Point of View: Praxa, Guardswoman and Student at the Town of Westfall

I woke up in the soft, warm comfort of my bed, as I buried my cat-like ears into the large, fluffy pillow that I was resting on.

Right then, I felt so warm, and so cozy, that I hardly wanted to get out of bed at all.

I wasn’t that used to having such a nice, warm bed to sleep on… and right then, laying there just felt really, really wonderful.

But…

I still knew that I should get up, and that I should make a trip out to the dungeons.

And so eventually, I lifted the white, fluffy sheets off of my body, and stretched out my arms, as I started to get out from bed.

Then, I slid into my old suit of leather armor, and headed into the kitchen.

The light from the early morning sun was just beginning to stream in through the windows of my room… and I could hear the little birds chirping somewhere off in the distance, as they flew through town.

As I stood there, I felt so much gratitude to have been able to come to this place, and to have been given the chance to study here, and to train.

In silence, but with a feeling of deep peace, and of contentment, I ate a small, simple meal – a few pieces of fruit, and some milk and cereal – as I sat alone in one of the chairs of my kitchen.

Afterwards, as I slowly began to wake back up, I took a moment to read one of the books for my classes, which was called The Path to Happiness.

The book argued that happiness comes about from loving others, and from being with them, while misery comes about from hatred, and from being cruel towards other living beings.

There was a lot that I liked about that argument, and a few of the passages were really, really beautiful.

But, at the same time… I kind of felt like something about that account was kind of… “off,” you know?

Like things were a lot more complicated than that, somehow… and a lot more difficult.

Still, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was wrong with what the book was saying, if anything. So for now… I just read the pages slowly, and carefully, as I continued to think about the questions that they raised, and to wonder about what my own future might hold in store, and what sort of a life I might end up leading.

I sat like that for a little while, as I slowly flipped through the pages, and took a few more sips of water.

Then, once I was done, I took my cup and plate over to the basin, and spent a few moments washing them off very carefully, and very precisely – like I had learned to do back when I had worked as a waitress – as I made sure that each and every spot of them was clean.

Afterwards, I went over to the living room, and headed out the door – into the upper floor of my dormitory – before making my way down the stairs, and stepping outside, with my bow fastened around my back, and a small pouch wrapped around my waist.

As I made my way out into the streets, I took a few moments to appreciate the beauty of the day.

It was early, and quiet… and the morning light was gently streaming in through the leaves and the branches of the trees.

I had only been here for a few weeks by now… but I had really begun to love that sight… and seeing it had become one of the best parts of starting up my day.

Then, from out in the distance, I began to make out the sounds of the people walking through the main thoroughfare, as they chatted with one another, and went about their business.

It felt like the whole town was just waking up right then… and the energy, and the excitement in their voices helped to invigorate me, and to prepare me for the day ahead.

At a bit quicker of a pace, I made my way along the path outside of my room, and out through the large wooden gate at the entrance to the town.

It was exciting to be in such a big city, with so many people all around me. But at the same time, it was a little loud for me, too, and it could sometimes feel almost a little suffocating, if that makes sense. And so I was glad when I had made it outside of town, and out into the farmlands that lay beyond.

That was one of my favorite places in this whole city… and walking through it was really nice for me, because it gave me a chance to appreciate the beauty of nature, and of all that this world had to offer.

Quietly, I began to make my way alone along the path, looking out in silence at the farmers who were beginning their days, and starting up their work.

The fields were lush, and full of crops. Small, but sturdy wooden houses were dotted along the fields… and a few young people were just beginning to pick their equipment up out of the nearby barns, as they carried their tools over towards the fields.

A young woman a little off in the distance waved towards me as she caught my eye. I waved back in turn, as I did my best to give her a warm, and friendly smile. Then, I turned my head back towards the road ahead, as I glanced up at the soft light of the early morning sun.

For a long time, I made my way in silence through those fields, not thinking about very much, and not too worried about my own existence.

Then, eventually, I arrived at the little woods in front of the dungeon, and sat down in a quiet spot beneath the trees. Afterwards, I took out one of my books, and began to read, as I continued to appreciate the beauty of the fields that were all around me.

I was pretty focused on my book right then, and I was really enjoying working through its arguments.

But, at the same time…

I was kind of hoping that I might run into William again out here, like I’d done the day before… and I was kind of hoping that I’d get the chance to talk to him once more.

