It felt as if she had been drifting in darkness for years as she felt herself shift and change with the will of the world. Guided only by a silent call that echoed everywhere urging her forwards through the starless night. Her only want was to answer the call but her voice would not come, still she was at peace.
But the darkness turned heavy and hateful. It pressed in twisting her limbs attempting to chain her in that place. It was selfish and possessive and everything the voice was not. With a vicious clearness she suddenly hated the darkness and thrashed against the place she would have called a friend. Just as her hand tore free of the one holding hers the ground tore open under her and she fell into waters so cold her body burned.
With a fierce tug she pulled away from the abyss below and reached out to swim out of the watery depths. But she couldn't rise fast enough, she choked on the water that was all around her. She couldn't free her other arm- she couldn't shift into a better form- she wasn't Enough-
There was light far below her rising up to meet her with four terrible glowing eyes filling her vision.
The harpy grinned wide and opened its mouth-
The pain came and with it went the darkness, she opened her eyes and stood in a peaceful garden on the highest peak of the furthest mountain. The knowing of where simply came to her when she watched the magic flit through the air singing together with the wind to bring new life into the world.
"---------"
Her name had been called, she turned and-
---
Pallula opened her eyes as she reached out to grab hold of- she squinted her eyes against the sun shining on her face and turned away from it. Closing her eyes she tried to catch the trailing threads of the dream, it felt so important. But the longer she lay there, the more it slipped away leaving only vague feelings behind.
She scrubbed her face with her dirty hands and accessed her situation.
She was still in the final room of the Starlight Dungeon laying under the broken stairs that probably once led to the exit near the top. She had let go of her cloak in her sleep but she was still alive so either the siren didn't care or by some miracle she wasn't seen.
Suppressing her despair Pallula took out a small carved figure and held it tightly to her chest. The remnants of the dream pulled at her mind, but she was only left with an unsettled chill in her bones. Stroking the head of the figure she tried to calm her racing heart. If her brother were here he'd probably try to summon their house guardian, even if it never answered them before he'd still try. She looked down at the wooden figure with its gemstone eyes and metal hooves, quiet and unassuming.
Its name sat heavy on her tongue but instead she scoffed at herself and placed the figure back into her pocket. What would a unicorn even do if it did appear? Not like it could fly.
She flipped her hood up and pulled the cloak closed just in case the siren really hadn't noticed her.
A quick glance up told her that it hadn't moved from the ledge or if it had it went back. With the sun lighting up the room she could see it better. It was a large but a sadly empty space with the walls carved in beautiful patterns with hollows for the light sprites to nest. Up high there were the cracks she had seen in the moonlight but just under them was a row of tiny windows circling around the room.
And... a glass floor.
She moved her legs closer shaken by the very idea as she watched the glittering lake below. Even in the daylight it was still dark and awe inspiring but she couldn't help but think the harpy was still alive down there watching and waiting for her to get close enough. A brief second of her dream flashed through her mind, all those eyes.. she shivered.
But it was a silly thought and she saw it die but the thought still clung to her.
Though... She looked around the room, there wasn't really anywhere to walk that wasn't glass...
She crawled around the stairwell and spotted the angel harpy's nest not far from herself. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears with excitement leaving her situation momentarily forgotten. The stories always said harpys hoarded the best treasures just like great giant magpies or miniature dragons!
She pulled herself to her feet quickly but hissed quietly as her left leg folded under her sending her to her knee. It was just cramped, nothing was wrong with it, she couldn't treat it even if there was. She focused on where she was going instead and with a deep breath she pushed through the pain, biting her lip as she forced her leg to take her weight.
Quietly drawing out her sword she kept one eye on the siren and walked around the perimeter of the room slowly closing in on the nest. Halfway through a step she abruptly paused and flicked her eyes around the room. The glass floor gleamed perfect and pristine in the sun. The hole in the floor was gone, Didn't the harpy fall through it? No one was here except her and the siren and she was sure the siren didn't fix it.
