The Forgotten Land of Myria

ROY

The meqauntigum wasn’t exactly what I thought it’d be. I felt like I was swimming in midair. I was able to breathe normally and I didn’t feel anything when I moved my arms--though I was positive that I’d jumped into a lake. Once I crossed the orb, however, it was like when I got teleported to Myria. My body was being stretched in every which way, but less violently. I braced myself, feeling like my eyes might pop out of my head at any moment.

A few more stretches and squeezes and I found myself being spat out at full speed towards a bright surface. The rays of light came closer and closer, until I finally burst out and landed on soft ground. I took a second to regain the breath that had been knocked out of me and then I saw my spear lying neatly on soft green grass, a few feet away.

I picked myself up and looked around. I wasn’t sure where I was, but it looked pretty alright. A field of grass--I didn’t know how much I missed grass--surrounded the pool of meqauntigum, with a few hills and rows of tall trees here and there. The two wild kids were already examining the place, and a moment later, Safira shot out. I reached out to help her up from her landing--but she never landed. She spiraled down and up so fast that she was already two steps ahead of me, picking up her pouch, bow. and arrows. Behind us, the pool of meqauntigum had started spinning, wriggling, and finally shrinking. In a split second, the pool had shrunken out of sight and a patch of grass took its place.

“I guess there’s no turning back,” Safira noted. The two kids trotted in front of me and stared blankly at us.

“Okay, huh,” I staggered. “So…where to now?”

Safira rolled her eyes. She probably wasn’t in the best of moods. “Am I supposed to know that?”

“No...maybe? I don’t know! I mean...where exactly are we? Do you think they know?”

“Look, I know just as much as you,” she said, grumpily. “I have no idea where this Razorgate took us. For all I know, we could be in the middle of nowhere!”

At that exact moment, the wildlings raised their heads attentively, as we heard a painful muffled groan coming from the trees. Safira strung her bow. I aimed my spear and took a stance. Just as we had approached the trees, we saw what it was: a beaten, bleeding man flopped onto the grass. It was Leof.

Safira rushed to help him. I hesitated--the last time I’d seen Leof, fire had come out of my hand--but Safira called me over urgently. We turned him on his back. His face was swollen and covered in cuts, and his breathing was heavy.

“Leof, what happened?” Safira shook his face. “Where are the others? Are they here?”

“N--no,” Leof rattled. He pointed a shaky finger at the trees that he had just sprung out of. “Squire Elm.”

Safira stopped dead. “W--we are in Squire Elm?”

Leof nodded. “Beyond the trees.”

“Well, where are the others?” Safira urged. I was silent, thinking he hadn’t noticed me yet.

“They went back.”

“Back? Back where?”

“Back home,” Leof took a deep breath, and opened his eyes wide. “Theon’s...army...attacked Musgrave Pen.”