IV.
Dusk had fallen. As Artetris and the bear slowly trudged for her hijacked home, she felt the chill in the air deepen. The wood witches surrounding them began to stir from their slumber. Before long, the evil nymphs took note of her and began to jeer and taunt her, much to her aggravation. Artetris stood upon the bear's back in silence as she listened to them with her arms stirring.
"You left…" Artetris heard the taunting wood witches cry, as she and the bear travelled through what the forest now called the Wood Witch Grove.
She tried to ignore them as they went; wood witches were such despicable nymphs for whom she held little to no respect. She yawned from the top of the bear's back where she stood with her arms folded. She hoped they would take a hint and leave her be, for she had no interest in quarreling with them. However, they only laughed at her and taunted on. She glared.
"You left, you left!" they aggravatingly chanted. "First dad, then mom, then you. Wee!
"You left, and we grew in number, strength, and glee!"
Artetris growled in frustration at their jingled words. How dare they speak of her parents' fates in such a manner! She shot several dirty looks around them as the wood witch trees seemed to lean in. The bear travelled slowly, feeling at ill ease, and he whimpered.
Artetris ignored him as she cried towards the trees above, waving her fists, "Shut your trunks you fruitless jerks! I will burn you! Do you hear me?!"
The wood witches cackled, having received the reaction from her they desired, and Artetris lowered her head and hands in anger at them and herself. Why had she done that? They would never shut up now…
The wood witches taunted on, and Artetris grumbled. Beneath her the bear groaned with discomfort, and she shot him a glare before stomping his back with her boot.
"Shut up and walk, Bear," she demanded, placing her arms on her hips to look tough where she stood upon him. The young bear sheepishly looked up at her. "I don't want to hear a sound out of you unless it is to say we are there. Keep walking, and no one gets hurt."
The bear said nothing in response. He merely sighed and nodded his head. Artetris beamed with pride and grinned. If he kept complying to her wishes, she'd possibly make a companion out of him to continue his atonement.
Overhead, the wood witches continued their torture, distracting her once more.
"First dad, then mom…" they chanted on.
Artetris fought to ignore them, but it was, admittedly, very difficult; her leaving had caused the Arba Yaga and wood witches to take over her family's territory and home. The madness of her magic constantly replayed their chants in her head, whether she liked it or not, along with the visions to which they referred to. Rather than let it drive her nuts, however, she maintained her composure and held her head high as she remembered the one thing that always pulled her through it.
Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility…
Her tranquility…
Her tranquility had been invaded by a tree witch. The visions of Arbottoma Tree Witch overclouded her mind, and she cursed her magic's vivid pictures. She'd kill that tree witch. With her own arrows, she'd strike her dead.
Not only did the mantra remind her of the Arba yaga, it also worsened the visions of her parents—her mother, the hyleoroi wood nymph and her father, the ancient human wizard. Her thoughts stayed rooted upon them, and in defeat, she finally let her thoughts of them flow.
In the city, it had been hard to think of them, for neither would have ever approved of her living amongst the sad and mad wizards there or of her adapting and living their zany lifestyle of senseless power with which they did nothing unless it came to the city and threatened them directly. However, there beneath the forest of wood witch trees, her entire life of her and her parents guarding the wilds and its folk with dignity, fun, and pride all ran like a film inside her head.
Though corrupted, the part of the forest called Wood Witch Grove was still her home. A smile broke out upon Artetris' face as she relived their memory to herself. Their laughter echoed in her ears. Their smiles shined down from their faces. Their lessons flowed throughout her body, blood, and soul. Their powers—they protected her whenever she called on them. Their play and their love for her and one another fueled her gentler spirit despite how desperately she wished for it never to show.
Artetris remembered the splendors of their family's joy and cried, though not where the bear or wood witches could see. If only her father had never died…because then both of them would still be there.
Both her father—Manevus Wizard, a man from the olden times of human existence, in the days before his people had ever learned to make the technology like the bombs of war that had destroyed their world—and her mother—Hylea Huntress, the Watcher she had succeeded—were gone because of Artemis' curse. Thus, their spirits had left her behind to survive on her own. And for that, she hated Artemis and her ancient curse upon the nymphs who dared break their vows and fall in love with a man. She hated the woman, Strong, whose existence and turmoil had led to her father's sacrifice in order to save the woman's adopted kingdom.
For that…she had hated the forest and her duty to watch its flow until its time in that world ended and moved on to another, though that much she had definitely gotten over because she could not run from it further.
