Two: Who are you, Who am I?

The very owners of destruction, these worm-like portals. They are the father of chaos, charm, and charmers. It can appear anytime and anywhere with or without the ratio proportion of chaos.

The long-standing enemy of the charmers, It is also the father of Charmers.

Without a vent, there is no birth of Charmers and without charm(chaos energy), there will be no vents.

  Vents are as old as man, the world will always seek its destruction. Man is only an added equation and vents are the major formulas for destruction. These vents are parts of chaos that are scattered around the world. The order of vents cannot be controlled only managed. And they have been the very terror of Charmers.

             History

  Vents are spatial worlds filled with an overdose of chaos. They are areas and bodies of chaos which cannot be counted. They can appear and release all the energy they had gotten from chaos, unleashing terror on mankind with unusual diseases, plagues and creatures man cannot see or battle.

   The work which charmers have are, to defeat these creatures, close the vent and search for the successful creation of a charmer if, signs indicate there is one.

Vents are everywhere, some are usually locked but, most are active. As stated, charmers usually monitor these vents, they battle whatever creature comes out of these vents.

There are two major types of vents,

    The Small circle vents are the most active, Charmers spread out to take care of this. They have devised ways in which they can monitor and study these vents to know, when and where these vents open. It is a charmer's priority to get to a vent on time before it opens or when it opens, so it does not spread too much chaos and neither will it affect humans. They are also numerous, having a higher number than the Large vents.

  Large vents as the name implies, are powerful vents. They are measured by their size and high level of chaos energy. Because they are few, the number of times they are unleashed a year is three to four times more than that and it is deemed Abnormal. Due to its rare appearance, the outbreak of chaos is usually on a large scale. These large-scale vents, birth a charmer. The bigger or stronger a large outbreak vent is, the higher amount of Charmers born and the likelihood of strong, powerful chaos energy born.

   This means that when an outbreak of large vents occurs, there will be new Charmers born and if that vent has a large amount of chaos energy, then the new-born Charmers will have a higher stored capacity of charm( chaos energy) in them than the others born from lower rate vents. These charmers born from high-rate large vents, are treated with respect.

  It is important to note that the birth, influence and power(charm) of a Charmer depends, on the rate of chaos energy that a large vent has and is measured to have.

Below the two above, are vents that never occur. 

  Abnormal or Irregular Vents are calamities. Catastrophes that will never happen. If it happens, the whole world is doomed. No one will survive the Abnormal vents. It is named this as it has been sighted only a few times in science and history wiping out civilizations and large cities. It is a terrifying vent named to eliminate everything.

   Life has never been created from this vent. At present, this vent has not been sighted nor measured. It is immeasurable, having enormous power and the weight of chaos alone, and carries the ability of small and large vents combined.

   Material Vents which are more like artifact vents, occur twice a century. Objects of chaos are rare and hard to find. Charms are usually plundered from societies in most cases, a hunt and extract is carried out in these vents. The hunts have failures but on rare occasions powerful Artifacts are discovered.

Charmers which are created from vents, develop in the chaos during a vents hibernation. Once the vent is released or opened, the body of the charmer is formed with the energy that the vent supplies when it’s released. Then brought put alongside the creatures released from the vent. There are times vents are released for the specific creation of a charmer only without causing destruction.

   The world begins to develop Technology advancing and countries emerging out of several disasters, becoming more powerful than before.

    The Charmers increase in size and power. Peace spread,  the 21st century ushering in New policies, change, growth, and development.

  The era also brought strange changes from chaos into the lives of Charmers.

High-rise buildings line the sides of the street. Horns blared the humid air settling for summer, and commercial traffic congested the roads.

Movement is slow. People become irritated due to the traffic unable to notice the figure of a lean woman with dark hair, fair skin, and pale lips. She jolted awake to the loud horn of a truck that seemed to pierce through one's eardrums and a man who yelled curses at another driver ahead of him.

Both sides of her head ringing, she slowly got up, glancing around her surroundings. She thought to herself

"Where am I, what's going on?" checking around, her eyes glancing at people who seem to walk past her almost like she didn't exist.

Brows furrowed, and she weakly walked forward. A man stood at the crosswalk dressing in a brown suit, holding a matching briefcase. He looks to be in his thirties, copper hair slicked back, black orbs glancing at the traffic meters timer to highlight the green zone so he can cross freely.

The woman tapped the man on his shoulder.

