After obtaining a staff, Dane spent two weeks attempting to rescue his grandfather. Hilda and her massive army of skeleton soldiers routed every one of Dane's attempts. During his seventh attempt, Dane managed to force his way into the city and find the chamber serving as Vusron's prison, maintaining the Obelisk's power. But as Dane broke his chains and dragged him away, Vusron's body disintegrated in his arms. He could only escape because Hilda was too busy trying to stabilize the Obelisk and keep it from detonating. Soon after that attempt, reports of kidnapped Clerics began to surface, and he could only guess where they were going.
Dane again felt the sting of loss, a black cloud hanging over him: he had to stop Hilda. It wasn't purely out of desperation to stop Hilda's mad practices and prevent more lives from being lost; it was also revenge for the last of his family being taken from him. But no matter what he tried, the Red Witch's undead legion would chase him away in defeat. Six failed attempts later, Dane realized he would only exhaust himself without help. Seeing as how life was being expended and enslaved by Hilda, Dane reasoned that his original destination of Haim's Tree might be the best place to search. The Deity of Life should have a solution to overpower Hilda's army and might also know how to rid the world of Darkness.
After buying a compass and a map, he set out for Victarani, not stopping for eleven days. His path led across the desert, well out of reach of any civilization, and eventually, to the green pastures of the southernmost part of Victarani. Despite having found the region, searching for the Great Tree of Haim proved harder than he first thought.
His rations were running low, his back and feet ached, and he was exhausted. He followed promising leads on the location of the famed tree, but it would only bring him to a small shrine or dedicated tree in Haim's name instead. The glowing blue stone suspended in his staff gradually dimmed over the last 3 days, a sign that he was becoming too weary to use any of his magic.
Finding a small cove of roots to rest in, Dane pulled out Menodora's research journal, reading some of her neatly scrawled notes. It had been nine months and twelve days since her death. He sometimes would dream about her or would find himself shedding tears when he thought about her. All in all, his sadness felt as if it were fading away, and the Darkness surrounding him dissipated, but the world didn't seem any brighter.
"Is this due to my light not having anything to replenish it?" he would ask himself. He often imagined Menodora sitting across from him with some food she had prepared earlier in the day as he nibbled on his rations of bread and dried fruits. If he didn't find some sort of village or house that could help him, he would be out of food within 2 days. After closing the book, he nestled into the roots using his knapsack as a pillow and drifted off to sleep.
Ariel did what she could for him, giving him the strength needed for his long journey. As she peered down the road of time, she could see turbulent times ahead for this world. She tried altering events and high points in time to avoid this coming disaster. Unfortunately, her meddling would only make the disaster happen sooner or later; the world pushed towards unrest.
Kingdoms of the people within the world would start battles for power, the most prominent of which was Hekaton and the kingdom of Kritas. Disputes would break out easily among families that had been friends for generations, leading to decade-long feuds. Even old wrongs forgiven between nations, families, or siblings would rise to the surface, driving wedges between them all. Dane helped stave off some of these unfortunate events, only for another, more potent dispute to appear elsewhere.
Ariel could see she needed to do something , but didn't know what. She tried communicating this to Haim, but his only concern seemed to be ensuring the world didn't die . Whether or not that meant wars would rage was inconsequential. Nanahuatzin's duties and abilities left him unable to help. The only option she had left was Dane.
If only her interaction with him could be more personal, to meet him face to face. The wounds in his heart were beginning to heal, yes, but based on the research she read in his journal, those wounds needed much more care if they were to recover fully. And that required a personal touch.
Ariel would not only be able to heal him but, in doing so, could help him discover a way to avoid the coming disaster. She would finally have what she longed for: him, all to herself. Following Dane had made her come to love him, even from a distance, with no way to reciprocate that love. If she could meet him in the flesh, Ariel could have her affection returned to her as she wanted.
The problem would be how. Ariel could extend her mind to the surface and interact with people minimally. Dane seemed aware of her presence, but being a time goddess meant she couldn't come to the world herself without leaving most of her power and personality behind in the temple. She had done it once to meet some devoted Clerics of her order. But doing so revealed her personality and demeanor to be far less caring.
Ariel would not stand for that, especially for love. She could bring him to the temple to meet her in person, but a human could only withstand the temple's air for so long before having to return. Human bodies couldn't endure the sheer immense power of a goddess in its entirety for long without a divine pact. Another fact was that time within the temple flowed erratically, and seeing as how Dane's life was tied to Usorian Time, he might age and die within moments.
