A long time ago I had forgotten that the world was larger than my chamber. I had never imagined just how big it really was.

---

After that unfortunate incident my carrier held me upright once more and I heard the sound hollow wood as my carrier stepped onto something, tucking me inside the satchel soon after. My world jumped as it had in the forest, then voices. One was undoubtedly someone’s from the front of whatever we were on, a man’s voice, very generic. The other however came from much closer. My carrier? Couldn’t be. Its voice was higher than the man’s with a distinct crack near its end. It seemed familiar with the other human.

“My my, Ersel, what is a girl like you doing on Southmarch? That’s no place for anyone but bandits and soldiers since the old kings fell”

“Why, I was helping the wounded.” Sly.

The man scoffed, “I’d heard better lies from the dead.”

That was odd to me. How could the dead lie? Sometimes humans baffled me with their logic, or rather lack of it.

“Alright then” continued the man, “I’ve no business asking a lady of her affairs. Where are you headed?”

“Starsreach.”

“I see, you’re lucky that’s on my route.”

There was a bump as my carrier sat down, “No, I’m lucky you still owe me that favor.”

“Hmpf, that’s last time I do anything involving a bear, a crate, and a very old man.”

What the…

A whip resounded and everything darted forwards. I heard the whinny of horses and the rattle of wheels. Just where were we headed? Starsreach? Was that in the sky? I smiled in my thoughts, I could only imagine.

Time passed like it always did, yet now I was excited. Shaking almost, if that were possible. Where would I go next, what would I see next? So many possibilities! While I waited I listened to the conversations between my travelling abductors. If listening to fools talk hadn’t amused me I would have been bored long ago. Oh wait-

“So Ersel, what of your studies? I heard you were apprenticing as an archivist.”

“Aye, I learned quite a few things.”

“Spin me some tails Meistress.”

There was a short quirky laugh and more likely than not a smirk, “Ever heard of the idol of Atechrities?”

Was that me?

“Enlighten me.” He said plainly.

She cleared her throat and I heard the sound of water gulped nearby. It was followed by a long drawn out sigh. “The idol was said to have blessed the Old Kingdom. The army of the long march found the idol when it conquered Southmarch. Afterwards they were sieged for a month and survived. A miracle, all after they found that idol.

Despite it as an act of Blasphemy, the ruling lord and his subjects worshiped the idol as a local god rather than the stars. When the old kings left for the holyland, the lord of Southmarch, despite his star blood, was exiled from the exodus for his family’s crimes of heresy. Until now they continued to worship the idol even in secret- even after the former king ruled it an act of treason.”

“Hence why they fell.” His voice a little curious, “But what of the idol?”

“It was the pride of a kingdom.”

“So that’s why you went then? To look at it?”

There was silence, a long silence. Just long enough to raise brows, “Something like that.” She said.

Oh indeed. Something such as kidnapping. Or was it Godnapping? I was a god after all.

The man started again, “I’m not a reading man, but Archivists rely on scrolls no? Not fabled idols in burning cities.”

“No no. I only heard about it from the wounded I helped.” Back to that I see, “They said it was lost in the fire.”

Thinking back, I probably would have burned if it wasn’t for all those yellow rocks.

“Shame, it would have been worth a fortune.”

“Indeed.”

Indeed indeed. Wait me? She was going to sell me?

I fell into my thoughts as silence ensued. Nothing but the cackle of wood, and tapping of hooves to accompany me. I was a god, dammit! Yet I was thrown into a bag as if I were nothing but a doll. Blasphemous! Outrageous! These incompetents did not know who they were dealing with. They had not even offered me presents.

I stopped myself in mid thought.

Or perhaps they did. For the first time in my life, I had been given the world as a present. To see it all! Who would have known it to be so big? My mind recoiled as this occurred to me. Indeed, I’d bless this ‘Ersel’ with a thousand fires or victories or whatever I was the god of.

“Stasreach” said the man at the front, “I believe this your stop?”

