CC2

1.6 - Back to the wall

"How interesting, for the sole survivor to be a little varied girl" a voice casually said from behind me, causing me to jump.

It was just a small boy, not much taller than myself. At first, I wondered if he were a varied, as he had long swords on his back. They definitely appeared to be blades, but they also looked like two halves of a really long bow.

"Hahaha, I get that a lot" he said, despite my silence. "While it's true that I am an archer, I'm not here to harm you so worry not. You are in archer territory though, so I can't say the same for the rest of them."

"But I'm a varied..." I quietly said, confused...

"Not everyone is married to the war of our two kinds. I could care less, having friends and allies among both sides. But what about you, though? Are you interesting or just lucky?"

The look he gave me worried me. I couldn't tell what his intentions were, as he didn't appear altruistic in the same way as the spear-tank lady. He could have been gauging my worth or how long he could be bothered toying with me. He was surprisingly confident for someone so small, with such an oversized weapon. It was also weird to imagine archers being so confident when their specialty was thought to be distance and stealth. I didn't know what to think, but then was reminded of the little charm given to me. I reached into my bag and held onto it, just in case.

"Well? You going to say anything?" he asked.

"I don't know what you want, sorry..." I replied, fearfully.

He didn't say anything and just slowly walked towards me, hand on chin as he continued to analyse me up close. Suddenly, he reached behind him and somehow swung one of his giant swords in an arc towards me, with an unnatural speed. Instead of even thinking to avoid the attack, all I could think to do was hold the charm up in front of me and close my eyes in fear. For some reason, it stopped him in his tracks. When I opened my eyes, his sword was still in hand, frozen mid swing, and he had his mouth open in surprise, before letting out a smiling laugh.

"Oho-Ho! So, the girl did have a secret! I can't say I ever expected to see something like this. You're quite the interesting one indeed" he said with excitement, sheathing his sword.

What does this charm do?

I held it towards him, trying not to lose my cool or show weakness, despite not knowing what was going on. The boy wasn't looking at me, but off in the distance a few feet next to me. I turned but there wasn't anything there.

"So, the girl doesn't even know!" he said, then started laughing. "This is too funny, I can't..."

"..."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry" he said eventually. "You really don't know what that little charm you're holding does, do you?"

My lack of a response was all the answer he needed.

"Well, I'll help you then. You must lead an interesting life. Come with me."

He led me to a little house in the forest. He gave me a change of clothes and told me about how to blend in with the archers. Apparently, it was important to say that you're from a guild. The hat I was given had a small tent stitched onto it, being the symbol of his guild. He said his name was TP, both the creator and leader of said guild. His members are scattered across the land, so no one would question whether you were a real member or not, as no one but him, knew. He said even other varied's out there were part of his strange guild.

He gave me a bow, and told me to carry it in a very visible way. Varied's can't use bows, though the reason for which is unclear. Some claim the archers that make the bows do something to them. Others claim that the varied don't encompass the will and spirits of nature and the trees. Others say it's in their DNA, where such a weapon just doesn't compute with one that harnesses skills of the varied. Either way, they can still carry them as a way to blend in.

Whenever I asked what my charm did, he would always just say "it's a surprise" and laugh. He said it didn't matter, for now, and that he wished he could see my face when it's revealed what my secret is. I gave up asking.

I travelled with him for a few days, going through a few archer cities. I ended up telling him my story, or rather, that I was trying to reach a small, curser town near the wall. He only travelled with me part-way, but he gave me a map and a recommended route to take.

The last thing he gave me before I left, was a small item. It looked like the symbol on our hats, a small tent, which he called a teepee. It was just a bundle of twigs held together with a small string, that shaped itself into a cone. He said he created them himself, and that it was a special item, one created in pairs, where each one would always point to the other.

He placed each of them on the ground to demonstrate, and their shadows pointed towards one another, connecting. He said the further the shadow reaches, the closer they are, and the smaller the shadow, the further away. Apparently, he deemed me someone interesting enough to wish to meet again, so he left me with this strange item as a means of making it possible. He said it wasn't the charm that was interesting, but that I had a secret, unbeknownst to even me.

It was surprisingly easy to travel between archer towns, even alone. People would look at my bow and the symbol on my hat, and that would be enough to let me by without question. I spent many days travelling from town to town, and for once, everything seemed to be going well. I even had plenty of money to survive, as the pirate captain had given me gold and silver coins, which would last me a very long time.

What was strange to think of, was that it was easier to travel as an archer, than as a varied. The varied may have more abilities at their disposal, but they weren't ones to set up ambushes much, especially through forest paths. And since I appeared to be an archer, even the archer's that were hiding in the forests would leave me alone, thinking me one of their own.

It took weeks, but I somehow traversed all the way from the far Western coast, all the way to the centre wall that divided the continent. I bought different clothes and changed, after finally having to leave archer territory, but even that went well, and I found no trouble coming my way.

I was finally there. It had been more than a year since I left my home town, and while not quite the same, I reached the town of curse users on the other side of the wall. After such a long, dreary path of pain and unfortunate circumstances, I thought things were finally looking up.

This was the town where CC1 lived.

But when I walked through the gate into town, all the feelings of hope and excitement disappeared...

The town was empty. The houses near the outer rim were normal and seemed fine, but as I reached further and further into the heart of the town, there was only the destructive remains of ruined buildings. More than half the town was just rubble, burnt to a crisp and demolished in many ways. As I got closer and closer to the wall, I began to see the lifeless corpses of cursers.

For many ages both sides had been at war, fighting a war with infinite resources from the natural field that surrounded the area. Somehow, in the time that I had been gone, a victor had been chosen... There was no longer anything left of this town. Not a soul remained...

I slowly slumped over, not having it in me to drag my legs any further. I sat on the hard ground, not sure what to think or do. I curled up into a ball, closing my eyes.

No matter which direction I looked, I could only see destruction and emptiness.

No matter where I went, no matter what I did...

I was met with destruction...

And was all alone...