Last introductory post, yay. Maybe now people will review me. :O Kidding, kidding, of course. You'll probably note that the first part of this chapter is in present time, then the rest past tense. That was just os you could really get the feel of the rushed thoughts and movement, nothing else. Normal disclaimers apply, every out of game character belongs soley to me, however. Please enjoy, and if it tickles your fancy, review!
Tossing and turning.
The itching to get out.
Tentative footsteps, trying to avoid waking those in a blissful land of dreams.
Down the stairs, fifth one creaking, and well as the seventh.
Calmer, more careless steps along the base floor, then out the door.
This was the chance.
Sliding out of bed, strides easily eating up the distance between me and the stairs.
A change in pace, leaps down the stairs, third, sixth and ninth.
Slowing down, tip toes, across the ground floor, making sure not to wake the girl sleeping below. Freedom prickling through my legs.
Out the door, and that begins the dashing.
Powerful, yet graceful legs, prancing over the bridge in three simple creaks.
Through the village, now at full pelt. The slow grind of the windmill, stench of dead fish, the more pleasant aroma of polished wood, the tink of metal against stone, the gentle twittering of birds fill the senses.
Across the silent, sturdy bridge, heart pounding with adrenaline, lungs bursting, full of air.
Surely, freedom at last.
Throwing body at full speed off of the ledge, only to land on the soft sand. Yakows quietly snuffle in sleep, in unison with contented snores from their watcher.
Ten steps full of the wind to the first ledge.
Eight more to make it to the top of the cliff.
Shakes take over my legs as they make the final stretch to the rock.
But not of exhaustion, no. Shakes of nervousness, shakes of fear.
This was no freedom, but a cage.
I curled up in a ball behind a rather large rock, ears straining for any pursuing footsteps. After a minute of silence, I raised my head and looked around, looking for the slightest of movements. Anyone could be my greatest threat.
This was a cage I had created for myself, one I had to live with due to my choices.
But it was only going to be one more time, I swore. After this, I would emancipate myself from this practise, and I could go on as a free woman.
I let my body relax a bit more, stretching out my legs, whilst leaning back on the warm rock. It was a full moon that night, which lit up the country side as well as a lantern could. At least to my heightened senses, it did. The glow from the magma just a few metres away did nothing to help with my concealment either. But I knew the best place to hide, and I knew exactly where the shadows were. I had to.
Everything from the time Samos got out of bed to check on his Green Eco Catchers, to the moment when I reached the top of the cliff was all routine for me now. Every month, or even two weeks, if I was lucky, I went out there and waited. Waited for the sound of an approaching Zoomer.
Sure enough, its familiar hum hit my ears, despite it being as faint as the flapping of a butterfly. It slowly got louder and louder, as did the pounding of my heart. I always got nervous around this time. It was always the most risky, as the sound of a Zoomer engine up close is a loud thing. I would know, my sister was always playing around with them, trying to make them more efficient. They were of no interest to me, but Keira was always calling for help, lifting this, riding that. Through this, I had learned the usefulness of the Zoomer. A good natured soul, her obsession with those flying machines still managed to annoy the living Eco out of me, however. Sometimes I wondered if we were even truly related. We certainly looked nothing alike, what with my auburn and her black, green tipped hair. My height and her frail stature. Her smiles and my frowns. Her beauty and my-
The hums got closer, now approaching around the final corner of Fire Canyon, the one which would lead the traveller to peaceful Sandover Village. But he wouldn't be staying. He'd only be unloading a precious cargo then returning back into the night, most likely to get sleep before a hectic morning. It really was nice of him, coming out all this way just for me when he really should be sleeping. But was it really kindness? No, Raine wasn't one to go out of his way just to show friendship. He was using this as leverage later, I knew this. I had that advantage over him. He thought I was oblivious to everything and small minded, just like the people I lived around, but I'd prove him wrong. We'd see who the sharpest player in this game was yet.
The Zoomer's hums came closer and closer still, coming to a climax of noise, till they deepened to just growls. I curled up once more in a ball, hiding in the shadow of the large boulder. He knew I was there; I just didn't want him to see me. Not quite yet.
There was a quiet clunk as he unloaded the boxes with a bit of a grunt. I could imagine him now, standing there, wiping his forehead. Looking around to see the recipient of the cargo, but only finding empty, dark scenery.
