Aeon

Iluzija
A thing that is or is likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses

Sweat slowly trickled down to the side of Eliza's face , her breathing was off . And her mind was playing tricks on her once more ,It bothered her , especially the ticking of a clock . A clock ticking in Aeon? Now that is unusual ...
This time the great tower itself struck twelve
Sending the twelve bells tolling in their own ranges , this had to be a dream. It has to be an illusion.
The servant girl snaps her dark topaz eyes open a groggy feeling washed over her as she took in her surroundings everything was dark the only light that came into the night was the moon . As if on instinct Eliza throws off the thin blanket that was draped around her body . The clock tower was quiet only the small creaks of the floorboards broke the silence. The bells weren't ringing at all , not a single one . A dome of green light flashed creating a barrier of some sort the Light shielded the night sky
Eliza rushes out of the opening of the Clock

The strange barrier seemed to have a weakness in a corner of the town. A strong cold wind blew causing some of the dead leaves of the ground to hover up to the clock tower. The girl watched as the trail of autumn leaves lazily fly about she timidly grabs one , feeling the dirt that had clung onto the crimson leaf even the smell of the forest had come . A strange warmth came to the crippled thing , Eliza furrowed her brow in confusion as the leaf went to a new form instead of its paperlike thin exterior it straighten and glowed in the palm of her hand . The color of the leaf had grown brighter looking healthy but soon the warmth was starting to weaken as the green barrier flashed and vanished .
Silence came over once again greeting Eliza with the urge to sleep, in her hammock but the lone leaf that was now resting on the palm of her hand went back to its old form . She crumples it up , tearing at it until it was nothing but dirt and debris wiping off the sweat from her face . She trudged off and falls into the light fabric closing her eyes , feeling numb from the odd experience was that magic ?
'No, no it can't be magic is banned '
Still the thought kept replaying over , and over in her head in the end Eliza had decided to take out a book from her small shelf and read about the origins of Aeon .
In the heart of France , a little town called Aeon was established by a group of travelers from a far away place. Two families have settled around the land, both magical and strange to the travelers . Two brothers from the group each befriend a family, but the eldest had a dark plan to fulfill after months of staying in the new world the youngest brother had fallen in love with the daughter of a Cigano leader and wanted nothing to do with his brother's plan . Filled with rage the eldest brother took matters into his own hands , killing the young woman and angering the two families sending them both into war , thinking that one caused the death . After the massacre had passed the eldest brother enslaves the Ciganos and sends his troops to gather more like himself into the new world , leaving the first family alone to blame yet another family that is vaguely known . After many years the eldest brother lived a rich and healthy life , while the youngest brother mysteriously vanished and has not been heard from since .
The pit of her stomach lurched in uncertainty, so many things are left out instead of an origin it seemed more like a story . Eliza sighed softly and leaves the book on the floor as she goes back to her hammock letting sleep once again take over . The sun had risen much too quickly for the servant girl , Eliza had no energy to move .
Small stomps echoed the wooden walls but they soon stopped at the top of the tower . A tall man in his fifties stood at the entrance with a apathetic look , his light brown hair was starting to grey but Zadoc didn't care , he only cared for the girl that was living inside the tower
And stayed in the tower
" Elizabeth, I think it's time that you get up " his voice was filled with authority, it was enough to wake Eliza up from her slumber a large thud was heard in which Zadoc didn't pay much attention . He merely strolls deeper into his ward's living quarters Eliza gets up shaking off the drowsiness that plague her after a restless night. " Did you see the barrier of light ? " was the first thing that came out of her mouth , the girl didn't mean to be so straight forward but ... she had to know .
" A barrier of what ? ... " Zadoc only looked puzzled he sighs a moment later brushing off the girl's outburst " It's just a trick of magic , something that should be taken care of at once ! It is a crime after all " the tone of his voice came out as boredom but a hint of annoyance. " So , it is magic ?" Eliza said happily, her master closes his eyes slowly and counts to ten . He reopens them glancing down at the girl he adopted sixteen years ago" Young lady , magic is a unholy and destructible piece of the world . Something that does exist but shouldn't it's far to dangerous " Zadoc calmly walks to the area where the book was, setting it up on the shelf and tucking it in safely.
