Fantasy Deadly Lands, Turbulent Seas, Elusive Skies

[DergTheDergon]

Once again, far too many days in a row to count now, seemingly endless forest stretched out before her, the light of the sun above muffled by the canopy. Her hood was lowered, protecting her head and face from everything from bird droppings to the harsh, cold winds that sometimes blew through this place. Walking slowly and carefully, she had one wilderness-worn hand keeping her cloak drawn close to her body whilst the other remained tucked inside of it, her fingers (the nails of which were kept clipped as short as possible to keep them from ever getting in the way) reaching for her throwing knives. She’d looted the blades from the first town she came across down here, the weapons rusty and brittle when she came across them, yet she had carefully re-sharpened them with techniques her father taught her, making them look much younger than they were to the untrained eye. They were neatly jury-rigged with stray cloth, string and an old rusty sewing needle she’d also found among a ruin and restored. She knew some friends back home who’d be amazed the see the interesting things one could salvage down here, if she ever came back to Apex. That prospect seemed unlikely for quite a while yet, though.

Every time she thought about Apex, she then ended up thinking about what her father had told her about the mountaintop civilization the first generation of Apex residents left behind. He said there was a myriad of fascinating technologies they’d left behind, which until she found them was giving Heidi a goal to focus on other than simply surviving this hellish chase. She hadn’t found even a trace of the city Apex left as of yet, but the goal of surviving was keeping her busy more often than not. Everything from searching for clean water, foraging for food, building shelter, and searching for useful supplies was paramount to surviving out here, not to mention running from massive beasts and hiding in whatever shelter she could find from raging storms. At the very least, it kept her from wondering, very of ten at least, how much better of a life she could’ve possibly had if she hadn’t listened to her rebellious streak and stayed aboard Apex.

Suddenly, she heard the loud, taletale rustling that heralded the arrival of of the Behemoths. ‘Behemoth’ was the name the people of Apex had given the beasts that roamed the land, destroying and devouring large quantities of the h\land and slowly destroying all evidence of civilization. Hopefully, they hadn’t reached Apex’s place of origin yet, but that wasn’t important at this very moment. What was of utmost urgency was getting the hell away from that beast. First, she climbed up a nearby, small tree in hoped of getting a clear angle of the creature so she knew exactly where to run. Thankfully, it was hulking enough that one certainly couldn’t miss it. It seemed to be stalking something right now, such as an unfortunate, smaller Behemoth. From the looks of it , it was one of the giant boars she called ‘Demon Pigs’ for their red eyes and massive, horn-like tasks.

However, she then saw the small, humanlike figure the boar was really after before it say them as well and charged after them. Her eyes widened. Another human being!

All sense of reason left her at that moment, human instinct taking over. She’d been so lonely for so long, she felt like she’d go insane… but there they were, another person. She had never jumped down from a tree so fast in her life before, nor ran straight between a beast like that , in any situation. The only thing she found herself doing in this moment that she had done in the past was throwing a knife carefully into one of the boar’s sensitive feet.

She’d been careful not to throw knives into an irretrievable place as much as she could, preferring to run in such situations, but this young woman, whoever she was, would’ve been demon pig chow if not for this intervention. Reaching for the girl’s arm, she gently took hold of it and said, “try to keep up,” before beginning to pull her in the oppostive direction, sprinting for a nearby cavern she knew was uninhabited at the moment, the entrance too small for the hulking boar to enter. Right now, she’d forgotten about everything except for getting this girl to ssafety. There was someone else out here… and she felt like a gift from the gods to Heidi’s painfully lonely heart. No human contact at all for several years now would drive anyone to lengths she was going to now for a chance at it, by choice or not.

