Riversedge was a quaint little village located in the kingdom of Orrian, near the flourishing forests and some noteworthy lakes and rivers. It was a relatively unknown village compared to the larger and prominent cities scattered across the realm. However, a special young lady lived in Riversedge with her older sister. She was known as Adrella Olrin and her sister was known as Marilyn Olrin; together, the girls lived in a one-story cottage near the northern edge of the Riversedge village. Adrella and Marilyn grew up together without a significant presence of parents in their lives, but Marilyn supported her little sister with her embroidery salary and they lived humbly enough. Adrella was only fifteen years of age, closely approaching adulthood, but she had not obtained any remarkable skill for her future. Typically, children tried out different activities such as cooking, farming, fighting, etc. to find their specialty and pursued that path throughout their lives. Adrella was mediocre at anything she tried and had not found her place in the world yet; nevertheless, her elder sister supported her through everything. However, one special day Adrella discovered the potential hidden inside her when she was faced with a dangerous task to save her loved ones from potent evil’s amusement.

The day began normally enough; Adrella was fetching some water from the river in the afternoon. Her elder sister left her a note directing Adrella to refill the empty jugs that contained their daily water. It was an unpleasantly scorching summer day and she wiped the sweat from her brow as she pulled the jug away from the river. After she clenched her thirst, Adrella noticed an unusual glimmer sparkling eagerly from the river’s bottom. Curiosity led her to venture toward the sparkle; she reached into the muck and felt around blindly until her fingers grasped a delicate and firm texture. A necklace covered in mud escaped from the waters and Adrella felt excitement and rinsed the mud away until it was clean and shined even more brightly. The chain was silver and attached to it was a polished tourmaline gemstone; glimmering with beautiful shades of pink. Adrella quickly hooked it around her neck and retrieved the jugs of water as she headed back to her cottage. After a few hours, Adrella was tending the cottage and doing her chores just as every day, but now she stopped to admire the necklace every now and then. It felt warm in her hands when she touched it. A sudden knock on the door interrupted her and she responded loudly, “one second!” Adrella hurried over to the front door and opened it and she was faced with a figured cloaked in darkness with a mask obscuring their features. “Why, hello there,” a voice answered with a menacing accent. Suddenly, darkness entered her vision immediately after his words were spoken, and she was unable to see anything. The venomous voice plagued the young maiden’s heart with corruption, “little dove, you have fallen right into my trap!” Flushed with fright, Adrella followed her instinct as she faced with this treacherous situation and she sprinted blindly, using the sense of touch to find her room. Her heart was racing wildly, sweat formed on her skin, and she cowered into the nearest corner while quivering restlessly. Shortly after, Adrella’s body began to tire, her mind slowed, and she dozed out of consciousness. Several hours passed and Adrella awoke in her bed, still relatively covered in sweat. Her mind flickered and recollected the nightmare she experienced prior. “Was it… just a dream?” Adrella quietly wondered to herself as she scuffled off her bed. It was quite late in the day, almost around the time of supper, and her sister should be returning shortly. However, after an hour, Adrella felt a twinge of fear and could not shake the nightmare. She clutched lightly to her pendant and set off into the village to check on her sister. However, the entire village was absolutely deserted except for the domesticated animals left over. Her throat was on fire as she shouted throughout the village, looking through windows, entering shops, but no one was around. Adrella felt the reality strip away from her grasp as she realized her nightmare may have truly occurred. She clutched her necklace tightly, feeling the warmth radiate in her hands. “Show me the way.” A luminous glow emitted from the gemstone and a little orb of light broke free from the chain, hovering in the air and soaking the landscape nearby in a pink glow. It floated gracefully, particles following its every movement. Adrella stood dumbfounded, confused, but her heart grew with hope. “…I don’t understand, but please help me.” In response to her words, the pink orb glittered toward the south boundaries of the village, motioning her to follow into the dense forests.

