Vast, empty white filled her vision and then she blinked. Now the brilliant blue sky filled her vision. Feeling around, Shell found that she was lying down on the grass. On further inspection she realized the grass was in a beautiful valley and the gentle sound of water from a river in the valley was filling her ears.

  As she stood and investigated her surroundings further, she couldn’t believe how beautiful and peaceful it was. There were no monsters or fighting. No pirates or Wave. Her smile grew at the sight of serenity.

  Feeling upbeat, Shell started walking along the river to see what else she could find. The breeze rustled her cerulean blue hair and brushed against her seafoam green skin. Taking a deep breath, she filled her lungs with fresh air. What a beautiful day!

  A few hours flew by as she enjoyed all the sights of the peaceful valley. There were trees she had never seen with fruit that she was sure Synexus couldn’t even come up with. Different kinds of fish jumped out of the water every now and then to give her a little scare. Instead of yelping at the surprise, she would let out a little laugh. It was a good day, and nothing was going to take that away from her.

  Orange started to take over blue as the sun began to set, and Shell realized she hadn’t even thought about getting stuff together for a camp. Then it hit her, she didn’t know how to make a fire. That was something she never learned at the Wave settlement. She decided to just find a nice tree to settle down at for the night. Sleep wasn’t a necessity, but her stamina was getting a little low and it wasn’t safe to keep moving at night. While searching her eyes caught the glimpse of a flickering light in the distance and her ears, moments later, heard a wonderous sound. It was time to investigate.

  Approaching quietly, she saw a camp of people with two covered wagons. In total there were three people, and they were each playing different instruments around a fire. The music they played was beautiful and it lulled her into calm state. Suddenly, the music stopped, and one person drew a dagger pointing it toward her.

  “Who’s there?” The man spoke with confidence in his voice. At this point both women around the fire also grabbed their weapons.

  “Hello! I mean no harm. I’m sorry to interrupt. I was making camp over by those trees when I heard your music and saw your fire. While investigating to make sure I was safe, your music got to me. You all play beautifully!”

  “Thanks. Are you alone?”

  “Sure am! I’m on a journey by myself to experience more things in this world. Night fell upon me before I was setup.”

  “Wow! Wandering all on your own. You must be brave.” One of the women spoke up and then set her bow back down.

  The guy noticed and looked at her. “What are you doing?”

  “Sed, she’s all alone and sounds nice. I think we can relax.”

  “She could be lying! For all we know, twenty members of her party could be out there waiting in the dark for her to invade our camp.”

  “Sed, I think Elise is right.” The other woman put her sword back in the sheathe. “Hello. I’m Radia, that’s Elise, and the paranoid one is Sed. It’s nice to meet you. Would you like to share our fire?”

  “My name is Shell and it’s okay I don’t want to be a bother. I’ll leave you alone. Have a good night!”

  “Sed! Put your dagger away! Shell, it’s really no bother. Join us, please.” Elise spoke up before she could walk away.

  “Alright, if you insist. The fire would be nice. Truth be told, I don’t know how to make one.” She walked forward and took a seat on the log facing them.

  Sed finally put his dagger away and sat between his two friends. “You are on a journey alone which requires you to travel in the wilderness and you don’t know how to make a fire?”

  “I know it sounds wild. It’s a little hard to explain, but I kind of got thrown into this and where I come from, we didn’t have a need to make fires.”

  “Well, how about you camp with us tonight and then we teach you tomorrow?” Radia got up and moved to the log Shell was on to sit next to her.

  “If it’s no bother, then that would be very kind. I’ll find a way to pay you back.”

  “Oh, I already figured that out too.” Radia dug around in her bag that was sitting by the log and found what she was looking for. “You’re going to be our new ocarina!”

  “What?! I don’t know how to play. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”

  “It’s okay! We will teach you that too. It sounds like you aren’t on any sort of schedule, right? We need to be in Bayara in two days for a little show. Travel with us at least until then. Our fourth band member quit a week ago and we’ve been trying to adjust our music for the loss of his parts.”

  “You want me to learn how to play this in two days? You are all amazing. I fear that I will only drag you down.”

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  “Nonsense! You’ll do great! Right, Elise? Sed?”

  “Absolutely! Radia is one of the best teachers I know. She taught me how to play.” Elise spoke with enthusiasm to try and put Shell at ease.

  “Even if you can’t get it in time, it won’t matter. It’s a small show, so there is no pressure.” Sed added. Elise punched him in the arm. “OW! What?!”

  “That was the worst pep talk I’ve ever heard!”

  Radia started laughing and Shell couldn’t help herself from chuckling.

  “Okay! I’ll do my best. Now, where do I begin?”

  Radia began helping her figure out how to correctly hold the ocarina and where to put her fingers. She then went into showing her how to play the basic notes. Elise and Sed gave small bits of advice every now and then. As it turned out, Shell picked it up pretty easily. Radia said she obviously had an affinity for music in some way or another. Within a couple of hours, she was playing basic songs and when the beautiful sounds started to come from the instrument she felt immense joy. This was something she wanted to continue.