"How could I be there for you?" she asked herself while watching him sleep. Brushing aside a lock of his hair, she wished her interaction could be so much more than minimal contact. Humans were always more receptive to divine interaction when they were asleep, and this contact, while pleasing, still wasn't enough.
"Goddess Ariel, you are spending much too much time watching that human," A voice cut her concentration and snapped her back to her surroundings in the Temple of Time. Once recentering herself, she saw one of her attending Monks of the Green standing next to her.
"And how would that be an issue? Am I not allowed to interact with the people of Usoria?" Ariel questioned.
"No, but even you must realize that your duty is to all the people of Usoria, not only this one human. While your past actions have been menial, you can't focus on him alone. He will be gone in just a few short decades, something the Monks of the Blue have told us Monks of the Green repeatedly," The monk persisted, bringing the ends of his long and wide sleeves together, hiding his hands.
"I know, but I can't help but be drawn to him. He is so much like I was so long ago. His kindness draws me to him; his relentless drive to help others despite his pain. It was he that I first saw after extending my vision to this world. And even if it is for a brief moment, I would like to know what a love he had looks like. I want to know what it feels like."
"Goddess, you are speaking of mingling among humans. Such a thing is forbidden. Even your constant presence around that man has altered him in so many ways, perhaps even for the worse. Your power isn't something that a human could withstand-"
"I know that, monk. I still want to be a part of his life, not as a deity, but something more. I am a goddess, yes. But at my core, I am also a woman. There has been a void in my soul ever since I can remember, and I think he could erase that void." Ariel smiled, returning her gaze to the ground where Dane still slept.
"You almost sound like you are becoming a human, goddess," The monk retorted.
"Would it be preposterous to think my presence around Dane has also changed me?" She chuckled softly when the thought struck her; becoming human . What if there was a way she could walk among humans and be with the one human that had captivated her? Maybe not as a human , but something close enough to it to be with him. She went to the Halls of the Green, where every memory of Usoria had been stored since The Great Beginning. She searched the record scrolls and found one that depicted the beings she needed.
"These creatures are nearly extinct, but I can use their likeness to my advantage," She thought, smiling as she set her plan into motion.
The sound of birds and their sharp and high-pitched tweets interrupted Dane's sleep. As his mind became more aware, he took a mental inventory of his surroundings. The last he remembered, he had fallen asleep in a cove of roots in a reclined position, stiff and uncomfortable.
" Something has changed, " He thought, noting that he was lying flat with his head on something soft. As his mind further awoke, he felt a slight rise and fall in whatever his head lay on.
" Am I lying on or against something alive? " he questioned. Slowly, he opened his eyes, unsure of what he would find. His surroundings were definitely different; extremely tall trees encircled him on all sides. Beneath him was a bed of down and straw, nestled in the stump of a massive tree.
"You're finally awake. You must have been exhausted," A pleasant voice said. Dane froze, looking down to see a slender hand resting on his chest. Following it, he met the golden-eyed gaze of a young woman. Her gilded hair lay around them like a cloud with his head on her stomach. Dane bolted upright, reaching for his staff, but missed it and saw it lying beside the woman. He held his hands forward as a spell of energy blazed to life within his palms: without the staff's focus, the spell would run wild, but it was better than nothing.
"Be at ease, White Mage Dane; I mean you no harm." The woman urged, sitting up and adjusting her delicate, transparent green and yellow wings.
"How do you know my name?" Dane growled. Looking her over, he took note of her dress made of leaves and pointed ears, and guessed that she was some kind of magical creature. He had seen Elves and Fairies mentioned in his magic studies, but their sightings or knowledge of them were minimal.
"I have been watching you for some time, Dane. Ever since the accident in Margata that took your loved one." Dane intensified his energy as his eyes widened, struggling to hold back the flood of emotion digging its dagger through his heart.
"How do you know of that?! I demand you answer me, woman! Who are you?!" Dane growled, stepping back from her as she rose to her feet. The ball of energy in his hands grew and fizzled.
"I am Ephenia, the Usorian form of the Goddess of Time, Ariel." Dane slowly relaxed his stance, still trying to stay the pain of Menodora's memory being brought back to him so starkly.
