Chapter 1- The Man and the Road

Gane peered out over his new vantage point. The tree was hardy and strong, no usual bends or stretches that would inspire panic in him as he had scurried up young trees as a child. This tree was trustworthy, and what's more it offered a magnificent view which Gane took a second to appreciate. It was the beginning of Rising Season and the trees had already started to change colors. The violent and Indigo hue of the forests before him swayed softly. Their incomplete transitions swirling together like melted crayons stirred in a bucket. Above him reclined pillowy pink clouds that swayed gently in the morning breeze. Tandem Striped Rays flew in and out of the clouds, always in pairs, they flew besides each other for a lifetime. This thought caused Gane to turn his gaze down to the rolling hills of grass that covered the land from the direction he came up towards the forest that was before him. It was vibrant and healthy, not to mention perfectly braided. Gane had never seen grass as neatly tended to while growing up, not enough wildlife he supposed. Satisfied with his moment of rest up in the tree, Gane carefully climbed down and made his way back to the dirt road. He would have plenty more time to admire the natural beauty of Kellylin on his journey. As he rounded the hill a gust of wind blew over his back. As it flew over him, Gane held out his finger, then touched it to the tip of his tongue. Sour, yep he was definitely headed in the right direction. He made his way down and over the hills and returned to his thoughts. He had relegated his dizzying excitement to a small corner of his mind, not to be explored until he was at least a day or so away. Turning his thoughts away from that, Gane put his hands around his back and felt the backpack he was wearing. Yep, too light. Gane pinched himself on the arm for forgetting to buy more supplies on the way out of town the other night. Though this time was a little more forgivable considering what had happened in that once quiet village. Still though, nobody was going to push him to improve but himself out here. 

Gane rounded closer now to the forest, about to uncomfortably dip back into the memories still fresh in his mind of the other night. But he was interrupted by the faint sound of a whisper from behind him. Gane pivoted around quickly and put his hand on the hilt of the sword tied to his belt. His instinct was to call out, but he bit his lip to stop himself, never know who could be out here so far along the road. He saw nobody, until being again startled by a similar whisper, again behind him. Gane spun around again, but this time noticed that the sound had come from below him as well. He crouched slowly down and leaned his ear closer to the dirt path. His eyes caught sight of a small creature hiding mischievously in the grass. It was maybe four inches tall, stubby, bright orange, and with a thin little head. Noticing that its cover had been blown, the creature let out a noise that sounded like a combination of a high pitched hiccup and a scream before running in a full sprint towards the tree-line. Almost instinctively, Gane chased after the little fella. The creature was fast, especially considering its tiny little legs. It ran in a serpentine pattern, and if it hadn’t stuck out like a sore stone then perhaps Gane might not have been able to keep up with it. The creature turned its little head around to check if its pursuer was still after it, and it managed to trip over a braid of grass. Seeing this Gane moved in. “Yes!” He thought. “Just another benefit of well braided grass!” Gane grabbed a small glass cup out from his backpack and planted it around the little creature. The creature scurried around space inside for a moment before realizing it was futile and plopping itself down to look up at its new captor. Gane sat and looked inquisitively at the creature. “I’ve never seen a genuine Pipsqueak before. What are you doing so far from your natural habitat?” He asked aloud. The creature pushed its tiny mouth up to the glass wall and fogged up the glass with its breath. It began to write a strange sequence of symbols with its stubby finger. Even if Gane could interpret the symbols, they were far too small to even make heads or tails of. “Don’t worry little fella, I mean you no harm.” He said reassuringly. Gane pulled out his notebook and wrote down a few of the Pipsqueak’s features. It stood upright on two legs like a person, but was closer in proportions to a stuffed bear. On its tiny head were a pair of cute little eyes and long perky ears. The creature’s skin was smooth and bright orange. Gane sat back and looked at the creature for another moment, before pulling up the cup and letting the Pipsqueak go. The creature immediately darted away as fast as it could and ran up a tree. It was still staring intently at Gane, who stared back for a moment, before waving goodbye and turning away.