The girl takes cautious steps standing behind her caregiver " But not all magic can be dangerous, there is good and evil in people... why not magic?" She did have a point . A tired sigh escaped the old man's lips he turns around, tapping her ankle with the end of his long black cane " Elizabeth... I have taken you in at a young age shielding you from this so called magic it is a inferior thing . What would your mother think if you came up with this nonsense?" He questioned Eliza Really had no idea what her mother would do ... the girl stayed mute Zadoc gently placed his hand on top of her head ruffling at her dark brown locks "All birds learn to fly , and soon my little one you shall know that " his voice was low
Only two words came as a response " Yes sir .." Eliza knew that her caregiver wanted to keep the gossip of magic away so she held her tongue. Zadoc takes off his hand ushering her towards the stairs " Come now , you don't want to be late for work today "
The girl quickly makes a response that Zadoc didn't catch though it was possibly just the usual ' Yes Sir ' he grabs a small schoolbook and heads out . Walking down the stairs he fixed his tie seeing the ward look at the town with a wide eye expression a sly smile spreads to his face " I have raised this child for so many years ... I see her bend and will to my needs ... And now she will learn to think like me "
*
Últim
Coming after all others in time or order
The servant girl bounces on the balls of her feet , feeling content that she gets to leave the tower ... even if it is for a short walk . The rule in the Clock Tower are simple , Eliza has to stay in the tower and only leave if she's chaperone by her caregiver If not than she would get severely punished . A few thoughts ran into her head observing the everyday life of the townspeople , the tall tower does serve as a shelter ... but it kept her distant from the people it was almost like she was hiding from them
The town wasn't very big and yet there are mazes of alleyways , hundreds of stores around... everything felt cramped " Zadoc ? Sir ? Can you tell me what happens here ? In a day " Eliza asked glancing at him . The man mumbled skimming over a page from the schoolbook upon hearing the girl's request he decided to tell her " In the morning everyone wakes up and the baker bakes his bread , that is all " he wanted to keep the conversation short. Another question seared into Eliza's mind " Does the ClockTower wake them up ? "
Zadoc nearly drops the book , but he hastily catches it . " Stupid girl that Tower hasn't tolled its bells in years , and no the people wake themselves up ... " he goes back to the page he was at quickly glancing at Eliza " Have you gone over your studies Elizabeth?"
She nodded. For the past twenty minutes her guardian goes over a few subjects , quizzing her on her knowledge in Math , Astronomy, Healing methods and on rare occasions History. The duo soon stop at a five story building a sign that read
Madame Anne's Emporium
Was hanging on the side of it . Eliza hates her job as a seamstress, well she actually hates the owner of the store in general.The door swung open followed by a jingle of bells , a plump forty seven year old women wearing a red wig came out her grey eyes bore Daggers at her employee " Well ... you certainly took your time getting here " placing her hands on her hips . Eliza tucked away a strand of her dark brown hair trying to come up with words to say , Zadoc's cane blocks the girl from taking a step forward " Anne my dear , the girl woke up late which caused are delay ... she didn't even have time to eat " his voice was smooth
Madame Anne's demeanor soften at the sight of her husband even a small giggle escaped from her lips " oh I suppose, I can arrange something " she bit her lip keeping her full attention on Zadoc , she soon waves her hand gesturing Eliza to get into the store " Go on , Go on Elsie you know what to do " The girl sighed trudging into the entrance " It's Eliza " she corrected
" Whatever!" The woman screeches yanking the door close once Eliza had stepped inside .Shaking her head , she looks at the interior of the shop it was lined up with displays of Dresses, and Skirts , ranging from different colors of the rainbow after soaking up the designs of each dress that she was admiring Eliza starts heading up the stairs. Opening the door to get a blast of hot air , a light layer of sweat was starting to form at her tan skin a groan came out as she walks in . The upstairs portion of the shop was were girls around Eliza's age work at but in poor conditions... The windows were closed , dust floated around the air causing some of the girls to cough .
