𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕕 ℙ𝕒𝕘𝕖𝕤 || 𝕊𝕙𝕠𝕣𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤

|1| Paralian |1|

In an unnamed sea, once upon a time, lie 3 islands, 2 of which are inhabitable due to its poor nutrients in soil and its volcanic environment. The very air in the islands is poisonous that it kills someone who breathes it instantly. People of every kind, mages, elves, dwarves, giants, tried to make these habitable but to no avail. They kept saying these islands were cursed by God, and the people that lived here before are evil.

There are 3 islands, 2 as mentioned before are "cursed", but what about the last one? Ah, now my dear reader, in that island is where our story begins. The Island of the Blessed, as the people would call it, is full of lively people, the land healthy and bountiful of trees and plants all of which the people of the island used in their daily life. The air the people breathe smells of the salty winds of the sea and like of the flowering plants in the spring. The land they walk through is as green as the beautiful meadows you might see in the books. The water that surrounds the island is crystal blue in color, and so clear you can see the fishes, crabs, sharks, rays, and turtles swimming in it.

In the Island of the Blessed, lived a young girl, Maya, so her doting parents named her. If anything, she's the most normal girl you can see in the island. She plays with the other children, helps her parents, and does not ask question. If there is any rule in the Island of the Blessed, it was not to ask any question. If anyone offers a fish, do not ask any question as where it came from. If anyone invites you to a fiesta, do not ask what for.

Maya's brown eyes always wandered around the island. There were things that were needed to be questioned, but the little girl dare not earn the ire of her fellow islanders. She would spend her afternoon in the green forest, staring at strange creatures crawling, running, flying, walking, in it. The singing of birds familiar to hear echoes through, harmonizing with purrs, growls and silent roars. There was river in the middle of it, stretching until it connects to the sea. In it, she could also see creatures, swimming around. When the sun begins to set, painting the sky with orange and red, she returns back to her hut, holding back questions from her mother.

A sunny morning came, and a fiesta was hanging around the corner. Maya could barely contain her curiosity, as she watched others decorate the island with colorful flowers, cloths, and many other things. Her mother, sensing her buried questions, explained that it was a celebration for their founders' arrival at the island hundreds of years ago.

Roasted meat drifted through air mixed with the smell of blooming flowers that hung on every hut. Children chased each other with flowers on their hair. The adults busied themselves with food, smiling giddily as they passed each other. Maya noticed only a handful of men stayed with them in the village. Her father was also nowhere to be seen.

After helping her mother with their food, Maya ventured to the forest, once again curious to see the creatures it shelters. But rather than pausing at her usual stop at the riverside near the village, she followed the stretch of the river. She followed it until she finally reached the beach. It was rare that she would go near the shore. Her father told her tales of creatures from the sea eating little children and only brave men can go near it.

The sea was calm that morning. Its gentle blue waves washing the white shore, as its salty air drifts around. Maya ran forward the shore, the sand tickling her toes. Her giggles surround the air, as she watches little crabs walk sideways. A loud roar broke her giggles.

In the sea, a bit farther down, she saw several boats of men whom she knew are from her village. In the middle of them was another yet strange creature. A long elegant snout sat on its also long neck. Its body was underwater, but Maya could see dark blue limbs (no flippers!) thrashing around as taunts, and shouts from the men surrounds it.