"Still not coming out, Olethea? You don't need to hide; I'm not going to alert anyone of our presence." His smooth voice dripped with confidence and superiority, as if he was talking down to a child. I certainly wasn't going to come out if he was going to use that tone. All I wanted was for him to go away, so I could get to the crates. I squeezed my eyes closed and began willing him away with all my mental power.
"You will be seeing me tomorrow after all. Why not get the animosity over and done with now, so we can do things a tad quicker tomorrow? Meet up, check supplies, and then have a look around. No awkward greetings, no sizing up of each other…I'm sure you'd prefer that," he continued on, now sitting on the crates which gave a creak of protest. It was true, that yes, I could have gotten up and greeted him, but something still held me back. I still felt skittish and shaky. I just needed to get tonight over and done with so I could go to bed at peace.
Several minutes passed without event, each testing the other how long they could stand the silence. I twisted a small tuft of grass anxiously between my fingers whilst I waited for him to give up, until the blade broke off, green staining the pad of my thumb and index finger. I moved on to the next, and then the next, till there was nothing left of the tuft to fiddle with, yet still he hadn't budged. I could hear my heart beating hard and fast, but I tried to keep my breaths even. I began to wriggle my feet, trying to work out the tension filling my body that way. There was no relief, and the stubborn man still sat there, unmoving.
I figured that half an hour must have passed by the time I started to really lose patience. I was about to stand up and just give him what he wanted so he would go away, but at that moment a chilly sea breeze swept through the area, making it briefly chilly, despite the boiling hot lava right next to us. That is when I heard him shiver, and sigh, getting up off the crates. "Alright, then. Tomorrow it is. I hope to see you bright eyed and busy tailed, dear Olethea," he muttered with a hint of sarcasm. I heard him hop on his Zoomer once more and kick start the engine, which sounded obscenely loud compared to the silence before. Without a moments hesitation he roared off, leaving just the growl of the engine in his wake. I waited only for it to become a distant echo before I pounced.
There were four crates, just as promised. I made quick work of bringing them behind my rock in twos. Despite Eco being something like gas, the crates were rather heavy, and carrying any more would hurt my back. I lined them up, sitting before them once more and letting out a shaky breath. It was finally time.
My quivering hand worked deftly, doing the work it had done several times before. I unclipped and flipped open the lid of each crate, carefully checking each one's contents. Blue, Yellow, Red and Green, in that exact order. This just so happened to be my favourite order, as it had a nice calming effect.
This sort of practise had no official name, but it was none the less illegal. It was unhealthy, apparently, but I had never noticed any changes in my immune system, or any symptoms of Eco Poisoning, so I decided to go on with it. I really had no choice, at the time. I was hooked.
Channelling eco was no small feat, by any means. If you could only channel one type of eco, that was still seen as a huge achievement. Channelling all four types of 'Safe Eco', as we called it, was extremely difficult, and cases of people successfully doing this were rare. So rare one could probably count it on one hand. I was, of course, no super human or big headed, and wouldn't claim to be able to do it. If I were to use vents to try and channel each one I'd most certainly faint. Only Jak could do that. Only Jak. Precious Jak, who was so important and could do everything. Only Jak, who Samos considered more important than his own daughters at times. Damn Jak.
Whilst I wasn't nearly as talented as the amazing Jak, I could manage the large balls of eco without much effort, which was still fairly amazing in itself. I'd love to be able to brag to Samos about my skills, deep down, and get praise and attention from him as any child would, but then it would give me away. He'd lecture me for hours, all about being responsible and what not, and how I shouldn't attempt to do something so reckless.
Well, he certainly couldn't stop me now.
The act of 'Eco Sampling', I called it myself, was fairly straight forward. I would absorb one ball of eco, allow that to go through me, and then absorb the next, and so on. Whilst this doesn't sound amazing, the feeling truly is. The sudden rush of feelings, of all the sorts of power was enough to take one to an emotional high that you couldn't gain from anywhere else. You felt so at peaceful and fulfilled afterwards that you could breeze through life without care, until it slowly waned away, leaving you with a bigger hole to fill each time. But tonight was going to be my last night for this, and then I'd have bigger things to achieve, things which would occupy my body and mind, distracting me from that hole in me, and leading me out of the cage I had built for myself.
