Breaking Down

Islana moved to stand back up and follow the little critter where it led her, wherever that may be but it seemed as if her spirit might have been willing but the body was weak. Far too weak to accomplish that task.

Halfway to standing was all the young woman got before falling back to the sand. It was useless, and what true hopelessness felt like.

Despite all of her efforts, this was it, her final hours. The young witch knew this journey had been beyond her control. She had figured out that it was probably the journey that the Ozainae priests had told her about. So, then what was the point in dying out here and how many others had suffered the same fate? Did she survive the Creed only to be sacrificed to the Twin Gods?

Any resolve left gave way, she was breaking, body, mind, spirit, all giving way as if they were being smashed into a million tiny pieces. To be here alone. No one that mattered to her, no one she mattered to, would ever know what happened to her, not really. It was definitely a crushing feeling.

Islana's green eyes looked around at the vast beauty surrounding her. The desert with it's flecks of browns, tans, reds, of every shade. The golden rays from a sun that swam in an endless sky of crystal blue. The life that lived among this unforgiving wonderland. The birds who kept the sky's alive. The lizards, snakes and scorpions who seemed to do their part in bring movement to the still stands. The coyotes and other nocturnal creatures who's howls kept the nighttime from being completely slight. The jackal who had saved her. The life brimming oasis that would appear out of no where. Islana should likely hate this place and curse it with every ounce of her being, but it was far too amazing of a landscape for any of that. If this be the last thing she sees so be it.

Kaithak landed on the sand in front of her, and cocked his head as he looked at her.

"Maybe I should have just told you to go back to the oasis, when I could have. I'm sorry to drag through my craziness. I hope you find a new place, and good life as I fear we won't be together much longer."

Islana heart was being crushed as well, she didn't know what of that Kaithak understood but it had to be said. The young witch would always be grateful to the falcon who could have left but remained steadfast to her.

The soft winds were moving the sands around and she really wanted a better position. Pulling herself up enough to move a little bit more, somehow her body pulled itself just a little further up the dune.

Then Islana fell forward, flat to the ground and everything went black…