Perdition's Rest

by J. C. Placeres

  She sat up and for the first time took in her surroundings. Tulinda was someplace she could not recall ever having been before. The ground all around her was fine white sand and she lay next to a small pond. She could tell she was near a beach because not far off in the distance she could hear the musical sound of waves crashing against a shore. The sand around her was unique, a type she had never seen before, incredibly fine and white. If there was one thing Tulinda knew it was all the types of Nualn that existed, whether it be boulders or pebbles, and she could not recall ever encountering this type of sand before. Around her grew palm trees high into the sky, bigger than any she had ever read about existing in Aunia before. The large trees shifted and swayed in a gentle wind. Behind her the water in the pond calmly rippled towards her due to a small waterfall that poured into it from a higher up ridge. Beyond the ledge she noticed different and more numerous trees which she imagined led into a forest. None of the trees around her though existed in the Dallion Forest and Tulinda immediately began to wonder if she was in the Singing Forest. Additionally, the air was warm and thick with humidity, ruling out any chance they were still in Tormos lands.

  Tulinda shifted her gaze and saw Gunvold propped up against a small boulder next to the pond. The geomancer stumbled over to the Behemoth and saw that he was unconscious. What immediately caught her eye though was his side where Lorne had sliced into the grand champion's rib cage. The wound which had been bleeding during their time in the mysterious complex appeared to be completely healed. What little injury remained was packed with a substance that looked like seaweed. Not far from Gunvold was Thelais, who was prostrate and unconscious in the fine sand. Over the splashing of the small water fall and the crashing of the waves, Tulinda heard voices coming from the beach. She immediately thought that perhaps everything that had happened was a dream, maybe Lorne, Gowinda, Zeranidul and Corvul were still alive.

  The geomancer walked towards the sound of the tides, pushing through thick ferns and shrubbery that obscured the shore. After only about twenty feet of shrubs she found herself standing on a beautiful pristine beach. Aun shined brightly far above casting his loving light down on her. Flocks of seagulls flew through the sky squawking loudly at each other.

  Three figures stood on the beach near the crashing waves and turned to look at the encroaching geomancer. Tulinda began to feel lightheaded as if she was going to pass out again. The closest and largest of the three figures, who initially had his back to her, turned when his two companions pointed out Tulinda's intrusion. The male figure began walking towards her and the geomancer used all her mental training to keep from blacking out. The man approaching her was a Vesnian, but unlike any she had ever seen or heard of before. His skin was the most beautiful shade of green she had ever seen, and he wore nothing but the thinnest rags to cover his genitals. In-between his fingers and toes were webbing and on the sides of his abdomen were large gills such as would be found on a fish. He was decorated with jewelry, all of which was made from shells and various other items found on the beach. The two other Vesnians, each of which had a blue coloration to their skin, smiled at her as Tulinda fell to her knees and dug her hands into the sand to steady herself. The skyline behind the three Vesnians was dominated by one thing; it engulfed her entire vision for as far as she could see: the Hollow Winds. She was closer to the roaring winds than she could ever remember having been before. At most she was perhaps only two or three miles away from the violent storm that encircled Vesnia. Tulinda knew that at no location were the Hollow Winds this close to Vesnian shore. She stared at the roaring winds and through the mighty gusts that could flay flesh, she could make out a shape. A gargantuan structure rose high into the sky - the Patriarch Mountain. The enormity of where she sat was almost too much to accept. They were no longer on Vesnia; they were outside the Hollow Winds.

  The large green colored male Vesnian stopped before her and smiled, extending his open hand to her in aid. "Welcome to the Misty Isles, we are the Aquormos. We have been waiting a long time to reunite with our long-lost brothers and sisters. We have much to discuss."

  TO BE CONTINUED IN…

  THE VESNIAN CHRONICLES BOOK 2:

  PERDITION’S RISE

  COMING SOON