Other than a few thin clouds soaring in the sky, the day is calm and beautiful. So far I haven't even seen a single sizzler, which is both relaxing and unnerving. The moos and baas of the wild sheep and cows around me sends a peaceful thought through my conscience as I adventure the lands around Bryan's castle. Wildflowers blow in the wind, intoxicating me with their fresh, natural scent. My shoulders sink as my chest rises and falls and my heart slows with a calming deep breath. Dirt covers the palms of my hands, and a few fresh scrapes line my legs, arms, and stomach due to climbing the mountains and a few trees. Not even a hint of pain stabs into my body, despite the fact that my arm is faintly bleeding. Sweat forms on my forehead as I reach a mountain top in front of Bryan's castle, the crops in his farm flow majestically in the soft breeze of the early morning. His animals walk around in their small paddock, bumping into each other as the babies drink their mother's milk, or what they assume is their mother. The wind blows through my hair, making it fly benevolently behind me like a superhero's cape.
"Hey, Francisco, come check this out," Rustler starts, and my focus directs towards the farm, though I already know that they're not there.
"Hm?" Renato utters, his voice seeming a bit off guard. "Oh shit, that's fucking cool, good job!"
"I know, right?" Rodrigo joyfully speaks.
"What is it?" Anthony asks with curiosity. "God damn! Nice job Rustler!"
"Thank you," Rodrigo squeaks.
The congratulations and lightness continues for a few more minutes as I watch the crops in the village seem to remain unaffected by the wind that moved Bryan's crops so easily. The horses in the stables cheerfully play amongst themselves, neighing and rolling in the mud, covering themselves in the hay that always seems to be there.
"Hey, guys?" I start, watching the majestic creatures knock noses and snort into each other's manes. None of the guys respond, but I know they're listening. "Whose horses are those?"
"What horses?" Anthony asks.
"Those are Brenna's," Renato answers.
"Oh those horses," Anthony conveys with understanding. "I'm gonna steal those horses."
"Don't you fucking dare," Renato threatens with hostility and warning.
"Woah chill," Anthony takes a step back with his voice. "I wasn't actually gonna do it." He then whispers, "Maybe."
"Anthony," Renato growls.
"Cat," Anthony fires back, saying Renato's nickname. He has that name because of how much he loves cats, and it's also because at times he can really be a huge pussy.
"I will kill you," Cat's voice is daunting as he speaks with a heavy tone, almost like his words are dropping to the ground like bricks immediately after he speaks them.
"How about I kill you instead," He remarks with confidence. "Renato, what are you doing with that sword?" His voice completely shifts, fear and dread shaking his words. His screams mix with the tensity of Renato's silence. "Renato, I was just joking, please don't kill me." Cat's silence continues, along with Anthony's screams of fear, and soon joins in Rodrigo with some laughter. "Rustler, no stay out of this, please!"
Anthony's presence slowly fades, as he chokes on his own blood, dying a sufferable demise. Rodrigo's soft laughter continues as Anthony's presence comes back into existence, though he remains silent as they all get back to work. A large bee enters and exits my view, residing within its home attached to one of the tall, beautiful trees surrounded by flowers. Its hind is covered in pollen, soon to be turned to honey which can be helpful with potions and curing different poisons and effects caused by the potions.
My gaze finally lingers away from the village, taking in the sight of land that I have still not adventured. A tall, skinny tower made out of some sort of wood reaches into the clouds. My curiosity leads me towards it, numerous questions growing in my mind as I continue to get closer to it. It's an entire tower of creation tables, all of it, just there for no reason whatsoever.
"Guys," I start again.
"What is it this time?" Anthony groans.
"What's with the huge tower of creation tables?" I ask, gazing up at it with awe and shock. Well, at least I don't have to worry about running out of creation tables. Laughter erupts out from all of the guys' voices in my head, it's booming and uplifting. Making me feel light as I await an explanation.
"Don't touch it," Renato orders, shouting into my mind.
"I wasn't going to," I laugh, and spin on my heels, heading back up the mountain to continue checking out the view. The wind continues to blow through my hair, always going against me somehow. It can be quite helpful with keeping my hair out of my face, but when it comes to climbing up a mountain, I'd much rather not have the extra pressure trying to push me off.
"Dude, how would you react if I just," Anthony starts, adding a pause for dramatic effect. "Burn it all down or blow it up?"
"Bitch, I'll burn you down if you even go near it," Rustler threatens with great ease. "I'll blow up your house too." Where even is Anthony's house?
"No, please no," Anthony begs with a whimpering voice.
"Then stay the fuck away from the tower," Renato demands with a daunting tone.
"Well it's more like a pole and not as much as a tower," I stand, quickly turning back and looking up and down at the tall structure. "A huge ass pole." Or a skyscraper, though it does more of stabbing the sky instead of just scraping it.
