Last Stand

There weren’t always dragons in the valley… There were first humans… humans fighting each other. The first thing she noticed were the crystals falling on her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes to reveal a gray sparkly sky that captivated her. It was so quiet... After a moment of staring she attempted to gather her thoughts until she noticed... She was on sand. Ignoring the impossible thought of light snow falling in a desert or beach, she sat up and was instantly zapped with a searing pain in her head… Had she been unconscious instead of asleep? Her hair was neatly put into a single long braid...

She finally glanced up to a wall; She was maybe a hundred feet away from a wall, and as she followed it with her vision, she realized she was completely surrounded by walls… It was a massive circle.

As her eyes adjusted to the snow, the pain in her head slowly gave way as a noise, previously unknown, began to rise in volume. Soon enough it was no longer just a noise, it must have been a thousand roars as she realized what they were. They were people, sitting on the walls screaming and cheering. But they weren’t screaming for her- They threw food, rocks, and even oyster shells at her. Her eyes widened as she finally knew what was happening. She was in an arena, and after a few frantic glances, she saw him.

The overseer sat above everyone, and while she couldn’t make out his face, she knew he must have orchestrated it all. A sound grumbled through the ground behind her. The wind picked up, and she turned with her green eyes against the falling snow, things went quiet again... or perhaps they seemed to get quiet. But it wasn’t just one, it was a hundred gates opening all around her.

A monster stood before her… almost twenty feet tall. It was covered in scales and pulled by knights. Was it a demon? A thousand knights gathered around her, and one of the civilians threw a lucky shot from their seat and the rock whacked the back of her head. The impact shook her hard, and her earring fell onto the sand.

Dazed, she collapsed to her knees and looked towards the fallen jewel. It was... a small green stone, and it appeared to be pulsating. The snow fell even slower, the noise died down to a blur once more, and she remembered how she’d obtained it... She and her great aunt were hiding from the invading English, but they were approaching fast. They had made a hole through the wall, but they did not have time to make the hole wide enough for her aunt to fit. Her great aunt gave her a somber look, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a crystal.

“Sophia, your visions are some the French people had not seen since Joan, and I believe you can inspire all of us. Please, take this. Fires may rise, shadows may fall, but with this... look to the sky, as your hope will conquer all. You are the gatekeeper.”

Sophia stared at the ground in front of her… then to the jewel. Sophia, the gatekeeper, remembered what her destiny was. She grasped the emerald and stood up with a might she hadn’t before, and her burning passion was felt throughout the arena’s battlefield. The knights almost seemed nervous at this young girl’s lack of fear and extreme determination... but that’s all she was, a young girl...right? The monster charged towards Sophia.

Time slowed as the wind shifted towards Sophia, but she held no fear. Through the background of the slow falling snow and sandy wind, she gracefully walked towards the approaching army. She released her braid to unveil long wavy black hair flying behind her. She stopped, and with the fire of war in her eyes, the gatekeeper lifted the stone high in the air and let out a war cry of her own…“Les héros ne meurent jamais!”. The jewel glowed in her hand, and her green eyes began to glow as the powerful energy electrocuted through her body.

The wind was stronger than ever as it now circled her, and a green light flashed and blinded the entire battlefield. The blizzard wrapped around her as she levitated off the ground. The army had paused and stared in shocked silence as the gatekeeper closed her eyes and curled into herself. The knights might have been controlled by fear in the moment… but the scaled beast was controlled by bloodlust. She suddenly shot back towards the ground, and with a power none but a will born out of hope could have, she crashed into the earth with a massive BOOM.

Objects were thrown into the air from the shaking of the earth from the impact. The blinding light from her eyes shot open as the wind now obeyed her. The gigantic beast vanished into the dust. All the army could see was the approaching storm of dust and sand with streaks of green lighting tazing towards them. Then… a massive figure flew back towards the army. The beast tumbled and crashed into the side of the arena… unconscious. The army had no chance and the shockwave storm threw them back. Men were thrown into the air and even into the audience. As the storm cleared, nothing remained on the battlefield... The army was obliterated.

The arena was in disarray as civilians toppled over each other to flee through exits. The panic was so great in the English crowd that some people out of manic terror ditched the exits and climbed over the wall and fell 50 feet onto the ground. All it took was a glance from Sophia towards the overseer. He stared in horror before attempting to flee. He turned to run out of his chamber, only for the roof to cave in his path. There she stood… the spirit of France, and a nation tortured as much of the civil war as they were of the English... and she was angry. Her nation had been brought to its knees and she was the destined savior.

She made sure to speak in English for the overseer to understand every word...

“We’ll fight for all the glory and hope that burns in all, and from the dark of the ashes we’ll rise up and stand tall. We’ll ride like thunder, we’ll strike like lightning in a storm; winds like a hurricane, relentless we’ll remain. We will be legendary and from this moment on, we will not be forgotten, our flame burns on and on.”

With unnatural speed she zipped into the overseer and held him up against the wall. The overseer was speechless, and could do nothing but try to avoid eye contact with the blinding lights in her eyes... She didn’t need to interrogate, as she had obtained all the information she needed from his eyes... his soul.

The English had learned from Joan, and they decided to make an example of this young girl garnering a lot of attention, to remind the French that the English were on top. Little did they know the true power of whom they were dealing with. Sophia shot through the ceiling once more, and fled an arena that now looked as wartorn as many towns in her nation… A nation she swore to give her life for it to survive. She wouldn’t just join the war efforts, she would make sure the flame of French spirit kept burning for as long as time. She would give them a cause to unite behind, a reason to keep fighting, and a vision of France for all to see: a vision of snow; of clarity. A vision for everyone to live for…