Chapter Fifty-six

Returned

The next day we headed north, into the forest. About midday, we came to a clearing with a dead tree tipped over in the middle of it. Something didn't seem right on the other side, though I couldn't put my finger on what it was. Something just felt wrong.

I stopped our group and stalked along the left side of the clearing to get a better vantage. Ari'yasa moved into the center of the clearing and cast a spell, her eyes flickering a whitish-blue for a moment.

Jörgen climbed up on Keothi's back, then sent a raven forward into the trees. Just as it got into the trees, a vine snapped out and hit it, causing it to disappear.

I looked up into the tree where the vine came from. There was a mass of thorns and vines shaped like a large lizard, a little smaller than me. It was something I'd seen once before, a thorny. I looked around the area for other ones, but couldn't make out anything else. The forest was too dense.

Ari'yasa walked closer to it, pausing a short distance from the trees. She slowly walked forward, and the whole mouth of the thorny shot forward. She dodged, avoiding getting bit in the face, but it still bit her shoulder. She shouted back to us. "Not friendly!"

Melima ran up to Ari'yasa, casting spells as she went. She breathed out a cone of acid, causing the tree to start melting away and burning the thorny hiding in it. It shrunk back, but kept its gaze trained on my friends by the tree.

Ari'yasa made a branch light up, as bright as the sun. The thorny shrank back further into the shadows, but remained in an offensive stance.

I hopped on my broom so I could move faster, and landed between my friends. I whipped Gûdtirith off of my shoulder, firing an arrow at it. The arrow flew true, but the thorny shifted the vines it was made of around it.

"Lachogoth," I whispered, causing my bowstring to glow. I shot another arrow, which lit aflame, but the thorny jumped out of the way. The arrow landed in the bushes behind.

The bushes moved. Ever so slightly, but they moved. And not just where the arrow landed, but in a large area around it. "Something else back farther!" I called.

Jörgen muttered something behind me, touching Ari'yasa. She now had a slight shimmer to her. Keothi came around the other side of the tree, swinging his hammer into the branches. His second swing hit right on top of the thorny, and it let out a high-pitched whine.

The thorny let out more of a squeal, twisting and contorting, then fell out of the tree. It moved no more. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see another one coming towards us. It climbed a nearby tree and stopped.

A tree to our left uprooted and started walking towards us. It swung one of its branches to hit Keothi, but he was too quick for it and dodged out of the way.

More trees started moving in the forest. They were different from treants—they didn't have any facial features—they just seemed to be trees that could move. There were at least two more.

A huge mound of vines and branches where my arrow had landed came towards us. Two masses of vines, like arms, reached around Keothi and slammed into his back. It enveloped him, and I could barely tell where he was standing within the moving thicket.

Another huge mound of vines came from deeper in the forest and reached for Jörgen. One of its arms slammed into him, but he threw up a shield and just ducked out of the way of the second one. He wrested himself out of the vines.

Melima shot out a beam of blue light towards the mound that was attacking Jörgen. Frost covered part of it, causing it to wilt, but not as much as frost normally would. I knew that sometimes plant creatures were more resistant to more natural effects, like fire and ice. We were going to be better off using other effects, like the acid Melima used earlier.

Not that I had anything like that, and my arrows were only so useful against these creatures that could morph around them. I was beginning to feel helpless in this fight. Ari'yasa cast a spell that caused the mound to shrivel and wither more, with more of a black color than the frost had done.

Seeing that people were helping Jörgen, I flew over the mound that had enveloped Keothi, dropped my broom, and swung at the mound with my quarterstaff. It moved away from my first swing, but my second swing hit several vines, breaking some of them. I stepped away from it, dodging a vine that tried to wrap around me.

Naidaroe walked into the center of everything attacking us and cast a spell. She then shouted to Keothi. "I'm sorry I was mad at you earlier, you're a good guy!"

Keothi pulled against the vines restraining him, breaking out of their grasp. One of the trees hit him with one of its branches as he ran away. He ran north, away from the clearing that everything was converging on. "Come on, let's avoid these creatures!"

He dodged past another tree and thorny. The thorny reached out to attack him, but fell out of the tree it was sitting in. Melima ran after him, breathing out acid on the mound and tree that had attacked him.

