Arakim's Legacy(#Wattys2015)

Prologue

The first thing, Adani became aware of was the smell. It smelled so familiar and yet not. Just like the Nuku'ofia Forest near home where Tyr usually took her to and a place where her kin went hunting. As it was very different from their mountain home deep in the frozen mountains of Morag. 

And then came the heat. It was the oppressive kind. Nuku'ofia Forest could get hot but not this hot or humid. She could feel the sweat pouring down her skin, soaking through her clothes. And why was I lying down on the ground? Did I lose consciousness again whilst training? Couldn't have because I never saw Mena this morning. 

What happened to me? Slowly opening her eyes, scared of what she would see, Adani was surprised to find that she was lying on a forest floor looking at an almost obscured view of the sky by trees of such height and magnitude that she had never seen before in her life. And the light on her face forcing her to squint a bit came from the sun directly above her, piercing through a small gap in the cluster of branches and leaves. Shielding her eyes with her hand to get a better view, she resisted herself to turning her head sideways in both directions to examine her environment, hoping for a familiar sight. 

There were a few plants and trees that Adani recognised. Like the maple trees, palm trees and shrubs but unlike the ones at home, these had very wide leaves with no crimson tinge on them, still showing the dark green colour seen in summer and the myriad of their colourful flowers. Scanning around Adani could see very many unfamiliar plants and vines growing all around her and the very thickness of the forest was bringing home the truth that she was nowhere in Morag. Fear clutched her insides and she felt cold even while the temperature was soaring.

Adani cautiously sat up, not wanting to disturb the various animals she could see on the forest floor and trees, more than she already did. For now, most were not paying any attention to her but that could change in a blink, when it came to wild animals. When nothing happened, she rolled to her knees and stood up to her full height of five feet plus which practically made her a wisp amongst her kin who were like the palm trees around her. Big, tall and well-muscled. Both men and women. Even the children once they passed their puberty were bigger than her. 

She looked nothing like them. She had very pale skin, just short of being as white as the snow at home and her hair was no better, white blond and as straight as an arrow while most at home were golden- or brown-skinned, with thick wavy hair in all types of colours depending on what type of animal they could change into, being shifters and all. I always felt like a waif in their midst but not in a bad way because they were family and you could not help but love all of them. Even when our personalities didn't match. With the sudden harsh calls of a raven, Adani pulled her thoughts back to her present predicament which still remained the same.

She got distracted by the usually very shy agouti sitting on its hind legs, holding a nut between its fore paws oblivious to the stranger in their home. She suddenly felt very sad and wondered what everybody was doing at home. If they actually noticed she was gone yet and couldn't suppress the despair washing over her when it dawned on her that she had no idea what to do. She just wanted to go home. She felt so alone and scared. This was the first time in her life she found herself this alone. Usually there was always someone nearby and her best friend Ren would not be too far away. If she wasn't aware of the fact of how dangerous the forest could get, especially one she was unfamiliar with, she would curl up under one of these maple trees, and wait for Mena or Tyr to come and rescue her.

Adani forcefully suppressed the self-pity she was wallowing in and started checking her body for any sign of injury to avoid drawing predators. When she found none, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She now took stock of her clothes and discovered she was wearing comfortable brown form-fitting leggings made from soft leather, and white long sleeve loose woollen shirt reaching just above her knees only interrupted at just below the waist by the leather belt worn round her tiny waist with the knife sheaths on either sides hanging low on her hips and knives still in them. Fingering the hilts of her knives, Adani was grateful she hadn't lost them, because there was no sign of her trusted bow and arrows. And the leather satchel she'd always had with her was also gone. Disappointment washed over her because even as she was proficient with her knives, she was invisible with the bow. And not just that it was a gift from Tyr when she was about ten summer years and he took her hunting for the first time. Tears welling in her eyes. 

ning arena located a league west of the Gabashili Mountain for one-on-one training with Mena but could not recall passing through the gate. 

Adani tried using her inner senses to locate her things and maybe get a better sense of what direction the best shelter could be had. And what she found startled her into a shout, causing the animals to jump with her and birds to scatter from their perches. 

The magic that was usually muted with this little bit of effort on her part almost brought her to her knees with its intensity and magnitude. She barely had enough time to rein it in before it could cause some damage to the forest. Another reason to be grateful to Tyr for all the time and patience he spent teaching her about magic when he found out that she had an aptitude for it. Another glaring thing unique to her at home. But here in the no name forest it was so powerful and welcoming.

 The whole forest was humming with magic, now Adani had tuned her senses to it. It felt wonderful and comforting. The place didn't seem as formidable as it did before and that brought a little joy to warm her heart and took away the chill she'd had since she realised how lost she was in this no name forest. Filled with peace and new found purpose, Adani strode deeper into the forest to retrieve her things.........

Wiping the tears, Adani tried to remember the last thing she did. From the little she could remember, she was on her way to the training arena located a league west of the Gabashili Mountain for one-on-one training with Mena but could not recall passing through the gate. 

Adani tried using her inner senses to locate her things and maybe get a better sense of what direction the best shelter could be had. And what she found startled her into a shout, causing the animals to jump with her and birds to scatter from their perches. 

The magic that was usually muted with this little bit of effort on her part almost brought her to her knees with its intensity and magnitude. She barely had enough time to rein it in before it could cause some damage to the forest. Another reason to be grateful to Tyr for all the time and patience he spent teaching her about magic when he found out that she had an aptitude for it. Another glaring thing unique to her at home. But here in the no name forest it was so powerful and welcoming.

The whole forest was humming with magic, now Adani had tuned her senses to it. It felt wonderful and comforting. The place didn't seem as formidable as it did before and that brought a little joy to warm her heart and took away the chill she'd had since she realised how lost she was in this no name forest. Filled with peace and new found purpose, Adani strode deeper into the forest to retrieve her things.........