Soft snow particles fell as Sigi and Amiriniel rested on their knees in the frozen mud outside. The cold wind of the early morning gently caressed their soft faces with perfectly aligned features – thanks to their aevhen blood. Their nostrils expanded slowly as they took in the air and entered a trance after constantly moving their mana around their arkhaine points.
“Good. Now release a little in the air, try to form it into a different shape for each of you.” Hearing her affectionate voice, the two followed her instructions and while channeling their mana outside their body and merged it with the surrounding. Their minds entered into a trance as a light euphoric sensation filled them.
First Amiriniel formed it into a floating leaf of ethereal silver. The falling snowflakes converged around it and joined its dance before they melted away against the arkhaine heat the leaf emitted.
Sigiwaer followed by forming his own expelled mana into the shape of a raven’s feather – as the image of one appeared in his mind for a momentary flash. The feather itself was much darker than the real ones – so much so that it appeared to be puncturing the dim reality of the early morning of the season of the end and a new foundation. Even the snowflakes falling around it turned black and devoured the little light that fell or passed through them.
“Great work, both of you!” Yet after seeing that Mirdbruil waters of pride filled her up looking at the two. Still she did not want to voice it out completely, and held back from rushing at the two and reward them with her warm, motherly hug.
With a soft inhale, she calmed herself from bursting out in joyous words as the two waited patiently. “Now let’s commence to the last part of today’s study. Line up and face each other.”
The two slowly stood up and cleaned their thick furred pants before walking a few meters away from the back entrance of their household. Their discipline lessened a little as they looked at each other, and for some unknown reason just chuckled a little. “Now, now. With both of you proving yourselves as excellent pupils of mine now, let’s dive into a more serious practice that will come in handy in battles or duels.” Maybe they laughed as a veiled premonition washed over them. But as Mirdbruil started speaking in a calmed and serious manner, they smothered their chuckles and listened onto her words.
“Now, first Sigi flow your mana inside yourself, will it into improper inscriptions.” At those words, Sigi closed both his eyes and breathed slowly while a chilling pleasant sensation tickled his being on the lower side. His mana coursed from his feet up to almost his waist as he envisioned a protective ward around it, but before it could fully finish, he forced his mind to go blank in a sense.
As he looked at her, Mirdbruil gave her a rewarding smile then turned to Amirinel. “Good. Now Amiriniel, tell me have you felt anything while he controlled his mana?”
“Faintly yes. I think he was about to enhance his leg’s muscle strength?” She finished a bit uncertain.
“Were you Sigi?” Mirdbruil then turned back to him and asked.
Sigiwaer hesitated a bit. “Not exactly. I was thinking of a ward around it.” Then decided that honesty was the correct way.
“Good. That was a close one my dear.” Mirdbruil said as she praised Amiriniel’s deduction. She smiled a little before a more serious look appeared on her already beautiful elven visage while her mind went through various ideas.
Mirdbruil nodded at him then turned to Amirinel who nodded after deciding what spell to create. “Then, let’s repeat it with you this time.” Amiriniel exhaled deeply as her mana flowed from the arkhaine point in her animus right where her chest was for her mortal shell. A sweet taste filled her mouth akin to the sweet bakeries Mirdbruil tends to make for breakfast accompanied by a warming pleasant sensation. Thin lines of silken mana formed within her body and flowed into her eyes, allowing her to see even with closed eyes. Before a proper spell that would simply make her eyes glow like a torch could form, she stopped.
Mirdbruil turned at Sigi whom focused both his eyes at his sister who was the same height as he was at that time. “Have you felt it?” She asked eager to hear his answer.
For a while he focused both his eyes – even the one hidden under a leathery eyepatch. As his attention focused on her, the world lost all its detail in his sight and became a featureless darkness – except for the ethereal silhouette of Amiriniel filled with her bright snow silvery mana. Then he noticed two serene, almond-shaped fine contours formed at the top of her face.
“Yes mother. She was about to light her eyes similar to the sun or torches.” He added the first part to exaggerate it a little. Mirdbruil turned her attention to Amiriniel who nodded diligently.
“Excellent.” Forcing herself to not over praise him, Mirdbruil said in a collected manner akin to a noble. “You both are proceeding quite exceptionally. So as a reward, I’ll make your favorite bakeries tonight.” Then she said with a proud face as she could no longer stop her feeling from bursting out like a river that freed itself from the binding of a dam.
“Really?” And just as she said those words out loud, Eadwald stepped out after waking up – with those words brought him out from his morning torpor.
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“Well, for you I will once you finally cut that tree down.” She said – her voice drawn out by Sigi’s loud voice as he ran to his older brother. The two laughed as Eadwald lifted him up and the two span a little. “I will after I return with father.” He said while his little brother’s frail arms wrapped around his neck as he hanged on him like an ape.
“Fine. Amiriniel, do you want to come with me to the market?” Amiriniel nodded and they all headed inside for breakfast as the day truly began.
**
“That is a nice grip on your sword.” Ulrich said with a mocking smile as he faced his own son. Surrounding them – Gna and Azugh, Aelfsigior and a few others watched as father and son continued their practice in the village watch’s training grounds in the north eastern part of the village.
