Chronicles of Espiria Season 1
Episode 16 - Hope Comes to the Forest
Written by The Dude
A group of children were seated before the Grand Priest, who was considered by some to be the very mouthpiece of the goddess Dura, as he prepared to give his brief lesson for the day. Most of the children hoped to become priests themselves, and waited in wrapped anticipation for the Grand Priest to begin; the rest of the children in attendance were friends of the regular students, wondering if the priesthood was for them.
"Alright, ready children? Today, since we have so many guests, I will cover some older teachings to get them caught up. Don't worry if you've heard this before; it's good to review the basics of the faith now and again."
The Grand Priest settled into his chair and cleared his throat.
"Long ago, Dura, the goddess of life, and her brother Annih, the god of death, were born when their father, Honas, used his own body to build the world that we call Espiria. Dura created all forms of life in Espiria and ruled them with a benevolent and generous hand, and that life in turn praised Dura for her kindness.
"But her brother, Annih, grew jealous of the love heaped on Dura by the mortals she had created, and so he sought to make creatures of his own to love him. He first led the humans to make a race of creatures that came to be called the Ya. He hoped that the Ya would love him as Dura's creations loved her, but this was not to be; frightened by the Ya, the humans cast them into the harsh deserts of the world. Dura took pity on the Ya and made for them a fertile home in the desert, and the Ya praised Dura for her mercy.
"Annih was driven mad with jealousy, and so he used his own flesh to make an all new form of life: the Hypogeans. These were altogether evil, demonic creatures that wished only to steal, kill, and destroy. They fell on the children of Dura and laid waste to all that they touched. Dura came to the defense of her children, which brought Annih to the defense of his. The battle between the divine brother and sister lasted for years and split the world in half. Finally, Dura struck down her treasonous brother, but was mortally wounded herself during the battle. With the last of her strength, she cast the Hypogeans into an eternal prison, and barred the gate with an impenetrable seal. With her people safe, Dura breathed her last."
One of the girls began to sniffle as she tried to hold back tears. She had heard the story before, but it always affected her like this.
"I know, Miss Augustin, it is a sad story, but I pray that you all let this truth guide your lives; Dura laid down her life that we might live, so we would all do well to live our lives in a way that will honor that sacrifice."
"What happened to her body?" one of the children asked.
"Merec, show some respect!" Belinda scolded.
"It's alright, Miss Augustin, I believe he refers to the legend of the Artifacts. There is a legend that states that Dura's body broke up into seven pieces upon her death, which the legend calls Artifacts. According to the legend, if one was to find one of these Artifacts, he would wield the power of Dura herself. Of course, it's just a legend; none of these Artifacts has ever been found."
Belinda paid little heed to the legend of the Artifacts, but the rest of the Grand Priest's message stuck with Belinda her whole life. Remembering Dura's sacrifice, she vowed to dedicate her life as a living sacrifice, to honor Dura and the Light that she gave by living a life worthy of that Light.
It was this dedication to the Light, along with the recent loss of her brother to the Hypogeans, that, this day, led Belinda and Lucius to inspect the sight of the Barred Gate, in the hopes that the Gate may show them where the demons were coming from, why they took the forms that they did, and how they could be prevented from plaguing Espiria any further. Dura had given her life to erect the Barred Gate; Belinda felt it was her duty to ensure that it stayed sealed.
"The air here is oppressive," Lucius observed.
"The site of the Barred Gate has always been like this. The evil of the demonic realm saturates the Gate and poisons the very earth around it."
"Then there is always a small breach."
"Nothing that the demons can exploit. Even now, I can find no real breach." Belinda said this with frustration. "If there was something wrong with the Gate, we could at least try to repair it! But now..."
Belinda flopped on the stone as tears began to form at her eyes.
"She gave her life to save us from these demons, but now they've found another way to oppress us! And I can find no way to stop them!"
Lucius knelt next to Belinda to try to comfort her.
"We will find a way. The Celestials want these demons gone from Espiria more than we do, and they will help us banish them again. We just have to keep searching."