"True, but shut up," Rodrigo responds, adding a bit of laughter at the end. I join in with the uprise of chuckles as I continue to ascend the mountain. The wind resumes blowing against me, keeping me cool in the slowly rising warm weather. The rocks of the mountain crack my fingertips, causing blood to slowly form and drift down the tall stone.
The muscles in my arms bulge as I pull myself up to the top of the mountain. I collapse onto the mixture of soft grass and hard stone, breathing heavily in an attempt to not fall unconscious. The world spins around me, spiraling, and continuing to move despite my inability to do the same. I roll my head over, putting my eyepatch side into the sky and my seeable side into the ground. Darkness overtakes my vision, the wind blows into my ears, deafening me with its speed and density. My clothes are soaked with sweat and a few drops of blood, the wind making my entire body freezing cold and the fabric feel like ice.
Slowly, my heart begins to slow down and my breaths become steady. My time starts to link up with the rest of the world and the spinning relaxes back to normal. I take one more deep breath and push myself back up to my feet. The grass brushes and stabs at my wrists, adding a whole 'nother cut to my painting of injuries. Blood drips down my body, watering the grass with red and iron. The cuts sting as the wind blasts against them, but my motivation to continue moving forward and adventuring the land hasn't faded. The sun burns my skin to a bright red, picking a fight with my resilience. Nature has chosen to go to war with me, burning, scaring, and cutting every bit of my body in an attempt to make me yield. Well, I won't give up. I am Darcila Eloise, sorcerer of East Nation, master beast tamer and breeder, and the healer to the mighty warriors of our amazing nation.
My legs shake as I struggle to stand on them, attempting to get my balance back as I scarf down a baked potato. In no time my wounds begin to heal and the blood fades off of my skin like it evaporated, the iron somehow turning to air. I step forward, the pain in my legs has disappeared along with the strain of standing. With each passing second I feel more rejuvenated and even prepared to fight a war. The energy flows through me like the excitement of a child after seeing an ice cream truck.
I march over to the edge of the mountain, gazing off at the vast fields, caves, and more mountains. The land is gorgeous and marvelous. Wild animals live peacefully amongst themselves, hunting, breeding, and going on with the natural food chain as all things should be. A fox with a bright orange coat scampers out of a forest in the distance, laying down in a soft bed of grass. Its lips are red from berries and chicken blood, a fresh feast followed by an afternoon nap.
Then, something catches my eyes as I slowly turn my head and look to the left. On top of another mountain, a cube, white building with pristine windows overlooks the village. It's clean and modern. I sprint towards it, banging my legs against boulders as I descend the mountain I currently stand on once more and head towards the one with the odd building. Is that Anthony's house?
The glass sparkles and shines under the sunlight as I grow closer to the beautiful building. A pathway with flowers on either side heads towards the door, kind of like an old cottage house with an elderly lady that always bakes pies. Except there's no elderly lady, there's no pies, and the design isn't an old cottage house. I open the wooden door, taking in the view of the first of the two rooms. There's hay bales on the floors on both sides of the room with torches made from the souls of the innocent from hell lining the walls. A living snowman slides past the opening that leads into the next room, using its wet snow as a way to joyfully move around and skate about the building. I head towards the next room, my legs speeding with interest. A large, glass window covers an entire wall, revealing the small village in all of its well-lit glory. Two white, long tables float steadily next to the door that leads to this glassy room, wooden signs sticking out of each table. The one on the left is labelled, 'East Nation' and the one on the right says, 'West Nation.'
"Hey, guys," I grab everyone's attention, questions rising up all over again.
"What's up?" Angel asks with sincerity.
"What's this building that overlooks the village?" I ask, gazing back out of the large window once again.
"Wait what?" Rodrigo and Renato mutter with confusion and a hint of concern.
"Yeah, it has hay bales and signs that say east and west nation," I mention, scanning the hay bales and signs once again, I recognize the handwriting, though I can't depict who wrote them exactly. "There's a snowman here too."
Both of the small bear-looking boys come rushing through the doors, immediately understanding what I'm talking about once they get here. "Oh yeah, Renato, remember this place?" Rodrigo asks with a soft, reminiscing laugh.
"Yes I do," Renato smiles, turning his attention over to me between both of the tables. "This is where the meetings between east and west nation take place." He peers over to the signs, checking to make sure that nobody messed with them. "We had one last month."
"Wait," I suddenly stop them before they leave, they both turn and eye me with wonder. "Why are the signs on the wrong side then?"
"Wait, what?" Renato furrows his brows and rushes back over to the signs, reading them once again. "Oh yeah."
"It's because we're stupid," Rodrigo jokes and soon the others says the exact thing, followed by Bryan making an odd sound to represent their stupidity. "That proves my point."
"Yeah I guess that we are kind of dumb, huh?" Renato chuckles loudly, making his way back out of the door with Rodrigo, not even bothering to move the signs around.
"Now get out," Rustler orders with haste, turning to face me the second he steps out of the structure.
I instantly do as he says, my legs moving before my mind even completely registers the words. "On it."