She spoke, " Excuse me, do you know where this place is?" She asked, glancing around again.

The man looked on, the light turning green, and he crossed to the other side of the road.

The woman stared at his retreating figure, confused.

She thought "Did I ask or say something wrong?".

She went to another person and circled the block. The same thing repeated, all of them walking away when She asked her question and at times even before she asked the question. As if she wasn't there.

As Evening came, the free roads became blocked with the closing hour traffic, offices begin to close, and employees troll out of company buildings all heading home. It is the last day of work the weekend, begins tonight.

The woman wandered around the city walking into an open alley, she looked around her eyes dim with sorrow, she dragged her tired body close to the wall for support slid down, and sat on the ground hugging her knees to her chest and crossed her arms bending her head.

   Fireflies glowed around as they fly in groups through the forest. Heavy breaths are heard, A man dressed in ancient white and blue robes stood, The pattern of blue winter leaves skillfully woven and printed on his robes, his inner clothes of the same ancient design.

His outer robe garment sways with the wind as black slim boots cover his long, powerful legs. His lean muscular frame gives him the flexible strength to stand above the unnatural beast at his feet.

The katana sword glowed under the moonlight. The blade carefully forged reflected a blue hue in the heart of the beast it pierced.

The low grunts that came from the mouth of the beast ceased. The man held the greyish-blue helm of the sword, pulling it out of the beast, black-purple blood splashed, a drop landing on his chiselled cheek.

Thick-shaped brows furrow, highlighting the piercing on his left brow, a cold look of disgust flashed across his face.

He swung his sword to his left side, flicking off the beast's blood that remained on his sword. Skilful legs leap off the beast's body, landing gracefully on the forest ground.

The moon glows, giving light to his features. Stormy grey eyes glow bluer under the moon's light, straight nose, thick shaped pierced brows, thin lips, long locks of brown hair tied up in a tight ponytail and a lean muscular stature.

He is tall, his figure standing majestic in the night beside a dead beast that is over nine feet tall.

A sigh escaping his lips becomes visible mist due to the cold night air. He turns, walking away from his kill. The beast's corpse starts to rot, dissolving into ash.

The scene immediately clears, marks the fight scene, and the beast vanishes as nothing happened. Only the putrid smell of chaos blood remains in the air.

Ayan walked towards the entrance of the forest, his traditional blue-white cloak robes fluttering with the wind. The forest breeze is refreshing the temperature, becoming cool for the skin.

It swept into the cities, reducing the heat temperature. The lady stood up from her crouching posture, walking whichever way her feet dragged her. Fatigue plagued her body as she gave up on finding shelter and anyone who could rescue her.

Humans couldn't see her, and this took a lot of mental fortitude from her to continue moving with no hope.

Her journey took her to a sparse area of land with few residents that stayed close to the forest. It looked abandoned. No lights were switched on in homes. She sighed, walking further. Perhaps her journey would lead her to the forest.

Ayan reached the forests clearing ahead were, the homes of residents whom he had advised to evacuate so as to not witness the battle between him and the beast as well to prevent them from being affected by the energy.

Walking out to a house backyard, he sighed 'All in the days work,' he thought. He took a step forward and froze.

The air was thick with chaotic energy. His eyes widened

'Which human has the capacity to contain this much energy? Or is it..' He dashed forward '.. A Beast?'

He questioned, heading in the direction of the releasing energy.

He took a sharp right ahead of him, and he saw a thin, frail looking woman walking. Walking? She was limping her physical state, looking terrible. Her hair, a mess, her dress torn in every area just covering her torso and waist, her knees bruised and bloodied, scratches on her arms, and dried blood on her dress.

He was taken aback 'Who walks around like this?' he asks himself. He doubted her mental state being sane.

Nevertheless, he walked towards her

"Excuse me, are you okay?" He asked.

Searching around trying to look for anyone, she failed to notice the presence of a man who walked towards her. Her eyes empty, her mind dark, her heart cold.

"Excuse me, are you okay?" The man asked.

Her mind was slow to process his words. She turned to face him. He looked at her with cold storm grey eyes that held a trace of pity and concern.

Her heart clenched, then pounded faster. Light filled her eyes like the evening fireflies that danced at night, she smiled, Her mind clear.

"you can see me?" She asked.

