Chapter 4
The Forest
Whispers traveled on the leaves, the first sounds coming to Terrill’s ears as he started to focus. Having found himself in another unknown location, he didn’t dare to get up with swiftness. The last few times he had, he was met with disaster. So, he remained on his back, sensing the dead leaves that were getting caught in the threads of his jerkin, while his eyes began to slowly open, facing a dull canopy overhead. The sun was dead in here, and the air tight. Had he been claustrophobic, Terrill might have found himself unable to breathe. Instead, he found himself sighing.
“Another unfamiliar place… Ugh, I’m getting sick of this…” His mutterings did not echo, implying he was either in a much smaller space than he believed, or the very space he was in trapped all sound, and suffered no visitors to pass. It might have sounded ludicrous, but seeing the Shadow, a monster made of fear and regrets, Terrill was sure even a forest could take on that kind of energy. Another breath left his mouth, stirring some of the dying foliage up above. A couple of the leaves broke off, falling down and landing on his nose. The occurrence began to bring Terrill back to his current physical condition: his hand was on his sword, and his back on a bed of leaves. To his side, Terrill could see a rock, while on his other was a gnarled path of trees and branches that did not look inviting in the least.
“Terrill!” The shout caused him to sit up, nearly banging his head on a tree branch that had not been there seconds before. Its presence communicated everything he needed to know about this forest he was in, if not the how…and if it could even be called a forest at all. Lumen’s voice echoed through the trees yet again. “Terrill, are you out there?!”
“I’m over here!” he shouted back, only to catch his potential mistake. “As if either of us know where here is… Lumen, stay still, I’ll come to you!”
“Okay!” For a wild second, Terrill began to believe it was a trap set by the forest, but with no other clue or motion to move on, he shook his head and chose to find his companion, one foot in front of the other. Those feet sent vibrations through the forest, deadened by its many roots and whatever energy was in this strange place. His usual proficiency with the earth was reduced, and Terrill could only faintly sense where someone was standing, not far from his present location.
There were others, too, a bit farther off. However, Terrill lost the thread on those other presences due to the shifting of the forest. The longer he felt, the more off it became, like the forest was moving of its own accord. He needed to find his companions soon.
Ensuring that the way forward was not barred, Terrill searched for a path, finding a worn, dirt road that ran through the forest. It didn’t appear worn from human presence, however, and Terrill got his first sight of how this forest acted when some roots and vines pulled towards the fringes. A shiver ran down Terrill’s back, now feeling watched by all of the trees in the forest when he heard a scream. His body whipped around so fast, he was afraid he might’ve pulled a muscle, but the scream died as soon as he’d heard it.
“Playing tricks…” he muttered under his breath. It had been a woman’s scream, and not one that sounded familiar. With so few presences in the forest, he knew it had to be a lie and he turned back to find the path had shifted just slightly, leading him to…somewhere. Terrill chose to follow it, keeping his sword close to his side now that he had no scabbard. The trees were keeping a close eye on the weapon, but didn’t dare to try anything while his attention was on them. He continued to track Lumen, who was indeed not moving.
That made it no easier to locate him, as little turns of the road and plants shifted him slightly off-course. One of the roots became mischievous, trying to trip Terrill, but he jumped over it and continued on, taking a curve in the direction he knew Lumen was, only to pull up short.
His breath caught, and his eyes were blinded by the light exuding from the end. In that light appeared a person, and Terrill reached for them. His mind screamed at him that it was mere delusion, but it did not stop his feet from running, only to miss the branch that snaked out and smacked him in the face. Terrill dropped, and when he looked up, the light and the woman inside it were gone. “Krysta…?”
He rubbed his eyes, and the figure didn’t return, but he couldn’t think of it as mere illusion. Something about her felt real, and as implausible as it was, Terrill wasn’t willing to write off her presence. With a groan, he stood, and more of the trees parted, leading their way to a clearing with a rock, upon which Lumen sat. This one wasn’t an illusion. In fact, he brightened considerably upon seeing Terrill enter the clearing.
“I’m glad we’re not entirely separated like when we first came to Adversa!” came the relief while Lumen clasped to his chest. Terrill ruffled his lengthy hair at that, convincing the boy that he was there, and himself that Lumen was just as real. “Though…I don’t know where we are. Terrill, I feel like this forest is alive!”
“Tricks and traps… I’m inclined to agree.” Terrill sat himself next to Lumen on the rock, his sword placed down and his fingers lacing together. Lumen had a sword, too, but it lay on the grass, its new owner seeing no need to pick it up. A glance was given in the boy’s direction. “Lumen, you didn’t…see anything, did you? Anybody?”