I flew straight up into the air, getting out of range of the mounds, and hopefully the trees. I fired an arrow at the mound that had engulfed Keothi, burying it into the vines, then another arrow at the mound threatening Jörgen, but that one was harder to see, and my arrow flew wide.

Jörgen vanished, reappearing on the other side of me, then dissipated into mist, reappearing even farther away. He then started running. I was grateful our ancient friend was away safely.

There was a flash of purple energy in the far corner of the clearing, back the way we had come. There was another flash below me, next to Naidaroe. A drow appeared next to her. It was Sephra. Where had she come from? How had she found us again? And why did she come back now?

The trees were getting closer, and one swung at Keothi as he was still running. His footwork was impressive, and he was able to dodge out of the way. Others swiped at Ari'yasa and Sephra. The drow was able to dodge, but Ari'yasa took a branch to the chest.

My Genasi friend ducked out of the way of more branches, getting away, under some other trees. The mounds under me lashed out arms of vines and twigs, capturing both Naidaroe and Sephra and engulfing them. I wasn't sure what I could do to help them both, but I knew they wouldn't be able to breathe in there.

I suddenly remembered something about them that made me glad Melima was already away, the mounds couldn't be hurt by lightning, and they actually could use it against their prey. Thank goodness she had been using acid.

I could tell Naidaroe was trying to break free of the vines, but was struggling and getting pulled further in. She shouted to Sephra, "You have a chance to prove yourself!"

She finally broke out and ran over to Sephra, grabbing hold of her inside the mound. I heard a crash behind me, Keothi had been hit by another tree. Melima breathed out more acid at one of the trees that was chasing them, then hurled a glowing orb at it, causing it to wither and blacken. She turned back and kept running away.

I moved directly over the top of my friends, getting a better vantage on the mounds, while staying away from the moving trees. I fired an arrow at the mound that was holding Sephra, then the one that had grabbed Naidaroe. Shooting through the branches towards other plants was harder than I'd thought, but I hit each mound in a spot that made them react.

A huge wave of water crashed down on the mound and moving tree to the west, knocking over the tree with a thunderous crash. The tree itself knocked over another tree. I looked back to see Jörgen with a silly grin on his face. As crazy as he was, he could actually be incredibly useful in a fight.

A flash of purple light called my attention back to my friends being attacked by the mounds. A glowing doorway appeared in the mound, and Sephra stepped into it, pulling Naidaroe with her. Another purple flash beyond where Melima was told me they were safely away.

The mounds and trees started following after our group. One of the mounds reached out at Melima. She dodged out of reach of one mass of vines, but got hit by another. It couldn't hold her though and she got away, running away with the rest of our group.

Everyone had gotten away, so I flew away as well, hovering above my friends. Ari'yasa was nowhere to be seen, but a hummingbird was flying with us, eventually landing on Naidaroe's shoulder. We ran for ten minutes before I felt we were far enough away to be safe.

We stopped to rest, and everyone was looking to the drow that had appeared with us again. "Who are you?" Jörgen asked.

Melima briefly explained how we had met before, and Sephra nodded. "I had some things I had to take care of, but I'm back now, and ready to be involved, if you'll take me back."

"Yeah, of course. We're family!" Melima said. The hummingbird flew over and started picking at Sephra's hair. It flew over to an open spot on the ground, then turned back into Ari'yasa.

I'd noticed at times as we traveled that she didn't have much of anything of value that she wore, but she did have a necklace with something blue inside that she usually kept hidden under her clothes. Sometimes it would pop out, especially after we fought something. That was the case now.

Melima pointed to the necklace. "Hey, what's that?"

Ari'yasa took a deep breath. "Um, this is my mission, my purpose for being. This is the most sacred mission I have been given. Honestly, I don't know what it is. That's why I'm here, to figure it out."

"How do you know that's your mission? Where did it come from?" Melima asked.

"It was given to me by the druids."

"Did they say anything when they gave it to you?"

"I was just told to protect it with my life. It was given to me, but it chose me. It seems to have an entity of its own." Ari'yasa was now clutching it in her hand.

"Does it talk to you?" Melima had moved to the edge of the log she was sitting on.

"It doesn't, but I can feel power coming from it, and I can use it, but we don't know what it's true purpose is, and that's why I roam the continents, looking for its purpose. I was just told to let the Stone guide me, and that's why I'm here."

