Unwelcome

I could hear voices, but I couldn’t see anything even though I knew my eyes were open. 

All that surrounded me was a void of darkness. I tried to move around in this cramped space, floating in this strange liquid I was submerged in. Suddenly, I had an instinctual urge to get out. It was as if something inside me was demanding freedom, and I couldn’t resist. I found myself beating against the walls that kept me in, over and over in rapid motion until tiny cracks spread across its surface, and with one final push, it finally collapsed. 

The light from the moons came flooding in as I came crashing out, and a blinding flicker consumed my vision.

Everything became a blur.

When I regained my sight, I was greeted with a dark and cloudy open sky that varied in blues, with sparkling fragments of light floating upon it.

 Suddenly, all I could hear was a sharp ringing in my ear as I tried to stand, but my legs slipped beneath me after each attempt. 

When I looked around, I saw the broken shell pieces that lay on the stone-cold floor before me as I reached out to them.

I noticed… my hands.

They had silver scales that glittered, red markings that ran up and down my arms and legs, and a gem embedded in my chest. My curiosity was piqued, and for the first time since I opened my eyes, I looked down.

Below me was a sea of people, each species different from the next, and they were all…

looking at me.

It was captivating.

There were seven of them, each holding flags in groups of their own kind. They were all so still, as if they were statues. I looked below at the edge of the cliff, amused, when a flood of emotions overwhelmed me—thoughts of anger, anxiousness, doubt, and hatred. The very moment that I came out of it, I wasn’t acknowledging it, but I could feel the intense emotions from those around me.

Or was it mine?

The ringing in my head grew louder, pounding against my skull. I gripped my head tightly, fighting the urge to give in, trying desperately to block out the noise.

 In my vulnerable state, several incredibly tall creatures came towards me. Their hair was almost as long as they were.

Were they competing with their hair or something?

Each of them held long weapons with pointed tips.

“What are you?” one of them shouted, pointing the weapon towards me.

“Maybe she’s the Kuban’s revenge,” one said. “Trying to take what is left of our freedom?”

I was confused and bombarded with questions, but I was also curious.

Who were they? What was their deal, and why was I here? And most of all, who and/or what was I?

As they moved in closer, I moved slowly, creeping backwards when I noticed…

There was nowhere else to go except over the cliff.

“Well?” they asked as the tip of their weapon got closer and closer to my face. All I could do was brace myself and hope for the best.

“Halt!”

It came from someone in the distance. I couldn’t see them myself, but their presence alone told me they were important.

Everyone bent the knee as she passed, and no one made a sound.

That’s when I noticed.

It was a woman.

Draped in a white gown adorned by crystals that twinkled in the moonlight, she walked with effortless grace. The floor illuminated with each step she took. She was the first being I saw that couldn’t be defined by any word I knew.

She knelt before me and whispered four words.

“I’ll look after you.”

Her hand caressed my head. I looked her in the eye, and in an instant, my head went silent.

I couldn’t feel or hear anything.

It was peaceful.

I didn’t know why, but I felt like I could trust her, and before I knew it, everything went dark.

So soft, I couldn’t resist. I pushed my hand into the fabric on the bed, watching it sink beneath my finger, rolling around as I embraced it. The warmth and comfort of it caressed my skin, washing away any worry that I had felt prior.

My gaze wandered to the shell at the corner of the room. Its scales shimmered faintly from the moonlight peeping through the windows. Curiosity fluttered inside me. I wanted to take a closer look at it, to touch it, but the risk of falling again hung over me.

It might have been better to stay put.

I waited until silence filled the room when I heard the sound of footsteps getting closer as the rhythm grew louder.

“Tell the Sellies to stand guard. Let no one inside.”

“Yes, First Wielder.”

Before she entered, I knew it was her—the woman whose presence alone could make one kneel.

“How has your stay been?” she asked gently.

I stared at her, unsure how to answer.

“Let me formally introduce myself,” she said, moving to stand directly in front of me.

“I am Vicona Sylvaris, First Wielder, leader of the Sellies.”

Her eyes darted around the room.

“This will be your room for however long you choose to stay here. It is not as big as the others, but until brighter days find us, we all live under one roof.”

She sat next to me and asked if I had any questions, and if I were being honest, I did.

I had a lot, but I didn’t know how to ask them, or even if she had the answers. So I asked a question I knew she’d have the answer to.

“Where am I?”

Her eyes lit up.

“Well, I don’t want to overwhelm you, so I’ll give you a brief summary. This realm is called Euphoria. This settlement that we reside in now, made up of seven clans, is called Astra.”

Astra…

I repeated it, familiarizing myself with its name.

“Do you know why I’m here?” I asked.

“I do not know for sure,” she responded. “But many of us have been awaiting your arrival.”

A knowing smile touched her lips.

“One thing I do know is you’ll fit right in with the rest of us.”

Her words made me feel welcome.

She used her hand to signal for someone to come in. She was just as tall as the rest of them, but I could tell that she was far younger.

Vicona introduced her to me as Mico. Her face expressed no emotion, but her eyes told a tale of worry. She told me that Mico would give me a tour of the settlement once I settled in and answer any other questions I had.

Shortly after they left, I fell back into the bed from exhaustion.

That was the most talking I’d done since I opened my eyes.

It’s strange how easy it is to recognize and understand what they’re saying, almost as if I’ve heard it before.”

I stared at the brightly lit ceiling and its intricate carvings of delicate flowers and vines of ivory stone twisting together like a story being told. I tried to arrange my thoughts, but they were abruptly brought to an end when I heard echoing voices calling out to me.

Come, come. This way.

This way, come here. We don’t bite; we don’t bite.

I didn’t know what it was, but it piqued my interest, so I eased myself off the bed and slowly got up, putting one careful step behind the other.

Before I knew it, I was no longer in the room.

I was standing in a grand hallway full of arched doorways. Luminous crystals lined the walls as they lit up the hallways, bathing them in a gentle blue hue.

I wasn’t sure where to go.

As I looked around, I saw a glimpse of my reflection in the diamond-blue floor.

I froze.

Are those horns mine?

My hands caressed the tips of them.

“Seriously, what am I?” I wondered.

That’s when I heard that voice again.

My head sprang up, and I attempted to follow, but the floor was far more slippery than I could have imagined. I found myself crashing shoulder-first into a pillar when I noticed I was no longer alone.

Rather, I had wandered into a highly guarded area.

I hid behind a pillar to avoid being seen.

“How dare you make decisions on your own!”

A loud, thundering voice came through the large oak doors guarded by towering creatures made of stone.

I flinched, gripping tightly to the cold-tipped pillar.

“We barely have enough resources to feed our own people, and you want us to harbor some cursed creature?”

“Calm yourself, Gallaher.”

Wait, that sounds like Vicona.

“That cursed creature, as you would call it, is the last the Kuban left here, and you dare ask me to get rid of it?”

Silence followed, and her voice grew cold.

“If you’re worried that you wouldn’t have enough food to fill that enormous gut of yours, worry not. I’ll hunt for her myself if I have to.”

So, it isn’t all soft sheets and crystals.

The doors burst open.

I watched Vicona walk out, two others following after, trying to get her to reconsider.

I hid on the other side of the pillar, where I couldn’t be seen.

When I suddenly heard a voice.

“What are you doing?”