" Does this place ever get cleaned?" A girl asked sewing a button to a dress . Eliza traverses to her work area wiping off any dust with her sleeve " If it did then we wouldn't have to be in these conditions " she states grabbing an unfinished bodice from her pile of work already stitching it away . Another girl pipes up " So seen anything strange again little sister?" She mocked Eliza only stayed quiet not wanting to answer, a group of her coworkers surrounded the work area . " Come on now innocent sister " Isabel said now yanking away the fabric, Eliza scoffed at them " I have nothing to say , nothing to tell I think it would be better if you all leave " she was getting annoyed with them
" Have you been having those strange moments again? Oh! Remember the-
" I said I have nothing to tell , if you want proof check my eyes there dark as mahogany. There not Green like ... like .."
" Like Witchcraft?" Catherine suggested , Eliza nodded " But you came from outside Aeon and now you live in a Tower . We came before you " Eliza's origins are strange to many including herself, as no one leaves Aeon but it was rare to see strangers waltzed into town bits and pieces of Aeon's history is scattered about some could be real and some could be complete nonsense " Oh! I have an idea let's stab her and see if she bleeds !" . This causes the girl to nearly fall out of her chair , quickly standing up wanting to get away " Are you insane!? Me being from the outside world doesn't mean that Im magical, and ... magic itself is banned there's no point in these superstitions ... I promise you that my blood is red , red as the Rose " Eliza said
" Than prick your finger or will tell Madame Anne that you caused trouble again, who knows we might even get you sacked " Isabel announced. Some of the girls babble on over how to get Eliza fired . Grabbing a silver needle she quickly glances at the girls before inserting the point to her finger a small jolt of pain came to the pit of her stomach, she releases the sharp object from her flesh in a instant tiny drops of crimson blood showed . " I told you the truth... now leave " her voice was quiet but forceful Isabel and the rest soon do as they are told . Eliza sighed softly wiping off the blood on her skirt after a few months of working with the same girls day after day she would tell them about her strange encounters but now seeing as they only want to get rid of her Eliza no longer speaks on the matter of magic, or even if it's even possible to have magic . Scolding herself once more the servant girl drowns herself out with her work hoping that it will be a distraction.
Seven hours into work and Eliza has completed a handful of dresses many of them with the occasional ruffles and long sleeves. The sun was starting to set and the store was getting darker , she flexed her tired hands wanting to regain some feeling in them , the ache started to die down many of the girls were lighting up Their oil lamps being the only source of light in the room though it was dimly lit , it was better than nothing. A few minutes later Catherine accidentally bumps her lamp , the oil from it and the flicker of flame sparked a fire it quickly spreads .
" Fire ! Fire !" Catherine screamed already rushing away from the flames , the others do the same but some of their lamps crash to the floorboards. It grew even hotter than before the room was getting brighter . And screaming so much screaming the door was locked and the windows were bolted " Don't just stand there do something!" A girl with dark hair yelled . The group of seamstress were huddled towards the door , Eliza sprints towards them a large beam was starting to crack the floors were getting weaker finally the large piece of wood falls . Her eyes widen thinking that it is her fate to die by being consumed by flames covering her face Eliza's blood felt cold screams kept ringing and the pounding of a door .
Then everything was silent ... The beam had already fallen ruining the floor and causing it to stick out in odd sharp angles but the wood it self was damp with ...
Water
Locks of her dark hair was wet , even her clothes the fire had died out from the water . Eliza examines her hair noticing that the color resembled the earth's soil after a heavy rainfall she was the only one drenched . Tessa slowly points at her she looked paler than snow " Witch ... She's a Witch ! Witchcraft!" The accused girl tried to intervene but it was to late .
Madame Anne bursts through the door a worried expression on her face " What's this yelling all about? I heard the screams of fire " Tessa explains what had happened and how the fire had started but she told all of it as a lie . Eliza was yanked towards Madame Anne many of the girls harshly whisper for sacking " You ! You started the fire ? On your way my girl " getting dragged away Eliza felt pain in her arm due to the grip of the older woman. " No ! No ! Please you don't understand I- I didn't " The women slaps her opening the door and throwing her out
" No please ! I'm not a Witch ! I'm not ! "