Three weeks after the attack, Valya was returning to normal, or as normal as a mage can get. She entered a laboratory where Lucette was working and sat without speaking, not wanting to disturb her superior. The blonde girl was working studiously, hovering over a ring and consulting an ancient text on the table beside her. She began her spell in a low tone, chanting words that were as alien to Valya as the whole concept of magic itself. Her intensity grew and grew till Valya could feel the air electrify with the energy of the incantation. When it was done, the ring gave off a soft glow before it faded and looked like a normal silver band.
“Success?”
“Success!” Lucette replied. She waved the other girl over and handed the ring to her.
“Does this mean we’re married?” she asked with a laugh.
“Please, I can do better! No, I enchanted this ring with a spell. It draws from the wearer's power and casts a sleep spell. The next time you get into a pickle, you make your enemy sleep, and you can run away.”
“That would have come in hand with ‘you know who’,” she said bitterly, touching the massive scar that tore across what had been a soft feminine cheek.
“He’s been expelled and will no longer receive magic training anywhere in the known world. We couldn’t take away his current knowledge, and only Master Jorn knows the secret of stealing a person’s magical ability.”
“I don’t want to talk about him. How are you able to create a magical item? That seems almost more incredible than the other things that I’ve seen you do.”
“My natural ability is to remove the enchantment from magical and enchanted items. I’ve found out that I can do the reverse and impart magic to an item. A bit like what you do, putting some of your magic into inanimate objects to make them into golems. There’s a high likelihood that you’ll discover even more utility to your magic after training for some time.”
“Well, thank you for the ring. How long does it take to recharge, do I have to touch the person or is it effective from a distance? Can it affect more than one person?”
“No idea.” She smiled at her friend.
“How long are you going to be gone?” Michael asked his apprentice. With Gili gone, Ingram was the only other man around, other than the servants.
“Not too long, maybe a week. I want to get back in touch with nature and I can’t do that around here.”
“Well, you will be missed. I guess that I need to start preparing myself for the day when you and Lucette have learned all that I have to teach and are ready to go out into the world,” Michael scratched at the short, blonde beard on his rugged chin. He was six feet tall and lightly muscled. He wore a light green shirt and light brown slacks. He’d recently returned from a meeting with King Syphon at his manor, not too far away and still within the borders of Chuo.
“Thank you, Michael.” Ingram used the title ‘master’ when in front of others, but they’d long ago decided that when it was just the two of them, it just seemed weird. “Can you tell me what mission you were on?”
“I wouldn’t say that it was a secret mission or anything like that, so I guess I can tell you. When I was your age, not too long ago, I followed Master Jorn into all kinds of adventures. We fought dragons and armies of Dragonkin, hordes of lava-men, enemies too numerous to believe. The forces of not only the human continents, but the other allied races joined to fight evil forces that threatened to end all of Xoran.”
“I was there for much of that. Terrible times.”
“What we face now is less lethal, but no less concerning.” He pulled out his pipe and packed it with tobacco, then with a flick of his fingers, lit the leaves. “There is a sharp rise in crime these last few years.”
“Crime? Where?” Ingram asked.
“Everywhere, all at once. There have always been pirates, but now it seems like they own the waterways and are as thick as ticks on a hound,” Michael replied. There have always been thieves, they’re a part of city life, but now they are getting organized, forming guilds. I hear there are also assassin guilds. There’s no whore guild, yet, but now in certain cities, women are selling their bodies on street corners instead of in brothels. Unregulated and I hear at the mercy of men who take their earnings and repay them with drugs and beatings. Gambling is rampant, no longer just in designated areas, but in the back alleys of every city of sufficient size. And worst of all, there are drugs in all of the major cities. We haven’t found out where they are coming from, but the euphoria they impart is too attractive for many who try them on a whim. Once they experience it, men, women, and even teenage children will debase themselves to any degree to continue the habit.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“This depravity has come on so quickly,” Ingram noted. “You're right. We may not get annihilated by some demons from another world, but we might lose our souls and our way of life; death by a thousand cuts.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to lay a shadow on your downtime. If you’re deep in the woods, you may be able to avoid all of the devolution that we seem to be going through right now.”
Ingram stepped through the sparkling portal and let it close behind him. He had found this spot a couple of years ago, and he liked the solitude of it. Lourens had a peninsula that curved back into the Blessed Bay and though Lournes proper was well populated, this highly forested area was nearly devoid of people. Locals called this area the Clemmons Forest after some long-forgotten noble house. After the combining of worlds and the reintroduction of faerie folk, the large forest was renamed Úrsula Leutbert, an ancient term that alluded to its otherworldly inhabitants.
