Iron Hands Sylvia

Deep in an unknown village besieged by mountains on the northeast border of Europe, lived a family of seven. One mother named Sylvia and the rest were her children, with four boys and two girls. The oldest and the youngest were both the girls.

Sylvia was a nice person, loved by her kids and the neighbors. She ran a meat shop with two of her sons, young though they were, and by all accords it was running well. They were by no means rich, but they had a roof over their heads and food on the table three times a day, in those days these were considered blessings.

But the good times never last, and soon the Kingdom the village was a part of was under attack. That meant all of her sons would be taken, and Sylvia would be left alone with her daughters. That meant danger, since there would be many draft dodgers and looters wondering about who may harm her and the girls. She didn't know how to fight with swords, even though being a butcher by profession, or spears or anything else. What she did know was fighting with hands, and being a heavy built woman her punches carried a lot of power behind them.

So soon enough, words spread about a woman with thunderous fists who took down vagabonds and looters in a remote village down northeast. Usually stories like this, when they get spread around, become more and more far fetched till it reaches the level of supernatural (How many legends came to be). But in Sylvia's case, the opposite happened. Many men found it hard to believe a woman could take down folks armed with nothing, so they dismissed it as being fairy tales.

But when a warring faction came through the village, as the invading army had planned to attack the fortified city of the kingdom by the north side, surprising them as city would be looking forward towards the main army. The invading army had soldier with them but most of them were not human, they were bears. Giant bears with claws of daggers and teeth of steel, and they came enraged with fire in the eyes. The village didn't know how to deal with such a savage attack.

It wasn't until Sylvia stood up to protect her daughters, donning iron gloves with cloth inside them. That day the folks saw a legend come to life, as the lady took down bears twice the size of humans ruthlessly, smashing skulls and tearing apart legs of those giants. Each punch sounded like thunder, and as her attack grew more violent, the bears started running away. Not that she wasn't hurt, it was just that her constituent was too strong.

As can be guessed, her feats and her story became a legend in that part of the world, and as decades and centuries went by, Sylvia's name spread around the world, albeit in different names in different places.

What is unknown is how and when she passed away. According to the written records, she went missing one morning and couldn't be found ever since. That had a lot of people questioning whether or not Sylvia was entirely human, but since she was a kind person, many let that idea go away.

However, in the 21st century, right in the heart of the Amber city, in a 24/7 bakery, Sylvia came to life again, not in soul but in spirit. A woman donned the iron gloves, similar to the legend, and set out to protect what she loves. We shall read in the next story of her and how history repeats itself.