"You were in Margata while Menodora's life slipped away before me? And you did nothing?!" Dane sneered, the energy in his hands changing to a bright fire orange while dark mist sizzled at its edges. He thought he had moved past this pain and was beginning to heal. Now this woman, this Goddess, brought it all back to him. Ephenia stepped closer, reaching for his hand and dissipating the flames within it.
"I would have helped her, Dane, but her life was already beyond my help. There was a dark power at work around her that I could not overcome without endangering her life. The most I could do was slow time so you had as long as possible together." Dane did his best to push away the pain and tears; he was beyond this! It had been months since her death. He should remember Menodora and not feel the dark shadow of sadness, pain, or loneliness. He shouldn't be, but he was. Ephenia moved to him, making Dane step back. The straw gave way under his foot as he began to fall. In one swift motion, Ephenia put her arms around him, spreading her wings and hovering while holding him close.
"You may weep, White Mage. Tears are a part of healing. You may have begun to heal, but a wound this deep takes much more time than you have allowed yourself. You have suffered a great loss all at once. Let your tears come; I will catch them." She whispered, pulling him tightly to herself. Dane struggled hard, willing his tears and pain back into the corners of his being.
The comfort she offered, the permission to weep for loved ones, eroded his will to remain stoic. Finally, he collapsed into her, letting his tears freely fall. Ephenia gently landed, his wails echoing through the forest in what felt to be an endless cycle. When he no longer had the strength to weep, Ephenia lay under him, allowing his utterly exhausted being time to rest.
Ephenia was sure there would be more tears, but she was glad she could finally come to him and touch his body and soul. She hoped that her love would reach him once he had healed, as she listened to his breathing.
"She thinks she's so great just because she can take on another form. Can't we do that as well?" one voice asked. It was high, paired with two blue eyes amidst the shadows.
"She is a goddess, after all. She can do as she pleases. This just happens to be one of the forms she can take," A second, lower voice answered, paired with green eyes.
"I bet she's going to play a trick on him while he's sleeping," the first being said.
"No, I don't think she would do that," the second huffed.
"But why not? It would be so much fun. Why don't we play a trick on him instead?"
"Because you and I know we would be eliminated before we knew what happened."
"Aww, you're just afraid."
"No, I am not. I just understand my limitations. Unlike you."
"Ha! You are scared!"
"No, I am not!"
"Then prove it! Go play a trick on that Goddess or whatever she is." The blue-eyed being pressed. The green-eyed being narrowed his eyes, sighing and rolling them before looking around and finding a snake nearby. Small stubs protruded from the shadowy figure and picked it up, hovering over to the two people in the center of the clearing, then dropped the snake right on the woman's head, flitting back to the hiding spot.
"Do you think that snake will bite her?" the blue-eyed being laughed.
"Maybe," The green-eyed being retorted, both watching intently. The woman looked stirred when the snake slithered through her hair and across her arm. With a shout, she kicked off the man and began batting wildly in the air, trying to rid her hair of the snake caught in her mass of golden locks. The man instantly woke up, groggily looking around to find what had happened when he saw the woman in a panic.
"Stop flailing; you'll make it bite you." The man scolded. The woman seemed not to hear him, continuing to flail. Both beings inched closer to the clearing, waiting with bated breath for what the snake would do. But the man quickly grabbed the woman's arms, pinning her securely against himself, then gently removed the snake from her hair before walking it to the edge of the clearing and setting it free.
"Aww! Come on! That snake should have at least bitten her!" the blue-eyed being whined when they both saw the man's gaze fixed on them. How could he see them? People usually couldn't see them, so others blamed their tricks on someone else. But this man looked as if he could see them; how? Quickly, the two turned and left, weaving their way through the forest.
"You didn't get the right snake, did you?" the blue-eyed being scoffed.
"A snake is a snake. How am I supposed to know if it'll bite or not? They all look the same. But did you see how she panicked when she saw the snake?!" The green-eyed being laughed hard, its eyes squinting to slits as it laughed, until a soft blue light overshadowed them.
"What mischief have you gotten into this time?" The large being asked. The two shadow beings turned around to see a log-like creature hovering behind them, blue light glowing within the split log of its body.
"Oh, come off it, Guwaru. We were just having a little fun." The blue-eyed being pouted.
"As the Guardian of the Forest, I must scold you for your actions. You may not like humans, but I cannot allow you to do something as deadly as trying to kill a human. It was reckless and uncalled for. If you do this again, I will have no choice but to dispel you."
