Chapter 10

It was with a weary sigh that Karis opened her eyes, instantly groaning at the bright light. Slowly she sat up, noticing how her entire body seemed to be aching, as well as how dry her mouth felt.

Resting on the table beside her bed was a glass of water, which she gladly reached for and started to drink, almost coughing as she did so. Her throat felt like she had swallowed a huge clump of sand. Putting the glass back down on the table, she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was not where she had been when she started meditating. She was, in fact, back in her room, laying on her bed.

Had she moved herself? Was she carried? Was she dreaming? Her mind was fuzzy and she couldn't completely remember what had happened. All she knew was that she was thirsty and hungry, very hungry.

Rubbing her eyes whilst trying to stifle a yawn, Karis climbed out of her bed and walked into the main living area of her and Tylira's room. Tylira's bed was empty, Karis noted, and looked like it hadn't been slept in for a while.

"You're up at last!" came a voice suddenly, causing Karis to jump, startled by the sudden noise. Turning, she saw Loganaar getting up from a chair and quickly moving over to her.

"How do you feel?" he asked her, crouching down to get a proper look. Karis grumbled slightly, taking a step back from Loganaar. She was still waking up and was no where near prepared or awake enough for questions.

"Why don't you go and freshen up" Loganaar said, pointing to where the large tub that they used as a bath was positioned, hidden behind a large screen. "I will go and tell Tylira the good news!"

Before Karis could respond, Loganaar had sped off, leaving the girl looking rather confused. Letting out sigh, Karis walked towards the bath, still half asleep, picking up a towel as she did so.

Walking past a mirror, she looked at herself, letting out a noise of disgust at the state that her hair was in. It looked like she hadn't washed it in over a week. Knowing that it was going to take some work to sort that mess out as well, Karis picked up a brush before heading behind the screen.

The coals underneath the large tub that were used to warm up the water looked as if they had been used recently, and indeed, the water was still quite hot when Karis touched it. Stripping off her druid training garments, Karis slid into the water, submerging herself until only her head was above the surface, closing her eyes as she felt the hot water relax her body.

Taking a deep breath, Karis submerged her head under the water, feeling it almost instantly wake her up. Coming back up again, Karis reached out for the small cloth nearby and started the process of cleaning herself.

After what felt like the best wash of her life, Karis climbed out, drying herself down. Hanging on the side of the screen was a set of fresh clothes that Karis quickly took and put on. Feeling much better, she picked up the brush and started to deal with her hair as she walked out from behind the screen.

"Feeling more awake now?" Loganaar said, causing Karis to jump slightly, dropping the brush. He must have come back whilst I was in the bath… Karis thought to herself as she tried to calm her heart down, reaching down and picking up the brush.

"You need to stop sneaking up on me…" Karis said, scowling slightly at Loganaar, who held up his hands in apology as Karis went back to brushing her hair.

"Sorry, it's in my nature as a druid. I sneak around a lot" he said with a slight chuckle, laughing even more as Karis stuck her tongue out at him. "Tylira will be here soon. She was just picking up some food for you to eat." At the mention of food, Karis' stomach grumbled loudly, causing Karis to clutch it, letting out a slight groan. How long had it been since she had eaten anything, anyway?

"Karis!"

Karis turned to look to the entrance of the room to see Tylira standing there, a basket in each hand with food in. Putting the baskets down, Tylira ran over, scooping Karis up in her arms and holding her tight.

"How are you feeling? Are you ok?" Tylira asked Karis, only putting her down after she heard Karis' stomach complaining.

"Im feeling fine, just a little tired…" Karis said as Tylira moved to the baskets and picked them up, placing them on the table in the middle of the room. "Why, did something happen?" Tylira glanced over to Loganaar, who was now sitting on one side of the table. He shrugged slightly before waving a hand towards Karis.

"What?" Karis asked, looking at the two of them. What had happened to her that they weren't telling? "Tell me!" Tylira let out a sigh before motioning for Karis to sit down beside her.

"What do you remember?" Tylira asked her as she folded her legs beneath her. "After we started your meditation, and I told you to create the world for yourself."

Karis looked at Tylira for a moment before frowning. She tried to think about what had happened, but every time she tried, she drew up blanks.

"I remember….making my world…then I was in it, and there was a fog…" Karis said slowly, trying to grasp hold of what happened next. "But…then I don't remember. Other than waking up here, that is. Did I fall asleep?"

"Karis…" Loganaar said as he leant forwards, placing his arms on the table, his hands grasped together. "You have been unconscious for almost a week."

Karis almost found herself falling backwards at the news. A week? Surely they were joking? The look on both Tylira and Loganaar's faces, however, told her that they weren't.

"A week?" she said, her voice quiet as her mouth tried to form words. "I have been asleep for a week?" Karis' mind struggled to come to terms with the information. It only felt like she had been meditating a few hours ago, not a week ago. "What happened?"

