Skylar gasped as her head broke out of the water. She hadn't expected to survive the fall and now was grateful for it. Skylar felt weak though and searched for something to grab onto.
Spying a piece of driftwood, Skylar used all her strength to swim over to it.
Skylar held on to the piece of driftwood and turned back to see the Cliffs of Abdomes fading behind her as she slowly drifted south. Skylar sent up a silent prayer to Luna to keep her friends safe and keep Skylar safe as well.
She then felt weak again, and rested her head against the driftwood and fell asleep.
…
Skylar drifted for days, searching for any land in sight. She began to get weaker from the hunger, dehydration, and exhaustion from just staying above the water.
Why had her life come to this? Just endless drifting on the endless sea? Skylar began to wish that she had died from the fall, her thoughts turning dark and hopeless.
After hours more of drifting, Skylar saw something on the horizon. A thin dark line. Land?
Was Skylar hallucinating? Had the hunger and thirst finally made her crazy? But as she got closer, she could see that it was, in fact, land. A small island.
Skylar’s driftwood landed on the sand and she rolled off, exhausted. Laying for an hour in the sun, her clothes began to dry off and she no longer shivered. Squeezing the water out of her hair, she began to explore the island for food and water.
Looking for safe vegetation to eat, she found some berries, along with an utterly remarkable find.
“Ginseng,” Skylar whispered as she noticed the plant, its leaves spread out in a fan-like pattern, the red berries in the middle. But Skylar knew the berries were inedible. What she needed were the roots.
Skylar took out her hunting knife from her belt and began to dig a hole around the plant, finally picking it out of the ground, leaving the roots intact.
Skylar cut the roots from the rest of the plant and rushed to the sea to wash off the extra soil on the tan roots.
She sat down, slowly chewing on the ginseng roots. They were bitter and she spat out flecks of soil, but she could tell there was a hint of sweetness in it. Although it tasted bad, she already felt the effects of the ginseng, relieving her of her exhaustion, and making her feel more energy.
Skylar looked around and foraged for more food, mainly vegetation and herbs. Although most of it didn’t taste good, she was glad for the energy and food, filling her empty stomach.
As night fell, Skylar sat on the beach, wondering what she should do next. She thought back to a simpler time, her father teaching her everything he knew. From self-defense to finding edible plants, Skylar learned so much from her father. Even though their time together was short.
…
Skylar remembered the day. She was eight years old and just finished a round of archery practice, getting pretty close to the bullseye, she heard Chris running back along with two other men.
Chris was ten at the time, and he ran up to Skylar and said, “Skylar! You have to come quickly! It’s papa!”
Skylar rushed forward at once, Chris leading her to where their campsite had been for the two-day hunting trip, looking for a few deer to feed the Secret Woods.
Laying on the ground was their father.
“Papa!” Skylar shouted as she ran to him, looking at his bleeding side. “Papa, what’s happened?” she asked him, looking at his pained face.
Her father coughed, spitting out blood on the ground beside her.
“Skylar…” he said, looking into Skylar’s eyes as they began to fill with tears.
“Papa, who did this?” Skylar’s hand gently felt her father’s side, thinking of an herb, anything to save him. Pulling back her hand showed the blood. Skylar smelled the coppery scent and her head began to spin, but she held it with her other hand, trying to steady herself.
“It was…a man. A Bellonese man…” her father choked out, coughing up more blood. “One with hair as dark as night…” he coughed again and brought his hand up to cup Skylar’s face.
“Papa…” Skylar said softly, tears streaming down her face.
“You look just like your mother…” Skylar’s father said softly, the life beginning to fade from his eyes. “I failed to protect you, but she won’t…”
“Papa, please, don’t leave me,” Skylar pleaded with him as the light began to fade from his bright yellow eyes, the color draining from his face.
“I love you both, my children…” Her father’s final words were almost inaudible, but Skylar could still hear them as his head fell back to the ground and his hand fell from Skylar’s face.
And then her father was gone.
Skylar was an orphan.
…
“What should I do, father?” Skylar asked herself, shaking her head as she brought her knees up to her chest. “I’ve failed them. All of them. How can I complete this quest now?”
Skylar put her head in her hands, beginning to feel as if the world were crashing in around her.
Through the cracks between her fingers, Skylar saw a bright light.
Skylar looked up from her hands, covering her eyes as the light began to blind her. Then it faded, and before her stood a man.
His dark brown hair had gray streaks of hair above his ears, and smile lines were at the corners of his yellow eyes.
His trimmed beard had gray streaks as well, and strapped to his side was a sword, while a bow, and a quiver of arrows were strapped to his back.
“Father…” Skylar stammered, “H-how…”
“Skylar,” her father smiled, looking at her full of pride. “I am so glad to see you, even though I cannot physically be here.” Skylar looked at the glow around him, still in awe that she could see him. He looked the same as he had the day he died.
“How…how can this be?”
“Because of your mother, I can speak to you tonight. Although I have limited time.” Her father said, smiling at Skylar again.
“Father, what must I do?” Skylar asked, now eager to talk to her father once again. She remembered how she had never gotten to say goodbye before he died, and now intended to talk to him as much as she could.
“You will find your friends, don’t worry about that, my daughter. But you must first help somebody else find their way first. Continue your journey, and you will see what I mean. You were split up from the rest of your friends for a reason, Skylar. You must choose as you face trials during this time alone.”
Skylar was confused by this but asked her the next question. “Is Chris alive? I need to know or-”
“He’s alive, don’t worry Skylar. He is alive and well, and you will see him again. Although the Secret Woods did lose many people, they still survived the Dueglesteiner’s attack.” Skylar was relieved but still felt guilty that Protectors died because she had led her friends there.
“Do not feel guilty about their deaths, Skylar,” her father comforted her, “It has been foretold since before you were born. Nothing you could’ve done would’ve changed that. Your quest has been prophesized for years now, and your mother prepared me for that time.
“Before she was gone, she made me promise to prepare you for anything that might happen. To train you, to push you. I am sorry if you ever felt I was pushing you too much, I was only trying to protect you for when the time came.”
Skylar took this in with shock. Her father had known she’d be on this quest? Her mother knew? Her mother whom she’d never met had known that her daughter would be one of many to be tasked with saving Iddenu. And her father pushed her and pressured her because he knew she would need the skills he taught her, and needed to be able to help others.
But before she could ask any more questions, her father's form began to glow again.
“Father, no! Please, don’t go! I still need you…” but her father glowed until she was blinded again, then disappeared.
…
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Skylar listened to her father. The next day she created a small raft, packed some of the island’s remaining food sources, and began to set off in search of another island.
Her father said she needed to help somebody before she could be reunited with her friends, and she intended to find whoever needed her help.
As the sun shone overhead, she saw another island off in the distance.
Paddling over to it, Skylar was pleased to see a freshwater source, a pond.
Skylar rushed off the raft and ran over to the pond, drinking the water thirstily.
She heard a branch snap behind her and immediately reached for her bo-staff, which she remembered was no longer there. Grabbing her bow instead, she nocked an arrow and whirled around, aiming her bow at the person standing behind her.
He was a boy around her age, with jet-black hair and sea-green eyes.
The boy held his hands up in defense, saying, “Hey, no need to be pointing weapons at each other.”
Skylar held her bow at the ready. “It’s not the best to sneak up on people either. Now if you would excuse me, I just need some food and water.”
The boy ran his hand through his hair, and apologized. “Sorry, but I’m afraid we can’t do that.”
Skylar had just enough time to say, “We?” before she felt something hit her in the back of the head and she blacked out…
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