The caravan had stopped at the edge of the canyon.
Not because anyone wanted to.
The line of wagons stretched along the rocky ground, their wheels half-sunk in dust and mud.
Horses stood with lowered heads.
The mood was heavy, the way it had been ever since they had fled their village.
A little girl sat on a boulder near the edge, hugging her knees and staring across the canyon.
Of all the children in her village, she thought she could jump the furthest, but even she couldn't cross the canyon.
Her mother told her to stay away from the edge, but she sneaked a look or two.
She couldn't see the bottom. She picked up a pebble and tossed it into the canyon. She never heard it land.
The far side looked like another world. It looked hazy in the evening sun.
There was a mountain in the distance and clusters of green trees.
There should have been a bridge.
Or that's what everyone had said.
Everyone knew that there should have been one, but there just wasn't.
The adults had spoken of it, but instead they only found broken foundations jutting from the edge.
Whatever bridge had once stood there had been gone for a very long time.
So yesterday evening the caravan had made its decision.
They would go around.
Nobody liked the idea. Nobody even knew how far the canyon stretched in either direction. But there was no other choice.
The adults had agreed they would rest for one night before setting out again.
Not because it was safe.
Just because they were exhausted.
A cold breeze blew past and the girl shivered.
Then she noticed that there was someone standing nearby.
The stranger had not been there a moment ago. At least, the girl was fairly sure she hadn't been.
It was a young woman, several paces away, gazing out over the canyon.
She was very pale but not pale like someone who stayed indoors too much.
She had long dark hair that stirred in the wind, and two strange bat-like wings were on her head.
There was something strange on her shoulder, like a ball of dust. The girl couldn't quite tell what it was, but every now and then, it shifted and released a faint puff of dust that drifted on the breeze.
She carried a staff with strange pieces of dark metal or glass set into it.
One sword hung from her side, and another was going through her chest.
The girl rubbed her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
The woman hadn't disappeared.
She stood perfectly still.
But there was a faint aura of darkness around her.
The girl was frightened.
The woman noticed her staring.
"Hello."
Her voice was calm.
"Hello," the girl answered.
The woman's eyes moved toward the caravan.
"What's going on?"
The girl glanced back at the wagons.
"We got stuck."
The woman looked at the canyon.
"I can see that."
"There was supposed to be a bridge."
"There isn't."
"No."
"We're moving to another village because ours got ransacked. We were supposed to cross here. But the bridge is gone and everyone says it's probably been gone for years."
The woman listened quietly.
"So now we're going around," the girl continued. "Nobody knows how far that is. Maybe days. Maybe weeks."
"Unfortunate."
"That's what everyone keeps saying."
The woman nodded slightly.
The dusty creature made a tiny chirping sound.
The girl looked again at the sword sticking from the woman's chest.
She tried very hard not to stare, but failed.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
The woman followed her gaze.
"Oh."
Something like amusement touched her expression.
"This?"
She lightly tapped the hilt protruding from her chest.
"No."
The girl frowned.