Amelia Cooper - Level 40 Botanist Surveyor
She dragged herself up from the rocky stream, gasping for breath. Jonathan had arrived with her through the strangest transport magic she had ever experienced, and they both stumbled to their feet on the other side of the mountains.
Something prickled all along her skin and Amelia quirked her head. Her growth-aspected mana stirred interestingly as she bent her internal senses to find the source of the sensation. Jonathan had explained to them what this Facet was like, but she had not expected it to resonate with her mana so… profoundly.
Then the sound of screeching metal followed by a concussive boom reverberated through the mountains. Amelia looked up to see something crash into the far mountain range, chased by the malevolent creature that had almost destroyed them in their flight to the river.
“The barrier is down, we have to hurry,” Jonathan noted grimly beside her, his eyes following the trajectory of the impact.
“Let's get moving then! You lead and I'll keep up.” She replied, running her hand through her wet hair to get it out of her eyes. She has some Drinking Dust stored away somewhere, but they didn’t have time for something as petty as drying off.
“Alright, let's go.” He said, distracted by the fight occurring in the distance. Then as if jolted by electricity, he lowered his head and moved straight for the forest at a jog. Amelia jumped to follow, fighting a grin at his sudden shift into action.
After all this time, she was still bemused by the man. He could be exceedingly short with his words, direct in his manner one moment, then playful and clever the next. Below all of it lurked deep waters that she would catch glimpses of in the strangest moments. That being said, she hadn't exactly been the best version of herself with him either. She had left behind her kind decades ago, writing them off and doing her best to embrace this new life.
Then he showed up, just as everything she had built began to crumble. She had been running herself ragged trying to beat this infection in the children, and he just showed up and did it… At first, she had been frustrated that someone else had stepped in to solve her problems. Then as she saw him cleanse people until he was comatose, she had grown a grudging respect for him, but that respect had not removed the tiny seed of bitterness that continued to whisper in her ear,
Look, you are still not good enough.
As he moved through the trees ahead of her, she lengthened her stride to keep up. Her feelings toward him still in constant flux. He was proud and hated to see others sacrifice themselves in his place. Yet he insisted on doing so for everyone around him. His martyr complex was truly impressive... Yet, she could not deny he was honest and courageous when it mattered.
Actually, he probably leaned into those virtues more often than was prudent, charging in without thinking, sharing secrets without hesitating… Amelia shook her head ruefully as she ducked a low-hanging branch.
Whatever his failings, he had been good to the people he had promised to help. He might not be much of a leader, but she now fully understood that his intentions were in the right place. Even if he drove her crazy with his bullheadedness. For just a moment she allowed herself to imagine what life would be like if they survived whatever conflict was washing over the entire plane. Forgotten wounds ached again at the thought of possible companionship with another of her race, and the risk of her disappointing someone else…
Even as old pain rose to the surface, the sensation around her deepened. The feeling of goosebumps on her skin spread from her arms down to her back, like warm water flowing down from a hot shower. A shiver of delight and relief suffused her senses as she moved deeper into the valley, and the warm reality of endless possibilities seeped into her soul.
You are holding him back.
What part did she have to play in all this? Was she just here to get her Corruption cleansed? Or was there something more? The feeling of lightness danced just on the edge of her hearing, growing clearer with every step. It was the ringing of bells… No, that wasn’t it, although it had that quality. There was singing there too, and some sort of rhythm present as well.
“It’s music!’ She finally realized,
Her steps became lighter, and the chains of guilt and condemnation that so often bound her heart began to loosen. Emotional weights so familiar to her that they had become a fact of her existence began to lighten, and a small smile tugged at her straining face as she plowed after Jonathan through the ancient forest.
Then a jarring staccato of violent crashes echoed through the valley, followed by a symphony of screams that sounded as if they had been ripped from hundreds of mouths. Whoever was fighting that thing had to be extremely strong. She hoped it could hold it off long enough for them to accomplish their quest.
“The only thing you will find in this valley is your end!” the voice of their temporary protector shouted in the distance.
“You are almost forgotten, shade. Then the power of Endless Life will be mine, and my children will wash over the Land like the tide.”
Jonathan looked back at her, a desperate question left unspoken on his lips. She sighed internally and called forward,
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“If you are holding back for my sake, don’t! I'm here to help, not hinder!” She growled forward at him, suddenly furious that he was going slower than he had to for her sake. They had a mission to accomplish!
He picked up the pace significantly, moving directly toward what Amelia now recognized as the Flower’s song. The forest started to thin again, and she began to notice another growing sensation in the pit of her stomach. Something that started as a painful cramp and grew with every step into a halo of stabbing pain surrounding her core. “Guhhh” She stifled a groan as the pain redoubled.
