The first steps are always the hardest

[Fate]

Fate was unsure of what just happened. The blonde magician couldn't recall anything that occurred before her meeting with that mysterious male entity, who introduced himself as Omni, the creator of an entire world called the Omniverse. He even took the time to explain the girl a few things about herself, the world he has created and about an orb that he called Omnilinium, which could grant her any wish she'd ever have.

Almost immediately following that introductory chat's end, Omni disappeared, leaving no trace of his - until that moment - important presence, leaving Fate alone in an eerie, dark-colored space. What the magician didn't noticed, however, was that she was neither in a black space nor standing, instead, she was now in surrounded by a purely blinding white environment, falling towards a ground she couldn't even make out.

"W-Wait, how did I end up in this dangerous situation!?" screamed Fate, as her eyes - full of tears, by the way - slowly adapted to the white scenario. Her blond twintails, which were almost as long as her arms, waved violently because of the resistance they offered against the air, while her arms and legs were flailing erratically out of pure terror. This continued for almost five full seconds, before the blonde girl eventually recovered her composure and calmed down.

Still in her sudden freefall, Fate began to think in a way to sort through this dangerous situation, What should I do... Discarding the risky option of just letting myself crash against the ground, what other options do I have left to take? No matter how hard she focused, no useful ideas came to mind, as the panic once again tried to take over her.

Ten seconds passed since she started to fall towards the blank ground. By then, Fate could even begin to recognise the people and/or whatever was walking in what she thought was a deserted landscape. The fact that they were seen as extremely little black dots by the blonde meant two things; first was that they were hard to distinguish, but they moved, so they had to be people, and the second thing was that she had likely five minutes or so before her face hits the ground, which was a bit reassuring, but also meant that if she didn't thought about something quickly, it wouldn't be long before she meets her death at the white ground.

"Ah, right, I still have that!" said the girl, recalling the orb that Omni had once mentioned before during the introductory talk, "If he was saying the truth, I think I can use that orb to bring something capable of softening my land!" Not wanting to waste more of her precious time, Fate began to look around for the aforementioned artefact and after a second or so, she found it falling next to her, less than a feet away from her current position.

The task of grabbing the spherical object proved to be harder than she thought, but at the end, Fate finally grasped the orb; the Omnilinium. It glowed in a variety of colors that changed to one another in a span of less than half of a second, giving it a nice look in the eyes of the magician, "What a beautiful object... If only I wasn't in the situation I'm now, I'd definitely take a closer look to it, but first things always go first," said the girl, who, immediately afterwards, held the orb next to her chest, hugging it tightly before closing her eyes with force, and also repeating the same thing in her mind, Please let me land safely, please let me land safely, please... However, time passed and nothing seemed to happen.

Panic and terror were, once again, slowly taking over her mind as the minutes passed without nothing happening at all. "Please, I desire for something happen, anything, just... Just please, save me!" Fate screamed, her eyes being closed with more force than before, so much that tears were coming out of them. Then, with less than 10 seconds for her to crash against the ground, the Omnilinium orb, which she has been pressing tightly against her heart, started to shine with an intense light, almost as blinding as the white landscape, and took over her, covering the blonde completely. It seems that the item understood her desire and has translated it into a way to accomplish it.

"E-Eh..." was what she said when she failed to feel the wind crashing against her face, "D-Did I make it...?" with fear, Fate slowly opened her crimson eyes, only to see that she wasn't falling anymore, instead, she was enclosed in a bubble, similar to those soak bubbles that kids seem to enjoy so much, though this one was stronger, otherwise she wouldn't be sitting inside of it, with the glowing orb being placed neatly on her lap.

A long sigh of relief escaped her soft lips immediately after realising she was now out of harm, while a thought popped in her mind, Now that I'm safe, I guess I can take my time to watch the surroundings... The first thing she noticed was that the bubble stopped her fall just a couple of meters before crashing, "L-Lucky..." said to herself, feeling how the cold sweat on her entire body began to disappear now that the shock had passed.

