For the first time in nearly two years, Viria felt the crushing pressure ease. It was a gradual change; each day past lifted the pressure ever so slightly. It felt easier to breathe, to put one foot in front of the other. She couldn’t help but smile as she turned towards Selerim. “Do you feel that?”

The hollow furrowed his brow. Nyx was perched on top of his head, making for an odd sight. “Feel what?”

“Nothing.” Viria turned back to lead with a twinge of annoyance. The distance between them had widened. Not to the same extent as before; he wasn’t cold or callous, but its presence was undeniable.

She knew why. They would part ways soon, and then never see each other again. That was what he wanted– he’d said as much– and she intended to respect it. But it stung, even if she couldn’t blame him.

Still, Viria’s smile returned as she turned back to lead. She couldn’t help it. The dread and anxiety surrounding her return were distant afterthoughts in the face of this newfound freedom. She’d nearly forgotten what it felt like to just exist without feeling… dragged down. It was euphoric.

Daytime grew brighter, as well. That difference was more noticeable– bit by bit, the previously permanent haze of Umbra slowly gave way to sunlight and warmth. Not significant amounts, but enough to breathe new life into Viria. She could remove all but the heaviest of her winter garb, and that gave her the strength to travel into the night.

Selerim, for his part, seemed unbothered– until she turned around. He lagged behind, unsteady on his feet and in stride. One of his hands awkwardly covered a single eye.

Alarm rose as Viria hurried back to him. “What is it?” She asked hurriedly. If he was sick…

The hollow groaned, raising the other hand to his eye and bending over slightly. Nyx wobbled on top of his head. “It’s too bright. It’s making me dizzy.”

“What? But…” Viria trailed off. It took her a moment to realize. “Let’s stop for the night.” Inwardly, she chided herself. I should have realized. His eyes were made for the dark. If it was bright enough for her to notice, it must be blinding for him. And here she was, sulking that he wanted to see his family again.

Selerim shook his head. “No. We should keep going. It’ll pass in a few hours.”

Viria gently gripped both of his hands in hers. “Then we should stop and rest for now. There’s no point in trying if neither of us can see.”

The hollow blinked, then nodded hesitantly. “Alright.”

It didn’t take them long to set up camp. Snowfall was lighter here, and the fire dried the ground soon enough. Selerim lay flat on his back, arms held over his eyes.

“Are you okay?” Viria asked.

“Yeah,” Selerim muttered. “I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

“Is this your first time outside of… Home?”

“No.” He shook his head. “I went once with the convoy to the human kingdom.”

“Did you feel like this,” she gestured at him. “While you were there?”

“I don’t remember… it’s been a while. I think I was dizzy for a few days.”

“We can take a few days for you to adjust if you need it.”

“No.” Selerim shook his head. “I’ll be fine soon.”

“And if you’re not?”

“...”

He seemed not to have an answer for that one.

She hugged her knees close and stared into the fire. “Why do you drive yourself so hard?” She asked in a hushed tone. The silence stretched, and just as Viria was about to repeat the question, she realized Selerim was asleep. Nyx was curled up on his chest, still awake and alert.

“Wh–” She exclaimed, then burst out laughing, clamping a hand over her mouth when Selerim stirred slightly. He must be worn out. Viria fell back into her bedding, staring up at the sky. It cast its slight silver hue to the trees below, giving their leaves a ghastly look.

Sleep took her a moment later.

When Viria woke the next day, she raised a hand to rub her eye– and paused as shimmering strands of black and white danced across her curled fingers. There was a haze at the edge of her vision. Not the pitch-black fog of Umbra, but a transient grey border.

“Selerim,” she said uncertainly. “Your eyes. Are they…” She trailed off. The hollow was still asleep. “Selerim,” Viria said again, more urgently this time. She stood up, intending to physically rouse him, then froze.

It was bright out.

Not the harsh orange light of the fire she grew accustomed to. Gentle yellow light.

Sunlight.

Viria straightened and swept her gaze from side to side. She stood at the center of a primeval struggle; warm light to her front, and cold shadows to her back. They clashed and mingled, driving spikes of their essence into the body of the other.

