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I opened my eyes, and without thinking I stepped out into nothing, falling into the abyss of the Rip.
The rocky cliffs quickly disappeared from sight as I fell farther and farther into the deep mists, everything around me growing darker. At first, the air was rushing past so quickly that it stung my eyes. My stomach lurched into my throat at the sensation, not knowing when it would end. Then, there was nothing but blackness all around me for a long while. Either my body had turned numb or I had gotten used to the stinging air.
I wasn’t sure if minutes or hours passed as I continued to fall. At least, I thought I was still falling. I couldn’t see or hear anything. I wondered if the Gods would let me fall to my death after I’d trusted them with my life.
Am I still alive?
I blinked several times to make sure my eyes were actually open. Then I bit my cheek and the metallic taste of blood pooled in my mouth. I was still alive. But I couldn’t feel the air on my face, and my hair was still, almost like I was floating. My head spun, disoriented. It was as if I were suspended in time.
Blinding light suddenly filled the space below me, and I slammed my eyes shut. Wincing at the brightness, I put my arm over my eyes to shield them from the agonizing luminosity. Then, I slowly blinked my eyes open and removed my arm after a few moments of adjustment. Underneath my floating body was a large island, covered in trees of every shade of green and of all sizes—some so large they had to be taller than Morah.
The Woltawa Forest.
My breath caught and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the sight. I had never seen land from above like this before, like I was in the clouds. It was magnificent. Birds that I had never seen were gliding around the island. In the treetops, creatures lurked that were unknown to my world. On the west side of the island, a single extraordinary mountain protruded from the land, its peak not coming to a point but a crater.
I got lost in the view when a celestial blend of voices spoke. The voices were all around me. A shiver crept across my body at the otherworldly sound, goosebumps prickling along my skin.
The Gods.
“You have trusted us with your life to see you through the Rip. We have seen your soul and your intentions. Your loyalty is true. We shall allow you passage into the Woltawa Forest until the third dawn.”
I passed the first test.
I quietly breathed a sigh of relief as the voices continued.
“Your task is this: Where the land reaches the sky, you shall find what light brings to life, yet dies in darkness. Only its death will bring forth the path, guided by what has a river that does not flow.” The voice was gone.
What?
My mind couldn’t focus, so I repeated the riddle to myself over and over and over. The Woltawa Forest began to disappear as the darkness enveloped me once again.
Chapter Eleven
Kya
My head felt dazed after I landed on the hard ground flat on my back. I hadn’t fallen far apparently, or at least the Gods’ magic had protected me. I wasn’t injured, just a pounding headache and a few bruises. I peeled my eyes open, squinting past the sunlight shining through the canopy of trees and sat up, bracing myself on my hands. Several hours must have passed because the sun was lower in the sky than when I went into the Rip.
I was in the Woltawa Forest.
Colossal trees surrounded me, reddish-brown trunks as wide as ten males towered above me. My mouth fell open in awe. Small animals that I had never seen skittered across—
I gasped as reality came crashing back into me, interrupting my thoughts.
Where the land reaches the sky—
I scrambled up and patted my leathers for anything I could use to write.
You shall find what light brings to life—
I cursed myself for not thinking to bring any parchment or ink to jot down the riddle. I was so concerned with my weapons that it hadn’t even crossed my mind. In all my careful planningand preparation, I foolishly didn’t think to bring something to fucking write with. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Yet dies in darkness—
I grinned as an idea came to mind. I grabbed the dagger from my thigh and sliced down the pad of my finger. I dropped my dagger onto the moss-covered forest floor and pushed up my sleeve. With my finger now covered in my blood, I wrote the riddle on my forearm.
Once I finished, I grabbed a blade of grass and wrapped it around my still bleeding finger. It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to cut myself in a place with unknown creatures lurking about with the chance that they could smell blood, but I would worry about that later. I glanced at my forearm, now covered in scribbles of blood, still dripping.
The writing extended from the inside of my elbow down to my wrist. It wasn’t ideal, but it would do. I kept my sleeve up so that it wouldn’t smear the blood. I shifted to my knees and returned the dagger to my thigh, placing my hand on the ground to feel for vibrations.