Even more than Artemis or anything else, however, she hated herself and the fear of the softness within that helped define half of her spirit and role. The fear of finding companionship and falling in love with some random adventurer or even the forest itself only to have it all snatched away had been the ultimate push towards her leaving the forest for the city, for she had no wish to die so needlessly. And yet, her fear of softness felt stupid, useless, and unfair. No one would ever wish to die just for deeply caring about someone. How raw was that deal?
The wood witches around them continued their chants, and she defeatedly listened.
"First fell the father when child was ten…
"Which felled the mother two years after then…
"One from heroism…dead and free..
"The other cursed and broken hearted…sad as can be.
"First dad, then mom, then you, then we!
"We grew in number, strength, and glee!" the wood witches chanted endlessly.
Six years Artetris thought to herself—they had to have been there for six years…
Anger swelled inside of her, but she took a deep inhale and let the madness pass her by.
Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility….
Her name was Artetris. She was the daughter of Hylea Huntress and Manevus Wizard. She was eighteen years old and a mistress of forest magics and trees. She hailed from a home on a peaceful cliff where the water always flowed over the edge in tranquility….
Tears tried to well up from their ducts as the magic ailed her with more thoughts of her dad and her mom—but she held them back. No one could see her crying, especially not the opponents responsible for her tears; if they did see them, they would know her weaknesses and exploit them to even deadlier degrees. A deep breath escaped her as she focused on the hunt.
She would cry for her love ones and herself and her friends later after her enemy's life had been put in check.
Fed up with the wood witches' shenanigans, Artetris' gaze angrily glimmered with mana and turned towards the evil trees surrounding her and the bear; some took the look as a hint and stayed silent in the face of the danger that loomed while others saw fit to hiss back and cackle at her or taunt her further. Artetris focused her mind on the scene of trees and envisioned the wood witches on fire. While no actual fire came, she felt the heat stir about her; the wood witches' cries of confusion, terror, and pain soon followed as the sensation of fire swallowed them whole.
Artetris smiled in triumph as the forest witches all shifted their trunks to move beyond her mind's reach. They creaked as they stirred, trying to run away from her as quickly as trees could. The young bear observed in wonder and fear at the frantic scene of trees uprooting and crawling away like spiders.
Satisfied with her efforts, Artetris released the visions of fire from her mind and shot the trees a glare once more. Not one of them dared to cry out to chant at her further. Only hushed sounds of disdainful gossips or the shuddering of their voices in terror of her power and presence filled the air now. She grinned with pride and haughtily closed her eyes.
"I learned that in the city," she remarked to the wood witches. "Bug me with those chants again, and I'll show you more. And don't count on my losing control to madness. I'll sacrifice you all to keep myself stable. The blood of wood witches serves the madness blood price quite well. I've seen it done."
The wood witches hushed themselves to silence and, finally, said no more to her. The path ahead now lay clear, and Artetris heaved a breath of relief in response before returning her thoughts to the hunt ahead and holding her head high. She could see her old home in the distance now, the Arba yaga's base of operation. A hum escaped her, and she glared. Why her family's home? Why?
"You mentioned the Ring of Artemis before, Bear," Artetris remarked. "Did the witch say what her plans for finding it were? Or anything?"
"Mmm, not really sure…" the bear responded. "I half understood her. I know she mentioned me and my nose, but I'm not sure how it would factor in. I've never smelled…whatever it is…"
"It's a dryad ring," Artetris responded. "Nymphs come from the multiversal dreams of the globs. The first ones manifested as the kings of nature itself. Those were the elementals. Their children nymphs came after. Water nymphs, wood nymphs, earth nymphs—whatever types of nature formed from the Elementals' worlds.
"Long story short, Artemis was a hyleoroi nymph of great power who became the glob of the Hunt, she and her sister Diane. However, the Ancient Sleeper, Darren, progenitor of wood witches and Arba yaga, desired Artemis and had her body and soul turned into a ring when she refused him. In this way, he kept her for himself and commanded her powers.
"To combat him, her sister Diane lead the hyleoroi nymphs against his tyranny, and they defeated him. Diane lost her existence, but her sister's javelin was retrieved. Unfortunately, the ring was lost with Darren…but perhaps because of his recent reemergence and defeat, the ring has surfaced. It's a very dangerous thing.
"Those who wear the ring shall have Artemis' power and command over all wood nymphs…save for Hyleoroi like myself and Artemis' other maidens. Combined with the javelin Diana, there would be no stopping the witch who managed to possess both. But I shall not die or give up Diana so easily… It's all I have left of…"
Artetris quickly stopped speaking.