I had found myself thinking about him more than I’d expected to, in the last day or so… and for me at least, that was a really unfamiliar feeling.

These last few years, I had spent most of my time just by myself.

I hadn’t had a very happy childhood, all things being considered.

My first few years had been very sweet, and peaceful. Both of my parents had truly loved me, and they had truly loved one another, as well.

We had been very poor, of course. But even still, we had brought so much warmth, and so much cheer to our home, that it hadn’t felt bad, or unpleasant at all. It had just felt like a home… and it was where I had expected to live for many years, and where I had hoped to return to throughout my life, once I had gotten older.

But then, when I was about nine years old, each of my parents had been killed, in a war that none of us had wanted to be a part of.

I’d had no surviving family, back then – or at least, none that I knew of… and so, I had ended up moving to a little town about a half days’ journey away, where I had been taken in by one of the local orphanages, and given a place to stay.

At first, I had spent a lot of time sitting by myself, feeling lonely, and sad, and crying in places where nobody could find me.

And, then… I just started to spend a lot of time not feeling much of anything at all.

By the time that I had become a teenager, I was living in a small house with a couple of other orphans, none of whom really liked me all that much, or cared about me.

For a long time I would let the days pass me by, without hoping for all that much, and without caring too much about the fact that I was alive.

And, then… something just broke in me, all of a sudden.

One of the other kids had been really cruel towards me, which had hurt so much that I had run out of the town, all by myself… and as I was walking alone once more out by the side of the river, feeling empty, and hollow, it was suddenly like the dams that had been holding back all of my emotions shattered all at once, and burst into pieces.

Then, I just fell towards the ground, and started sobbing uncontrollably, and screaming out in anguish, as I thought about how terrible my life had been, these last few years, and how completely I had given up on my own existence.

I could see the little girl that I had once been, so long ago, and I could remember the way that my parents had held me in their arms, and the person that they had dreamed of me becoming… and I just felt so awful, and so sad, and so determined to make sure that I didn’t live out the rest of my life like I had been living it before.

Then, I swore to myself that I would do something more, and that I would find some way to get out of all of this, and to live a better life.

The next thing that I knew, I had taken three different part-time jobs, and I was practicing with my bow in nearly all of my spare time.

That was hard, at first. But, slowly… I really started to feel like I had a future, again… and I really started to just feel so alive.

Even though I was still alone, and upset about what had happened, and a little sad… even though all of those things were true…

… I really did feel so much better about my life.

I loved my work, and I loved practicing with my bow, and seeing myself becoming the kind of woman that I had used to dream of back when I was younger.

And… and I loved just sitting down by the side of the river, and watching the water gently flowing along in front of me, and the birds chirping over my head, as I thought about my own life, and about my future.

And I loved just laying on my back in the forest at night, and looking up through the leaves at all of the stars, as I gently drifted off to sleep, and dreamed about the days ahead of me.

And, well… that was what my life was like, back then... and that was how it felt as I finally woke back up from my slumber, and began to come alive.

I still didn’t really have any friends, unfortunately. But, for the first time... I didn’t let that drag me down, or destroy me. I knew that I would be in a better place soon enough, where I would be able to find people who really cared about me, and appreciated my company… and until I had found those people, I was glad to be moving forward, and to be chasing after my dreams.

And even though it was hard at first, I eventually began to understand how to be happy in spite of all of that… and how to just appreciate the little things, and the day-to-day flow of my own existence, and of my being.

At any rate...

After I had spent about two years like that, I managed to finally save up enough money that I could come out here, in order to study and to train at one of the best small colleges in the world.

The day that I made the journey out towards Westfall – and the day that I left that little town behind forever – was one of the happiest days of my life.

And since I had arrived here, I hadn’t stopped feeling so grateful to be able to study here, and so proud of what I had been able to accomplish on my own.

In many ways, these were really some of the best days of my life, and the first time that I’d felt about as happy as I had once felt long ago, back when I had been a little girl in my parent’s arms.

At the same time... even though I felt so much happier than I could have hoped for a few years back, and even though I had managed to come so far…

… I still felt kind of sad at times, too.

Ever since I had arrived in the town of Westfall, I had been trying to meet people, and to get to know some of the other students in the town. But even though I had met a lot of people who were friendly, and amiable, I guess that you could say, I still hadn’t really found anyone who I could call a friend.

And that had left me feeling a little lonely, and a little sad, too.

