“What was that?” Cillian asked, awestruck. “Was that magic? I didn’t see it. Did he actually throw that up there?”
Tygus was already marching back down towards his home. Even though he heard the question he didn’t bother to turn around and answer.
“It’s been some time since I’ve seen Master exercise his power,” Ravel said.
Cillian sat down on the cold rocky ground. His head was reeling from what he had seen. He pushed it out of his mind, writing it off as the power of an adventurer.
That is power I would need.
Cillian shifted his focus to the new task at hand.
“Okay, just retrieve the red flag. That seems pretty simple,” he mumbled under his breath. “Ravel, how far do you think it would take to hike there?” Cillian asked.
Ravel walked over to his side and stood beside him.
“My estimate, Sir Cillian, is four days there and four days back. But you’re strapping and young, I’m sure you can make it three,” Ravel said while offering his paw to Cillian. “Come, we can discuss it more over breakfast.”
***
Cillian stood overlooking a large valley. He adjusted the bag on his back that Ravel had helped him pack. When the two of them got back to the cabin they found Tygus cheerful, drunk, and unhelpful, so they made all the preparations for Cillian’s trial together.
The valley that Cillian was at the top of was at the base of the mountain he had to climb to reach the red flag. It had taken the whole morning to climb down here, and the afternoon sun shined bright in an empty sky. The valley was all untouched snow with a flowing river bisecting it.
Cillian wiped sweat off his face. Ravel had given him a plump brown coat, and it was keeping him a little too warm. He started his climb down with a cheery attitude.
The day is good, and even though this is going to be difficult, it’s not impossible. Things are going to be okay.
As Cillian approached the river he realized that it was much wider than he initially thought. He paused to think of a way across. Initially, he thought he would be able to just jump across, but now he felt foolish. He dropped his bag to the floor and started to strip his clothes off. There was only one way he could think of to cross.
Once he had reached the point where he was wearing nothing but his underwear, Cillian stopped. He looked around, feeling a bit embarrassed, making sure no one was there. When he felt sufficiently secure that he was alone, Cillian removed the last of his garments. It felt strange being completely exposed in the cold, but this wasn’t even the worst part of what he had to do.
Cillian gathered up his clothes and placed them on the top of his bag. Then, he lifted them all together and raised them over his head as he waded into the river.
The first touch of the cold water sent a shock through Cillian’s body and made him tense up. Each successive step he took came with excruciating cold.
“It’s not that far. It’s not that far,” he said aloud.
He kept wading into the river until his body was submerged from the belly button down. At this point, his toes were almost completely numb, and he was losing feeling of the slippery rocks below. After a few more steps, the water had reached his chest. The oppressive cold of the flowing river made it hard to breathe, and Cillian began to gasp. A few more steps and it had reached his collarbone.
This plan of Cillian’s was entirely reliant on his height being greater than the river’s depth. Now that plan wasn’t looking too sound. Cillian considered turning back, but since he was already halfway across, he felt that there was still a chance.
It took five more steps for the water to reach the tip of his chin. The piercing cold wasn’t on his mind, only the anxiety of the river being too deep. Cillian wanted to run now, but he couldn’t risk a slip. Carefully he moved, dreading the step that would take him too deep until to his surprise, he started to rise above the water.
Once Cillian got close enough to the shore, he threw his luggage over and rushed out. His whole body was numb and violently shaking, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. Frantically, he dug through his bag for his blanket and fire starting kit. Any light gust of air felt like an icy blade.
The tiny fire that was made was enough to bring Cillian’s body back to a bit more of a stable state. Cillian’s enjoyment of the sun and fire was interrupted by the sudden feeling of a hand on his back.
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He jumped and turned around with a scream. That caused the woman before him to pull back as well. Cillian looked at her dumbfounded and she returned the look, her head cocked in examination. Realizing, Cillian’s face flushed red and he pulled the blanket over his body to hide himself.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t think anyone was here,” Cillian stammered, looking away from the woman. But as he spoke his mind raced.
