Somewhere amidst the woodlands of Marigold Town, a woman leaned against a large oak tree, her chest rapidly rising and falling in its need for more air. Droplets of sweat trickled down her skin and her head hung low – she was exhausted. Her clothes, a dress reminiscent of joyan attire, hung limply on her shoulders, with its sleeves curled up all the way to her elbows. A simple, but thick obi kept everything together. She was barefoot, dirt spots covered both her skin and her garb and her purple hair freely cascaded down the length of her body, curling ever so slightly at the tips.
The Voidling inhaled, then exhaled deeply; her training had lasted for hours already, consisting of a number of physical tests and exercises she had learned during her days in the savannan military. Nuala Nazari’s lean and strong body was the impressive result of discipline and hard work. The southern parts of the country were good for nothing but entertainment, and the woman had taken it upon herself to spend at least some of her time doing something that made her feel productive. The farmlands surrounding the village were only sparsely populated, and quite beautiful. Both flora and fauna flourished in these parts of the region and during the spring season every bit of the landscape appeared to be in bloom.
There were a few things Nuala found to be quite off-putting however, as the thief had heard the deafening sound of thunder striking somewhere far off in the distance. Today the weather had been nothing but sunshine on a cloudless sky and the thought of a battle between mages unsettled her. In the end, the Voidling decided to mind her own business and continued her exercise. When it was time to take a break, Nuala headed down the road and through the woods to where a river was flowing to refresh herself.
She stood knee-deep in the cold water when she noticed something oddly out of place floating her way. Is that–, a thought crossed her mind, but instead of making any assumptions, the woman leaped deeper into the water and fetched whatever had slowly been drifting her way. Is that..a bone? Her brows furrowed and Nuala tilted her head in confusion. The river was leading further up the mountains and through the forests, but she was completely unfamiliar with what lay behind how far her eyes could see.
The alabaster bone appeared human, large and very clean. It had no bite marks, showed no signs of being nibbled on and frankly, the woman didn’t know what to make of it. Nuala threw the bone over to the riverbank and began rubbing the dirt off her legs, when another human bone came swimming her way. ”What the fuck,” she muttered under her breath, picked it up and threw it to where the other one was. The Voidling’s gaze now climbed up the mountains and peered into the far off distance – whatever was over there, she had a feeling that she wanted nothing to do with it.
And perhaps now was a good time to leave.
She swiftly lowered her head into the water one last time to rid herself of the sweat, when something long and hard dragged along her body and got tangled up between her kimono, her hair and her legs. Nuala promptly opened her eyes underwater and found herself staring at a literal (and incomplete) skeleton. Instinctively, the Voidling's lips parted with the intent to scream like a girl, but she ended up swallowing a gulp of water instead. Rising up from the depths, the now coughing woman let a jitter run through her entire body and once she had caught her breath, she reached below and yanked the entire skeleton out of the water and carried it over to the riverbank.