The piercing winds cut through the young elven girl’s tunic, rain beating down on her face as she struggled to secure the sails. Gray, stormy seas frothed beneath her, rocking the ship back and forth. All of a sudden, a massive wave surged up from the depths, knocking her back and slamming her head into the side of the ship. Black spots swarmed her vision, and she slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

A sharp pain in her skull awakened her, and she pried open her bleary eyes to see a sapphire blue sky above her. The ship gently rocked back and forth, so she steadied herself on the railing as she stood. Blocking the bright sun with a hand, she gasped in astonishment, and peered up at the massive mountains towering above.

Carefully she scaled the cliff side, having tied her ship to a rock on the beach, and set out to traverse the new land. Her arms shook and ached as she heaved herself onto a rock ledge. Stopping to rest, she gazed out over the white sand and frigid waters. She looked to the east, where a small expedition had yielded a patch of woods and a clean, cold river at the base of the mountains. She looked to the west where a short walk had rewarded her with a colony of clams and fresh sea bass. Then, she looked up. She looked to the north. The unknown. Gathering herself, she quickly scampered up the remaining cliff, and set her sights on the top.

Some short thirty minutes later, she gripped a small rock over the top of the highest point of the cliff. Steeling herself for whatever lay over this ridge, she pulled her body over it, stood, and felt the air leave her lungs, as she took in the endless mountains, and forests and plains. A new home. A new start.