One of Many Battles

Grassy Knoll

Waking up in some meadowy grounds, a girl with red locks hanging down to her chin and ending as a simple bob, as she continued to look down at her own appearance.

Her hair was short, skin was lightly browned and she was short in height, but also wispy in her appearance. Looking about herself, she saw a shimmering anklet, it was thinly wrapped around her ankle, almost like it was fitted to the skin.

Past.. Memory?  ~

Sitting in the room with other people whom had agreed to take on this rather unique task, which involved a rather informative take of different tools that was at our disposal.

there were a few different bracelets and anklets with different colors to associate for different abilities and skills needed to use them.

"This bracelet is known as the The Purifying Mirror, for once someone wears the clear stoned bracelet it gives you the choice of being elderly or extremely young, even appear as exact as when you were that age." Explained Lisa, as Riam and Annie wore the bracelet with the same stone and both chose a different age.

Riam chose an elderly man to age into, his once stark black hair fading more into gray and white coloring, as his face slowly seemed to gain more wrinkles, slightly around his eyes and mouth and more pronounced in a few areas too.

While Annie chose to change into a little girl of age seven, she slowly shrunk down to a more diminutive height, while her once long blonde hair, which was at her mid-back at the beginning, ended at her shoulders. Her face became more plump and a slight more rounded way with the heart-shaped face, while her bright green eyes seemed to shimmer even brighter than it did before the change.

"Wow!", "Ahh..." A many different people exclaimed in awe of the different changes that the stone accessories can do, but Lisa soon stepped in while the clothing of both individuals were either too big or they were too tight. Allowing both Annie and Riam try to size themselves back to when their clothes had fit.

"That is just a taste of what the many different accessories can do, if given to a competent individual." She turned to each of the candidates, before seeming to look at her own teammates, "Reliable individuals, too." which was directed more towards how she felt about her team, than what she felt about any of them...

Present?.. Current..~

Thinking back to that time, She looked closer at the anklet and saw the clear stone embedded into the accessory, and started to wonder if there were other accessories she was wearing without knowing it.

Getting off the grassy ground, she stood as tall as the age she was allowed, and started to wander the field cautiously, feeling a bubble of nerves go about her gut as she tried to figure out where she was heading, and where the back up the scientists said would be around to help.

"When we send you back to the time of Sa-Ri-Cun Era, there will be many different cultural groups we need you to ally with for the future. One we are sending you directly to, Anua, They are a group called the Nuun group, which you may have studied." Lisa explained rather in detail.

Thinking on the conversation, Anua, thought it over, "The Nuun group are thought that for they praise the magic of the moon as a second home, where they were meant to live, but this was a simple stop before the main destination.

"I still wonder on where the Nuun clan is? They must be searching for who is being sent to them, if they were warned of someone visiting them..?" Anua spoke to herself, looking about herself, seeing trees in each direction she looked in.

Feeling the anklet against her skin, as her feet stepped into the soft grass and nearly rain-soaked grounds, walking onwards down the hill towards any sounds that could lead to civilization, or to a road that may help her to actual people.

Elsewhere in the time zone to be discovered,

A young man was slowly scouting around the woods, looking for herbs, sturdy branches for firewood and even fresh fruit to send others to pluck up on a second search. He had his own hands filled with a couple bundles of wood.

The search came short as he saw, in a break between the branches and leaves. In the distance, a girl with just some clothing to cover the necessary parts, and bright red hair wandering the fields, seeming to be lost.

He was not against new people coming into the family they made, but he was also surprised that there was someone in the middle of no-where.

After a couple minutes of observing, and considering what to do with the young girl before him, he started towards her. "When I get close to the edge of the trees, will make noise to draw her attention.." He thought as a decent start to a plan, where the idea of the girl being actually an enemy was never certain, until further information is ascertained.

Setting the bundles of wood down before stalking forward towards the clearing, not wanting to be hindered by the lumber or seem like a threat with the weight of lumber.

Snap. Crunch...

The sound of different branches and twigs breaking, was heard from his own ears as rather loud and noticeable to where he felt they could be heard miles around, if not careful.

"You look lost.. uh.. Little girl?" He started, but once he was closer, and saw how small the red headed girl was, felt a small ache of worry and wonder.

"Um... I am lost. Who are you?" Anua confessed, before asking her own question. Realization also sparking that she sounded like she was around five years old on a bad day, or at the oldest ten when trying to be mature.

"Did Lisa, or the others mention our voices changing too, or was it just physical changes they focused on?" Anua thought, before turning to the man before her once more.

"I am called a couple names, but please call me Mathius Bark. May I have your name, young lady?" He spoke in a drawl that extended the 'p', but Mathius was rather polite in his introduction.

"I am Anua. Do you know the groups that reside in this area?" She asked, figuring to just go for the main question and find out if she found who she was searching for, or needed to go somewhere else for them.

The question made Mathius tilt his head slightly and wonder, but also ask "What group are you looking for? There are societies of many kind in every direction. Some building themselves up, and some that are just like me, moving constantly." He explained with a slight smile, which made Anua wonder if the nomadic lifestyle was forced upon him or not?

"what groups are around? What societies are in the area?" Anua wondered, watching Mathius tilt his head about, the area almost smelling the area, and also not.

She read about many cultures that once existed, some that felt more like superstition than actual truth, but when it was written in a actual history book, instead of romance novels or horror books, she tried to see them as believable.

Anua watched Mathius curiously, not able to stop how he acted and seemed to work in his own mind how to help her. Breaking out of her slight stupor, feeling like she was staring more so, than actually observing the man before her.

"There is a couple near by settlements in the area, These areas hold mostly families who move around quite a bit, can be up to twenty different families in the vicinity. There is also further past the plains and woods, where small settlements are established, some of them holding no names yet, or few that are." Mathius scratched at his chin in thought, not quite recalling the names of the different places that are near by, and feeling the young girl would want to live in a town around other humans.

"The Nuun group signs are seen everywhere if you know where to look. It is the main society that is around, you could possibly find them in different towns in any direction." He shrugged at the last bit, for the last group was not of high interest for him, besides to avoid.

The sun had slowly started its descent on one side of the bright blue sky, coming closer to evening and slipping down gradually.

"I need to return to my people, would you like to stay with us at least for the night?" Mathius asked, he did not want to leave a little girl alone in the woods, but also was rather curious about the young Anua.

She gave a nod in excitement at seeing more of the beautiful settlement that he lives in, and how it compared to the history books she read about in her youth, or the way they were written in the future.

"It feels as if it is set maybe a couple thousand years back from when I was originally from, but eras and years are not easy to tell, I could be in the end of one era and actually need to be in the very beginning of it instead.." She thought, almost analyzing the situation, but also felt herself getting lost in thought.

Arriving in a settlement, Mathius carrying a couple bundles of wood and Anua carrying a bundle of her  own. Awaiting what may be a interesting adventure to be had.

Somewhere else,

There was a head priestess, dressed in a long gown and a hood that shadowed their face that in the dimming light, appeared dingy gray and hid their appearance easily.

"Where is the messenger? We were expecting them." Spoke the individual, their hands clenched into fists and tremors going through them with emotion. 

The hooded priestess gave a shaky sigh and spoke, "Well, we shall take matters in our own hands still."