Lilias pushed open the door of her hut and screwed up her eyes against the light of the rising sun. Excellent, it was dawn, just the time she had planned to set off. Pushing open the door, she slid though holding tight to the bow on her back to make sure it didn't get scraped as she walked through the doorway. It was gonna be a hard journey but she was determined to forfill her mother's wish. Her bag swung against her side as she took her first strides and she re-arranged her quiver briskly, breathing in the fresh morning air. The ground was soft and springy beneath her bare feet and Lilias knew that as soon as she got out of the territory she knew there'd be a constant risk of falling into a swamp. As she reached a particulally dark part of the forest she instictively raised her left hand high in the air focusing hard. Flame shot up from it, she held out the fire in front of her, leading the way until it was light enough to see again.
Minutes turned to hours as she walked confidently through the familier landscape. The heat of midday passed and turned to the cool of evening and still she walked on. As the darkness set in she made herself a comfortable sleeping place and lay down lying her bow carefully next to her with the upper limb gently pressed against her face and slept uneasily knowing the danger all around her.
When she awoke the sun had not yet risen but it's rays were touching the horizon like a splash of orange juice and her footsteps sounded deafeningly loud to her as she stepped futher and futher into the unfamilier tangling of branches and undergrowth. She focused on listening intently to even the tiniest noise around her and she paced forward at a fast walk.
As the sun was setting a soft rustle behind her told her she was not alone. She pulled her bow from her back and loaded it with an arrow like a whiplash. She froze, listening hard and when the sound came again she span around and released the arrow. The boar didn't have time to run. It fell straight to the ground as the arrow pierced it's skull. She wouldn't go hungry tonight.
She continued on like this for many days until finally, as a day was just beginning, the tree coverage began to get thinner and more light was seeping through. As she emerged from the trees she closed her eyes. This was the first time she'd ever left the forest and, despite the gnawing worry in her stomach, she was excited about what she would see. She opened her eyes and gasped.
((Sorry about the length of the post, I had to show that this was a long and differcult journey. 3nodding ))
