Little Friend

Little Friend

Zelnard learned through these experiences that Dunstor was to be avoided at all costs and found friendship and safety in some boys his own age in his class. Zelnard also worked hard at his studies. Somewhere deep inside, he knew that his parents would have wanted him to be his best in everything he did, and he thought that powers through crystal transfer would definitely come in handy if he could master them.

Zelnard also loved play and breaks from the hard work he was dedicating himself to. It was during one of the mandatory “recreational activity” times that Zelnard began to see a glimmer of hope. He realised that he was going to be okay, even though he would never be the same without the love of his mother and father.

The junior boys had been allowed to go to Crystal Quay beach, a place where the foamy waves lapped at the sand, not far from the deep, treacherous waters that haunted Zelnard’s nightmares. The other boys, uninformed of the peril of the water and full of life, were playing at the water’s edge, their laughter lost in the open expanse of the yellow sand and the relentless washing of the shore.

Zelnard stayed back, his feet firmly planted in the dry sand, watching the waves but refusing to let them come near. He gazed out, lost in thought, when something in the sand caught his eye. A small, twitching movement.

At first, he thought it might have been a trick of the light, but then he saw it again, a slight flitting in the dry sand between the brown river and the sea. Intrigued, he wandered over to investigate.

As he approached, he saw the tiny creature more clearly. It was struggling, its small body flailing in the sand as it tried to move away from the looming sea. Zelnard’s heart went out to the little animal, its distress mirroring his own.

It was a baby fesealon, a creature more at home in water, but somehow, this one had found itself far from safety, dragged to the saltwater edge by the brackish current of the river mouth. Fesealons were rare in Argent, more often seen as delicacies smoked and barbecued in the street markets of Crystal Quay than alive on the beach. But Zelnard knew immediately what he had to do.

Thy Quests
Name a real-world equivalent to a fesealon as a food source to some and a pet to others. Enter it in Thy Quests to continue.