"We aren't sure, exactly" Tylira said quietly, pausing for a moment as she sorted through the food items, placing them on the table for the three of them to eat. "What we do know, is that you have spoken with a spirit."

As Tylira mentioned speaking with spirits, Karis felt a white hot flash in her mind, bringing her hand to her forehead with a slight moan, closing her eyes. She remembered something…some kind of creature…what was it? Why couldn't she remember? When she opened her eyes again, Tylira was offering her some food.

"You need to understand, Karis, this is highly unusual" Tylira said as Karis took the food and started to rather happily eat. "Not only are you young to begin with, but in the space of a week, you have stumbled into what takes a rather skilled person two or more weeks to do, if they are lucky."

Karis paused her eating for a moment to look at Tylira. She didn't feel any different, or at least she didn't think she did. After all, what would someone class as normal? Catching sight of Karis' puzzled expression, Tylira continued.

"The task I set you, the one where you would create your own world, that is a simple task, something that all druids need to do" she said, serving up some more food and passing it to Loganaar who happily took the food. "The idea is that you create this world, a world that you are most comfortable in, and then you enter that world.

"Once you have achieved the ability to enter your world freely, then begins the difficult part of your training." Tylira paused for a moment, serving herself some food and taking a small bite. "The world you create in your mind serves as a small connection to the spirit world. Once you can easily picture your world, and enter it, then you open it to the spirits. It is then that you have to wait and see what arrives."

"Does this happen for all spirits?" Karis asked, interrupting Tylira briefly. There were more questions she wanted to ask, and they were all struggling to escape from her mind. It was a struggle to keep them all contained.

"No, not all" Tylira said, shaking her head slightly. "The travel form is the most common one for this to happen with. The likes of the cat and bear form, as they are usually only one spirit, can be communed with directly. The travel form, however, can be anything. That is why you create your world. It is part of you and reflects your personality. Thus, a spirit of similar nature is drawn to you. For some, this takes time, yet others it can happen very quickly."

"So, how am I special?" Karis looked from Tylira to Loganaar then back to Tylira again. "How comes I was able to do all this so quickly?"

"Because you were aided" Loganaar suddenly said, drawing the attention of Karis. Loganaar looked to Tylira for a moment who nodded for him to carry on.

"For whatever reason" he continued, looking at Karis. "One of the spirits was in urgent need of making contact with someone that could help them. Due to how young you are, your mind is not as constricted as an adults mind. Your thoughts, feelings and imagination are much purer, more fluid. The spirit was able to use that to speed up the process of talking with you."

"But why?" Karis asked, starting to grow slightly impatient. They weren't providing her with any concrete answers. It was becoming obvious that they didn't even know why it had happened. "What was so important that it needed to talk to me?"

Both Tylira and Loganaar were quiet as they looked to each other before both let out slight sighs, shaking their heads. Tylira looked to Karis, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Unfortunately, we don't know" she said, resulting in Karis letting out an annoyed moan. "Karis, you were the one that the spirit contacted, not us. We don't know what was said to you. The only person who would know is Remulos. And that isn't guaranteed."

"Why don't we go and ask him then?" Karis said, starting to get up from the table, her appetite fading fast the more she learnt.

"Karis, you have only just woken up. You need time to relax and recuperate" Tylira said, shaking her head slightly as she also stood up. "We can speak with Remulos tomorrow. Today, you need to remain here."

"Rest?" Karis said, trying no to laugh. "I have been asleep for the last week haven't I? Isn't that enough rest!? I want to get this sorted now!" Karis instantly regretted what she had said, noticing how harsh it sounded. She also noticed that Tylira had flinched slightly.

"I'm sorry…" she quickly said as Tylira sat back down slowly. "I didn't mean to sound nasty or anything…"

Tylira remained quiet as Karis stood beside her. Loganaar looked at the two of them quietly, the only noise in the room coming from Karis' raven that was flapping its wings slightly.

"Tylira…I'm scared…" Karis whispered, reaching out and gently placing her hand on Tylira's arm. Tylira slowly turned her head and looked at the young girl, blinking slowly as she saw the tears forming in Karis' eyes.

"I know" Tylira said softly, reaching out and taking hold of Karis. She held her close to her, Karis burying her head in Tylira's shoulder. She really was scared and didn't know what was going to happen.

"Tomorrow I will take you to see Remulos, I promise" Tylira said, gently stroking Karis' back. "He will be able to help us, I'm sure."

Karis nodded slowly, staying close to Tylira. Loganaar smiled softly at the two of them, picking up his drink and finishing its contents.

"Indeed he will" he said, placing his glass down on the table. "So, until then ladies, enjoy the rest of your day."

Karis and Tylira both watched Loganaar leave, waving to him as they did. Once he was gone, Karis returned to just staying held by Tylira. Right then, the affection was just what she needed.