Evora, daughter of Antimony

"Have you ever seen the ocean, Evora?"

"No, only on our travels here. Have you?"

"No."

Evora and Elsinor, from their perch upon the highest branch of a willowy tree, stared upon the island: Evora in fascination, and Elsinor so that they may have avoided eye contact. From their distance, rolling waves that crashed seemed like a constant change of colour, ebbing from brilliant blue to a light grey, over and over. Behind them stood the destruction of the mountain, but not one of them chose to speak of it. They were doing well on their own—they had captured food and drink, enough sustenance to keep their pangs of hunger away.

Up in the trees was where it was most peaceful, Evora had always thought. Up in the trees was where the world became not hers, but theirs, but of every living creature, rather than the selfish desires of the rest of the country. Up in the trees was where it was quiet yet rang with a million different sounds all at once.

It was her mother who first taught her how to climb trees, to harness her powers. Antimony, daughter of Erdutzka, mother of Evora. Antimony, who even without phytomancy at her bidding had led Evora out with a steady hand and left her many days in the forest to let her daughter be by herself. She was no longer alone, though, now that she was in the Trials. She was with a friend, she thought, and even though many days had been spent out in the Liriman forests in solitude, it was almost like solitude now, just nicer.

Family had not been on her mind since she came to be in the trials. Indeed, family was something not often on her mind even in Lirima, where under the guise of a magi she had been completing her studies until the trial came about. But they were there, and in the peace of the moment they flickered back into existence, like a slow-burning flame growing ever brighter. Her mother's smiling, aging face, now many years older than she was.

In Lirima it was said that the first man a woman took as child-bearer should be outcast by the woman afterward, until she was to settle down with a second and live with him for the rest of life. One who chose not to settle at all were looked upon as pure and intellectual, slightly more than a woman in good standing with a man to produce children. It was only unfortunate that Antimony had grown to love the first man she had met.

Upon the restlessness of Evora's mind—something was interrupting her usually calm and clear thinking—she could not have noticed the slight shakings of the earth beneath her, or of the brief shimmer of a ship sitting idly on the beach that was not there previously. Planned, moves and countermoves. As it was, Elsinor had much more on their mind too, and for the first time, neither one could be bothered to notice the slight shift of the island, of the birds fleeing their nests and the trickling breeze that snapped at branches.

"Evora, let me tell you a story."

The sound of their voice managed to pull Evora from her thoughts, yet nothing was amiss to her yet, the idea of listening and planning taking precedence over the idea of watching for danger—for surely there could be no danger at such a stable height, mats woven on top of the canopy so that vines intertwined on trunk?

Elsinor spoke with a calming, soothing, demeanor, until far below their feet the tree began to sway in a sudden jolt, and Elsinor said to Evora, still avoiding eye contact, "Something is amiss, and I do hate to cut off the wonderful story I was sharing, but I do think we are no longer safe. Unfortunately for us, my magic is of little use at the current moment, but I would strongly advise that for whatever trial or omen we must certainly be facing, we get down or away immediately."

Evora agreed. It was true that the sudden sway of the tree seemed unnatural. The birds far in the distance, Evora spotted, seemed to circle and swoop in packs so that they blotted out portions of the sky. Trees and rocks seemed to start a torrent of cracking and tumbling from far in the distance, as though an earthquake, sudden and unexpected, was ravaging the island.

Back in Lirima, there were no earthquakes. There was no ocean nor anything but tranquility. Hunting and foraging, taking from the land to replenish it once more. They would take an animal and return a gift to honor the protectors that looked over them, placing gifts of food and hide beneath the largest trunk of tree they could find near their home. It was a tradition passed upon from the very highest of nobles, in order to commemorate the bounties the forest gave Lirima.

Lirima was what Evora knew best, but with the ground now indisputably shaking, her yew branch was drawn from her jacket pocket, and with a nervous hand she channelled her energy into drawing the vines around their two waists, and Elsinor then took charge, propelling them downwards by force of shadows, a hand gripping Evora's waist.

The forest floor was cacophonous. Animals of assorted sizes rampaged, tearing up roots and leaves, leaving in their wake debris and a head of brown hair, body hidden underneath a log. Evora looked away, but Elsinor pushed her forward, the shadows encasing them like a blanket as they raced and jumped over vines that Evora magicked away.

