Recap: "Ma serannas, Keeper Marethari." For the first since he woke up, Aedan felt like he was accepted into the clan.
Now
It has been a week since that night. Aedan had taken to helping out the clan with what he could whether it was hunting, gathering or crafting something for them while at night he would sit and talk about where he had been to which had caught the interest of the elven children over the adults. His magic had also come in handy, particularly his healing powers which had been increased in both strength and number. He figured it was due to his sprints since he had never been able to perform such spells before. In fact, he was sure that the knowledge to do his new spells came from Prudence, his spirit of wisdom. One such example was when he had been able to cast a spell that allowed his very presence to heal the wounded.
At first, it was slight. So much so that Aedan hadn't even noticed it until some of the wounded elves started to stand at the same time. Everyone had thought that it was due to their Keeper and First's efforts but Marethari saw through it and quickly shot that down. Apparently, she had noticed that Aedan seemed particularly... radiant when he was healing the others and she could feel the magical aura emanating from him when she got near. They eventually found out that it was a technique that went by the name of Cleansing Aura or Healing Aura. Basically, it is an ability that allows the caster to make their presence into a healing area that speeds and enhances healing on those nearby. Everyone started thanking Aedan who accepted it modestly.
What Marethari didn't say was that it was a spell that could be only be cast by a mage with a spirit aiding them. She knew that something was off about the seth'lin that had been brought back to them. Now she knew why. He had a spirit helping him. She decided not to bring any attention to it since Aedan seemed to be in control for the moment, but it would only be so long. Unlike the Circle of Magi, the Dalish did not see the difference between demon and spirit. Both came from the Beyond and both were dangerous. Though Aedan didn't seem to have become an era'harel, a demon-mage, Marethari resolved to keep a close eye on him. An opportunity to do so presented itself when Aedan came up to her and Merrill one day.
Two days after the Despair Demon attack
Marethari was watching as Merrill was trying her hardest to use a spell called One with Nature. Even though the clan was still recovering from their battle with Reaper and his students, and had the addition of Aedan helping out, that was no excuse for Merrill to not practice her spells, hence why they were here training.
It is an old spell that Keepers have used for centuries. Supposedly, the keeper's bond with the earth creates a defensive shield that immobilizes the keeper for as long as this spell is active, but inflicts some minor damage and immobilizes any enemy that enters the field. The field itself is made up of multiple long roots which reach 5 meters in diameter. So far though, Merrill was only able to make the roots to about 1 meter. After a few hours of trying to make the field bigger with little to no success Merrill threw her arms up in frustration.
"Keeper, I can't do this! Shouldn't we be doing something else, like, I don't know, helping the clan? We would get more progress doing that. Anything would be more productive than this!" Merrill huffed. Marethari sighed at her First's frustration. This must have been why she was unable to make the roots longer.
"Da'len, this is helping the clan. You furthering your skills as a First is important. You are to be the next Keeper, the guide and leader, of our clan when I go to take the din'anshiral." At this Merrill frowned. She never liked it when her Keeper spoke of herself dying. Merrill opened her mouth to voice her discomfort when someone cut into the conversation.
"She is right you know." Both turned to the owner of the voice to see Aedan walking up to them clad in a rough hide set of leather armor. The beige coloring of his torso piece was marred with blood worrying the two women.
"Aedan, what happened to you?" Merrill asked about ready to start looking him over for wounds. Marethari merely watched him intently, noticing the redness starting to color his face. She also noticed that while he looked relatively unharmed, the yew longbow that he was using looked ready to be snapped in half while there were what appeared to be claw marks on his armor.
"Well, I had been out hunting with Tamlen and Lyna when a pack wolves ambushed us. Before you go asking... Tamlen and Lyna are fine. A bit scraped up like me, but fine. The wolves have certainly been better though." He spoke when he saw Merrill about to ask about the condition of her two friends. "Anyway, one of the wolves managed sneak up from behind while I was distracted and knocked me to the ground. Instead of getting my throat it got my bow." He held up his bow for emphasis showing Merrill the crack in it. "As for the reason I'm bloody, that would be because I had managed to grab one of my arrows and stab the wolf in the neck."
Merrill looked at him in awe while Marethari kept looking him over with a studious eye. She knew that wolf had to have clawed him where his armor wasn't protecting him, mainly his head and upper arms. Yet she saw no claw marks, not even a smidgeon of blood to say otherwise. Could the spirits have healed him? Aedan seemed to have noticed her gaze and replied with a curious look of his own.
