The Wilds Expedition

Story by Josephine

Before I begin, I feel the need to justify myself. This is the beginning of a story based on a beautiful set of CG images I recently discovered. They are fairly detailed, and it is obvious the artist put a lot of work into them. This being the case, I can in no way claim to be following that artist's original intent and design, and do not intend to use any of his specific characters. Please regard this as a cross between a doujinshi creation of an already established work, and a vignette such as that by The Light Fantastic. Though I will draw heavily from the artist's works, I will populate it with my own touch of society and mythology, and encompass it in my own story. As such, this story may never be sold for profit, or be posted on any site that generates revenue through direct payment in order to view content.

I have no excuses; I was hit with the creative spark, and suddenly had an entire world to write about. I mean no disrespect to the artist; I only hope I can do his work justice.

The first chapter is posted. It is not so much a narrative as it is a collection of experiences, so it may seem disjointed, but I hope I have displayed a clear progression. It's also my first time writing in this style, and it is meant to be more of a literary exercise than a serious story, so please be gentle, and feel free to provide constructive criticism.

(All art herein is by Mizuiro Megane, AKA Caracol. I do not own any of it. Please support him by buying his work.)

On the inside front cover of this ancient tome is a note:

You may not believe any of this, but these are my accounts of a people I have come to love, and a place that I have come to call home. I have provided illustrations for visual aid, but you may never understand how completely my life has been changed; you must experience it yourself to even comprehend. To whoever reads this, I can only hope that you do not immediately destroy it, and that this journal has reached a more tolerant age outside our corner of the world. If it has, then may it serve as a guide to understanding the Amazoness society.

Tiwesdas, the 21st of Aphris, Annos Unificare 193

It has been three months since I set out from Tor Veldrin. I crossed the Maraz Sandsea by iron carriage, and the Duran Farplain by horse along the Selen River. After passing through Marazidel and paying respect to the Chancellor there, we continue southeast towards the Wilds, past the Barrier Mountains. Every village we pass warns us that it's suicide to venture into the Wilds, that the amazons will kill and eat us. From history, we know that several wars between humans and amazons have cut a rift between our peoples. A few say they steal children and raise them as their own, that as an all-female race, it is the only way they can survive. Others say that they are immortal, that local myth claims to have seen the same amazon trader across not just two or three, but six or seven generations.

Simple scientific fact discounts this folklore; I may be only a botanist, and furthermore only a woman, but even we have the ability to analyze and draw fact from myth, no matter what popular modern science says about our tendency to surrender to emotion that makes us inferior to men. It is not a boasting matter, but rather a matter of pride as a woman that I have been able to debate with some of the greatest male minds at the University. Even when they tried to deny my arguments outright on the basis that they came from a woman, I made them see reason. I'm not so sure women might not be even smarter than men. But in short, that's why I'm out here, searching for plants that shouldn't exist; they saw a woman succeeding in a man's world, and decided that if they couldn't win in an argument, they would send me away. In all honesty, though, I'd rather not stay where my talents aren't appreciated for another minute. There lies an entire ecosystem beyond the Barrier Mountains, waiting to be discovered and catalogued. As a botanist, I couldn't possibly be happier or more excited. I will make sure the world remembers the name Alessa Cantrell, leader of the Wilds Expedition.

Our team is small; five scientists and five guards, plus one. There's me, decidedly a strange sight in trousers and a travelling cloak like a man, but the clothes are ever more comfortable than a dress like most women wear in the city. I am twenty-eight, golden-red of hair, like my mother, and green of eye, with an average build. There is Jaegan Turner, a middle-aged entomologist, Ander Wilhelm, a bright young ornithologist, Fargo Raleigh, the eccentric geologist (and his wife, Ellen,) and Walter Fields, the zoologist. We eleven aim to journey into the heart of the unknown and make it known.

Turesda

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