#2: Finding a Way

Sora was born in the royal home.  She was always a strong willed young one.  Her father?  The king.  She had a privileged life, one that she did not care for.  She wanted to be among the beings in the kingdom.  She wanted to cultivate the land, and raise fields of vegetation.  Sora despised the special treatment that people tried to give her.  When she would venture out into the realm, most people would stop to open doors, offer drinks, and bow to her.  As princess, she just wanted to melt away.  Disappearing was the only thing that brought her the least bit of interest.  She thought about it every morning before arising out of bed, and every night just before drifting off.  Often just the fantasy of leaving the realm on an adventure would bring a smile to her face.

Ever since she was a child, Sora heard stories about the ancients who would travel so far across the world in search of new and amazing things.  Sora had scoured every inch of the Kiswone Nation, and she had grown tired of the exotic foliage that grew in every part of her nation.  After twenty years of life, Sora was ready for some adventure.

No one had stepped outside of the borders since the barriers were initially put up.  The thing that puzzled Sora so much was the fact that no one seemed to care that they were basically prisoners inside their own land.  Sure, they had plenty of food, and they were free to go where ever they wanted as long as they did not breach the borders of the land.  The atmosphere contained a gloomy presence.  No one really seemed to be content.  People were happy, but there was a hole within the lives of the Kiswan people.  Sora was determined to break the doldrums.  Not only did she long for her freedom to see the rest of the world, but she loved her people and knew that instating this freedom would make them happy.

Most Kiswans cannot swim very well, so they usually did not venture into water for fear of ending their life too soon.  Sora's strong will drove her to accomplish many things that most of her people did not even consider doing.  When she was fairly young, she was exploring next to a pond.  She had climbed a tree and was trying to see the other side of the pond.  The branch snapped, and she plunged into the water.  Sora fought and thrashed at the water in a panic.  Finally, she let her instincts take over.  She held her breath and laid back.  She found out how easy it was to float.  After that she learned that not everything just sinks down to the bottom like a rock.  She started visiting the pond daily.  She was even able to swim all the way across it.  Her adventures in swimming were merely the beginning of her need for it.  The adrenaline rush kept her busy.  It kept her happy.

No one knew, but Sora had been scouting the nation in search of a hole in the protective barrier.  She found a few caves hidden very well that had writings on the wall.  One in particular was behind a water fall.  The water fall was one of the most beautiful things that she had ever seen.  The rocks all around it were threatening to catch anyone daring enough to try to jump off into the water hole.  Sora would climb down around the water hole to throw rocks into the water.  The trees surrounded the area, so if felt like a private room, and the sun shown through the hole in the trees making the water glisten.  Green vines hung from the trees and some even tangled into the water.  The water had a beautiful blue green color.  It was the place that Sora would visit to meditate. 

One day while lounging in the sun at the water hole, Sora saw a glimmer in the waterfall.  It seemed to be on the other side of the waterfall.  She had never even considered that there would be anything behind the water that fell from the cliffs above.  She kicked off her shoes and waded into the chilly water.  Once waist deep, she dove in and plunged under water swimming toward the water fall.  Fish darted around her alarmed at her presence.  The bottom was too deep to see, but Sora knew that there was something big lurking at the bottom.  She never saw it, but whenever she dove under water, she could feel the presence.  It was as if mother nature herself were awakening because someone was invading her territory.

Sora came to the surface to get a deep breath before she dove under in order to avoid some of the weight of the falling water.  Breathing deeply while treading water, Sora took one more gulp of breath and dove down kicking fiercely with her legs.  The presence in the water was alarming, yet welcoming.  She could not see anything, but knew something was watching.  Her heart started pumping fast.  As Sora started to swim under the pounding water, she was drawn down even deeper.  She had never been that deep before.  Her lungs were starting to call out for air.  She knew she would never make it back to the top in time.  She kicked her legs as the last bit of adrenaline pulsed through her body.  She closed her eyes and stretched her hands out in front of her.  As soon as her arms were extended, they bumped into the rock.  She began swimming up, feeling the pressure of the waterfall wein, and the surfacing water helping her rise faster.  Sprouting out of the water like a great fish, Sora gulped in air.  She clung to the rock that formed a flat platform on the inside of the waterfall.  She dragged herself up onto the rock, her chested heaved as she laid there marvelling that she did not die.

Once she had calmed her breathing, Sora began looking around.  It was odd being on the other side of the waterfall.  It was darker than she expected.  She was sitting in the mouth of the cave.  The inside of the cave had the appearance of a funnel.  The mouth was quite large, but it met in the middle making a narrow hallway.  Sora stood then approached the entrance.  The opening was a few feet higher than Sora's own head, and wide enough to fit two of her side-by-side.  Sora glanced around to take in everything about the mouth of this particular cave.  Nothing about it seemed to be natural.  Her nerves were jumpy and her ears tuned to the slightest of sound.  Other than these obvious warnings, Sora a felt very strong power pulling her toward the tunnel.  It was so dark, and evil things can live in the dark.
Just like she was about to dive under the waterfall, Sora took a deep breath and walked into the tunnel.

Now I should mention that conveniently enough, the Kiswan can see perfectly in the dark.  They did not have the same electricity that the humans had developed.  Their energy and light came from the power in the earth's core.  Their senses were much more atuned to the darkness.

 To be continued.....



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