Aella's Story

After a long, bizarre adventure involving many trials, Aella has returned to her home in Lofous Village to relax. Though a tad short on space, her house has been expanded several times to add extra rooms, which she uses for her hobbies. It has been expanded so many times, in fact, that her house has practically outgrown the hill it was originally built on. Up until recently, this house was Aella's world, as her father forbade her from leaving it out of fear that she'd get caught up in some sort of danger. It wasn't until a Demon Weapon, a creature born from steel as part of a witch's evil plot, attacked Lofous Village that she was ever allowed to leave. To unwind from her first campaign, Aella has decided to lounge in her library with a nice, long book. Normally, she prefers nonfiction over fiction, but today, she decided to read a fictional story. She recently purchased a book about powerful warriors from space who were so strong that they appeared to be able to fly, and so fast that they appeared to be able to teleport. Just after finishing the first chapter, she hears someone knocking on her front door, followed by some shouting. "Aella! Are ya home?!"

Aella looks out her window to find that it's her Blue Mage friend and neighbor Timbo at her door. "Hey, Timbo! I'll be right down!" she calls down to him. It takes her a moment to get to her front door, as her library is on the third floor of her house; she has to climb down a ladder to her bedroom, and then down the stairs to the first floor before finally reaching the front door. Suddenly, Aella is hit with a flash of deja vu, as this is how her last adventure began. Shrugging it off, she opens the door. "What's going on, Timbo?" she asks. "Etsuko needs your help with somethin'," Timbo explains, "She opened up a big portal, and she want ya to check it out." "So?" Aella says, "She opens portals to summon monsters all the time. Why's this one different?" "That's the thing," says Timbo, "Nothing came out of this portal. That's why she wants someone to go through it and see what's on the other side." Though slightly curious why Etsuko didn't ask one of their other friends who have heavier armor, Aella agrees to help. "Lemme go get my armor," she says, retreating back into her house to equip herself.

Etsuko lives in Paralimnio Village, east of Lofous. It's not a terribly long journey, but it's long enough to be rather dangerous for just one person. Figuring it would be best to have Timbo stay behind to project Lofous in case something happens, Aella decided to invite her adopted sister Jolene to come along with her. While fairly young, Jolene is skilled enough with a bow to provide adequate support. Aella makes her way up to Jolene's room, which is back up on the third floor of the house. "Hey, Jolene, I need to head over to Etsuko's, do mind coming with me?" As Aella walks in, Jolene is sharpening her dagger, a habit she picked up while she was living on the streets of Akmaios City. "Sure," Jolene answers, "I was getting kinda bored, anyway." Jolene sheathes her dagger, dawns her cloak, and grabs her bow and arrows. Returning to the front door, Aella asks Timbo to keep the village safe, then she and Jolene proceed down the path to Paralimnio Village.

Before they know it, the two arrive at Etsuko's homestead; a four-story tower resting on a cliff overlooking Paralimnio Lake, nearly entirely covered in blooming vines and encircled by a bed of tulips in varying colors. Just as Timbo said, the Black Mage Etsuko stands in front of a large portal. She greats the two as they walk up the path. "Aella! I am so glad you agreed to come!" she exclaims, waving at her. "I see you brought the young miss Jolene with you as well. How are you, sweetie?" "Rather tired," Jolene replies. "How about you head inside and relax? I just made some lemonade, if you would care for some." "Sounds good," Jolene says, then she makes her way into the tower. Aella wastes no time getting to the matter at hand. "So what happened with this portal?" she asks. "I am not entirely certain," Etsuko explains. "I was attempting to merge my two magical talents into one. I opened this portal, expecting a nice gown or perhaps a dapperly-dress demon to emerge, but nothing has emerged from it at all, not monster nor nickers. I am terribly curious about what lies on the other end, but not enough to go through myself; it could be quite dangerous on the other end." Aella scratches her head. "I'm glad to help, but I'm curious why you asked me instead of Niccolo. He wears much more armor than I do." "While that is indeed the case, Niccolo is terribly insufferable. I simply could not bear to hear his voice ever again. Furthermore, he surely would have demanded payment from me, and I refuse to pay him a single coin of my money for anything." Aella laughs. "Fair enough. Well, I didn't come all this way just to refuse, so here goes nothing." Etsuko wishes Aella luck as she enters the portal. Nothing could prepare her for what exists beyond the portal's veil.