"What? Do I have blood on my face?" He asked as he wiped his face for any blood that may be on it. Marethari merely shook her head.
"No, I'm just curious as to why you've decided to join us." She replied. No need to let him know she was on to him.
"Hmmm? Oh! Just wanted to see how a Dalish magic differs from what we're taught in the Circle. I'm sorry, was I interrupting?" Merrill shook her head no while Marethari was about to respond with a yes before she stopped herself. A thought entered her mind. What if Aedan could help Merrill with learning magic? Granted he didn't know about any magic that the Keeper's do but his insight into other aspects could be useful.
"You may watch. If you wish, you can even help give Merrill some pointers." Merrill turned to her teacher in bewilderment at the sudden change. As far as she knew, Marethari didn't exactly let people interfere with her lessons, but then again she didn't have another mage in the camp before.
"Thank you." Aedan said as he walked away to a tree, giving them some space. Merrill resumed her attempts to use her earlier spell and was met with the same results as before. Aedan studied the First as she got more and more frustrated with each time she tried. Marethari merely stated the same thing really which wasn't that helpful for Merrill. Aedan observed her for a while, having taken a while to figure out what she was trying to do when he saw the roots on the ground.
"Keeper Marethari, would you mind if I try something out?" Aedan asked. Marethari looked at him, wondering what he had in mind. She nodded wanting to see what he would do. Aedan walked over to Merrill who turned meek when Aedan's scrutinizing gaze was upon her before he looked down.
"Merrill, take off your boots." Both Keeper and First looked at him bewildered.
"I'm sorry?" Merrill asked wondering if she heard wrong. What could her boots have to with it? Were they stopping her magic somehow? Were they actually not boots at all? More and more thoughts began to fly in her head as they got crazier and crazier with each one.
Marethari's thoughts had been on the same track as her First's but more calm and collected. What was Aedan trying to do? What could Merrill taking her boots off accomplish?
"Humor me." Merrill's eyes narrowed at him, thinking he was making a joke. She's had a stressful day of training and gaining absolutely nothing! The last thing she needed was to be made fun!
"What? Are my feet some sort of joke to you? Is that it? Ooh, Merrill can't pull off a spell so she can be teased! Can you even do it?" Aedan wasn't fazed as he let Merrill continue on her rant for the next 3 minutes before he silenced her... with his own spell. Roots and vines exploded around his feet, wrapping around them until it looked like his feet were roots. The roots themselves wrapped around Merrill's feet too causing her to panic and topple onto her backside. Marethari having been surprised by Aedan's display moved quickly out of the roots' reach. Once the roots stopped growing, Marethari looked at them and was stunned. Aedan's was at least twice as wide as her's! She could get 5 meters maybe 6, but Aedan was reaching 10 easily.
"H-H-H-How d-d-did you do that?!" Merrill stuttered out still in shock. Marethari wished to know that as well. How did Aedan, who hasn't met any Dalish Clans till now, be able to use this spell? Did the spirits know it? Did he practice it in the Circle? Even if Dahlia told him about it, she wouldn't have taught him, would she?
"I've spent the last two years training my talents out in the wilderness. Some of them I stumbled upon like this spell here. Now, are you going to listen?" Merrill nodded. Aedan deactivated his spell allowing Merrill to stand up and place all of her focus on him with Marethari watching closely. Aedan gestured to Merrill's feet making her eyes widen in realization. She scrambled to get them off and soon enough they were off her feet and out of the way.
"Okay, I want you to feel the ground with your feet. Close your eyes and tell me what you feel." Merrill did so and focused on the feelings in her feet.
"I feel the grass and the dirt underneath it."
"What does it feel like?" Aedan asked making Marethari think over what he had Merrill doing.
"The grass feels soft and the dirt feels loose. It's kind of warm too." Merrill replied. "Wait, there's a-a tingling feeling now. What is this?"
"That tingling feeling is the nature magic imbedded in the ground." Aedan informed making Marethari's eyes widen in realization. This must have been how Aedan 'stumbled upon' this spell! "Now, I want you to focus on that feeling. Trace it with your magic until you come to the source."
Aedan waited for her to do so. She was slow but steady in her tracing of the magic. Aedan kept a sense out just in case. Aedan had learned the hard way that if one did this incorrectly, you could be trapping yourself, or worse, by accident. He was lucky that he had some help back then. He was brought out of his nostalgia when he noticed that the roots under Merrill began to wrap themselves around her feet and further out away from her.
