Serina 1 : The Purity of Souls

She could feel herself floating above it all, hanging in the sky above an open bay. Her energy had been sapped by the battle, but it was now over. Her soul was free of it's former host, and she could do as she pleased.

The problem was, she didn't know what to do. Everything that had meant something to her had just been taken away from her. Striton, her only love. Miles, her greatest friend. Roland and Rufus...And all those who had lived in Atlan.

If she could have cried in this form, she would have. She certainly felt sad enough, but no tears would form on her ethereal cheeks.

There was only one thing she could really do. She reached out with her misty hands and began to absorb the ether flowing about her, channeling it, absorbing it, taming it...

A long, sorrowful cry emerged from her as she began to use the ether to transform herself, a secret taught to her by her mother...

* Some time later

She awoke again, this time lying in a small room, dimly lit by candlelight. Her body was sore, but she quickly willed it away. She sat up slowly and carefully, being certain of her self again. She was in a small room, and it looked as though she was in some sort of hospital. Another person with a bandaged face was accross the room for her. >From a quick glance, she could tell that they were asleep.

A woman wearing a white suit walked in, carrying a clipboard made of glass, of the variety that could be bought in Brightsand.

Serina shook her head to clear out the cobwebs. Slowly, she spoke, "Where am I?" Her voice shaky as though unused in months. The words barely came to her.

The woman looked up from her clipboard to glance at Serina, then she calmly answered, "You were found lying on the beach. You are in the College Town hospital now." A small smile formed on the woman's face, seeing another patient awaken, someone who they had thought would never awaken.

<How long as it been?> Serina thought to herself. Again, she spoke slowly, "How long have I been asleep?"

"You've been resting for several weeks dear. We didn't think you would ever wake up. Welcome back. Let me get the doctor real quick." After looking at the bandaged person accross the room, she walked out the door quickly.

Serina gathered her emotions and thoughts and tried to figure out what was going on. The last thing she could remember was seeing a man come at her with a sword and dagger, a menacing look on his face.

A doctor staggered in moments later, clipboard in hand, and peeked around the door at her sitting there.

"Why hello there, young lady. Glad you made it back to the world of the living." He smiled as he wrote something down on the notebook he had.

Serina struggled to ask, "Who are you?" It was taking a lot of effort to remember how to speak.

"I am Jim, the doctor who's been looking after you since you were found on our shores over a month ago. Frankly, I was worried that you would never wake up. Now, what might your name be?"

Serina fought with her tongue, but was able to speak her name clearly. Her voice was getting raspy from effort. She laid back down in the bed, mentally exhausted from the effort.

Jim watched her close her eyes slowly and drift once again back to sleep. "Poor girl, she must have been through a lot..." He took a few more notes and placed her file back at the foot of her bed.

* The next morning

Serina slowly rose and began stretching out. As she once again stood on her shaky legs, her hungering stomach growled at her. She was also quite cold, the hospital robe the only thing keeping the cold air from her skin.

She wandered into the quiet hallway, grimacing with each painful step. At least she was able to walk... But wasn't she also able to fly?

Looking at her hands, she could see the little bits of feathers poking out from underneath her skin. She let her feathers out from their protective skin coverings and delightfully felt the warmth as they covered her bare skin.

Spreading her arms out, she tried flapping her arms for a moment, and getting a few inches off the ground, she gave up from the effort and landed back on her feet. Her talons had been cut by the hospital staff, probably to keep her from shredding their thin sheets.

Her nostrils began to pick up the scent of food, and she began wobbling down the hall, following her nose, until she reached the source...

A small staff lounge was populated by three young men, eating their breakfasts. Serina nearly fell on her face as she crossed the threshold into the room. She knocked over a small potted plant that was by the door. She struggled to regain her balance

The three doctors turned around, and seeing what was happening, all three jumped up and helped Serina regain her balance. "You must be so hungry" one of them said, as they brought her over to the table. One of the men went over to a icebox and brought forth some food.

"What can you eat?" The doctor asked, for none of them had ever seen anyone like this lady, and didn't know if she had any alergies to any kinds of food.

Serina looked at the foods being offered, and pointed at everything that looked okay. She could have eaten any of it, the way her stomach was reacting. She settled for some meat and eggs and a few slices of bread.

She ate hungrilly, each bite replenishing some of her strength. Already, the warmth was returning to her body.

All the while, the three doctors discussed things over on the small couch that was set in the corner. Eventually, one of them got the nerve to ask her, "What species are you?" and "Where do you come from?"

Serina sat dumbfounded as she tried to answer, but for the life of her she couldn't remember. She kept trying to think back to before she was here. Nothing was coming to her, which frustrated her even more. Her mind was on fire trying to remember what had happened. Over and over, an image of a man flying at her with a sword and dagger.

She screamed and collapsed onto the floor in a bundle of feathers. "I can't remember! What has happened to me!" she cried out as the doctors tried to calm her down.

As soon as they could get her standing, they took her back to her room. She cried the entire way to her room that she couldn't remember anything other than her name... ________________________________________________________________ YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! Try it today -there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.