"You're no fun, Grandpa Tree Bark." The green-eyed being huffed.
"Then I shall spell it out for you. If you continue this destructive path, other humans will come thinking there is a dangerous creature killing humans here. In turn, I must protect the forest, confirming their tales and escalating things further."
"You're the guardian of the forest . Why would you protect humans? They're so loud and don't have that much power."
"I protect the humans and, in turn, protect the forest," Guwaru answered, reaching his hands around the shadow beings and escorting them back into the forest. Both beings sighed in discontent.
"It's not just us that's causing problems, you know. Other shadows are draining the land of life!" The blue-eyed being squeaked.
"Yes, I know. But they are not threatening the life of the forest as of yet. I have no intention of expending energy unnecessarily."
Dane kept his eye on the shadows for a while, his senses tingling, thinking he saw two pairs of eyes leave the outer circle before returning to Ephenia.
"You shouldn't have panicked like that. There are poisonous snakes here in the forest," Dane huffed, sitting down once his adrenaline high wore off and the weight of Menodora's memory returned.
"I will admit, I have only been in this form for less than a day. The sensations of that creature were… strange. I simply wanted them to stop," She answered. Dane nodded silently and put his head in his hands, supporting his elbows with his knees.
"Who are you? And why have you been following me? I have never seen you before, yet you know so much about me." Dane asked once he had gathered enough strength.
"As I said, this body 'Ephenia' allows me, the Goddess Ariel, to be here with you in Usoria. I have been following you from my temple since the disaster in Margata. The amount of power released with the collapse of your Great Circle caught my attention. Ever since then, I felt drawn to you. And so, I followed you by extending my mind and vision." Looking up from his hunched position, Dane turned his gaze to her as thoughts connected.
"You have been the presence I felt following me?" Dane probed, watching her smile and softly nod. Dane was unsure what he should feel: he was thankful for her presence, which helped his heart from collapsing entirely. At the same time, he felt deceived that the presence he noticed wasn't Menodora whatsoever.
"Then was it you lending me the power to heal those on the brink of death?"
"Yes, that was also me."
"Why? You are a goddess; you could have healed Menodora instantly, despite the problems. You could have healed them all, yet you limit yourself to enhancing my magic while I help others."
"You misunderstand, White Mage. Your loved one-"
"Menodora." Dane snapped. The rage in his eyes made Ephenia feel like a memory was trying to surface, but it passed.
"Menodora had been touched by a brutal raw force that broke down power, magic, and even life itself. To close the wound and will her body to stitch itself back together would have taken a massive amount of my power to rise above that force; her life force was too weak and wouldn't have been able to withstand it."
"What force do you mean?" Dane asked with widening eyes. "What is so formidable that it can even break down the power of a goddess?"
"Only one person in Usoria uses this force; a man within a city called Kritas named Arkarium." Dane's eyes widened further as the realization of what prevented Menodora's survival hit him: Dark Alchemy. His shoulders sank; he allowed its use and even improved it for Dr. Long's experiment. HE was the one to blame for Menodora's death, not Russel.
"It's all my fault." He choked. Ephenia immediately went to him, putting her hand on his jaw and turning his face to hers.
"It's all my fault…"
"White Mage. Dane, look at me. Look at me !" she urged, as Dnae focused on her.
"Her death was not your fault. You didn't know what would happen. You didn't force this on her. You. Are. Innocent." She said with gentle conviction, each of her words fighting into his mind and calming him.
"What about you? You are the Goddess of Time! You could have seen what would have happened!" Dane countered. Ephenia paused; her lack of attention to the world could have affected this. But this man, this human, needed healing. Telling him the truth now might be more than he could bear.
"Even with my power, there would have been no way to foresee this unfortunate outcome until it was too late. Some paths are hidden to me, and this was one such path." Dane felt his being quiver with pain once more and wanted to turn away, but Ephenia forced his gaze to remain, her strength easily overpowering him.
"I have never experienced the pain of the loss you feel. But let me be the salve to those wounds. Do you remember Menodora's last words? She said not to let your light die with her. Please, your light is too pure to let die." Tears plummeted from Dane's eyes, and his face contorted with grief.
"Please, save me." He whimpered. Ephenia pulled him to her chest as he collapsed into her once more, hiding his mourning in the crook of her neck.