After traveling through dense forest for over two hours, the orb finally came to stop near the side of a hill with a natural opening which was illuminated by the orb’s light. As Adrella peered into the cavern, it felt as if she would be trapped forever if she dared to step inside, but she knew there was no running away; everyone needed her right now, she could sense it. The pink floating orb danced eagerly above her as if it was trying to reassure her.  In return, she inhaled deeply and stepped cautiously into the entrance with an exhale. The ground felt uneven and rough under her leather boots, and the hole seemed to travel inward quite a ways until it opened up into a relatively unnatural room carved with intricate details. The ceiling seemed to rise impossibly high, far beyond the height of the cliff. The floor was smooth, tiled stone and the walls were engraved with cryptic runes. It was empty, but chillingly cold, and her tension rose as she heard incoherent noises from beyond. There were three exists: one to the north, one to the left, and one to the right each shrouded in darkness. She lifted her foot to take one step into the pillared room, but the orb shook violently in front and she retracted, “eh?” Suddenly, the orb hovered closer to the ground and began to expand in length until it stretched across the entire surface of the ground. Adrella nodded in agreement, “there must be traps”. She then took a step onto the glowing pink surface laid out, it supported her weight easily and she managed to check each exit of the room. Large stone blocks were embedded inches into the exits, blocking anyone from traversing further into the strange cavern.  Adrella knew it was useless, but she pushed into each block with all her might to no avail. Glittering eagerly in the dim room was the orb and Adrella glanced quizzically at it while it demonstrated passing easily into the block and reemerging within seconds. “How am I supposed to mimic that?” She breathed in frustration, but began to mentally focus on the impossible prospect of stepping into the stone block. Adrella raised her hand and drew it closer to the block, feeling a sensation of weightlessness just like when she walked over the glowing floor. She completely passed through the block as if nothing was blocking her way. When Adrella stepped into the northern entrance beyond the stone block, strange formations appeared from the shadows of the room. The orb quickly followed behind, but in the blink of an eye, Adrella was opposed by shrieking humanoids shrouded in dusk. The Shadow People were about the height of an average adult human male, three sets of limbs protruded from their torso and their bodies were stained dark as midnight. Two sets of yellow gleaming spheres aligned on their faces, but there were no visible facial features beyond their eyes. A frightened gasp escaped the lips of Adrella, but she shielded her head with her arms as they leaped to strike her. The shining pink glow circled around Adrella before the strikes connected and they bounced easily off the barrier. Adrella swallowed hard, she knew there was no time to be frightened and adjusted her eyes carefully upon her enemies. She manipulated the orb into a long rapier, gleaming from hilt to blade in a translucent pink. Clearing her mind and focusing on the two shadow people, Adrella swiftly charged the one on the left. She moved with grace, feeling as if she was the orb hovering without regards to gravity; she danced across the stone floor and slashed right across the chest of one shadow person. It evaporated in a heavy mist and before she could rejoice, the last remaining shadow went for a strike against her. Adrella reacted quickly and slid away from the shadow’s claws; she swung her rapier and sliced one of its claws off. She wasted no time in trying to finish off the minion as she followed with another strike straight through its upper torso and tore the creature into a vaporous mist. After the battle, Adrella’s rapier shifted back into the familiar floating orb that bounced eagerly in the air. She was flushed, sweating, and high from adrenaline she had never experienced before, but she knew she had to carry on deeper into the cavern. Everyone was waiting.

In the northern room, there was nothing notable except for a crude stone staircase leading deep into the earth. As she delved deeper, Adrella felt a strong presence of her sister and the village folk she had known throughout her childhood; familiarity, warmth, and kindness. Her heart skipped a beat and she picked up the pace, practically running down the stairs and almost losing her step. When she arrived at the end of the stairs, the darkness cowered away from the radiance of the pink orb. The dim light revealed a wide room with furnishings of makeshift tables and chairs were strewn around; the walls were lined with cabinets and closets filled with strange trinkets and commonplace items. Scattered around were ancient tomes dated with strange symbols, they were extremely filthy and she felt a presence of malevolence emitting off the covers. On the wall across from the staircase, there was a crude wooden door encompassing the next location. Adrella easily opened the door and stepped into a long hallway with prison cells lined on each side containing the familiar faces of the village’s townsfolk. Her eyes widened in shock and her voice raised, “Everyone!” There was silence in return. Each person was completely knocked unconscious and no amount of noise stirred them from their comatose state. As she peered closely, each individual was