The voices from the forbidden land

Vultures where flying over Eleanor for a long time already, waiting for her to finally crumble under the dark sun and succumb to the heat, like so many others before her, whose cleaned bones were scattered across the black ground of the forbidden land. But the girl was not dead, and had no intention to ever join the other side, whatever the flying scavengers had to say about it.

The birds were becoming more and more numerous, and had been since Eleanor passed the frontier between her home country and the forbidden land, a few hours ago. Signs were conveniently placed there to warn travelers about the dangers of this forbidden land, but she barely looked at them. After 20 years growing next to it, she knew everything about the forbidden land, or at least everything that was known about it.

It was a dreadful place where no one lived, except old fools and a few beasts like the vultures. It was constantly under a strange sun with a black aura, putting the whole place in an **** heat. But if it was only for that, it would only be a strange place. What gave it its name and reputation was this strange phenomenon where some women sometimes heard voices in their head telling them to venture into this desolate land. Most ignored them, considering that it was simply something to live with; but for some it became too much. For them, the voices never stopped, becoming increasingly more present, until that was all they could hear. In the end, they surrendered and obeyed, going willingly into the forbidden land, where they disappeared forever.

While only happening in Eleanor’s native town of Gansburg, this strange phenomenon quickly became known to the whole country, and adventurers promptly went into the forbidden land to find the source of this mystery; alas, none ever came back. Soon, the government got involved and sent three battalions; just like the adventurers, this would be the last time anyone saw them. In the end, people accepted the fact that it was a mystery never to be unraveled, a hindrance for a few, or a cost for living in such a beautiful town of Gansburg.

That’s what Eleanor learned about the land when growing up, she knew that some women would hear voices telling them to go there, and that if she was one of them, she shouldn’t listen to it. She was a bit afraid at first but, thankfully, she never suffered the voice, not a single time. Although, not all of her friends were so lucky: in particular Agnes, her best friend.

She started hearing them at en early age, and never really made peace with it. She often told Eleanor that the voices were becoming louder, filling her every thoughts. Everyone tried to help her, but the ones who heard the voices knew how hard it was to resist, and the one who didn’t couldn’t truly grasp how invasive the voices were. In any case, everyone knew that each passing day increased the likelihood of Agnes giving up, that each evening could be the last one people would see her.

And a few days ago, this was it. Agnes’ parents came knocking at Eleanor’s house. In tears, they announced that Agnes was nowhere to be found this morning. She left at night, leaving only a note where she explained that she couldn’t live with the voices anymore. She knew that **** was probably waiting for her in the forbidden land, but this was her only chance of silencing the voices. Everyone paid their respects to the grieving family, and tried to resume their life as best as they could. But not Eleanor: Agnes was her best friend for as long as she could remember, and she couldn’t let her get lost in the forbidden land, not if she could prevent it.

She knew that it was foolish but, the next morning, she packed her bag and left her house, heading into the forbidden land, trying as hard as she could to not think about the danger ahead, only about her friend, probably wandering aimlessly in this dreaded place.

That was still her mindset right now, even with the vultures hovering menacingly in the sky, the stifling heat gradually increasing and the ground becoming more and more desolate. Despite every part of her reason telling her to turn back, she continued onward. For unlike the women before her, she had a clear goal, and she was determined to reach it.