It was torturous, running down to the unknown. Evora's breathing was ragged and harsh and her lungs felt as though they were on fire, but Elsinor pushed on. "P-please," Evora begged, breaking for a moment to inhale deep breaths of fresh ground, "how can you keep running like this?"

"I've much practice, dear. Running away from problems is a new habit of mine, you see." They cracked a smile, turning to face her as she was keeled over, breaths not easing the fire that burned her throat. Elsinor grabbed her arm, looping theirs through hers, and Elsinor adjusted their pace to a jog, half-dragging, half-carrying Evora to safer ground.

Through the foliage came a ray of literal light, the sun glinting off of metal in the distance. Trees branched slowly into thinner areas, and then into beach, and then they were free, sounds still crashing and reverberating around them. Time seemed to have passed so quickly yet the slowest it had yet. A ship, the source of the glinting, stood large before them.

Trees behind them began to creak and crack, a sudden surge of debris tumbling out from the forest, the sand beneath their feet beginning to melt away beneath them, their running footsteps seeming ever more futile the longer they tried to run towards the crystal water.

"There's nothing out here for me to use!" cried Evora, desperation dripping from her voice as she felt like giving up, feeling as though the ship was growing ever farther away than where she now stood.

Cries were now heard, far above on top of the ever-looming ship. Ropes and ladders hung below along the walls, and it seemed like ten, twenty, thirty feet to it...and then more, and more, until it seemed like the beach was growing ever larger, or Evora ever smaller.

Elsinor tugged on her arm, dragging her from her spot with strength she knew not they possessed, determination upon their eyes as the remains of the island behind them began to spill onto the beach with such force that they were thrown and bounced forward, falling to their knees until the two scrambled up and half-walker, half-crawled towards the dampened sand. Their feet, tired and sore, scampered onto the sand that was now cracked with crevices slightly large enough to trip into, but Evora and Elsinor now bounded over them, adrenaline surging for a final moment before the glorious laps of cool water was felt on Evora's pants, the ropes so within reach...and then, a surge of water, and Evora felt herself sucked under the tide, right near the ship. She had only been waist deep, Elsinor already had been latching onto the ladder, always the stronger partner, but the waves had crashed and she had never learned how to swim.

She was floating, her hair splayed out as her lungs took an air of water, and now everything—not just her throat—felt as though it were on fire, like the fires from Lirima that burned down the holy trees. And she thought to herself, how silly to die when so close to achieving a goal, so close to being free, to seeing her mother and Pliny once more, to seeing the face of her teachers once more, of the feeling of the trees and the cool wind. Her fingers reached out from her position underneath the water, stretching to try and feel the memories of the trees, her yew branch lost somewhere.

And then there was light. No more shadows haunted her.

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Althia, daughter of Galena

DID NOT HAND IN

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Lucia of Argi

The rays of the rising sun kissed my face as I woke up and pulled my head off of Dhruva's chest. He stirred a little, but did not rise from his slumber, causing a small grin to appear on my face. I carefully move his arm and begin making some breakfast for when he wakes up. Not that there's many ingredients to choose from, or that I'm even a somewhat good cook, but I make do with what I have, meaning a few handfuls of semi-dried fruit, and a bit of cooked meat from some animal that Dhruva killed last night.

I pour a little blood over the fire spit I'm using to roast the meat, bringing it to life so I don't have to watch over it.

Make sure the meat doesn't burn, alright?

He stirrs at the smell of roasting meat, his eyes lighting up when he sees me, "Goodmorning, Luce. Wow, you've already fixed breakfast." I smile and hand him half of the meat and fruit, then begin eating myself.

Good morning, sleepy head. I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up.

I shrug my shoulders at his look of confusion and kiss him lightly on the cheek. Maybe just for today, we can escape from the Trials and finally be in peace.

As if in answer for my request, a large rumbling sound begins to echo through our surrounding area. Basically the whole damn island shouting 'no' at the a same time.

The rumbling stops and Guardian Elswyth's voice rings throughout the clearing, "Attention Magi, we need everyone to come to the shore in the same place you unboarded the ship. Please come immediately, for the island is no longer safe. The exact details will be explained upon embarkment to the mainland," the vocal projection sputters, then resumes with less force, "Please, the Trials are over, this isn't a test or anything. Please come so you don't die." The transmission ends, and Dhruva and share a look.

"Well, I personally don't want to die either, so let's get going," he grins, but I can see fear in his eyes. He stands up, shoving the last bite of food in his mouth, then begins to pack up our meager belongings into our two packs. Throwing sand over the fire and collecting the last few remaining vials of blood, I follow him towards the treeline.