Everything jumped and the sound of feet against gravel greeted me. Then I heard voices. Voices upon voice. More than I ever heard before. How many people were around me?

“Thanks Vlad.” Cried my carrier.

Then began the rocky jostle as my host moved on foot. Where was I?

I heard the cries of more humans, offering fruits for gold. If I remembered correctly gold was the human name for yellow rocks. How did yellow rocks amount to fruit? You could eat fruit! Madness, these humans never seized to amaze me with their incompetency.

There was a creak, a slam, and the surroundings humans shut up. Finally. The cloth shifted in front of me and the image of a cluttered room came into focus. Little knick-knacks and wonderments stuffed in wooden shelves. Near the end of the shop sat a balding man behind a counter. A man I could only describe as a very large pear shaped monkey and I had only seen a monkey once.

“What do you have their, miss?” He said behind round rimmed glasses.

“A treasure worth two Irs and five crowns.”

The pear looked at me with skeptical eyes. Clearly he had never seen greatness.

“Not interested.” He said firmly, returning to whatever nonsense he was working on before. Any human to ignore me was clearly delusional. This man was no different.

“This is the lost idol of Atechrities! Worth ten times more than the bargain I offer you.”

The man snorted as he continued to ignore us.

My carrier did no let up, “This Idol was said to have won the old kings Southmarch. If you sell this to the proper collector, you’ll make a fortune.”

The man sighed, stretching his words “Not interested.”

My world zoomed forwards as my carried stomped towards the counter. In one quick moment she slammed my base against the counter. The nerve!

Now the man towered above me, looking infuriated. No doubt projecting my emotions in full.

My carrier spoke first, “I guarantee that within a fortnight, the crown will seek this artifact. If they find it in the hands of a procurer of treasures, they’ll think nothing of it. In fact they’ll pay the man his weight in gold.”

The man’s face lowered a bit, studying me as his expression cooled.

Two beige hands slammed on the table on either side of me, “How much do you weigh?”

“You seem confident miss. But your confidence concerns me.”

The arms retracted, “How so?”

“If what you say is true. Then the method you attained this treasure is…questionable. Last I heard Southmarch was sacked. Swarming with thieves and beggars now-a-days.”

There was a silence, a deadly silence. On the edge of my pearly eyes I saw the man shift his eyes ever so slightly to the left. Then he nodded, staring at something other than my carrier. The door creaked and a heavy footstep echoed across the room.

Before I knew it I tumbled into the satchel and tugged haphazardly across what I could only assume was the entirety of the room.

“Stop! Thief!” cried a third voice.

I felt everything tip then heard the sound of sliding. There was sudden jolt, then the rasp of feet against gravel. Again pitches for fruit filled my wooden ears. Outside already? I had to admit, I was impressed by my carrier’s ability to run away. Probably more so if I had gotten the chance to see it.

I heard ‘Thief!’ cried multiple times later, even the odd ‘Stop’ here and there. A little while later the heavy huffing of my carrier began to override the sound of fruit salesmen. Perhaps she was tired. Stop you idiot, I tried to tell her, why run when you can stand still? That would have been better for both of us. Honestly. I did not understand these humans. She could not sell me, and now she refused to return me to the people who loved me. Or at least I assumed they loved me. Besides, who didn’t love me? I stopped thinking about that as I realized it was a redundant thought. The answer was obvious.

My Carrier kept running. Ducking at times and jumping at others. The world shook and her running seized. Footsteps raced by and my carrier, already in deep breath, let out a heavy sigh. Only a moment later she shot forwards. Continuing her relentless run. I thought I would get sick.

Minutes passed until she finally slowed, then hours until the sounds of humans faded. It made me wonder where I was. Perhaps another shop? No, I would have heard doors. I listened closely. A bird chirped. I hated those things. The shuffle of leaves, some clicks from what I assumed were squirrels. It became more and more apparent that my carrier had brought me to another forest.