I took a deep breath in and out, looking over to the Blue eco box, preparing myself for what was going to come next. I always became eerily calm at this point, my prior emotions of anxiety melting away to nothing. Slowly, I reached my hand out, and hovered it over the box. With this calm feeling came rational thinking. I could always walk away now, and refuse to submit to my addiction. I could go home, go back to bed, sleep, get sent off on my journey and not touch another glob of eco until I became an apprentice. I could always do that.
But…
I was here now. My hand was only centimetres away from initiating the ritual. I might as well press on. Might as well. My hand dived into the box.
As soon as it reached into the depths, I could feel the blue eco sizzle up through my veins, shrouding me in a blue light which danced in a frenzy around the canyon walls. My heart began to beat faster and faster still. I suddenly felt alive and full of potential. I felt as if I could run a mile without taking a breath. I felt as if I could make anything work, anywhere in the world, effortlessly.
As this feeling began to wane away, I automatically shoved my hand into the crate containing Yellow eco.
The sudden change in emotions brought around euphoria. The Yellow eco seeped through my blood system, and I began radiating a warm yellow light. When I turned my head, it seemed as if I had the vision of a hawk. Misty Island which was usually only a dark blob on the horizon, seemed clear as if it was right up close. The destructive feeling was amazing as well. I felt as if I could waltz on in to the village below and just simply burn up anything and everything without resistance. Like I would enjoy seeing everything up in flames. It was all I could do to keep myself rooted to the ground whilst channelling this eco. It was the most dangerous to have in the system, and always had to be sampled early in the ritual, to make sure the destructive feeling didn't linger after my session.
Like all good things, the feeling started to end, and I was quick to move my hand into the thick Red eco.
The next change was more reassuring than anything, as if everyone in the world was patting me on the back, giving me their strength and protection. Red light reflected off the rocky wall of the canyon, making the place seem eerie. But not to me at the time. I felt safe and strong, like a fortress. No one could harm me, and I could plough through anything without fear. I could protect myself and thousands more easily. Red eco was always a viable option for the last eco to try, since it left it's user with a warm and protective feeling, but often I just wanted to mellow out with something more familiar.
With this, I reached into the last box to feel the familiar sensation of gentle Green eco.
Green eco wasn't something that one could exactly channel, but it dispelled any of the left over eco from before and just left your core feeling full of life. It gave you hope, and nursed any of your hurts. It left you feeling like a normal person, a person who could do great good for everyone. A friendly person, even.
I slumped against the rough surface of the rock behind me once more, marking the end of the night's fun. I panted slightly even though I wasn't breathless. It was more to have the cold air wake me up and bring me back to the real world, which I would soon have to return to. First things first, though.
Standing up stiffly, I paced for a bit, getting all the kinks out of my body before I did any more lifting. This was also a good time to listen for anyone who might be near, on the verge of finding me up here in the middle of the night. Luckily for me though, there never was anyone. Sandover was just a normal, sleepy old village.
Feeling more limber now after my stretch, I bent down and picked up the now considerably light boxes and carried them over to the magma. I tried to keep my distance, as I found the heat didn't agree with me at all. How I expected to travel over this later one was a mystery. Taking the first box, I hefted it up then threw it on to the boiling river, and watched as it instantly got immolated. The same process happened to the last three, till there was no more evidence that anything had occurred this night.
My work now down, and feeling rather sleepy myself, I headed back to the mouth of the canyon and began clambering down the natural steps, careful not to disturb the sleeping Yakow. I say Yakow and not the old man because I could probably could have made the whole cliff collapse and he still wouldn't wake up.
That's when I heard the most pitiful wail.
It was more of an echo of a wail, as if it was coming from far off in the distance. I strained my ears to try and hear more, but what ever it was had fallen silent, with only the sound of breaking waves, Yakow and snoring now filling my ears. When I thought about it more, it sounded familiar. Strangely familiar.
It couldn't be…could it? I thought, frowning deeply. He's usually asleep at this time…
But there was no denying. It was him
Oh Precursors…what now? I promptly began a quick pace back to the hut. The sooner I was back in bed and acting innocent, the better.
My name is Olethea, daughter of the Green Sage, and this is my hell.