"What does it say now?" Melima asked.

"It says it's close," Ari'yasa said.

"I wonder if our two missions are related," I said.

"I'm sure they are!" Melima said. "Can we see it? I want to see it."

Ari'yasa looked at the locket in her hand. "I suppose I've been with you long enough to trust you."

She opened the locket, but did not remove the Stone within it. It was a bright blue stone, with several facets on it, perfectly cut. "This Stone has been around for centuries, and it chooses its carrier. But I was told that I would be its last carrier."

"Ooh, what does a carrier do?" Melima asked.

"We protect the Stone, and we keep it secret, and we gather information from around the world that might be relevant to what the Stone's purpose is."

"Is it ancient?" Melima asked. "How old is this thing?"

"We don't know. It's just always been around— as long as our records go back as druids."

"It looks very beautiful, and very well crafted. I've never seen anything so pristine. Who has come after it in the past? What can you do with its power after you've obtained it?"

"I'm not sure who's come after it in its total existence, but I know in the past we've had Dragonborn warlords try to steal it, drow, different creatures from different planes of existence have tried to pry their way into our plane and use it for their purpose. But without knowing what the Stone's true purpose is, it's hard to protect it from every possible outcome.

"So I always have to be guarded and aware of who I'm with and what's going on around me. We have seen though that there are other cultures that have records of a similar Stone, that's why I keep going from place to place, if there's anything that lines up. It seems to be recurrent in different mythology."

"Ari'yasa," I said, " I'm glad you're with us, and I hope that especially since you feel that it's close to what it's supposed to do, I hope we can help you with it. And maybe our missions do align, maybe they're related."

We decided to rest a bit, allowing Jörgen to conjure his familiar again, the bird he kept with him, and allow those who had been hurt to tend to their wounds. I hadn't been injured, so I decided to fly above the trees to get an idea of what was around us, and where we were going.

The day was clear, making it easier to see along the horizon. I could still see the grasslands to the south of us. To the northwest, about a day's journey away, there was a large cropping of trees that were taller than the other trees around them. I guessed that was around the wood elves' territory.

Almost due north was another tree that stood taller than the rest. I'd seen it once before, in a dream. It was white, and the top towered over the rest of the forest. It was still too far away to see in much detail, but I knew that had to be it, the Eternity Tree. My heart leapt with excitement, I was so close! Hopefully we'd be able to find more answers and save the Tree.

I flew back down, so excited I could hardly speak. "Guys, I saw the Tree! I saw the Tree! It's about two or two and a half days away! I couldn't see much of it, but it was so beautiful!"

Ari'yasa looked at Melima. "What does that Tree look like up close?"

"It has branches that are full of large, broad leaves. The trunk is huge, as wide as seven men are tall. The Tree itself is about ten stories high, and of course, it's entirely white." Melima gazed off into the distance.

"How long has it been since you've been home?" Ari'yasa asked.

"Years. I probably haven't been there for...probably ten years."

"Do you think you'll be welcomed back? Do you think your father will be happy to see you? Your siblings?"

"No."

"Not expecting a big welcoming party?"

"I'd said my goodbyes to that party a long time ago. Granted, they said goodbye to me. But it's always been an expectation for me to come back. But who I'm coming back as probably won't be as welcome as when I left."

It was silent again. We'd made it to Fenraas, we were almost to the Tree, but I was starting to realize that being there came with its own set of problems. I'd assumed that Melima would be welcome in Felspring. While she would be welcomed by her family probably more than I would be by mine, it wasn't going to be as happy as I'd imagined.

"Melima," Sephra said, "I have a question for you. Will dad recognize me, will he know?"

"My father is a very perceptive individual, very in tune. He'll maybe know more than he lets on. It probably wouldn't be wise to reveal your identity right off, but you may not be able to hide it. He may already know about you. I don't know. I'm a little bamboozled as well," Melima said.

"I'm pretty positive he doesn't know about me, but should I disguise myself?"

"From what I know about drow," I said, "and my interactions with drow, I wouldn't come into high elf territory as Drow. Like, even me as a mix between wood elf and high elf, I'm still very nervous about this whole thing. And I'm not hated amongst both of them."

"What was it like for you to grow up as a mix between the two Elven nations?" Sephra asked me.

