It's a Bright World

"I wonder how much you all really know about each other. Would you feel the same way, I wonder? I think not." The darkness changes to a cloudy, dreamy white.

----
You see a young boy with short, straight black hair. He looks to be about 7 years old, and he is sitting by himself in the street of some dirty town, tossing a ball up into the air and catching it. A little girl with pigtails that looks to be about his age starts to walk by, and he calls to her, asking, "Do you wanna play catch with me?" He holds the ball out to her, and she smiles and says, "Sure!" "Here, catch!" the little boy says, as he tosses her the ball. Another voice calls, a child's voice: "Pressa! What are you doing?!"

A group of other kids, full of the arrogance of being a few years older, comes into view. They surround the little girl and whisper things you can't hear to her. The ball falls from her hand, and she turns and walks away, her eyes downcast. The rest of the kids turn and look at the boy with disgust mingled with fear, then escort the girl away. "Wait, Pressa," the boy says softly, his voice disappointed, "Let's play catch together..." He picks up the ball in his small hands and begins to cry.
-
"Hey, give that back to me!" says the same dark haired boy, just a little bit older now. A kid is tossing his stolen prize, a fruit, from hand to hand and sneering at him. His friends push the boy to the ground and laugh, kicking dirt in his face and even kicking him in the head and stomach. The boy's eyes flash a bright red and he's enveloped in a darkness, reappearing as a four foot tall demon in the twisted shape of a fox. It turns on the children, who try to run away. Pressa is one of the children, and she trips and screams in terror as the beast grabs her foot and begins dragging her away.

Then some adults appear on the scene, shouting angrily. One draws his sword and slashes at the creature, cutting it across the face over its eye. Then another man runs up and puts his arm around the beast's neck, trying to hold it back. "Oni-ka, stop! Stop this right now, get a hold of yourself!"
-
"We should have killed it when it was a child. Why do you bring misfortune on us! That thing nearly killed my daughter!"
"Well, if your children did not taunt him, than maybe he would not be vengeful and full of hate!"
"That is beside the point, because we look to you, Yoshi, for protection in this village; after all these years we owe you some leniency, but if it turns on us again, we'd set it on you, and have it eat you alive!"
"I'd prefer if you did not refer to my son as "it"...or tell him of this incident."
Grunts of grudging agreement.
-
The boy wakes up laying on a futon with half of his face bandaged. A Cato woman takes his hand and looks at him with a worried expression. "Nancy, what happened?" "It's nothing." She smiles.
----
"Look at the monster you've all been traveling with. He could turn on you at any second, this disgusting half beast. Why did you think you could trust him? Because he looked like you?"
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You hear voices, some loud and boisterous, some in stage whispers, seeming to come from all around you. They are taunting and cruel, saying, "Did you hear about them? Those abominations..." "Their parents should have never had children. Serves them right to die the way they did..." "Haha! He's in love with his sis-ter!" "Really? Awww, how sweeeet! Hahahahaha!"
-
Images of a man in a shop, his clothes bright white with decorative patterns, but covering most of his body. Only his eyes can be seen, and bits of his blond hair. Numerous people come into the store, shady people, obviously those with bad intentions, and some nervous, anxious people. Large amounts of money are passed to the man in the cloak, and small vials from under the counter are passed back in return.
-
You see a man walk into the shop and ask for a "quick acting one" in liquid form. He looks confident, and glances meaningfully at a little girl outside often. The man in the cloak appears not to notice and hands him the vial in exchange for the man's gold. The man takes out a small water skin from his side and pours the vial in it, then walks out to the little girl playing in the street and offers it to her. The man in the cloak watches impassively.
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"Yeah...do you even give any consideration to what you're doing? And you call me monstrous?"
----
You see a gold dragon lying at the bottom of a large, dry gulch. It is heavily wounded and bleeding everywhere, the blood running in rivulets in the heat-baked cracks of the bed. A smaller, slender white dragon with a bleeding forearm is licking its wounds. You see the white one finish and speak to the gold dragon, but you cannot hear what is said. The gold dragon hefts itself up painfully and follows the white one a ways down the gorge before disappearing into a hidden den.
-
You see a glassy white dragon egg. A white baby dragon emerges, chirping up at its two parents, a while and a gold dragon, happily. As it grows, its wingfeathers grow in red, and its belly scales turn purple. When the little dragon's wings are fully grown, you see two scenes. The first one is in a chilly mountain cavern. The two parents are speaking to the obvious patriarch of a clan of white dragons. They push the baby forward, and the patriarch ruffles his wings in surprise, then looks at the parents with distaste. The second scene takes place in a dry, earthen cavern, with bright holes formed in the ceiling to allow in light. The parents speak to the patriarch of the gold dragons as the others look on. The patriarch nods and looks at the little one sadly, and the parents disappear.