Belinda looked up at Lucius; she said nothing, but her still-wet eyes showed her gratitude for trying to comfort her. They remained until Belinda composed herself, then returned to their horses to make the long trek back to Ranhorn. Belinda was surprised, however, to find an enormous leaf carefully draped over her saddle. She looked around for a moment, but saw no one but Lucius and herself.
"What is that?" Lucius asked when he saw the leaf.
"I don't know. It was on my saddle. It's beautiful, isn't it?"
The blade of the leaf appeared to have a velvet texture to it; Belinda ran her hand along the surface, hoping to feel the softness. As her hand glided over it, she heard a voice whisper to her. It was difficult to understand at first, but Belinda strained to hear it.
"Belinda, are you alright?" Lucius asked.
Belinda barely heard him. She was still concentrating on the leaf.
"Belinda?!"
"Lucius, this leaf comes from the Dark Forest. The Celestials may have just given us our lead!"
The Dark Forest was not far from Ranhorn. They soon found themselves at its edge, their entry blocked by thick brambles. Lucius readied his poleaxe to cut the brambles down.
"Lucius, not yet. Let me try something first."
Belinda squared her shoulders and held up the giant leaf. The trees at the edge of the forest began to sway as if in a breeze, despite there being no wind. Soon, the brambles moved aside.
"Lucius, put your poleaxe away. They may misinterpret your intentions."
"I intend to be ready in case this proves to be a trap. I'll not use it unless necessary."
As they walked through the forest, the first thing that struck them was how bright the Dark Forest was; sunlight shining through the thick canopy of leaves cast a green glow on everything they saw, but there was no sign of any darkness. The second was the behavior of the plants; as they walked, brambles would grow and recede along their path, as if they were being guided.
Lucius, ever vigilant, caught fleeting glimpses of cloaked figures moving through the branches above. He prayed that they were merely guards ensuring that he and Belinda caused no trouble.
In time, they reached the base of a tree wider than either of them could have ever imagined. Seated before the massive trunk was a small old man with goat horns growing from his head, a gnarled staff with a green crystal at the tip resting next to him. Belinda had heard enough rumors of the forest to guess that this was Arden, the acting leader of the Wilders.
"Thank you for coming so quickly, Belinda and Lucius."
"It is a rare opportunity to enter your forest, Lord Arden..."
Arden chuckled. "Please, Belinda, we do not stand on titles here. Each of us performs the task that we are best suited to. I, for example, speak for the trees, especially Yggdrasil."
"Igrasil?" Lucius attempted.
"The great tree, Yggdrasil, which we now sit in the shade of. It was planted by Dura herself when she still walked among us, as a gift to our ancestors who sought a safe place to call home. Throughout its long life, it has gathered the wisdom of the Wilders, but also of humans, dwarfs, Maulers, anywhere that life can exist, and wood mages like me can speak to it and gain wisdom from its teachings. But not only in wisdom has the great tree grown; its roots spread far and wide, giving nourishment to every living thing that lives in the forest. Without Yggdrasil, the Dark Forest could not exist. Which brings me to why I have called you here: Yggdrasil is under threat."
"What could threaten a tree this big? There aren't enough axes in Espiria to cut it down."
"The threat does not come with weapons made of metal, Lucius. Some time ago, our forest was invaded by corrosive spirits who took control of the trees. I was able to contain the spirits, but my efforts to expel them from the forest have been fruitless. The wisdom of Yggdrasil and the efforts of the Wind Whisperers led me, finally, to you two, who also seek a way to expel demons from your land. I believe that we can help each other. If you can rid the forest of the corruption, I will ask Yggdrasil whatever question you may have."
"All we need to know right now is where the demons are coming from," Belinda answered. "If we can find their source, we can prevent them from returning."
"Then that is what I will ask. Ira of the Dusk Patrol will guide you to the quarantined zone, won't you, Ira?"
Belinda and Lucius were both surprised to see Ira suddenly appear before them.
"Follow me," Ira said to them before setting off, leaving Belinda and Lucius to try to keep up.
