From the beginning, they were alone.

They awoke one day with no memory of where they were, or who they were. Not even a name to go by.

So they started to wander. Farther and farther, for days even, until eventually they happened upon a little girl. 

She herself was wandering alone, so they decided to approach her.

Amethyst was her name. They didn’t have a name. They would try to remember, but all they ever got back was echoes. . .

Echoes. . .

Echo.

They would call themself Echo.

Echo and Amethyst became fast friends after their chance meeting. Eventually, Amethyst brought them back to her village.

They were met with. . . suspicion. The villagers weren’t fond of outsiders, especially ones that weren’t like them. In the eyes of the villagers, who kept to themselves, they saw Echo as a monster. A terrible monster who couldn’t control their abilities.

So they kept to themself outside of the village, frequently visiting and receiving visits from Amethyst. When they weren’t busy with that, they were training themself. Learning to fight, defend, and infiltrate. Their magical abilities were still erratic, so they had to rely on conventional teachings. 

A long few years of that, and one day Amethyst told them something that would change both of their lives. 

She was leaving the village to find somewhere else. Somewhere better. She said if she found something out there, she’d come back and take Echo to see it for themself.

And find something she did. When Amethyst came back, she told Echo everything about the civilizations she had seen, the friends she had made, and. . . the family she had found. It was so good, she had decided to stay there.

And she had invited Echo to come back with her. And to join her faction, the Chancla Kingdom, lead by the Sorceress Pandora.

They accepted.

When they were taken to this new land, they were immediately captivated by the array of different beings that resided there. Some even seemed. . . familiar? That thought was brushed away quickly. They didn’t hold any hope that they would find out about their past. And they didn’t plan on asking anyone about it.

Echo met Pandora, and was quickly accepted into her Kingdom. They took an interest in the military force defending the kingdom, and entered. 

They became highly recognized, already skilled in combat and eager to learn new ways to improve. 

And along with that they made another decision regarding their life. Or rather, her life. She had decided to try something new out with her identity. For a little bit, at least.

But all the while, a war had been brewing on the horizon.

Pandora wanted to expand her rule.

The chickens were growing restless for a fight, and their leader was no exception. 

The Cheesecake Empire, led by Empress Gabs, seemed neutral despite their alliance to the Chancla Kingdom.

The leader of the Primus de Pulvere Natus was. . . Echo couldn’t quite tell, keeping her distance from him so often. But he seemed prepared for anything.

But when the first battle did break out, no one had expected what was going to happen that fateful day. Least of all, Echo.

She lost control of her abilities in the heat of the battle.

There were countless casualties.

 Among them, was Amethyst.

Echo had caused the death of her best friend.

Echo killed Amethyst. And that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Even after Amethyst had came back as a spirit. Echo could barely even bear to look at her because of it.

After that incident, she made it a point to learn how to control and adapt to her abilities. Throughout the war she learned how to use it to her advantage, using it to quickly rise through the ranks. She even helped train members of the army.

But soon the war came to a standstill. 

Why, you ask?

The leader of the Primus de Pulvere Natus, Visiones-Miraculorum, had fallen deathly ill. And everyone had decided to set aside their differences to be with him. Because, despite everything, many of the main players had accepted each other as not only friends, but family.

Echo never made any familial connections with those of the land, but one day she had a conversation with Visio that would change that—and her—forever.

Before his illness, she had always seen him as, well, a powerful man who could easily get what he wanted. He never had shown any sort of emotion to her, and so she assumed he was just that. But she was very wrong, and she came to know that about him.

——————————————————————————————————————————

“Fair enough. Cry as much as you need to, little sister.”

She looks up at him. “. . . I’ve never had anyone call me that before.”

He pauses. “Did you not like it-? Did I do something wrong?”

She shakes her head quickly. “No, you didn’t- Just wasn’t expecting it. You can. . . keep calling me that if you want.”

He smiles quietly. “Meine kleine Schwester.” (“My little sister.”)

She hesitates, and then speaks. “Mein Bruder. . .” (“My brother. . .”)

——————————————————————————————————————————

She never found out why he accepted her so easily as family. And she never got to.

Because a mere week later, he was gone.

Echo was left to wonder, how she could have made the effort to spend more time with him before he died. 

She felt as if she didn’t deserve the title he gave her. 

She felt guilty for not trying harder.

She wasn’t there when he left. . .

Why couldn’t she have just spent more time with him before he left?

Soon after that happened, Echo went to Pandora. And she announced her resignation from the army and from her kingdom.

She couldn’t handle it anymore. And so she disconnected herself from the world. She went to a place where she knew no one else would try to come and find her. She only met any newcomers at the meetings held between all the factions.

But she built a little life for herself. Nestled in a small house in the side of a cliff, in the middle of a large forest. There wasn’t another soul around for miles, save for the forest creatures.

It was almost perfect.