As their leg muscles tensed, their leathery boots sunk deeper and deeper into the melded mud. Eadwald’s golden eyes stared at his father, analyzed every joint of his, every small move he made. “Let’s not make their wait worthless.” Then Ulrich flowed his mana into his legs and shaped them into proper inscriptions that enhanced their strength, increasing his speed a little bit more. Just enough to scare his son for a little as he changed his stance into a more defensive one.
“Good.” His voice was stifled a little by the clashing of blades that created sparks. A few found their way into Eadwald’s eyes blinding him momentarily. Just enough that his father swung his fist into his abdomen and sent him gliding back into mud. He collapsed down onto his knees as he gasped for air.
“Good enough for a green-ear.” Gna interjected as he watched Eadwald stood back up. The throbbing pain that made it hard for him to breathe was almost unbearable, but not as much as the pain created by the revenant that left a deep scar not just in his body, but his soul.
Ulrich loosened his stance after pondering for a while. “Did you feel it?”
“Yes. But wasn’t fully sure on what spell would it form into.” Eadwald asked as he managed to regulate his breathing while the pain still remained.
“Then what would be the proper move to counter it?” Ulrich scraped his sharp chin as he recalled how his father taught him the ways of the warrior.
“My first idea would be to strengthen my stance by using a body hardening spell. The second would be to enhance my sight so that I could deduct where you would strike.” Eadwald lowered his newly forged sword and stuck it into the mud as he leaned onto it while thinking back.
Ulrich felt proud once again after hearing those words from his son. “The first would be the safest option in my opinion. The second, a bit more complex but a good idea nonetheless. The best though would be combining the two, but I won’t expect that for now.” Then the two regained their stances as Eadwald implied that the pain was now bearable to continue on as he raised the silver blade in line with his head. The mud quickly flowed down on its pristine surface in which his shaggy long dark hair reflected.
The second time when Ulrich repeated the same motions, forming the same spell in his legs – Eadwald followed his advice and swiftly spread his own mana through his body. He ignored the pleasant sensation that made the edge of his lips quiver a little, and this time their blades met once more. Unlike the first time, he blinked swiftly to save his eyes from the created sparks, while pulled his palm in the way of his father’s fist.
He groaned as the force of the hit sent him gliding back a few meters, but this time he raised his own blade to meet with his father’s. This time he forced his arm to rotate down the two swords and dislocate it from Ulrich’s hand. But in his surprise, Ulrich swept his footing and he found himself lying on the sides facing the sharp tip of the long silvery white sword.
“Come.” He grabbed his father’s hand and they repeated this process till the sun started shifting into its next phase painting the sky into bright, luminous hues.
**
Silence was palpable to the point the four men clad in a mixture of leather and metal could feel its chilling hands wrapping around tightly their necks. If not for the crunching of the snow below their feet, the silken cascade of the nearby river, they may have been driven mad by this points as they ventured towards the heart of the forest.
“So what reason do you have to paint this faiyon tree Priernuss?” Gna was the first to break the silence after it swallowed even the soothing loud sounds that came from the village.
“In all honesty, I have more than one reasons for this. But truth be told what really awakened this desire within me was the ancient tales an old aetherkiin friend of mine regaled to me when I was posted a bit of west here.” Priernuss stopped in his tracks for a moment as he remembered his friend’s softly echoing voice that was akin to a tender whisper inside an empty wine bottle.
“What makes them special?” Aelfsigior asked. While he was seven centuries old by this point, and once served in the 7th legion as a scout, he had very little knowledge on the flora of the northern regions – or any region’s flora at all.
“You see, these trees are not your average trees that the fey and spirits plant to spread the beauty of Earthen Mother. Reality is when high fey pass back to the Aether Between Worlds, they leave behind their husk and that husk transforms into feiyon giving it the otherworldly look.” Priernuss said in his silky deep voice as they marched through nature’s bridge – a fallen tree over the calmly raging river.
“My father used to tell me these trees were grown by druids and gwe’evhes.” Ulrich added as he recalled listening to his father’s tales when he was just as young as Sigi was two years ago.
“Well, he wasn’t necessarily wrong. They do try to mimic but those are actually called the siobhrag oaks. Those grow from the cooperation between them and the fey.” Priernuss said as he offered his hand to Ulrich.
After tracking for another hour – just as the sun started shifting into its lunar phase painting the sky into darker luminous hues – the group gazed upon the faiyon tree that stood proudly in the embrace of others. It towered above all of them, with bark of an unnatural and eye inviting luster. Branches that finely curved and twisted gracefully evading a fate of interwinding while blooming ethereal leaves of transparent kind. Light luminous veins sprouted within the transparent confines akin to the wings of a firefly.
The four of them watched with Gna, Ulrich and Aelfsigior’s faces plastered with admiration. So much so that the creaking sounds that were gently carried to their way went unheard as the pale, cloaked figure that silently hovered above the ground while it watched as Priernuss took in every little detail of the tree and engraved the memory of the path into his own mind.
The pale specter turned around and silently hovered into the thick distance of the forest. Its hunger kept constrained for this day.