Tales of Etheria: Awakening

Chapter One

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There's something dark within me.

My stomach shifts and churns. I reposition myself on my bed, lying on my side hoping to get more comfortable, but the sickness spreads until my body is hot. I'm not sure how much time passes, minutes, maybe hours. My skin is wet with sweat and my blankets stick to me.

The dreaded moment arrives.

The burning rises in my throat.

My eyes shoot open, and my body only reacts to what I know is coming. I don't lift the shade on the lightstones, I don't need to. I'd know my way through our little house if I was blind. So I run downstairs, not seeing but feeling the seventeen steps with my bare feet. In the darkness, I easily find the handle to the backdoor and I open it.

I hold back my hair as I lunge out the door and start to cough. Leaning over the railing on the back porch, I suck in air through my nose and breathe out my mouth, willing myself not to throw up. Today of all days, I can't be sick.

The cool morning air coats the inside of my lungs, refreshing me, bringing me to life. It's only now that I realize I'm not even fully awake. I wonder if it's possible for me to fall back to sleep for another hour or so once I can calm my stomach down. A few more minutes of deep breaths, I should be fine.

I'm shaking, still holding my hair back, just in case. But the sickness seems to dissipate with every new breath. My body is still burning, but the gentle morning breeze seems to be helping.

The sun isn't up yet, but the horizon is fading from black into a dark blue. I glance up at the sky and try to find the star named Eye of Arctura, after our god, Arctura. It isn't the brightest star in the sky, but I've done my studying and know approximately where it is. It's our north star, our guiding light.

As I stare up at the sky, I know I won't be able to fall back to sleep now. I'm too shaken, and I don't want to dream again. That's what it was, I realize, what made me feel so sick. A dream.

I take a seat on the small wooden porch and lean against the stone wall of my house to watch the sun come up. What was I dreaming? Sometimes if I have a bad dream, recalling it when I'm awake makes me less afraid. But I don't remember any details.

Something about a witch. A human heart, that wasn't quite a heart. And something dark.

I try to make some sense out of it, try to find the storyline my dream was following before I awakened feeling nauseous. There was a swirling darkness inside me, and I can only think I dreamed it because of how sick I was feeling in my bed. The darkness was probably the churning in my stomach. It makes sense, but I'm not completely satisfied. I wish I could remember the whole thing.

Trying to remember seems to make the bad feeling come back so I focus back on the sky. The sun is peaking over the horizon now, and the stars are blinking out of existence. I'll look for the Eye of Arctura tonight if I have the time.

Maybe I was just feeling sick because I'm nervous. Nervous is an understatement, actually. Today is my first day of school at Odaya River Academy. The day I've been looking forward to for the past six years. In other kingdoms, like Alyria, kids have to go to school as early as five or six, I've heard. But here in the Kingdom of Odaya, unless you are unbelievably wealthy and can hire private tutors, you go to school the fall before you turn twelve.

My hands start to quiver in my lap as thoughts race through my head. What if I look really stupid in front of everyone in school? My parents and Auntie have given me loads of books over the years, and I've read them all. I can't help wondering if it's enough though. I've heard it's a really good school.