sorry for asking," she said, tears welling up in her eyes. "What happened to them?"
Grandmaster Aeleth closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "I killed them," she said plainly, as if her words were carved in her heart. "They were plagued with an incurable disease. Before I became a monk here at the monastery, I was living in a place far from any kingdom, surrounded by nature. My eldest daughter, Eydis, was 12 years old, my twins, Aelith and Zul'dra, were 9, Reth was 8, and Elthara, was 3."
She then places her hand on the ground, and once she brought it up abruptly, strings of light flourished right in front of them, and they then spread wide into stars, all sorts of colors appearing before them. Megan was mesmerized by the spectacle before her, watching as Grandmaster Aeleth's hands moved gracefully and the stars came to life, each one an intricate web of memories and experiences. She listened intently as Grandmaster Aeleth shared her tragic story, her heart heavy with the weight of the grandmaster's sorrow. Megan listened in awe as Grandmaster Aeleth used her powers to display the memories of her family. The stars in front of them showed a variety of scenes, both good and bad. She was struck by the intensity of the memories and the emotion behind them.
One particular memory showed bandits raiding their homes, capturing them, and bringing them to their camps. "When my children convinced me to relax and put the force field down, the bandits came during the night and captured us, brought us to their camps." She then switched to another star; it played out the horrible things the bandits were doing to Aeleth, making her children watch.
Once another star showed up, it played a horrible scene of the bandits testing on every child they captured, even Aeleth's children. "The experiments were to find a cure for the disease that they plagued our children with, but they never found the cure, so they threw out the children that died from it. But I wasn't going to wait to see my children die from it." Another star showed; it played out a memory of Aeleth killing every bandit and everyone that was plagued, except for her children. She turned to them, and she saw their skins, which were once healthy and pure; it was now sickly looking, their hair almost gone, and their eyes looked sickened into their skulls.
"My youngest looked at me in the eyes, telling me, 'Don't leave us, Mom, don't leave me.' I wanted to smile at her silly remark. I would never leave them." Aeleth grabbed another star, and it played out Aeleth, killing all five of her children. Grand Master Aeleth was silent for a moment before speaking again, her voice carrying the weight of years of memory and loss. "After the tragedy of losing my children, I, too, heard their voices calling for me," she said calmly, "Their voices urged me to continue on, to find purpose in the face of such heartbreak. And so I came here, to this monastery, where I could use the gifts I've been given to help others. It was my way of honoring the memory of my children and of finding solace in their loss."
Megan listened, her heart heavy with the gravity of the grandmaster's story. She could not imagine the pain and loss that Aeleth had endured, and yet she found herself in awe of the woman's strength and resilience. "I'm so sorry for what you've been through," Megan said, her voice choked. "I can't even imagine what it must have been like to lose not just one but all five of your children. But I can see now how you've turned your loss into a way to help others. It's truly inspiring."
Grand Master Aeleth looks at Megan, her calm eyes bore into Megan's sad eyes. "That is the way of the Trimurti," she said quietly. "We do not turn away from grief or pain, but rather, we embrace it and use it as a way to grow and evolve. It is through our losses and struggles that we find true strength and purpose."
Megan: "...How did you come to terms with your decision?" she asked softly. "It must have been so difficult."
Grandmaster Aeleth clapped her hands together, making all the stars go away, "It was," she said simply. "For years, I grappled with guilt and sorrow, wondering if I had made the right choice. But eventually, I came to see that I had done what I had to do to protect my children from further suffering."
Megan nodded, understanding the gravity of what Grandmaster Aeleth had been through.
Grandmaster Aeleth: "Healing takes time, and it comes in different forms. For me, the path to Healing involved meditation, self-reflection, energy healing, and cleansing rituals, just as you are doing now. But the most important part of my healing journey was learning to forgive myself. I had to come to terms with the fact that I made the best decision I could in the moment, even if it meant taking the lives of my children. It was not an easy decision, and it still weighs on me to this day, but I have come to a point where I have accepted what happened and allow myself to move forward. Do not rush your own healing journey, it takes time and patience. You will know when you are ready to embrace it and move on."
