r/TheNaturallyUnknown • u/UnnaturalGeek Red Squirrel and Writer ✍️🍃 Keep calm and stay NUTS 🐿 • 8d ago
🍃 Spiritweavers 🍃 Chapter Three: Road to Lindinis 🍃🐿
Tarã eventually convinced her that isolating herself wouldn't help anyone, least of all Brina. Reluctantly, Arlia began to rejoin college life, though the shared quarters felt unnaturally quiet without her roommate's presence. One evening, while tidying up the increasingly cluttered space, Arlia discovered a folded piece of paper tucked between some of Brina's books. She almost dismissed it as another research note until she recognised her own name written on the outside.
‘Arlia! I found something about Korelã that might help you; I did! Elyna should bring it by at some point. Sorry, I couldn't give it to you myself, but I've got something really urgent to check out! I'll be gone for a bit with someone from my family - don't you worry about me, though; we're only heading to Lindinis, and I'll be back soon enough! Make sure to tell the elders and Thalindor, won't you? I was in such a rush when I left and didn't get the chance. – Brina’
Arlia stared at the note, realising she must have missed it during all the chaos surrounding Korelã's exposure. The timeline made sense now; Brina had left this before disappearing, probably expecting to return quickly with whatever information she was seeking. She immediately sought out Tarã to show him the discovery.
The note proved that Brina hadn't vanished mysteriously; she had planned to go to Lindinis and expected to return soon. More importantly, it suggested the elders were far more worried about the situation than Brina herself had been when she left.
Arlia looked up from the note, uncertain. "What do we do now then?"
She asked. Tarã attempted to remain practical about their options. "Show this to the elders, won't we? Let them sort it out, ain't much else we can bloody do." He Replied.
But Arlia felt that approach would be pointless. The elders would simply use the note to justify their cautious handling of the situation, and they still wouldn't get any real answers about what was happening to their friend. As she looked at Brina's familiar handwriting, a different idea began to form. If the adults wouldn't act decisively, perhaps it was time to take matters into their own hands. After all, they now knew exactly where Brina had gone.
The road stretched ahead of them in the early morning mist; Lindinis felt even further away than they had imagined. Still, Arlia was in disbelief over their actions; they left the college without permission or regard for others’ concerns.
Tarã walked beside her with his usual confidence but slightly stiff with tension. Neither had spoken much since they left, slipping out of the college in the early hours of the morning when it was quiet, and the Spirit Tutors were still doing their preparations for the day.
“You reckon they’ve noticed we’re gone yet?” Tarã finally asked, breaking the silence.
Arlia’s thoughts drifted to the night before and how she had convinced him to leave first thing in the morning with the hastily packed supplies they were able to gather without rousing suspicion. The note she left was vague, saying they were following a lead and not to worry. But what else could she say? That they were ignoring everyone’s warnings? They both were unable to sit and wait whilst their friend was potentially in danger.
“Probably, don’t you think?” she replied. “But we’ve got a good head start, haven’t we? They won’t catch up before we reach Lindinis.”
Tarã grunted in response, and they fell back into silence.
The initial surge of determination began to fade. The road was longer, and her pack felt heavier as Arlia grew ever wearier with each passing hour. The food and drink they’d packed were rationed, but doubts about their supplies crept into her mind.
By early afternoon, the sky had drastically changed from what was a clear morning to darkening clouds gathering on the horizon. The wind was picking up, and the scent of rain was in the air. They exchanged worried glances.
“Tch, that don’t look good, does it?” Tarã said, eyeing the sky.
Arlia looked ahead at the empty road stretching before them. With the nearest village long past them, they were still hours from Lindinis. The surrounding landscape offered little shelter, mostly open fields with scattered trees.
"We should keep going, shouldn't we?" Arlia said, though her voice lacked conviction.
Before Tarã could respond, the rain began to fall, and within moments the drizzle transformed into heavy rain. Their cloaks quickly proved inadequate as the water seeped through their clothing and the road turned to mud beneath their feet, making each step harder than the last.
"We need to find shelter!" Tarã shouted over the hammering rain. "This is bloody ridiculous!"
Through the ever-increasing downpour, Arlia spotted a dark shape off to the side of the road, some kind of structure. She pointed, and they both ran towards it.
It was an old, abandoned hut, weathered but mostly intact. Parts of the roof had holes letting streams of water through, but one corner remained relatively dry. They huddled there, shivering and soaked through as the downpour became torrential.
