On My Way

R I X E N A nasty thing it was, falling for what seemed like eternity before my eyelids fluttered open and I came to the realization that I was in an entirely different world. Sometimes, I would wonder whether I should be missing my homeland more. There was nothing left for me in that place but decay and ruin. That knowledge lessened the fear of the Rift. I no longer feared leaving everything I had behind, because in truth, there was nothing left I could leave. I had nothing to lose.  And here I stood on the rocks by the sea, living, breathing and with a whole world ahead of me to explore. In a way, I had been reborn. However, that did not mean that there wasn’t any work to be done here in the Rift. This land needed healing, but with time and dedication I believed that it could become a world worth living in.  I turned to look at Kiada, whose smile had faded ever so slightly, as if her own journey to the Rift brought about bad memories. It was only a brief moment before she resumed her cheeriness and so I did not have much time to think much about it before Kiada posed another question: what was my favorite place in the Rift? In my time traveling aimlessly from place to place, I came across many Riftian wonders. I thought of the forest with the massive obsidian stones, covered in ancient runes written in a language that I did not know by perhaps the first horses to walk this earth.  There were also the rainforest cliffs, which stretched all along the southern coastline. Standing on the cliffside, you could feel the warm, humid air of the sea which would dampen your coat after a few moments. As a result, a rainforest which must have been thousands of years old was able to grow just inland of the ocean. I found the rainforest to be breathtaking, home to every shape and size of brightly colored flora. It was lush, teeming with life despite the Rift’s state of ruin, and upon walking a few steps in you were already surrounded by thick foliage stretching in all directions. In the center, the trees grew so dense and had such large leaves that the sun was barely visible even when it was daytime and the sun was at its highest point in the sky. There was another aspect to this forest, the eerie feeling of being watched by something lurking in the dense vegetation. It had been a gnawing feeling in the back of my mind, and itch between my shoulders that made me somewhat uneasy and alert. I thought of the Ultima, where the land again fell away to the sea. Upon venturing closer to the colorful sea glass-covered shore, a crystal cave entrance was visible in the upturned bedrock - sort of like a gaping mouth waiting for the food to enter. Inside was beautiful, with glassy walls that expanded into the sea so that if you walked alongside it you could see the sea creatures swimming in the water beside you. I had never ventured beyond that, but I was certain that the tunnel stretched on for some distance. I wondered if it resurfaced at some point, and if so where the second entrance was.  If I were to pick a favorite out of the many wonders of the Rift, I think it would be the ruined city where I met Aurelia. I was captivated by the pieces of ivory spire that remained, surrounded by the stony remnants of what must have been dozens more. It was unlike anything or any place I had seen before in my homeland or in the Rift. There were crumbling walls, and what looked to have once been buildings of complex architectural design. In the center of it all, a single spire remained standing at its original height, its stony sides untouched by the trials of nature and time. Unlike most other places in the Rift, there was no life, no neon plants or vicious animals. Apart from the voices of the few and far between passerby, the ruins were encompassed by total silence. Nevertheless, I found them to be fascinating. "In the east there lies an abandoned city filled with dozens of crumbling spires. The ruins must be ancient, but somehow one ivory spire has stood unharmed at the center for all this time. It's quite beautiful. Have you been there before?" I asked, thinking of the weatherworn structures. I almost mentioned my discussion with Aurelia and the idea of rebuilding them to Kiada, just to see what she might think of it, but I held back. "Talk." they heard me singing and they told me to stop quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock

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