Ayan frowned at her question. ' Why would I walk up to you if I couldn't see you?' he said in his head. He nodded his head at her question,

Seeing him nod, she smiled wider full of joy, her heart thumping with blood. Her mind and heart resonated, forgetting to circulate more blood through the system as her body shook elated.

The joy and shock of finally meeting a person who could see her, caused the body to finally succumb to all the stress and fatigue her vision darkened she passed out in the arms of the man who found her.

Ayan sighed he didn't know the reason for her dramatic expression and was also not expecting her to pass out in his arms.

"Who are you?" He sighed, asking the wind carrying his question as he held the woman in his arms.

The woman wakes up in a strange room unaware of her surroundings. The  room looked ancient yet, modern.

Sitting up, she looked around the room.

It was Bare, a small table in the corner of the room, the bed she laid on and the hum of the air conditioner that made the room cool.

The place was silent, the humming of birds absent, she got up from the bed, and came out of the room.

Walking on the corridor, her gaze wandered around. The corridor is decorated with antique portraits, and porcelain vases placed on stools lined the equal sides of the corridor.

Intrigued by their beauty, she walked closer to one of the vases the glass carvings are beautiful making her gasp.

Light steps echoed on the corridor.

She turned to see the man who had rescued her.

  The man, Aryan dressed more casually wearing a plain shirt and dark trousers. Appearing more decent than the torn clothing that barely held the woman’s body.

Her fingers cramped into fists. Feeling uncomfortable, she drew her head down.

  Then seeing in his hands, he held a tray that contained a jug of water and warm oatmeal. She looked up surprise flashing in her light brown eyes.

Aryan turned leading her down the corridor to another room.

  He balanced the tray in one hand opened the sliding door, he entered the room. This room is more furnished with a dinner table, sat in the middle of the room with cushion mats, a small electric fan stood in the corner as it rotated cool air in the room, a white potted plant in another corner of the room, a chandelier dangled from the ceiling its white light illuminating the green walled room. It's simple and homely.

  He carried the tray to the table placing it acrosfromrm him, he sat, his legs knelt under his buttocks,  back straight and upright.

His sitting posture is of a man with ancient culture. 

Gesturing for her to sit, she walked to the side of the table where the food is placed.

she sat comfortably, legs crisscrossed in front her posture slouched.

Aryan’s composure didn’t flinch despite her manners sliding the food in front of her, he gestures to the food saying eat.

She took the spoon and ate. for a person who had walked around for a day, she ate calmly with no hurry. she was patient enough to fill her stomach before they started their conversation.

  Aryan watched her calmly, she took the last bite of her oatmeal and, drank the glass of cold water. Heaving a refreshing sigh, she leaned back her thin arms spread out at her sides angled to the back giving her support as she rested.

“Are you satisfied?” he asked voice warm and deep.

“yes, thank you," she said sitting upright. He nodded his head staring at her.

  His gaze calmly assessed the lady in front of him.  Taking in her appearance and the energy that circled within her. The energy became stable quicker than he imagined. The energy is thick and potent.

No human could carry this much energy. She is like a walking nuke that had stable particles.

The lady was uncomfortable under the man’s gaze like she was being dissected on the table.

  ‘Is it my dress' she thought as she scanned her torso

“ What is your name? “

She froze upon hearing the question. Her mind went blank as she searched for the answers in her head.

Name, is the first thing a child is given. The first mark of coming to the world. That is what it’s called till it grows old and dies. Even with a memory lapse or problem, names are always the first to be remembered.

   But for this lady, it became a big problem. She tried searching her memory, but her mind lagged nothing surfaced even from her subconscious.

Aryan frowned at her silence. His pierced brow creased.

  “You don’t have to force yourself. Judging from the situation I found you in, something must have happened. Take your time.” He spoke slowly to ease her

Feeling at ease from his words, she took a deep breath. “I don’t know why I can’t remember my name. All I can remember is waking up in the middle of the street.” Voice low she spoke

Aryan’s brow raised interest. “Okay.. no one helped?" he asked looking into her eyes.

She stared back “if they could see me then, I suppose they would have helped.”

  “Oh, no one can see you?”

  She sighed the dejected feeling surfacing as she recalled how she wandered around the city.

She said, “ I walked around the city the day yet no one could see me. You are the first person to see me and help me.”

  He nodded deep in thought. Scratching her neck, she revealed shyness

“um… what is your name?” She asked glancing down, playing with her fingers

Her question did not bring surprise to his face

“my name” He reworded looking at her actions

She nodded looking at him from the top of her eyes.

