The Champion's Exam promises riches, adventure and the title that creates legends.
Only on problem; it is known for killing its applicants.
Eko Malone, a twelve-year-old boy stuck on an island his entire life, has only known one thing about his pa...
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Nira limped through the bog, the air still thick and stank of moss and mud. The leaves of the shrubs proved to be barriers from what was on the ground, as Nira constantly trotted on strange spikey flowers hidden beneath the leaves. No where she walked felt solid. She was convinced she was walking through quicksand.
She started lifting her feet over the bushes when she walked, hopping from one foot to the next until she jumped onto the root of a tree. She sat there to rest as she pondered her situation, she hadn't the slightest idea as to which way she should go.
Everywhere looked the same.
Drowning in fog or towering trees that seemingly disappeared into the sky. She ran her hand over the bark as she followed the outline of the tree she rested on. She winced as a splinter stuck in her palm. She scratched at her hand, picking out the slivers of wood as she hopped off the roots of the tree and continued through the bushes.
Eventually, she stopped, looking around the forest she didn't see anyone. She pondered whether calling out to people was wise. "I've got nothing to lose..." she mumbled to herself as she took a deep breath and yelled out for someone. "Hello? Eko! Eko, you near?" She walked slowly as she called out, her voice able to cut through the fog.
The forest seemed vast, a large space of wet dirt with trees, which never ended. Nira could feel her voice stretch through the fog and intercept nothing. She took a deep breath and released a loud call for Eko or Jackson, but there was still nothing. Nira felt she was going about this all wrong. She closed her eyes and rested her hands behind her ears, cupping them to amplify sound. If she couldn't call out to anyone, she would have to listen out for them.
She took deep breaths through her nose, feeling the vibrations of the air. She had done this before, back on Emerald Island she use to sneak downstairs to eat some of Ma's cookies and cream homemade ice-cream. Rita was a night owl who sent her back to bed, and Ma would often scold her if she was caught. It took a lot of concentration to hear everything within a house, but within a forest, she was getting a headache trying.
The world started to disappear around her, a strange darkness looming over the forest as she listened intently, shuffling her feet to move around. Background noise was all she could see through her hearing, the whistling of the wind, the scurrying of small critters, the shift of leaves from her feet and the occasional chirp of bugs and birds.
No footsteps.
No words.
No people.
She took in another breath as she focused harder, mentally straining herself to find someone, or some direction of where to go. There was a noise, an intelligible noise, like words. Nira opened her eyes, the dark world morphing back into reality. She raced forwards, pursuing the sound. As she approached she could see through the fog, and the dull outline of figures. There appeared to be five of them walking as a group.
