Timestamp: 13th Winter 511 A.V. So cold. It was so cold. The frost chilled her wet skin. It hurt her almost as much as the wind, which slashed her sharply like the slavers on the ship. The memories of them were fresh in her mind. All the horrors that those men had committed on that boat, all the horrors those men had committed against her...but she had committed crimes just as bad. Vividly did she remembered the horrific escape, vividly she remembered killing the man in her cell. She remembered her dive over the side of the boat into the cold, cold water, the shouts and curses that had followed after her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't forget it. The water had brought her here, but where was here, exactly? She didn't know. Long fronds of waving grass surrounded her on all sides but behind her, whereas the frothy waves had lapped at her scaly feet. Driven by fear and adrenaline, she had run into those unending plains. And ran and ran and ran...but each strand of grass in front of her was exactly the same as the one behind her. It didn't matter which way she went, she ended up somewhere that looked, seemed, and felt exactly the same; it was almost if she could turn around and end up back at the shore. But by that time, even that change in surroundings was long since gone. Night was coming. It crouched on the edge of sky, waiting for its chance to overwhelm the Sun's dying glow. The cries of unseen predators surrounded her, erupting ever now and again as unlucky prey was caught. Sooner or later, she knew that those very same predators would take notice of her, and she would become the prey. In her exhausted state, she wouldn't be able to do anything but wait for inevitable death. Her steps faltered, and the ground reached up to embrace her. There she crouched, on her knees and devoid of the strength that had borne her hither. Sharp gasps escaped from her lips, signs of the fatigue that struggled to overcome her. Despair. That was the one thing that she felt, the one overriding emotion. Only death await her, and she knew it. Lynnea Timandre raised her eyes to the sky, unable to move beyond that. Tears glimmered at the edges of her cerulean blue eyes as she searched the heavens in despair. "Help me." she whispered. "Help me!" |