10th Summer 518 AV
To Narifa, the Alheas Park was the only place she’d ever set foot in in which magic became something corporeal. Even back home, where magic took the shape of the Endal, the Eagle Riders, with their propensity towards telepathy and their eerily accurate intuition, there was never a location she considered magical. It was in the way the rosey light of dawn filtered through the treetops, landing just so to tinge the atmosphere with something ethereal. It was in the way the thousands of flower petals seemed to possess a vivid inner glow, their myriad of colours sometimes too blinding to stare at directly. It was in the way the prismflies danced across the sky, free to meander to and fro without a care in the world.
Narifa had wished she could be a prismfly more than once these past few days.
The Inartan considered this park a place of respite, where any undue stress melted into the soil. A place where she could speak her doubts to the trees and let her words pour into the pond at the park’s center. It reminded her of her old garden. She missed running her fingers along the stalks of her herbs, sinking her nails into the dirt to pull up weeds. Needless to say Narifa became a little homesick whenever she entered the place. Five days had passed since she’d come to this city. Five days of settling into this new world’s rhythm, of random bouts of insomnia during the designated rest hours that drove her to Alheas Park. She hadn’t even had much of chance to explore, either, and it left her body restless.
Today was supposed to be the day that she could finally begin discovering the city. It’s maze-like alleyways and multiple peaks called to her, waiting to be discovered. Everything was already packed: waterskin,dagger, and her coin pouch all attached to her waist. She’d gone down the stairs of the Solar Wind complex early, thrown a greeting to the receptionist, and a grin to the stranger who’d just entered the building. She shouldn’t have stopped to chat with him.
“Did you happen to hear? A young girl went missing in Alheas Park yesterday. The Shinya released a warning last night, cautioning people from entering,” He’d said. Just like that, her home away from home was cast in darkness.
Narifa had wished she could be a prismfly more than once these past few days.
The Inartan considered this park a place of respite, where any undue stress melted into the soil. A place where she could speak her doubts to the trees and let her words pour into the pond at the park’s center. It reminded her of her old garden. She missed running her fingers along the stalks of her herbs, sinking her nails into the dirt to pull up weeds. Needless to say Narifa became a little homesick whenever she entered the place. Five days had passed since she’d come to this city. Five days of settling into this new world’s rhythm, of random bouts of insomnia during the designated rest hours that drove her to Alheas Park. She hadn’t even had much of chance to explore, either, and it left her body restless.
Today was supposed to be the day that she could finally begin discovering the city. It’s maze-like alleyways and multiple peaks called to her, waiting to be discovered. Everything was already packed: waterskin,dagger, and her coin pouch all attached to her waist. She’d gone down the stairs of the Solar Wind complex early, thrown a greeting to the receptionist, and a grin to the stranger who’d just entered the building. She shouldn’t have stopped to chat with him.
“Did you happen to hear? A young girl went missing in Alheas Park yesterday. The Shinya released a warning last night, cautioning people from entering,” He’d said. Just like that, her home away from home was cast in darkness.
