The Gilded Plains

4 - Cardinal - A Violent Stare

There was a low whistle in the wind, sounds of rustling and crashing of water on stone filled the air, scents of salt and dirt flooded Nova's nose. He awoke from bruised and cut, shards of glass still in his side and arms, his feet lay above him dry and burning on the hot ground, his head half beneath a pool of water. His headache and drowsiness had subsided slightly, he could at the least see straight now, yet still unsure of what caused the incident.

He painfully raised his head to examine his surroundings, an area of grass past the yellowish dirt where his feet lay, rocks and smaller pools of water to his left and right, above him the sky, the first time he had ever seen it in its full, and a little further past the rocks and water to his left, was the tall, towering, prison he once called home. Whether he liked it or not, whether for better or worse this was his home now, and wasn't about to waste it.

With each breath a sharp searing pain formed in his left side, and hard sharp pieces of something moved with his breaths, it however didn't hurt all too bad, not yet at least. "Damn it." He swore under his breath as his looked at his blood-stained shirt and hands, it was to first time he swore since he was young and foolish, and the first time he bled. "Gods damn it." He cursed to himself again, this time attempting to straighten himself and sit upright. His cuts and bruises only worsened and burned when water seeped in with his movements.

The world had a sort of pinkish tint to it while still being more evenly and brightly lit then any room or stairwell in the towers, anything was better than in there, out here he could have his own rules. And go to any party he wished, and make whatever clothes and fashion he desired, sure they were petty reasons to throw a fit, but they were still reasons non the less, and Nova was sick and tired of the ways of the towers beloved king. Out here in the beautifully lit world which wasn't as bad as he had thought while falling, out here there was no such thing as a king. He could be king.

After laying in the wet soft soil that sat on the water's edge for what seemed like hours upon hours, he wiled himself the strength to sit and barely stand on his knees. Each breath still hurt, his cuts however had shrunk slightly and he had been relieved of most glass shards thanks to the kind ripples and waves of the tide. Now, mind still foggy, insure of what had happened and what do to, he cried, alone, scared, and covered in dirt, he wept.

It wasn't long after his fit of crying while sitting upright on the beach, that he began to realize more clearly now, what had happened. It was the food he thought, while he grew hungry running throughout the tower, he also grew mad, it was the food that must have kept them all sane, and the lack of it to drive him into a window. The window. The screen, there were no mountains, nor was there a great clear river, not even a forest as large as he had seen before, it was all flat, and bland, all yellow and green. Tall grass and fields of grain thrived and covered the world around him. There was a larger body of water, a lake, or a pond, he couldn't think of the word, and there was sand, not yellow pale dirt, it was sand. Happily, he began to stand, more and more words and names and things filled his mind, he regained better control over his thoughts, better than he was able to even as a child or a young man, all because of the food. It was something about it, he wasn't quite sure what, but frankly he was to tired and hungry to worry about the poison he had been fed.

It was a wobbly start but he managed to stand upright again, breathing still hurt though, and the fractured ribs on his left side didn't help much. He took a step, almost fell, but didn't, good he thought now for another. This time with his left foot, hurting his side, but not too badly to stop him, he walked. It felt good to stretch his legs, smell the sea air that was the word, sea he remembered more still. The water was cold, the sand was hot, and the air an uncomfortable in-between that made him sweat a tad without feeling too hot. "All in all, things could be worse I guess." He mistakenly said aloud before realizing the time of day, it was already getting dark, perhaps enough time to find a few things to eat before resting for the night under a tree, the closest being a ways away, but still a doable distance if he jogged.