"Varian!"

His heart pounded as he was led to the mirror. Always the mirror.

"Varian!"

He lifted his hand to wipe the dust off when...

"Varian." He felt someone shake him, and he groggily let out a groan in annoyance. His dream always led him to the same place, and he knew that looking into that mirror is important, but why? Why was it important?

"Varian, son of Quirin." The voice shook him one last time before he slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, only to be greeted by the half red face of Adira.

In an instant, he sat up and grinned, "Adira!" He opened his arms, about to hug her, but quickly let them fall, knowing that she didn't like to be touched. "What..?" he trailed off, feeling something sticky and wet seeping into his clothes. He touched it with his gloved hand and brought it to his nose only to turn and gag from the stench.

"Druips." Adira said, pointing above her, "they nest in the highest part of the trees and then swing down on their long tails to gobble up their prey. You." She walked over to the tree and carved a circle on it.

"What? But how? I was...what..?" He gasped, still not comprehending, slowly getting to his feet with the help of Eden.

"Oh, you fell through a land pit and were instantly attacked. I saved you." She turned back to him, "You're welcome."

"Oh, um, thank you." He scratched the back of his head only to wince when feeling the same slime on his head.

She took out her map and hummed to herself, "Alright. Follow me, Hairstripe."

"Wait. shouldn't I get cleaned off first?" He gestured to himself, causing her to frown and shake her head.

"It's best not to waste any time." She looked up at the trees again and closed her eyes, "The forest has changed, it's more dangerous." She turned to look at Varian again, "Which means you were stupid to come here alone." She shook her head, "fortunately, I found you so that I can take you out of the Forest of No Return. And I don't have laryngitis this time!" She pumped her fists in the air as she leads him down a pathway.

He stayed where he was for a moment, before grabbing Eden's reins and followed the zealous member of the brotherhood.

It was surprisingly quiet as they walked. Now and then, Adira would stop him and point him in a new direction, but she stayed silent. Not even a single story of how she defeated the Druip and saved his life. He was worried.

"So, Adira…" he started, watching the woman in front of him. "How is the dark kingdom?"

"Very well, King Edmund brought peace and prosperity to the kingdom." She cut a vine with her sword, stopped in her tracks, looked at her map before going in a different direction.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, shifting his bag on his shoulder. "You seem quiet."

She eyed him and then looked in front of her again, "I'm waiting."

"For what?" He asked, baffled, causing her to roll her eyes and keep walking down the path the map told her.

He fidgeted with his bag strap and let out a sigh, "Corona was overthrown." He kicked a stone, only to jump back when it hissed at him.

"I know this." She said as they continued.

He nodded and swallowed hard, "I'm nervous about what will happen when I return...what I will find." He finally voiced out loud, swallowing hard. "What everyone will think of me…"

"Is that why you broke out in song?" she turned to look at Varian, "You have a nice voice." She complimented, "I too have a nice voice, but I don't sing my feelings."

He chuckled awkwardly, feeling embarrassed that she heard that. He shrugged, "It's a Corona thing."

She stopped and pulled Varian away from a purple bush with green flowers. "Wahrheitsblume." She pointed at it, "the Truth Flower, if you are close to it, you have to tell the truth if you want to or not."

"Oh! I heard about this! It is the main ingredient for my truth serum, incredibly hard to harvest." He looked closer to it, excited, "I caused chaos with it, and I haven't been able to recover from the guilt." He covered his mouth quickly.

Adira looked at the young man and grabbed Eden's reins from him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and pushed him away from the plant.

After a few minutes have passed and the awkwardness subsided, he looked at Adira. "I'm sure you are wondering why I'm here."

"Not really." She looked down at him, "I know what happened because your father asked me to watch out for you. He was worried, especially when Old Corona was attacked."

Varian stopped in his tracks, his breathing getting heavier as he realized that not only did they take Corona but also his village, his home. "Is...is he okay?" He asked, a tremble in his voice. If something happened to his dad...well, there was nothing that could stop him from killing Andrew. People saw him as the dark, former villain, after all, they shouldn't be surprised if he-

Adira grabbed him again and moved him away from a black flower with red thorns. Those tend to amplify fear, guilt, and negative emotions, and from the look on the man's face, she knew it was best he stayed away from those.

"Your father has been captured. Since you were gone, he is the only one that knew how to craft those water tanks of yours." She walked ahead of him, her hands behind her back. "That is why King Blonde Beard agreed to Manbun's plan."

"He wanted my tanks?" He asked surprised and a little flattered that a king wanted to go to war over hot, running water, but also disgusted that they took his dad.

She nodded, "In exchange, the Saporians have access to his army and armory." She stopped and turned to face him suddenly, causing him to stumble back. "They may be the face of this fight, but there is something more dark and evil pulling the strings of this attack. Let out all your feelings now, because you don't want them to weigh you down when it is time to face your destiny." She pulled back a wall of vines and showed the missing swamp.

She walked over to a large tree and started to chop it down so they could get across.

"Adira…" he trailed off and then looked up at her, "Will you help me fight to set Corona free?"

"That is what I was waiting for." She turned to him and smiled proudly, "and yes."

He broke out in a grin and helped Eden and Ruddiger onto the makeshift bridge. "Thank you, Adira."

"I know. I'm awesome. Go me!" She cheered, "tell Short Hair I said, "hi."

Varian watched as the woman turned around and back into the Forest of No Return. His aunt was sure something.

He turned and jumped up on the tree, following his animal friends. He was one step closer to finding Cass. He sniffed himself and winced.

After a good bath, of course.