"Of who?" the bear asked, curious.
Artetris remained silent. She did not want the Wood Witches stirred against her once more. Why had she suddenly revealed so much knowledge to the bear? Had the wood witches' influence caused her to grow loose in the lips? Or had she just grown sick and tired of their silence?
Beneath her, she heard the bear moan in discomfort at being ignored. She huffed and ignored him, stomping him sternly to make him hush. He slightly snarled in aggravation but made no attempts to attack her or strike, and she watched him closely. He shot her a goofy looking, pouty glare and nothing more. Artetris nervously looked off to the side with a pout of her own as she hid her amusement from him and the wood witches too.
In her younger days, a bear like him would have won her over as a friend fast—a dumb but lovable companion with conviction and heart. How could she not respect someone so raw and pure? But she wasn't young anymore. She wouldn't be so careless and weak as to make an impractical companionship with another, not even in something as relatively safe as a friendship.
The bear finally grew weary of their walking in silence and began to talk.
"So…Miss Huntress…" the bear mumbled below her, and she shot him a glare. "Who were you talking to bef—?"
"Huntress Wizard," Artetris corrected at being called "Miss" by the bear. How she despised such titles that meant nothing.
"You were…uh…" the bear stammered as if unsure how to respond. "You were… talking to yourself?"
"What?" Artetris asked, taken aback by his nonsense. "Dude. No. I'm telling you that I'm called Huntress Wizard. Don't call me 'Miss'. I hate that…"
"Oh…sorry," the bear said, hanging his head. Silence returned between them before the bear broke it once more. "Huntress Wizard, who were you screaming to? Should I be worried about the fight ahead?"
"No," Artetris bluntly replied. She shot the bear a look and found him eagerly waiting to know the rest of her answer. A sigh escaped her, and she gestured towards the wood witch trees. "Remember before when I spoke of nature's nymphs? Within every tree, there lives a spirit, just as some live in a river or pond. Those are the nymphs I spoke of. Those who live within trees are generally called dryads…though 'tree nymphs' is a far more accurate term, and I can hear them where no one else tries because I'm kind of a wood nymph and kind of a forest wizard in lineage. These particular trees are mischievous and wicked, so I screamed at them to shut their annoying voices up. And I also imagined them on fire."
"Oh…" the bear responded in astonishment, looking around. "So that's why it got hot all of a sudden…"
"Yes," she remarked in confirmation of his suspicions. Normally, she would have stopped talking, but it touched her heart to have someone to truly talk magic and natural living with. Thus, she spoke on to show he knowledge. "That's how magic works. Our entire multiverse is the product of some mighty, sleeping glob's dream and its dreams' dreams.
"We consider witches and evil and the like their nightmares. Tree witches, who are decidedly more mobile than wood witches, are called Arba Yaga and can have very dangerous influences and powers. The one you spoke of, Arbottoma, is deceptively powerful…but stupid if I may comment."
The wood witches around them suddenly shuddered and gasped, and Artetris leered before rolling her eyes. Below her, the bear chuckled nervously.
"Are you sure we can say that underneath these trees?" he asked, shifting his eyes about. "Couldn't they…like…tell her you said something and cause her to go crazy?"
"Anyone who tampers with magic is already crazy by virtue of knowing far too much to believably remain sane," Artetris remarked matter of factly, unconcerned, for her opinion of Arbottoma's uselessness and idiocy remained unchanged. "Some understand what they know, like me, and accept it as normal. Others go mad from the revelation. Speaking of which…"
Artetris leaned forward to look the bear in the eyes as she spoke "…exactly, how crazy are you?"
A silence fell between them, and the bear looked down in dejection without answering. Artetris patiently waited and kept her gaze fixed on him for his answer. Nervously, he looked back and sighed. Artetris folded her arms and spoke further.
"You're a magic bear, and you've been taken by madness of transmogrification-based strength," she explained to him. "There has to be a catalyst for the change to take place. How long have you been in possession of these powers, and what triggers them? I suspect you have those answers."
"I don't…" the bear started to answer but quickly stopped and sighed before speaking honestly. "I'm not sure. Maybe anger triggers it…jealousy… or fear…. Or hate…"
He paused as if to feel and think on it. Artetris watched him with caution but listened closely.
"Yeah…" the bear said. "If I hate something, that may be the trigger. It's the only thing I can remember since facing the big bear…the guy who stole my girl…"
Artetris hummed at his words, remembering how the news of him had caused her to remain and make her grand return home.
