Just sitting there, cross-legged. Just letting the fog sweep over me, twist around me, and caress me. Just staring out into its swirling, grey abyss. Just trying not to think about the pain. That was all I was doing.
I had no idea how long I had already been sitting there, but I knew it had been a while because my legs and back were beginning to ache from staying so, so still. I ached to move, but I did not. Why would I? I had nowhere to go and nothing to do. Time was frozen, so I was too.
"Do you know not where to go, child? Is that why you stay so still, unmoving?" She spoke to me, her tone gentle and soothing.
I did not speak. I did not have to. She already knew the answer. I did not know why she even asked.
"You must continue on despite this, fire girl." She urges. "Find us. Save us."
"I can't find you if I head in the wrong direction. I can't save you if I walk away from you." I finally decide to speak.
"I cannot help you, fire girl. Even I know not where we currently reside."
I sigh. "If you do not know, then how should I?"
"You'll find us. I have faith." She spoke encouragingly.
"I cannot find you if I am heading in the wrong direction," I repeat.
"I am sorry."
I did not reply, instead choosing to sit and stare out into the nothingness. There was nothing to be said. She also stayed silent, probably feeling the same way. The silence was heavy between us. I let it weigh on me, not wanting to speak unnecessarily. Not even to lift the weight of the silence.
Then something occurred to me. Despite the fact that she and I were here, no one else was. There was no one else, as far as the eye could see. Admittedly, it wasn't that far due to the heavy, thick fog, but I could not hear anyone either. It was strange, that she kept insisting that there were many people that needed my aid, yet there was never anyone around.
"Where are they?" I ask aloud.
"Who?"
"All those people you keep insisting need my help. You say that they are trapped and so are you, yet I see no one else but you."
"They are not here."
"Then here are they, if not here?"
"Somewhere else." She replies, vaguely. "I know not where."
"Then why are you here? How are you here?"
"Because I was dying before any of this happened. My soul was not in my body, but it had not joined the dead yet. I was in transition when he trapped all the others. But my soul is still trapped to some extent. That is the only reason why I am able to summon you and speak to you here." She explains.
"Where is here?"
"It is not a place. You are alive and your soul is safely inside your body. Where here is, is not important. You must find all the others."
"But you do not know where they are either." I point out, remembering what she had told me earlier.
"True, but I can tell you where we were before all of this happened."
"What do you mean?"
"We were alive once. Some of us still are, in some way. I can tell you where our souls used to be and where our bodies still are."
I clearly showed my disgust at the mental image that brought up, but she could not see it, as she stood quite a ways behind me. "Where is that, then?"
"Spyria."
. . . . . . . . . .
It was the next morning, and we were all sitting around the dead campfire as we ate breakfast. It was almost the afternoon as everyone was quite exhausted after yesterday's drama. Yesterday I had seen more action than I had for the majority of my lifetime. This whole trip had contained quite a fair share of action, but yesterday definitely took the cake.
It was eerily silent while everyone ate. We had uttered a few mumbled good mornings to each other as people started to crawl out of their tents. Otherwise, no one had uttered a word. The surrounding forests were also strangely quiet. While sounds of birds and general wildlife still emitted from the forest, they were quiet and usually quite far away.
"What now?" Isabella finally broke the silence.
"What?" I ask, confused about what she meant.
"What are we doing now? Where is our destination?" Corrin clarifies for his sister.
"You don't have to speak for me." She sniped.
"I wasn't." He objects, defensively. "I was just clarifying for Rowena."
"Please don't fight." Kaylie jumps in.
"Yeah, I'm barely awake. Don't." Alicia seconds Kaylie's request.
"We weren't going to." Isabella glares at Kaylie and Alicia. "Stop jumping to conclusion. I don't need that."
"Can we please get back to the point?" Ryan raises his voice a little, to get everyone's attention.
Sure enough, the arguing stops. Then everyone turns and looks at me. I raise my hands defensively.
"Woah. Why is everyone looking at me? What did I do?"
"This is your mission. We just came along to help." Isabella points out. "So we have no idea what to do. As much as I hate the idea, you're the boss here."
"Hey." Lina jumps in. "Did you seriously have to add that little 'as much as I hate the idea' bit?"
"Yes, I did."
"No you didn't" Corrin contradicts his sister. "It was an unnecessary jab and you know it."
"Woah, stop right there before an argument breaks out." Ryan put his hands up.
"You know, I told Rowena most of this information. If anyone knows anything, it's me. I deciphered most of the prophecy." Lina pipes up
"Hey don't look at me," Lucas grumbles. "I know nothing and didn't have anything to do with this. Don't even think about looking to me for any information. I'm staying out of this."
