When Iris and Queen Millicent finally got back, Jude and the rest of the birds had already finished preparing Rost’s body for cremation. They had built a domed enclosure of twigs and leaves atop one of the flattest branches. The few Fae that had been awoken cast magic around the enclosure to prevent the fire from spreading to the tree. Along with that, Arachne and Ariadne weaved a thin layer of flame repellent silk around the enclosure to keep the fire at bay. At no point did they protest the cremation.
The queen, seeing what had been done by her subjects, thanked them in earnest. To her, the potential loss of a branch of the tree, in case something went wrong, paled in comparison to the loss of her friend. The Fae bowed deeply to her and wept silently. The queen’s emotions were such at that time that waves of sorrowful mana wafted from her to those around her. As Fae, they could feel every bit of her sadness.
Iris hugged Jude, and even in that solemn setting, inspected the places of his injuries to make sure they had healed properly, and they had.
Once they had all assembled, the birds started their song of mourning, and Queen Millicent cast Starlight in the dome. The brightness became blinding before the ball of light completely vanished, leaving flames in its place. Iris and Jude both looked confused. They had thought Starlight to be simply a light spell, and noticing their faces, the queen told Jude, “That which heals can also hurt.”
The words seemed more enigmatic than an answer, but he relayed them to Iris all the same. Her mind raced to find meaning in them, but if she did, she didn’t tell Jude.
They watched the pyre burn, and even with all that fire and heat, the tree, because of the efforts of the Fae, remained unscathed. When the fire finally died, Arachne and Ariadne pulled on the silk that had surrounded the enclosure and, with added magic, collected all of the contents of the cremation within it. They handed the silk bag of ashes to their queen, who took it and walked in the direction of the birds.
Queen Millicent handed the bag to them, and they all bowed in gratitude and deference. The largest of the birds took the bag in its beak, and they all flew off.
“They will take the ashes to the highest skies and set them free there,” Queen Millicent told Jude. “That is their way.”
To Jude, what the birds were doing was a lot like ash dives, the practice of releasing a skydiver's ashes in midair done by friends and family to honor them. It seemed to him that those who lived in the sky all shared a love for it.
“Blue skies, black death,” he whispered to himself.
That night, the tree was silent.
The next day, however, the hustle and bustle of the tree returned. Queen Millicent attended to the Fae and the birds, who had not chosen a new leader yet. The process would take a while, and they had decided to put it on hold in the hopes that Jude and Iris would succeed, which would allow them to hold proper trial hunts.
There were still Fae in stasis, but none were revived that day. In fact, Jude and Iris only left their nest to eat. The next day, they would depart the tree to hunt for The Devourer, so for that day only, they would rest. There would be no sparring and no training. They had achieved all they could. Neither of them had reached the fifth level, but they felt that another day wouldn’t push them over. After Rost’s death, they didn’t want to lose any more time.
Because they knew that they could die, they did the only thing that they could think of that day: they lost themselves to their baser instincts. They hungered for and craved each other, and that day, they sated themselves.
“What do you think will happen to us tomorrow?” Iris asked during one of their breaks.
“Maybe nothing? Maybe we won’t even find The Devourer,” he answered.
“That’s… I hope we find it sooner than later. I just want this to be over.”
“We’ll get through it. Then, we’ll go back and tell Nathan and Angela everything that happened.”
“You don’t think they got dragged into this too, do you? There were so many people in that cave.”
“If they did, I’m sure they survived.”
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“Nobody else survived here…”
“But we don’t know if those other exits also dropped people here. Maybe we were just unlucky.”
“There are so many things we don’t know.”
“But as long as we survive, we’ll learn them.”
“Yeah… But that’s enough serious talk,” she said and kissed him, a signal that they should pick up where they had left off.
Daylight came and went, and soon, it was nighttime. That night, however, they slept early. They were exhausted, both physically and mentally. The anxiety of knowing what their next day would bring never completely left their minds. They didn’t hear The Devourer’s howls, but the beast howled like every other night.
The next day, after waking up and before heading out of their nest, Jude and Iris checked their statuses. They had both reached level four. Iris had done it earlier during the second week, and Jude after his fight with the Anhanga leader.
[Name: Jude Masters
Occupation: Linguist
Sub-Occupation: Unknown
Weapon: Gloves of the Lunar Eclipse (Unique-F) - Strength: 50, Spell Power: 2
Armor: Adapted Fae Chrysalis (Unique-D) - HP:300, MP:75
Lvl. 4
Health: 800
Mana: 375
Dexterity: 20
Strength: 90
Agility: 35
Stamina: 35
Intelligence: 35
Notice: More status options available at level 5.
Translation/Interpretation lvl. 10 (Max)
Fly lvl. 3
Barehanded lvl. 3]
[Name: Iris Lee
Occupation: Healer
Sub-Occupation: Unknown
Weapon: Shards of the Full Moon (Unique-F) - Dex: 50, Spell Power: 2
Armor: Adapted Fae Chrysalis (Unique-D) - HP:200, MP:175
Lvl. 4
Health: 600
Mana: 575 (+50)
Dexterity: 80
Strength: 10
Agility: 30
Stamina 30
Intelligence: 70
Notice: More status options available at level 5.
First-Aid lvl. 10 (Max)
Heal lvl. 4
Purify lvl. 4
Keen Vision (Unique-F)
Shadowstep lvl. 3
Dagger lvl. 3
Titles:
Savior of the Fae - White Magic cast on creatures of the Fae Realm will have increased effect. Fae will view you with benevolence. Bonus: +50 mana.]
“Ready?” Jude asked once they were done checking their gear and stats. Iris had prepared many panacea to combat the rot they would be confronting. She hadn’t learned to make health potions, so that was the best she could do.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” she said while caressing the pommels of her daggers by her hips. The daggers had come to mean safety for her, and she had gained considerable proficiency with them.
When they left the nest, they saw the denizens of the tree prepared to meet them.
“For what you have done for Our people and the forest and for the journey you are about to embark on, we bid you luck. Had the two of you not come to this forest, all of us would be no more. Please, be safe. Survive and return to Us,” Queen Millicent said.
The queen would not be following them in the hunt. She had her people to protect, and Iris had left her with a supply of panacea so that she could continue reviving her people. The queen, herself, was a very proficient healer. She had lost to the rot simply because she had been unable to cleanse it.
The Fae behind the queen bowed to Jude and Iris. By contrast, the birds were much more agitated. Those that Iris had treated surrounded her, singing her praises and bidding her safety. Those that Jude had trained with surrounded him and sang songs of war and victory. Neither Jude nor Iris understood what the birds had meant, but they accepted their wishes all the same.
After goodbyes were said, they left the tree.
The hunt had begun.