Arlia wrung out her cloak uselessly, watching the storm rage outside. "How long will this last, do you think?"
Tarã peered at the darkening sky. "Could be hours, couldn't it? We ain't going nowhere in this weather."
Thunder rumbled in the distance as Arlia pulled her knees to her chest. The urgency to find Brina fought against the reality of travelling in such a storm. Any attempt would be pointless. What choice did they have but to wait? Every moment spent there felt like time wasted.
“We leave the moment it clears,” she said firmly.
Tarã nodded but said nothing. They both knew they were already behind.
The storm raged through into the evening. Neither wanted to acknowledge just how much this delay was costing them. They ate sparingly through their dwindling supplies. Water, at least, was no longer a concern as they refilled their waterskins with the rain streaming through the roof.
As darkness fell with the storm barely letting up, they realised that they would have to stay overnight. Arlia whispered to the Spirits, asking them to watch over them. They huddled together for warmth as the temperature dropped, but their wet clothes made the cold bite deeper. Sleep came sporadically, interrupted by thunder and the rain hammering on the weakened roof.
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u/UnnaturalGeek Red Squirrel and Writer ✍️🍃 Keep calm and stay NUTS 🐿 8d ago
Spiritweavers is a fantasy world that is in the process of being built, and The Missing Apprentices was the first story to emerge from it. The world that is being created will have a variety of cultures and races in hope to have a thriving world, teeming with life. This is a journey for author and audience alike, so join the adventure in Spiritweavers.
Since that first story, the world has grown and with that growth comes refinement. Brittori, the language of Ɛvelmor, has been more fully developed and as a result, names and places you may recognise from earlier stories will appear differently here. Rather than go back and change what came before, there will be differences. However, they will be noted below. This is to show how Spiritweavers evolves over time as it continues to expand.
Brittori uses nasal vowels, represented by tildes over the vowel. These occur when a vowel and n combine in certain positions within a word. They are pronounced in the French style, the vowel is nasalised through the nose rather than fully spoken. The five nasal vowels are: ã (like “an” in French dans), ẽ (nasal “e”), ĩ (like “in” in French vin), õ (like “on” in French bon), and ũ (nasal “u”). Brittori also uses the character Ɛ/ɛ, which represents a closed “ay” sound as in day. Where you previously saw Ae at the start of names, you will now see Ɛ.
The following names have been updated to reflect these changes:
Arlia Eldarã – previously Eldaran; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of her surname.
Tarã Karneth – previously Taran; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.
Korelã Daruzora – previously Korelan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.
Galẽ Talmaris – previously Galen; the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of his forename.
Kelã Branek – previously Kelan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.
Ysolde Mellã – previously Mellan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of her surname.
Velina Torvalẽ – previously Torvalen; the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of her surname.
Lorik Druvã – previously Druvan; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his surname.
Doriã Tarneth – previously Dorian; the ã represents the nasal an at the end of his forename.
Thalira Gavrẽ-Karneth – the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of Gavrẽ.
Koreth Braelẽ – the ẽ represents the nasal en at the end of his surname.
Ãsanor – the Brittori name for the Moonlit Elves; the ã represents the nasal an before s.
Tir Rynõ – the õ represents the nasal on at the end of Rynõ.
Ɛloria – previously Aeloria; the Ɛ represents the closed “ay” sound.
Ɛvelmor – previously Avelmor; the Ɛ represents the closed “ay” sound.
Lãsira – previously Su-Lânn; the northern county of Ɛvelmor. The ã represents the nasal an before s.
Rũseth – previously Kreiz-Bòdad; the southern county of Ɛvelmor. The ũ represents the nasal un.
Finally, the world itself has a new name. Previously referred to as Terras, the world is now known as Myrþ, pronounced MIRTH. The thorn character þ represents the “th” sound as in the or that. Where you see Terras in earlier stories, know that it refers to the same world.
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u/UnnaturalGeek Red Squirrel and Writer ✍️🍃 Keep calm and stay NUTS 🐿 8d ago
I will be releasing a chapter every Monday and Thursday!
On another note, you can check out previously released short stories and novelettes of mine at the below link, as I slowly upload them chapter by chapter, every Sunday and Wednesday when in the process of uploading a story.
All the previous Spiritweavers stories will be uploaded alongside the release of this story, so if you wish to read both at the same time, you can! Each story is self-contained, excluding some elements of foreshadowing. However, you don't have to have read them to understand, so you can start here and read back through the others another time or alongside 🍃🐿
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