Maybe it was a magic floor? That thought didn't make her feel any better, she didn't know what kind of magic it was or what it was meant to do. For that matter why wasn't she drowning if it was fixed? The siren's tail hadn't stopped giving off water since the moment she spotted it. She squinted at the water running down the wall but it didn't seem to even sit on the glass for a moment. Was it flowing through it somehow?
Closing her eyes she took a deep breath trying to keep her troubled heart at bay. This was too much for her she wasn't a magic user of any kind. She wasn't going to drown and that was all she needed to know.
The rest of the way to the nest was increasingly uneventful for her as tension filled her every hesitant step while she waited for everything to collapse around her. Or for some trap to go off and kill her. She swallowed thickly at the idea. She didn't need anymore hidden traps in her life.
The nest was taller than she was, weaved together with broad branches still half alive with browning leaves. Circling it to watch the siren Pallula climbed. She prayed to every god she knew for the nest to hold her weight without breaking, without making noise, without drawing the siren's attention. And before she could release her held breath she was crouched down low inside it among the harpys hoard and it's single very large egg.
She threw herself violently against the egg trying to escape the bone pile she had been standing on. They crunched against each other under her feet sending a vicious shudder through her. Most of them looked like animal bones but, some.. were wearing rotted clothing. She hadn't been the first adventurer here, but maybe the first one in a very long time.
Pushing some of the more animal bones out of the way Pallula knelt down beside the armoured skeletons.
Stealing another glance at the lazing siren she leaned close to the bones whispering, "Forgive me for this but I need to know if you have anything I can use to get out of here."
Holding her breath she dug through the pockets of the three she could reach without digging. The cotton and silks disintegrated at her touch but some of the fancier materials held. After a moment she laid out the treasures, the weapons: a bow, two rusted swords, and a staff so magical it was sprouting shimmering golden leaves. They moved in a wind that didn't exist and the longer she stared the more she heard a quiet music trail from it. Grabbing one of the rusted swords she pushed the staff far away from herself, she really didn't feel like getting cursed anytime soon.
Other than that there was just a strange onyx mirror that didn't seem to reflect anything but a face that wasn't hers. It felt familiar but also horrifyingly terrible, its eyes glimmered with emotion that beckoned her closer, their lips moved slightl- She all but threw it aside by the staff and gave a world weary sigh.
All of it was useless...
The rusted swords were worse off than her broken one,
The bow had no arrows and she didn't even know how to use it besides,
...she wasn't even going to touch the staff, and the mirror was just.. no.
Moving to the other side of the nest away from the bone pile she considered the egg that was as large as she was tall.
It had been as hard as stone and deeply cold when she touched it and if it was anything like a true bird's egg, it was most likely long dead. She felt a bit bad for it but horribly thankful that it probably wouldn't hatch.
Eating the last bits of her rations she decided that she'd remain in the nest. It was warmer than anywhere else in the room and at least offered more cover than the broken stairs had. But her stomach rumbled, it hadn't been enough.
She wondered sadly... if this place would be her tomb too.
Closing her eyes she let exhaustion drag her back down into sleep.
She didn't want to be here alone.
---
The voice was just as soundless as before when she turned to face the one who called her. The caller was a vision of light and fury with the two moons shining bright in her eyes illuminating all she cast her gaze upon. She did not announce herself nor did she make demands but as she stood there watching, all at once Pallula knew her name.
She was --
---
Pain- Sharpness-
Pallula yelped quietly and rolled over in the dark, pulling the sharp bone out from under herself. She had somehow traveled away from her cleared part of the nest. The dream was quickly forgotten as she looked upwards at the siren circling the room- she pulled her cloak closed once more and felt its magic work its way over her skin. She was safe once more. She sighed.
Hunger gnawed at her bones, she'd have to get out now or she'd starve.
Looking back to the windows far above, she swallowed thickly, that was her escape for sure, if an angel harpy could get inside and bring back enough materials for a nest then certainly she'd fit.
The siren hadn't seen her and wasn't looking at her. What had caused the siren to lash out at the harpy, if it made a nest certainly they had both been here for awhile... the harpy did attack it first. Maybe it wasn't aggressive? She shook her head, she didn't really want to find out.