“No. Why?” Terrill shook his head, not confiding the truth of it. He wasn’t sure if he had even ascertained the truth, himself. “Well, anyway, guess we should find a way out of here before this forest tries to trick us some more.”
“I guess. Though, we’re missing a member. Hope he’s not possessed and made a Phantom Knight again.”
“Come now, Terrill, don’t you have some faith in me.” The rustling of the branches and trees gave reason for the pair to turn and pay witness to Charles stumbling out, his hand clasping to his side as blood seeped out.
“Charles, your wound!” Lumen cried upon seeing the older man. He made for him, barely making it back to the rock before Charles’s legs could give out, a harsh breath exhaling from his lungs.
“I’ll be fine,” Charles said, waving off his charge and running a hand through his gray hair. Terrill watched him, his contemplative dark eyes staring into the forest, unseeing. There was recognition there, and Charles opened his mouth after a second to confirm that. “I know where we are: Wicked Forest.”
“Oh, that’s a real comfort,” Terrill said with a snort. He leaned back on his hands, staring at the canopy that was never-changing, blotting out the sun. The longer Terrill watched, the more he could swear to seeing dark wisps playing across the ceiling of trees. “Leave it to Clay and Winifred to strand us in a place with an ominous name and no way to get to wherever we need to go.”
“That part…is not entirely true.” Charles’s pain was evidently overtaking his ability for speech, causing Lumen undue worry. He nevertheless plowed through his agony to continue his geography lesson. “We’re on Clupei. To the north, the Abyssal Palace where we fought the Shadow. I’d imagine some remnants of it yet linger here.”
“How the hell did we end up in Sayn, then?” Terrill asked. He couldn’t remain sitting any longer, bouncing to his feet and swinging his blade around.
“I’d imagine it has to do with those conduits. The Shadow was thrashing about so much that we were ejected elsewhere. Though we’ve nothing to fear from that creature.” Charles took his hand away from his wound, the blood sticking to it. That was some sort of sign for Lumen to move in, but he was no Krysta, and appeared to have no way of healing the wound. Not for lack of trying until Charles pushed him away. If it was up to him, he was prepared to die there, a thought that made Terrill scowl. “Darkness in and of itself is not so wicked as the name of this forest suggests. Its users are another matter altogether, but darkness itself is just an element, pure and untainted. I’d like to believe you’ve seen it in Atrum.”
Terrill’s gaze zeroed in, watching Charles become wistful, and Lumen turn pensive. All three were connected to Atrum in some way, and it impressed upon Terrill the importance of getting out of this place. Still, Charles’s words gave him no small source of discomfort. “Are you really talking about Atrum, or about yourself?”
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me.” Terrill stopped the motion of his sword, sticking it into the grass to work his way around, confronting Charles. “I saw pieces of your past in that darkness, the regrets holding you back, your connection to Golbrucht. Then you tried to offer yourself as some sort of sacrifice, after all the things I had to do to convince you not to.”
“Why, Terrill? Not as altruistic as you believe? Do you need to save my life as some salve for your soul?”
“Bastard.” Terrill didn’t care for Lumen’s shouts, grabbing Charles by his old, embroidered tunic and holding him up. Lumen screamed about his opening wounds, but neither man backed down from the stare. “I’m trying to save your life because I’m not him! I’m not Golbrucht, who uses people and tosses them away once he’s done playing with his toys. You, Lumen, Walter, the whole countries we worked to stop warring, even the Lifebloods. I want them all to survive! So, what is it, Charles? How do you know where we are and why are you so tormented in your need for some sick sort of redemption?!”
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“Terrill, enough. You’ll kill him.”
“It’s what he wants, isn’t it? He wants to die.”
“I slaughtered innocents, fomented war and led countless Chosen Ones to their deaths,” Charles said, emotionless, accepting of what fate had given him. “Why should I not want to die?”
“Because you need to find something to live for! Don’t you have anything? Death doesn’t redeem you if it’s just pointlessly giving up!” Terrill let go of the man, allowing him to fall against the rock, where Lumen stopped him. The older man turned his head, watching the young boy that he had been entrusted with. There, Terrill saw a bond and, for a moment, a reason to live. He pressed it. “If you die now, then everything you’ve done…it will have only been for Golbrucht. If we sacrifice each other like that, we’re no different from him, or did you not promise to protect Lumen? He still lives! He’s still defying that fate! So why don’t you want to?”
Lumen continued propping Charles up, and the older Guardian turned to look at Terrill. They watched each other, each in a stalemate, until a chuckle rose from Charles. “Ha ha… You…remind me of someone I knew, in my past life. Before Sayn. Before…Golbrucht.”