His portal opened up in a clearing that wasn’t more than a hundred feet from one of the ‘world trees’. A giant tree that was as wide as a house pushed through the canopy far above. The bark was golden and rough, the tree gave off a sweet, musty smell that made him somehow feel welcome. Walking over, he placed his palm against the surface and closed his eyes. He opened himself up to the network of the forest, an invisible web of thought and feeling, shared by the trees and especially the faerie.
He could sense the presence of Satyrs and Sprites, Fireflies and Pixies; but what he sought most were the Dryads. She had no name, but they met when he had first discovered his ability to communicate with and control nature. She had no name, and to be honest, he wasn’t sure that ‘she’ was the proper descriptor for ‘her’. His Dryad friend appeared as a young, tall, thin woman with decidedly feminine features and sensibilities. Her features were small, she had high cheekbones and a short sharp nose. She looked like she might be part tree, her skin was dark green with dark brown patches of skin that had the appearance and texture of tree bark. Her long hair was wild, dark brown, and kinky, with light purple Heather and Baby’s Breath interspersed throughout. She was shoeless and naked, though much of her was covered by soft branches with small green leaves. She looked to be a woman about his age, but he knew that she was much older than she appeared.
He sent his energy, his thoughts, out into the web of living beings, calling for that familiar consciousness. She responded within a couple of minutes and before he knew it, she was melting out of the bark of the world tree. She had not changed a hair, or branch since they’d met several years ago.
Hello friend, he thought to her.
Ingram, it’s so good to feel your presence again. You seem well.
I am, he let his eyes drink her in, as usual, you also seem to be in good health. He wasn’t able to express his feelings, even to himself. He’d been looking forward to seeing her again for months and now that they were face to face, he felt his heart racing, and his breath was catching in his throat. What’s wrong with me? He thought to himself.
Is something wrong, friend Ingram?
He’d forgotten that when they were connected like this, they almost shared a mind. His thoughts became images in her mind. His memories were shared with her as clearly as he remembered them. With another man, he could reach a certain level of familiarity. With a woman, he was always very guarded. This deep connection caused him to trust her more than he’d trusted anyone in his life. Instead of trying to explain his dilemma, he opened himself completely and let her experience his feelings, his fears, and his questions.
I see, she thought to him. I understand why you are confused. I too am at a loss to explain what you are experiencing. You know, your kind is very alien to me. All except for you. You are unique among your kind.
Because I can speak through the trees and the plants?
Yes, but even more so. You are like a Dryad; you can tap into the energy that binds all living things. It's more than the communication of thoughts, it is the sharing of feelings and energy. My sisters can heal me from anywhere in the world if I were to be injured. Right now, they can sense how happy I am to be with you now.
I am very happy to be with you. In person.
I can tell. They all can.
I know that it’s a human thing, but I want to touch you.
That is acceptable. I see in your thoughts what you are anticipating, but I fear you might be disappointed. I may look like a female of your species, but I am not as like you as you may require for future happiness.
He stepped closer and placed his hand on her cheek. He’d done that in the past to complete the circuit, to connect them to the larger life network. Now that they were already sharing thoughts and feelings, he concentrated on the physical aspect of his skin against hers. Her cheek looked soft and pliant, but it felt much harder than it looked, and she was the same temperature as the air around them. He let his hand drift down till he cupped her breast in his hand. It was much firmer than it looked, having little to no give. She looked every bit the nubile young woman, but she was truly as much flora as fauna. She stood nearly motionless as he leaned in to kiss her deep green lips. Passion flowed in him and yet she reacted very little and didn’t respond anywhere near what he was hoping for.
Friend Ingram, I don’t fully understand the emotions that you are feeling right now, and if you have not figured it out already, they are emotions that I can never return. You are my friend, a special friend to be sure, but I’ve seen in your mind the concept of romantic love, and my kind do not avail ourselves of such things. He closed his eyes while holding her close to his chest. If you are looking for a mate, someone to procreate with, it cannot be me. I treasure the things you’ve shared with me. I have shared your memories with my kind, and they too find the life of humans to be unique and special beyond measure. She separated herself by an arm’s length so that their eyes could meet, It may make sense for you to visit me less often. The likelihood of you finding a mate… and happiness is great, but you will not find that comfort here in our trees.
There is much wisdom in your words. Another reminder that you are older and wiser than I am. If you don’t mind, I’ll hold you for another few minutes before I return to my home.
They stood there in the middle of the forest, in the shade of one of the great world trees. He embraced her for the last time.