Ananiel

Squish* Squash* I grip my hand on the ground. Pain aching all over as the tapping of rain falls onto my scruffy hair. The weight of my wet clothes yield to my attempts at moving. My eyes wobble, peeking at the distant tree line as silhouettes lay on the ground. Laying on my back, I stiffen my face against the air. The taste of mud lingered on my sour tongue. Staring at the sky, the clouds pulses and wobbles as pain radiates to my legs. Putting all my weight onto both arms, I manage to sit up. The sudden shift nauseously swirled my stomach. Clenching my teeth, I close my stinging eyes, and took a deep breath. Holding the chilly air in my lungs, my numbing form sat on an unfamiliar land. My eyes swirl around, catching sight of a carriage that slept sideways. Corpses laid around this carriage. Wobbling towards a corpse, I pull a cloak away. Feeling around, my hands brush a sheathed dagger on a corpse's hip. Claiming the cloak as mine, I take a dagger and went towards the carriage.

I weakly crawl through the uneven carriage’s entrance and found it rather dry. My hands brushes over an outline of a crate. Reaching in, my fingers tap on something dry and rough, like leather. Begrudgingly, I take out this leathery substance from the crate. Giving it a sniff, I recognize the smell of meat. Placing a little in my mouth, the salty taste shrivels my tongue. My teeth grinded on this jerky and a flossy texture started tugging against my sore jaw. Minute droplets of saliva slowly revitalized this horrid jerky. After a tough swallow, I coughed up the rest and started sucking the water that was lingering on the cloak. flavours of dirt and iron mixed in with the overly salty meat. Tears ran down my face. In an unfamiliar land surrounded by corpses, I curled into a ball and fell asleep…

A door stood at the end of a dark hallway. Déjà vu lingered as the light illuminated the undefined darkness. Instinctively, I reached for the handle, expecting to return “home.” Instead, my eyes saw a room with a mock medieval aspect. Consisting of a bookshelf and a plain wooden desk in a corner next to the window. In between the bookshelf and desk was a fluffy-looking bed. Lastly, there was a small table with a tea set made of fine china. I watched my annoyed self walk to the desk, and picked up a book that was flipped somewhere in the middle. The sentences seemed fragmented but were interpretable.

“... Amid the world, holds an ethereal power that one can harness with repeated dedication and talent … A practitioner who harnesses ethereal power or “mana” can invoke and command their own soul to enhance themselves physically and spiritually. However, the stronger an individual is, the more challenges that individual must face … To start, one must “open” themselves to the world and feel the “mana” that is within us all … First, one must relax and feel a slipping feeling… The mind must remain focused, this can be developed with the “breath.” There are many “breathing methods” out there… do not worry too much… they all seek to remind the practitioner that they are still conscious …”

I sighed, slumped onto the chair and took a deep breath. All this information took a toll on my mind. I looked out the window and saw a scene of pure darkness. Blinking twice, the world outside became a beautiful night sky filled with stars…

The chirping of the birds and the sunlight peeking through the Carriage signified a new morning. The smell of wet wood and the enticing sunlight that shone into the Carriage reminded me where I was. Looking around, I tried my best with the sunlight to find anything interesting. There was a latch underneath the cushion of the Carriage. I opened the pillow and found a few books, a rolled-up scroll, and a letter. The letter spoke of the Carriage’s importance

“To, Reid Cornelius,

I, Trobell Cork, have manufactured a special wine as thanks for the recent partnership with Idosa. I wish to support your efforts to combat the Aroca faction. Those meddling scum have claimed far too much in their conquest. Times have been tough, but Idosa will send whatever aid necessary.

To the delivery crew, please send this letter and inform Reid of the delivery with the yellow stamped scroll. I will be expecting a message from Reid after the delivery.

-Torbell Cork.”

With a sigh, I shivered from the lingering cold and inspected the books. They were storybooks that entertained passengers.

“It would be fun to talk about this book to others one day…”

I thought as I grabbed a couple handfuls of rations, and set off to the back of the Carriage, wondering where that wine could be. The boxes were too tightly shut and ached my arms after a few futile attempts. Taking a moment to think, I wander to the corpses which remained still and cold. The scene was rather gruesome under the sunlight. Each one had an emblem that matched the Carriage’s symbol. A circle with a sword embedded in the middle. One had a few crumpled-up pages in a pouch and a rather stylish cap on his head. Unraveling the paper, I realized that the rest were hired mercenaries.

Slumping to the ground, I took a heavy breath. I felt remarkable stillness, extreme focus, and a rush of power. My aching and feverish body felt refreshed as I grabbed a sword from a guard’s corpse. Walking to the back of the Carriage, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, numbing the aches. The world seemed to slow down slightly as I aligned myself to the present. Stabbing the sword into the crate, the wood whined at my prying. After a deep exhale, I popped the box open, revealing a box full of scrolls. Confused, I unraveled a scroll. Immediately, pressure erupts from the delicate paper, slamming me to the ground. “Snap!” a few branches fall on the ground, and the cart whines from this unknown pressure. Boxes start to pop as I weep and ache, desperately gasping for air…

The weight left the atmosphere, leaving behind an air of silence. Pushing from the ground, I looked at the light fizzling from the circle on the scroll. I picked up the scroll stained with mud and noticed a red seal that held the scroll together. Wiping my hands and looking around, I found the other crates splintered and broken. Grabbing the sword, I tediously pried the rest of the splintered boxes. One was a crate containing rather fine clothing and a leather satchel, the other was a box of spare rations, and the last was another box of scrolls. Analyzing the scrolls, one had red, the others green, orange, teal, and yellow. The rest of the scrolls had no stamps. I grabbed the colored ones and looked around for more stuff. A black sheet of cloth covered a rather luxurious box in the off corner of the Carriage. Opening the box, my face brightened,

“Finally, I found the wine!”

I let out an embarrassing cheer and quickly tucked away the wine. Retrieving a leather satchel, I gathered some rations, the scrolls and carefully stored the wine. Flipping a coin, I confidently pointed in a direction.

“This way!”

I gave a confident grunt and off I went, in the direction that had no fresh cart markings…