When the three arrived at the quarantine zone, Belinda was nearly out of breath and had to lean on Lucius for support.
"Are you alright?" Lucius asked, concerned.
"I'll be fine," Belinda responded between breaths. "I'm just not used to running like that. As much time as I spend with children, you'd think I would have more endurance."
Ira simply rolled her eyes. "I didn't think you'd work out."
"We have yet to start, and you already declare us failures?" Lucius said, getting annoyed.
"We don't need you! I brought you because Arden told me to, but he doesn't need your help! He can do this on his own!"
"With the wisdom of Dura at his fingertips," Belinda responded calmly, her breath returning to her, "Arden likely could do as he pleases, with enough time. He may fear that time is no longer a luxury that he can afford, and I fear he may be right."
The border of the quarantine zone could not have been clearer; beyond the border, the lush green of the forest was turned to bare stone. A noxious purple mist obscured their vision for more than a few feet, but it was far enough to see that nothing living lay beyond the border.
"Arden has erected a magical barrier to prevent the spread of the dead zone," Belinda observed. "How has he done it?"
Ira pointed to runes drawn on the soft earth. "He drew those."
Belinda knelt to examine the runes, and was astonished by them.
"By Dura! Lucius, I've seen these runes in some of the older books at the Temple! Before we were granted the privilege of using divine magic, our ancestors would draw runes like this and recite a prayer in the hope of channeling Dura's favor! It would take a person half his life to learn to use these runes effectively!"
"Where would Arden have learned them?"
"Where else? The tree that the Wilders worship was planted by Dura herself; it truly seems to contain her wisdom. That is how this place was cut off from the rest of the forest; Arden used a weak form of divine magic to contain the demons, but it wasn't pure enough to expel them as he had hoped."
"The seal will not last forever," Lucius observed. "All it will take is an earth tremor to erase one of these runes, and the seal will be broken."
"Then we dispel the demons ourselves."
"Can we do that on our own? One demon was exhausting, and we had Cecilia's help."
"That demon had grown strong on the blood of humans. These demons have only trees to draw strength from, and their blood is not as sacred as that of a human or a Ya. They should dissipate easily in the Light. Ira, hand me your arrows."
Ira handed Belinda her quiver, holding back a few arrows in case Belinda proved untrustworthy. Belinda held the quiver close to her chest and said a prayer over them. When she finished, the arrows began to glow.
"These arrows are now imbued with holy light. They should dispel the demons easily. Lucius, use your shield to dissipate the poison mist. Ira and I will deal with the demons. Once they are all gone, the mist should vanish entirely. Ready?"
Ira notched an arrow as Lucius readied his shield and poleaxe. Lucius raised a holy shield around the three, then they all entered the mist. At first, all went smoothly; Lucius' shield dissipated the mist before them, while Belinda's divine attacks and Ira's imbued arrows destroyed the demons wherever they were found. Ira kept careful count of the demons destroyed; she was eager to be able to tell Belinda afterward that she had killed more demons. After a few minutes, the fog lifted and the demons could no longer be seen.
"Are they all gone?" Lucius asked, hopeful.
"If they are, I'm a little disappointed," Ira commented. "I still have so many arrows."
"Let's look around a bit more, just to be certain." Belinda suggested.
Lucius lowered his shield; the air still smelled foul, but seemed safe to breathe. They searched until they reached the center of the dead zone, where they found a pile of uprooted trees covered in a dark aura.
"Why have they all gathered here?" Ira asked herself aloud.
"Let's finish them off and ask that again later." Lucius suggested.
Lucius raised his poleaxe and unleashed a beam of holy light on the pile of wood. Smoke emanated from the pile, but rather than the demonic screams Lucius expected, he instead heard laughter. The logs began to quiver, then slowly rose up and formed themselves into the shape of a giant man. The demonic wood golem let out a roar as it charged Ira and the two priests.
"Look out!"
