text: It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. I could smell the damp bark of the trees around me as I continued running. The crunch of the leaves beneath my bare feet shifted into a soggy squish as the clouds' fractals settled into their new home. They began to turn the cold in my toes to numbness, but I knew I was close. I had to push through. A branch seized my black hair, but I didn't stop and allowed it to keep the long tresses in its grasp. My determination overrode brief pain in my scalp. I could see a violet light just ahead, and no amount of inconvenient agony was enough to stop me. Behind me, the approaching thunder of heavy boots and clinking steel pushed me faster. As the distance closed and the light grew, the scent of lavender flooded my nostrils. My pursuers were closing in; however, I was not going to let them take me back to that prison of a home. I glanced over my shoulder against my own advice, and I could see several armor clad individuals tearing through the forest. Just as one of them reach out to snatch my hair, I dove into the lavender aura. The first thing I heard was the trickle of a stream, followed by the soft flutters of feathers as singing birds took flight. My tattered legs felt the almost invisible touch of insect legs taking a rest on my skin. My eyes finally adjusted for me to stop shielding my face, and I absorbed my surroundings. A brook of teal water tumbled over translucent stones of various colors that shimmered in the scant sunlight. A great white buffalo was standing in the silver sand of the water's bank and drinking deeply. Whilst I had questioned the quality of the water, seeing the beast made me realize how thirsty I was. I scrambled through long blades of impossibly soft purple grass and cupped the water into my filthy hands. After a few gulps, I looked at my reflection in the water in my hands, studying my freckles, absorbing the massive three claw marks going across my right blue eye. The left amber eye carried its own scars unseen by anyone else, and, for a moment, it once again saw the slimy stone walls of her cell and a dilapidated bed with mold in the mattress. A hefty puff of warm humid air on my head pulled me out of my past with a start. I looked up into the dark eyes of the buffalo staring right at me. My callused hand reach forward of its own volition to its massive snout that felt like wet leather. The buffalo tuned and walked away, so I followed it for reasons I did not yet understand. The water was a comforting temperature as I passed through it. I was initially concerned about the gems under the surface would be harsh to step on, but it was as though every one of them had been strategically placed to help me pass through. On the other side were numerous trees shielded with blue bark touched the teal sky with leaves of varying hues of violet. Small lights of different colors flittered around us as we passed through. I held out my hand to one of the lights, and it came to me. On my hand landed a woman no bigger than mouse with cerulean skin and golden curls. Wings of pure starlight sprouted from her miniscule back. She knelt down and traced the lines in my palm, smiled up at me, and fluttered away as a blue wisp leaving shimmers in her wake. Butterflies as big as birds and birds as big as wolves passed by with quiet curiosity as we continued through the botanical menagerie. We trod along until we came upon a ledge surrounded by waterfalls pouring into a pool far below. On the ledge was a young lad with dark skin and a dark purple ponytail. His eyes were steel grey and pierced through my bones. I avoided them. "Salutations." His voice was deep and made of gravel. I didn't respond. Instead, I just nodded feebly as my brain refused to look him in the face. "I see," he said. "My name is Sebek, and I see our world found you. We've been in need of an assistant with your blood for some time. Tell me, are you in a hurry to return, or could you help us? The powers that be demand a volunteer." I had no idea what he was prattling on about, but I was willing to do just about anything not to return. I nodded. He grinned. "Splendid. Follow me." Follow him I did. He led me through a cave with walls of crystals that was like walking through a geode. After what felt like hours, we stumble upon a pedestal with what looked like a blue diamond that was taller than me hovering over it and rotating slowly. A deep feminine voice echoed from within the stone, and it glowed brighter with every syllable. "Welcome, mortal. What is your name?" I didn't tell her. "Very well. Our world is at risk. There is an unknown entity sweeping across our lands, and it brings sickness and madness to everything it touches. You are an anomaly from the outside and within, a bridge created by your father from our world and your mother from the outside. You'll be able to navigate the lands freely, yet the sickness may not recognize you as a threat. Will you help us without our influence that would lead it to you?" ...I nodded. Death by unknown forces in this place was favorable to going back. I had known my parents were shamed by both their families for me and, therefore, paid with their lives when we were found out when I was fourteen. I hadn't known of this place, only that I always saw the light in the woods and was forbidden from entering the forest for the past fifteen years since my parents were executed and I was imprisoned. I often wonder why they didn't kill me. "We are grateful beyond measure; however, I can not guarantee your safety or your success. Sebek will accompany you on your journey. Make haste!" We left the floating stone and returned to the white buffalo that had waited patiently at the entrance. Sebek hopped onto its sloped back and offered a had out to me. I hesitated. "Don't be afraid. Her name is Nokoni, and she's been my friend for a long time." Nokoni snorted as if in agreeance. I leaned on her side and listened to her bellowing heart beat. Her rhythmic breathing was as soothing as her cotton fur. I let Sebek help me up behind him. Whilst I was accustomed to riding horses, riding a buffalo was foreign to me. The lumbering stride as Nokoni began moving jostled me about at first, but I found a seat. "How are you feeling back there?" Sebek asked after a while. I gave him a thumbs up. "Good. We need to pick up the pace." Nokoni picked up a lumpy lope that I thought I might tumble from for a few minutes, but I eventually regained balance. The great animal carried us effortlessly through the terrain onto something new. Good or bad, I did not yet know. All I knew was that it was different. That was enough.