Journey Trial (PT pt 1) - Taha, Elise, Mirage

The air was frigid and carried an eerie feeling, the winter fog not yet dissipate from how early it was, when Taha, Elise, and Mirage, gathered in front of the gates of the Silver Province. The gates towered above them, and the metal was shining with the frozen frost that would melt as the day advanced.

 

The three reos were all grouped together near their backpacks, ravaging through them, talking about their last preparations and what they thought their first stop should be. Taha, her eyes unused to the light that was starting to overtake the darkness of the night sky, was alternately looking at the sky with disdain and at the cloth she packed in her bag, considering taking it out already and covering her face with it. She had planned to use it later on, but was rethinking the whole journey as her eyes tried to adjust to the sunlight slowly. Mirage was busy inspecting her backpack for the fifth or sixth time, trying to organize it in a manner that made sense to her and allowed her to avoid digging in it for too long for one thing. Elise sat quietly, her bag at her feet, and looked at the other two with amusement. She was the older, and she had been ready to embark on this journey for a long time, so she had no worries as she looked outside of the city, the great unknown that terrified the other two felt like nothing to her.

 

Miraak, a vayron instead of a tyrian, stood apart from the group, his eyes narrowed with impatience, scoffing every few seconds. He was their appointed guide for the purity trials, a task he was clearly not willing to follow through, his annoyance at simply being there visible in his face. The journey could be done alone but, with Elise's status, someone above Miraak's paygrade decided that she needed an escort, and he had no choice in the matter whatsoever. The journey was meant to test them, and Elise was under no impression that he was also there to judge her as leader. After all, they knew she was good, at whatever you might want to think about, but, you know, everyone has to go the proper channels in order to be given what they want.

 

So here he was, Miraak, glaring at her while she smiled at him, both their gazes holding and being aware that there was more than met the eye, but their two companions could not know about it.

 

“Do you really have to check that again, Mirage?” Miraak spat out, his voice full of annoyance. “You’ve rearranged and counted the dried meat and herbs twice already. It’s not like it’s going to grow legs and walk away.”

 

Mirage glanced up at him, surprised at the hostility but overall unbothered by it. “If i want to fix my stuff how i like it, you're gonna sit there and let me do it. I don't even know why you're here with us, you've been nothing but unsupportive so i really can't explain why you've been appointed as our guide. An awful personality won't keep us alive for long, you know.”

 

Taha looked up. “She’s right. I prefer her to know where things are if we end up in some mess and your brilliant personality can't fix it.”

 

Miraak huffed once more and flicked his tail in a dismissive way. “I know the Trials better than any of you. That’s why I've been appointed as your guide, remember? But you three are acting like getting out of the city will kill you, it's ridiculous. You pack you things, you get out there, you come back. It’s simple.”

 

Mirage looked at him from where she was folded over he bag, her face starting to show more irritation than apprehension. “Listen, i don't care what you know or don't, i don't even know why we need you, but you're here, do your job and shut up.”

 

Miraak opened his mouth to retort but thought better of it. Instead, he rolled his eyes and said nothing else.

 

Mirage, seeing he stopped engaging, decided to ignore him too and turned her attention back to sorting her items. “Let’s see. Dried meat, check. Herbs and remedies, check. Blankets, check. Water jugs, check....” She paused and frowned, looking down at one corner of the bag.

 

“What is it?” Elise asked, her big sister instincts making her act to fix whatever quieted the other.

 

“I don’t see the health potion that should have been here,” Mirage said, rifling through the bag more intensely. “I thought I packed it, did any of you take it?.”

 

Taha and Elise checked their bags too, but didn't find it so they shook their heads in Mirage's direction. "Are you sure you packed it? Maybe you left it behind" said Elise.

 

Miraak let out a low growl of exasperation. “Can we please just go? I don't care if we have one potion or zero, it doesn't help if we run in trouble. You're just wasting my time at this point.”

 

Mirage shot him a sharp look but didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she stood abruptly. “I’ll go get one now. There’s a shop on the way here, i saw they were open so I'll give that a try. I’ll be back in no time.”

 

“Are you sure they're open?” Elise asked.

 

Mirage nodded. “I think, trying doesn't hurt. Just give me a few minutes.” She darted off towards one of the main streets, the small cluster of shops that were born near the gates, attracting all sort of business from tourists, and she darted right, disappearing in a smaller street.

 

As they waited, Taha and Elise exchanged glances.

 

“She’s trying,” Taha said softly.

 

“I know,” Elise replied, her voice equally quiet. “I don't mind waiting for her.”

 

Miraak, who had been staring into the distance, snorted. “Trying or not, you have no idea what you’re doing and are focusing on the wrong things. The Purity Trials aren’t about who packed the most or who planned the best. They’re about the journey you take. It's a development journey, life doesn’t care about your intentions. There isn't a way to ace the trials, there isn't a way to be guaranteed a 'good girl' stamp from life. It's not about what you do, but about how you react to the journey.”

 

Elise turned to him, her eyes steady. “We know, Miraak. What you fail to understand is that she, like any of us, has a personality. You can't judge her for how she behaves, even if you think it's childish, or cringe, or whatever you want to call her. If she wants to live her life overprepared, it's her choice. If she goes through the trials and once back, she changes her mind, it's ok. If she stays the same, that's fine too. We don't have to change when going on a journey, even if it's a life altering one”

 

Before Miraak could respond, Mirage returned, a bundle of fabric holding what they all assumed was a health potion in her mouth. “Got it!” She said as she placed it down and started rearranging the backpack once again.

 

“Good,” Taha said, finally deciding to get the cloth piece out and place it on her face. The cloth was see through, so it allowed visibility but it protected her eyes from the now even brighter sunlight. The ordeal made them lose only 20 minutes, but it was enough for the sun to start rising properly. Getting her backpack on her shoulder and strapping it closed with her mouth, she said “Now we’re ready.”

 

Elise, Miraak and Mirage all did the same, with Elise and Mirage helping each other place the bags on their back instead of how Taha and Miraak were doing, one under her wings and the other near the back legs, and they all faced through the gates, to the outside of the city.

 

The road ahead stretched into the horizon, the view a peaceful one, with warm red and pink hues and the floating rocks and crystals to complete the view.

 

For a moment, none of them spoke. The weight of the journey stepping in now that they would really need to leave the city, even if they were all confident in themselves.

 

Mirage broke the silence “So this is it, isn't it?"

 

Elise nudged her with her face, “No take backs, we're going.”

 

Taha cracked a joke, honestly unimpressed with the whole mood "If i crawled out of the depths of Vitalus just to get back to it, sorry, not doing that, I'm leaving you behind."

 

Miraak sighed “Come on, let’s move. I'm already wasting more time of my life than you deserve of me.”

 

The reos stepped forward, one step at the time, their paws crunching against the frost-covered ground, and passed through the gates.

 

They moved forward and the Silver Province faded into the distance behind them, disappearing from their life for who knows how long. 

 

They would be back, but how soon?