“Should I be flattered?” Charles made a museful hum while Terrill retrieved his sword from the ground, no longer wishing to fight. He preferred finding a way out of this forest to…somewhere. Anywhere, really. He couldn’t be stuck here while the Fiends were out there.
“I guess. She was Rotarin’s greatest craftsman. Perhaps still is, though I’ve not seen her since I left home. She wasn’t all that aware of my decision, either.”
“You mentioned once that you came from Clupei, right, Charles?” Lumen’s question elicited a nod and a grunt from his Guardian. Charles made to stand. His wound was still looking nasty, but he was easily acting as though he’d been through much worse in his life.
“Like I said, we’re in a place called Wicked Forest, a moniker attached to it because the trees were said to feed off of the Lifeblood of Darkness from the Abyssal Palace.”
“Wait, the people of Clupei know of the Lifeblood? That’s rare.” At Terrill’s comment, Charles inclined his head with agreement.
“I can’t say how many actually know. It always felt more to be rumor than anything. In either case, the people of Rotarin were more than pleased to let it keep its name. The forest was always more playful than actively wicked, and perhaps it’s the only sign of magic that exists in Dimidia. But it protected the town and settlements in the southern half of the continent.” Here, Charles paused, staring up at the dead branches like he was trying to get a glimpse of the sun, but not caring if he did or didn’t. He did laugh a little, like the memories of his past generated some happier times that allowed him to keep going. “Sometimes the children would dare each other to venture in, but most were spit back out, so the parents never worried.”
“I’m starting to get the feeling you’re from Rotarin, wherever and whatever that is,” Terrill said. Unlike his companion, he focused his energies on the ground, looking for a path that could lead them out. He contemplated moving to the north, and the Abyssal Palace. A Lifeblood was as good a place to start as any.
“I’m from one of the nearby settlements.” Charles breathed out, stretching his body. While Lumen was alarmed, the older man was more sprightly than ever, the wound causing him no issue. Terrill wasn’t sure if he was superhuman or just blocking out the pain lest it become unbearable. “Sayn, or the continent of Cordis, I guess, is mostly rolling hills with small communities that are segregated but form into the whole of the country. Rotarin is the opposite. Southern Clupei is largely either farmland or settlements built upon rich mining deposits with metals the likes of which can’t be found anywhere else in the world. All of that pools in support of Rotarin. While some remain there, tending the land, many more look to find work in the great city of craftsmen. A life duty, one could say.”
“No offense, Charles, but you don’t look like much of a craftsman to me.” Lumen hid his mouth behind his sleeve, starting to laugh like he found the concept extremely funny. It drew the first smidgen of annoyance from Charles as his charge continued to find humor in the concept.
“Because I wasn’t. Even a forge needs its defenders. I found work as a warrior even at a young age. Perhaps younger than you, Terrill, our youngest Guardian.”
“Very funny,” Terrill said with a drawl. He was no longer humored by pointless conversation, and set off in a random direction. The trees parted to let him, but he had no idea why and cared even less. Not long after, Charles and Lumen caught up with him. “I hope you don’t think we’re going to keep throwing barbs at each other. Now isn’t the time for us to play catch up or joking.”
“I wholeheartedly agree, but it’s important for you to understand, given what enemy we’re up against, Terrill.”
“Oh, it’s ‘we’ now?” Terrill refused to stop walking, forcing the other two to match his pace, though Lumen had to catch up after gathering his weapon. “Last I thought, you wanted to die. There was no we in that.”
“Then perhaps I don’t know what I really want, because my head has not been so clear in years. But I’ve been tied by Golbrucht’s string for years, and I know what he wants most of all, just as you would know what Atrum really wants. We were all connected by that singular desire that drove us.”
This time, Terrill let his feet pull to a halt. He did know that all too well, all the times that Atrum had confided in him, and what he’d seen in the Shadow. How lonely they were, and how they only wished to be free. Golbrucht simply planned it on a scale far larger and more devastating than most. It put much for Charles into perspective, as well. “You wanted to be free from the stifling town?”
“I didn’t feel I could grow there, and I wanted out. Other than a few friends, I left, and journeyed north, through here. I found the Lifeblood of Darkness, and in getting too close…”
“You were Blessed. I figured that part out when Golbrucht was using you.” Back at a standstill, Terrill began to spin his sword without thinking, his foot tapping and crunching on some of the dead leaves in his path, crushing them into powder. There was a thought on the tip of his tongue, on how Dimidia, Adversa, and the Fiends and the Blessed were connected. Clay had intimated as much, but without the combined brainpower of Floyd and Torry, he just couldn’t fit the pieces together. It did, nevertheless, bring up an equally interesting point. “Wait, how does you being Blessed tie to Golbrucht?”
