Mesty was angry. Rather, she was furious, confused, happy, anxious, relieved, and embarrassed all at once. Yet that was too many emotions for her to handle at the same time so she settled with being angry. She had a lot on her mind and her current problem was just adding onto the lot.
She crunched her way through the undergrowth, searching for her companion. “Nyssa!” she shouted, “we need to return to the rest of the group! Everyone is finishing the cleanup so we need your guidance on what to do afterwards.” She did her best to speak in a normal tone but heard some of her frustration seep in.
“No! You sound angry!”
Mesty sighed. “I’m not angry with you!” She peered into the dense forest around her trying to find where the voice had come from.
“Then why are you angry?”
It was always like this. Nyssa had always been strangely good at catching how Mesty was feeling. At times it made the latter feel strange since she was supposed to be the one looking after Nyssa. Mesty decided confessing sooner was the best idea since it was bound to happen eventually.. “This whole situation has had me on edge. These last three weeks have been really tiring for me.” Mainly because I have to keep you in line too, she thought but decided to withhold that last part.
“Hey Mesty, it’s because you have to look after me right?”
Mesty stiffened. “Of course not Nyssa. It’s my sworn duty to look after you, Chieftess. I take great pride in doing so.” Just then there were some crashing sounds in the trees above her.
“It may be your sworn duty to look after this old soul but I know you would rather spend your time elsewhere.” Nyssa dropped down from a tree and swung through the air on some vines. “Deep down you want to go out on an adventure and leave this place behind.”
“You know that’s not possible ma’am. Someone who’s been in the forest as long as you have should know that our people could never leave. We’re bound to the forest and leaving would mean losing the Elder’s protection.” Mesty kept a lazy eye on her charge. Nyssa’s small figure nimbly swung through the air. Today she was wearing a simple tunic and pants like a human peasant’s child. Mesty waited, knowing she would eventually make her way to the ground.
“Oh so you think I’m old then?” On queue, the Chieftess let go of her vine and dropped to the ground below. Her landing was accompanied by a very wet-sound thwap as she slid into a pool of mud. Immediately she sank to her waist in the thick muck. She stretched her hands up to Mesty with a sheepish smile framed by cheeks hubby with baby fat. “Please?”
At times like this it was hard for Mesty to remember this child-like individual was not only the village leader but also its oldest member. Mesty could not help but laugh as she dragged Nyssa out of the hole and lifted her into the air. “Please get cleaned up before we go.”
“Alright. But first, are you still angry?” The leader’s eyes twinkled as they peered over puffed cheeks and a dirty face.
The question caught Mesty slightly off-guard. “No, I’m not angry anymore,” she said. Did she jump in there on purpose to distract me, she wondered. There were also times like this that Nyssa acted with the consideration of someone her age. “Thank you.”
“That’s good!” Nyssa shouted. “Check this out!” Wind magic swirled around her body before sliding between the mud and her skin. It expanded explosively, launching the mud off of her and into her surroundings. She wiggled out of Mesty’s grip and ran off with a kick in her step.
Mesty reversed her last thought on the Chieftess’ maturity as she wiped away grime that had just spontaneously splattered on her face. She chased after the culprit shouting at her to stop. Despite being taller and younger, Mesty knew she would have a hard time catching up and opted to dash along the branches.
She broke through the treeline and landed on a fallen trunk. Before her the clearing where the Elder Tree lived spread out. Nyssa was seated on the log next to hers and was now wearing a simple yellow dress.
“Ma’am, please, we need to convene with the others.”
Instead of responding, Nyssa patted the spot next to her and kept looking around. Mesty moved beside her leader but remained standing. For a while the duo looked at their fellow villagers working in the distance. Mesty broke the silence. “It’s been two weeks since that night. Even now it’s hard for me to believe that any of that really happened.
All that power out of nowhere followed by another period of nothing. Are you sure you weren’t the one who protected us that night, Chieftess?”
The young ruler looked up at her protector and observed her for a moment. Mesty was slightly taller than average and had a body refined by decades of rigorous training. Her shoulders were always held back with pride but the way her thin eyebrows were eternally furrowed hinted at some hidden anxiety. Lavender eyes constantly scanned for potential threats and a tight ponytail ensured hair never got in the way. Nyssa grinned at her warrior princess. She had to help appease some of her concerns.
