Within the haunted shadows of withering darkness and the ominous height of endless trees, Quyn found refuge. The thickets of Karasang Wilds were her least favorite places to travel, but she needed to understand her fears before she ever stood a chance of facing them.
Steady hands pitched a handmade tent, securing it with river stones into the earth. The leather, dried only for a week, flapped in the winds that managed to squeeze between the thick brush of low grounds. It would have to do. Those same hands pushed wisps of yellow hair out of her face as she pondered her choice of camp. There were two reasons she chose such a spot. One, the creek that ran behind her tent had fresh water that pooled into a pond just a hundred feet away. Two, that pond contained a relatively good amount of fish she could use to sustain herself. Other than that, she was clueless. If she could avoid any hozen, she’d find herself just fine.
The sun was setting. The darkness only increased. Shadows grew taller and longer with each passing minute. It was time to build a fire. The trouble she ran into was that all the broken limbs were damp as the wilds were so close to the sea. However, after some scrounging, she managed a small pile that could cook a fish and boil some tea as well as keep her warm until she fell asleep. It was more than enough.
While a redfish, small but enough for her, sizzled over the fire, Quyn practiced yoga. Anything she could do to distract herself from the fear that was starting to bubble up was welcomed. It was, however, getting harder to ignore the sound of rustling leaves and snapping branches. Still, she remained in a meditative state as she knew her fighting skills had improved a tenfold over the last six months. If someone was coming towards her, they’d be sorry.