  He rose packing the plate, jug, and cup. She looked up at him, eyes full of hope that he will say his name.

  He walked towards the door. His back towards her. She felt dejected, he didn’t answer the question.

  His hand held the door turning his neck towards her, He saw her sad look, the small part of his lips tilted up,  shadowing a small smile.

Opening the door, his foot stepped out.

“Aryan, that is my name.” He said as he shut the door and walked away.

The woman revealed a smile. “Aryan" she voiced the name, rolling it off her tongue, her eyes filled with warmth.

‘I know his name now, I need to remember mine

  In deep thought, she searched her mind. With how deep she went, she came up blank. A white wall would have given her a sign that she lost her memories however, it did not seem so.

No memory as to why she woke up in the middle of the street or, how she got there.

With a sigh, she lay down, and the cool air from the fan drifted toward her.

  As she lay down on the floor, she closed her eyes. 

  Drowsy, she began to drift asleep sinking deep and deep. she is jolted awake by the sliding of the door she sat up quickly.

  A young woman kneels at the door, She appears to be in her mid-30s her dark hair styled up in a tight bun.

She is wearing a traditional Japanese yukata,  that is designed with green and brown patterned leaves woven with green and brown silk thread, the overall color dyed green, the clothed middle belt that is wrapped around her abdomen is colored brown matching the threaded area of the yukata dress.

She bows her head politely and greets,

“Good Morning Madam, I have bought you a change of clothes, a towel, and some toiletries. I am tasked to show you to the bathroom where you can clean up.”

The woman glanced down at the servants' hands, seeing all the clothes and toiletries folded, and arranged neatly in a basket in her arms, she smiled and stood up.

“Thank you,” she said “I’ve been meaning to ask whether I could get a change of clothes but as I saw no one I decided to keep it to myself”.

The servant nodded her head at her words and stood up. “then please follow me".

“All right,” she said.

   Walking out of the room, they turned right and walked down the corridor the servant stopped in front of a room.

Opening the door, “This is the bathroom” Mildred said to the woman.

  The bathroom is wide, a glass wall separates the shower area from the rest of the bathroom.

  A large mirror on the wall of the left side of the room, a white vanity top counter and sink in the middle of the room, and the toilet at the right corner of the room.

  A towel rack is placed beside the shower area, a small transparent shelf to hold toiletries, and a small dustbin on the right side of the door.

  “Thank you,” the woman said and smiled as, she collected the basket from the servant.

  Mildred bowed her head politely saying,

  “ I will be outside waiting for you. when you are done, I will lead you back to your room.”

  The woman nodded and closed the door.

  Hugging the basket to her chest, she turned to sigh and placed the basket on the vanity countertop.  she took out the towel, hung it on the towels rack, and put the toiletries in their appropriate places.

   Taking the Toothpaste and brush, she removed them from their cases. rinsing the toothbrush, she applied the paste and began to brush her teeth.

  Up, down, sideways, she brushed and then scrubbed her tongue. all these were done in two minutes ending with her rinsing her mouth.  

  Taking off her ragged dress, She walked towards the shower area being careful to not touch the glass, she stepped in.

   The shower is exquisite with various knobs and tubes of intricate designs. looking at the knobs of the shower head, they looked foreign yet familiar.

Testing her luck, she turned the lower knob on the right. Warm jets of water sprayed out.

  The water flowing down her body is soothing she sighed as the tension in her muscles are releasing.

  At ease, she washed the dried blood and dirt in her hair with shampoo and conditioner then rinsed it away with water.

  she scrubbed her body hard ensuring she got every area of her body scrubbed clean. This routine took her forty-five minutes.

  After bathing,  she came out skin looking fresh and clean. She took the towels off the rack wrapping one around her body, the second one wrapped around her head to dry her hair.

After drying up, she began to inspect the clothes that were given. Black sweatpants and a blue blouse that fit her size were provided.

She dressed up and walked out of the bathroom. Mildred as stated was still outside waiting on her.

  Seeing as the woman walked out of the bathroom, she bowed her head.

“As you’re done, let me lead you to your room,”  Mildred said watching the woman with a direct gaze.

The woman nodded and with that, Mildred led the lady back to her room. The walk is quiet and quick.

