An Owl's Rise

'Damn it!'

The instant Evelyn woke up, she attempted to pull herself off the ground, but found that her body would not work as she wanted.

She barely was able to pick herself up before falling down again. 

Her body ached all over and the muscles in her wings and legs were far too damaged to work properly.

Even when she gritted her beak and reinforced herself with magical energy, she could barely lift her body up.

'I really can't move anymore.' Evelyn thought as tears began falling down her face.

As the reality of her situation hit her, everything that had happened during the attack on the Roost came flooding back to her at once.

All the strength in Evelyn's body left her and she collapsed in a heap as her emotions struck her like a truck.

Frustration at her current situation, sorrow for having to watch Otis die, and anger towards herself for how powerless she was to do anything.

'Why?! What did I do to deserve this?! Just when my life finally started to look bright again, it all came crashing down. If this was the fate that Mason saw for me, I wish he would have just left me to die.'

Dark thoughts began creeping into Evelyn's mind. She was starting to believe that everyone would have been better off if her brother had not interfered with her life.

Had he not stolen the heavenly flame for her, he would not have incurred his family's wrath and been hunted by them.

If she had never made it to the Roost, it would not have been attacked by the Tyrannis Union.

Bylur, Rehni, Aralee, Verrader, and Melisandre would have never needed to suffer because of her.

'I'm a curse on everyone I interact with. I should never have even existed.'

Yet, before Evelyn's depression could drag her down past the point of no return, her companions rushed over to her.

"Sister, you are finally awake! We were beginning to really worry!" Aralee said with a relived expression.

"You must be hungry after being asleep for so long. I will fix something for you quickly." Rehni said, remembering how she was famished when she awoke.

"Here, let me help you up. I did what I could for your injuries, but my skills are lacking, and I could not fully heal you. I am truly sorry for not being able to do more." Bylur said, giving his support to Evelyn so she could get off the ground.

The only one that did not say anything was Verrader. His face was racked with guilt, and it seemed he could not get any words out.

Evelyn, seeing the concern for her, realized that her earlier train of thought was not going to help anyone.

It was already too late to go back in time and change the past, and while she seemed to bring misfortune with her wherever she went, she had an obligation to see her friends and siblings through their current crisis. 

'Once they are safe, I can simply fade away. Until then, I need to fulfill my role.'

Having found her resolve for now, Evelyn's body reminded her that she was still alive as she was assaulted by intense hunger pangs.

Seeing the food that Rehni had brought to her, Evelyn ripped into more savagely than she had ever done before and let her wild instincts take over as she filled her empty stomach.

By the time Evelyn had finished her meal, she was starting to feel sleepy again, but she forced herself to stay awake. There was still far too much she did not know about the situation.

"Judging by our surroundings, it does not look like we have moved from the location we found ourselves in after being forced out of the warp portal. Have you all figured out where we are yet?"

However, before she received an answer, Evelyn was able to guess that the answer to her question was not favorable due to the downtrodden looks on her companions' faces.

"We managed to narrow it down to four likely possibilities. But we are not exactly sure where we are." Rehni said regretfully.

"Okay, show me what you have figured out already. I might be able to narrow it down more." Evelyn said.

She then looked over the maps that Rehni pulled out and explained her reasoning for the location that they might be in.

After Rehni was finished, Evelyn pulled out her own resources that detailed the continent and began pouring over them.

Of all of them she had the most detailed map, and while it was outdated, Mason had left her a very comprehensive atlas.

It took a few hours of going over minute details, but eventually Evelyn figured out the area that they were most likely to have ended up.

"I believe that we are probably here, near the middle of the hilly Zoldello region." 

From all of the information they had at her disposal this place made the most sense.

It was the closest to where the Roost had appeared when pulled out of its separate domain and mostly closely matched the description of the terrain that her companions had relayed to her. She would honestly be surprised if they were in any of the other possible areas since they were farther away.

Of course, it was possible, but they would not know until they ventured out of this area that was surrounded completely by rolling hills.

"I would like to say that we should try and rejoin the Roost, but that is probably impossible right now. Instead, our best bet is to travel south-southeast." Evelyn said.

This surprised everyone else, as they had agreed that heading southwest would be their best move.

"Why should we head that direction? I figured it would be better for us to aim for the Velinis Desert in the southwest. Surely the burrowing owls there will offer us their protection after all you have done for them." Rehni said, her face clearly showing her confusion.