Leaving aside the fact that Fate was miraculously saved, the blonde also saw people walking here and there; some with a clear confusion, while others seemed to know where they headed to. Some had a human appearance, just like her, but there were a lot, too, who weren't exactly human; Lizardmen, beastmen, even robots were walking among these many people. Their costumes and equipment varied greatly from one another as well, as there were people wearing chainmails, gauntlets and the like, while others preferred more futuristic get-ups, with clothes full of LEDs and carrying laser guns with them.

I... I think I've seen some of those creatures before, but I can't really remember where... thought the magician, Actually, I can't remember almost anything, and my head hurts for some reason... Maybe it's just the stress...? Fate continued to sink into her thoughts, while still sitting on her knees, inside of the so-precious bubble, that descended slowly towards the ground.

Then, slipping a bit out of these thoughts of hers, Fate said something that just came to her mind, "Is this bubble ever going to pop?" Fate extended her right hand towards the round walls of the bubble, which diameter was almost a feet and a half bigger than her own body, and touched them, realising how soft and jelly they actually were, "Surprisingly enough, it feels like a big soap bubble, to be honest, so it might pop at anytime..."

Whether if it was because of something she said, or because it was getting near enough to the white ground, the bubble popped, startling the magician, who was appreciating the bubble where she was in. The fall, however, lasted less than a second, not even giving her time to cry in horror. Finally, she was in the ground, safe and sound, and without any serious wound.

T-That was frightening, but I guess I did say it would happen eventually... Fate thought, using her hands to stand up. Her feet were shaking slightly, not out of fear or shock, but because she haven't used them in quite a while. Much has happened, but the good thing is that I'm alive and that I won't be falling to my death anymore... I hope.

After making it to the ground, Fate found herself without an stable lead. Yeah, she landed safety, just like she wanted, but now what? Trapped in an unknown world where weird things seem to be happening anywhere at anytime, and where she knew no one that could bring her assistance, or at least an idea about what to do. Unsure about anything, Fate decided that the best thing she can do at the moment was to find a place where to gather information, but as far as she knew, the white landscape was, if you leave aside the thousands of people walking around, completely deserted.

"Huh?" Just when she turned around, a certain pool located a few feet away from her immediately caught the girl's attention. "Wait, the thing that is coming of that pool over there is... Hot vapor!?" Fate noted, heading quickly towards the smoking pool, "Yeah, there's no mistaking it, this is not a pool, it's a hot spring..." she continued, her eyes failing to locate the floor of the hot pool. Then, a thought arose in her mind, Somehow, I believe this hot spring means something to me, but I still can't make heads of my memory...

Immediately after she realised that, about the smoking pool having some relation to an event she couldn't remember, an image flashed through her mind. What!? Fate exclaimed in her thought, W-What was that... A memory? The image, or memory, depicted Fate and an unknown, brown-haired girl, seemingly fighting against each other at close combat, in a place that looked like a public hot springs. Why am I fighting against that girl, and why looking at her rings so many bells inside my head...? her thought suddenly stopped when a name escaped her lips in an almost inaudible whisper, "Nanoha..."

The sole mention of that name made her feel many things: Sadness, happiness, fear - These were some of those feelings. Nanoha...? Is that the name of the girl in that brief memory? Even if her memory was still foggy, Fate was certain of something, that girl, Nanoha, was really important to her.

"Nothing will happen if I stay here, looking at this pool, trying to remember things while my mind is so foggy..." Fate said to herself, eyes locked on the smoking hot spring, "But even if that much is true, what else can I do?" The idea of using the Omnilinium orb to show her the path to follow crossed her mind, but she shrugged it off because it doesn't seemed like the correct choice.

Fate finally stopped just looking at the pond and rose her head, looking at the people walking around to get an idea about where to go. Then, while glancing at the people, the blonde noticed a weird blight faraway in the distance, actually, after further inspection, she realised that there were like other seven lights coming from each one of the cardinal points, but not only, she also saw that the people and the creatures who knew their way were heading towards those distant lights.

Feeling that these lights were the lead she was hoping for, Fate decided to head towards one of them, choosing the one at the far east, that was the one where most of the knight-looking people were moving towards; some walking, and others mounted on a vast variety of vehicles, especially horses, which for some reason trotted extremely fast, way more than a common horse would.