Mildred stood right in front of her door and gestured with her hand and then said,

“This is your room”. the woman smiled saying

“Thank  you”. she made a mental note to remember all the corridors that they had passed to avoid getting lost in the large house then she turned to Mildred to ask to say

  “Can I get some underwear? It’s a little breezy".

“Of course” Mildred replied saying “I just have to know your sizes” the woman bit her lips and then nodded

“Then please,” she said

Mildred nodded her head, putting her hand into the sleeve of her yukata, she brought out measuring tape.

  She brought the tape to the woman’s body and began to expertly take down her measurements and size. She completed her work in a few wars minutes memorizing the woman’s body proportions.

she smiled stepping back “ I will bring the garments to you later at night with the rest of your new clothes.

“Thank you again,” the woman said.

Mildred replied “you are welcome,”

and turned around to leave.

“Please wait a minute” the woman called pausing Mildred’s steps

“M..May I know your name?” She asked shyly. The courage she used to ask Aryan had long faded. She needed to know someone else to be able to communicate and move freely.

Surprise flashed in Mildred’s dark brown eyes.

“Why yes of course. my name is Mildred, it is nice to meet you.” Mildred answered with a kind smile

the woman smiled in return

“it is also a pleasure meeting you. I don’t remember my name yet but when I do, I will tell you.

Mildred smiled more “then please, do so when you remember. have a good rest, it will soon be time for lunch.

With all said, she finally left.

She opened the door and entered her room. Sitting down on her bed she relaxed and glanced around the room. More furniture has been added and the room was brighter.

Someone had opened the silk cream curtains and draped them on each side allowing the rays of the sun to penetrate the room. A chair and table have been added to the room replacing the former one. 

A flower vase sat at the corner of her room close to the window allowing the sun’s rays to touch it. Making the colors of the flowers bright.

Beside the flower is an empty shelf. A shoe rack rested on the wall a few inches from the door, three pairs of shoes are kept and they all were her size.

She smiled at this and felt more relaxed. The two people she has met are kind to her.

The events of last night resurfaced in her mind. Last night was scary and she felt lonely as if the world had abandoned her.

Thankfully Aryan had seen her and was able to save her. Her heart was full of gratitude, she wanted to recover faster and be of help to her saviors.

   With her mind made up, she decided to scramble through her memories. The thought process of last night's events although vivid was all that she could recall. A deep frown etched on her face. 

  Her memories were a blank slate, like something held her mind down even with how deep she searched. Her head began to throb as no effective image had propped up in her head.

No information about her was displayed.

Her name didn’t exist in her mind, the present state of consciousness at least. Going into the subconscious takes time and concentration which she lacks at the moment.

“How long will it take me to remember everything” Deep in thought, she muttered.

A soft knock on the door is heard breaking her concentration

“Who is it?” she asked brows furrowed.

“May I come in?” The voice of an old male asked.

she got off the bed and walked to the door to open it.

  The old man stood at the door. Head full of grey hair, although the corners of his eyes wrinkled with age, it didn’t stop the glimmer of knowledge and experience that shines in his  bright green eyes

He is dressed in traditional garments of silk, a black shirt, and trousers, and a white long robe as the outer overall. He resembled the men in ancient movies with his aura and stance.

“ Hello! how are you” he greeted. drawn back, she replied

“Good morning Sir.”

He revealed a small smile at her greeting skipping the fact that she didn’t answer his questions, he spoke again

“My dear, time flies it's already noon would you like to step out and talk with me.” His voice calm, he looked at her with clear eyes

  The man’s offer made her tense. she didn’t know anyone in the house except Mildred whom she had just met and Aryan who had saved her life.

the man smiled reading the expression on her face

“Don’t be shy, I just want to talk with you over lunch.”

Reluctantly she agreed to step out of the room, she closed the door.

Walking side by side in the corridor, she looked at the man’s aura. Even with his age, he walked in an energetic stride with her, meeting his perfect leg strides

“My name is Astir, Aryan has told me about you” he introduced himself. She nods her head to acknowledge his words and self-introduction.

“Where do I begin,  I am one of the elders of this house Cirleigh Wies.   This traditional home as you can see has been passed down for ages and I come from a long line of our ancestors.

Our family is of strong lineage, and We descendants are taxed to protect our home and those we still have relations with and bring hope to those in need of us and our strength.

It is through all these missions that we can protect our family and also extend our protection to those who need it and through this, you were able to meet Aryan. 

He told the story and the woman listened

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