Tarrair {Land of Elements} [[ON HOLD]]

Chapter One

Aireene awoke before the sun was supposed to climb above the horizon. Light only hit the edges of Tenebris, seeing that it was the sector of darkness out of the six sectors of Tarrair; Ignis, Aqua, Terra, Aer, Lux, and of course Tenebris. Each sector represented an element, fire, water, earth, air, light, and dark, and within those sectors there were those called mages who had control over that element. She had been in Tenebris for three days now, and had been relying on her internal clock to control her sleep schedule. It was the smallest of the sectors and consisted of mostly dark forest–or forest that only had plants that grew without sunlight– so she spent less time here than she did other sectors. Even in the lager sectors that were populated she couldn't afford to stay in the same place for longer than a month or so. If she were to stay too long she ran the risk of villagers connecting the dots about her–although it would be quite hard to figure out on your own–or, almost more dangerous, being trailed by The Abiit.

The Abiit were the monsters that plagued the land of Tarrair. If you were only to see a glimpse of them they resembled normal animals, but upon closer inspection you would notice the difference. They were rumored to be born already half dead due to the fact that they resembled a rotting corpses, they have only patches of skin and matted hair that was often glued to the creatures flesh in odd ways, while the rest of their bodies that had no skin revealed the red muscle that is normally hidden underneath. On top of their startling appearance they were incredibly strong and had a need for blood, both of human and normal animals, yet they only attacked other Abiit when there is nothing else to be found. There is little known of where they come from, or if they have intentions other than bloodshed because they were too dangerous to keep caged up, and usually the information they did have was trivial and constantly changing.

Aireene had been traveling Tarrair all her life, even before she had a job as a merchant, and she knew very well how to protect herself from those monsters, but they were still dangerous. She slept light, awaking at the slightest sound, and kept her head on a swivel. It was also a extremely helpful that The Abiit avoided her, as if they knew she was ready to attack at the first sight of danger, although she knew that wasn't even close to the real reason, but every now and then one would have no other option but to settle for the warm, crimson liquid coursing through her veins and attack her. It was especially difficult to decipher what animal was an Abiit and what was not in the dark forests of Tenebris, which only added to her list of reasons why not to come there, so she was even more on alert than usual. If it weren't for these factors she would have been dead years ago.

She gathered up her things and cleaned up her small camp, which was really just a tarp she carried with her and throwing some more dirt on the now cold coals from her fire yesterday. She pulled on her sack with all of the goods she wanted to sell in the city with expensive fabrics from Lux, medicine from Aer, jewelry from Aqua, and other things that could only be found in specific sectors. They're weren't many traveling merchants in Tarrair for two reasons: the danger of traveling alone, and because most people don't leave they're sectors their entire lives. This was, of course, was great for her because if civilians wanted something from another sector then they had no choice but to buy from her, although it wasn't as if she had a choice. She was raised on the road, she didn't even know which sector she was born in, therefore could not return there. Not that she would have, she loved not being chained to any one sector or government. There was a sense of freedom in it.

She pulled out a map, checking and double checking, to assure herself she was going in the right direction, then started towards the city. Her always hurting body screamed at her to stop moving, but she tried to mask any sign of any pain. When a person rarely go a day without traveling rough landscapes they get used to scrapes, rashes, and whatever else might come along. Then there was the morning soreness she got in her legs for walking from dawn until dusk the day before, and even along with the minor scratches wasn't too much to handle. The real issue though, were the burns on her skin that covered every inch of her, that she knew should never heal, it was like pain was a part of living for her, therefore she had no reason to show how much it killed her, for the same reason that you would not show the effort from taking each breath. Breathing isn't straining, and pain shouldn't hurt. Yet even though that was the logical answer, she never got used to it. Every new step was another blow to her fragile being, and while she was focused on hiding that, her control over her thoughts got thinner. She knew thinking of it only strengthened the hold her secret had on her, but even knowing this, every now and then she would lose the battle with her insanity.