Why? I could not possibly tell. After all speaking to things was not often my strong suit. That or they never listened.

More leaves shuffled. By the sound alone I could tell it wasn’t squirrels. There was a jolt, and I heard my carrier’s voice, my world turning side to side.

“Back.” She cried. “I know you’re kind. Blood scarves! The lot of you! Back!”

Laughing, sounded to be a man’s. “We’re not afraid of you, little noble. We’re part of a new order. Lest you’re prince forget that.”

Another voice, “You have no idea how hard it is to catch your kind outside your walls.”

“Aye.” Grumbled the first man “Best we be rewarded for our efforts.”

“Oi, now that I’ve gotten a good look at her, isn’t she the girl we’ve been looking for?” asked the second man.

Silence. “By the stars I think she is.” Acknowledged the first man “Alright, here’s what you’ll do girl. Forget what you saw back on the ship and we’ll hurt you a little.”

There was a slight twist from where I was. It seemed my carrier was considering her odds.

“Enough.” Cried yet another voice. A higher one, probably a woman’s, “Leave her with me. Idle threats are not as potent as tampering with the actual memories. More than that, she has something with her.” There was a long silence, my carrier began to back away, “I can feel it.” Said the woman at last.

My carrier turned and a loud thump echoed across the forest. My world tumbled down. The next moment I heard the woman cry out orders, “Tie her up.” She barked, “Tell Black Coat that we have the girl and that we have taken care of her.”

Light shot past my pearl eyes, and soon I saw the faces of those around me. Three men and what I thought was the woman. The men were typical thugs, the only odd thing about them, red scarves which hung about their necks. The woman, however, was different. She had dark skin, long black dreadlocks and two painfully violet eyes.

“Spirits.” She hushed. “I knew I felt something particular.”

“What is it?” Asked one of the red scarves.

“None of your concern. Bound the noble, I’ll handle the rest.”

She glanced back at me, her smile was almost poisonous. With a clutch of her hands I was lifted to bear sight to my unconscious carrier, the others tying her as I watched. That sight was quickly interrupted. The veil of burlap blinded me once more.

…

The veil was lifted a couple hours later. This time I was in a building that looked more like a carved out tee. Various vials hanging about. Strange colorful fluids bubbling in some of them. Other than vials, I saw small dried up creatures and…was that tufts of hair? It almost reminded me of my earlier gifts.

The stranger, who I could now fully discern, stood next to a large cauldron. Ah I remembered those from when the humans discovered how to shape rocks. Examining violet eyes some more I came to the conclusion that it was a she, not that it mattered. Humans seemed to fuss much too much over that.

She wore a two part dress woven of dried grass and beads, over her shoulders lay a cowl which along with her face were heavily adorned with dull rocks. Or ‘ornaments’ as the humans called them.

She seemed to be reading, staring at some scroll on her table. I spotted my carrier bound in the corner. Her eyes narrowed at the stranger.

“I see you are awake, girl.” She said in her accented voice, “You have garnered a lot of attention among my guild. Especially that friend of yours. She said you saw something you shouldn’t have. It is odd enough for some stranger such as yourself to have seen what she did, but now here you are with a treasure worth more than yourself.”

“Some stranger? She’s not my friend.” Cursed my carrier. Her eyes darting about her.

Violet eyes kept her back to my carrier, “It is of no use, those ropes are bound by spell craft.”

My carrier stopped struggling, perhaps to the amusement of Violet eyes. Though, oddly I could see her hands moving ever so slightly at the corner of my sight. What was she up to?

Violet eyes continued her slow chuckle, “You must have had some connection to her. Since if not for her, well.” She glanced at my carrier, “You would have been killed long ago.”

My carrier spat, but missed the mark. Violet eyes turned back to her scrolls, laughing loudly as she did so. “No matter, your memory of all of this will be erased soon enough. Besides, you bought me this idol. I learned of a spell you see, call it a recipe. This idol of yours is the final ingredient.”

