Ari didn’t have much time to lament his reality. Before he could start to consider what his potential death and rebirth might herald, a voice reached across the land to grace his ears. It was the whisper of wind through leafless branches, and the dripping of condensation off the stems of leaves. The young man tried to focus on it but something got in his way. Right when he felt close to understanding, it was as if there was water in Ari’s ears.

Ari wasn’t sure what to do. He lost all of his provisions and supplies, the storage space he once utilized was only capable of containing the scroll. Even the rare books and Druidic lore of Ruenr’s people was lost. Though the young man could sense the power lingering within his bones and ashes, the ability to connect with them conflicted with the new feeling of strength. No longer was Ari able to utilize whatever magic was tethered to him through the runescript tattoos, he wasn’t even sure if he could receive them again in the future.

Taking the time to calm down, the Druid acolyte made his way from the location and back to the stream. The night was still deep, and even with his improved night-vision Ari was still unable to view his own form. He took the time to try and go through the events of the day. Ari recognized that as he got closer to the object that sent him unconscious, and most likely altered his form so severely, his ability to control his impulses disappeared. Originally, Ari believed his desire to enter the abandoned building was purely the ease of it in regard to how it affected his impulses and decision making. Another effect of the object may also have been his desire to use his magic so strongly, but Ari couldn’t truly decide if that was the case. He had been wanting to utilize his neglected Druidic art for a very long time, and that could have easily been a young man’s error to him.

Ari slowly eased back into the chill stream, and tried to recall the warmth he felt. The power once again surged through the center of his torso and traveled out along the arcing and twisting words along his body. It wasn’t necessarily muting his sense of cold or emotions, but influencing them towards warmth and optimism. It was a very strange feeling, because the warmth of his body further made him relax and feel calm but it was clear that using this in the wrong circumstances could be dangerous to himself. Especially if this calming warmth colored the way he viewed propel, potentially to make him trust them more and be more willing to do what they want.

Although, he thought that perhaps this emotional connection would help him. Ari knew he had gone through periods of emotional turmoil: years of apathy with only bursts of strong emotional reactions, times when he felt normal and connected but then suddenly something would pull him away from the sensation, and periods where he felt vulnerable and isolated. The acolyte was aware that he had not done the greatest job with ever controlling how he felt, he just decided to control how he reacted hoping that would be good enough. In his eyes it was possible that this could be beneficial in stabilizing his ego.

Twilight came slowly and the entire time the young man felt the warmth from within. He remained mostly submerged beneath the flowing creek, only his knees and head above the chill flowing around him. The realization that the power never once faded or decreased was at first a joyful one, until Ari realized how reluctant he would be to turn it off. ‘Perhaps that’s the point? This strange power might want me to use it and become addicting, almost as much as the initial rush of using my arts. If I didn’t feel like death afterwards, I would be itching to bend nature to my whims once more.’

As the morning became bright, the new body around the Druid was studied. His features seemed somewhat sharper upon closer inspections, his ears had a subtle point to them and his jawline and collar bones were more pronounced. He seemed to be about the same height and weight, but he felt stronger and almost like his legs and arms were slightly longer than before. It was strange to the young man, he felt equal parts powerful and graceful but it was mixed with a tint of wrongness and a dysphoric feeling permeated him. This body, for as interesting as it was, didn’t feel like him. The skin was darkener and more beautiful but it wasn’t the caramel skin dusted with freckles. The script of the elfkin that flowed upon his skin seemed more beautiful by far than the rune script, but it wasn’t the markings he chose when he sat down with Cryus and Ruenr. Even his eyes seemed to have deep vibrant gold that made their previous beauty seem dull and colorless.

It was beautiful and utterly and wondrous and utterly disgusting. It made his skin crawl just as much as it made him curious and eager to learn. The juxtaposition of his feelings were evident, but they remained suppressed by the warmth of the flowing power within him. It was different from his Druidic arts but it felt connected to them yet almost in the way that opposites are connected by their meaning, but even that felt an inaccurate description to Ari. Speaking out loud the words that he thought brought further into his mind just how different things had become.

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“What should I do now?”