Tightening the grasp on the small, shiny orb, Fate finally began her long walk towards the light. She had no idea if it was the right choice or not, but she definitely wouldn't just wait by the pond for something to happen. Who knows? Maybe she will start remembering things as she approaches to the distant light; or more exactly, the gate to the kingdom of Camelot.

[Amber Veritz]

Ellise sighed heavily still shivering from the icy winds of the Frozen Fields. The group that had hired her for protection had left already, heading back to Coruscant to wallow in the treasures they had acquired. The Tower, still a fitting nickname for her prowess as a paladin, left with her pockets lined to the floor. This made a perfect time to return home and spread her wealth with the needy and her family. It had been some time before she had the time to visit family and she was eager to see her parents and brother.

The Nexus was lively yet dead at the same time. It's always motionless white background begged to be painted, but the animation of the on goers kept the Nexus alive enough to make it it's own special universe. Always uplifting, yet dull and dreary all at once.

The Paladin shuffled the strap the kept her shield holstered on her back giving a moment of relief from the weight of the heavy piece of steel. It was enough to let her take a deep breath. Although she was proud of the spoils, she was weary and ready to get home. Even staying a night at the mysterious fortress town in the snow wasn't enough rest for her. She sighed heavily and looked at the polished white floor of the Nexus.

Caught in her momentary relaxation she didn't see the short blonde in front of her moving more slowly than herself. She bumped the girl's backside and toppled them both over onto the snow white ground. The Tower quickly regained her footing and reached her hand out to the younger woman.

“My deepest apologies ma’am. I was lost in thought and did not see you in front of me.” She said holding her hand out to pull Fate to her feet which she would then shake the younger girl's hand. She didn't look like she was from anywhere in the Omniverse so she had to be a prime. Even people from Camelot don't dress that way. “My name is Ellise, but people who know me call me ‘The Tower’. It is an honor to meet you young lady. May I know thy name?” The dark haired tank assumed she looked out of place anywhere else in the Omniverse wearing thick steel-plated armor, so she couldn't sincerely judge others on their appearance. “You must be a prime, or so I would assume.”

[Fate]

Whether it was because she was getting too focused in her thoughts or not, she didn't know, but the thing is that Fate never heard, or at least she think she didn't, any footsteps approaching behind of her, and at a pace much faster than hers. Eventually, the owner of these footsteps inevitably bumped against her little presence, throwing both out of balance and, next, to the ground.

"W-What...?" this was the first word that made its way to her mind, and from there to her mouth. Using her hands, Fate then turned around to meet the one that bumped into her: It was a woman, and one taller than her, who was clad in a thick armor that had a color as dark as the night sky, while her hair donned a similar color as well. Additionally, the armored lady was also extending her hand towards the blonde in the ground, in a kind gesture to help her to stand up.

Not really wanting to let the woman's gesture unanswered, Fate reached out to the knight's hand, who immediately pulled her up in response, greatly easing Fate's task at having to stand back. Also, while pulling her, the blonde heard how the woman began to apologize for what just has happened, though Fate wouldn't reply until after she was back on her feet, "Both of us are okay, so I think the apology isn't necessary."

After a brief shake of hands, the knight then proceeded to introduce herself. Her tone of voice and the way in which she spoke made Fate feel like she were something important, though she didn't know why would she in case that was true, despite her being quite certain that she, once again, was forgetting something important.

"My pleasure, Ellise, my name is Fate..." for a ssecond, Fate felt that this answer was incorrect; she felt that her name was another one, but a single shake of her head was enough to put off those feelings, "Yeah, Fate." Her memory surely was a mess, if she was having doubts about her own name, or at least, that is what she thought at that moment.

Then, Ellise made her a question. A prime? Ah, yeah, I forgot, that Omni did mentioned that before... she thought, taking her time to answer the knight's uncertainty, as she could barely remember what a prime exactly was, but she decided, in the end, to go with the only reply she had in her mind at the moment. "Yeah, I'm a prime, and I'm sure that this thing here is proof of it..." responded Fate, showing the Omnilinium orb to the woman, hoping that she'd recognize it.