Do you think we should be moving a bit faster, Guardian Elswyth sounded pretty nervous.

"Luce we really need to find a better way to communicate. But, I think that we need to start moving a bit faster so we can escape whatever scared Elswyth," He grabs my hand and throws the pack over his shoulder.

I literally just said that, Dhru.

I squeeze his hand and begin to walk at a faster pace, pulling Dhruva along. He sprints past me, winning the little race I started, and I begin to laugh.

"I like your laugh, Luce, you need to laugh more often," He chuckles.

A crash sounds behind him and Dhruva stops chuckling immediately, "There will be time for laughter later, now we should probably run." He grips my hand tighter and we take off sprinting, racing against time instead of each other.

The forest wasn't exactly the best place to run through; trees' branches whipped into our faces, roots pulled at our feet, and brambles grabbed at our clothing. It almost seemed as if the forest itself wasn't on our side. The only reason we were still running was by the sheer force of our will power. The whole island shakes again, and this time I lose my balance, crashing to the ground. In less than a second, Dhruva has dragged me to my feet and is urging me to run faster.

"Luce, we're so close to the shore. Please, don't fall now." Dhruva helps me gain my balance and we continue running through the trees.

Sweat drips off my forehead into my eyes, blinding my view, but even with that handicap, I can still see the glimmering of the shoreline up ahead.

"Almost there, Luce." I wipe the sweat out of my eyes and look up at him; he's so determined to make it to the boat, to survive, and I find myself falling deeper in love with him, more than I even knew was possible.

He looks down at me and smiles, "Hey, we're almost there, you can stare at me later, but right now we have a high possibility of dying, so let's focus on surviving now." I grin and turn back to the shore, running faster than ever.

In a matter of minutes, we reach the dock where the guardians are waiting expectantly with a number of magi behind them, all but one of the remaining Lirima, Evora if I can remember the name correctly, and Atalanta are here.

"Thank goodness you two made it, we were starting to worry. Unless the other two can make it in the next four minutes, we have to leave without them." Guardian Elswyth welcomes Dhruva and I onto the ship, watching us as we walk onto the boat.

Dhruva walks onto the boat, then holds a hand out to help me up, but the ground beneath me sags, and he misses my hand my a centimeter. Dhruva reaches his hand out further, but the ground keeps falling from beneath me, dragging me further and further away from him and safety.

"Lucia, just jump!" he leans further over the edge, his hand brushing my fingertips. I stretch out further, trying to get a grip on his hand. I jump up off of the soggy ground, and all of a sudden I'm reminded of the first day we met; I was sinking into lava and he was reaching a hand out to save me. The only difference now is that instead of burning lava, it's freezing water.

His fingers grasp mine for only a second before the ground beneath me gives, and I plummet into the freezing water, ending my déjà vu.

Dhruva... I can't... swim.

My signs are sloppy because I'm wildly flailing about trying to keep afloat, and the sad attempt at swimming does nothing. I begin to slowly sink, salty water splashing into my eyes and mouth. Filling my lungs, and burning my wounds.

Without hesitation or really any need to understand what I'm trying to say, Dhruva jumps into the water and wraps his arms around me, holding me above the water. His shoes and shirt are still on, but he covers the distance from the boat to me in a matter of seconds.

"I need a ladder!" Dhruva treads water and maneuvers us closer to the boat, still holding my head above water.

"I don't think there's a ladder," someone calls from on the boat. Dhruva looks up at them, eyes blazing. "You better find something that will work pretty damn fast, or so help me I will rip out your throat." The girl who had spoken now looks down at her feet. My vision goes in and out as a wave laps over my face, the salt burning my eyes.

Finally someone lowers over a staff, and Dhruva hoists me up until I can reach it. Someone pulls me over on to the boat, and I lay on my back, coughing up salt water and sucking in air. When I can finally breathe I look over the edge of the boat, but I can't see Dhruva anywhere. Wet arms wrap around me from behind, drawing me in.

"It's okay, Luce, I made it too." Dhruva calmly says from behind me, and I spin around and press my lips to his.

I thought we weren't going to make it, Dhru.

He pulls away and grins, "You know I can't understand it when you sign, Luce." He pulls me closer to him .

Maybe that's the reason I continue signing. I smile.

"This is now the third time I've saved you, Luce, you really need to step up your game." He grins, and I pull him closer.