Taking a half rotten belt from what was probably once a proud warrior, she pulled it closed around her body to keep the cloak from flying open and revealing her. She was going to climb.
She started just behind the nest scaling the wall but as she placed her weight on the ledge of a hollow it broke under her weight and sent her crashing down breaking her skin on the sharp designs as she tried to catch herself. Hissing quietly at the stinging pain Pallula walked in small circles waiting for it to subside.
She looked at the broken stairs instead. Maybe she could make it work even if many were missing and cracked. She climbed them as far as they could go but the wall was too smooth to grab hold of to get to the next step. Instead she jumped but fell slamming hard into the ground, her head cracked against it. Her vision swam and pain bloomed everywhere and for a time she laid there.
And when she went to climb again, she could barely lift her shaking body and dropped down almost immediately when her leg gave out with a terrible twist of pain. She grit her teeth against it.
She was dizzy and the stone had sapped any warmth she had. Shivering lightly she leaned against the wall before collapsing back onto the ground. Gazing up she watched the siren fly high above her head. It never went any higher than half way up but oh, it was trying. It fanned out its shriveled fin like wings but that looked as if they would break with a wrong movement. Pallula frowned in sympathy waiting for them to snap but the stayed strong flapping down hard as the siren pulled upwards.
It's movements were frenzied and desperate as it swirled around the room trying to go higher but its chest constantly dipped low as if it were some pet on a leash. It cried out in its strange melodic song twisting Pallula's heart with pity. She covered her ears trying to ignore it's pathetic cries. Some ancient must have trapped it here for the rare waters it created, but why would they just leave it here?
But with a dungeon this old, she wondered how long it had been since it last saw the sky.
Only the stars would know how long, it must have been at least three hundred years, back when adventurers first began scouting. How cruel of the ancient to trap it here. Did they visit it at first? or just leave it like a bird in a cage and expect their magic to harvest the waters forever?
She took a deep breath and dragged herself back over to the nest. She wondered if Fern got out, or if a trap got him too. Maybe he'd be able to move on without her and the others.
Leaning against the outside of the nest her situation finally became real. She was going to die. Just like Helle- just like Marlin! Without any noble song to their names or family to mourn them. At least Velian had Fern to mourn her if he was still alive. No one would miss her. Her brother had long disowned her and her family- she wasn't sure what happened to them.
She had parents- everyone did- she tried not to think about it-
It was only her and her brother for as long as she could remember- if they had ever been there she didn't know of that time.
She tried to hold in her tears but it was too much. She sobbed quietly- ugly- without care. There was no one here to see her. To know her. The siren could devour her and end it sooner for all she cared.
The siren- Yes. Didn't people always say that anyone who drank from the waters of space would be blessed with sudden and brief knowledge? With an unsteady laugh Pallula pushed herself to her feet and stared at the siren who had laid back on its ledge.
If there was a way out she would know of it after drinking the purest form that anyone would ever know.
The brave souls who drank from the river never seemed to be very bright or never left after a single drink but maybe the pure waters would be different. Her hands trembled as she raised them to the waterfall running down the rocks, there was no other way.
She looked up at the siren, "If- If I find a way out. I promise I'll come back for you- Neither of us deserve to be trapped h-here."
She drank deeply from her cupped hands.
---
She had parents- everyone did- she tried not to think about it-
It was only her and her brother for as long as she could remember- if they had ever been there she didn't know of that time.
This part is kind of hard to read. It would be best to break it up as it comes across as a single run-on sentence.
Gazing up she watched the [harpy] fly high above her head -> Gazing up she watched the [siren] fly high above her head
Ahhhh thank you so much!!
I dont know how that escaped my editing i really appreciate it! I've fixed it now
I'm a bit confused... Is there more than one harpy?
There isn't I'm terribly sorry that error Ultimaterror showed me somehow slipped by, its fixed now
Though in your opinion, was it too confusing for it to only be referred to as "the harpy" instead of its full title "the angel harpy"? It just seemed a bit long to me to say every time but I'd really like to avoid being confusing
No, it wasn't. I mean, harpy is a pretty common creature in fantasy (not to mention it comes from mythology), despite the possible differences in appearance.