How does one transport an alien with no advanced technology to another world? It's a problem I faced with Arella as well. I don't attempt to explain the mysterious alien (to her) device that transported Lily. Sometimes mysteries should remain mysterious.
Lilinia's Unexpected Adventure
This storm was shaping up to be particularly fierce. What's worse, Sun grew really hot. Liliana had already started to sweat. As usual, she didn't know what motivated Sun's various moods. No time to contemplate anyway. Her clan had to move again. This time it was back towards darkward, where they'd find cooler air.
She dreaded the trip. It would have to be made on foot since the hot air was becoming too thin for flight. At least they had the wind at their backs.
After a long journey, they came upon a cave where they could take refuge. There, they'd ride out the worst of the storm. Maybe Sun would cool a bit and her clan could settle down for a while. They could use the rest and their animals were getting hungry. The fields around the cave looked pretty lush. This would be a good place to hunt and forage for food, provided Sun allowed it.
That evening, safe in the cave, they enjoyed a good meal. Sun may annoy them, but did provide for them. After dinner, to help keep their spirits up, Lilinia took her ketwinga out of her pack and began to play the stringed instrument and sing songs of adventure and comradery. Her audience enjoyed the performance, moving their tails in time to her music. Lilinia's performance didn't last too long, however, as everyone was exhausted from their journey.
Nearby, a couple of the clan's pack animals quarreled. They too were frustrated they couldn't fly. Lilinia went to checkup on the animals when the quarrel degenerated into a full blown fight. She tried to break up the fight, but the matter was resolved anyway when one of them took off running deep into the cave.
Lilinia sighed and went after it. As she chased the animal, the cave rapidly grew dark. Liliinia's heart began to race. She had heard legends of a part of the world where Sun was too low to be seen and it was very cold. It didn't feel cold here, but it was darker than she thought was possible. She couldn't see anything!
Even though the frightened animal was valuable to her clan, she regretted going after it. Based on the sounds it was making, the animal was having regrets as well.
The animal's bleating grew a lot louder and Lilinia was knocked down as the panicked animal raced past her. She uttered a couple of curses, but felt relieved that the chase had ended. Time to head back.
It was this way ... or was it that way? Lilinia didn't know! She really missed Sun now. As annoying as it was, it did always guide them ... except in caves.
She made her best guess, said a prayer, and felt her way along the cave wall towards what she hoped was her clan.
It wasn't a good guess.
She came close to panic herself as she desperately listened for familiar sounds, but only saw darkness and heard only the sounds she was making.
She took some deep breaths and remembered one of her favorite songs. It was a ballad about overcoming adversity with determination. She'd keep this direction a little longer, then try going the other way.
Soon she spotted a faint glow and felt relieved that she had made the decision to keep going. She'll be reunited with her family soon! Her pace picked up, but the glow didn't get much brighter. As she turned a corner, she saw its source.
It came from a kind of room. The light emanated from small shapes in the walls. Some of the shapes formed strange patterns. What they signified, Lilinia had no idea. Nor did she care. She had made the wrong choice after all.
She was lost.
She called out in desperation and many more strange lights appeared. And now she heard a strange noise in the room. She turned to leave so fast, her tail slammed into a wall. She uttered another curse.
Something closed a door, blocking her exit and the noises grew much louder. She felt something kick her ... except nothing really touched her. It just felt like a kick. The noise stopped, some of the strange light shapes darkened, and, thank Sun, the door opened.
Lilinia left quickly, going back in the other direction. The cave felt different, however, and dread returned. Had she taken another wrong turn?
No! There was another glow and it grew steadily brighter. The air smelled different, though, like nothing she had ever experienced. When she could see well enough, she raced towards what she hoped was her family.
She arrived at a different cave entrance and her kind was nowhere to be found. She must have gone out another way, but at least she'd soon be outside. There, she'd know where she was and could find her clan.
As Lilinia stepped outside, however, her heart sank. She was nowhere near the clan's cave. In fact, she didn't know where she was. This place looked all wrong. Sun was a lot smaller and very high in the sky. Sun was also a lot brighter. It hurt her eyes to look at Sun. At least, the air wasn't hot. The plants appeared even stranger. Each one colored a bright shade of green without a normal dark brown plant to be seen.
Lilinia prayed to Sun to guide her home and to her amazement, Sun slowly moved in the sky. She found a clearing, spread her wings, and leapt into the air. She flew towards Sun while avoiding looking at Sun directly. She probably had a long journey ahead of her and definitely an adventure to sing about, but she felt confidant that Sun would take her home.
She soon saw strange rows of identical plants in large clearings. What was this place? One of the fields contained some people. She descended to investigate. The people were as strange as the plants. They were tail less and had no wings. When she approached, they screamed and ran away.
She continued to follow Sun, but the strangeness of this place persisted. Sun keep moving towards the horizon no matter how far she flew. The feeling of dread returned. What if Sun went all the way below the horizon and it got dark? How would she find her way back?
Her worst fears were soon realized. Sun slipped past the horizon, abandoning her in this strange place. She landed near a forest of large green plants and hid in its weird foliage. She absolutely howled in frustration, then exhaustion overcame her. She went to sleep wondering if she'd ever wake up again.
When she did wakeup, she felt a bit relieved to see Sun had risen again. But, for some reason, Sun appeared above the opposite horizon. Did this mean she was meant to go in the other direction, back the way she came? That didn't make sense.
Then it dawned on her that this could be a different Sun. One that wondered the sky. Would it repeat its journey and bring another darkness? Where was she??
Over the next few days, Lilinia realized she was right. Somehow, she had left her world. If she couldn't find a way back, she'd have to learn how to adapt to this strange one.
She was strong. Everyone she knew was. They had to be to survive. She'd survive ... even here!
Copyright © 2017-2018 by David White
This page last updated 24-Jan-2018