Arrowhead | rise of the brave tangled dragons

𝐀 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩

This had been the last thing she'd expected to happen.

And oh, she was not happy about it.

Darkness swarmed her vision and still, a painfully bright light tried to shine through, rousing her whether she liked it or not. Her head pounded in time with the chirping of the birds. A soft breeze caressed her face. Slowly, she cracked an eye open. She was greeted by the sight of a hole in the ceiling. She groaned quietly with a wince and sat up, shivering. The more she saw, the less she understood.

Where was she? And where had this rock cavern come from?

Her quiver, filled to the brim with arrows, was propped against the wall across from her. Her bow and sword sat nearby. An old animal skin rug covered the cold stone floor where she'd been resting. The echo of dripping water rang out from further down the cave— how far down it went, she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. The rest of the room seemed barren, save for a vile of... something... in the corner. It shone in the low light, enticingly but foreboding. Just like the Witch's magic. Quickly, she tore her gaze away from it, looking ahead at her bow again. "Och, Mum's going to kill me."

Perched on the tip of her bow, a small sparrow chirped, intently focused on her. Merida scowled at it. The room seemed to spin for a moment, and then it turned red as her hair fell into her face, only causing her to scowl even more. She shoved it away with a wince and clambered up to her feet. A soft whisper of a voice came from behind her, sounding almost, almost like it was saying "follow me..." A sneaking suspicion of what it might be didn't stop her from turning around.

A will o' the wisp. Its blue light reflected around the walls, lighting up her face as her mouth dropped open slightly into a soft 'o'. "What do you want?" She asked in an accusatory tone, her Scottish accent ringing out bold and true. It was hard to miss. "Did you bring me 'ere?" Will o' the wisps had caused her more trouble than they were worth. The worst days of her life she owed to them... but she also owed them her life. They were small orbs of blue fire with a small body and even smaller arms. Without a mouth, no one was certain how they could speak, but when they did, it sounded like a child's whisper. Their eyes had little form and no irises, just two dark pools of blue that followed one's every move. Legend had it, they could lead you to your fate.

No matter her feelings on them, it didn't matter. Their presence meant something was happening, something big. With a wary look at the wisps, she crossed the cavern to gather her things. She hadn't seen them in years. Until... No.

"Fine. Don't answer me." She huffed, hitching her bow over her torso. "How long have I been out...?" The wisp offered no answers, which wasn't at all that surprising. As she took a step forward, her foot brushed against a small object. She looked down, then scooped up a small, ancient pouch. Dust particles flew into the air and danced in the wisp's light. Her fingertips toyed with the string keeping it shut, her brow furrowing. An unfamiliar insignia shone on the outside, resembling the quaternary knot except with lines out of place. Ragged lines across it left and right. Not one of the quarters was truly connected. Remarkably, as old as it was, the paint wasn't flakey.

Just as she was holding it up to the light to get a better look, a loud thump sounded from behind her. A gasp slipped out from her lips. Then, a dusty darkness fell over the cave, obscuring the dying rays of sunlight. It took her a moment to make sure she wasn't blacking out again. Footsteps rang out from behind her, echoing throughout the cavern, and slowly, she turned to see a tall, grey man with a black cloak. To his left stood a woman with grey, almost white, curls and matching skin, making her look like a ghost. The only thing alive about her was her piercing blue eyes that made her want to crawl out of her skin and slither away to hibernate for a hundred years.