Brigets flame week 2
I walk along the beach, making sure not to trip on any rusted spokes or cogs. The sand is a mix of fine volcanic black grit, and a rainbow of glass pebbles washed cloudy by the sea. I don't let my feet touch the water. You never know what will be added to you if you touch it, or what might be taken away.
This is my usual walk in the morning, trying to find bits that the Sea of Chaos might have washed up in the night. I'm looking for anything that might help me escape. I already have a small boat that I made from floating stones near the center of the isle. It took me 3 decades to get them all here. It only takes an hour to walk the beach of the island, yet takes years to reach the center. Though I already have a boat, I need a power source to leave here. The currents of the Sea are curious about anything in their wake, and would not let me leave them unaided.
All of this might sound strange to someone who doesn’t remember this place. (You were all here once, but most can't recall) You see, I am stuck on the Key of Kunda, and have been since time began. This was the center, the beginning, of everything. Kunda was the first bit of earth to rise out of the sea of Chaos, and from it everything else came into being. Most everything else floated away like so many bits of detritus, but this little isle stayed here. Something, after all, has to mark the place where it all has to return to one day.
I was to stay here and care for it. You see, I am a scientist. The isle used to be full of machines that kept the underpinnings of the world running smoothly. I ran the machines, cared for the island, and studied all the fascinating things in the universe I cared to. Things went smoothly for the first billion years or so, and I was happy.
But then one day I found a young woman on the island, with rare violet eyes and hair the color of ripe apricots. She had been washed up by the sea, and was very intrigued by all of my wonderful gadgets. I, like any scientist, love to ramble about my work, and unwittingly taught her much of what I do. We grew close, and I thought my life would be perfect now that I had someone to share my work with. But along with stealing my heart, Evena stole the fire globe of Solcertise, and made off with both in a sea craft she had hidden away in a cave.
I tried going after her, but it was no use. The currents played with me, and when I was finally washed ashore, I had lost my memories of my sister, and had ravens feathers for hair. I stayed in my cottage, and grew quite despondent and depressed. Slowly, the machines stopped functioning properly. On the best occasions, they stopped working all together. But many of them went haywire, doing new things that made discord in the world, exploding in chains of fire. Some of the machines grew sentient, and are even now hiding in the shadows, plotting.
After a time I left my cottage again, regained some energy, and tried to mend things, but it was already too late. I had failed in my duty, all because of her. But I will fix things. I have to, otherwise this cycle of the procedure will never complete, the world breath will never again be inhaled, and how will I explain that to the college?
No, I will leave Kunda, find that treacherous girl, take back my heart and the fire globe of Solcertise, and use it to set the experiment back to rights. And today I might just have my chance.
On the far horizon, I spot the distant sails of a ship.
This was for Brigets_flame week 2, and the prompt was Key. I hope you enjoy. :)