Puzzle Solved
Bloom's walking through a familiar forest on Earth, hoping that just because it's been two years it doesn't mean she'll have to go through Sibylla's tests once again - especially since this time she doesn't have four evil people in tow.
Are you seriously going to go ask these so-called Major Fairies if they know of this Elder?
Bloom patiently says "Eldora, Brunhilde. Her name's Eldora. And, yes, I am. They've been on Earth for a while, they might have some kind of clue. Besides, Diana's the Fairy of Nature here on Earth. She might have a clue about this flower."
Loki's voice suddenly sounds in her ear instead of Brunhilde's - is the woman drinking even now? - and says Best of luck, Bloom. I've still found no trace of her.
Bloom conjures up a small handful of fire and starts shaping it as she walks through the cave system, making her way first to the decidedly empty room where they first met Sibylla and then through the massively winding system all the way out to a hidden garden. Sibylla's there alright, along with Ogron, Diana, Anagan, Aurora, and Gantlos.
By the time she finds them, she's shaped and reshaped the ball of fire in her fingers into a small version of the dragon she can summon, a butterfly, etc. - even Belle, at one point. And none of them notice her, and so everyone jumps a good foot and a half in the air when she clears her throat - Aurora going bright red, how is that even possible for her?
After a minute, Gantlos finally says "You are too damn quiet sometimes, Bloom. When did you get here?"
"Just now." They can all tell she's fighting hard not to smirk, and Ogron can feel wave after wave of amusement rolling off her - at least she doesn't say anything about the fact. Or about the fact that she was right.
Sibylla finds her voice first and asks "What brings you back here, Bloom? Seeking protection from someone?"
"Me? No. Though you may well find four witches frantically coming here if they knew about that fact. I have a question, and we can't find an answer. Eldora, she's supposed to have gone somewhere where her favorite flower grows. Problem is, Flora doesn't know what the flower is or where it grows. I was hoping you recognized the name or flower."
She produces the flower for them, but even Diana doesn't recognize it - and none of them know Eldora's name. Gantlos smirks and asks "Your looking for a fairy on Earth? Usually they're back in Magix."
"Her diary was in the library of Alexandria, this mystery flower was in China. This woman knows how to get around. Or she's dead. She'd better not be dead. And somehow I know this flower from somewhere, but I don't know how or where from, and it's literally our only lead to the woman as I've gone through her diary a dozen times cover to cover with no mention of anywhere she found a field of these things. The rest of the girls are-"
Her phone suddenly buzzes, and Flora's excited voice comes out of it when she answers. "Yeah? What? How could there be a greenhouse in Alfea without you knowing about it? She freaking worked there?! Well, that would explain how the place was hidden for so long. Wait, Mrs. Griffin's back to her usual, human self? That's good news, at least. And the three students the Trix turned into frogs, hm? Yay, at least now we have that." She starts pacing as she talks on the phone, and they can hear Flora's excitement-filled voice when the topic turns back to this mysterious greenhouse - who knew?
She eventually shifts the phone to her shoulder and makes another fireball in her hand - that's a lot more worrisome until she starts shaping it like clay somehow, must be part of her powers. She finally hangs up the phone and lets out a long, frustrated sigh - she's got literally no leads on finding this woman other than a flower that none of them can identify, and even where to find it is just out of reach for her, no wonder she looks stressed. Or maybe that's because the Trix and their new friend keep trying to kill her.
Aurora asks "What are you doing?" At her questioning look, Aurora points her hands that are still working at the ball of fire.
"What, this? Old habit of mine, been doing it since I was about seven. One of the lighter parts of having fire powers." The fireball in her hand turns into a bird, flies up, and then explodes in a burst of embers - doesn't seem to help Bloom's headache though.
She turns the flower upside down and rubs her temples, likely so it won't get caught in her hair, and takes a deep breath - and her eyes snap open suddenly, flashing orange with recognition. "I've smelled this thing before?!"
She immediately buries her face in it and takes a long sniff, then starts nonstop talking to keep her freight-train sized thought going. "Gardenia, I've smelled this in Gardenia before. Not when I was flying, not on my rare walks around the city…" She starts pacing faster and harder than she was while she was talking, and they all swear she's gotten warmer than the last time they saw her - physically warmer, like her magic is bubbling just under the surface of her skin.
That theory proves to be very likely true when she suddenly catches fire as she points to Diana and says "Wait, when you attacked Gardenia, you made a spider grow into this monstrously big version of itself. We had to teleport it deep into the forest outside Gardenia. We were so busy trying not to get poisoned, webbed to a tree, or just speared by its legs, I wasn't paying much attention to the area, but…SHE LIVES IN THE FOREST NEAR GARDENIA!" They can see the fire around her burning higher and higher as her thoughts run too fast to track, this would be part of the reason she's so hard to fight - she can think up an entire plan in a few moments if she's got the inspiration, apparently.