There was an edge to my carrier’s voice, “What does this have to do with the idol?”

“Oh you shall see.” Hummed violet eyes. I stared at my carrier. She was indeed up to something. The slight back and forth of her hands, the glimmer of steel amongst the bubbling lights.

All at once, I saw it then, her bounds fell softly against the ground. She had cut her binds.

Violet eyes, still facing the scrolls, started chanting. “Isdari na Trol. Idari na Ven.”

Shortly after, she to, pulled out a knife. She held both hands above her hand, one hand with the knife pressed against the palm. It was as if she intended to cut herself. Absurd! What would she gain from that?

A couple seconds and my carrier pounced.

Violet eyes chanted what appeared to be the last words, “Isdari sa-”

She stopped her chant as she dodged the first swing, “How did you escape?” she cried circling my carrier.

My carrier followed her circle, her dagger equally prepped. “A tale for another time. Perhaps once I drive my dagger through your black heart.”

Violet eyes began to smile, “I know what you are! Least I have a heart!”

The two fell into a battle of blades. Violet eyes was elegant, but my carrier was fast. Their blades clashed in a series of parries, until at last my carrier made one failed lunge and had her dagger knocked away.

Violet eyes swung once at my disarmed carrier, whilst my carrier dodged but only barely. She clutched her arm as she stumbled backwards. She had been cut.

Violet eyes froze, almost expressionless. That soon faded replaced by a face of rage, “No!” She roared, “The ritual” her eyes darted towards me.

My carrier staggered, then let her arm hang free. Globules of her blood flew from her arm and scattered in the air. Little beads that just floated there. My carrier was motionless as she stared at her own blood.

I could see violet eye’s free hand distorted in an odd fashion below the globs, almost as if she was manipulating the blood. “Maybe I could-” she cut herself off, retracting her arm. “Spirits.” She swore as the blood swirled in the air.

I found it odd how violet eyes pronounced her ‘a’s like ‘ah’s.

“Witch!” cried my carrier. I was dumbfounded, that was a witch? Certainly different from what I heard. Whatever it was my carrier seemed quite excited…or infuriated, it was really hard to tell by tone alone.

“Unbind the idol, girl. It is tethered to you!” Spouted violet eyes.

My carrier didn’t respond.

Again that insidious laugh, “Very well, you leave me no choice.”

Violet eyes swung her free hand towards me then mimicked her finger in a curling motion.

I started moving forwards. Was I carried? No feet were below me. I-I was flying! Fascinating!

Violet eyes grew like the sun on the horizon. Before I knew it, I was in front of her, my wooden face inches away from her adorned one.

“Be free child of wood.”

Child!? I was maybe…one-no two. No FOUR centuries older than the fool! The nerve!

Slowly I realized the blood drops were glowing. And heading towards me? Perhaps a gift! At last! I was starting to feel neglected. Yet as the blood drops got closer my world began to turn white.

Closer and whiter. Whiter and closer. Until all I saw was my wooden reflection on the crimson glob then white. Nothing but white.

I had forgotten what I looked like. Perhaps I never knew to begin with. I had pearl eyes and a wooden face. A long twig for a nose and a mouth that made a perpetual “O” shape. My ears, on the other hand, were rounded and stuck on either side.

Wow.

I hadn’t realized how handsome I was! Ha, these humans paled in comparison!

Yet something bugged me about the image. It was as if I still saw it even though I didn’t. As if it were in front of me, yet I was not in front of it.

I blinked. The image vanished.

My body felt strange.

I glanced to my side and the white of the room started to fade.

I tossed my head side to side, the image of two astounded, short, women glaring at me.

I stopped dead in my thoughts.

I could blink, I could turn! I quickly twirled and examined my new limbs. Long bark skinned arms and even longer legs. A pointed nose always in front of me.

I opened my mouth. My throat felt dry. I tried speaking yet didn’t know how. I tried again

“About time.” I said aloud.