1 meter
2 meters
3 meters
4 meters
...and they stopped. Both of Marethari's eyebrows raised at seeing Merrill's spell nearly complete itself. In her youth, she had been training with this spell for months just to get it to where Merrill had who had only been trying it for a few weeks now! It wasn't complete, but it was still a massive improvement from earlier. Merrill's eyes snapped open. She had a sparkle in her eyes at seeing how much progress she made. Suddenly, the roots disappeared. Merrill's expression turned to shock and almost whiny within seconds.
"Where did they go? What happened?" She asked making both Keeper and half-blood sigh.
"You need to keep your concentration on the roots, Da'len. If you don't, then the roots will disappear and you'll be left helpless against close combatants." Marethari explained. Merrill nodded and tried again with renewed vigor.
"I'd recommend that you keep practicing without any footwear, Merrill. They'll help you with your nature spells." Aedan said as he began to walk away towards the camp. Merrill opened her mouth to ask Aedan to stay, but closed it, thinking the Keeper wouldn't let him stay. Marethari, seeing her First's sullen expression, sighed.
"Aedan, stay with us won't you? Merrill seems to benefit from your presence seeing as you know some spells of a Keeper." She spoke making Aedan stop and turn to her while Merrill's head to snap up. Why would Marethari want an outsider to help with her training? She didn't think to long since she became happy that Aedan would stay.
"I'm afraid I'll be of little use. I only know that one spell." Aedan replied making Merrill's happy feeling go away. Marethari looked at him curiously. He was able to use that spell to that degree yet he had gone no further? The spirit was obviously enhancing his powers, but not much else. She wondered if... making her decision, she spoke.
"Then you will train alongside Merrill for today. Maybe having a partner will motivate her to keep improving her gifts." Marethari's statement shocked both of the young adults. After a minute of thinking it over, Aedan nodded before taking his place beside Merrill. And so the training went on.
The next day...
Aedan had shown that he was a fast learner as he was easily able to advance his spell to use thorn-blades. Merrill had looked at him with jealousy with roots shot out from the ground around him and pierced a tree in front of him. He had managed to help her with achieving and maintaining her One With Nature spell, but it would be some time before she would be able to use thorn-blades. Marethari later told Aedan that she wouldn't be able to teach him the final spell, Nature's Vengeance, to him since it was too dangerous to use so near the camp or in the vicinity for that matter.
Marethari may have embellished a little. She and Merrill, if she had the ability, could do it, but with Aedan's powers at their current scale, she feared of what he would be capable of if he knew it. Even the thorn-blades spell he used was stronger than her's considering it was meant to stay in the area and not be directed at a single target.
Seeing he couldn't really train with them, Aedan went to spending more time with Tamlen and Lyna. They usually were helping the clan out by hunting game or gathering herbs and other things. Today, he had taken to sparring with Tamlen.
Aedan was using his two enchanted daggers that were given to him by Teyrn Bryce Cousland while Tamlen was using a Dar'Misaan and a Dalish shield. Tamlen was using precise striking against him at times to which he would dodge. After that Aedan would try to score a hit by dual-striking which Tamlen would block. The spar would then turn toward archery. Aedan had managed to get a different bow for himself. It was a dalish longbow this time that he bought from Master Ilen. The wood that was used to craft it was whitewood, though the craftsman mentioned that he did want the bow back at some point and that Aedan should fashion a bow for himself soon. So here he was firing arrows at targets with Tamlen in a healthy competition.
It had gone well so far, though Tamlen was giving him strange looks every now and then. Finally, Aedan had enough when they got half-way through.
"Okay, what is with you?" Tamlen looked at him, missing his target and hitting the tree behind it.
"What do you mean?" Aedan nocked an arrow, aimed and let loose, scoring a bullseye.
"You've been glancing and giving me these weird looks since breakfast. If there is something you want to ask me, please ask. These glances are starting to get creepy." Tamlen fired an arrow which hit right beside his.
"There's nothing on my mind. It's your imagination." Aedan could practically smell the lie that came out of Tamlen's mouth before he spoke.
"Really?" Came the mocking reply, showing he didn't believe it for a second. He fired another arrow at a new target.
"Yeah, really." Tamlen's arrow was further from the center than before. The two continued for a few more minutes in silence before Tamlen spoke again.
