At The Heart of Tale Kingdoms (COMPLETED)

3. ELIA - Son of God

The stream of tears down her cheeks was endless even as the wind blew them away from her face. The horse had been galloping for what felt like half a day with little rest. Their route had been marked with pleading black trees and burnt houses.

Uncle Tsy Reyy had instructed every home that belonged to a victim of the disease to be torched. The wooden houses were supposed to crumble to ashes but the timber had been wet from the rain and infection. So, every fire set upon them had been more rising smoke than cleansing flames.

As she ran from her home, her path was the beckoning vision of the dying State of Storan. Standing half risen from the ground, all marked with soot guarded by grotesque bending trees. The disease hadn't chosen the living from the not-living, it persisted on man, tree and stone alike. How had they come to this foul land.

The mare started slowing down as they neared a small pond. The water reflected the sky making it look like a mirage. Elia had travelled this way before but she had never seen the little lake, neither did any ponds so clean and lovely exist in those lands. She must have been tired and deranged because she thought the pond was emanating light around it.

The horse was now at a strolling pace. A thin line of white flowers bordered the water. Elia surprised by the unnatural pool, looked around her. The land she was in was still Storan's degraded dirt with leafless lifeless branches and dirty odious grounds.
Elia scratched her head and tried to look at anything else but the pond. It must be a wish that her mind had constructed. Yet as she and her new companion neared it, she questioned herself.

The animal came to a standstill right before a real pond with real clear water. She dug her heals, worried the riders will find her but the mare shook her off. She didn't push it any further. She knew she wasn't going to survive this day.

Elia reached out for a water-skin to fetch some drinking water but realized her brother had been true to his words and had only offered a saddled horse.
She followed her new companion and knelt to drink the water. A sense of freedom overcame her. She would have scooped the water with her hand but decided to put her face into the water like an animal. A bold euphoria that comes before death. Must be.
Smiling, Elia forced her head further into the water. Right as the water was about to swallow her ears, she heard someone whisper her name. Quickly, she pulled herself back and looked around. The red mare was still quenching her thirst, oblivious to any voices and only the white flowers seemed to stare back.
Elia was weary of being afraid, that was what she had been for her whole short life. she didn't know if the riders were truly behind her or her brother had been bluffing, what was guaranteed was she would never survive this day. It was already miracle that she had survived that long.

Her body was calm and relieved. She looked at the pond again and realized she had never seen a place so inviting and beautiful.
Elia decided to take off her clothes and take a swim. The horse grunted in disapproval but Elia ignored her. The water felt cool and warm and it left a tingling sensation on her skin. She threw some water at the mare who looked more red than usual from the reflection of the water. She looked like pure blood and Elia decided that will be her name.
"Blood.," she shouted and the mare gave a bored whine. She let her head fall back into the water, floating and admiring the bright cloudless blue sky.
"Elia, your back."
Elia jumped with a huge splash, swallowing a mouthful of water. She quickly looked around her, sure she heard somebody talk to her. It was a man's voice, she recalled. Yet no one stood before her.

Blood was currently devouring the white flowers. Elia looked around again, but the two of them were the only living beings there. Breathing in she plunged her head back into the water. Maybe she was mad.