Tir looked at the striped flag hanging over his head. Its red, white, and blue colors contrasted majestically against the shades of death behind it. He wondered if the sky would ever return to resembling hope, as this flag did in him.
"You keep looking at that thing." Meri's voice sounded annoyed.
Tir turned. "I'll tell you this much. I'm glad we found it."
Meri placed a hand on his chest. "You're getting distracted, love."
"It's nice to... it's nice to remember what we are fighting for."
She rolled her eyes. "You don't even know where that flag is from, or whose it was, or what they stood for. Fantasies won't make the sky blue again, or bring our lands back." She bit her lip. "I'm sorry, love."
He squeezed her hand. "No, love." Then looked at the flag again. "You're right. The World Before had as much peril as our own. I just... like the colors." Meri smiled at that and Tir kissed her hand. "Any news?"
"Yes... Captain wants to see you."
Captain Vardar looked more irritated than usual as he scowled menacingly at a pile of maps on his desk. At least his doing something... Tir thought.
"First mate. Did you hear the news?"
"Yes, sir." Tir saluted. As much as he disliked the man, some respect for the station was due. "Undiscovered land spotted off the western bow."
Vardar didn't look up from his maps. "Yes, yes. This is it, Tir... I can feel it..."
That's all you're good for. But Tir smiled. "Sir. I've already prepared a departure party. I suggest we send our scout boats first to survey the land and -"
"Yes, yes. I plan on accompanying this departure party. You two as well. We'll leave a skeleton crew to anchor Destiny. This! This is it, Tir! We have to strike while the iron is hot!"
"With all due respect, sir. We should approach with caution." Tir ignored Meri's glare. "We have no proof this is El Dorado. It's more prudent to wait until -"
Vardar finally raised his head. "Wait? Wait! Is that your council? Serava is probably already on the island! This is the fifth island we've spotted! The prophecy says this is El Dorado... Serava knows this as well. His scouting ships have already been spotted! Why do you think I named this ship Destiny? So I can watch that scumbag fulfill his?"
"I just think it prudent to -"
"Carry out my orders." Vardar's jaw quivered. "Or I'll find me a first mate that will. Dismissed!"
The crew was getting ready. Laserbolts and Plasmarifles at the ready. Captain Vardar embarked first, the crew cheering as he led the small fleet of boats toward the now clearly visible humongous island. Tir and Meri overlooked the embarking, they were to set sail with the last of them.
"You think he is leading us to death," Meri said, her voice plain.
Tir sighed. "Prophecies killed everyone we loved. And I fear that his rivalry with Serava clouds his judgment. Not that it was clear to begin with."
"The men love him. And if this is El Dorado. His course is sound."
"And if it's not. We will all perish." Tir pierced his lips. "How will we see the blue skies then?"
"Perhaps they were always a metaphor, my love. Perhaps they never existed."
If so, what are we fighting for?
Tir and Meri arrived with five others on the sandy beaches. The rest of the crew had already gone inside the vast vegetation, leaving behind their Destiny's markers to guide the way. The captain's overeagerness was plain. And Tir hated following the buffoon's orders. But a promise was a promise.
The forest was more akin to a jungle: dangling root vines, sinkholes, tangled brushes. Their steps were careful and their senses were sharp. Soon they entered a small clearing, Destiny's signs pointing in two directions.
"What happened here?" Meri asked.
"No idea," Tir said, they were definitely both the same sign. Why would the Captain try to confuse them? "Why would they split up?" Tir turned the signs over. One had red paint on the back, the other was blank. "They were ambushed..."
"Sir." One of the men spoke up. "The four of us should make haste to the Blood Sign."
"Yes. Sile with us. The rest of you go. Be careful men."
They kept moving. As more l4eagues passed with no sign in sight, paranoia started to kick in. "Love? Perhaps we go back to the boats?" Meri's voice wavered. Tir didn't think he had ever heard her so low.
"Love if we -"
A sign fell right in front of them. Birds, beasts, and bugs scurried away as the dirt settled from its disturbance.
"How... is this possible..." Sile, their bodyguard, sounded unnerved. Naturally.
"What would a sign be doing all the way up there?" Meri asked.
All rational had left Tir's brain, he signaled for them to return. They moved quicker than caution, as their hearts wouldn't allow them to slow their pace. Soon they returned to the clearing, only -
"What in the Gods above..."
The clearing was red. Crimson. As if covered by the blood of a giant. The signs that were pointing in opposite directions were both pointing back to the path they just came from. All three drew their Plasmarifles and cocked them.
"Hallucinations?" Meri's voice was calm again. She thrived in conflict.
"I don't see any other explanation. But -"
A shriek, alien and terrifying, shook the ground.
Meri pressed herself against Tir's back, as Sile fell to his knees, blood draining like a faucet from his ears.
And the forest had eyes. Red and sharp.
"Run1"
As they did so, the shriek returned, louder and more menacing. They both interchanged firing back shots, a drill they had performed a thousand times.
"Have I told you how much I love you?" Tir heard himself saying.
"I love you too!" Meri yelled back.
"Meri! A river!"
But it was too late. The ground was slippery and it seemed like it dragged the two into a cold, foreboding stream. Tir grabbed his beloved's shoulder, as they tried to float with their free hand. The current was strong, and all around them, the red eyes gazed through the tangled brush.
The brush soon gave way to a cave, and with it, darkness. The current was stronger here, and both knew that if there were rocks that their lives were forfeit. At least, they were together. There was some solace in this cursed world after all.
Tir thought them dead when the cave ended in a waterfall, but it was not high. They splashed in a pool and arose to the sound of birds chirping and the sun shining.
Along with a dozen heads mounted on spikes.
Tir recognized the first two - Vardar and Serava; the eternal rivals. He then felt Meri's boy as she shivered beside him.
"Father! More land from giant's tooth!" A boy yelled from nearby.
A portly man soon appeared next to him. They were both naked, except for their golden earrings.
"We mean you no harm!" Meri said. "Please..."
The portly man whispered something and the boy helped them up from the blistering cold waters. The couple was in such shock that they didn't notice their surroundings.
Apart from the decapitated heads, the wind was clear and... sweet? The trees seemed strange, brown with thick barks. And... and...
The sky was blue.
Tir fell on his knees Meri standing with mouth a gape, dumbfounded.
"Father... you were right... their eyes hold no greed." The boy danced, smiling.
The portly father nodded. "What do you seek, strangers?"
Tir barely heard him. He stood. "We... we seek... freedom."
The man looked at him for a moment. Then nodded. A knife he held concealed behind his wrist fell to the ground as he extended his hand.
"Welcome then, strangers. Welcome to El Dorado."
This was a 'Picture is wroth a Thousand Words' contest entry. The contest image being:
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