incurred injuries

Thinking of how long there was until the academy selection and the roughly weeklong walking distance, I calculated this whilst walking to the road, I was both relieved and perturbed, relieved because it was manageable, perturbed because of my current state, I was injured, tiered and berthed of all my water supply, so whilst it was still posable, I would have to tend to my wounds, so they don't fester and deteriorate, my main saving grace is walking on the open road.

Hopefully whilst walking I would run into some fellow travelers, who could take me to my destination, if not the closest town.

That feeble hope was soon extinguished as I walked for an hour, in that time I met three separate groups of travellers, sadly they were, however, too cautious of how I managed to get lost so far in the woods, with blood-soaked clothes, they were apathetic, after all, I'm just a random child, not their responsibility and thus not their problem.

It was a full three hours before I was able to stop and rest, looking towards the sky it was clearly midday, at this time I had found an open clearing in the forest to rest in.

Rummaging through my bag I pulled out an edible mushroom resembling meat, its flesh was red and dripping with a viscous milky substance, this mushroom a scarlet speckled mushroom, was known for its regenerative properties, put into more specific terms it did not regenerate damage, as much as it cleaned, the rest was a myth.

I collected some of the milky fluid spreading it over the injuries, which were bandaged by a strip of cloth I managed to purchase off one of the people I passed, I took off the bandages soaking them in it too. The mushroom itself I ate, it was bitter, chewy, and hard to swallow, but in the end, I managed to finish it.

I rested until my fatigue was placated, moving on I picked my stick back up continuing. Two days passed like this, and I realised the true selfishness of humanity, the evil they all hide, not one person was willing to aid me, not if I begged them, not even if I paid them, they treated me with apathy, they spat at me.

Eventually, one old man with a screwed-up face and a sour expression tried hitting me, and I snapped, I retaliated, venting the hate that had accumulated over these past days, and his head exploded, spattering grey brain matter throughout the forest, bone fragments embedded in trees, casting strings of blood.

I did it and felt no disgust, no release, just plain calm, I felt at peace. I looted his still-warm body recovering a few coins, not much, then I moved on to his wagon, which was full of woven blankets, with a barrel of water and some food.

Looks like tonight was going to be my first good sleep in a long while, but before that, I gorged myself on water, my flask was long empty, and I was thirsty.

The next day after a long peaceful sleep I was woken up by the neighing of the horses, despite how wicked their previous owner was, they were even-tempered and easy to deal with.

After setting off at midday leisurely, I left the forest into the boundless plains, those plains stretched for miles as far as the eye could see, walking through them would be disastrous.

The wagon was fast, faster than the carriage I previously traveled on, its horses were stronger and load lighter, meaning that I made better progress than expected, having reached a long stretching river, this specific river is famous as the longest river in this continent, arguably the longest in the known world, as it bisected the continent in half, the river was given a name befitting its mighty stature, the inquisitor's way, this name is derived from an ancient exploit, passed down from a bygone era.

It was said that originally there was no river here and that it was formed from a single world-ending attack from a mighty, forgotten existence, the only proof being the extreme precision of the river and its outstanding depth, the precision, however, has long faded as the water erosion has changed its shape, but nothing can defy the ravines revealed by this shift.

Other than that, there is one other fact most are unwilling to admit, the air around it feels heavy as if some almighty force is still exerting itself there to this present day, unknown years later. There have even been explorations into the depths of the grove, but not one survived to tell the tale, at one point a fanatic order dedicated its time and resources, in a caviller effort to understand and grasp the remnant power, left in that place to rot, the reviled cloistral order, not much is known about them, in fact almost nothing is known, but their closeness to the river, I once head the one here is just a branch, extended of a flourishing tree, but who am I now, to know.

One good thing about this river is that it leads to the ocean, around the birth of its exit is a city, twilight port city, the current place the examination is being held, so if I follow this river and continue at my current pace, I should arrive in approximately three days, which is four days before the exam is due to take place.

The wagon jutted over the muddy path as it started raining, I looked up as untraceable droplets of water bombarded me, soon the wagon was dutifully soaked, the blankets providing little protection, my wet hair and cloth stuck to me as the wagon moved on every yet, leaving a muddy trail of hoofprints and a set of long groves.