The Far Wilds

An evil had arrived at The Far Wilds.

Their hands were red with the blood of thousands.

Their trail was marked with hundreds of burned cities.

And their heart was as corrupt as the most devilish curse.

They crested a small hill, surveyed the barren landscape… and smiled.

It wasn’t that Flame didn’t like people. She just didn’t like the drama people brought with them. She’d tried to make it work, but it never did- she was continually drawn into struggle after struggle; every time she tried to help, every time things got too tumultuous for comfort and she slipped away in the dead of night.

After about a year of this happening, she made a promise to herself: she would have friends, sure. But if anyone tried to get too close, she’d leave. She followed through on this promise for years, abandoning everything and everyone, retreating further and further into the wilderness, until, finally, she had withdrawn to the most isolated area possible- the Far Wilds, home of mercenaries, runaways, criminals, and anybody who had nowhere else to go.

One day, she was working in her front garden, intently planting a row of carrots, when a voice said, “hello. Do you have a moment?”

She looked up to see that it was a man who had spoken, tall, with brown hair and piercing green eyes. Behind him were three other men- one wore a white mask with black eye holes and gold highlights around the edges, one had red, but not peeling, skin, and the third had a rotting cake for a head. Instantly on guard, she subtly scanned them for weapons. Only the masked and red-skinned ones wore armor, but all four were bearing swords. Whatever they were here for, they meant business. She stood up and focused on the first man. “I suppose I do. What brings you here?”

“I’m starting a haven for souls hiding from the wars in the Inner Lands, and I was wondering if you were interested in running it.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Why me?”

He waved at her entire area; the garden, the fish trap, the animal pen, and the hut tucked under a hill. “You clearly know what you’re doing.”

“Anybody could do this.”

“You’d be surprised.”

She changed tracks. “Who are you, anyway?”

“I’m Wolf, and this is Smevy, War, and Mold,” replied the man who had been speaking, indicating the red-skinned, masked, and cake-headed men respectively.

“I’m Flame.”

“A pleasure,” said Wolf. “So? What will it be?”

She adjusted one of her bracelets, about to say no, when, suddenly, she felt as if her mind twisted in on itself. It was like someone else was intruding on her innermost self, as jarring as the word that sprang unbidden from her mouth.

“Sure.”

Flame stood on the knoll, gazing out onto the forest below her. Things had changed now... things had changed much too soon. This newcomer, this Wolf, was going to make everything so different from what she had thought she was going to make her own. It should have stung. It should have made her so angry that she would have left the place she had made into her home.

But...she didn’t. As much as she wanted to, she didn’t. And she wasn’t sure she was mad enough about it.

She sighed and sat down, resting her hand on the tree. Maybe this was worth it? Maybe things would be better now? Maybe, maybe...

She couldn’t- couldn’t- Oh this was no use, she was never going to understand what was going on, not as fully as she wanted. Clenching her fists under they stung, she looked at her right bracelet. It was them. It was always because of them. Those cursed pieces of gold. She had thought that they were going to be just some things to add to her jewelry box, but as soon as she put them on, everything started to change. She knew it was because of them- it only made sense that way. Maybe she could deal with it... But then what else would change? Maybe she would just be exchanging one uncomfortable situation for another.

Unable to hold in anymore, she took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and screamed out into the jungle. The sound reverberated towards her house, but in that moment, she didn’t care, her anger was too strong. Reaching up, she grabbed a branch she knew she couldn’t break and yanked, pulling until her hands hurt too much to continue.

She felt a bit better now, but not entirely. What if she just...left? Left everything behind? It wasn’t like she had to stay, especially not here at her house- she wasn’t entirely attached to it, not completely. Yeah, she thought, What if I just leave it all behind?

Again? Whispered another little voice, one that almost didn’t feel like her own. Are you going to do this every single time, until the end? Well, are you? She didn’t answer it- it wouldn’t do anything good anyway. Taking a deep breath, she looked out into the jungle, watching the bats swoop after bugs and the owls swoop after bats. Everything had a cycle, she had seen. Everything had a beginning and end. Perhaps now was the end of her beginning, and she was finally about to start on the dream she had as a child- to make somewhere a home for those who had never seen one.

She breathed in the scent of the forest for a few more minutes, letting her mind still. Then she walked back. Nobody was awake, so hopefully that meant nobody had heard her shouting. Either way, no questions were asked. Probably for the best, she thought drowsily as she laid her head down to sleep. After all, in the end, nobody can handle what happens in my head but me.