"If I were to have something on my mind involving you... and quite possibly someone else, could I tell you about it?" This time Aedan's arrow was the one that missed. He looked at Tamlen with a dumbfounded expression.
"That would depend on who the other person is." Aedan said slowly. He didn't know what Tamlen was getting at, but he was starting to feel a little uncomfortable with the direction it was going. Tamlen lowered his bow and seemed reluctant to speak, but Aedan could see a faint red dusting his cheeks. Then a thought entered Aedan's mind about the other person who Tamlen thought about. 'No, it couldn't be...'
"This wouldn't happen to involve our silver-haired friend would it?" Aedan asked starting to have an inkling of what was going on. The faint red deepened greatly at his question making Aedan want to groan in annoyance. He knew Tamlen had feelings for Lyna. He knew it the second he saw the two together. Tamlen had the same look he knew he himself had when looking at Elissa.
Out of their entire age group, Tamlen and another elf named Fenarel were the closest male elves to Lyna's age. Tamlen had obviously been closer to her since they were kids so he was most likely to catch her interest. Not to mention that Tamlen had some very strong feelings for her. And now with the appearance of someone new, strong and obviously unique, Tamlen felt threatened. Tamlen was now doing his best to not look Aedan in the eyes making the elf-blooded sigh.
"Lyna is a beauty. There's no question." His statement made Tamlen's eyes snap in his direction with a mixture of fear, betrayal, and some anger too. Aedan held his hand him in a halting motion to stave off the incoming tirade, "Let me finish. I can see why you like her; She's beautiful, strong, fast, smart and whiz with a bow and arrow if yesterday's hunt was any indication. But, I have no personal feelings toward her that pass friendship."
Tamlen's look calmed down considerably at his words, "Now personally, I'm rooting for you and her. And I'm willing to assist you if you want." Tamlen looked at him with wide eyes for a moment before giving a short laugh. At Aedan's curious look he explained.
"I feel like such an idiot. I've been worrying about you two for last few days, and now here I am getting possible advice from you. Okay, I'll here you out. What can I do?" Aedan chuckled before turning serious.
"Alright. The way I see it you and Lyna have been friends since you were children, right?" Tamlen nodded.
"Well, there's our biggest obstacle." Tamlen gave him a bewildered look prompting him to explain, "Right now she looks at you as if you were a friend or brother. She already knows you are reliable and an experienced hunter, so you're good on that front. So what we need to do is make you look less like a brother and more like a potential partner."
"And how do you propose I do that? This is already sounding impossible." Tamlen said sounding frustrated at the thought of doing that. Aedan rolled his eyes.
"It won't be that difficult. Look, who knows Lyna better than you?"
"Ashalle, Mahariel's guardian." Aedan paused for a moment before he started pacing, thinking. 'That's right. Lyna does have a guardian, and a woman guardian at that. Some one who would be willing to listen to all things she wouldn't feel comfortable talking about to her best friend. That could be an opening!'
"We may have an informant of sorts. You could ask Ashalle about anything that Lyna wants or needs. You do know what her favorite things are, correct? Like flowers and interests?" Tamlen nodded again.
"Of course."
"Well, here's what I think you should do..." Aedan would then tell Tamlen his ideas that the hunter would later use in an attempt to woo their mutual friend with some manner of success. Tamlen would find these opportunities the most when he, Lyna and Aedan would go out to get things for the clan and Aedan would suddenly split from the two and go on his own. Eventually, he would have Lyna blushing from his honest, but somewhat distant, compliments until Aedan would come back with nearly twice as much things as they did.
Flashback Over
Due to Aedan's efforts, the clan was able to get back on its feet easily. However, people were still in pain even after the funerals. This pain would be eased by Aedan as well.
Ever since waking up, he found himself doing what he would've hesitated on doing or only think about doing. He could feel some people were hurting. Not physically, but emotionally. He could trace the pain to a loved one who had died in the attack and at times he could swear that he lived the memories of those who were in pain. Upon feeling the person's pain, without thinking about what exactly he was doing, he would walk up to the person and comfort them with a few words. To someone who had lost a loved one, he would say, "They love you. They loved you at the end and they're always going to love you afterwards. As long as you hold onto the memories of all those special times..." And he would bring up one or two memories that the person had with the deceased which in turn brought up more special memories. When he found someone who was mourning a friend, he would bring up something that the person said. At other times he would leave something nearby which would invoke a memory. Each of these seemingly small things things he did, whether by words or actions, seemed to help heal their pain. Gradually, the Clan began to truly recover from the attack that Reaper and his disciples had done those four weeks ago.
