Beyond the Surface: Feralla's Story

Chapter Five: Prophecies, Statues and Hijiri

As I arrive a few miles out from the city, to a worn, old, and abandoned farmer's mill, I stop to set up camp for the night. I strapped my horse, who I've now named Hijiri, to a coral tree and eat my dinner. I use my lamp of 1,000 lightfish for just enough light to decode the glyphs in the golden piece of statue I found back at the ship. "For she knew the forthcoming soldier would set us all free from this unspeakable captivity. War is here. It is coming soon to take over everywhere. However here, it is now. By the first light of dawn of 1,000 lights it will show the path of righteousness.." I knew exactly what this meant. I slept through the night.
As morning waters begin to unfold the days mysteries I awake shocked at the nightmare I'd just had. I check all of my belongings to make sure nothing was taken while I slept. My Hijiri was still there, so I knew it was all false. Shouldn't have drunk that purple wine Elle insisted upon.. I thought. I cleaned up the campsite so that there were no traces of me being here, and saddled up. For days, I traveled the never ending view of murky bluish waters, For weeks, I had been running low on food, and for months I felt as if my body was going to collapse upon itself from sleep deprivation.
I saw in the distance an elderly woman who was also a mermaid. She was dancing around a fire. I wondered if I should talk to her about directions. Something about her was off, but I'd waltzed on over anyway. "Why hello!" She bowed to me as if I was some kind of royalty. "No need for that madame I'm but a traveler. I'm Farkus." I figured sticking with the safe fake name would throw off anyone looking for me or worse yet hunting for me. "Farkus is a man's name child." "Well I have had this misfortune of having simpletons for parents I guess you could say." I kid with a hardy laugh. "I see, I see" She says giggling.
"What brings you out here to these lonely outskirts of town?" "Directions to a festival I hear is quite grand." I say tying up my horse. Hijiri didn't like the old lady I can tell she kept squealing and grunting. "Calm down now horse." She snapped, with an eerie like tone. Then smiles so angelically as if she didn't just sound like a demon. "A-Are you okay madame?" She coughs "Oh yes I just choked on air and it threw my pipes off balance haha!" She seemed REALLY off at this point but I just ignored it.
"Would you happen to know where I can find this small town of Gyettas? " I show her my beat up old map. She begins to cackle now and things are getting pretty odd. "What's funny? If you don't mind me asking.." She continues dancing and I sigh I'm getting absolutely nowhere with this crazy woman! She summons a demon out of nowhere! To attack me?
What in Athena's name is happening! The woman herself turns into a seductive dark empress controlling the dragon. "You stupid young mermaid FARKUS?? More like Poor little motherless Feralla!" Okay now she's infuriated me. I attack and get blown backwards. She cackles that same ear shattering laugh. "You won't defeat me child you cannot! ha ha!" The dragon strikes twice at me and both times I manage to stumble away. "Why are you doing this?!" She laughs and strikes me again, leaving what I can feel beneath the armor a bruise the size of my father's foot. "Gah!" "You will not get to that lost city Feralla. I will not allow it." She says about to crush me with the dragon's tail.