stamped with different numbers on each of their left hands. Adrella panicked her heart felt as if it was rushing against time, but she was unable to wake the people no matter what she tried. She looked upon the orb for guidance, but it just drifted as usual without any direction. Suddenly, a slight mist of strange smoke seeped through the cracks of the wooden door and invaded the dungeon room, swarming closer to the orb. “N-no!” Adrella shouted harshly from her throat, hands outstretched as she sprinted nearer to the orb. It was too late. The smoke engulfed the orb completely and a loud piercing noise rang throughout her ears. Adrella felt the warmth disappear from her chest and suddenly she was choking on fear. Abruptly, the same hooded figure from her dream emerged from the smoke and stepped casually onto the stone floor, his features were hidden under a ghastly mask. A cackle filled the dungeon and echoed throughout from the hooded figure as he approached Adrella. “Well, well, well, aren’tcha in a twist, little girl?” His words muffled and twisted in cruel and strange tones and ended with utter amusement at her suffering. He sputtered with laughter, “All your precious friends, souls drained completely, how… tragic!! Ahaha!” She did not reply, she just stood there and stared bleakly with her hands clenched into fists. “It seems ya have a shiny lil’ necklace there and I’d like to have it, ya see, it actually belongs to me.” He inched closer to Adrella, raising his gloved hand and reaching for the necklace dangling from her collar. She flinched and stepped away from his advance, clutching the gemstone tightly between her fingers. It appeared the hooded figure’s amusement began to drop and he became impatient, “if you’re not going to give it up, I’ll have to force it away then!” He snapped his fingers and shadowy tendrils formed; extending further and advancing toward Adrella rapidly. She strained to evade the grasp of the tendrils, but the only exit was through the hooded figure and beyond the wooden door. Consequently, she was ensnared effortlessly and her hands and legs were bound together by the eerie tendrils. The hooded figure stepped in front of her, giving a triumphant laugh as he reached up to the necklace and wrenched it off her neck. His explanation struck like knives piercing her flesh, “I left this little trinket out, a perfect method to find new prey for my experiments!” Adrella had never felt so vulnerable, so tiny, and so weak; she desperately desired to save her sister and the village, but how could she? Tears formed in her eyes as she watched the hooded figure examine the necklace and mutter to himself, “hmmm, ya know, it seems you’ve tampered with the magic in here…” Unexpectedly, her fear was replaced with an intense burning sensation within her heart, and she gasped in amazement as she felt power surge through her veins. Adrella tore the tendrils from her previously bound hands and feet with the new power and her eyes flickered with purpose. The hooded figure’s focus realigned on her once more and he was overcome with bewilderment at the freed girl glaring at him. Before he comprehended the situation, Adrella formed the gleaming pink rapier in her hand and charged at the man with tremendous speed, blade tip lined straight for his heart. More waves of tendrils shot directly from his fingertips at her as she charged closer, but her blade cut them away without difficulty as she closed the distance. The man strived to engulf himself back into the smoke as means of escape, but it was too late. Adrella cried out with all her might and thrust the rapier’s blade deep through the man’s chest. The man shattered into the same misty element and gradually began to evaporate from the room. Afterwards, Adrella was panting as she stared intently at the rapier in her hand; it transformed back into the floating orb she believed had perished and she felt relieved. The unconscious villagers began to stir back into reality after the man disappeared and Adrella smiled with true cheerfulness. However, the orb disappeared once more and she was left alone to liberate everyone from the cells and led them out of the cavern.

As Adrella and the villagers traveled back to their respective dwellings from the cavern, she began to share the details of her journey and described how she managed to rescue everyone. Her story was met with awe and wonder and she demonstrated summoning her glowing rapier to the people as proof. Marilyn, her elder sister, looked proudly upon Adrella and hugged her closely, “you finally found your specialty, sister.” The townsfolk returned to their standard daily activities after the strange occurrence and a celebratory feast was held in honor of Adrella mere days after she rescued everyone. Her story traveled from the small village and spread to great cities and sprawling kingdoms of the lands; she became a famous young lady in the realm. Weeks after her deeds were known, Adrella was scouted out by an elite organization housing a variety of talented people from all over the realm, and they were responsible for defending the lands, exploration, and training the ones with potential. After considerable persuasion and reassurance, Adrella agreed to join the organization and leave her village as she had to move to the capital of the kingdom. She promised her sister that she would visit as much as possible and everyone was massively proud of Adrella and her deeds. Adrella grew to become a brave warrior and helped protect groups of people throughout her life; she was known as Adrella, The Fluorescent Blade.