Groaning with pain, I look at my new surroundings. I was on a boat... a transport ship sailing across the great ocean. Trying to get to the continent of Luerain, I boarded the ship with dozens of others, eager to start a new life in the far flung lands. But during the voyage we encountered a storm. Not a normal storm... magical. The magical tempest tore the ship apart, and many souls that were caught up in it; me included.
I was tossed into the water by the violent waves as they crashed over me. My lungs burning from lack of air, everything around me blurry and distant. With each wave that came crashing down upon me, another bit of strength left my body. Eventually I passed out, my last thoughts sure that I was about to depart from this world forever. But at some point I woke up on the shore of an unknown island, lying sprawled out on a white sandy beach littered with the wreckage of the ship that I had been aboard just hours before.
After resting for a while to recover my energy; which took several hours—I made the decision to move forward and explore this strange land. There was no sign of any civilization or people here, so it seemed like there would be little danger in doing so. I also wondered if there were any other survivors, so I walked across the beach, sun beating down on me as sweat trickled down my face.
Hearing a soft moan coming from a small pile of shipboards on the beach, I quickly rushed over towards them; hoping beyond hope that there was another survivor besides myself. Picking up one of the boards, I saw golden blonde hair beneath... but it wasn't human. An elven girl shifted uncomfortably underneath the rubble, beautiful creature with long flowing locks of gold a hair. She opened her eyes slowly, looking up at me with a dazed expression.
"Azea ir orhera?" The girl looked at me, speaking in elvish. Damn it... a communication barrier could pose a problem.
"Aijyai oybro aihbl xi?" She asked another question, but I still didn't understand. Oh well, I figured I could at least get the girl out from under the rubble. Lifting the boards off of the petite elf, she sat up and began brushing sand from her beautiful amber skin; revealing more of her delicate features. Her tanned skin was smooth like silk; and her large emerald green eyes shimmered like polished sapphires. A few curls of golden brown framed her heart shaped face perfectly. I wanted to talk with her, but with our language barrier, it seemed impossible. Pointing to myself, I said my name, "Anon," hoping she would understand the gesture.
The elf nodded and pointed to herself, "Aerie."
Pointing my finger at her, I asked. "Aerie" This time she smiled widely—at least I now knew the elven girl's name; though not why she was called 'Aerie.' It sounded like something to do with the wind.
"I'm sorry, I don't speak elvish," I tried to explain to the girl, but I knew she wouldn't understand. So instead, I held out my hand to her, indicating that I wanted her to come with me. After all, this deserted island was no place to leave the girl by herself.
"Poi apcr ogo adroseaann...," Aerie looked at me, distraught, but took my hand, letting me lead her away from the wreckage of the ship towards the interior of the island. Hopefully we could find food and water, as well as a shelter to keep us warm through the night; because we certainly weren't going anywhere for now.
We trekked further inland, following the shoreline along the edge of the forest—wherever that may be—until we reached a small stream. We followed it until it emptied into a lake, where we stopped and drank deeply from the cool waters. Aerie splashed the water in her face, happy with our discovery, exclaiming, "koi ogo fcrav ngissp' jytr!"
I smiled at her; trying to figure out what she was saying. It sounded like she was happy to have found water to drink. Looking at the clear blue water sparkling in the sunlight, it did seem refreshing. Taking a look around the lake, I spotted a dilapidated cabin. Pointing at it, I got Aerie's attention. "Look there, it seems someone might have once lived on this island! It isn't great shelter, but it is shelter."
Aerie looked at the ramshackle structure; taking in its crumbling floors—which were covered in dirt—and cracked wooden planks. She then turned back to me with a frown. "...ngo kai ngoi yiirf aeie eidr." I frowned too, not understanding her words , but getting the gist of them. Aerie wasn't exactly thrilled at the condition of the cabin, but it isn't like we had a better choice.
Stepping inside, there was a dusty table and two chairs; one broken and the other missing a leg. There were some old rusted pans and pots scattered about, and a fireplace with some charred wood nearby. It was obvious that whoever had built this cabin had abandoned it quite some time ago. At least there was a small bed with a blanket in the corner, which should hopefully keep us warm enough during the night—though it wasn't much to sleep on.
***
The two of us spent the next several days working on surviving this deserted island. Looking for food, we found berries and mushrooms which were delicious, though they couldn't sustain us for very long. Thankfully I had learned how to fish with a spear as a child so we had plenty of fresh meat to eat. Bringing planks of wood from our wrecked ship on the beach, I was able to patch up any holes in the cabin and make it a slightly nicer place to live. Aerie spent her time cleaning the cabin and gathering firewood; so that we could stay warm at night. Unfortunately, with our language barrier, we still couldn't talk to pass the time.
"Soq aichshai vit edraseaann oki oiäai," Aerie said to me as I brought back another catch of fresh fish, "Vit eidr orh eicf," she continued, pointing to herself—which meant 'I am hungry,' as far as I could tell.