His voice has a more musical quality to it, but not in a way the owner of the voice would find pleasant. It seemed, like all the other changes, true but unnatural. Close but so alien. Without the warmth within him, Ari knew he would be more distraught.

“Uh, you okay buddy?”

Ari whipped his head around, shocked to see what appeared to be a normal hunter heading into the forest. With how hectic things had been, he was anticipating a fight but this man couldn’t possibly- Ari turned off the warmth and rationality emerged. The paranoia and fear that he considered rational, at the very least.

“Yes. I am fine.”

“Uhh,”

The man seemed to step away with a tighter grip on his bow, as Ari began to rise up from the shallow of the creek to face where he stood several yards away. By the time Ari had fully emerged and turned to look at the man, the fear and confusion were evident on his face.

“Are. Are you some sort of elf?”

Ari didn’t know how to respond so he just nodded and went with the man’s thoughts.

“Yes. I am lost but I am okay. From where have you arrived, stranger?”

The alien young man did his best to mimic mysterious and intriguing wanderers from fictions that Colette had read to him or fished him to read. It appeared to work rather well on the young hunter.

“Okay. I am actually from a small village at the foot of the hills near here. I came after hearing about an earthquake and needed to check the stage of my snares. Do you need a cloak or anything?”

Ari shook his head and motioned for the man to head further into the wooded hills, but the hunter seemed to take in Ari’s nude form for a moment before coming to a conclusion.

“Actually, let me get you to the village then I can come back. We have some folks who might be able to help you out, despite how we have suffered recently.”

An alarming thought occurred to Ari. ‘What if the village is where they went? Seeing me back from the dead would probably be the next cause of my death. Or perhaps I can use the situation to my benefit? I doubt they are much threat to me if I am ready and expecting it, but going back there seems like a very bad idea.’

“Actually, I would like your cloak if you could provide it. I require directions to Frenis.”

“Fenis?”

Ari nodded.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea, not to go there with just a cloak. It’s a week away at least.”

Ari pretended to look confused, then faked his expression to realize something.

“I will also take pants then. Which way is it?”

Ari survived the several days eating mostly berries or small game. The Hunter gave Ari his extra set of small clothes and the cloak, along with a dagger and a leather sack he could use to store things. Ari somehow could tell exactly where berries were and which direction would take him to shelter or game, and naturally avoided the more treacherous paths when that was his desire. It was unknown to him if this was his connection to his Druid arts or the magic of the strange orb that changed him, but the young man considered it a useful blessing to have been granted. Especially since he was traveling mostly naked and unarmed.

At one point throughout the week, around 3/4ths of the way to where Frenis was supposed to be, Ari decided to try and gently use his Druidic magic once more. His plan was to be gentle and use the finesse that his meditations and study was supposed to allow, instead of just grabbing the natural world and demanding it forcefully to obey. The attempt to shift a small amount of earth nearly knocked him out, but right before he passed out he managed to separate rocks from soil with just his control of nature. It scratched the itch and revealed that there was something different about his magic now that he couldn’t quite place. It was clearly related not to his budding control and awakening to nature but the sphere and his death and new body. Ari was positive the new body was due to the sphere since the script on his skin matched the words upon it very closely.

After a week Ari began to notice the quarry off in the distance that served as the village of Fenris. The Hunter explained that it’s where the outcasts and criminals of the region tend to go when they are kicked out of their homes, but the man believed them to be unrelated to the banditry occurring in the region. If the women he met with before were connected to this village then to the acolyte that seemed more likely to be true than false. It was unlike any of the other villages he came across, including the one where he fought the Southern Islanders and farmers-turned-bandits. Most of the structures seemed to be tents of various types and styles, more similar to how distant plain dwellers did when they were still nomadic. The others were carved into the cliff side wall.

As Ari got closer he realized that the tents were clearly not for travel, they seemed to be attached to permanent structures or secured in ways that made it clear they were rarely moved. It was difficult to locate the tavern or inne he was to head to from so far out, but the Druid acolyte believed that scoping out the town was a requirement before he could even consider entering. The young man spent a day observing the inhabitants and nature of the village before finally resolving to enter and find a way to gain supplies, he hoped the women would be able to help if they were present.