Over the week Marethari had kept her eye on Aedan, observing him and his actions carefully. She couldn't help but muse to herself at how Aedan and Reaper were to one another. Both were elf-blooded and of Dalish descent. Both were powerful mages. Both were greatly disliked in human and elven worlds. And both had become abominations. Those similarities had given Marethari more than enough reasons to watch Aedan carefully. Had they been the only things she could see about him, she might have kicked him out earlier or set the whole clan on him, but they weren't the only things she noticed about Aedan and Reaper.
There were more than a few differences too. While both had dealt with people who were less than kind to them, Aedan seemed to be the more reasonable of the two. That meant that Aedan had the kindness to ignore and walk away from the person. Reaper would most likely have killed them. Then there were their goals. From what Aedan had told her, Reaper intended to use his powers to forcibly take control of the country and force humans and elves to get along with each other. While an admirable goal, to which Aedan agreed with, Reaper would kill or enslave others who got in his way to make it happen. Aedan on the other hand seemed to favor diplomacy over force. He believed that they should talk things out in their own way. Another big difference between the two was that they seemed to be reflections of one another, specifically opposites. Before Reaper had left the area, Marethari could sense her nephew's aura had changed into something dark and twisted. No doubt due to becoming an abomination. Aedan however, seemed to be the direct opposite. He gave of an aura of calmness and peace. An aura of light almost.
The situation made Marethari wonder if there was some plan going on with how the two seth'lin's fates seemed intertwined. How alike they were, yet so different. She shook her head, silently chastising herself for thinking such ludicrous ideas. As she continued to watch out for him, she noticed that he had gotten friends in the forms of Lyna, Merrill, and Tamlen. While it was obvious that the girls seemed more comfortable speaking to him, Marethari could see that things were still somewhat tense between Aedan and Tamlen. Tamlen's sudden change in attitude had surprised the Clan. The day before the demon attack, Tamlen had been one of those who had distrusted Aedan the most. Now he was perfectly fine with Aedan being around, but there was still some underlying tension between the two. But then she would see him give a wink to Tamlen who'd make a slight nod. Why?
She didn't have time to think on this more as Aedan had come up with a request to study the Tome earlier. When she questioned him on why, he responded that she was still busy with her duties as Keeper and with Merrill being bogged down helping her, he might be the only one who could read the book and find a way to close the rift. Marethari could see the logic in his reasoning and she knew he was capable. His knowledge of her culture along with what he has read in that Mage's Tower he had talked about could very well help him find what they needed in the book. Even if they managed to leave the forest, the rift would pose a constant danger to the area which was frequented by other Dalish Clans aside from her own. She had given him permission to look through it on the condition he would leave the book with them when he was finished with it. Aedan had agreed whole-heartedly.
Now here they were with Aedan's research having paid off, walking through the forest towards the fade rift. Aedan, Marethari and Merrill were accompanied by several warriors including Lyna and Tamlen. While Lyna and Tamlen were garbed in their hunter armor, the rest of the warriors had donned green elvish armor with a Dar'Misaan and two Dar'Misu strapped to their backs along with a shield that matched their armor. Apparently these fighters were called Solis Warriors. From what Aedan could tell, they were meant to be the elite warriors of the clan who have mastered the sword and shield as well as dual wielding. What distinguished them as Solis Warriors must have been the armor, shields and the type of metal their weapons were made out of.
Master Ilen had told him that the armor was made to look like that of which the ancient elves had used however the techniques and metal he used in fashioning the armor differed greatly from that of their ancient ancestors. He created the armor and shields using veridium hence why they were green. Their weapons however had been created using white steel which was actually much better metal. Aedan had asked the Craftsman why he had not made the armor out of it. Ilen and responded by saying that he did not have enough material to make it and what he had left over would only make simple arms or partial armor. Seeing an opportunity, Aedan made a request about some armor he needed fashioned. He offered what he could in recompense with Ilen accepting it, saying he'd have it ready soon. That was four days ago.
Speaking of outfits, Aedan was pleased to see that the Keeper and her First were taking this seriously. Marethari was wearing green and regal looking Keeper vestments. It looked as if her robes were made out of plants as well as cloth. She seemed to be wearing some kind of golden chain around her torso as well as some leather armor covering her. Her robes were blue with gold vines embroidered on them. Her staff looked like she had cut a magical branch off of a tree and it was glowing with power. She wore golden greeves and to complete the look, she wore a head piece that was shaped like leaves had been transfigured into it. She looked like a real Keeper ready for battle.
