Carlsen’s POV

A single scream pierced the air, disturbing the peace of the forest. I whipped my head around in the direction of the cry.

Yin. Goddamit was she in trouble again?

Panicking, I leaped out of the water and hastily threw on a pair of pants before grabbing my sword and rushing along the embankment to where she was. My feet slapped against the wet shoreline and I could feel sharp pebbles cutting into the bottom of my feet; but I didn’t care, I had to help her.

“Yin! Are you okay?” I called out as I jumped into the stream, pushing the thick cattails aside.

There, sunken down low into the water with just her head sticking out was Yin; and floating above the water next to her, was a man. My blood started to rush and I could hear it pounding in my ears. That’s a druid.

I frantically stumbled through the water and rushed to stand in front of Yin, my sword pointed at the druid. The being didn’t move a muscle, and neither did Yin; they were locked in a dead stare with each other. My heart was hammering in my chest, where did he come from? My muscles were tensed, poised and ready to strike at a moment's notice.

The druid didn’t seem to care about my sudden appearance and I watched as he tilted his head and stared at me with his watery, golden eyes.

“...Brother?” the druid whispered in an ancient language. I pretended not to understand.

Before I could make a move, I felt the water around us start to bubble violently. Little bubbles rose rapidly to the surface, popping all around us. It churned and spun with such speed I was worried that I might get swallowed up. I felt rocks from the riverbed being whipped up by the fast-moving water and I winced as they stung my legs.

“Carlsen, get out of the way.” Yin’s voice was cold and soulless. A shiver ran up my spine as I stood frozen in place. My palms started to sweat but I couldn’t lose my composure, there was more on the line here than Yin realized.

The druid floated lazily above the swirling water, completely unfazed by the rage that was emanating off of Yin. I licked my lips nervously and started to slowly creep backwards, obscuring the line of vision between Yin and the druid.

“A Sister Earth?” the druid inquired, now speaking in a language that Yin could understand.

“Carlsen!” Yin screeched, “I said get out of my way.”

I held my ground and continued to keep my sword pointed firmly at the druid. The druid sighed and swayed slowly from side to side, probably contemplating as to why I was threatening a fellow brethren.

“Yin, get your clothes and get as far as possible from here. I will find you later.”

The water slapped forcibly against me and I noticed that the wind seemed to have picked up as well, she was displeased with this plan. Cracking my neck, I raised my sword, pointing it directly at the druid's face; the druid crossed his arms and frowned at me.

“What are you doing, Brother?”

Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes as I whispered to the wind, “emit.”

There was a loud crack as a massive ball of light erupted from the end of my sword, I felt the water all around me vibrate and splash over my entire body from the force of the explosion.

Opening my eyes I was relieved to find that I had successfully sent the druid flying away, but it wouldn’t be long before he would be back; my magic wasn’t powerful enough to compete with a full-blooded druid. Lowering my sword, I turned around to find that Yin had disappeared.

“Yin?” I called out.

“What the fuck was that.” Peeking out from the cattails that lined the shore, she shot me a nasty glare.

I chuckled lightly, I had to think of a lie to say that would calm her down. “Sorry, I just thought you shouldn’t have to exert yourself by fighting that weak druid. We need to save your powers for something important, like killing the King.”

Yin scoffed, “well thank you, kind sir, for thinking of my wellbeing.”

He’ll be back soon, we need to move.

“Well, it seems we’ve both finished our bath now. Let’s go find somewhere to set up camp for the night.”

Now fully dressed, Yin stepped out from behind the cattails; arms crossed as she scowled at me.

“You can find shelter. I will be sleeping up there.” I followed her finger as she pointed up towards the treetops. I sighed and shook my head, “okay, feel free to sleep wherever you would like, but we have to get going now.”

Stomping her foot down in the sand, she furrowed her brows and turned her head away from me.

“I will sleep near here, I want to be close to the water. You can leave if you want.”

Every second that trickled past us was a second closer to the druid coming back. I was starting to get seriously annoyed, why does she have to be so difficult? Doesn’t she realize I’m helping her?

I took a few deep breaths and climbed out of the water, walking towards her. I stopped just in front of her, towering over her tiny frame. Was she always this small? She stared defiantly up at me. The wind blew her hair across her face and for the first time, I noticed the deep pain inside her eyes, a dam of emotions ready to burst at the smallest jolt. Without realizing what I was doing, I reached out and brushed the hair out of her face.

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Shocked by my actions, I quickly dropped my hand and stepped back. The look in Yin’s eyes had changed from angry to shocked.

“Uh, anyways,” I coughed, “I’m sorry for not listening to you earlier. Could you please come with me?” I hoped she couldn’t sense the urgency in my voice.

Biting her lip and averting her gaze from my eyes, she muttered, “okay.”

“Great!” I leaped forward and grabbed her hand, I turned around and started charging down the stream to where the rest of my clothes lay.

Letting go of her hand momentarily, I scooped up the rest of my clothes and hastily threw on my shirt. I reached to grab her hand again but Yin had stepped back and I grabbed empty air.

“Why are you in such a rush? Just finish getting dressed and then we can go.”

I lunged forward and grasped her wrist, “no time, it’s going to be dark soon.”

Annoyed, she forcefully pulled away from my grip. Don’t tell me she’s going to make another scene…

Before I could say another word, in the distance a bright flash erupted against the background of the fast-fading dusk light; a thundering crack accompanied the light, causing my ears to ring.