Neither clan violent towards her, but neither do they show her kindness--her kind is unheard of, her parents' relationship taboo. You see a gold dragon speaking slyly, "You don't actually belong here, you're allowed here because your father was one of the strongest fighters ever seen. So you may stay here, but just to let you know, don't expect us to do you any favors". The same thing happens in the white dragon clan: "You're not really one of us, we're just stuck with you because your mother was in touch with the divine and special to us." You watch the little dragon grow up, the settings flashing back and forth. You see up to current day Amitzul, curled up tightly in a ball, crying, "I hate being different, I don't belong anywhere...I wish I had never lived..."
----

----
You see a bronze egg, which hatches and grows up in quick time. Two bronze dragons hover over it. "What's wrong with our child? Why can't he fly?" "I don't know. He can't seem to heal himself either..." "This is no dragon. What kind of dragon doesn't fly?" "This can't be ours. I deny this creature, I will not accept it." "Well, he won't be able to fend for himself for long..."
-
You see a mermaid woman and a human woman with tan feathered wings talking. She says, "Will you please take care of this child? It may be a little odd, to be asking this, but...I want you to raise him as a human. I don't want him struggling to be one of us." The mermaid nods. The baby dragon is escorted into the room. The mermaid chants and places a seed in the tiny dragon's chest which emits a bright light. When the light dies down, you see a human boy, appearing no older than three, with light blond hair and brown eyes.
----

----
You see a little mermaid girl being dragged from her parents' house in the dead of night, crying dreadfully. Her mother is crying into her father's chest, and the father is looking sorrowfully at a small pouch of gold.

You see Jillian engaging in explicit erotic acts in a dark, decadently decorated room. When the other person leaves, she begins crying to herself, hugging her legs and murmuring, "I had no choice..." After a while she composes herself, and begins straightening her clothes and putting on more makeup. When the door slides open again, she greets the person with a smile and offers to play them a tune on her violin.
----
"Ah, a little whore..."
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You see a Hund boy around the age of 15 collapse in the street. His face is pale, and his chest is heaving rapidly. Not one of the people walking by him stops to help him. You see a younger girl, a Hund, crying, "Lodo, are you ok?! HELP!"

A disinterested voice echoes, "I don't know what's wrong with him. I'm not sure, he looks like he's dying but there's nothing I can do. Maybe this will help, I don't know."

You see a young Serei get pushed against the wall in her kitchen. Two older men, humans, threaten her with harm, telling her to "Pay up." "I don't have it this time! I'm sorry, I-" "We won't wait until next time, we want it now! Your father owes us!" The men began throwing tables and papers, tossing things onto the floor, while Serei cries, "No, stop it! Those belonged to my mother, please stop!" The men take some items, laughing, "Make sure you have the money next time. Have a nice day, hahaha..."