"I grew up among humans. I hardly ever had interactions with elves, so to me, it was just normal. I just recently, within the past month or two, realized how strange I am. Like, you and I are probably both one of a kind," I said.

"Melima, how do you feel with me going in and around your family potentially? How do you feel about it as my half-sister?" Sephra asked.

"Ugh, politics," Melima said. "Let me just explain something to you guys, because maybe you don't know, and it's becoming more and more important to what's going on. I was first in line to the throne, and studied my entire life to fill that role. That's why my intellect is so high, that's why I have the influence that I do with my family. But within recent years there has been a discovery of my deep-rooted bloodline, which is Draconic, that's where my magic comes from, that's where my ability to be a sorcerer stems from, but it disqualifies me from being queen, from taking my father's place.

"So within the past thirty years I started manifesting these genetic mutations that have segregated me from my family, it has separated me from being rightful heir, it has caused a rift between me and my family, fighting through tradition versus progressive politics.

"I don't see myself as a very different person, but within the past couple of years my personality has begun to change, my abilities have begun to shift, and I'm thoroughly convinced that I will still rule. I'm trying, that's my goal and prerogative, but for the time being, I was—not kicked out—but I was politely asked to leave. It was, 'you're causing problems. You're making waves and we need you to go or you will be banished,' type of thing."

She told us about the note her father gave her, that she'd already shown me, and what he said as she left, about doing it to protect her. She said that her relationship with her brother hadn't really been harmed, but she was still annoyed that he was now the heir to the throne.

"So, Melima, do you have any questions about me?" Sephra asked.

"Your existence most definitely changes the game. The reality that I'm not the firstborn. I don't know what that makes you, and if my father doesn't know that you exist, there is a lot of politics there," Melima said.

"It's kind of awkward for you to claim your birthright if you're not really the oldest," Ari'yasa agreed.

"I know. And is it even something that you can claim? Or is that something you want?" Melima said.

Sephra shook her head. "I don't want the throne. And as a drow, half-drow, I don't think that would be something I would be able to claim."

"Like I said, the politics are all— I would go in disguise. I would not reveal your identity yet. Not until we get a better understanding of what the political climate is, and also how on earth to broach this topic, and what the future holds for the two...all of our civilizations, all the world. I think this is gonna be a lot bigger than Tawariell's and mine, and your people. I'm starting to feel that it's affecting a lot more."

Silence rested upon us for several minutes. Things were starting to feel more real. Then we began to talk about what brought us together, what we were each seeking to do. Keothi still sought to fight the dragon that had destroyed his tribe, once we were skilled enough. Naidaroe just wanted adventure, and now that she'd been with us for so long she vowed to be loyal.

Ari'yasa was following her Stone, but had some other things she wanted to do in the desert when she was able to, though our mission with the Tree was most important. Jörgen didn't really know what he was doing, his only knowledge of his life before his accident came from his journal, which only had some vague information about his two great enemies, Morgoth— Lord of the Dark and Master of Shadows, and Bargeth— who had outrageous prices and was a jerk at bargaining.

I looked at Sephra. "How did you get here? Be glad I didn't shoot you this time!"

Everyone else started shouting out similar questions. Where had she been for the past two weeks? When the chatter died down, she finally spoke. "Like I'd said earlier, I'd had kind of a traumatic experience that happened to me, which pulled me away from the group I was following.

"I'm not quite a cleric, but I was dating one, and I was part of a religious group and we were rebuilding temples, and the love of my life died. I didn't know where I wanted to go at that point. I didn't really feel like I wanted to keep following that group, so when I heard that you were around the area that I was in, I took a chance to find you.

"Being a part of this is confusing for me, because there was a moment where I thought that I had made the wrong choice, so I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to be involved with you for a minute, so I took a step away, and I was following you this whole time, just under my disguise, to see if I really wanted to continue this path that I chose. And I am one-hundred percent committed, and I'm sorry I took a step back. I hope you can forgive me."

Everyone welcomed her back, and we finished mending wounds and snacking on some berries I'd found. I'd been a little worried that Sephra had been involved with followers of Loltha, but remembered she'd told us before that she followed the Everlight.

With a couple of hours of daylight remaining, I flew up again to get a heading, and we started north again, turning just slightly to the west.