It wasn’t all bad of course. I was pretty shy… but I wasn’t so shy that I couldn’t talk a bit with my co-workers, or strike up a conversation or two with some of the other students in my classes.

But, at the same time… I still felt like there was something that was really missing, and that there was still something that I wanted out of life that I hadn’t managed yet to find.

And so… that was why it had stood out so much when I had enjoyed being together with William so much the day before.

I had really felt like I could be myself around him just about at once… and even though he had seemed a little guarded, and like he had a lot of things that he was keeping from me, it still seemed obvious to me that he was a kind person, deep inside. And.. and, I appreciated how gentle he’d been with me, too, and how little he’d seemed to mind my awkwardness, and my lack of grace.

And… there had just been something really nice about walking in silence with him along through the fields that day. It had just felt… warm, and comfortable, you know? I don’t honestly know how else to describe it.

But…

That was the most that I had enjoyed being together with someone in a long, long time.

And that was why I really wanted to see him again, and to see if I ended up continuing to enjoy his company like I had done before.

Because, if I did… then he might really end up becoming someone important to me, once I had come to know him.

Of course... it didn’t hurt that I liked his face, too. He had my father’s hair, and eyes... and he had something of my father’s expression, also – a kind of look of focus, and of determination... but mixed with a sort of gentle excitement, too.

At the same time... I knew that it was way too soon to really be having those kinds of thoughts about him, and that my mind was starting to rush more than a little ways too far ahead of itself.

But, I had always been a little dreamy, I guess… and I had just been kind of lonely now for a long, long time. So in a way, it wasn't that much of a surprise that my mind was getting more than a bit carried away right then.

Still… it was kind of silly.

And so, after hitting that point in my thoughts, I just grinned to myself, and put my book back into my pouch, as I sat back up again.

I hadn’t made out any sign of William at all, of course. And now – a little amused by my own wandering, impulsive mind – I figured that it would be a good time to head out towards the dungeons, and to start to train for the day.

I didn’t have any classes until tomorrow, and I didn’t have any work until the afternoon. So, for now, I could spend as long in there as I wanted.

And so I ended up spending about three and a half hours making my way through the seventh and the eighth floors of the Beginner’s Dungeon.

I was making pretty good progress… and I loved the feeling of leaping, and of dashing through the dungeon, as I discovered all sorts of beautiful and secret places.

I loved becoming stronger, and more capable too… and I couldn’t wait until I was strong enough to become a true adventurer, and to become what I had always dreamed of.

Then, once I was done with my training for the day, I made my way back out through the exit of the dungeon, and began to head in towards town.

I was a little worn out by then, and a little tired… but it was still really nice to make my way through the farmlands, and to enjoy the cool, late morning air.

It was just about an hour or two before noon by the time that I had finally made my way back into town.

My shift would begin in about an hour and a half. So, I would need to take care of a few things before I reported into the barracks for the day.

As I walked through the main thoroughfare, I noticed that there were now a lot of new posters up for a debate that was going to be held this evening, in which three very prominent scholars from across the world would argue about the question of slavery.

Seeing those advertisements posted all over each of the walls, I felt really excited all of a sudden, and I wished that I could go. Even though I had always dreamed of being an adventurer, I really loved taking more “academic” sorts of classes too… and a part of me had even thought of becoming some sort of a scholar someday, once I had graduated from here.

But even though I was excited by the thought of that event, I still knew that I would have to work at my job as a guard this afternoon, and that I wouldn’t be getting out until right before the debate had concluded.

I had actually tried to make plans to go before… but by the time that I’d found out about it, so many people had already requested the day off that I hadn’t been able to get permission.

That was okay, though. I was sure that I would have plenty of chances to go to an event like this again in the future.

Besides, it was possible that I might be able to get out of my work just in time to catch the very last part of the debate. So I was looking forward to that, too, and I figured that I would head over there as soon as I was able.

And, honestly… I wasn’t too sad about only being able to see a part of the event. After all…

I imagined that the debate might end up getting a little rowdy.

So I didn’t mind staying back for a bit, and missing out on most of it.

At any rate…

After I had finished looking at the posters, I went back into my room, and placed my bow onto its stand, as I poured myself a cup of water, and sat down for a meal by myself in the kitchen.

The light was gently streaming in through the windows right then… and I could hear a few birds chirping softly, a long, long way away in the distance.