Alone in the corner of her room, Savage stared through her window at the trees where the scorched land stopped and the vibrant green trees started. It had been that way as long as she remembered. The mysterious burning. Her parents had told her of a time when the earth hadn't been scorched. But it had definitely not been in Savage's lifetime. She'd had many dreams of going into the forest and finding a whole new civilization, a more joyful people. Not the sad scared people she belonged to. She wanted more than anything to be allowed to enter the trees, but it was forbidden and had been by the Sages over a century before Savage's time. The question was though, maybe going in had been banned for a valid reason to keep them safe from whatever dangers lurked just inside the tree line. Monsters so awful they weren't even born to the ordinary person's imagination. Savage so wished she could see for herself rather than just imagining the horrible or amazing things that the forest may hold.
One of the main and most prominent reasons was to get out of the dry and brittle land she lived in. And get out of the rock that she lived in with her sister and parents.
Someone cleared their throat behind her and she jumped, then turned away from her window. Her sister Crail stood tall and opposing, the way she always did, her ash grey hair hanging to her waist in a bunch of little braids.
"How do I look?" Crail asked, tying off a red sash that wrapped around her thin waist, turning her plain tan dress stylish. For shoes she had put on a pair of vine boots, with leather chords that wrapped up her legs like vines. Her clover lips were a peach color and her cherry eyes were framed with thin round spectacles.
"You look fine," Savage responded.
"Only fine?! I have to look better than just fine," Crail outburst. Rummaging through a black bag that hung at her side "fine doesn't make an impression." She produced a small square mirror. She looked at herself checking her lips and eyes and repositioning her hair so that a few of the braids draped over one shoulder.
"Fine, you look good," Savage affirmed for her sister, subtly rolling her eyes.
Crail let out a breath, "Well that's a relief," She slid the mirror back into her bag then looked back up at Savage.
"Don't do anything stupid Sav," Crail said, her eyes sadning "I'm not going to be around to stop you anymore,"
Savage didn't respond, her sister didn't really have any faith in her, but Crail was right. She had a habit of doing dumb things when it came to her own and the people around her safety, which often got her in trouble.
Crail didn't wait for a response before shouldering her bag and walking out.
Savage returned her gaze out her window. She spent the rest of the day and fell asleep. She woke up sometime during the night, and saw something. A shadowy figure stood at the edge of the trees, she couldn't discern what gender it was, but it stood there for a good hour.
Savage woke the next morning, shivering, her head laying on the windowsill. She lifted her head off, the sun wasn't visible yet, since all Savage could see from her window was the tree line.
She had to get her mind off the forest. Crail was right, Savage would end up doing something stupid that she would regret later.
She stood up and smoothed her tunic and pulled on her boots over her loose trousers, tied her dagger sheath around her waist - she never went anywhere without it since the world had become so savage - and left her room past the fire crackling in the fireplace in the front room and out the front door.
Even though the day was cold Savage didn't go back in for a cloak. She had to get to her favorite spot before the sun came up completely.
She arrived. She stood at the edge of a enormass sand pit at least a thousand square yards wide and a hundred feet deep. It was the best spot to watch the sun rise, cause there was nothing in the way of the view, so every morning Savage would come to this spot.
Savage sat and dangled her legs off the edge. A twig snapped behind her. She quickly drew her blade.
"Woah, it's only me. No need to get so jumpy," A male voice said from behind her.
She let out a breath she'd been holding and sheathed her dagger. It was only Gauge her best friend for forever. He'd been coming there every morning almost as long as Savage had, so Savage didn't know why she had reacted that way. Her nerves must have been on edge since she saw the figure the last night.
"Sorry," Savage apologized.
"Has your sister left?" Gauge asked sitting down beside her.
She nodded.
"Did she leave yesterday evening?"
Savage nodded again.
"Are you okay? You seem kind of out of it this morning,"
"I don't really know,"
"Is it because of your sister?"
"No, something else is bothering me,"
"Then what is it?"
Savage looked around making sure no one was around. "I saw something last night,"
"Where?"
Savage took a deep breath "It was in the tree line,"
Gauge sat up straight looking more alert, and his once smiling face became sober.
"I thought I saw a person at the edge,"
"That doesn't seem possible, Sav. You know what the Sages say about the forest,"
"I know but have any of them ever been in there?"
"They probably have," Gauge said.
"Probably is not a yes," Savage responded.
"The Sages have been around a long time, Sav. Why wouldn't they have been?"
"Because they're scared."
"They're not scared, they're cautious."
"Why are you defending them, Gauge?" Savage accused. "They are the ones that sacrifice someone every year to appease the tree gods. They're crazy,"
"They're our leaders," Gauge defended.
"They shouldn't be," Savage muttered. She looked in the direction of the forest.
"You're going to do something stupid, aren't you?" Gauge accused.
Savage looked back down at the sand beneath her feet. There world was so dry, Savage would give anything to go into the forest, even it was at the cost of her own life. It seemed a small price to pay, for a moment of actual life. A moment of green. Their world was so grey.
They sat there in silence the entire hour they watched the sun rise above the ashy hills.
Gauge left without saying anything. After their conversation Savage couldn't tell if Gauge was mad at her or worried about her.
The rest of her week was blur, each day melting into each other. Her sister stopped by one night, to say hi. But that was all, and the further she got into the week, the more she wanted to go into the forest.
One especially warm night Savage made up her mind. She got dressed grabbed her dagger, wrapped her green cloak around her, grabbed a lantern and slipped out her bedroom window into the night.
Savage stood at the tree line, using her lantern to peer into the forest. She couldn't see anything that was farther than a few feet away.
She mustered her courage, took a deep breath and took a large step into the forest. The forest opened it self up to her showing her the green moss and the brown dirt. The air felt moist and even breathing felt easier. She looked behind her at where she'd come from, even though she was only a few steps inside she could barely see outside. She was doing this. She took another deep breath and ventured into the woods.