“No, it was not me who saved us. As I said that night, it was the Elder who did so. She saw we were in a moment of need and she granted us her protection. Much like what you did for me.”
Mesty spun to face her. “No Chieftess! I failed to keep you safe that night. You should dismiss me from - ”
“You did what you could, child. No one else in the village could have held off those intruders as long as you did. ‘Amazing’ is the only way to describe your efforts during your first time fighting humans. Especially with that lumberjack and his explosions.” Nyssa summoned more wind and blew the mud off of Mesty. “I am grateful for what you did and the entire village is proud of you.”
The young warrior turned away, ears tinged red. “Do you think our presence made the Elder wake up?” she asked.
Nyssa waved away the idea. “Definitely not. Our powers are incomparable to hers. The strength of her power is what kept most things away from the forest for all these years.”
“Then how did those humans get so far in?”
“About a month ago the magic that was used for the barrier began to return to the tree. While it was only a relatively small portion of the magic, the barrier weakened just enough for those invaders to find our village. Since then, waves of raw magic have been emitted at a constant interval.”
“I noticed that as well. I just thought it was the Elder taking a more active stance on the barrier.”
“I don’t know the reason yet but I’m sure it was not that. The magic only ever reached the edge of the ring around the tree. I had been trying to investigate for some time now but somebody kept dragging me away even though I had the right to be there as the oldest member of the village.”
Avoiding Nyssa’s pointed gaze, Mesty waved at other members of the village who had drawn near and changed the subject. “How is the cleanup coming along?” she called out.
The group of women stopped their work and gathered in front of the chieftess and her guard. They all had similar muscle builds to Mesty but the rest of their physical appearances were as varied as the human races. Stepping forward, the tallest made her way before the leader. She straightened up so her eyes leveled with Mesty who still stood on the log.
“Nice of you to finally bring the child in,” the woman said, “she is always off doing whatever she wants instead of helping here.”
Nyssa jumped up, arms akimbo. “Oh shut up Mira! Your daughter is no longer a child.” The sudden response sent a confused look across Mira’s face who then clarified her statement. “I was talking to Mesty about you.”
The Chieftess immediately turned sullen. “You know, I could just run away again.”
There was a cacophony as the group yelled “No!” and lunged forward to grab her. Nyssa jumped over reaching hands and desperate faces to land behind them. Her sad expression had been replaced with a serious one. “Don’t worry children. I know when I need to act my age. Plus I can take a joke.”
“It wasn’t a joke.”
“Mom!”
Nyssa threw her hands in the air to keep the two from bickering. “I shall take over this last portion of the cleaning. Please gather everyone else at the base of the tree.” At that, everyone but Mesty made their way towards the center of the glade.
The fallen trees began to slowly rise into the air as the diminutive leader summoned wind beneath them. The wind could just barely be seen due to Nyssa’s magic power tinging it a light blue. With a flourish of a hand, waves of wind sliced their through the logs, stripping them of their branches and cutting them into manageable pieces. Nyssa resembled a conductor as she twirled her fingers to control the magic. After a couple minutes, branches, roots, and timber had all been separated into neat piles. Mesty was in awe at the exacting control the Chieftess had over her magic.
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When she finished Nyssa clapped her hands together and congratulated herself for a job well done.
“We could have finished days ago if you had helped us,” Mesty noted.
Nyssa ignored the comment. “Carry me!”
Mesty quietly shook her head and kneeled down to let her leader climb onto her back. She grabbed onto Nyssa’s legs as she wrapped her arms around her neck then stood up and joined the others in heading to the tree.
As she approached, some of the feelings she had been ignoring began to worm their way into her head. Memories of that terrifying night darkened her thoughts as quickly as the shade of the tree blocked out the sun. Despite what Nyssa had said, Mesty had messed up. Her inexperience almost got them both killed. Since then she had been having nightmares about the axe flying towards her and not being stopped.
Their village had been encountering more and more of those greedy humans and Mesty had not slept in days in order to maintain vigilance over the Chieftess. She had allowed herself to become sluggish and could only run into the Sacred Circle to escape. Her actions resulted in humans entering the sacred ground, the destruction of the trees, and Nyssa getting injured. It was by luck that they survived.
But was it luck? Mesty could not keep herself from pondering the Elder’s true intentions. The tree had dropped the barrier and only interceded when they were about to be killed at her feet. Did she view Mesty’s village as nothing more than a source of entertainment? Before Mesty could voice her concerns to Nyssa, however, she found that she was already at the base.