I made sure no one was there. Where did she come from? Was she already on this side of the river? The valley was empty besides the river, she couldn’t have been hiding anywhere.
Cillian’s own curiosity overcame his shame. The woman he saw wasn’t like any he had seen before. She was blue. Her whole body was blue. Her skin was a light blue like the sky, and her hair was a dark deep blue. There was even a thin translucent blue material that wrapped her body in layers, making a pseudo dress.
She poked Cillian’s face.
“You speak,” she said as if she was speaking to herself. She reached out and grabbed parts of his body.
“Hey! Stop that,” Cillian said, slapping away her hands.
“What are you?” The woman said. She was slightly shorter than Cillian and was looking up at him.
“I should be asking you that,” Cillian replied.
“You speak. You look like me, but different,” she said seemingly lost in thought.
“Turn around. I want to put my clothes on,” Cillian said.
The blue woman just stared blankly.
“Turn around,” Cillian emphasized with his hands.
After Cillian was clothed he tended to his dying fire and beckoned the woman to sit with him.
“It’s warm,” the woman said. Her eyes were fixated on the flame. She pointed up. “Like the sun.”
“Well, it’s gonna die out soon,” Cillian said. “I’m out of fuel.”
They sat in silence for some time.
“Where did you come from? I swear I didn’t see anyone,” Cillian asked.
“The river,” the blue woman said nonchalantly. “You are not like the other animals. What are you?” She asked back.
Cillian was surprised by the question. “I’m human. You’ve never seen a human before?”
“Human? You are the first of your kind I have seen. The animals that come through this valley are nothing like you,” she replied.
“I haven’t seen anyone like you either. I’ve only seen Elves and Dwarves. I mean, of course, I’ve seen the Manezans. I even recently saw a giant cat person if you can believe that,” Cillian caught himself rambling. “Anyway, I’m Cillian. Do you have a name?”
He offered his hand to her.
She looked at it and replied, “Mother used to call me Eliana.”
Cillian awkwardly retreated his hand. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Eliana.”
He got to his feet and kicked snow into the fire till it went out.
“Why did you do that?” Eliana asked.
“I’ve already wasted enough time,” he said while putting his bag on. “I have to keep moving.”
Eliana looked at the river for a moment before she got up to follow him.
“Where are you going?” She called out while moving to catch up with Cillian.
Cillian didn’t slow down, but he waited for her to walk beside him to answer. “I need to climb this mountain.”
“Why?” She asked.
“Because I need to get something from there.”
“Why?” She asked again.
“So that I can train to become stronger.”
“Why do you need to become stronger?” She asked.
Cillian stopped waking and turned to face the blue girl. “You ask a lot of questions,” he said, but he couldn’t deny the innocence of them. “My sister is in trouble and I need to get stronger so I can save her.”
“What happened to her?” Eliana asked with genuine concern.
Cillian clenched his fists till it hurt.
“Evil people took her. Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever been away from that river?” Cillian asked.
“My water is in the river. Mother told me to stay in the valley, to wait for her. I don’t leave because she said so and because the farther from the river I stray the weaker I become.”
Cillian stopped again. By this time they had reached the top of the valley and the base of the foothills of the mountain.
“Wait, are you okay? We left the valley. Are you feeling weak now?” Cillian asked.
“No, I am okay. Thank you for your concern,” Eliana smiled. “I will turn back once I become too weak.”
“Hmm, okay, if you say so,” Cillian said as he resumed walking.
The two spoke more as they climbed up the increasingly rocky terrain. However, it would only take an hour till they met an obstacle that would stop them dead in their tracks.
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Image [https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/990816806581198869/1007997962653286492/thecoolestguyintheworld_looking_down_into_a_large_valley_with_a_3cba6fde-62c7-45a9-bc91-0ae571fe36f4.png?width=1068&height=1068]
Valley