Not wanting to let this chance slip away, Fate decided to ask Ellise some questions regarding the world in which she was right now, starting for the most basic she could think of.

"Ellise, do you know what place is this?" asked Fate, returning her extended arm, where the orb was, to its original position, lined at the side of her body, "I can barely remember anything, to be honest, so I'd greatly appreciate if you can solve these, and other doubts of mine..." Fate wasn't finished yet, as there was another thing she wanted to ask as well, "Like, for example, do you know what exactly is that light in the horizon? I was heading to it, but I'm not sure whether it would be a good idea or not..."

[Amber Veritz]

Ellise chuckled to herself a bit. She had assumed Fate was a prime, that much was apparent, but with the questions she began to ask, it obvious the young blonde was just arriving in her new home. The Tower put on a soft comforting smile and put her hand on Fate’s small shoulder.

“This,” she gestured her free hand around her to the white box that caged them with so much freedom, “is the Nexus. This is, without a doubt, the most important place that exists and will ever exist in the Omniverse. Here connects all the known universes together except for a select few, which are the specks you can see on the non-existent horizon.”

Ellise pointed in a circle around to each gate in the Nexus and stopped on Camelot. Her finger reached just past Fate’s shoulder. “The gate I am heading to, and the one I assume you were heading for, leads to my home world of Camelot. Magic, swords and potions, but I highly regarded faction within the Omniverse.”

Fate was glad to get some information; it was tough to be forcefully ejected from your own world into a new one, especially if you can't quite remember the details of the original one. The magical girl rubbed the back of her head looking at the gate to Camelot and then back to the armored warrior.

“So, you live through the portal thing?” She asked pointing over her shoulder without looking back. “Is there a big civilization there?”

“Oh yes.” The paladin replied with a nod. “There are a lot of different civilizations beyond each one of these gates. It's actually quite amazing.” She put her hands on her hips looking off into the distance at the Ashen Steppes where she reminisced on beautiful memories of fighting wyverns with a group of hearty adventures that seeked the riches lost to a volcanic tectonic shift. Too bad that journey was nothing but a snipe hunt.

“Where’s your weapon?” Fate asks snapping Ellise from her trance.

“Uh, what?” The Tower stumbled trying to pulled her lost attention back in. “My weapon you ask?”

The magical girl nodded and pointed to the shield on her back. “I see you have shield so I assumed you used a weapon in conjunction with that.” Aren't you a soldier? You sure look the part.”

“Ah, once upon a time I was a soldier. Rather low ranking status but I was trained as a paladin. A warrior of holy light and faith. I do not, mind you, use a weapon but this does not entail I am incapable using one. I have been trained to use a longsword and a mace.” The knight answered. “I prefer the use of my shield, though.”

After having their short conversation for some time now, the paladin wished to move on. “I apologize for being so impolite but I would wish to get home. If ye’ wish to accompany me, I would be more than ecstatic to have some company.”

[Fate]

"Ah, yeah, s-sorry," replied the blonde, not having realised until then that the woman before her also has her own tasks to do, "I guess I'll take on your rather kind offer, though," she continued, "Walking all the way there with company should make the travel more enjoyable, don't you think so?"

Following that statement, however, Fate recalled seeing people mounting on many different vehicles, so maybe they wouldn't need to just walk their way for who knows how many hours; maybe the orb in her hand was capable of more than summoning a bubble to save her life.

Can this thing really summon a vehicle...? she thought, not noticing at all when was that the armored woman started walking her way alone. "H-Hey, Ellise!" exclaimed Fate, turning around and rapidly making her way to the soldier there, then she spoke again, "Will there be trouble if you wait for a while?" after this request, Fate raised the shiny orb so that the knight could see it, "I think I got an idea to shorten the amount of time that will take for us to reach that gate."

Just like before, during her deadly freefall, Fate hugged the orb and pressed it tightly against her chest, while repeating the same words in her mind again and again, Bring me a horse, bring me a horse... Although a thought, these words could be faintly heard as she also said them as a whisper.

