An Alice Story: Prologue

Alice stood close to her husband.

Glast Heim is not a place anybody should venture alone. Alice never liked it here. She and Anekhan had often come here to find some lost treasure of their families. A thousand years ago, their ancestors fled Glast Heim before it was taken by the evil forces that rule it now. By rights, this was their home. Now, they are raiders and scavengers of what is rightfully theirs.

That had never sat well with Anekhan. He was the chief of one of the Refugees of Glast Heim clans. His father expected so much from him as the sucessor to the position and placed a burden sometimes too heavy for him to bear: the burden of bringing the refugees back to Glast Heim.

So they are here again. Courting death and doom.

In the deep dungeons, they search for a way to defeat the current masters of Glast Heim. Deep in his heart Anekhan knows it is hopeless. The ONE himself has revealed to Anekhan that Glast Heim shall remain as it is until the end of the current age.

But parents always have a way with words.

Alice hears them constantly badgering Anekhan about the state of the clan. Reminding him of the wealth and power the had before the evil came. Telling him that all will be well when the clan regains its rightful hold over Glast Heim.

And worse, telling him he was useless unless, by some miracle, he wrested Glast Heim from the dark powers that hold it enthralled.

He is her man and she will stand by him but she reserves the right to resent her in-laws. In fact, they are here now because of her in-laws.

Anekhan's father had again said that he will amount to nothing unless he brings the clans back to Glast Heim. And again, Anekha's mother retold stories of Glast Heim's grandeur even though she had never seen it. Descriptions of Glast Heim's golden era were all passed down through storytelling.

Anekhan's father and mother had never known Glast Heim like she and Anekhan had. They never saw the ruined place they, his parents, call their rightful home. They had never realized that the Glast Heim they described existed only in the stories and in their minds.

So here they are, Anekhan and Alice, children of the refugees of Glast Heim, scavengers of the ruined city. Anekhan is her man, she will stand by him

A Zombie Prisoner approached. She and Anekhan made short work of the monster. He/it was probably just a mindless drone combing these corridors. Decaying parts of the monster clung to her dress. Anekhan owes her a new one, she thought, he'd better find something worth selling because she knows the stain isn't going to come off this one.

Anekhan checked over the defeated monster. There was nothing except an old worn out prison uniform. She doesn't know why the merchants pay such a price for something like that. She and Anekhan have many other concerns that mean more to them than investigating trivia like that. This rubbish masquerading as treasure would have to do.

Alice thought back to the night before, while they huddled in the garden, as Anekhan like to call the open expanse of Glast Heim that meets the sky. Alice slept in Anekhan's arms, as she always does. It was Ban's watch. Old faithful Ban KoNyuJi. Anekhan's best friend.

Last night, she had a vision about her children. In it, a man in white spoke to her and he said these words:

Loki is your firstborn. When he grows firm, he will choose to serve me.

Solomon is your youngest. He, I will choose to serve me and my purpose.

Joseph is a smith. His heart, soul and spirit will be his hammer, anvil and forge

Myrna and Alannis, the twins will be apart in their body but together in their mind. Two staves bound together, stronger together than each on their own.

Alice felt something amiss. All her sons were mentioned and so were her twin daughters but ....

"What about Sophie? What will happen to her", Alice asked.

The man in white looked at Alice and said, "Sophie will be fine."

Then Alice woke. Her heart's burdens lifted from her

"Ban", she spoke, "let me take this watch. Get some rest."

Old faithful Ban. Grey hair, wrinkled face but eyes still sharp as his falcon's. Ban nodded then closed his eyes.

Alice wondered how could anyone ever sleep while sitting up.

Then Alice remembered the beautiful sunrise she witnessed this morning.

"What's this here?"

Anekhan's whisper sharply brought her to the present

It was an Alice, her namesake monster. She had just stepped out through a wall. Anekhan drew his sword and poked the wall with it. It went through without any resistance.

The three of them conferred. By unanimous decision they chose to go through the wall. Alice cast Kyrie Eleison on all three of them. Then they went through the wall. Anekhan first, then Ban, then her.

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There were rumors of what happened, deep in Glast Heim. It was widely believed that Anekhan and Alice died when they awoke the Dark Knight from his slumber. Ban KoNyuJi alone survived. He alone alerted the whole kingdom to the threat of the Dark Knight and his dread army.

When the threat was averted, the king of Rune-Midgard pronounced his decree: As punishment for the wrong of their parents, the children of Anekhan and Alice were seperated from each other and forbidden to gather together, the men with the men, the women with the women. And worse yet, the children were forbidden to use their family name ever again. The family line of Anekhan and Alice ended that day.