Heart part 1

Chapter 23 - Taste the Wind part 1: A Long Hard Road

The first week of Heart's journey was monotonous and rough. As they travelled back through Willsbarrel and down a longer route around Fei, since they didn't have Esther's or the Casimir's help, they had to scrounge for their own supplies and had to find their own places to rest. The money in Esther's purse didn't last long, so they spent the majority of the trip sleeping outside. They nearly froze to death and on the days they didn't, they were either attacked by some thieves looking for an easy score or by some of the local wildlife.

Food and drink were also a problem. Before they even reached the halfway point, they had already run out of what little they had taken from the carriages back at the mansion. For the rest of their journey, they had to survive off of the land, eating whatever edible plants they came across and using rudimentary traps to capture small prey, but gathering food wasn't the hard part. More often than not, the hardest part was procuring some water.

The route they were on happened to be the furthest it could possibly be from any river. While they were able to supplement themselves decently enough with some of the plants they ate, they still had to suffer through many long nights with a dry throat. But despite it all, they persisted and continued forward. After all, they know there is much worse out there, there always is, so when this was the worst the world had to throw at them, Heart felt relieved. To put it in other words, this trip was easier than they initially thought it was going to be.

***

With the trees slowly receding and disappearing behind them, Heart finally broke out of the forest and stepped out onto a hill that overlooked a vibrant plain. But over on the horizon, they finally caught a glimpse of their goal. Blowing out a thankful sigh, they picked up their feet and ran down the hill as fast as they could.

When their feet first hit the sand of the Staf Desert, they exclaimed, " Finally! That took so long!"

Dark circles were underneath their eyes, their lips were cracked, their hair was a mess, their clothes were even worse, and don't even ask about the smell.

" Only a little longer until I reach Burning Toe." They muttered, standing in the sand. " You know, I was hoping things would get a bit more interesting when I reached the desert, but I never expected to see something this soon..."

Taking in a deep breath and bending back a bit, they launched themselves forward and propelled a shout down at the ground. " Why in the world are these two connected?!"

" I knew something was wrong when I heard how long the trip was going to be, but I didn't think it would be something like this! Why are Dunadrea and Cyend connected?! Dunadrea was supposed to be its own continent, on the other side of the world! How did this happen?! What tomfoolery could have caused this?! I know it wasn't this way when I left!" They shouted, waving and stomping about in a total panic.

The land was completely divided in two, one side containing a ruthless desert and the other, a pleasant plain with a forest just beyond. It was as if a line was drawn, dividing but not separating the land.

" The temperature even changes as soon as I hop to the other side!" Stepping back over into the lush plains, the air immediately changed from beating hot to cool warm.

" I guess this is what the others meant by a 'seperation point'. I swear, once I find the entity responsible for ruining all of my hard work,"

*snap!*

"...gone! Eradicated! Erased! Ended!" Blowing out a puff of hot air, they took a moment to calm down. Once their nerves were sufficiently cooled, they re-adjusted their bag and stepped back over onto the sand.

For the next few hours, they trekked across the sand. Hot air scorched their throat and the unrelenting suns beat down upon them. It didn't take long for sweat to start dripping down their brow. As they walked, Heart couldn't help but think back on their days as a god. This journey reminded them of it in a way. Since first coming to this world, this was the first time that they'd been left all alone.