Lucius raised his shield just in time to block the golem's fists. It mercilessly rained down blows on Lucius' shield, hoping to break through with brute force. It's attention was fully focused on this task, and so it didn't notice Belinda and Ira as they prepared their counterattacks. Ira notched a small volley of arrows, and unleashed them all at the golem at the same time that Belinda summoned holy lightning against it. The arrows stuck in the wood with no effect, while Belinda's lightning did little more than stun it.
"The demons are using the wood as a shield!" Belinda observed. "The Light cannot penetrate!"
"Then we must remove their armor!" Lucius concluded.
Lucius lowered his shield while the golem was still stunned and charged it with poleaxe raised.
"Ira, be ready to fire an arrow at any weakness you may see in the armor!"
"What is he doing?!" Ira asked, astonished that anyone would be mad enough to charge such a foe.
"He's being a paladin!" Belinda responded with pride.
As Lucius drew near the golem, he swung his poleaxe at its leg, severing it at the knee joint. The golem let out a roar as it recovered itself, soon finding and focusing on Lucius. It tried to drag itself within striking distance of Lucius, but instead found itself stunned again by an arrow carefully fired into a knot in the golem's "eye". Lucius regrouped with Belinda and Ira as Belinda sent more holy lightning on the golem.
"That was very brave," Belinda said, quite proud of him.
"It's not often I see that kind of reckless courage," Ira agreed.
"I just wish it did more good. I had hoped that severing its leg would open a path for the lightning to reach the demons within."
Belinda thought for a moment. "You may be on to something. If you could embed your poleaxe deep enough in the golem's chest, it may serve as a lightning rod to guide the Light through the wood into the demons."
"Will my poleaxe be enough to spread the Light throughout the golem?"
"It will have to be," Belinda observed. "We have no more metal that will suit us."
"That may not be true," Ira said with a smirk.
Ira pulled five metal crossbow bolts from a hidden pocket in her quiver.
"The Maulers I salvaged these from won't miss them, if you're concerned about that. They aren't as accurate as my arrows, but they have quite a bit more penetrating power."
"They're perfect!" Belinda exclaimed. "Put one in the head and one in each arm and leg, with enough of the shaft exposed for the lightning to be attracted to it! Combined with Lucius' poleaxe in its chest, the Light will be able to travel to every part of the golem!"
"Leave it to me." Ira reassured them.
Lucius charged the golem again as it started to stand back up, its leg having returned to it and reattached itself. Ira fired the bolts one at a time into the golem's extremities as Belinda instructed, while Lucius buried the head of his poleaxe in the golem's chest. Lucius quickly raised his shield, seeing a retaliatory swipe coming. The golem batted Lucius aside like a rag doll, then charged at Belinda and Ira. Belinda was quick to summon more holy lightning as soon as Lucius was clear; as hoped, the lightning was drawn to the metal weapons and was channeled through the wood and into the demon puppeteers. Exposed to the Light, the demons were incinerated almost immediately, leaving the golem they controlled to collapse into a pile.
With the destruction of the demons, the remaining curse on the dead zone was lifted. Ira placed her hand to the ground to confirm a suspicion.
"They're gone," she said with more joy than she intended to express. "All the demons are gone."
"Will this land ever grow again?" Belinda asked, concerned that it still looked dead.
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure Solise will enjoy the challenge of making this area green again. In the meantime, I think you've earned a favor from Arden."
As the three of them returned from the dead zone, they were greeted by Arden at the edge. He had a concerned look on his face.
"It's good to see this land cleansed again after all this time. Thank you, Belinda and Lucius. And well done Ira; you've made Yggdrasil itself proud."
"Thank you Arden," Ira responded, concerned at Arden's expression, "but why do you not look pleased?"
"Because I know where the demons may be coming from. Yggdrasil says that it has seen them coming and going across the border of the kingdom of Bantus."
Belinda and Lucius gasped.
"Yggdrasil can say no more; it cannot see into the lifeless kingdom. I'm afraid you will have to search Bantus yourselves."
"Thank you, Arden. This news will aid us greatly."
"I just wish the news was better. Good luck, my friends."