The same little girl picks herself up after a while, going outside into the street. She bumps into people, and you can see she is taking their money and possessions while she does so. You see a much more proficient, current day Serei pickpocketing on the same street.
----
Kelt's voice. "Stop it! Stop it right now! What are you trying to accomplish!" "Ah, nothing. I just thought it would be interesting if everyone knew about everyone else. This is after all, a group that doesn't care about money, I think you should know a bit about eachother...ah? ah?" "What were you planning on showing for me, huh?" "Good question. Your life is boring. Let's see..."
----
You see the ravaged town of Aspid, its buildings reduced to nothing more than bricks and glass. "Where are your siblings, eh?" "What do you know about that?" "A lot has happened, see for yourself." You see the town being destroyed by demons, goatlike in shape. They're attacking, pouncing on people and rending flesh, eating them alive. Children run by, trying to hide. The buildings are on fire and falling down, people running for cover. You see two children running together. One falls down, the other one calls to her, "Come on Annabelle, we have to find the others!" A demon pounces from a roof and tears the girl's neck open and begins rending her flesh savagely. Another demon comes from behind the other girl and takes her down, spitting her on a curved horn and stepping on her at the same time, ripping her apart. You see a Hund boy and another little girl getting attacked. The boy tries to hold the demon off with a chunk of wood, but the demon ducks and mauls him. Instead of eating him, it jumps at the little girl, who was trying to hide under a door.

You hear a voice cry, "STOP IT!"
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"What, it's true. It's what happened. Thought you'd like to know, so you wouldn't have to look for them..."
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A young girl around the age of eight with short black hair is jumping in the mud. "Lacra! What are you doing?!" "I'm playing in the mud." "Oh, why do you have to be such a tomboy? Don't you wanna be pretty like all the girls?..."

"Why don't you grow your hair out? You'd be much prettier." "...but I like my hair short."

Little Lacra is admiring a boy from afar, a cute little boy around her age. She blushes and tries offering a piece of chocolate to him. "Here, I made this for you."  He disappears; some girls crowd around Lacra, saying "Who are you to go after Hiyo?" "He doesn't like tomboys, he only like girls with long flowing hair. Smart ones." As they are saying this, Lacra is growing up. Her hair gets longer, and suddenly turns a dark purple color.
"You could never be with someone like that."
Lacra is 14. She thinks, "I'm gonna work hard. I'll show those girls. I love him so much, I don't care what they think. I'm going to be the best. I just want him to look at me. I don't love anyone else." You see Hiyo walking behind her with other girls, kissing them flirtingly.
You see Hiyo and Lacra. Hiyo gives her a ring, and Lacra is ecstatic, putting it on her finger immediately. Hiyo smiles, then has to go out to run an errand. He meets another girl down the block and they continue on, walking together. You hear her say, "So, you don't have anyone special in your life?" "No, of course not babe." They go to his place. Lacra is sitting by herself in her room, tears in her eyes.
----
"You know that every time he goes out to do something he comes back with one of his little mistresses. He doesn't even hide it from you anymore. You're stupid for falling in love with someone like that."
Lacra is sobbing.
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"Here, we'll let you have him for 500g. We need food, and we can't feed all three of us. This works out well for the both of us." You see a little boy around five years old, standing awkwardly as if not knowing which way to turn.
"Hmmm...I'll take him." "I'm sure he'd be in better hands with you, seeing as you're a templar and all..."

"Stop crying, you insolent brat! Do as I say!" A young Kato woman whips the little boy with a sharp branch. He cries out in pain and misery. "Stop!! Please, leave me alone!" The woman stops, thinking, then says, "I know what will do the trick." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a plain black collar. She kisses it, then places it around the boy's neck roughly. It glows briefly, and all the pain and sadness leaves they boy's face, leaving it blank and slack. "You will forget your parents," she says, pacing back and forth in front of him, " and never feel any emotions. That way, you could never betray me, or think for yourself. You will be obedient to me for as long as you live." She laughs with pleasure, an unpleasant sound from such a beautiful girl.

An older boy, Lai, stands by the side of the road, thoroughly wet in the pouring rain. The Kato is leaning out of her carriage window, speaking to him. "I'll be right back," she says. "Wait here for my return." She urges the coach onward and Lai stands obediently in the rain. Time passes, the rain stops, and still he stands unmoving, until he finally collapses to the ground. He tries to stand up, but can't. He eats nothing, drinks nothing, and falls unconscious, the way Jillian and Kimi had found him.