Chronicles of Espiria Season 1
Episode 12 - Tainted Green
Written by CindyDaGreat
"Help us...Help us, please...It hurts, Arden...Please, help us..."
[Earlier that day...]
Nemora and the old, wizened Treant known as Ulmus entered the small hut that Arden called home, Ulmus having to stoop low to fit. The house was made of still-living branches, lovingly coaxed into intertwining by Arden's magical ways, grasses used to fill in gaps that the branches could not.
"Arden, what is the matter? Why did you summon us?" Nemora asked.
Arden was visibly shaken. "I'm afraid it's a bad matter. Yggdrasil, our sacred tree, has been infected by... something."
Nemora gasped. Ulmus' eyes widened. "No wonder the poor saplings were afraid."
"I've tried speaking to the trees to find out more, but to no avail." Arden said with a frown. He started stroking his luxuriously braided beard, his eyebrows creased and full of worry.
At that moment came frantic knocks at the door. Nemora stood and opened the door to a panic-stricken elf.
"Eletha, what's wrong?" Arden asked.
"It's Aerin! Sh-she's been struck by a tree! It's roots came out of nowhere, and..."
"Calm down, Eletha!" Nemora said. "Take me to her."
"Follow me!" Eletha said as she ran from the hut, clutching her spear as if it was a lifeline. Arden and Ulmus followed as closely as they could; old age had not been kind to their running speed. On his way out, Arden picked a bundle of white lilies from his garden and tucked them into his robes.
Eletha was the first to arrive on the scene, followed closely by Nemora. Eletha could barely look at Aerin; she lie on the stained dirt, still-bleeding cuts strewn over her face and body. Nemora didn't hesitate; she got right to work as she tapped into the forest's forces of life and regeneration. Normally, it came so easily, but this time was different. She strained as she tried to call for her magic. The forest loomed over them, the trees blocking the sunlight. Concentrating hard, Nemora managed to close some of Aerin's smaller wounds and restore breath to her lungs.
"Run, before they attack again!" Aerin pleaded weakly.
Before anyone could react, Ulmus jumped between the four Wilders and the branches of the trees that were trying to crush them all. At the same time, a flurry of thorny vines burst out of the ground, striking repeatedly at everyone under Ulmus. Filled with a desire for revenge for Aerin, Eletha charged at a group of vines, using her spear to cut them down. Arden, drawing on his lesser used connections to nature, commanded lightning to strike the roots, careful to guide it so it would strike well away from his friends. Ulmus, never leaving his place as the shield for the group, tore up vine after vine from the ground. As this battle raged, Nemora continued to work on Aerin, slowly healing her wounds.
Finally, the branches and vines stopped coming, the ripped up remains of their attackers piled up before them. Arden picked up one of the vines, careful not to prick himself on the thorns, and closely examined it. He then handed it to Ulmus, whose wooden hands allowed him to hold the vine without needing to worry about the thorns.
"Keep this safe for me, old friend," Arden said to Ulmus. "I'll need to study it later. Aerin, are you okay?"
"I'm better, thank you." she replied, then passed out from exhaustion and trauma.
"I fear that this portion of the forest must be evacuated, maybe even the entire forest if necessary." Ulmus commented.
"The entire forest?!" Nemora asked with a gasp.
"If necessary, Nemora. Only if things get out of hand. Whatever this is, it has only taken root in this portion of the forest. Nemora, have anyone report to me immediately if they see anything like this happen elsewhere. I will speak with the Dusk Patrol on this matter, as soon as Ulmus and I finish one last bit of unfinished business."
Eletha helped Aerin onto Nemora's back. Just before she and Eletha carried Aerin off, Nemora said to Arden, "Please be careful."
Once they were alone, Arden and Ulmus seated themselves on the ground where the battle took place. They each took a deep breath, preparing themselves to speak with the forest around them.
"What is wrong? What happened here?"
The voices of the saplings were weak and frightened. "The forest is defiled...vile spirits with deep hatred of Dura and her gift, the Yggdrasil...they corrupted the roots of the trees...attacked our friend Aerin..."
"Aerin is safe." Ulmus reassured the saplings. "We promise we will cleanse the trees of these dark spirits."
"Help us...Help us, please...It hurts, Arden...Please, help us..."
Arden and Ulmus looked at each other with the same concerned eyes; this was likely the infection that Arden had sensed in Yggdrasil. Ulmus instinctively gathered the torn up vines. "Perhaps they can be cleansed and brought back to life." he said to himself.
Once the area was clear, Arden stood in the middle of the battlefield and drew a strange symbol on the ground. He started simple, allowing the pattern to grow in complexity as he added more detail to the symbol. Finally, he blew away any unneeded dust, leaving an ancient cleansing symbol, one which he had learned from Yggdrasil but had never had need to use until now. He next took out the lilies he had taken from his garden and gently removed the petals, reminding himself to replant the flowers when he returned to his hut. He then sprinkled the pedals around the perimeter of the symbol and took a deep breath. He struck the center of the symbol with his staff, throwing up a blue mist, and began his incantation.
"Great Yggdrasil, your roots have stood for thousands of years, since Dura first blessed you with life, and you shall stand for thousands more. I call upon your strength to push out the unclean spirit. Repel the spirit. Repel!"
A ghastly scream filled the forest as a cleansing light washed over the area. As the light faded, Arden breathed a sigh of relief. The healing process would take time, but the Wilders would continue to push back against these spirits until the forest was cleansed of the spirits.