Gane fiddled with his notebook while ambling back towards the road. Fitting it back in his bag and returning to the route he’d been walking. He stepped over the threshold between the rolling hills and the much thicker forest. The cool air bled through the holes in the wall of branches that permeated deep into the woods. Kellylin was famous for its forests, and this was a prime example of what it had to offer. Delicate white salt flowers dangled off the bark of strong oak trees. Prickly thistletoe wrapped around trunks and draped from the canopy above. Cerulean and navy colored leaves formed a thick carpet on the forest floor. Occasionally one would gently begin to rise, as if carried by a light upward breeze, and flutter back and forth as it drifted onto the outstretched branch of a tree. Planting itself firmly on the branch as if it hadn’t spent all winter on the ground. Gane looked down and noticed that the trail he had been following was beginning to wither and die as he made his way deeper into the forest. Old and untended to, weathered by the nature that commands this forest. Such roads were the works of humans, and as such they shared more in common with works of construction from his hometown then the occasional Roni shrine Gane would see off of the beaten path of the forest. Carved into a tree, but not carved the way one cuts stone, closer to the way one molds clay. The shrine looked to have been laid around the tree when it was a sapling, and the tree simply grew around it. Gane kept these thoughts in mind as he continued. 

As his eyes scanned the scenery before him, Gane stopped to look longer at a small brown rabbit that stood at the top of a moss covered boulder. Gane took out his notebook and marked some information down about the little creature on a page titled “Kellylin Forest”. He tilted his head up as a strange buzzing noise began to echo throughout the forest. The small rabbit tore from its spot as fast as it could, but the creature approaching from the sky was far too fast. The beast fired across the pathway and scooped up the little rabbit before darting around through the branches and breaking through the canopy out of sight. Gane was floored by the commotion and sat for a second in awe of what could only have been a Humming Hawk. They were endemic to the region, but the stuff of legend where Gane came from. Gane had grown up to stories of the speed and power of the mighty Humming Hawk. Gane wrote the name on his notebook. "Speed, not exaggerated". Gane picked himself up and walked carefully down the road.

 Coming now to an impasse Gane crept over to a fork in the faded road. It split three ways each permeating deep into the forest. There was a wooden sign, dilapidated and covered in moss. The sign’s arrow read “to Sohouta” and had fallen off of the post, it now pointed confidently into the ground. Gane observed the three paths carefully. Each was teeming with Pepper Lilies and colorful flowers, with sweetbark on the trees that lined them. No matter which road he took, there would be ample supplies for tea. But he had not come here to make tea, he had to continue his journey, Gane told himself. Gane though over what he knew about this place. The Roni that resided here stood about a foot taller than the average person. They were natural woodsmen, unfamiliar with the idea of being lost or indecisive. Would such a people ever turn left or right? No, he began to think, they would walk in a straight line. So naturally the middle path was the way to the city. He began down said path, but things felt off. The road felt too conspicuous, it was almost cleaner and less withered then what had been at the edge of the forest. The trees around him seemed to smile falsely, their natural flaws and injuries were nowhere to be seen. Gane ran back the way he had came until he was back at the fork. Staring back at the middle path was almost dizzying, there was an ominous disingenuous slime that seemed to ooze from every tree and flower. Gane thought frantically for what to do. The other paths couldn’t be any different and turning back was never an option. Gane thought for another second before an epiphany struck him. He began climbing up and scanning the trees around the fork in the road. He stopped on one that stood just to the right of the rightmost path. About a foot above the normal line of sight was a small symbol molded into the tree. It was an arrow within a circle. Made delicately like the rim of a book cover. It pointed in a direction separate from any of the paths. And despite there being no road, Gane struck off deeper into the woods.

Reviews

[Helen]

I like this - I would continue reading a book that started like this. It hints at magic / otherworldliness which would be a theme I would be interested in (although I may have missed the mark!). Would like to read more :)