Hunt

Day 3, I went back to the north to search again. The place is endless. I don’t even know if I’m being as thorough as I can be. Am I retracing my steps? I hope this will work. It’s really hard to know where I’ve been and haven’t. The whole damn place looks the same at times.

Day 5, this was the furthest north I’ve been so far. I’m starting to get a feeling of distance and where I’m going. Can’t believe this place actually is starting to make some sort of sense to me. Still nothing to report.

Day 7, some of the villagers in Mithor asked me questions about what I was doing. I guess when you show up a second time as a repeat customer, you start to get suspicious. Rather than give them hope or the truth, I just said I was on pilgrimage to the lands before the end. That I wanted to connect to Ministra. Worked out in my favor as they’re part of Yste, so that sort of fervor is applauded and encouraged. Hope none of them get the bright idea to follow me for their pilgrimage.

Day 11, from the tower I can see the army is getting closer. What are they doing? Why haven’t they left the area already? It’s been two weeks now. They’re not fighting and not leaving. Well I guess I don’t know if they’re not fighting. I’m too far away to know what they do each day. But the white of their tents is visible across the Wastes. I need to be cautious.

Day 12, the texts say that Entif rose around a vast river. It supposedly flooded in the spring often. But the Wastes have no rivers, at least not anymore. They all dried up. But maybe I should look for some riverbeds. But how am I going to find that? There hasn’t been water on the surface in centuries. Is there even any clues? Gerth you bastard.

Day 15, I thought I found a basin that might have been a lake or river in the past, but nothing. The north is becoming a bust. Perhaps I should look in another direction.

Day 20, rumors are coming out of Mithor about me apparently. They’re calling me the Virgin, why? What’s wrong with these people?

Day 25, the army is getting close. I can see their movements. What are they doing coming this way? Why hasn’t Yste done anything yet? It’s been a month, don’t they know? You old men are going to be the death of me, damn you.

Day 32, I started looking south to try to stay away from patrols. I’m not going to be safe for much longer. I’ve got to find Origin soon. Ministra, why are You doing this?

Day 35, people are burning things in Mithor. When I tried to stop them, they screamed at me. They are burning things for me. I don’t get it.

Day 37, it’s Searc, because of course it is. I should have guessed. They’re the invading army and I thought being in Yste could be bad for me. But why hasn’t Yste responded?

Day 38, I shouldn’t have asked. I saw my first battlefield today. I stayed in the tower the whole day. I’m not sleeping. The echoes of screams and metal clashing still reverberate in my body. Why am I here?

Day 39, I need to run.

Day 40, why am I not running? What’s keeping me here? Is Ministra’s answer so important that I’m okay with dying? Damn old man’s inside my head.

Day 41, it’s quiet. The fighting stopped last night. I’m so tired. Have I even slept? Wait, they’re–

I stopped writing in my journal and froze on the wood floor. There were voices down below me. Dammit, I shouldn’t have stayed. I should have left. But I was too scared. There was so much screaming and yelling. I can still hear it. But now footsteps managed to drown that out. I held my breath as though that was going to make a difference. It wasn’t going to be hard to find me if they searched.

Distant voices wormed through the stone, shaking my heart. Please go away. I’m not a soldier. Haven’t you done enough killing already?

No matter how much I wished for them to leave, I kept hearing them walking around. What are they doing? Are they looking for me? Why would they even know about me?

“…find…signs…” I locked up as words became more clear. They were so close. They’re going to find me. They’re going to kill me. Or maybe worse. Ministra, please take me from here!

“…footprints around…”

“Search the tower!” Dammit! Where do I hide? I looked towards the window. Do I jump out? But I could break my leg. Would that be safer? They’ll be able to capture me even easier. What do I do? My heart sped up so fast. In my panic, I grabbed for my pack not sure what I was even going to do.

It probably made too much noise. I don’t know but they were yelling and loud footsteps. It all was a blur. My mind was pounding so hard with the echoes of my body and breathing that everything was a blur.

All I remembered was distant voices and a fog. I think I screamed and shouted a lot of stuff. I don’t even know what was coming out of my mouth. The soldiers said things and I shouted back. I think, or did they grab me? I don’t know. What happened? Where am I?

“Is this the woman?” Huh? This was the first clear voice in a while. But I don’t know them.

I looked around to see that I was on the fur of some animal I didn’t recognize. From my view there were dozens of feet and legs, some covered in leathers and others plated in metal. It was the soldiers. But they were all pointed in the same direction. I looked forward to find a rather broad man staring down at me with an intense dark expression.

The moment we made contact his eyes seemed to flare up. She scrambled and fell back on my butt. I was in a tent, one of those that I had been seeing for weeks now. The army captured me. I saw black and red tabards, the Searc.

“We found her in an old fort tower, sir!” Following the voice, it was a young man with a helm covering half of his face. He held firmly at attention before his commander. Why didn’t they just kill me?

“What were you doing in the tower?” He addressed me directly, growing in intensity even more.

Though I sweated through all my clothes, I couldn’t hold my tongue. He looked like he was looking for a reason to kill me. “Hiding from the fighting!”

“Why were you even out in the Wastes? Who are you?”

“I’m Speaker Eshikra. I’m on a pilgrimage to see this land before the end. I wanted to be close to Ministra.”

“It’s her.

“The Virgin of the End!”

Wait, why are you calling me the Virgin of the End? What’s wrong with you people? Why am I this Virgin and the end of what? What are the rumors about now?!

The stern man glared around the tent silencing all of the soldiers. He took a step forward and stared down at me. His eyes looked around like he was trying to figure me out. I’m not that complicated. People have made me more complex than reality. “You’re the rumored Virgin? Blonde hair and green eyes, a young woman going out into the Wastes day after day.” Maybe I shouldn’t have kept going back to Mithor, but there was nowhere else to resupply.

He then knelt down. There was a strange change about him. The harshness faded a bit. “Show me.” A touch of confusion came over me until I thought he might be wanting to see my symbol as proof. I retrieved Ministra’s triangle to show that I belonged to the Order. In his hand it looked surprisingly small. He could just break my neck with his fingers couldn’t he? He could still do that. I should run. But I’m in the camp. I’m going to die.

“And what is a Speaker doing out in the Holsa Wastes? Truly.”

It seemed he didn’t believe the rumors. I’m not sure if that was better or not. It could have made it easier for me, but also worse. I don’t know the extent of the rumors anymore. They had a life of their own.

Even if he softened a little, he still firmly fixed me with his eyes wanting the truth from me. “I’m seeking Entif and Origin. To speak with Ministra. I’ve been sent to learn the truth of Her prophecy.”

“You seek Origin and commune with Ministra?” While the soldiers all mumbled and gasped at my response, the commander just sat there in quiet contemplative stares. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking from his face. He kept it a wall. Should I be scared now? I shouldn’t have said anything. I said too much. They’re going to be upset about this. I know it.

Then he suddenly stood up and turned towards the soldiers in the tent. He waved them off. They all marched out in hurried fashion as though he had yelled at them. I’m alone now. Is this how I die? He stood before me once more. “Speaker Eshikra, was it? It would seem we have a shared goal. You will help us.”

What?! What’s going on? Searc wants me to find Origin?