POV Achous Phantomwing

Who was that? Are there other avians on this island? Maybe I’m not as alone as I thought? A million question fly through my brain. The smile on my face fades. I’m too much of a coward to be exploring this damned island. I should’ve just stayed where I woke up and waited for my wings to heal.

My eyes dart around the surroundings, but I’m still unable to see anyone around me. Maybe, the person is hiding in the mist? I close my eyes, trying to hear anyone in my surroundings.

“Hello, are you going to keep ignoring me?” The voice asks again, this time closer. I quickly scan my surroundings again, but I’m again only met with the sight of blue grass and an endless mist. “I’m in the water you blind fool!” The voice shouts, seemingly annoyed.

Without waiting for a second, I rush towards the bridge and lean I over its railings. In front of my eyes, I see the most mystifying sight. Floating in the water, I see a strange humanoid creature, clad in a flowing green dress. A creature that’s as large as me, but with no feathers or wings, only smooth skin. My eyes are drawn to its flowing, electric blue hair and pointed ears that adorn a feminine face.

“Are you done staring, it’s rude.” She asks. “What type of creature are you?!” I ask subconsciously, almost shouting, my eyes wide in shock. “I’m a spirit silly, isn’t that obvious? The real question is what are you? You don’t seem to be a newly born spirit, which means you came from outside. But, that should be impossible, no one ever comes from the outside…” She replies, almost lost in her own thoughts.

With each word that she speaks, the frown on my face deepens. Just what is she talking about? “Whoa! Slow down, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.” I say, trying to break her endless ramblings. “Oh, sorry! I sometimes get lost in my own thoughts. Let me introduce myself, my name is Aia, nice to meet you. You are?” She introduces herself, a wide smile radiating from her flawless face.

“My name is Achous, I’m an avian…” I say, slightly shocked by this ‘spirit’ in front of me. Well, with everything that I’ve witnessed today, I’ve grown a bit numb.

“Achous, what a nice name. It’ll be nice to see a new face her, it has been too long since the last spirit was born. Well, there really hasn’t been a reason for any new spirits to be born, but it’s still boring with the same group of people every day for the past centuries…” She starts rambling. Why do I feel that this is going to be a reoccurring problem?

Wait, did she say centuries? How old is she? I’ll ask her about age later, maybe they just count time differently? “So, the movement in the mist was just other spirits?” I ask. Maybe, I was scared for nothing?

“Yes, those were the young tree spirits. They’re just a couple hundred years old and still maturing, anything new gets them overly excited. But you can’t blame them, no one has ever emerged from the fortress and I’ve been guarding its moat-like river my whole life. They were hoping that you could maybe wake up whatever is inside, if anything, but seeing your failure, they’ve grown bored.” Aia continues her rambling.

“No spirit knows what’s in the fortress, well, except the Ancient, but I can’t understand his riddles.” She concludes, a slight frown forming on her face. “why haven’t you tried to break the door down?” I ask. They’ve had centuries, surely the structure isn’t impenetrable?

“The door is just for decoration; the true defence of the structure is the unseen elements guarding it. If you had planned to attack the structure, then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. But that isn’t important now, I’m just happy to have someone to talk to, no one wants to talk to me anymore. I wonder why?” Aia explains, an innocent expression on her face.

Looks like I was fortunate for not attacking the structure, who knows what would have happened? Still, this island is only growing stranger and stranger. I sigh, my eyes wander towards Aia’s face. Her expression seems so innocent and joyful, life on this island must be peaceful.

A life here would be perfect, without needing to worry about your next meal. Without being outcast to the edge of a floating island. But, unfortunately, I need to go back to my people. I still have my duty as an explorer and a sapling to take care of…

I harden my resolve and say, “I can talk with you for a little longer, but when my wings eventually heal, later today, I’m going to fly home.”. As I say this, her joyful expression suddenly becomes gloomy, then without warning turns into a strange panic.

“You can’t leave!” Aia says, practically shouting. “Why not!? Don’t tell me, you’re planning to keep me here against my will?” I ask accusingly, a shallow rage boiling from my heart. Slowly, I inch away from the bridge railing. I can see the panic on her face increasing, confirming my suspicion. I quickly turn, preparing to escape towards the shore, where I woke up.

“Wait, I’m trying to save your life!” I hear Aia shout behind me. I stop. What does she mean by ‘saving my life’? I momentarily pause my escape plan, but I keep my distance. “What do you mean?!” I ask, my suspicion increasing.

“I don’t know how you’ll die if you try to leave. When I was younger, I tried to leave this island, but the Ancient told me that whoever leaves this island will die before they make it out. The reason, from what I’ve figured out, is somehow connected to perpetual darkness all around us.” Aia says, trying to explain herself.

“Fine, I’ll believe you for now,” I say, but I don’t trust her completely. Maybe, it’s the coward inside of me talking, but I’m unwilling to die an unnecessary death. “Let’s go see this ‘Ancient’ and let him explain to me why I’m trapped here.”. I say, my expression growing grim.