Yin whipped around and we both watched as the druid from earlier came flying through the air towards us with a ferocious speed. A large ball of light whipped past us and exploded in the dirt behind me, I ducked down as debris rained down from the force of the collision.

The druid had a snarl plastered across his face, and his golden eyes glowed with a deep hatred. He was out for blood.

The druid's pale green garments flapped in the wind behind him as he picked up speed, making a beeline straight for us. My heart was pounding and my throat suddenly felt as dry as the desert. I tightened my grip on my sword, I won’t let him hurt Yin.

Stepping in front of her I raised my sword high up in the sky, ready to strike again.

“How dare a half-blood enter the eternal forest?” The druid's words dripped with venom.

Shit, how was he able to tell?

Sweat dripped down my forehead as I concentrated on the druid’s erratic movements, he danced around trees and flew gracefully through the jagged branches. I took my eyes off of him for a split second to check on Yin and I noticed that she was kneeling on the ground with her hands buried in the sand. Looking back at the druid, I watched as new branches shot out of the sides of the trees directly in the path of the druid, slowing him down.

“Emit.”

My light ball smashed into a tree to the right of the druid, causing chunks of the tree trunk to erupt and hit him. He faltered for a few seconds before regaining his composure, continuing on his bloodthirsty mission. He was only a few hundred meters away from us now, I needed to get a direct hit. The druid smiled slyly, he knew that he had the upper hand.

The sun was starting to fade beyond the horizon, the druid was now simply a villainous black shadow outlined by the dying rays. The air grew heavy and the animals of the forest went quiet, almost as if they were holding their breath in anticipation.

I lifted my sword again, determined to land a blow and buy us some more time so we could get away; but before I could act I felt a small hand on my shoulder. I turned my head slightly and out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Yin had gotten up and was standing just behind me. Smiling shyly up at me she said, “let me.”

I tensed up at her words, it was supposed to be my responsibility to protect her, not the other way around. Could she tell that I was nervous and that’s why she wanted to take over? I felt ashamed.

Ever since I had been born, my parents made it clear that I was to protect and serve her for the rest of my life, but of course, Yin had did not know this. The wind swirled around us and I felt my heart drop, I needed to be strong for both our sakes.

Turning back to face the druid, I shook her hand off my shoulder.

“It’s okay, you should escape while you still can. I will handle this.”

The druid was now only a few metres away, there were only a few spare seconds left to act. I raised my sword up and at the same time, the druid lifted his hand towards us, palm outstretched. Shi-. Before I could finish my thought, a bright flash was cast out of the druid's palm. I had been too slow, a single second of pause and now it was going to be all over for us. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened my mouth, desperate to at least try and finish my spell; praying to the Gods I croaked, “emi-”.

A raucous crack rang out. Was that from me? I didn’t even finish the spell. Shocked, I opened my eyes and scanned the sky for the druid. An enormous, jagged rock resembling a spear was now poking out of the broken earth where the druid had been just moments earlier. I followed the rock from the ground up to the sharp, pointed tip; and there, folded like a ragdoll with the tip of the rock jutting out the back of him, was the druid. His blood was dripping down the sides, the sticky and warm smell of iron penetrated the air.

“Humph, that takes care of that.”

I slowly turned around and saw Yin crouched on the ground, she stood up and dusted her hands off on her pants. Smiling coyly, she crossed her arms and waited for me to say something but I was too astonished to speak. I shook my head from side to side, trying to form a coherent thought.

“That was...amazing.”

She chuckled, “well it didn’t look like you were going to do anything so I figured I should probably save us.”

Her words stung but I didn't let it show. Looking back at the druid, I felt a tinge of sadness. Even though I had never grown up around other druids, except for my father, these creatures were still part of my ancestry. Pushing those thoughts to the side, I picked up my knapsack and we started walking into the thicket - nighttime had fallen and we needed to set up camp.

I could tell that Yin was tired, she had exerted herself quite a lot to save us and make that monument. She floated lazily behind me, her eyelids drooping and her head sunken down. I felt sorry for her, she had been so young when the War broke out and she never really got to experience the full power of being a Sister Earth; her whole family had been ripped apart and she had been left to fend for herself.

My heart ached for her, and I wished that I had found her sooner. After my parents died, I had set on my journey to find her; at seventeen I joined the Knights of Kranen as that allowed me to travel all over without people being suspicious of my intentions.

We soon found a suitable spot to set up for the night, I started a small fire and Yin settled down next to it falling asleep almost instantly. She looked so peaceful next to the flickering fire, I guess she’s no longer mad at me.

I sat down near her and closed my eyes, I tried to relax and go to sleep but visions of my past swirled and danced on the back of my eyelids. I felt like a failure, my parents would’ve been devastated. Sighing, I opened my eyes and watched as the flames licked the air, unknown secrets twirling in the firelight.

I looked over at Yin, her small chest rising and falling with each gentle breath she took. She looked ethereal and I still couldn’t believe that she was travelling with me. Reaching over I absentmindedly picked up a lock of her hair and played with it, feeling the soft tresses against my rough hand. I felt conflicted by my feelings, there was a strong urge to protect her and keep her out of harm's way but I wasn’t sure if I actually liked her or if I was simply acting out of a sense of duty and promise to my parents.

Letting go of her hair, I laid down on the soft grass and stared up into the treetops.

I wonder what’s going to happen tomorrow.