Two bears…
Several bunnies, a few deer, some foxes, some trees and their nymphs…
And the fowl fey…
All of them had been slain by a mad and monstrous bear, by him. Remembering that filled her heart with aggravation and anger once more. If she had been out in the forest, could his corruption and crimes have been prevented? The bear took no notice of her cold scrutiny of his clumsy personal quirks of bashfully clawing the dirt and bashfully laughing; all of it confused her greatly.
"I wish I could tell you more," the bear said. "I…can't remember much. Or maybe I…just don't want to."
He stopped talking and remorsefully hung his head to the ground.
"I'm just a dingus bear…" he said, sitting. Artetris slid from his back to the ground and stood beside him. She stared at his dejection, her gaze softened greatly as she truly observed the youth before her, a youth who appeared to have lost it all already. Her heart twisted for him. "Maybe it's better you just go ahead and kill me now…before the witch or whatever tries to take me out and turn me against you when we reach her place."
Artetris quickly summoned her javelin and pointed it towards him in response. She'd scare that nonsense out of him. It wasn't something she liked to hear from him so suddenly. He seemed to pout before looking down once more, unphased by the weapon's presence. Artetris' eyes widened in disbelief, and she dismissed her weapon.
"I'm not going to kill you," she admitted. He cautiously looked back at her, and she looked off. "What you did is personal to be sure…but not because you're evil like the power that curses you. It's personal because…a good-hearted creature like you has been turned into a monster…and that, I can't forgive."
The bear looked up at her in shock at her words, and she looked away.
"So long as you are cursed, I'll have to watch after you the way I am supposed to," she spoke on, her chest twisting with doubt. If she just killed him already, there would be no worry. But… she simply could not. "And if I must kill you after all… I'll do so regretfully and with honor for having known you beyond the curse that took you."
The bear whimpered in comfort as if he would roar out in glee and cry. Artetris shifted in discomfort while keeping her gaze averted. She did not wish to give in to her soft-hearted desires of attachment, and yet, she felt that the bear deserved to hear some form of it from her—to hear that he was a good and pure bear deserving of her acknowledgement.
And that she was his Watcher.
Yes. She was the Watcher of the Forest. Some fates just could not be run from, and hers was one of them. She'd just have to make peace with her loneliness and not fall in love, no more than she already had with the home that was the forest.
The bear suddenly wrapped his large paws around her into a mighty embrace, and they twirled, much to her shock and horror. It took a few seconds of squirming and being released for it to become clear that he meant her no harm. As her heart raced, Artetris attempted to remain composed while the bear comically prostrated himself before her in apologetic worship. Artetris smiled a gentle smile at his gesture, and she puffed her chest out proudly.
"Oh my glob, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. "I just…really appreciate your saying something so kind, Huntress Wizard."
Artetris folded her arms and averted her gaze from him to hide both her embarrassment and discomfort. To play it off, she looked up towards the clearing ahead. The witch's house sat before them and one whiff of the air told one's nose that food was cooking, meaning somebody was home.
"Idiot," she remarked dully but with a hint of playfulness. "You really are a dumb bear…though you did make a good decision to stop right here.
"I know this land and this house. We won't be able to launch any sort of frontal assault on this witch…not me at least. YOU could probably get in close I suspect, and we could use that to our advantage."
"Oh, yes!" the bear exclaimed. "Certainly. Certainly."
Artetris smiled at his eagerness.
"I'm glad you've got some spunk kid," she said with a soft grin. She shielded her eyes and looked up at the reddening sky. "I'll go my own way from here. I'll be by the house by nightfall. I will signal with an arrow when I am there. If you could, try to keep the witch distracted. Get her outside even. It's fine if you can't. I have my own plans for in case something goes wrong. I'll see you later."
"Oh…uhh…right," the bear said, happy.
With those words, Artetris turned to leave him and licked her lips madly. This witch was so hers. How dare she taint the forest and its creatures with her influence… with her ilk. She could not forgive it. The perfect circumstances to test herself as the returned Watcher of the Forest lay before her. She would fight the Arba Yaga into submission and force her to release… Bear's curse…
Artetris stopped. She did not know the bear's true name.
"Hey Bear," she called to him, looking back to find him dumbly sitting. He looked up with happy eyes and a smile. "What's your name? I'd like to know what to call you in the fight. Calling you 'Bear' at this point would be rude."
"Oh! My name?" the bear proclaimed excitedly. "It's Herakli… Herakli Ur."
Herakli Ur… Artetris thought to herself. She smiled and headed off. That much she could care to remember.