Chronicles of the Red Sovereign

I woke up because of the trembling of what I’m lying on. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the smiling face of Sun Wukong. I stifled a scream and abruptly sat up.

“Sun Wukong!” I yelled at him, making him wince.

“Geez Little Red, you know I have super hearing, no need to yell.”

I just looked at him with confusion and then put a hand on my head since it suddenly hurt. But then, memories started to resurface in my mind, a picture of Elthesia hitting me with a flaming fist.

“What the hell happened?” I asked the foreign god who only pursed his lips. “And where the hell are we?”

I look around the small room I was in. It was the size of a carriage, only with no seats or something. The floor was smooth and soft. I couldn’t figure out the material on the floor but I somehow liked it. It reminded me of the type of floor my sister used to put in her room back in Liada. I was sitting on some sort of soft bedding while Vyfal was back on her fox form, draped across my lap over the covers. My attention was caught by the wind howling outside but other than that I had no idea where I was.

“We’re inside Oboroguruma[1].”

I gave him a skeptical look, paired with a raised eyebrow. I had no idea what Oboroguruma was but since I had no inkling of such a thing to exist in Afasia so I guessed it was something Wukong and his people brought from their world.

“Uhm… the what?”

“It’s called a carriage demon or a carriage spirit.” he shrugged. “Basically a spirit specialized in transportation back in Japan, Earth.”

-A carriage?

I opened the window and peeked outside. My eyes widened when I saw that we were in the sky! We were inside a flying carriage!

“Where the hell are we going?”

“Avalon Isles.”

My brain immediately supplied the information about Avalon Isles.

Avalon Isles is a land given to the foreign deities to settle down. Those foreign gods and their followers who did not want to meddle with human affairs or take part with the Celestial Realm activities were gathered in Avalon Isles to live, isolated from the rest of Afasia.

No one knew where Avalon Isles was specifically located, only that it was in the mortal realm.

And I was apparently heading there.

“You’re bringing me to Avalon Isles? Why?” I asked, confused at the information.

“It was your sister’s wish.”

“What? I-“

“Wait, let me stop you there.” he handed me a sealed envelope with the crest of the Celestine Family and the Liada Fox Clan Royal Family, the Stedus Family. “She asked me to give this to you when you wake up.”

I snatched the letter and tore the envelope open.

[Dear Little Red,

I know you’re surprised finding yourself inside a flying carriage, but you’re actually quite lucky since that one’s the personal transportation of Amaterasu[2]. Anyway, you’ll probably be mad at me for surprising you like this but I’m doing this for your sake. You have a dangerous future ahead of you as well as a heavy responsibility on your shoulders and this is the only way I thought for you to get ready.

To start off there’s a prophecy centered on you:

She who survived the purge

Have made the core and seed merge

Child of the fox beware

The red teardrop she must soon wear

The Celestials’ and Demons’ bane stands firm in red

One with pain that came from bloodshed

A single choice will be made with one last breath

Will Afasia live or end at the hands of death?

As you can see, it’s not a really a positive one, but it is about you. It’s called the Red Prophecy. When you read this, you’re already on your way to Avalon Isles where you will spend the rest of your time training to be strong and be ready for the strain of being the Red Sovereign. You probably think we’re forcing this on you but that’s how fate works, it screws with you in the most amazing ways.

‘Amazing’ was sarcasm by the way.

You should be able to find Avalon Isles and enter it, after all you have Artemis’ ring.

Anyway, you’re planning to collect all your tails, but the tails represent your powers as a deity, which means your current body won’t be able to handle it. Yet, gathering such powers is needed for the things you plan to do. The training you will undergo will let your body grow and be ready to take in the power of a goddess.

I’m not sure who will train you but you know how these foreign gods are. You’re friends with some of them, especially the younger ones, so you’ll be fine. They have explicit instructions not to let you get off Avalon Isles, nor send any sort of letters or signs back in Praiji.

On that note, I forbid you to return to Praiji Empire until you are confident enough that you can actually beat me. Which means, you need a serious power upgrade.

Now other than that, one more reason why I’m sending you away is that I noticed that you have become too dependent on my help and intervention, as well as your friends’. Yes, friends are important especially in the incoming trouble, but I’m afraid that staying in Praiji and growing at their pace will greatly hinder you. I wish for you to be strong both by yourself and with friends, that’s what having power means. I will not always be there for you and so are your friends to help you out so you’ll have to learn to be independent.

Do not worry, I will oversee your friends’ growth and you will be able to see them soon. At the moment, you’re stuck in Avalon Isles until you complete your training, so don’t hate me for it. I’m not going to apologize either, we both know that Praiji lacks things you need to become strong to achieve your goals.

I’m not going to let you face your enemies unprepared, that’s my duty as your sister.

Lots of love,

Elthesia

P.S.

Tell Wukong he has permission to tell you about the past I hid from you. I think it’s time for you to know. I love you.]

I did not know what to feel about the letter. I was angry, annoyed, sad, worried, etc. It was a jumble of emotions and I was having trouble uniting them to be honest.

“So? What did she say?”

I did not answer and instead put the letter back to the envelope and give it to him. I lie back down and pull the covers over my head.

It’s not like I did not want to confront him, it’s just that I had nothing to tell him and I feel like wallowing on the fact that I was ripped out of my life by the person I trusted the most. Her reason was of course legitimate, but I understood her nonetheless. If she tried to tell me she wanted to send me away I’d probably be adamant on staying n Praiji, so she showed me the difference in our powers, knocked me out and sent me away.

“I see.” I heard Wukong say. “Clear your mind, I’ll answer your questions later.”

*****************

Note:

[1] Oboroguruma – origin: Japan; translation: hazy cart. Also known as ‘carriage yokai’. It is a ghostly oxcart with a face on it.

[2] Amaterasu – is the Japanese sun goddess, daughter of creator deities Izanagi and Izanami, and central to the Shinto religion.