Viria looked back down at her now-open hands. Light and dark rippled across her flesh, pooling in her palms and twining across her slender fingers. She laughed, then knelt. “Selerim!”

The hollow woke, this time. He sat up, blinking uncomfortably.

“How are your eyes?”

Selerim shook his head and rubbed his eyes. “Too bright,” he groaned.

Viria pulled his hands away, then gently cupped his face in both of hers. “Don’t force yourself,” she said consolingly. “Take your time. If we need to stop for a little while, we will.”

He took a deep breath and nodded. Mist gathered in his eyes as he blinked and winced, but eventually- “I’m fine.” He stood despite Viria’s protests. She rose alongside the hollow, ready to catch him at a moment’s notice.

Selerim’s eyes widened “What is this?” There was a note of wonder in his voice that made her laugh.

“You haven’t seen it before?” Viria asked. “What about the human kingdom?”

He shook his head. “It’s different. It’s just… one step.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know how to explain it.” The hollow paused. “What about you? Didn’t you see this before?”

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Viria’s chest tightened. “We were in a rush.” She leaned forward to look him in the face. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

Selerim nodded. “We should keep moving.”

Before long, their camp was packed. The shadows grew lighter with each of Viria’s steps, until finally, her foot passed some invisible border. All at once, the previously eternal darkness just… fell away. It took her eyes a minute to adjust to the light that took its place. And what stretched past it was… home.

The trepidation and uncertainty of the past two years fell away. Just one step, Viria laughed as her legs unconsciously carried her forward. Her pace increased with each step until she was sprinting.

“Ah.”

She froze mid-pace, then turned back.

image [https://i.imgur.com/T7fdvjj.png]

If Selerim thought it bright before, it was truly blinding now. The light’s assault was relentless. It came from every direction; save for his back. He turned there, finding blissful relief in the shadows that trailed behind.

This place isn’t meant for me.

He knew that for certain now.

Maybe–

“Are you scared?” A voice asked. It was Viria’s. Soft, soothing, and free of any mockery.

He swallowed.

“Yes,” he admitted tentatively.

Her hands came to rest on his shoulders. “It’s alright,” the elf said gently. “I’ll guide you. Just take it bit by bit. If it’s too much, we’ll turn back. Okay?”

Selerim nodded. He tensed as she tried to turn him around, but trusted her direction. The light was still bright, but perhaps not as much as before. It was still intense; just not overwhelmingly so.

“How is it?” He heard Viria’s voice, but her face and form were hidden by the endless white. He shook his head. “Too bright.” Selerim found himself turned back towards the blissful dark.

“Take your time,” the elf said gently. “It’s just you and me. Don’t push yourself too hard. Just tell me when you’re ready.”

He took a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

Like before, the light was still blinding, but not as intense as before. They continued that odd routine until something in his eyes finally clicked into place. “Whoa.”

The word, half-gasp, half-syllable, escaped his mouth unbidden.

“Ah. Can you see now?”

Selerim nodded mutely, at a loss for further words.

Viria giggled as she swept by him, flinging her arms out to gesture at what lay ahead exaggeratedly. “Welcome to Vasoria.”

A forest spread out behind her, stretching far beyond what his eyes could make out– especially in all the light. That alone wouldn’t have shocked Selerim. He grew up in a forest. It wasn’t a fact that he consciously acknowledged, but it was true nonetheless.

Now and here, though, with the elven land in front of him, calling the brush surrounding Cress a “forest” was laughable. The forest– if it could even be called that– was on a scale so massive that he could hardly even picture the rest of it.

“What is this?” Selerim asked.

Viria doubled over. “You should see your face,” she said between giggles.

Selerim found himself staring upwards. Not at the sky, but at the trees. They were massive, in both width and height. Their trunks were wider than any house or building he’d ever seen, and each pierced the clouds above, intruding further into the heavens. A single one alone could have built Cress many times over.

“Wha?” He repeated, dumbfounded.

Viria’s giggles intensified until she nearly fell over. “I was wondering if you knew,” she said breathlessly.

“They’re so… big,” Selerim said stupidly. “Why are they so big?”

Viria struggled to catch her breath. Still laughing, she beckoned for him to follow to the nearest one.

