About three months ago…
Ash is filling my lungs. I push hard with my legs, flail my limbs wildly to flight, blinded and unable to see. I feel the air rushing around me. Up, I must push up. My mind is muddled, cloudy and I only hear one word from deep within; Survive.
Air rushes past with incredible speed, is the air cold or is it hot? Senses are unclear. How high is too high? Still can’t see, can barely breath… body is numb…limbs are numb… are parts of me falling back down to the world below? Loosing momentum… slowing down… or am I falling? I AM FALLING!
Breathe… Still my limbs, outstretch my wings to glide. There is a pain in my head. I can see again and I am still above the clouds. Tilt to the left… more…need to get home. I focus on opening a portal, but I fail. I am empty. No magic. No energy… I am over the ocean! It is getting closer, too close! I try to beat my wings to go higher but I cant, can only glide…
Too low… not going to make it home. I can feel the sea spraying up at me, reaching up to pull me in. After all this time… this is finally the end… IMPACT! PAIN! Cannot see again… can barely think, can barely breathe… loosing consciousness…
* * * * *
More recently...
The island was an Esper; a psionic creature formed of pure emotion, in this case Mercy. Telligrims body, weakened and forced to reduce itself to a human form washed up against the cliffs of the isle. Discovered by the Skylari, and made conscious again through the shamanistic powers of the Adherents, the stranger stood, shared little words, and explored the island in search of something. His thoughts and memories returned very quickly, but by his own standards he was very weak and desperately needed to regain at least a fraction of his lost power. He could tell that the island was different, but would spend the next many weeks trying to discover how, and then eventually how he could consume its energy.
The inhabitants of Mercy grew suspicious of his intent, and eventually tried so very hard to stop him. Mercy herself knew that the force that had targeted her was a Dragon. She knew that her death was inevitable, and so she asked the people to grant her an act of mercy; to delay the dragon from reaching her, long enough for her to create a heart stone of herself, so that after her death some small part of her could live on. The people of sanctuary threw themselves at the dragon mercilessly, successfully buying the esper the time that she needed. With the heartstone created, all that was left was to submit to the inevitable...
As the esper faded, the island itself began to disappear. All inhabitants of Mercy fell into the icy waters below. The vast majority of them died that night… but a small few held out through a sheer force of will until one last act of Mercy graced their lives… Giant ships were seen sailing towards them, flying high the flags of red and blue and also flags of black and gold. A few dozen of them were saved, brought aboard these ships that had left from Amanthyre and where headed to Travance and one of the rescued was holding the heartstone!
Some might have thought the story of the Mercy was a sad one, but perhaps this was not the case. The Il’umar learned the truth that it sought, the Adherents had given mercy to the esper, and the Skylari along with others finally escaped the island. Many had achieved their goals… and in some small ways, the island and mercy will live on...