Nyssa tapped on Mesty’s forehead to get her to face the crowd. The passenger then climbed up so she was now sitting on her ride’s shoulders. She cleared her throat and addressed the entire village which had now gathered under the Elder’s crown.
“First off, let me thank everyone for helping clear out the fallen trees. I - and I’m sure the Elder as well - really appreciate your hard work. I am here to give you an update on the status of our village as well as our future here in the Forest.” Those gathered stirred as she spoke; the possibility of further danger in their homeland made them nervous. After allowing her audience to calm down, Nyssa continued.
“As you know, some time ago the boundary around the center of the Forest began to weaken. During that time the Elder began to act differently. While I was focused on understanding the cause I allowed for the loggers to approach closer than I should have. For that I am sorry.” Nessy poked Mesty’s shoulder indicating that they should bow in apology. They made a peculiar sight despite how often they had practiced it before.
“That night we were able to push them back due to your strength and some help on the part of our Elder.” She gestured to the tree and their surroundings. “Because of that unprecedented event I made sure we stayed out of the Sacred Circle until a few days ago to make sure the area was safe. An unnaturally large amount of magic was released that night that acted to punish our foes and protect our allies. Yet she has not made any attempts to communicate since then so we cannot dismiss the possibility that it was just a fluke or an autonomous response.
Although I do not believe that myself. I have been speaking with Mesty during my patrols and from the anger I felt when I touched the tree along with the timing of the magic, I believe that the Elder is finally awake.”
Excitement coursed through the crowd. They began talking amongst themselves and stopped paying attention to the stacked speaker. Rumors about the status of the tree had been circulating and some had just been confirmed.
Mesty understood their sentiment. Their village had been waiting for hundreds of years for the Elder tree to wake up. Generations had passed without so much as a fluctuation in the magic barrier. If it was true, the future of the village was about to change. Noone knew exactly what would happen when the Elder woke up but it was possible that it would finally grant Mesty a chance to leave the village and explore the world.
“ENOUGH.” The Chieftess’ voice boomed over the area as she employed her magic to carry her voice. “I understand your excitement but I must also remind you that there has been no response since then. It is possible that her assistance tired her.” A hush fell over the crowd as they processed what their leader had said.
“So what are we supposed to do now?” asked Mira.
Smiling slyly, Nyssa climbed down to the ground. “We’re going to wake her up.”
Before anyone could respond, the Chieftess pooled some magic around her feet and launched herself into the air. She soared upwards as she buffeted those on the ground with the gale she left behind. Quickly, she reached the lowest branch and hovered there, hundreds of meters in the air, for a moment. Those below were confident they saw another smile on her face as she proceeded to do something incredible. She reached up and ripped some leaves off the Sacred Tree before floating back down.
A moment of silence followed her return to the ground as everyone waited to see what would happen. Mesty stepped close and asked “Why did you do that? Is that some old tradition?”
The Chieftess hoisted the strange purple leaves and said “It’s no tradition. I just thought that tearing off some leaves would make her angry.”
Instantly, the crowd rushed forward to yell at their leader. After what they had witnessed or heard about that night, they could not believe she would risk making the Elder upset. Despite bearing a similar opinion to the others, Mesty jumped between the surge and Nyssa to protect her. Sensing that the guard was not going to move, the crowd halted but remained on edge in case Nyssa did something foolish again.
Their leader let a breeze carry off the leaves and turned her attention to the tree itself. Hoping it would respond to her touch as it did that night, she cautiously placed her hand upon it. In spite of her outward confidence, she was actually afraid of turning the immense power she had witnessed against them. The tree that had been so awe-inspiring before was now cold and unmoving beneath her fingers.
She tried to push her thoughts to the Elder through her hand. Please wake up. Your people need you. A minute passed with no response. Nyssa chuckled to herself. What a silly idea. There were no records of the Elder having telepathic abilities.
Though it’s not like the records are of any use in this situation anyway, she thought. In the almost four hundred years the tree had been guarding the Forest and the village there had never been any reaction from the tree. All the previous Chieftesses had really created was a collection of conflicting assumptions about the Elder and her origins. The only consensus was that the Elder was female due to the type of spirit she was and reports of having seen an unknown woman within the ring who would touch the tree before disappearing in a bright flash.