However, despite how many times she had repeated the words and pressed the orb against her chest, after a couple of minutes or so, nothing seemed to happen. Naturally, the armored woman was surely growing a bit desperate, or hopefully not, given how the blonde magician was absorbing precious time they'd have spend at shortening the distance between them and their ultimate destination.

"E-Eh..." deception, yeah, deception was the perfect word to describe how Fate felt right then, though confused and/or unsettled would be applicable as well, "Why is nothing happening...?" asked the girl to nothing else, but thin air. Something seemed off, maybe she had to wait longer? Or maybe she lacked the energy to summon things like vehicles?

"I'm sorry Ellise..." said the girl, releasing the orb from the hug and returning both arms to their legitimate positions, "I'd a plan, but it doesn't seems to be working..." After remembering how much the knight knew about this world, Fate thought that she may have realised her intentions, but she still tried to avoid mentioning it and instead began to walk again, "Let's go, I think I've wasted more than enough time already..."

At the few steps, the blonde looked behind of her, just to make sure that the knight also began to move with her, while at the same time, a thought crossed her mind, Now I feel kinda worthless... With that done, the blonde faced front again, staring at the glimmer that was the Gate to Camelot.

[Amber Veritz]

Ellise shifted the heavy shield on her back to ease some strain on her shoulders. She looked down at her blonde who travelled with her and gave her a reassuring smile.

“Don't worry about the inconvenience ma’am. I may be resigned but I once wore the banner. I have the patience of dealing with civilians while I was on duty so I can surely deal with a minor detour.” Ellises says, looking ahead at the nearby gate coming up. With only about twenty more minutes of walking, they would be in front of the infamous Camelot gate.

As they approached, Fate stopped her advance. She was attempting to use Omnilium to summon steeds, or so she assumed. Her effort was working momentarily, but she quit before she finished. Ellise gave the young blonde a comforting smile.

“Do not fret, young Prime. Summoning higher caliber items in the Omniverse takes a time. The larger or more powerful an item is that you wish to summon, the longer it will take to summon it. I wouldn't mind having a steed, my feet are beginning to cramp from this long walk from the Frozen Fields.” She said shifting her weight onto her opposite foot. “Never found the extra money to purchase a stallion. You want to give it another try?”

[Fate]

The blonde halted her little walk of shame as Ellise explained her the reason of her failure. Fate's eyes lightened when she told her that it really wasn't that she'd not summon the steed, but to actually do so, the orb needed more time to concentrate its energy.

Then, just as Ellise stated her intentions for allowing the twin-tailed magician to do another attempt, Fate turned around and approached to the mature woman. "I'll do it again, then," replied Fate, her expression denoting happiness, not that she really understood why that feeling came from.

Prepared to give the summoning another try, Fate turned around once again, showing her back to Ellise, and she cleaved her eyes on the area in front of her: The place where her summoned steed would appear, or so she hoped. I just have to focus for a longer time... thought the blonde. Then, she closed her eyes for the third time this day, and also hugging the shiny orb against her chest for a similar amount of times as well, while in her mind, she repeated the same words over and over, I want a horse with a saddle for two, I want a horse with a saddle for two, I want a horse with a saddle...

Fate isn't sure of how much time have passed until the darkness that were her closed eyes, caught the glimmering shine that came from the Omnilinium Orb she was hugging tightly. "T-This glow...!" announced the girl, opening her eyes that immediately locked onto the important item that was being pressed against her chest. Not knowing what else to do at this point, Fate just let it go off the hug and instead held it with her arm extended towards the area mentioned before, and immediately after, she said, "I want a horse with a saddle for two...!"

Following her wish, a light illuminated the area she was pointing towards, and then that same light merged together into a physical, barely visible shape that, over the seconds, started to glow less and less intensely. Then, when the lights died off and the girls could once again turn their stares towards the area, they'd be meet by the stare of a brown horse with white fur at the end of their feet, not to mention that they were already saddled and ready to go.

