Fallen Fire | The Isle of the Wyverns

Chapter Three - ✔

Seventh Battalion Honor Ground, Camp New Moon

She found herself propelled onto hard rock, her surroundings hazy. Slowly she raised herself off the ground and rubbed her eyes. She appeared to be on a large peninsula, surrounded by crystal clear, cerulean colored water, crashing loudly against the rocks. She took a moment to marvel at the sheer beauty of her surroundings. All around her, there were tall, towering trees and beautiful flora, and in the sky there were large, indiscernible winged creatures soaring amongst the fluffy white clouds. The entire scene seemed like something she'd find in a book. She gazed at the hard rock bed and saw the necklace sitting there, perfectly mended and twinkling innocently. She squinted at it suspiciously but started to place all her belongings in her messenger bag. She breathed in the comforting scent. For once in her life, she felt different. She felt home. "Halt!" came a girl's voice suddenly, through the trees "Who goes there? Show yourself!" She froze in the act of picking up her bag and stared around the clearing frightfully. Gathering up her belongings, she ran and hid behind a large sycamore tree. "Who goes there?" came the voice again. Clutching the necklace as though it was a life line, she crouched lower among the ferns and prayed that she was well hidden. She could hear footsteps approaching closer and the heavy breathing of a girl. She finally heard the footsteps fading away, and breathing once more, she raised herself off the ground. Not a second had passed, until she was pinned to the tree and had a gleaming dagger at her throat.

Well she was right about one thing: it was a girl. She was about a foot shorter than the other and had warm ivory skin and dark raven coloured hair hanging down her back, in a smooth curtain. Her eyes were a deep sea green, and looked exactly like the sea, perhaps even more so, than the water thrashing around her. The girl had a certain look about her that made you sure that she was ready for anything. She was also dressed in white, armor (and the DAGGER) and when she spoke, her voice was firm and commanding. "Who are you? Heta!" she exclaimed suddenly, perhaps realizing that the girl pinned to the tree was too, a fellow human. What language is that? she wondered, desperately, trying to keep her mind off the dagger at her throat. She would've liked to have said WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? but if she even whispered, her throat would move, causing the tip of the dagger to vibrate and slit her throat. The raven haired girl studied her cautiously, her grip on the dagger slackened slightly. Thank goodness! she thought, relieved. The girl then (most unfortunately, she might add) spotted the tip of the fanged necklace in her hand. Her entire body tensed up. She snatched the necklace from her hand and studied it, evidently flabbergasted. Eyes still on the dagger at the other's throat, the girl called: "Armada!" Minutes later, a brunette, evidently called Armada, ran in through the trees. She too was dressed in the same armor as the girl at her throat. "Yes ma'am!" she exclaimed, "I heard you call ma'am! What do you need ma'am-"

"Tell Arius that I'll be arriving at his cabin in a few minutes." she said, cutting sharply through the other girl's words. "With a very special guest." Armada saluted: "Ma'am yes ma'am." and ran off into the trees, leaving her and the girl alone again. "Now don't try anything funny girl." she said silkily, her voice holding more danger than the most deadly blade. "You're going to come with me now, and the minute my dagger leaves your throat, if you try anything, I will pin this blade right into the center of your heart, and give you a slow painful death." She spoke as though she was savoring the very thought. "Now come!" She beckoned imperiously, and the dagger left her throat. Gasping, she walked behind the girl, hoping to sneak off. Clearly the raven head was smarter: "Hold it." she said, throwing up a hand to halt her in her tracks. She then put the dagger back at her throat and said smugly, "Keep walking." They walked for what seemed like hours through forests, past waterfalls, over bridges, until they reached a settlement of what appeared to be a large camp, though it seemed like an entire rainforest to her. There were cabins everywhere with little symbols engraved on them. It had children all over the place, some stoking fires, some reading scrolls and others in corners doing only goodness knows what.

The girl halted on a vast platform in the air, built on a large circle of tall, overlapping trees. She guessed that it was about midway between the ground and the tree top. A long bridge connected the nearest platform to the one before them. As the two girls got closer, she could see that it had a roof made of strange transparent leaves, constructed upon sturdy walls. The leaves were just about the least strange of all the things that she had encountered in the past two days. Purple and blue morning glory flowers twirled delicately around the intricately carved columns supporting the walls, and vivid pink and orange orchids popped up from spaces between the wood. The girl halted at the door of the cabin, where a chestnut haired young man, in about his late thirties, stood talking to a ruggedly handsome boy about the age of the two girls. The boy had a strangely mischievous look about him. He had warm, sun-tanned skin and mahogany colored hair. His eyes were dark with gold flecks, and were intense and alert, but also seemed to hold a deep sadness. He was quite tall, and stood at almost the same height as the man. As the girls approached, the two gazed up at them. "Ah Aesira." said the man, striding forward "Hello my dear." The boy grinned at the girl called Aesira. The girl smiled, "Hello Arius, Altan." she had to say, it was odd seeing the girl smile. It made her seem more human and less intimidating. "I'm guessing that Armada told you I would be coming?"