All three Wizards are wondering just how they missed so much about her at first though, such as how magic seems to define everything she does, in one way or another. They suddenly notice a man in black leather armor leaning against a wall - when did Loki get in here? Gantlos, Aurora, Diana, and Sibylla don't recognize him, but Bloom seems to know he's standing there. At their alarmed and questioning looks, he smirks at them - exactly like Bloom can, now they know who she learned it from - and passes his hand through the rock wall. He's not really there, just keeping his sister company - no wonder she can tell when people are scrying her, she's had plenty of experience.
Bloom suddenly jerks and goes still, then yells "Stay here!" and takes off at a full sprint down the cave passage.
When Bloom disappears, Sibylla asks "Who are you? And how did you get in here?"
Amusement is a mile thick in his voice as he says "I'm her brother. Ask them if you want the full story, they know it." He then disappears, likely so he can get back to where Bloom is.
Diana says "Well, looks like your story of how fast she can run is true, she was like a bolt of lightning!"
Anagan says "Yeah, and she was holding back on Pyros. Probably so she knew I'd get back to her cave in one piece - because I had no clue where it was."
It's an unspoken agreement that they follow Bloom - Sibylla has to protect her home, for one. Of course, moments later, they feel the caves protective magic surge unexpectedly - what the heck followed Bloom this time and is going to attempt to kill her? They'll just stay inside the mouth of the cave, because otherwise Bloom will likely slap them all upside the head for being so idiotic as to put themselves in the danger that constantly follows her around.
Of course, the manage to catch up with her halfway through the caves - she's healing a few of the Rustic Fairies, a few injured Rustic Fairies. One is covered in rapidly-healing burns, the other Bloom hasn't gotten to yet - but the burns look different, and they can all feel dark magic coming from them.
Bloom finishes with the first and starts inspecting the second fairy. "Wish I could say I didn't know who did this."
Sibylla says "You know what happened. Who's out there." It's not a question, Bloom told them to stay inside before they knew anything was wrong.
"I've been playing with fire since I was five, I know what a burn looks like. And I know my own powers better than anyone else - so I know their opposite. This is gonna suck so bad before it gets better." Sure enough, when she starts glowing orange and puts her hands on the purple-black burns, the Rustic Fairy starts screaming like Bloom's burning her alive - even as the injuries are slowly fading, who's out there?
Sibylla says "The Water Stars wouldn't do this to my fairies."
"No, the Water Stars are safely secured in the Golden Kingdom. They wouldn't affect your fairies whatsoever, Sibylla - they'd just have me throwing up, unconscious, or dead by now if this was them."
"You said the 'opposite' of your powers. That's the Water Stars."
"Think of a coin. Two sides, light and dark. I'm light. Guess who's dark."
They suddenly feel another surge of magic, and then hear a roar just as the Rustic Fairy Bloom's healing stops screaming and thrashing in agony. Loki and Bloom share a, alarmed look, and Bloom takes off at a full sprint. None of the others know what to do, but Sibylla immediately asks Loki "Who's out there? What happened? And what exactly did Bloom mean?"
"The first, someone who should be and was dead is out there. Likely two people." The accent that's unnoticeable in Bloom's voice most of the time is strong in Loki's, and then they realize they just never noticed it because they weren't listening for it - didn't know what to listen for, really.
One of the Rustic Fairies says "Two beings, a man and a giant made of fire. The giant said to…bring forth the Eternal Flame so Ragnarok can begin, whatever that means. The man, he said stuff that actually made sense. He's…he's after Bloom." She then passes out again, and Loki's eyes widen before he suddenly disappears the same way Bloom lets illusions go.
When they get out there, they find Bloom standing stock-still in front of the entrance to the cave, facing a giant apparently made entirely out of fire with two massive horns jutting from its forehead and a man with long red-blonde hair and a purple coat that goes to his ankles.
AN: So sorry about the wait! Had a lot of school stuff happening - plus I'm going to start a new story soon! No worries, still going to work on this one - but I got some inspiration for a story for Pillars of Eternity, and you all know me and my need to fanfic any and every idea that pans out for me! Case in point, chapter 278 being posted right now. At any rate, can anyone guess who the giant is? Dropped enough hints by now. FInd out next chapter - along with the battle to end all battles between Dragonfires! Bloom vs. Valtor, the dragon vs. the demon! Wondering just how much I'm going to taunt and mess with him? Read on, find out next chapter! And if the Trix were hoping Bloom would lose her cool - figuratively and magically - they are going to be as sore as the time they froze Bloom's parents - extremely - in terms of 'sorely disappointed.' Enjoy! Hope you all keep reading. GOod news, school lets out in the beginning of May - at this point, expect more regular and frequent updates starting around May 5 or so. Enjoy, please review! Got one hysterical idea for Rumpelstiltskin - no spoilers though.