Nightly Mirage

3. Fighting Alone

Liryl looked around, nervous. When the other ath'ar in the caravan mentioned the Jharne Swamp, it had not bothered her particularly. Of course, making her way through ponds and mud pits would have been difficult, but it was not an environment so different from the one she was raised in. Or at least, that is what she believed.

"What's wrong?" she uttered, scared as her chart suddenly shook.

"One of the back wheels is stuck," explained one of the ath'ar on foot. Liryl knew him as Thurval, and he was one of the few she got used to recognize. The adult males in the group were less than half compared to the females, and this made it easier for her to avoid confusion.

Seeing the nymph getting off the chart, Thurval hurried to reassure her.

"Your help isn't needed, my lady, we're perfectly capable of ..." but, as usual, the nymph cut his objections short.

"I already told you, Thurval, I'm not an ath'ar," she said, leaning against the back of the chart next to him. "Let me help you."

Thurval would have insisted, but he seemed to have accepted his inability to overcome her stubbornness, by now. Thus, he just nodded and, together with two other ath'ar who came to their aid, he started pushing.

As she clenched her teeth for the effort, Liryl could not help feeling surprise for the ath'ar's kind manners. But, at the same time, she found it much less strange than in the past. She had long believed that Valhias was the only one, among his people, who could feel something unlike scorn or mistrust towards her identity as a nymph. Yet, as the number of ath'ar she met in Limira grew, so did the number of eyes which could look at her with respect and even sympathy. Even if they still were in the minority, Liryl could not care less.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, the wheel of the chart was finally unstuck.

"Thank you, my lords," the nymph said to the other ath'ar, wiping her sweated forehead with her arm and bowing out of gratitude. With the exception of Thurval, however, the other ath'ar did not return the nymph's words and left like it was nothing. A sad smile surfaced on the girl's face.

This is fine too, I guess.

The girl's smile soon vanished, when her eyes turned back towards the colorless landscape ahead. Even if the sun had long since risen, the swamp was still shrouded in a grey haze. The green of trees, compared to those in Espyria, looked more opaque, almost dull. Liryl could not help wondering which spirits inhabited that place. And even if she did not expect to be heard, she prayed so that at least the spirits of water protected her and her babies.

The thought of the two kids made her get back on the chart again. Ashne and Pimys were playing with one of the latter's toys, causing the nymph to smile affectionately. It was the only picture in that place which still could warm her heart up.

Ashne turned almost immediately towards her. "Is everything all right now, Liryl?"

The nymph nodded. "We'll have to proceed slower than planned, but I think we'll get to the port of Hozoa in one week at most."

"Let's hope so," the young ath'ar commented, sighing. "We've been travelling for over a month already."

"There wasn't any other way, sadly," Liryl explained in return. "It's the only free harbor left on the Middle Sea. The rest of the coast has fallen into the nahz'reim's hands."

"Will Valhias find us?" Pimys asked all of a sudden, with his wide eyes.

The nymph smiled, burying her doubts behind that calm expression. "Of course. As soon as Valhias defeated the bad nahz'reim, he'll meet us in Sendra."