The man nodded curiously. "Yes, she did. She said you would be arriving with a guest-oh my word." He looked at her (finally - how do you miss the person being held at dagger point?). The man was a seemingly respectable one, whose startlingly ash gray eyes were full of the desolation of the wise; yet whose mouth, although stern, was kind and capable of laughter. It was deeply unsettling. The boy called Altan too looked at her, frowning slightly, surveying her sharply through those strangely beautiful eyes. Which is just fine, she thought, meeting his eyes with all the rage she could put into hers. I am prepared to dislike you, too. Who cares what you think? Not ME, that's for sure. "Who? What? How?" demanded the man, weakly. The boy looked at the raven head, named Aesira, questioningly. "This" the girl said simply, holding out the fanged necklace. "The girl was holding it." There was a sharp intake of breath from both Arius and Altan. "Come with me, you two." the man said urgently. "And you can wait out here," he said, addressing her briefly. He prodded the children into the cabin, and turned a key in the lock. It closed with a sharp click, however, that didn't stop their voices coming through. She leaned a little closer towards the door.

"-seems like she stole it" Aesira muttered. "How could she have?" demanded Altan, "She seems like an Outlander, all confused, she can't possibly know what that necklace does."

"All I want to know is how she got hold of a portal," said Arius, skeptically. Outlander? Portal? Her head was spinning. "Maybe she happened to come across an untransformed Wyvern and somehow tricked him or her into handing over the portal." said Aesira furiously, "Should've guessed, that little double crossing double crosser...midget had a shifty look about her anyway..." She frowned slightly at the word midget.

"Hang on!" Altan said, "Every Wyvern knows what a portal is, they wouldn't just hand it over like that, whether she knows what it does or not."

"Unless..." Aesira trailed off sharply. "Unless what? Hold on...by the Oracle ...you're right..." Altan breathed. "Are you two suggesting..." Arius trailed off, his voice tense "That she could be a Wyvern?" There was a sharp intake of breath from around the whole room. "Well, she could be an Outlander." said Aesira, "Chosen to be a Wyvern" "Or she could be a descendant of Wyvern blood" Altan suggested, "Though I don't know anyone who looks like her."

"True" Aesira murmured "I've lived here my whole life, and I haven't seen her before."

"She could be a half-blood" suggested Altan lightly, "It isn't impossible"

"Yes..." Arius muttered, "But we all know it's illegal to marry an outlander."

"Altan has a point..." Aesira mused aloud, "They could've been in hiding." It was very quiet, she could hear her heart thumping loudly. "It seems that we might have a new addition to our world," said Arius fretfully. "We will have to be sure," said Aesira, slightly disbelievingly, she thought. "Aesira is right." said Altan firmly, "A choosing is in order."

"What if she is an outlander?" wondered Aesira, "What'll happen to her?"

"We follow protocol." Arius said, the sound of him pacing followed, "If she is indeed an outlander, she will have her memory modified and be sent back to her kind. If she does however, put up a fight..." There was silence once more. "There's no point in wasting time." Altan said. "As much as I hate to admit it Arius, Altan is right." Aesira sighed. "We need to be sure." Arius sighed, relenting: " Very well then, I shall notify the Tarragons. Let us go. It is still late in the afternoon. With any luck, we'd have found out by The Hour of Agerin." There was the sound of footsteps and she quickly arranged her face into a mask of fear and shock (which admittedly, wasn't all that hard), and waited. Once the door opened, they all emerged looking grim. "Well," Arius said "We have-" "I don't know what you're talking about." she blurted, "I don't know about Wyverns, Tarragons or whatever it is you were saying! I just found this necklace - portal as you say, in a box inside my bag!" Altan and Aesira's shoulders shook with silent laughter. Arius chuckled darkly. "I take it you heard the majority of our conversation?" She nodded mutely. "Very well," he said, smiling slightly, "I should have thought as much. I must remember to invest in some new doors..." They all - including her, laughed. "Now my dear, We must push on." Arius said, suddenly business-like. "We have a lot to do. But first, I must ask-"

"What's your name?" they all asked at once (took you long enough). She drew a deep shaky breath:

"My name is Alethea Alistair"

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Question of the day: What do you think of Alethea's name? Do you think it suits her?