The River Shade

Laughing and crying we told stories on our raft down the river Shade. My group had been on an adventure for the past 4 months visiting the cities along the river. It was my duty as a the chosen one of my kingdom to see the world and return home to protect the kingdom. Along the way I met many wonderful and kind human beings. Creatures of all shapes and sizes and even spirits. The river Shade was a special place where along its crevices and banks you could find the Shade flower. A unique flower with the power to bring a spirit back to life for a set amount of time, but they had no soul. They could feel, touch, love, eat and experience the world.

Along the river we came across a spirit named Iliana and she was weeping. She had been wandering as a spirit for so long since the day she died falling overboard. No one came to look for her, and her family had forgotten her. She was only 17, my age, and she had long black hair. I was a monk with short hair and tattoos so to her I must have looked strange. I asked her if she would like to come aboard our journey and asked for her name. She stopped weeping for a moment to whisper the words.

“I would love to, and my name is Illiana”, I replied “welcome aboard Illiana, I am Mathias and these are my friends”. Lynx, Freidan, and Goobs all introduced themselves. Back along the river we floated until we came across the Shade flower. Knowing of its abilities I picked it and gave it to Illiana and told her to close her eyes. I picked the petals and placed them on her heart and she transformed. No longer was she the sickly spirit but instead the beautiful young woman she once was. She cried when she opened her eyes, and hugged me. We would spend the next part of our journey exploring the city of Krenish.

When we arrived in Krenish, Illiana's eyes stared in awe at their majestic city. As a guest to them I was able to take Illiana with me wherever I went. I was there to learn about the world, so I could protect it when the time came. I learned many things in the city of Krenish such as magic, and how to cook amazing food. Illiana spent her days beside me exploring, and living the life she had once lost. That’s the beauty of the Shade flower, but deep down we knew it wouldn’t last the way we wanted. We were blessed to experience the lantern festival in Krenish, and to watch the city explode with light. We participated in the releasing of the lantern with our wish contained. I wished for Illiana to stay with us as long as she could and I think she wanted the same.

We sailed down the river Shade once more, when we had learned all we could from Krenish.. We spent our days sharing stories, cooking on the raft and swimming in the slow currents. Getting to know one another more as the days passed by. At night our raft was lit up by magic, and we partied till we exhausted ourselves. I kept finding the Shade flowers to keep Illiana with us, but the closer we got to my home kingdom the more I feared the worst. I had become attached to her, but she was a spirit unable to exist in this world past her time. I didn’t want to lose such a precious friend no more than the ones I had traveled with from the start.

However, the day came when we arrived back in my kingdom of Dais and my heart dropped. I could not bring myself to walk up those stairs and into the city gate. I prayed to whatever higher power would hear me, and I asked for more time with Illiana. My prayers would go unanswered that day and, in some ways, it was for the best. I mustered up the courage and up the stairs we journeyed. When we reached the gate, it was locked and on the other side was my mentor, the previous champion of light.

He asked “What have you learned, and are you ready to take upon yourself the mantle of this responsibility?” I replied “I have seen the world, traveled along the Shade and found a world worth defending. People who are good and just and kind that taught me how to live my life accordingly”.

He nodded at the guards and they opened the city gate and as we walked through, he stopped me. “This is a city for the living and those without souls cannot enter. It is my duty as protector to uphold these laws for the good of the people”. There it was, my heart sank again and I cried. All I could muster out as I fell to my knees was “Please don’t". He turned to Illiana and asked her if she understood what he must do. She nodded, and I think she knew all along that this was how things would end. She smiled and turned to me to say thank you, but I couldn’t bring myself to let go of her and say goodbye.

My master made the decision for me, and he touched her heart. She turned to dust in that moment and the cord was cut. He knew I would not let go, so he made the difficult choice for me. I could do nothing but cry in that moment and he gently patted me on the back. He had these words of wisdom for me.

“Now you have learned the greatest and harshest lesson life can ever teach you”. “Sometimes in life you must let go of things that cannot live in your life, the dead must remain dead otherwise the living would never be able to move forward”. “All we can do is be grateful for the time we had and accept the end as it comes”. I took those words to heart that day and they forever changed me. When I turned 18, I became the new protector of Dais and now it was my turn to let go once more. I had to send my master away and return him to dust and I still felt the same I did the day I lost Illiana. I didn’t fear the choice this time, but faced it with courage and determination. I was able to say my goodbyes and thank my master for all he had taught me and I touched his heart. He scattered into dust that was swept up by the wind and he returned to the river Shade.