Merrill on the other hand looked like a decent First now. She had added some kind of chainmail to her robes and her staff looked like it could be used as a scythe and it was glowing with power, showing she was on edge. Furthermore, she wasn't wearing any boots now. All in all, Aedan approved. Aedan himself was wearing some dalish leather armor that had been gifted to him by Ilen.
Aedan was brought out of his thoughts when the group arrived to a very familiar area. Or at least it would be if there weren't any new twisted trees around the area. Aedan looked over everything. Where once had been a cleared cove with a ruin in the center, there was now a fade rift with multiple new trees filing the place up. The trees were dark and twisted, narled looking. On the ground were what looked like geysers of fade energy bursting from the ground.
"What happened here? It was nothing like this last time!" Lyna said seeing the astounding scenery.
"Last time was four weeks ago, Lyna." For some reason he was one of the few who called her by her first name. Most others called her Mahariel save for those closest to her. "The rift, and subsequently the entities that have come out of it, have affected the plant-life around it causing it to grow at an unusual rate." Aedan explained.
"I don't understand." Tamlen said confused causing Aedan to turn to him.
"All magic can be traced to the Fade, so in theory the Fade can influence things that magic can influence. This forest is full of nature magic which is affected by the Fade due to the rift. Fade magic enhances nature magic which in turn causes plants to grow and morph differently than what we are used to seeing, hence this..." He gestured to the surrounding area in front of them. His explanation allowed Tamlen to understand what had happened. He glanced to the side to see Marethari nodding her head in agreement while Merrill was looking at him in slight awe at his explanation.
"Hellathen is correct. The rift has clearly changed the area. Be careful, we have no idea if the ground itself is unstable or not." Marethari said as they traveled to the rift cautiously. As they walked to it, Aedan felt the very energy swirling around them as they got closer and closer to the rift. With each step Aedan could feel the energy moving through the air and into the trees and ground. Suddenly, a branch of one of the trees swung down. Aedan ducked in time, narrowly missing the branch. The Solis Warrior behind him, however, was too slow.
The man gave a shout as the branch struck him, causing him to soar in the air before landing violently on the ground several meters away. Aedan looked at the branch, tracing it to the tree attached to it to see it moving and shifting. All around the group the surrounding trees shook, their branches and trunks suddenly moving to reveal crude wooden arms and legs. The upper part of their trunks were shaped like a person's ribcage. Above the wooden chest a neck could be made out and above that... a face contorted in rage.
"SYLVANS!" Aedan shouted before the rest attacked them. One sylvan stomped on a warrior into the ground with crushing force. Aedan reacted by enchanting the warriors' weapons with flames that could damage the possessed trees. The warriors attacked them with fierce swings from their enflamed blades. The sylvan that was struck the most eventually caught fire and made a deep groan as if in pain before moving away from their flaring blades. Another sylvan showed up, this one had a beehive stuck in it from what Aedan could tell.
The beehive sylvan turned to a group of charging warriors and a cloud of angry, buzzing bees formed in front of it before flying at the charging elves. The elves' armor, while great at protecting them from melee and ranged combat, didn't stop the bees from getting under it nor did it stop them from stinging the unfortunate elves. Said elves were hopping around swatting at covered insects that were stinging them mercilessly before the sylvan that summoned them swung its massive limbs, knocking them into the air.
Aedan threw a fireball, or had intended to anyway. Instead of one it was three which seemed to home in on the beehive sylvan. The fireballs struck the possessed tree, lighting it ablaze. The beast roared, seemingly in pain, before falling over, flames eating away at its body. The bees seemed to have died, either from the heat or the loss of the demonic presence binding them. The elves were on the ground, immobile or dead, he couldn't tell at the moment. Aedan turned to see Marethari and Merrill attempting to seal the fade portal but it would take some time. The Keeper and First had managed to get near the altar and cast a One with Nature each to keep the sylvans away. They had begun chanting a spell which Aedan knew would seal the portal, but it would take some time. Time which was costing the lives of several elves. Aedan heard stomping footsteps approaching from behind. He quickly turned only to get covered in a sticky substance.