VioletShadow

 

[VioletShadow]

How long had she been running? It felt it had been hours, maybe even days, but she knew very well that it had only been around half an hour. Her legs felt like sodden lead, which she doubted was even chemically possible, and her eyes were frozen wide open for who knows how long, just to ensure she doesn’t trip over some random obstacle like earlier. Luckily, she recovered quickly from the unfortunate incident by grabbing onto the closest tree branch to steady herself. Nonetheless, she would rather avoid another accident like that. She swore she felt the boar’s oppressive breath faintly on her backside.

The scenery appeared to rush by at an accelerating pace, leaving Merideth in an unstable physical and mental condition. Was she going faster, or was the world moving beneath her feet? She could sense that if she even closed her eyes a moment too long, she would pass out. Afterall, her athleticism has never been her strong point. Her lungs gasped for air like a land-driven fish, but no matter how much more oxygen she presumably inhaled, her body continued to slowly deteriorate. Her emotions were blank and unsure, was she afraid? Confused? Regretful? She couldn’t tell anymore, all she knew was that she had to run. Perhaps it was just her survival instincts keeping her going. In spite of that, she doubted she’d be able to hang on for much longer. Such uncertainty also led to panic within her mind, leading to more energy required for her mind, rather than her legs. And so, the cycle continued, until Merideth was driven to a state of physical and mental despair. In a desperate attempt to fix herself, she rewinded to a more peaceful time, before this all started. She wanted to think about anything at all, apart from her current situation.

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It was her first day on the surface. The sun was eerily clear and bright, much unlike what she could see back in Aqueiza. Without a vast body of water in the way, the rays of light scorched her skin, leaving her feeling vulnerable and tense. Pulling her hood over her messy plait, disbelief shrouded her mind. Would she really be able to make it out here? Where her body couldn’t even handle the daily sunlight? Nonetheless, she pressed on. It was too late to turn back now, especially after a week of travel from the depths of the ocean. She was determined not to believe it, but she knew deep down, she already missed home. They were all she’s ever known, they were always there for her within her reach, but where are they now? Worries flooded her mind of the despicable things that could be happening to them at this very moment, due to Aqueiza being strangled with trouble after trouble as of late.

However, instead of filling her with negative, discouraging emotions, a new determination lifted her spirits. She would rescue them, from the hell that is currently Aqueiza. The fabled sky kingdom must exist somewhere; she swore she saw an enormous shadow in the clouds when she was a child. There’s no mistaking it, her memory is still vivid at the recollection.

And so, she continued her explorative journey. Despite the fact that she was roasting herself in her coat, at least it would keep away direct contact from the sun. The world above was strange, in all honesty. Plants did not wave fluidly like the seaweed below, and only rustled when the wind happened to blow past them. There was a much more prominent abundance of said flora as well, present wherever the eye can see, apart from the surface of the sea of course. It wasn’t only the nature either, the earth was dry and hard, not like the spongy or sandy texture of the ocean floor. Even the air was weirdly crisp and fresh, but, not in a bad way. It was all very fascinating to her. When the moon arose from above the sea, Merideth nestled herself against a pile of soft, maroon fur and fell into a dream-filled rest of her future, possible discoveries.

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Which somehow, led to her current stressful situation. The gigantic pile of fur began chasing her down as soon as it awoke, which was before Meri did. She had no idea why she wasn’t eaten straight away, which appeared to be the creature’s current most-noticeable desire. She even had an arm pulling her in another direction, towards some large mountainous formation. Wait, arm?

