"The inn! It was the inn!" someone cried out as Marcellus grabbed his head. The explosion had sent him flying towards a lamp post.
He stood and turned to see where Scarlett had landed, only to see that she wasn't close by. She wasn't anywhere in the street.
"Scarlett!" he cried out, lifting a wooden sign to search under the pile on which it stood. This girl was going to drive him insane. They hadn't even left Arandana, and she was already missing.
His eyes widened when he saw the house she had thrown up in. There used to be a two-story building next to it, and now there was only one enormous pile of steaming debris in that same place.
No, no, no. She couldn't go dying on him yet.
He ran to the pile and began to climb, searching for the general spot where he had left her.
"Scarlett!" he yelled. "Can you hear me?"
"Hova!" someone cried out, and Marcellus ducked just in time to dodge an arrow coming his way. A middle-a
Scarlett didn't know where she was, but she felt the freezing air swirling around her. She tried to remember what had happened to her, but her mind was blank. Had she fallen asleep? Would she be late for training? No, this couldn't be Karai. It was never this cold here. She tried to move but her limbs didn't respond. Was she dead? She felt her mind begin to recede as if lulling her to sleep, and sleep sounded like a good idea right now. It would be easy, letting go. But just as her mind began to shut down, her field of vision was flooded by a white, blinding light. And she felt... something. As if someone had placed a warm fire next to her or taken her body out to the sun. She smelled something delicious, like sweet nectar. Then she tasted it, and the warm liquid passed through her throat, filling her stomach. One by one the feeling came back to her body. There was solid ground beneath her, and she moved her tongue. The nectar flowed from whatever her lips were holdi
"We have to stop them," Scarlett said, more to herself than to anyone. She turned, looking at the ground she had stepped on. Every step she took had left a solid piece of glass on the dirt."See, now maybe you'll be good for something," Pakuri said to her in a mocking voice, walking up to her.Voty soon joined them, still holding out her wounded hand. The two kept their distance from Scarlett, but at least they weren't looking at her with fear or hatred. Marcellus stopped next to her, looking out towards the hills."Voty, I'm so sorry. I didn't know... I have no idea what is going on to my body," Scarlett pleaded. "I...""We'll worry about this later. Right now we have to help Luca." Voty smiled at her in her customary sweetly manner."Where are my swords?" Scarlett said."Here's one," Marcellus said picking the Hova sword up from the ground and handing it to Scarlett. It was stained with blood."Whose...""Yo
Mimbi woke up from the best sleep she had had in a while. She had lain down on the bed after eating the food Lord Galax had gotten her and pretty much passed out, waking up freezing in the middle of the night and crawling under the covers in a daze.It had been such a long time since she had slept on a real bed, with sheets and a soft and fluffy pillow. Somehow, feeling so good made her miss Scarlett and her mother even more. It reminded her of the times when she'd wake up to the smell of food downstairs, and Scarlett and Grina would be arguing about something silly.The sun was barely peeking out from behind the mountains, and she really wished she could go back to sleep. She couldn't remember what she had been dreaming about, but it had been a good dream. And anything was better than her reality now.On the other hand, she was really curious as to why Lord Galax wanted her here. Something was off, not only about the fact that he whisked her a
SCARLETT’S HEAD WAS WARM, and it wasn’t due to the fire roaring in the middle of the plaza. After drinking so many rounds of ale and drinks she didn’t know the name of, her arms and legs were tingling. Her vision was slightly blurry, and for the first time in the day, she was able to relax. The world around her seemed to be moving in slow motion, even with so many people dancing and celebrating around her. It wasn’t the first time she drank so much, but after such a long day, the alcohol’s effect seemed to have multiplied. She was too tired to dance, so she sat on a large leather chair near the fire, and watched. This was the only night of the year when men were allowed into the village, and the other women were obviously enjoying the company of the few male specimens that had been invited. Some were relatives, brothers, or friends. But most of them were probably strangers who were there just for the fun. It was no coincidence that so many babies were born ex
THEY ARRIVED JUST IN TIME to see the High Chieftess’ fiery arrow landing on the pylon. A surge of fire swept through the piled offerings in the pylon, lighting it all up into a humongous mass of flames. The red earth of the arena seemed to dance with the fire’s glow. The High Chieftess stood amongst her people, as she was a leader among friends and not their superior. Around her stood the Grand Karainas, their copper armor glistening with the fire’s light. Scarlett recognized most of them, but some looked like they had been away from the village for a long, long time. Their opaque and brittle armor gave them away. A Karaina never ceased to be a Karaina. If they were exiled, they were allowed into the village only on the Night of Flames. Even the exiled deserved to pay tribute to the god Karai. Scarlett shuddered thinking of what those women must have done to renounce their lives among the Karainas to live with another tribe. The women howled and cheered
NO ONE REMEMBERED WHEN OR HOW the Karainas came to breed rheas, or why the birds only answered to them. Outsmarting and outrunning horses, the plumed beasts were elevated to almost legendary status among humans.They were also the making or breaking of a Karaina.It wasn’t common for the rheas to reject a potential Karaina, but it had happened before. And Scarlett was the first person to attempt this without having any fire magic.What if the birds saw through her, and none of them wanted her as their rider?Lost in thought, Scarlett didn’t realize that the ceremony had begun until a thundering roar filled the air. Green, blue and red smoke billowed out of the pylon, and spirit beasts of all shapes and sizes appeared on the arena. They moved slowly towards the trainees, leaving no footprints on the sand.Analyzing the situation, she hoped the spirit beast she’d have to fight would be the boar. Her shield would protect her from its
It felt like Scarlett was in a dream within a dream. In the back of her mind, she knew what she was doing. She was an eighteen-year-old trainee of the Karai tribe, undergoing the second to last trial to become a Karaina. After fighting a tiger spirit beast, she had entered the spirit realm to face the remembrance and learn what she needed to know to face the dangers of the future.But at the same time, she was someone else, a spectator in a scene that made no sense.She stood in a long and tall throne room, all alone. There were skylights above, letting in a greyish light. Something white that she had never seen fell on the glass. All of a sudden she felt cold, and a word popped into her head.Snow.The white things falling over the skylights was snow.This was certainly not her memory, for she had never even heard of such a thing. Water. It was water, turned to something else by the cold.BANGA door slammed open behind her, and she
THIS TIME THE VISION FELT DIFFERENT as if she were no longer part of a dream. Her surroundings were blurry, and she couldn't make out exactly where she was. All he could see was yellow, orange, and red as if she were in the middle of the sun itself."Who are you, and why do you come here?" said a grave, raspy voice. It came from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.Somehow, she knew the voice was speaking to her."I am Scarlett of the Karai," she replied. Her voice came out stronger than she thought it would."No, you are not," said the voice."Why do you come here?"I wish to be a Karaina," replied Scarlett, unsure of what she was supposed to answer."No, you do not.""Yes I do," said Scarlett, without thinking.Who was this voice who told her everything she was saying was a lie?"The path you seek is not the one you must tread. But for now, you must pave your own way. We will meet again," said the voice.