'What the hell?!' He thought and tried to say at the same time. He realized he could move his mouth, or anything for that matter as whatever sticky thing that coated him suddenly hardened. 'Is this sap?' He thought before he caught sight of what had been coming up behind him. It was a large, bloated looking sylvan that had sap oozing out of its crevices. Aedan suddenly noticed he couldn't breathe either and was startled to find that the sap had covered his nose along with his mouth. This had gone from bad to worse. If the sylvan didn't take advantage of his immobile state then he would die of suffocation anyway. The sylvan approached him, looking as angry as any other sylvan, before it suddenly picked him up. He briefly imagined it was like a child picking up a doll for a moment before the sylvan started to squeeze with its finger-like branches. All he could do was grunt as the pressure around his torso increased. He looked around and noticed that Lyna and Tamlen were aiming at the sylvan holding him. They fired a few arrows which struck the sylvan but the possessed tree payed no heed to the arrows. Aedan kept his focus on Lyna and Tamlen, or more specifically their weapons. He mentally chanted a spell in his head and focused on the arrows that were fired until...
UUUOOOH!
The sylvan started screaming in pain as more and more fire arrows pierced it, lighting it ablaze. The sylvan dropped Aedan to turn to the nearest threat. Aedan had managed to squeeze out a little magic to enchant Lyna and Tamlen's weapons with fire. Aedan crashed onto the ground back-first. He groaned in pain before trying to move and had mixed results. Good news was the hardened sap had been cracked by the sylvan and subsequent drop so he could free himself from it. Bad news: the fall had slowed him down a little with the hard landing took. His back protested as he forced himself up. The sap-sylvan was on fire but still moving towards his friends. Aedan knew he had to do something. He brushed himself off of any sap that might impede his movements.
He braced himself for what was coming before focusing on his magic around him. Lyna and Tamlen were backing away as the sap-sylvan got closer and closer, a flaming branch raised against them. The two elves found themselves backed into a corner. The sylvan raised its burning arm high ready to strike. Tamlen, with his advanced perception saw it coming in slow motion. His body reacted, pushing Lyna out of the way just in time. The branch swung struck him so hard he sailed through the air before skidding to a halt on the ground, unmoving.
"TAMLEN!" Lyna shouted in horror. She raced past the sylvan over to his downed form and shook him.
"Tamlen! Tamlen!" She said each time she shook him. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest fearing the worst. Her fear only increased as Tamlen's eyes were closed, his body, unmoving. She held his head to her chest, hoping to hear him breathing. Tears welled up in her eyes as she picked up his shallow breaths, each one becoming shallower than the last. Thundering footsteps stopped behind her as a shadow fell over both of them. She looked up to see the sylvan, still burning raise both arms intent on crushing the two. On instinct she covered Tamlen's form as if her body alone could protect him. She waited for the deathly blow to strike, but it didn't. Instead she heard the sounds of battle had ceased and the sylvans grunting as if they were struggling against something.
She looked over her shoulder to see the sylvan grasped by an ethereal blue hand made of energy. She looked past it to see several other sylvans in the same bind. Each hand seemed tied by some tether of blue energy. Following it, she saw Aedan, but he looked different. His hair was messier. His face: stoic and showing no emotion. His eyes: gone were the kind emerald orbs that told others he was a friend. In their place were glowing blue orbs that radiated power with what looked like steam coming off of them. Both of his hands were raised as if he were reaching for two separate things. He pulled his hands back, curling them into fists in the process and the sylvans were suddenly pulled off their feet and dragged toward him by the ethereal hands. Aedan lowered his arms, as if waiting for the sylvans to recover. To Lyna's dread it seemed as if he was as he did nothing to stop the sylvans from getting up. Aedan was surrounded by five angry sylvans by Lyna's count.
Aedan stayed perfectly calm as the sylvans got up and looked at him. All of them gave angry grunt or roars and seemed ready to strike. They raised their arms ready to crush him with brute force and swung down. Lyna watched as the branches got closer and closer to Aedan until, without warning, a burst of ice and snow exploded from Aedan covering him and the sylvans in white frost. The frost turned into mist and expanded towards the surrounding area prompting Lyna close her eyes and curl around Tamlen. Marethari and Merrill were forced to keep their closed and nearly lost their concentration on the spell they were working on as the cold mist washed over them. Before long the mist started to settle and disperse. Lyna had difficulty seeing anything at first as she raised her head up. Sunlight came through in streams at first before illuminating the area once more. Lyna looked around noticing that her fellow warriors were either dead or wounded before she finally saw Aedan.
