I was ready when they came…or so I thought, but I didn’t bother packing anything because I knew I wouldn't need it.

             I stood there, on the sidewalk, clutching my deep-purple pendant that hung from my neck in the darkness.  The sky was a blank, gray, haze unlike that dazzling sunset I had seen only yesterday, and yet…I was afraid.

             Suddenly thoughts raced across my mind.  That sunset, that beautiful sunset remained a stationary image in my brain. My vision of the sunset then faded into a blur of colors.  Red, blue, green, white, fire, water, earth, wind, the source of all power.  That power was currently stored in my pendant.  Once that power was released within me, all the energy of our world would be restored.

             I still think it is strange that I was chosen out of all the people in the world…

            The wagon then pulled up in front of me.  My heart was racing.  I had already said goodbye to my family, it was hard enough for them already to see me go.  Before we left, I thought I saw my younger sister's face pressed against my window.  Tears blurred my vision as I stepped into the wagon.  No one even glanced at me.  When we finally arrived at the site, I stepped down from the wagon and found a place on the ground where I could clearly see the sky.  I then got on the cold, bare ground and lied down.

             The people, whose faces were concealed by masks, had performed this ritual many times before.  It was the only way to restore the power to our world and keep it alive.  One of the people unsheathed the sacred sword called Evonlindse, the sword that released the power while shedding human blood.  It was the only way to save our world: exchange a life for the entire population to survive.  Before I closed my eyes, the sun was beginning to rise.  That alone prepared me for what was next.  I closed my eyes…I was ready…