The assembly behind her had started to become anxious. For the people of the Forbidden Village, the tree awakening in their lifetime was akin to a fairy tale. Having it be so close and not happen would be cruel.
Steeling herself, Nyssa launched herself in the air once again, this time stopping halfway up the tree. Low enough to show she was not going for the leaves and high enough that a negative reaction would not immediately reach those on the ground. Her tiny hand swung through the air as she smacked the trunk before her. “Wake up Granny! You don’t need any more beauty sleep! You’ll end up looking younger than me and I won’t let that happen!”
Back on the ground, Mesty was quickly becoming discouraged. The lack of a response suggested her unpleasant ideas about the tree could be true. Confused and seeking solace, she approached the tree. Touching it, she felt the same thing as Nyssa; the tree felt like any regular one in the forest and not like one from the village or one that had the power to uproot trees a kilometer away with an explosion of flame.
She prepared to walk away when an odd sensation made its way to her fingers. The bark beneath her fingers began to warm. Her eyes widened as she felt magic begin to swirl within the trunk. Her eyes locked with Nyssa’s as they came to the same conclusion: the Elder was waking up again.
“Get back!” commanded Nyssa. Mesty was dragged away as the group placed some distance between themselves and the tree. Their leader may have looked like a child but they knew she had lived long enough to sense when a situation was dangerous. Now too far to hear properly, all they could do was watch as Nyssa tried speaking with their Elder.
A few minutes passed by when the color drained from their leader's face. She did not react as if she was in danger so the crowd elected to stay in their place. Nyssa began pacing in circles in the air as she mumbled to herself. Eventually she stopped, said something to the Elder, and floated back down to meet up with the group. She paused for a bit before deciding on what to say.
“I have confirmed that the Elder is awake,” she said. Instantly, everyone around her began to cheer. People danced, Mira and Mesty hugged, and others prepared to run back to the village to gather those who had stayed. They were about to witness a momentous occasion and finally get to meet their guardian in person. The celebration was cut short when Nyssa appeared above their heads and called out to them.
“There is, however, a problem. The Elder is unable to exit their tree at the moment.”
A voice called out from the pack. “How is that possible? What do we do now?”
“I do now know the specifics yet, Syne. I wanted to give everyone the chance to listen to what the Elder has to say,” Nyssa replied.
Mesty joined in, voicing what the rest were wondering. “How is she going to talk to us if she is unable to step out of her tree?”
“First I am going to need a rock- ” A shower of dirt and a grunt interrupted her explanation as Mira shoved her fist in the ground and ripped out a large stone. “Here you go,” she offered.
The Chieftess had questions about how Mira knew there was a rock there and how she managed to pull it out so easily as well as several others but knew they could wait. “Um… thank you Mira. I actually need a much, much larger rock which Kioro will make for us with her magic.” She then gathered some dust with a breeze that she summoned and created a model in the air of what she required. The rock was to have a large hollow conical shape five meters in diameter that had the end cut off.
Kioro took her time crafting the rock, ensuring that it was free from cracks or other defects. This was a command from the Chieftess and a tool to be used in assistance of the Elder - it had to be perfect. With all eyes on her, she finally turned the massive sculpture over to Nyssa who lifted it air and moved it beside the base of the tree with the larger end pointed outwards.
Nyssa called out to the group and assured them she had permission for what she was about to do then turned to the Elder. “This is going to hurt,” she warned. Suddenly, the winds in the ring began to shift and whip about, collecting around the stone object. It pooled at the entrance of the cone then sent it flying.
Cracking noises and splinters filled the air as the broken point crunched deep into the tree trunk. Most of the villagers were frozen in disbelief at witnessing their leader damaging the Sacred Tree so extensively. The others were stopped dead by what happened next.
A sound came out of the newly placed cone. It started out quiet before quickly becoming almost unbearably loud, echoing through the clearing and into the forest beyond. At first it was hard to recognize but they soon made out that they were hearing someone groaning in pain.
“Ooooooooooooooow. That really hurt!” the Elder moaned.
The group could understand why their Elder would respond in that way after being injured so extensively. What they could not understand, however, was why the Elder had yelled in a male’s voice.
Nyssa floated down and gave a forced smile. “It turns out the Elder is actually a man. It should be impossible and undermines centuries of history about the Elder but it’s the truth.” She spread her arms out wide and shook her hands. “Surprise!”