  ***

  Morning came and they all chatted over breakfast before packing up camp and getting the horses hitched to the wagons. By midday they were already well on their way to the next town.

  Shell found herself curious about how this band came about. She assumed they were all bards, but it turned out none of them were. Radia was a mage who specialized in light magic. Sed and Elise were both rangers. Sed specialized in stealth and reconnaissance while Elsie specialized in distant fighting with a little nature magic. The band was just a hobby that they liked to do in between adventures.

  When Shell had learned that it shook everything she knew about class chosen. Everyone she knew would only work on things pertaining to their class. The idea of a hobby had never even crossed her mind, but after learning some of the ocarina last night, she loved it. In fact, Radia let her keep practicing while they rode in the wagon and she could feel herself getting much better at it.

  They all talked and bonded over music nearly the whole day. Her heart felt full, and it made her feel like she was finally a part of something. After only a day, she didn’t feel like an outside around her new friends. Radia had this sense of humor that Shell had no chance against. The whole trip was constant laughter and conversation. When they weren’t talking they were practicing for the show. Each of them would listen to Shell play and adjust her fingers or give her advice on how to breathe to get the perfect note.

  Night fell and Sed showed her how to make a fire out of nothing, but some leaves and sticks. Then he showed her how to make one with a piece of flint. Afterwards, he made her make them while he watched so he could be positive she learned. It took her a few tries, but eventually there was a little heartbeat of warmth before her that she created.

  Laying under the stars that night she reflected on this happiness she had been feeling. Since she arrived in the trial, there was a sense of joy filling her. The beautiful peace of the valley started it, her new friends kept it going, and now her newfound love of having a hobby made it rage to the point that it was uncontrollable. Radia pulled her from the thoughts.

  “It’s beautiful isn’t it? All those stars up there.”

  “It is! The peace here is nice. I can’t believe a place like this exists.”

  “Yes, the valley has been lucky. Monsters just don’t seem to come around here. If you go to the forests around these parts, it’s a different story though.”

  “Still, it’s really nice not to worry so much. I’ve never really gotten to just lay down outside and look at the stars.”

  “Really? It’s one of my favorite things to do at home. You should definitely do it more.”

  “I think you’re right. My home is actually under the ocean. My people, the Wave, live in bubble domes.”

  Radia shot up and looked at Shell. “That sounds amazing! I bet you can look up and see some beautiful sights there too, right?”

  “You’d think? I guess since I lived there my whole life, the view got old. Most of the time it’s just blue. When the sun is high in the sky the rays will reach down into the domes to create this dappled sunlight that dances along the bottom, but other than that it’s pretty dark.”

  “I still would love to see that someday. This explains your sapphire eyes. I’ve never seen anyone with beautiful eyes like that. The way they sparkle when light hits them is completely unfair. None of us stand a chance at looking better.” Radia let out a little laugh.

  “You think so? I’ve always felt self-conscious when I’m above water. This skin, hair, and my eyes make me always feel like an outsider. People often distance themselves from me and I’m never sure if it’s because I look different or if I’m just not interesting.”

  “Well first of all, those people are awful. You seem super interesting, and I think those features make you stand out in a good way. I understand that feeling all too well, but for me I think it’s because of how ordinary I look. I’m not special enough for people to accept.”

  “What?! You are super special. Your mastery of music and the things you can do with your breath through a simple low whistle are extraordinary. Plus, your sense of humor is second to none.” Shell looked over and smiled at Radia who already had the biggest smile she could manage on her face.

  “I think that is the nicest thing anyone has said to me, and we only just met yesterday. Thank you, Shell.” She leaned in and gave her a hug.

  Shell returned the hug. “You’re welcome, Radia. You were too kind yourself.”

  They laid back down and stared at the stars together until sleep took them both.

  ***

  Shell felt nervous the entire next day as they set up at an inn. It turns out the band was playing at the inn in exchange for a couple of rooms for the night. Radia had been practicing with her nonstop on the way to the town and told her she was ready, but this was the first time she would ever perform in front of people.

  Sunset came and people started to crowd the inn. Drinks were flowing and hot meals were being served. The stage was set and all the eyes turned to them.

  Radia introduced them to the crowd as The Travelling Melody and then it was time to start. Subtle notes from Elise’s lyre started to fill the room followed by a bit stronger sound from Sed’s lute. Once the song started to take form, Radia’s low whistle came in to hypnotize people with the melodic sound. Shortly after it was Shell’s turn to deliver the higher melodies.

  The first song was in full swing, and all that nervousness melted away. Notes flowed and the crowd loved it. Some were humming along while others danced. Seeing this reaction made Shell’s heart overflow with joy. Her thoughts faded away after that and she fell into the soft hands of the music knowing it would keep her safe. All a sudden their set was over, and the crowd was going wild. They loved it. They loved what Shell, and her new friends had created. What an incredible sense of purpose and pride. What an incredible experience.