Blinking twice, three times, four, Merideth had zoned out for the last 5 or so minutes, and was now utterly bewildered by her new companion. She couldn’t say a word out of shock, even when they were clearly safe inside the small cavern. The rhythmic pounding of the Ancient Beast against the mountain finally restored her senses, causing her to suddenly influx with relief. She released her tension, and flopped onto the rocky floor, completely forgetting how hard and rough the Surface was. “Oww…” It wasn’t quite the first thing she wanted her saviour to hear her say, but, at least her voice managed to come through. As she raggedly pulled herself back up into a sitting position, the ceiling above began to crumble against the boar’s force, despite still seeming relatively sturdy, by her standards anyway. The buildings in Aqueiza were much more fragile and flexible than the formations here. “T-Thank you.” She managed to stutter with a polite nod towards her heroine. To be honest, she still wasn’t quite sure what was going on. Was this all a dream? But the dead feeling in her limbs and the perplexity within her mind ensured her that it was not. Trying to think about this rationally, she unknowingly began staring down the woman across from her. Was she another explorer from Aqueiza? The clear difference in their dress and appearance said otherwise. Then… was she from the sky kingdom? This revelation caused her to light up, as much as her broken body could anyway. “A-are… you from the sky kingdom?” It’s definitely a strange question to start off with, but she needed to know straight off the bat. Afterall, she’d prefer to have her hopes be shut down quickly, rather than have to suffer later on. Although usually, she’d be a bit more cautious with conversational matters, this was a matter of dire importance.

DergTheDergon

 

[DergTheDergon]

Heidi Sprinted with all her stamina into the cavern, the mysterious woman’s wrist still in the vice-like, yet well-meant grip of her calloused, worn, and some would say unladylike hand. Making sure to pull her away to the side of the entrance, she then released her hand’s grip upon her new, unexpected companion and slid down the cavern wall, one hand on her chest as she tried to steady her breathing, panting heavily with the exertion of all that motion and more or less pulling the weight of another human being. Meanwhile, her other hand slipped from this mysterious woman’s hand once she confirmed that, indeed, the beast was not about to get through. She winced as she saw the woman collapse, yet thankfully feeling relief when she then got up. “Ouch… sorry, didn’t see any way to get you out of that other than running as fast as the wind blows. Either way, we’re safe: the brute won’t be getting in here. Be sure to watch for falling debris, though.”

Her next words reminded Heidi of something she here. Thankfully, it was not a hungry beast’s eyes, but She then realized that she’d all but forgotten about during her stay out here when she thanked the woman for her efforts in rescuing her. “Ah, don’t mention it… if I’m not the only vagabond trying to survive out here, it’s only right I help my peers. Though I am amazed that anyone else was crazy enough to wander down here… or… maybe you were forced to…”

Heidi then felt eyes on her, the sort of feeling one gets rather accustomed to down here, on the surface; thankfully, though, it wasn’t a hungry preadtor this time but simply the woman across from her. Then, she realized (partly due to the3 fact that, finally, the beast had given up trying to barrel through the cavern and get at the delicious meat inside) that she hadn’t really taken a good look at her fellow vagabond yet. The mutual staring didn’t feel uncomfortable to her, which was odd within itself, but perhaps that was because neither of the women had seen anything like the other before. Hiedi found herself studying two things most closely on her new companion: the exposed skin, checking for any injuries or signs of disease, and her clothing. The former, understandably, wasn’t in the best shape at the moment. Heidi would have to perform a bit of first aid soon, the thought causing a slight frown of concern for the other woman to furrow her brow.. The latter seemed foreign, and reminded her of the ocean… she couldn’t be from the fabled underwater kingdom, could she?

Just as Heidi was about to ask, it was revealed that her new companion had a similar question for her. Her brow furrowed for a moment, but then she understood. Approaching her, she smiled, only for the expression to fade away into a wistful, sad expression. Wherever she went, it seemd like Apex followed her, whether in the Sky above, or through odd reminders like this one, though none of them involved other people until now. “Apex’s name must have been lost among your people, but yes… I hail from the place you must be referring to as the ‘Sky kingdom’… I assume you’ve been searching for it? From whence do you hail? Ah and, excuse my lack of manners…. My name is Heidi.” She outstretched a hand towards the woman to shake her hand, her tone warm and welcoming, reminding her that, while she was rather out of practice, common courtesy thankfully isn’t something one simply forgets. Her eyes were light with curiousity as to the other woman’s name, place of heritage, and her reason for seeking Apex.

VioletShadow