Chapter 5.0 - The Girl

More than two centuries ago, this land was flat as a foil. 

Home to a small village of farmers and builders, the ground was fertile, producing rich crops and abundant food. 

The main house -the first farm to be built in that area-, employed many dwellers. From a young age the girl followed her parents to the big property to aid them in the daily chores.

She hammered iron to make swords, she fed the animals, she picked up wood, she swooped the patio but it was all done with constant protests and complaints. 

The girl was inpatient. Her mind was always far away, travelling to places she had never been. 

The youngest of three siblings, the girl had to stay behind to help while the other two went out to the big city to learn from smiths and engineers.

Being born more bold than most residents, the girl was eager to explore the vast lands and see where the earth ended. She was often disappearing around the farm, looking for hidden mysteries or chasing wild animals.

Every once in a while a neighbor or a member of the main family would complain to her parents about her breaking something or being found inside a room she shouldn't be in.

Her mother was more indulgent with her wild spirit. Often excusing her adventures with an old saying:

"Out of the hottest fires comes the strongest steel."

The girl never quite understood what it meant, but as long as she was spared from one or two smacks it was fine with her. 

One day, the girl went to the main house with her mother to work in the harvest.

While they were in the middle of the kilometers of tall grain fields, she kept wondering what it was like in the woods that surrounded the farm's territory.

Her mother tried to ease her curiosity with a tale about a Dragon that lived in a cave under the forest. The beast was an ancient God of Fire who had its flame stolen by a mighty warrior. 

For many harvests as they spend hours picking up grains, the girl was content with the story, it was enough to feed her imagination and also keep her out of the treacherous woods. 

Years passed, her restless spirit graved more than just a story. The girl couldn't hold her curiosity, she needed to find this God or at least try.

So, after her mother got distracted chatting with the neighbors, the girl escaped between the tall plants. 

The woods were a couple dozen meters away from where they were, she would go check if there was a cave nearby and would be back before sundown. 

At the border of the property, the red trunk trees were even bigger than she imagined. Feeling as small as an ant, she crossed the line between field and forest. 

Under the giant maple trees, the ground was covered in blood red leaves that flickered with the breeze like burning fire. The girl ran around kicking and throwing them, enchanted by the intense color she had never seen anywhere else. 

She couldn't understand why folks were afraid of entering that place. Her mother would always end her stories about the sleeping God saying people were never seen again after crossing the forest border. 

After running for too long and having filled every pocket with maple leaves, she laid between the roots of a tree to rest. Watching the hypnotizing dance between the treetops and the wind, she fell asleep soundly after a day of work and fun. 

By the time the girl woke up, night had fallen over the woods.

Scared and lost, the girl tried to find her way back, assuming she was only a few lines of trees away from the fields. 

She walked and walked but to no use. 

Tripping on branches and thick roots, the girl couldn't tell which was north or south. There was practically no light, except for the few rays of moonlight that breached the treetops. 

Cold and hungry, she stopped running, remembering her mother's stories.

Crying desperately she found a hole inside a tree that was big enough to accommodate her during the night. 

Holding her legs close to get warmer, she sat and watched the same leaves that fattened her pockets make her heart jump with every breath of wind.

She laid down to keep watch in a more comfortable position when the earth underneath her gave in, sucking her down into the belly of the tree. 

She fell for hours, screaming until her voice was completely gone and her throat hurted. 

The girl woke up in a pile of leaves with no idea how long it had been since she fell. 

She was in a cave with only one tunnel heading straight to god knows where. Since she couldn't go up, in the dark, she followed the narrow stone corridor. 

The walls were dark as the night, sucking the few light that leaked from the hole she fell through. Feeling the walls, tripping and scratching her knees every couple of steps, the girl walked in the hopes to find the exit.

Just as she was about to give up, she decided to push herself a little further and took one more step. But she fell again.

This time is was a shorter descent, unfortunately she landed on something much harder and pointy. 

The girl rolled down the bumpy rough hill and landed on the stone floor

Crying she stayed right where her body stopped moving. Her arms and legs covered in burning scratches. 

In between blurry eyes she saw a flame lit up above her, followed by another. The flames blinked and began to get closer. She felt the temperature rise the shorter the distance between them got.

"Who dares to disturb my sleep?"

A voice, so powerful it made the cave tremble and the girl's bones shake, spoke up.