"Ellise, look, it worked! I managed to summon an steed!" announced the twin-tailed magician, and in a very excited tone, as she quickly ran towards the animal. The stallion looked much like how the real thing would, and that sole fact was more than enough to surprise her. Even living beings can be created by this thing... Just how many other surprises are you full of? thought Fate, giving a brief stare to the orb in her hand.

Shortly after the brown horse noticed his master approaching, he bowed down his head, as to have Fate pet him, at the same he made his habitual sounds. The blonde didn't really thought too deep about it and gently caressed the horse's neck with one hand, and the head with the other. She'd have continued to pet her new friend for a while, but Ellise's request to mount the animal brought Fate back to her senses.

"O-Oh, yeah, we should do that..." replied Fate, who let go of the stallion and moved to its side. "I will go first." stated the blonde, despite knowing that she had never mounted one of these before, actually, she felt that her main way of moving from one place to another wasn't by foot at all, but couldn't really remember how she did. "A-Actually, I think you should go first, Ellise..." said Fate, her face blushing a bit, while she let the way free for the woman to take the rider's seat.

The armored knight agreed with the girl, not making any fuss over her change of mind, and then approached to the animal. In response, however, the horse began to move and make noises as to make Ellise know that he was displeased, and/or uneasy with her taking the spot that was supposed to be for his master. Fate didn't got the message until Ellise told it to her, and after acknowledging it, the blonde walked to in front of her steed and began caressing him once again.

"Don't worry, Ellise is good person, she won't harm you, and I'll be just behind her," Fate whispered to the horse, while still petting him. "I'm not going anywhere, either, I'll be right behind her, mounted on you, so, please, let her take the seat." Reluctantly, the animal made a couple of noise as it straightened its body, as he seemingly accepted his master's pledge. "Thank you very much, my precious stallion," said the blonde, who then gave the horse a short kiss and let go of him afterwards.

Finally, Fate returned to where she was before, side-to-side with the rather prideful animal, and also next to the armored woman. "Sorry about that, you can mount him now, Ellise," announced the blonde. Following her words, the knight proved her title and swiftly mounted the animal, and sat over the saddle, then extended one of her hands to the small girl, in order to help her mount the horse. "Thanks," said Fate, before she grabbed her hand and let Ellise pull her up until she found her way to the saddle as well.

"I suggest we head to the gate now," announced Fate, and following her words, the woman gently patted the stallion with her boots, and with a soft noise, he began trotting his way towards the glimmering shine at the distance. "Ellise, do you know how long will it take for is to get to the gate?" asked Fate, seeing how the gate looked bigger by the second.

[Amber Veritz]

Ellise gave a complacent smile to the young blonde for completing her task in summoning. She was reminded of the times she had to train newly made knights in Minas Tirith. This was different, however. This person had more power than Ellise could dream to acquire. Her problem was she didn’t know to use the power she had been given just yet. Surely in time the young prime would realize the strength she possessed and used it in good purpose.

When the horse was summon and Ellise was given her chance to take mount, she hopped up on the horse’s back admiring it’s strength to be able to hold her in all of her glorious armour. Once she had been situated in the saddle and was ready to take off, she helped her prime friend into the saddle. When she was situated in her spot, Ellise ordered the horse to gallop towards the Camelot gate.

“How long will it take you ask?” Ellise turned her head just enough to get a view in the corner of her eye at Fate. “Hold on tight.”

Fate was skeptical at first, until Ellise let out a loud ‘Hyah!’ telling her she should probably hold on. When her boots dug into the steed’s side, the horse charged off with speed that was completely unreal. The horse was running at a speed over fifty miles per hour like it was nothing. Fate gripped onto Ellise’s breastplate and let out a cry at the surprise of the horse’s take off.

“How is it moving this fast!?” She screamed through the heavy wind. Ellise seemed unphased by the speed of the horse.

“It’s a part of being a prime, any kind of mount moves really fast if a prime summons and rides it.” Within a minute, the two had reached the opalescent wash of colours that gate led into Camelot. “Here we are. Are you ready to go through? It make you feel a bit sick, be ready for that.”