What surrounded him stunned her everyone else who saw him. There were the sylvans, frozen solid with Aedan standing there, perfectly fine. His eyes, still glowing, he seemed to twitch before a sudden force exploded from him and shattered the frozen sylvans, scattering ice everywhere. Aedan glanced at Lyna and Tamlen before he looked at everyone else. Aedan's gaze returned to Lyna before walking forward. His footsteps seemed to echo in the now quiet area with only the Keeper and her First chanting. As Aedan got closer, Lyna could see that there were cracks of light forming around Aedan's eyes as if he were made of glass. When he was before her he knelt down and unconsciously, Lyna winced.
Whoever this was, it didn't seem to be Aedan. He-it-whatever wasn't showing any emotion. And that set her on edge. Not to mention the fact that it just took out those possessed trees like they were nothing when they gave her and her fellow elves a hard time. Aedan's glowing eyes focused on Tamlen and he outstretched his hand. Lyna pulled Tamlen further into herself unconsciously prompting Aedan to stop. His glowing gaze turned on her.
"I can't save him if you hide him from me." He spoke. His voice was deep, baritone and sounded as if there were several more voices mixed in with his. Lyna shivered at the sound of his voice. It was unnatural to her, but she relented soon enough. Aedan looked at Tamlen again and placed his hand on Tamlen's chest. A light glowed from under his palm. The light got stronger and stronger until it covered Tamlen completely before vanishing as if extinguished. Tamlen coughed and his eyes slowly opened, his breathing back to normal and some of his wounds had been healed. Seeing Tamlen would recover, Aedan stood up and walked to the rest of the downed warriors, healing them as he went.
Lyna kept her gaze on Tamlen as Aedan walked away. Tears flowed down her cheeks in relief. He was safe. He was alive. She hugged Tamlen close as if he would suddenly float away. Lyna had never been so scared as she had been then.
"Lyna?" Tamlen managed to say while in the hug. She made a laugh mixed with a sob before kissing his forehead. Tamlen smiled a little. It was finally paying off. At least that was what he would've thought had he not been nearly killed a few minutes ago. That was when Aedan had finished healing the rest. If he was being perfectly honest, he was a little unsettled about how Lyna reacted to him. He hadn't missed her fear or reluctance as he had approached her. And he had missed the wary gazes of the others. Maybe it was time to leave the clan after this. These depressing thoughts filtered into his mind as the spirits' power left him. His eyes returned to normal signaling the change. Being in that form felt different. His power felt so strong, but he felt... he didn't know, just... neutral? Numb? He couldn't describe it properly. Marethari and Merrill's chanting came to an end bringing his attention to them. The Fade Portal's crystalline form shattered into a real portal and then compressed in on itself. Residual fade magic that had been left in the area flared on various objects before getting sucked into the compressing portal. As soon as all the fade energy was gone the portal closed on itself, finally closed at last.
The two elf mages looked at everyone making sure they were okay. Merrill went over to Lyna and Tamlen asking questions while Marethari kept her eyes on Aedan. She had felt his magic spike to an incredible level even though she didn't see him. Did the spirits give him that much power? She had a feeling there was more to his abilities than that and that thought frightened her.
Aedan could feel everyone's eyes starting to wander to him making him almost wince. Everyone had to have known that wasn't normal for a mage. Marethari looked ready to say something to him but she was cut short by a loud crack echoing from behind them. As one, everyone turned in the sounds direction. Had they missed a sylvan? Was there something else approaching them?
Aedan's line of thought was stopped as he saw smoke rising from the horizon... in the direction of the Clan's camp. He didn't really here anyone shouting. Not Merrill's questions about what was going on. Not the grumbles and chattering of the other elves. Not Lyna's scolding of Tamlen who was trying to get back on his feet. He didn't even hear Marethari's shout to him to stop running as he speed away towards the smoke. It wasn't the fact that there was fire and smoke at the camp that made him rush in such a hurry.
It was the fact that he could feel two dark and twisted magic signatures right at the camp.
Okay, so here I finally updated this story after so long. Don't expect another one so soon though. Please leave a review on your thoughts and I'll try to respond quickly enough. For those of you about to ask for the next chapter of ME2: GotT; it's still in the works, I'm either a quarter or a third of the way through it and will hopeful update some time soon.
Also, I had hoped that hoped that there would be more people who enjoyed OmegasPrime's story, but I was disappointed by how low it was. On the upside, I'm happy by how many enjoy my mass effect story.
Peace out, people!