“Leander”

----------------------------------------

Hours passed, and it seemed as if we had barely left the coast. Running at a gallop was too dangerous in Daelyn’s current condition. Even with her back held tightly to my chest, I feared that the motion of the beast would end up causing more harm than good if I pushed too hard. Her temperature was still too hot, but the wild magic was beginning to calm as I steadily fed it my own essence.

With all of my attention needing to remain focused on replenishing what she’d spent, it was harder to focus on the road, or our surroundings. The landscape of Etheroz was disorienting as I tried to remember the empire roads. The trees I used to mark the paths by were long cut down, and the saplings that had only been a head tall before, now towered above us to replace them.

Everything was different except for the main road, too well worn in the earth to be easily moved.

Thankfully we’d disembarked late enough into the day that traffic on the road was light, and our passing was largely ignored by other travelers. As night drew closer, others on the main road became scarcer. I slowed the horse as we approached a cross in the road, a wooden sign stood with a slight lean to it, four pointed planks pointed down every branch.

Ribnica- 20 miles W.

Sallows Landing - 5 miles N.

Port Kaerru - 7 miles E.

Slavey Creek - 10 miles S.

Ribnica was a day's ride inland to the west, and I dared not bring Daelyn any closer to the heart of the capital than necessary. Count Lovick’s estate was a few days' ride to the south, well past Slavey Creek. I gritted my teeth at the knowledge. For the last week, I’d struggled with the idea of bringing Daelyn to her groom. Her hatred towards me for the task was as fresh in my mind now as it had been days ago.

“I bound the Eidolon.”

Only years of practice allowed me to continue shoving the comment and its implications aside. I kicked my heels against the side of the beast, facing it to the north and bringing it into a canter.

I put as much distance between us and the crossroads as I could before I’d be forced to stop. My entire body ached from the use of muscles I hadn’t been able to use in months, and the magic I expended had long caught up to me.

We reached the forest as the sky burned with the setting sun. Unlike the main road, the trees found here were almost untouched by the passage of time. I slowed down, searching for the bent birch that I’d long used as my marker.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I could feel Daelyn begin to stir against my chest.

Her fever was nearly gone, and what little damage had been done to her body would be easily mended once I had the chance to recuperate myself. I let out a relieved sigh. She’d be awake soon.

A white gleam caught the corner of my eye and I stopped the horse. Off to the left were a few large birch trees with one that had been bent towards the base of the trunk before it continued its climb into the sky.

Finally.

I led the horse as close as I could before I dismounted, careful to lean Daelyn forward over the horse’s neck until I found my footing on the ground. I walked the horse the rest of the way to the tree and used the bend to secure its reins for the night. With a click of the tongue, the horse knelt to the ground so that I could safely lift Daelyn from his back.

To the side of the trees, and still in sight of the road, stood a nearby thicket. I looked around the rest of the area quickly, realizing that the brush offered the most privacy we’d be afforded without needing to hike deeper into the woods. However, as I brought Daelyn’s limp form nearer, I realized that there was no way to infiltrate the thick bushes without needing to cut a path through.

I gritted my teeth. There wasn’t time to break the branches, and I wouldn’t risk dulling my blade when I’d likely need it again soon. I hesitated at the edge and struggled to center myself against my exhaustion. Pulling the last of my binding out of Daelyn, I instead directed it into the thicket.

The power, normally used for healing, reached into the living bushes and shrubs. It sapped the strength of the plants, consuming their weak essences to replenish a drop of what I’d lost from mending Daelyn. I destroyed every limb and leaf in my way until I created a path into the heart of the bushes. It didn’t hurt that I was desperate to replenish what I’d lost from the mending. My own essence felt weak and depleted from the hours I’d spent in the exchange.

I shouldered my way through the brittle remains of vegetation until we arrived at its center. Thankfully, there was a natural space to stand, making it easier to try and situate us. I kicked at the underbrush, moving what I could out of the way before setting Daelyn down on the rough ground. I would love nothing more than to sit against a tree and rest, but now that I’d found the birch, I needed to return to the bent tree.

My eyes adjusted to the growing dark as I stepped back out of the thicket and to the tree I’d searched for. I tilted my head up as I approached it. It’d been longer than I’d anticipated since last I’d seen the tree. I lowered my hands to the bark, running my hands to feel around the base of the trunk, working their way up as I searched for the marks I’d left a lifetime ago.

My fingers caught against a jagged scar.

With a palm flat against the engraving, I forced a short burst of my Magebinding into the bark. The magic pulled the life essence into me, causing the spot beneath my hand to rot and erode away, tunneling into the wood. The hole revealed a leather pouch I’d hidden inside the core long ago. One of the many that I’d hidden in a past lifetime, should I ever have need of them.

I took the pouch out, careful to brush off the parts of the tree that clung to it and checked the contents.

A signet ring, deed, and certificate of inheritance.

Satisfied with what I found, I left the tree and returned to the thicket. I sat down across from Daelyn, watching her for a moment before collapsing back against the ground in exhaustion.