Mystical waters

4: Island of tombs and myths

Note: I bought two oranges to cure scurvy (twice)

The waves were leaping on the shore and the sun was blazing when Anastacia fluttered her eyelids open. Salty air entered her nostrils and a slight breeze ruffled her hair when she propped herself up. Her boots were being splashed when she looked around. She was on a shore on an edge of a desert. She tried to remember who she was. And how did she come here? The only thing in her mind was a strange dream. Something about Atlantis and evil mermaids morgen. A quick flash of light caught her eye. There was something glimmering in the sand beside her. She leaned over to inspect the strange object only to realise it was an old ornate ring. She took a better look at it. It looked familiar... It dawned on her. It was the same as the one in her dreams. Or were they really dreams?

She stood up and took a look around. There was sand everywhere yet there in the distance was something green.

If there is vegetation that means there has to be a freshwater source, she thought.

Her throat was dry as the desert she was trapped in. She could only hope to reach the oasis before collapsing from thirst.

...

Anastacia didn't know how much time had passed when she reached the first palms. The water gleamed from behind the trees and she rushed forward, her throat on fire. She kicked her boots off her feet and bolted into a pool in front of her. Cool water sent relief through her scorching body and washed the salt from her skin. When she was clean and the fire in her throat extinguished she returned back to the bank. She was dry within minutes and decided to seek shade among the trees. However, when there, something else caught her attention. A strange building was towering over her, something that looked like a temple or a tomb perhaps? Whatever it was, it would offer her shelter from the blazing heat outside. She needed to clear her head and figure out what to do.

She climbed up the steps and entered the gloomy chamber. It was way cooler though the heat was still hitting in through the open entrance. There were vines crawling across the walls and what seemed like a statue stood in the middle. She crossed the distance to it. It had to be ancient for it was covered with moss and broken, making it impossible to discard what it represented. A stone plate at its foot caught her attention. She kneeled before it and ran her hand over the rough, cold surface to wipe off the dust that had gathered there over the centuries. She tried to see the writing but the light was too weak.

"I wish I had light," she groaned.

She had hoped to explore this place in case of finding something useful. After all, she didn't have anything but the clothes she wore.

Suddenly a light coming from beside her caught her attention. She turned towards the source. It was her finger that was shining. No, her ring! So it was magical after all. She moved her hand to the plate. A number of strange characters appeared. She recognized the writing. This had to be Egypt! Although she didn't understand what it said she could assume it was a tomb, for temples generally didn't have a plate under a statue. A strange and bigger symbol at the top that wasn't there before caught her attention. She ran her finger over it and it lit up. The stone suddenly rumbled and she fell back. She watched astonished as the plate moved to the side revealing a narrow staircase. She stared at it for a few moments and then her curiosity got the best of her.

She stood up and entered. Stale air hit her nostrils, stopping her breath for a moment. She made her way down the dusty stairs and entered a smaller chamber with a sarcophagus lying in the middle. Her ring glowing brightly, she raised her hand to light up the place and the same symbol as above appeared on the wall behind the sarcophagus. She walked over to it and run her hand over it. The crypt rumbled and the wall opened. Except it wasn't another chamber on the other side. She stepped through the archway, astonished, onto the sunlit meadow.

She wasn't on earth for sure. Dragons, hippogryphs, and mythical birds soared across the green sky while countless floral scents of flowers growing in the blue grass drifted through the air. She spun around admiring the view, still in awe of the strange place, when she heard a voice behind her.

"Somebody opened the passage!"

She turned to the commotion behind her only to fall back from shock. She stared wide-eyed at the strange creatures before her.

There was a man with the body of a horse. A girl with wings. A boy with goat legs. And a girl with pointy ears.

The realization hit her then. Did she hit her head on those stairs and found herself in some strange dream with mythic creatures and reverse nature colours? She rubbed her eyes. Everything stayed the same.

The creatures shared her wide-eye look when the satyr exclaimed:

"She has the ring! She is the chosen one!"

She stared perplexed when they fell to their knees.

"What...?"

"Who are you?" The centaur asked.

"I... don't remember..."

She tried to think. What was her name again?

"Ad..." She grimaced.

"Ada?" fairy suggested.

"Yes... Ada, I guess." She sighed. "Where am I?"

The elf stepped forward.

"This is Niria. It is the kingdom of myths, existing in a parallel plane to Egypt. We are allied with Egypt though there are only two humans who can open the passage. The pharaoh and the chosen."

"But it was the ring..."

The elf cut her off. "It only works for the chosen one."

Fairy jumped. "We have to inform the Queen!"