Maelstro considered drowning himself in the little pool of water that he found himself in.
He was branded stupid, useless, a moron, a freak. Unwelcomed by his own tribe and his own family, he left his "home" as he ran off into the desert, seeking comfort and acceptance.
Now, the Howling Desert was all that was left for him now. At least the endless sight of the desert offered better comfort than his family.
But he swore he was losing his mind when he heard the cacti spoke, or when he thought he heard cries of agony echoing in the winds. Every time he looked back, he tried to find the voices he heard in his mind, but he would find nothing except for his own footsteps in the sand that followed him wherever he went.
Perhaps this was the price to pay for salvation. His family may have been the one to drive him insane at first, but he soon realized what her mother had meant when she said that they were the only ones that were keeping him sane.
Traveling and hunting and sleeping under the stars, it wasn't just the same without them. For a moment that briefly passed through the world, a part of his mind missed his family and wished to be with them again.
Deal with it, the voices said. You can't turn back now.
The vision of his family began to fade away, and the pressure in his chest was beginning to become unbearable now. He thought he would on the verge of tears for a second, but then he remembered he couldn't exactly cry in water, and that he was now choking because of it.
He didn't know why he forgot he was trying to drown himself, but now his survival instincts were kicking in, pushing himself towards the surface of the liquid. Maelstro felt the exhilarating rush of air into his lungs as he reached the surface, gasping for breath. He felt the water splashing across his face as his vision became normal again, bringing him back to reality.
He was panting, nearly collapsing at the brink of exhaustion. Shock riddled along the thorn-like spikes along his back as his tiny form shivered, despite the coldness wearing away in the heat of the sun. He survived but he was disappointed; he had been underwater for six minutes now, and he still hadn't been able to kill himself for some reason.
You should've drowned. It was better for you to drown in water than in despair.
Maelstro's ears perked up as he turned around, trying again to locate the sound but to no avail. He tried to shake the feeling off, rummaging for any residual, happy thoughts among the ruins of his mind that kept the voices at bay. All that he could think of was the relief when he just happened to stumble upon the oasis the first time he entered the desert, and that the oasis wasn't just a mirage made up by his mind.
Lies. An angrier voice said in his mind. Everything is made up. Just like you and your pathetic life.
That is not true, he argued with the voice in his head. For one, the desert is my home now. And two, I'm alive now. You can't argue with that.
Maelstro waited for the voice to reply but only silence came. Everything seemed calm all of a sudden. He could admire the view of the lake, its serenity a reflection of the dawning sky, subtle and unobtrusive.
Yet everything seemed surreal to him so far. He didn't know what was real and what was not anymore. It was as if the border between reality and imagination dissolved into non-existence, which was a paradox by itself, the analytical part of his mind reasoned. It was like the water and the sky he was watching now, their boundaries merging together to become one plane of existence, inseparable from one another in his mind.
But one thing was certainly real for him: he was still alive.
Maelstro's mind grappled at the thought as he hoisted himself upon the shore. His wings unfurled, allowing the heat of the desert to dry off his soaking wet body. Despite living in the desert for nearly a month now, he hated the desert sand and he still hadn't got used to it. It would always scrunch under his feet and stick to his scales, which made him cringe in annoyance as it had made his skin crawl and his scales itch whenever it got caught between his scales.
He would take a bath from time to time in the oasis he conveniently found by accident to keep the dirt off his body. He liked to keep his scales clean, although there was nobody around him now to comment about his hygiene, except for the fact that this time, there was indeed somebody around him now.
His large pointy ears perked up once more when he heard the flapping of wings coming from behind him. A shadow flew overhead of him. A dragon. He looked up. The dragon was slim, silver with delicate wings. A female, Maelstro deducted. The dragon wore a mask, much like the other members in his tribe did. The mask obscured all facial features of the user wearing it, and replaced those features with the ones from the angry face of a troll, which was painted all over with streaks of vibrant and dizzying colors. A distinctive culture of his tribe.
He remained silent until he saw the unmistakable piece of jewelry like the one Maelstro had used to wear once: a pendant hanging from the dragon's neck, another useful machination of the ingenious tribe he left behind. It reflected light off its surface and when used correctly, its reflection could be seen yards away on the barren sand or high up into the sky. It's often used by stranded travelers to signal distress, but not only that, no two pendants ever shone the same hue of light, so tribe members could easily identify one from another across long distances and thus it's ingenuity.
Every member of his tribe had worn a similar pendant around their neck. It essentially bounded their identity to the essence of their tribe and was as seen as a sign of loyalty. But Maelstro saw nothing of the sort; he viewed his pendant nothing more like a leash, a prison, a restriction that bounded himself to his cursed family.
He wanted to escape that prison. He needed freedom. Salvation. He was getting sick of his ungrateful siblings and that unrelenting grandfather of his. He deserved better and he knew it. He wanted to leave his family behind and move on.
One day, Maelstro decided he had enough. He snapped the string around his neck just as he snapped all ties with his tribe and family when he ran away.
But somehow, he still couldn't bring himself towards destroying his pendant that he swore to destroy.
Perhaps it was because of his natural survival instincts again. If he ever got in trouble, he knew he could always use the emergency signal and ask for help. But keeping that pendant wasn't a solution either. Wearing it would mean literally mean lighting a giant flare for his family to track him down, and he certainly wanted to avoid a family reunion if possible.
He wasn't exactly intent on forgiving his family, but he figured it would be not long for he would be returned to the cradle of civilization, so instead he intended to spend his precious holiday as best as he could, down to very last minute. He felt like he needed a few more days of peace and quiet before he was content with the little freedom he had and return, but even with that accomplished, he wasn't so sure that he was ready to go back to his family yet.
So instead, Maelstro found a rather clever solution to his problem.
He gave away his pendant to a certain dragoness that he met during his solitude.
The dragoness that was flying over him just now.
=================================================
Author's notes:
Alt. title: Don't Starve
I am terribly sorry for the late updates. I literally will have my trials tomorrow, but here I am updating this book of mine. So if you are early and wondering why I have posted this chapter first, consider this an early-bird sneak peek of what's to come.
But now, onto a few questions for you viewers:
What do you think of the plot so far? And what do you think of Maelstro? Would you think Maelstro's name is too strange for a name, and what do you think of his relevance to the story at hand? And who is this dragoness that is flying above Maelstro right now? (There are already clues in a previous chapter if you have been paying attention)
Kindly assert your opinions or even predictions in the comments below. I'm yet to see how close your predictions are to the actual story I had in mind.
Don't forget to vote and follow me too! It really helps me to continue the story.
And that's all folks! See you in the next chapter!