Chapter 5 - The Archer

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EMILY'S POV

No one knows who I truly am, or where I came from. All I know is my name - Emily. I was raised in that cursed village my entire life. Or most of it...

I was treated as an outcast because of my - what they called - an unnatural look. I had long ginger hair with a green streak along it, blue eyes and pale skin. Everyone else had brown hair, brown eyes and tanned skin.

I escaped the village five years ago. I was ten years old, and my twelve year old best friend was supposed to escape with me, but he was caught and became a distraction for me to escape alone. He was the only one who was there for me during my time there. There were only two people I trusted, Ryan and Nisaké. Nisaké was a middle aged woman who provided me with a compass, and a few books helping me learn about the world outside of the Village of the Grassland. It is considered perfect, but only me and Ryan understood the terror and manipulation that occurred. We witnessed it. We experienced it. Everyone did. Yet no one else understood. They said it was to protect us.

Bullshit.

We were a society used by our ruler for power. We were feeding her greed and we didn't get anything in return. All I wanted was freedom, but what is freedom when every biome in this realm is corrupted and there's no escape?

NYA'S POV

I had my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. "What... the fuck... was that?!" I choked out between breaths.

"I don't know..." Cole wheezed. "I guess we weren't welcome there..."

We heard a rustle from behind us. Rather than running away, we prepared our fighting stance. From behind the shrubs, a lady came out. She looked like she was in her mid 40s. She had long brown hair with grey streaks and tanned skin. She had a few wrinkles on her face and wore brown clothes including a woven jacket with dusty blue details. "Don't worry, I mean no harm..."

Lloyd kept his guard, "Who are you?"

"My name is Nisaké. I came after you to help. I know you aren't from this realm, I can tell." She reached into her pocket and took out a compass. "If you continue North, you should be able to find a travellers tree forest. But be warned, the journey won't be pretty."

Lloyd hesitantly accepted the compass.

"I should go before the guards realise I'm gone. Good luck, travellers." With that, she ran off back to the village.

"Why did she sound like one of those guides from video games?" Cole questioned.

"Yeah... That did not sound right," I remarked. "I'm not sure how to feel about this."

Lloyd glanced at the compass and rotated so that he was facing the same direction as the red arrow. "I don't think we have anything to lose... I guess we have to go through this treacherous looking jungle without anything to defend ourselves with."

I scoffed, "Look who's talking!"

"Not the time, okay?" Cole said. "Let's go."

I was still extremely pissed off about our situation. What if we don't make it to the travellers tree forest?

What if there is no travellers tree forest?

We continued walking. It was getting a bit uneasy with the sky darkening. You never know what could jump out. Lloyd used his powers as a torch to help guide us. The silence was eerie. There was nothing but the leaves and branches crunching beneath our feet.

"Have you noticed that there aren't any animals in this realm?" Cole commented.

"What are you talking about?" I asked. As soon as I said that, I was hoping I sounded a bit too rude.

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