The Corruption… It had never done anything like this. Instead of trying to integrate with her body, it had begun to attack her internally, as if finally realizing its end might be near.
She glanced up to see her Health now falling with every step, as the sensation of repeatedly being stabbed reached further and further into her torso. Origin’s seed within her also seemed to be reacting to the song, but not in a way that counterbalanced the damage being done by the now furious parasite.
They cleared the trees, and the song grew louder, as did the discordant notes of her agony. A few steps ahead of her, Jonathan was grunting in his own pain, his gait hitching oddly as he continued forward. It was then that she noticed the blood he was leaving behind with every step.
Health: 72%
She reached under her shirt and found that her abdomen had also started weeping blood. The pain was now lancing into every nearby area of her body with violent disregard for their function. It was getting desperate, and part of her hardened in the face of this inescapable opposition. If it wanted to kill her… so be it. She would rather die than quit while so many were counting on her.
Her insides wrenched, dropping her health another 5% and she bit back another scream. Out of long habit, she palmed her health potion, ready to down it as soon as she became unable to keep up with the dogged pace he was setting. She knew his infection was far more pervasive than hers and she refused to be the reason they slowed down. If Jonathan could continue then so would she.
They stumbled to the top of a low rise, the sight of Origin’s Bloom at the center of the valley was almost enough to make her forget her pain. It was nothing more than a simple blue flower, yet for some reason it felt more real and vibrant than the breath in her lungs. The sight of it did nothing to lessen her agony, but it did give context to the pain. They were almost there. Almost done.
Ahead of her, Jonathan grunted, slowing for a moment as they both took in the sight. She moved the last couple of steps to catch up to him, and saw, to her horror, that his mouth was pouring dark blood. Before she could say something, he stumbled down the rise in an almost mindless motion, as much stubbornness as will. In that glimpse of his face, she had seen death. She tightened the grip she had on her Health potion and moved to follow, focusing all of her attention on keeping up.
They were so close!
Health: 41%
That symphony of screams echoed through the valley again, this time much closer, and Amelia heard a sad, but friendly voice carry over to them on an invisible breeze,
“This is all the time I can give you, little brother, little sister. Spend it well.”
Before she could process those words or their source, the sky boomed, shaking the entire valley as lightning descended out of the ever-present clouds and crashed down out of sight. Those same screams of outrage warped further into wails of pain as the lightning continued in a seemingly endless bar of energy. It was as if heaven itself was pouring out the entire cup of its wrath in one violent judgment.
They both continued toward the sweet song, its source pouring forth unbridled joy uninterrupted by the conflict around it. Jonathan coughed wetly a few steps ahead of her and released a guttural grown, before falling over. They were ten feet from the Flower, which swayed softly just beyond their reach.
She stumbled over to him and pressed her potion into his hand, the sharp sensation of pain at the action almost causing her to keel over as she straightened.
“Don’t stop… *Cough* One of us has to make it.” Tilly gasped, eyes fixed on the Flower.
‘He wasn’t going to make it…’ The reality slammed into her, attempting to drive her to the ground, as hot knives of pain wriggled, reaching further into the cavity that vainly attempted to protect her organs.
Health: 28%
Her jaw was clenched too tightly to answer him, but she forced her body to take another step and then another.
What's the point?
You’ll both be dead in minutes,
Just sit for a second and catch your breath.
That same sickly sweet voice kept bubbling up through the pain, promising her the relief of no longer caring. Step after stumbling step, she answered the voice. Not with malleable arguments that only gave it more power. But with the iron finality of action. She had no clue if the Facet could save them or not. But she was done being ruled by fear.
She wasn’t going to give up this time.
Her midsections boil over into a frothy orgy of pain as she collapsed in front of the Facet, reaching out her hand and gently touching the edge of a petal. It was so blue that it drank in her vision, drowning her in its azure vibrance. Its song was so clear that even through the pain, she felt her tense body relaxing in relief. At her touch, the song coalesced around her, somehow forming words in her consciousness:
This Facet’s Champion has fallen, do you accept the mantle: Bloom’s Guardian?
Smiling spitefully in the face of the gut-wrenching pain attempting to scramble her insides, she sent her assent to the music-formed notification, and the song roared into a crescendo, causing all kinds of flowering plants to erupt from the ground around them.
Then something changed in the midst of the song, an order rippling through the wild melodies that intertwined the Flower and its new Champion.
Emergency Quest Initiated /// Transport compatibility identified /// Relocate Facet to a safer location. Reward: Patronage of Origin’s Bloom
Do you accept?
‘In for a penny, in for a pound…’ Amelia thought grimly as she accepted the notification.