A Land Far Away

This will be a series (if I can make myself keep writing them) of short (and I mean very short) stories telling of Ahleera's return to the Border Forest.

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Nearly there.

The trail lay before me worn by travelers, the few desparate or brave enough to cross this land of chaos and war, monsters and bandits. Daggerdale is not for the faint of heart, the weak or foolish.

Before nightfall, the village would be in sight…but beyond is what calls to me, my desire to stand in the soft morning light as my eyes drink in the wild beauty of the Rystall. After months of worry and fear, finally I will know if remains unscarred by the war raging in the west, a war to soon that will find us here. So much threatens the wood…my chest tightens as the hin’s words replay in my mind…..drow in the forest.

Clenching my jaw as anger boils deep within me, I stare down the trail, rooted in place as my emotions do battle…longing for my home in the trees, dread of what I may find there, and rage…oh the rage that burns for the filthy dhaerow marring the forest with their mere presence.

A sound from behind draws me back from my thoughts, the shift of metal…Seva. Turning slightly I find my warrior, his armor blackened, battered by war, eyes moving ever watchful, his sword at the ready. Catching his gaze, the tightness eases from my chest, the fear I refuse to acknowledge subsides replaced by resolve. My frozen limbs begin to move once more as I take my first step from the Black Road onto the trail leading me home.

“Come mia samiss. We are nearly there.”

Good story Twiggee, keep writing them.

Really looking forward to reading the rest of your stories.

All too soon it lay before us, the path through the trees leading to Daggersprings. Never in my years since first walking this road and my many travels had I ever felt such indecision in returning.

“We are going yah?” I turn to see Seva studying me intently impatience evident in his gaze, laced through his voice. He knows my doubts in coming here…knows my resolve is fading. A smile flickers across my face as I realize he has no intention of letting it.

“A gentle nudge Seva?”

One arrogant brow raises though his eyes soften, “We go yah?”

My gaze turns back to the deepening shadows of the forest. “We go.”

Slowly, silently I move into the wood, listening while the bird song dies away and the trees fall silent as Seva follows with heavy booted feet. Looking up, the last flickering rays of light catch my gaze. My mind wanders back to the many times I have followed this path before, those I have walked it with. The fading sun takes with it the peace that permeated the trees. In the growing darkness, the air is heavy, thick and ominous. Tension builds in me but still my thoughts are drawn into the past, to friends that had walked these trees with me…friends now gone. Tace with her brash manner and ready fist, Jivarin with his wreckless ways and quick smile, and Arakiel…the stubbornness and temper, the loyalty. My heart aches as our last meeting plays through my mind, the harsh words and angry parting. Too often I took what some would consider the long years of my life for granted, thinking there would always be time to come…to settle things. Glancing back at Seva, the ache grows…a sharp pain of imminent loss. Never will I make that mistake again.

Regret and pain are raw within me, my mind on my brother, lost in memories, as I step from the trees into the tiny clearing holding the village. The shift of a dark figure on the rise draws my eyes. A smile forms instinctively, a sassy greeting on my lips as I look up as I had so many times before when coming home…..but it is not Arakiel standing at watch. A stranger gazes down at me as anger courses through my body.

Who is this girl?