"Oh why aren't you a bundle of joy, Mr. Guard." Alicia sneers sarcastically.
Kaylie lays a hand on her arm. "Don't be mean." She looks between them. "Either of you."
Ryan throws his hands up in exasperation. "This isn't going anywhere."
"She's the one who started it." Corrin points at Isabella.
Ryan gives him a nasty look. "No she asked a question and you interrupted her. You started this all."
Alicia rolls her eyes. "Now look who's arguing."
"Everyone?" Lina snorts.
"Can we stop this?" Kaylie asks quietly, barely audible over all the arguing.
"I'm just correcting him. He made an incorrect statement." Ryan tries to defend himself.
"I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, thank you." Isabella says.
"I wasn't defending you." Ryan denies.
"You are all acting like fledglings." Lina informs them.
"I am not." Isabella protests indignantly.
Corrin snorts in disbelief. "Yeah right."
"Stop!" Kaylie yells.
Everyone stops immediately, stunned that Kaylie would raise her voice. No one dares utter a word as Kaylie glares at everyone.
"Carolina was right about one thing. You are all acting like fledglings." Lina smiled, proud, but stopped at Kaylie's withering glare. "You were acting like one too, Carolina." She then continues addressing the rest of us. "Isabella asked one question. That question has still not been answered due to the fact that everyone here was bickering unnecessarily. Now. Who could answer the question Isabella asked?"
"I could." Lina and I both chorus.
"Give me the book." Lina says at the same time I say: "Spyria."
Lina looks at me in surprise. "Where is that?"
"That tells us nothing." Corrin points out. "Where is this Spyria?"
I shrug. "I don't know."
"Helpful." Ryan says sarcastically.
Alicia elbows him in the ribs. "Quiet. That wasn't helpful either."
"Hmm." Lina hums beside me as she scans the lines of text scrawling across the books pages.
Alicia cocks her head and looks at me curiously. "You know . . . I was in my palace library a few years ago, looking for something remotely interesting to read in my spare time and I found a book. Now the book itself was an incredibly old, musty, boring history book. Inside, though, I found something interesting. It was a really, really old map. I knew it was older than most because, first off, the boundary lines between kingdoms where all wrong. Also, in the middle of the map there was another kingdom. It was spelled s-p-y-r-i-a. That looks kind of like it would sound like Spyria."
"So . . . the center of the continent then?" Corrin asks. "Is that where we go now?"
"Yes." Alicia nods. "That would probably be our only lead. Unless you have something, Lina?"
"Nope." Lina shakes her head. "All I know is that we need to find the old, broken-down kingdom. Then this 'broken glass spire'. The city with the glass spire should also be somewhere in the center of the kingdom."
"So the dead-center of the continent, then." Ryan sighs. "How long is this going to take us?"
"Not too long . . . I hope." Isabella says.
"You hope, huh?" Ryan snorts. "Fantastic."
Isabella sends him a withering glare, but does not reply. Instead she schools her features, sit up straighter, and stares into the dead bonfire.
"Well, I say we should start packing up and get on our way." Lina chirps happily as she stands up and brushes herself off. "We don't know how long this could take, but now is a good time as any to start."
Everyone else follows suit. The once silent and sullen campgrounds have now sprung to life. Everyone was bustling back and forth, gathering their stuff and changing them back into EC's. Piece by piece, the campsite was taken down, each tent and pillow disappearing, a tiny crystal in its place.
I was honestly surprised everyone got a full set of EC's to take along. I didn't know so many would be willing to part with their special crystals. Even Alicia and Rowan had quite a few. I had no idea how or when, but they did.
A few moments later, everyone was packed. EC's made all of this much easier than normal. When you don't have to sort, fold, and generally organise things and they just change into crystals, packing gets a lot easier. Not to mention, EC's were much lighter, easier, and more convenient to carry around than all of the necessities when they are full-sized.
"Now . . . which direction are we heading?" Lucas asks.
So far, he had been quite comfortable with the navigation, as he was quite well oriented with the map we all grew up with and with all the directions. I never really knew which way was north, be he always seemed to know, somehow.
"To the center." Lina repeats. "The broken glass spire. That's . . ."
"East." Alicia supplied. "Somewhere east of here."
"This is irrational." Ryan sighs.
"Is everyone ready to go?" Lucas asks, completely ignoring Ryan.
Some grumbled, some were enthusiastic, and some were seemingly indifferent but in the end, everyone said yes. We were all set and ready to go. To where exactly? We are hopefully about to find out. If not, we got lost or mislead. No one knew until we tried though so . . . off we went.
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So there is another chapter . . . finally. I've ben putting off writing on this one for so long. I've been so stressed because of exams.
I hope you enjoyed (and if you did please vote) and leave a comment!
-Julica❤