HD Anniversary Event!

Whenever there was a gathering, why did there have to be such a vast crowd? But from that vast crowd, raised a leader, “Settle down everyone, settle down.” She calmly spoke, quietly hushing the large crowd. Her hair was long and a light lavender color, which appealed to her calm nature. The crowd still seemed a bit noisy as the woman turned to her fellow companions, one with strikingly red hair tied up into pig tails and another with golden curls; the woman nodded to the red head, who in turn merely nodded back and stepped forward to the crowd.

“Shut up! We’ve begun!” She yelled, managing to capture the attention of everyone, actually causing all of them to finally calm down and take a seat where ever they could sit. The red head stepped back and glanced at the lavender haired woman.

“Thank you, Aiyo.” She spoke and looked out into the crowd once more. “Good evening everyone.” She paused for a moment, “It has been brought to my attention that it has been a year since we have first stepped foot upon this promise land. One year since we have been blessed with this place we have known to call, ‘Harvest Dreams.’ One year that we have managed to survive our struggles to live. Through this time, we have learned countless of things and have brought people together in order to survive. Sadly, we have lost many, but in return, we have received many new who we have now come to call a friend.” She paused to take in a short breath, “We have brought together this wonderful land for all of us to share.” A few began to clap, which the woman allowed until it came to a hushed finish. “Together, we have brought people from far lands to join us in this wonderful celebration. Our friends have spanned from Europe, to the far Pacific, and to North America; and to even worlds unknown to the mind itself.” A weak smile graced her lips, “Today, we celebrate a time of prosperity and wonder. Today, we celebrate the one year anniversary that has been blessed upon us.”

Everyone clapped, some whistled, and some cried out in joy. The lavender haired woman just grinned at the sight of her joyous people, until she felt a slight twinge under her feet. She furrowed her brows together and took a step back just as a bright flash of light appeared before her, causing all the people around her to yell out and scream. The leader kept a calm expression on her face but was completely baffled.

As the light began to dim, a hood figure stood before all of them. Hunched over like some sort of troll but slowly straightened up to appear tall and lanky. It’s fingers were long and thin; it tried to speak but it was a mixture of sounds sounding both male and female. “You fool.” It clutched it’s fist together, “You think you can live in prosperity so long. A large toll must be paid.” It let out some sort of growl as the leader walked forward.

“Rose--.” The golden haired girl spoke up.

The woman, Rose, held her hand back, cutting off the woman, “Hush, ES.” She murmured. She glared harshly at the figure, “Who are you to come here?” She barked in a hushed tone. The being just laughed maniacally,

“I thought you would have known.” At that moment, the being raised its hand and fiercely slapped the woman across the cheek, forcing her to the ground. Quietly, the being turned about, staring off into the frightened crowd. “As for all of you!” It began to screech, “There is a debt to pay, and you all must pay!” It reached out again, as if trying to take a grip of the air; the walls began to shake as the once bright blue skies began to darken. “I shall bring down this land, just like I have done to others. And none of you can stop me!”

Rose sat up, lightly touching her lip, only to feel the touch of a warm, sticky liquid escaping her flesh. “Run! Everyone run! Get out!” She yelled out to the terrified people, who in return began screaming and running around like a bunch of chickens with no heads. Wires snapped as the walls fell around them; the power was gone and everything just became darkened as an explosion could be heard in the distant and the whole area around them seemed to burst out into flame. More screaming. Rose coughed as the figure turned towards her again, it moved towards her and stood before the wounded leader. “I told you I would return.” Before Rose could reply, the figure pressed it’s hand into her face, cutting off any air to get to her lungs. Her voice was muffled and soon enough, the woman fell to the floor unconscious.

Screams. Cries of terror. Such a glorious day, wasted away as the prideful land fell. As the night fell in front of them, it became hard to find who had survived the attack. Rose had been saved from the wreckage, but sadly unconscious. Aiyo and ES had been rescued as well, or rather; ES had rescued a scared-beyond-no-return Aiyo from being crushed under the ceiling. A few other women had been saved, along with a few males, but it was unknown if they lived or not.

Hours had passed amongst the chosen few, the leader began to stur; Rose woke once more before the sun had sunk, panting heavily. Her neck throbbed in agony as if subjected to the fury of a thousand hornets. Sweat beads drenched her forehead as her eyes readjusted to the dark air that surrounded everyone. In the midst of the blackness, she could barely identify two voices; the soft tenderness of ES's and the clapping thunder of Aiyo's that now intertwined like a symphony of ire.

“Rose,” ES spoke up. Why did it appear that everyone perked up and had a tiny glow of hope in their eyes for the survival of their leader? Slowly, the woman sat up, lightly touching her forehead with her fingertips. “It’s good to see you’re awake.”

“Is everyone okay?” She spoke hoarsely, letting out a subtle cough.

“This all we found after the attack.” There was a pause, “I’m sorry.”

“No no, it was not your fault. I should have suspected this in the first place.” She sighed.

“It is, partially.” ES began, “We had received a warning a few days back about a potential attack. We did not take it seriously, but when have thought to have brought it to you; you were always so busy with other things concerning this place that we did not want to bother you.”

Rose merely glanced at them, not thinking about the citizens behind them, “You had received a warning about this? And you neglected to tell me?! I trusted you to help me raise this land to a powerful, promising land.” ES turned away, dropping her head in shame. “I put you in my highest military position and you have done nothing but destroyed a great nation, yet again.” She spat. If it was possible, ES’s head would have fallen off it she could drop it any further.

There was a moment of silence before Rose spoke under her breath as she glanced up into the black sky, “There are probably still more people out there.” She sighed, “Tomorrow is a new day and we shall treasure it, just like today.”

“Madame leader?” A woman perked up, her hair just as red as Aiyo, others glanced towards both the woman and the leader, curious of what she had to say. “Will we still celebrate the anniversary?” Her tone seemed a little meek, almost embarrassed to ask. Rose chuckled weakly and smiled ever so softly,

“Of course. We shall all spend it together and rebuild, renew, treasure, and live in peace.”