Unforged Path

A Miscalculation

Progress was painstaking, but the constant movement prompted Aerlyn to eliminate the heat shield. Lifting her face to the chilly wind, she recalled the dream in which she had soared above snow-peaked mountains. With her skin exposed to the icy environs, Aerlyn experienced the glistening world anew, imbibing the profound silence.

As the hours passed, Aerlyn's progress slowed, as she increasingly tended to her stomach's demands for more nourishment. She paused often to drink water, but she kept moving towards the dark, jagged peaks that had appeared as a line from above. The repeating triangular structures did not appear to be made from stone or any other material with which she was familiar.

When the sun lied low in the sky, Aerlyn stood upon a bluff, looking across an interminable sea of towering trees. It was a forest! And people could live within it. As Aerlyn soaked in the sight, she felt a bit of moisture on her cheek. Puzzled, she touched her face, looking up. Descending from the clouds, motes of snow fell upon her. She held out her hands, delighting in the prickle of the minute crystals before they dissolved into her skin. Soon another source of moisture dampened her cheeks: tears.

Aerlyn did not know how long she watched the snow fall. When it was almost dark, she resurrected the heat shield.

'If I'm ever going to share this with Father, I must keep moving,' Aerlyn thought.

Creating a large orb of light, Aerlyn sent it along the edge of the bluff, hoping to find terrain navigable by foot. Her hope was in vain. It was a sheer drop for miles in either direction. Aerlyn had no choice now. Civilization almost certainly lay below, but she would have to use a full day's allotment of magical energy to get there.

Chanting, Aerlyn guided the orb of light towards the forest, fixing her gaze on a spot beside a tree trunk. Closing her eyes and folding her arms to her chest, she uttered the incantation for a transportation spell.

"Melyn." The word unleashed a vortex of magic, the torrent of energy churned her hair and tunic.

When it receded, Aerlyn swayed on her feet, reaching out to the tree she had spied from above. After a few minutes, the transportation disorientation still had not receded. Aerlyn fingered the rough, dense surface of the tree's base, breathing rhythmically. Judging by her body's reaction to using an explosive amount of magical energy, she had grossly miscalculated the attrition of her magical reserves. How had she made such a large error?

Aerlyn's stomach growled, reminding her that water wasn't sufficient nourishment. Of course! She had not considered her body's fatigue due to hunger and physical exertion. The formula she had learned in the academy did not include those factors.

When her head cleared, Aerlyn craned her neck upwards, searching for the triangular top of the towering tree. She could only see thick arms extending for the length of the breakfast chamber in the manor. Irregular but graceful, the lines of the tree were intriguing.

'You have no time to linger,' Aerlyn scolded herself.

Sending the orb of light into the forest, Aerlyn peered into its depths, noting the dwindling snow. Turning away from the trees, she plodded into the snow, which was nearly as high as her boots. Aerlyn eased downward, preparing a goblet of snow melt. As she rose, her head felt as it had when she first tried wine.

Regulating her breathing, Aerlyn sipped her water. As soon as the disorientation receded, she aimed for the mammoth trees, her goblet still full. Aerlyn fixed the location of the snow in her mind in case she needed to transport some.

Searching for a suitable place to rest, Aerlyn ambled through the quiet forest, sipping water. Trees were so plentiful, one was always in reach. The spiny projections on their arms emitted a delightful scent. If not for the treacherous ridges crisscrossing the ground, the trek through the forest might have been pleasant. As soon as Aerlyn noticed the uneven footing, she paused to finish her supper.

The deeper into the forest she went, the darker it became, but Aerlyn didn't dare brightened the orb. The third time Aerlyn's feet found a ridge before her eyes did, she slipped, falling on her bottom. The jolt caused her head to spin. Holding her hands to her temples, Aerlyn performed breathing exercises. Would sleep improve her condition?