Despite the novelty of the spectacle, his eyes were drawn to her, instead. The sunlight wreathed the elf’s pale green hair and gleamed off her skin, giving her an angelic aura that burned away the shadows as they streamed by.

But there was something more to it. Comfort. Joy. An ease to just being that he’d never seen in her before. She belongs here, Selerim realized. This was her home. Even if it hurt her before.

“What do you think the most important resource for us is?” Viria asked, whirling back around to face him. Her tone reminded him of Corvus during his apprenticeship.

“I don’t know.”

The elf grinned triumphantly.

“Space!”

“... Space?”

She nodded emphatically. “Think about it. We can’t live in Umbra– not without wearing Wells. So every kingdom needs a way to keep it at bay.” Viria strode up to the tree, closing her eyes as she pressed one palm to the gnarled wood. “This is ours.” A small smile crept across her face. “The trees consume essence.” Her hand dropped. “We use the Hearts from your people to nourish the saplings.”

Selerim looked out over the forest. The light was still painful, but his vision was clearer now. “How old is this forest?” He may not have been an elf, but trees grew slowly. He knew that much.

Viria, following his gaze, shrugged. “We don’t know,” she answered solemnly. “The oldest of our trees has been standing for as long as we have records.”

“So it’s as old as your people?”

“Perhaps.” She paused and looked just above his head. “How is Nyx?”

Selerim reached up, and his Wyrd stepped up readily. He brought her down to eye level. The duskwing’s feathers trembled, and her eyes darted from side to side, but she was otherwise fine– just taken aback.

“Just getting used to this.” He replaced her.

“Are her eyes okay?”

“I think so.”

“I wonder why.”

Selerim shrugged. “Your sword,” he started, struck by a thought. “Is it made from the trees?”

Viria shook her head. “Not quite.” She swept another arm across their surroundings. “We don’t cut down the trees,” she started. “We tend to them, and they keep us safe in return. It would be like tearing down our own castle. But forests… change. They grow, yes, but the individual trees lose limbs. Sometimes they fall entirely.”

“So you find them? Harvest them?” Selerim shook his head. “That sounds inefficient.”

Viria nodded in agreement. “It is. But you’re not quite right.”

Her sword appeared in a cupped hand. “This is elderwood.” She emphasized the first part of the word.

“But what does that mean?”

“You know what happens to the trees as we move deeper, right?

“... they’ll get older?”

She nodded again. “Right.”

“So it’s just an older tree.”

“Sort of.” Viria swung her sword with a fluid, practiced motion. The matted blade carved a clean gash in the tree’s massive frame. Despite its length, the mark looked puny on the gnarled brown canvas. “It’s harder,” the elf continued. “But the important thing is that it’s still living.”

Selerim nodded as the new information clicked into place. “That’s why it repairs on its own.”

“Right.” her sword disappeared with a flourish.

“That’s… amazing,” Selerim said, at a loss for words.

Another smile spread over Viria’s face, more joyous and carefree than any he’d seen so far. “Right?” She asked, excited.

Selerim nodded and looked back over the forest. “Do you recognize anything?”

Viria bit her lip. “Not really,” she admitted. “There are a few landmarks in each Grove, but it could take a while to find one.”

“Grove?”

“Not every part of the forest is populated,” the elf explained. “A lot of it is just… forest. Trees. No homes or barricades.”

“That sounds… hard to travel. ”The trees were undoubtedly different from one another, but actually distinguishing those differences was impossible.

Viria shook her head. “There are blazes and cairns to guide the way, but…” she hesitated, then looked down “It’s been a while. I might not recognize them.”

Entirely on instinct, Selerim reached out and took one of her hands. “It’s alright,” he said gently. “We’re here now. That’s the hard part. Now we just need to figure things out for a little bit longer.”

She looked up at him and nodded once.

Selerim looked back at where they’d come from. The darkness swirled around a cone of light, making it look like an entirely different dimension. “We should keep moving,” he finally said.

Viria nodded. As they continued onward, there was a new life in the way that she carried herself; her steps were lighter, and her head turned from side to side, soaking in everything around them.

The sight made him smile.

It was good to see her happy.