Our children raged and we wept for them. But we could not help them, not anymore. Not as the conquered. But the gifts made a mistake. They did not know of us, not anymore. So they left us alone.
- Chapter 28, The Unwritten History of Neah-Reath
“Walk in the forest and find something that speaks to you. What could speak to me in a forest? Does he mean I should find something that I like? Something that represents me? This isn’t magic, this is taking a hike!” muttered Teah as she walked through the woods.
“How would I even know if something is speaking to me?”
Teah was prepared to admit that her introduction to magic wasn’t quite living up to her expectations.
“But what else can I do?” she asked herself.
“I saw the map, but I didn’t recognise any of it. Sure, I could walk to the village or the city, but why? Nothing here seems right.”
Giving up, Teah threw herself onto the ground then rolled over to look at the sky. She decided to talk her way through it all.
“One: I don’t know who I am, or where I am, or why I don’t remember these things.
Two: I believe that magic isn’t real, but Cornelious says that not only is magic real, its common throughout this world.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Three: I’m having dreams, or visions, or nightmares, about things that don’t make any sense. A land changing over time. Dying in a canyon.
Four: These can’t be my memories, so why do they feel so real?
Five: I’m screwed.”
On second thought, Teah decided that talking her way through it wasn’t as useful as she had hoped.
“Alright, what did he say again? Just relax and let it happen. What sort of Zen crap is this?”
Despite feeling frustrated by this all, Teah stood up and started walking. As she walked, she forced herself to breathe slowly and relax. As she did, she looked around the forest. At first, it all seemed the same, but then she noticed a small bush that looked different.
“This bush, do I recognise it?”
Teah wasn’t sure, but she picked a leaf from it anyway. She turned, and saw an odd stick that seemed to be a different colour from the trees around her, so she picked it up as well.
“Alright, maybe this does work after all!” Teah cheered exuberantly to herself.
Teah put her items into the pouch that was on her belt and turned to look around again. And then she saw the giant frog. It was at least as big as her head and a sickly green colour. And angry. It looked extremely angry.
“Well, shit. What the hell is that?”
The frog-thing had legs almost as thick as her arms, with an oversized, almost bulbous head. As she watched it, it opened it’s gaping mouth and flicked its tongue out at her.
“Oh shit, oh shit, what do I do?”
Teah looked around wildly and saw a stone on the ground. She eyed the huge frog wildly, as she tensed in preparation. She saw the frog flick its tongue out and leapt. At the same moment, she saw the frog leap at her! She reached out her hand and manage to grasp the stone just as the from barrelled into her and sent her sprawling, and she bashed her head on a tree trunk.
“Ow” she said weakly, as she saw the frog staring at her again. She watched, unable to move, as it moved, tensing its legs as it prepared to jump at her again. Just then, there was a burst of multicoloured light and a wild assortment of sounds, directly in front of the frog’s face. It leapt wildly away, as Teah covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. It was all too much for her, as her abused brain gave up. As she lost consciousness, she felt her body rise up and start to move. Then, all was black.