ESKARINA

As I made my way through the woodland, I found myself moving through a series of severed trees,with only their stumps remaining. The more I moved away from the beach, the more empty the forest seemed to become. The more I pressed on,the more apparent the signs of deforestation became.

I saw no life, and yet Nova had told me of how beautiful and lively the wildlife of Elysium was.

Even though he had explained that those were all present back in its heydays, he also explained that after the North invaded, they began to cut the trees down for their sap.

My heart raced in my chest. I couldn't tell if it were because of how long I had been running, or from the sheer stress I felt.

I need to find help. I don't have much time before the high tide sets in again. I need to hurry and find someone so I can help Nova...please...let me find someone...anyone...

My legs ached with fatigue,yet I forced myself to press forward. My progress was brought to a sudden halt. The whizz of an arrow being loosed filled my eardrums, the sound of the bowstring snapping back filled the emptiness which surrounded me.

The arrow stopped me dead in my tracks, a short, determined figure appeared before me,bowstring drawn and arrow nooked,ready to fire. They wore some sort of armour, which resembled several leaves,strewn together and elegantly woven into armour.

Long brown hair concealed my attackers face.

"Whey't aruk durin hal?"

Fuck...

I don't know how to speak elvish!

How was I meant to communicate? Nova hadn't taught me any elvish or any languages, only how to fight. And now this stranger,who could very well be a bandit, held me at bow point. I knew he could talk elvish,but I couldn't...I didn't know the first thing about speaking elvish...

I held my hands up,slowly raising them in surrender whilst my assailant drew back on their bowstring,further increasing the tension in the string.

"I..."

My body was trembling. I was tired. Exhausted. I had been running for so long I'd lost track of time, but I clung to hope that I still had time left to go back and help Nove before the high tide,or before he bled out.

"My name..." I began,pointing to myself in an attempt to translate. "Is Eskarina...I, am not from here. My ship was wrecked,on the shore."

The assailant released the draw on their bow,placing the arrow back in their quiver.

"I can speak Northern. You're a nordling...but you don't seem like someone whose very harmful."

It was a young boys voice. Far younger than myself.

He brushed his hair aside,which revealed a strange set of golden eye's.

"Orion!" A voice came. A girl and another boy appeared,seemingly having the same look as the youngest of the three. The girls armour appeared to be specially tailored to her figure, and her pointy elven ears twitched for a few seconds.

The young boy stood in front of the two, who both had their weapons trained on me.

"She doesn't want to hurt us! She needs help!"

Both of their eye's fell to the boy, seemingly bewildered.

"Eckt le'anel! Wreknish nea'vet!" The boy said.

I wished Nova were with me to translate,yet I did nothing. I simply stood,holding my hands in the air,watching as the two elders of the trio of elves looked at the youngest with a suspicious look in their eye's.

The eldest boy's eye's focused on mine,his bow still trained on me. "Is that true nordling? You were shipwrecked?"

"Yes! Yes I was shipwrecked! My friend needs help,please he's bleeding out on the shore. He's pinned by a metal shard...please..."

The two elders looked at one another,the girl shooting a glare at the boy.

"May'es leonar?"

"Velenoi Nord. Creno keleni ectsa."

The boy lowered his bow,stowing it away while the girl shook her head, only drawing back her arrow tighter.

"I'anel liona."

He pushed her bow down, scolding her in elvish. The two glared at each other before she stowed her bow and arrow away as well. I let out a breath of relief as the boy approached me.

"Forgive my little sister. She's a bit...cautious when it comes to nordlings."

"Please,I need your help,my friend-"

"Our brother already told us your story, nordling." The girl scoffed. "Show us to your friend."

I didn't even hesitate and turned on my heel,only to be forced back by the girl. "You so much as try to screw us over and I'll kill you on the spot."

"Leave her." Her brother said, pushing her hand off of me.

I led them back to the beach, yet when I arrived,I no longer saw the ship.

The girl drew her bow in an instant, and I quickly threw my hands up.

"Wait! Wait! I swear the boat was here!"

"Lies."

"It's high tide. The sea would've taken it back down. If we hurry there's a chance we can still find your friend."

"Let Orion go with her. Little brother can swim better than we can."

Orion smiled and we both dashed into the cold waters,swimming beneath the waves which crashed above our heads. It wasn't long until we came across the ship, where we swam into the deck. I battled to keep my breath in while Orion appeared to do it with little to no effort. The small elf swam to Nova with ease,stopping and hovering above him as he gently kicked to keep himself buoyant in a single position. He drew his bow and arrow and fired it into Nova's shoulder. I swam as fast as I could,stopping as I watched a green vine slowly wrap round the arrow. The boy then swam back to me,handing me his bow and arrow, instructing me to swim back.

I did as he instructed,swimming back and kicked against the water with all the strength I had left. I felt Nova coming loose, then the sudden thud filled my ears beneath the waters. I swam to him,hooking my arms beneath his armpits and dragging him up toward the surface. Orion arrived before I did, and I dragged Nova to the shore,coughing and catching my breath. As soon as I recovered,I started CPR, pushing on Nova's chest and breathing into his mouth.

Come on...don't die on me...you can't die on me you fuck. Come on...come on you stubborn bastard.

His lips were cold, and I felt tears start to fill my eye's.

"No...No. Come on,not after all we've been through you motherfucker,you don't get to die now!" I said,pressing my lips back against his,breathing every breath into him as I desperately tried to save him. "Come on! We fought, We had our fights,but we're cool now remember?! New start right Nove?! Please, you said you would fight for me. For yourself. For us?! No more suicide attempts."

Another breath.

"No more self harming."

Another.

"You were doing so well. We were doing so well! Come on! You've come so far, we've both come so far. We came this far together. You said you'd fight, so don't fucking leave me alone you bastard!"

I interlaced my fingers together,hammering down on Nova's chest.

"Stop." The girls voice came. "That's Nova Vi Britannia you're trying to help there. The Empires Grim Reaper..."

I didn't care about her as I raised my hands again and pounded down onto Nova's chest.

I heard her bowstring snap back. "Stop it. I'll fire Nordling."

I stopped,slowly raising my hands above my head. "Please...just let me help him...please..."

I heard him gurgle,from the depths of his throat a slight bubbling sound came before Nova coughed up litre after litre of seawater. I sat him upright, pulling him close to me as he trembled,gasping for air and struggling to breathe.

"E...Esk..."

"I'm here, I'm here."

"Don't kill them." The eldest boy said.

"What?!"

"Artemis will want to see the Commander."

The boy's hand appeared on my shoulder,with Orion rushing to Nova and placing a strange goo-like substance on his wound.

"Come with us. Bring your Commander. If you try anything,I won't stop my sister from killing you. Is that understood?"

"If it means Nove can get medical attention,I'll go anywhere."

Their golden eye's all watched me with caution as I helped Nova to his feet, hauling him behind the two brothers while their sister watched me like a hawk from behind.

I let out a sigh of relief with each time I heard Nova's heavy breathing.

At least he made it...

Nova's still alive...

Everything...everything is going to be okay.