The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 5: The Last Pendant

Prologue: The Realm Beyond

Prologue: The Realm Beyond

     The sky was overcast and stormy. Thunder cracked and pealed, echoing across the vast landscape. The heavens opened and rain trickled down, first in light droplets, then in heavy heaps. There was no lightning, just the thunder and the rain. The wind was calm, a gentle breeze caressing the grass below and the leaves on the trees at the edge of the large meadow. The land rolled for as far as the eye could see: Grassy hills with trees dotted across in random places. There was a sweet smell in the air. There were no roads visible, no trails or walkways, no carved paths. There were no wild animals and no birds in the sky. The grass was a rich green, the trees healthy and vibrant. Little daisies rose from the ground in small clumps throughout the meadow.

     A young man stood on one of the rolling hills and surveyed the land. He looked around with squinty eyes and took in the place. He was disoriented and confused. He looked around and tried to figure out where he was. He had no idea of how long he had been standing on the hill or why he was there.

     “Where am I?” he asked himself. He looked at his hands curiously. He felt a strange tingle in his fingers that ran through his arms to his shoulders. He felt shivers run up and down his spine.

     He felt motionless and weak. Moving his legs felt like a chore. His whole body felt rigid and sore. His joints ached and his muscles felt tense. He could not remember what had happened or what would have caused him to be in such pain. His skin felt cold and his body felt chill to the touch.

     “What happened?” he asked himself. He tried to move but even the very simple task of taking a step felt foreign and difficult to him. He put all his thought into taking a step forward, then concentrated his thoughts into taking another. After a few steps he was mentally exhausted. He sensed the urgency to move but his body rebelled against him. He felt a burning pain in his left side that overtook him. He put his left hand to his left side, around his ribcage, and felt something. It felt wet to the touch and burned. The pain intensified. There was a wound just under his lower rib. It wasn’t long or deep, but it hurt nonetheless. It was an incision about an inch long. It wasn’t the wound that hurt, but everything around it.

     “Okay, seriously,” he repeated, “What the heck happened?” He looked around to see if there were any people or houses nearby. He saw nothing; no signs of civilization in any direction. He had a lot of questions yet no way to satisfy them.

     He took more steps, despite the mental exhaustion that accompanied each step. After a while the walking became easier, though still labored. He walked slowly and steadily for as long as he could. The next thought that crossed his mind was how far he had walked. He looked back and was shocked to see that he had traveled for many miles; the rolling hills were far behind him. He didn’t know how he had traveled so far or why it felt like it had only happened in a few moments. He then stopped and tried to count the seconds that passed. He could not sense the passage of time. He was more lost than he was at the start.

     “What am I going to do?” he asked himself. He stood in the middle of a valley between two hills. Flowers and tall grass lined the inner parts of the valley. He walked mindlessly for a few moments and found himself in front of a great forest. He had traveled a great distance again; he didn’t know how he had made such a great distance in such short a time. He chose not to dwell on it and continued on his way, hoping to run into someone or find someone who could answer his questions.

     As he walked among the trees he felt a sense of comfort. The leaves were green and lush. The sun poked through the treetop canopy and bathed the ground in a green sunny light that warmed everything, including the young man. There were leaves fallen onto the ground, twigs and branches underfoot in various places. Small feathery seeds floated in the air and danced to the ground. The first sign of life that the young man saw were small fairies that hopped from tree to tree, flying around in the air above his head. He stopped and watched them for a few moments, admiring the way they buzzed and poked around in the trees. He smiled at the way they flew around.