“I’m…honestly not sure. Perhaps the Lifeblood?”
“That makes sense!” Lumen’s rather chipper agreement at first sounded like he just wanted to contribute to the conversation. As his words grew more solemn, though, Terrill began to think he had given this some serious thought. “Golbrucht used his Soul String to split my soul from my body, but we’re still tied together, and he’s tied to Golbrucht. My body, as a result, acts as one of the Blessed, an anomaly in Adversa.”
“I don’t think that’s the same thing…” Terrill’s nose wrinkled, a calming wind passing over the trio. “But maybe there is some tie to the Lifebloods and the Fiends, which could explain why Golbrucht could control you. He purposely chose to create the Shadow where the Lifeblood of Darkness was, and you were blessed by the same. It would stand to reason…though it’s impossible for the three of us to know on our own. Krysta might.”
“Krysta? I know she’s a user of light magic, but would she really…?”
“I get the feeling she would,” Terrill assured Lumen. He wasn’t entirely sure, himself, but having seen her last state, his gut was telling him that Krysta had answers that she had long chosen to not share. “Alexander would know, too, but wouldn’t you know that he’s wherever Priscus is, likely, and not the same one, anyway.
“Which leads to the bigger problem: we’re stuck here and any way off this continent will take us weeks at a time. That’s time we don’t have, especially if Golbrucht is linked to the Lifeblood.”
“Why is that a problem? Surely we can find some way to use the portals of the Lifebloods.” Lumen’s suggestion only heightened the threat of their quandary.
“That’s the issue. We used the lines of the Lifebloods a lot to traverse Adversa, but I get a strong feeling they wouldn’t last much longer if we did it again. Especially if we have less plain souls along for the ride. That means we have to take more…conventional methods of transportation. I don’t know about you, but getting Floyd and Torry, who would know way more about this than any of us, would take weeks at best just to sail across… Assuming we can even find a boat.”
“Then what about a ship?”
“Charles, what did I just-”
“I mean a flying ship.”
Terrill blinked. Not once. Not twice. Rather, it was more like a hundred times in very quick succession before he shared glances with Lumen, both thinking the same exact thing. They had witnessed such a thing themselves, and while Charles had been near it, his wild suggestion did not seem to propose finding a way to Valorda and the Wind Fortress therein. Together, Terrill and Lumen spoke in chorus.
“You’ve seen a flying ship?”
“Well, no, not exactly.” His paces forward took precedence over his explanation, taking deep strides. The forest began to part for him, and now it was Terrill who had to catch up. “Rotarin is no mere village of craftsmen. Rather, they are a people who have long spent their lives researching ancient devices. When last I was there, a discussion about a flying ship was the hot topic of the city. That person you reminded me of, they were even selected to pioneer the project of restoration. I’m sure quite a breakthrough has been made in twenty years. Maybe even something greater, knowing Chloe.”
“Er…Chloe?” Lumen’s paces turned into leaps to join with Charles, the man now having become the leader of their entourage.
“You’ll see. I still have some connections in Rotarin…I hope…”
“You don’t sound confident…” Lumen’s wariness gave rise to Charles’s laughter, while Terrill reached out to clasp him by the shoulder. The two Guardians froze, each questioning the other.
“Given everything, are you sure about this? Fighting? Because I don’t want to fight with someone who will throw themselves in at the first chance to die.” Charles’s brow furrowed, giving deep consideration to what Terrill was asking of him. There was no light task before them, and they each needed all the allies they could gather. With this in mind, Charles sighed, giving an aside to Lumen before answering Terrill’s query.
“I think…I have a charge to protect. And honestly, some part of me wants answers for why Golbrucht could control me…and because I think each one of us can understand him and that yearning to defy fate.” He nodded, wincing at the pain of his wound, but straightening his back with purpose. “I want to see the end of that road. You’re right, Terrill. Tossing away my life right now will do no good, so, if I can help you stop the one who made our lives hell… I’ll have to trust in that giving my life meaning.
“So, for now, do you agree with making for Rotarin?”
“I don’t think we have much choice,” Terrill acquiesced. From the glint in Charles’s eyes, he knew Terrill wasn’t just speaking of their destination. It didn’t stop him from leading the path forward, but Terrill lagged behind, staring back into the abyss of shifting trees. He knew he’d seen her there, watching him. From the tremors of the earth, there was someone else, too, close behind. Like they were tracking them. Like they were led there in concert. He scoffed. “Habits aren’t that easily broken, are they?”
Fully informed of what he was dealing with, Terrill followed Charles and Lumen, to the city of soaring ships.