Aurora's Vision (Arc1:Chp3)

 Arc 1

Chapter 3 - Lost and Displaced

The dispirited group marched through ruined battlefields for half a day before they came upon one of Strig’s portals nearby. It was not usual to find the tangled branches of the circular frame everywhere. It was an oddity to find the twisting vortex active inside. As Emme was concerned, he had closed every one of them during the war to ensure the demons never used them to travel. It was still too dangerous to reactivate them so soon after the war, so she could only assume he had done it to help them. The dwarf who controlled space had motivations and intentions that remained a mystery to all.

They passed through the portal and were instantly transported to the trampled and burned fields of the Meadows of Full Bloom, the start of the Fae territory. The portal had cut days off their trip back.

Emma had transformed into her pixie form, hoping to recoup her strength and power. She stood on Ruby's shoulder, holding onto a tendril of her hair to keep her steady through the warrior's harsh and rigid militant strut.

Heavy ash still fell from the towering tree. Up close, the devastation was far worse than they imagined. Much of the trunk was scorched and inky black smoke billowed out in some areas. Despite the fae’s efforts, the situation with the Great Tree was still dire.

They expected to find the path through the meandering roots empty, but it was packed with haggard people. Their faces were gaunt and hollow. Their unseeing eyes relived the trauma of memories that will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives. Casualties of war, Ruby thought. They shifted warily out of the group’s way once they caught sight of them.

The fae rushed to and forth between them with harried expressions, struggling to assist one person before another called out for their attention. The air was filled with desperate wails, and a sense of loss thickened the atmosphere.

Emma gasped and flew from her shoulder, a small trail of gold and silver fairy dust following in her wake. She stopped in front of a little girl with short, matted blonde hair. A filthy and bloody rag covered her right eye, while the left gazed out distantly, not registering the small pixie fluttering before it.

Emma lifted her arms over the child’s injured eye and a few moments passed in eerie silence.

“Dammit! My power hasn’t recovered yet!” she gritted out in exasperation as her hands dropped in tight fists at her side. “Who are all these people?”

“Humans. They’re from the Silver City of Emune. This is strange,” Ruby answered.

At the sound of her voice, the girl looked up and Ruby saw what she was, reflected in them - a monster to be feared. Guilt clawed at her chest, and she felt like her entire being was going to implode.

“Myrrah!” Emma yelled, oblivious to her friend's inner turmoil.

The pixie flew past her to stop before a fae woman in human form, garbed in black and blackberry assassin gear. Two daggers shaped like leaves glinted at each side of her hips. Her face was covered by a mask and hood, with a few tendrils of purple hair and piercing dark eyes peering through. Her clothing had a strange translucent aura, that made the finer detail of the clothing blurry and hard to define.

Ruby had seen her before, but always in the shadowed periphery. She was Castyr’s personal spy, Myrrah, the fae of secrets. Someone who kept close to him when he travelled to places beyond the Meadows.

Ruby dismissed her men and ordered them to seek healing, but instead of doing the same, she edged up to Emma and Myrrah, eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Emma, you’ve come back,” she replied in an emotionless tone. “I thought you had abandoned us and the Great Tree. If anything, I am relieved that you are safe.”

Ruby looked at Emma in shock. Myrrah had confirmed what she had suspected for some time. Emma's chagrined look confirmed the suspicion. She had abandoned the tree. But why? Ruby thought. Doing that would deny her very nature.

“What is happening here?” Emma said, quickly shifting the topic.

“Refugees from Emune,” Myrrah answered. For the first time, sadness varied the fae's monotone. “The Silver City has fallen. Those you see here are all that remain, as far as we know. We are trying to provide healing but the fae who can provide it are needed at the tree.”

“Impossible!” Ruby spat, incredulously, forgetting she was meant to eavesdrop only. “Emune has withstood countless invasions from the Wretched Army. To fall to them now?”

“It didn’t,” Myrrah clarified. “At least, I don’t think so. The reports are confounding. It seems the city fell from within. Emune’s army turned on itself, and strange glowing rocks appeared. I will send a party to investigate once everything has settled.”

“And the Great Tree?” Emma asked, finally accumulating enough courage to broach the subject.

“I’m surprised you still care, Emma. Your actions certainly state otherwise,” Myrrah blurted angrily and then sighed. “It’s dying, that is obvious. But we could not locate you. Castyr and Soluna have found an alternative solution to save it.”

“How do they plan to do that?” Emma asked, her tone chirpy.

“I do not know. It is not my place to know,” Myrrah responded, her focus slowly shifting from them.

“Perhaps I could help. Are they in the Budding Chamber?” Emma bobbed in front of Myrrah impatiently.

“Yes,” she answered. Myrrah’s eyes glinted with sly mirth. “Though this may not make a difference to you, Castyr has ordered that none may enter until the ritual is complete.”

“Ritual? What kind of ritual?” Ruby asked in alarm.

She knew both Castyr and Soluna. While both were generally well-intentioned, neither considered a cost too high if it came to saving the world.

“H’trea’s backside, I’ve already said too much,” Myrrah groaned impatiently. “Like I’ve said, it’s not my place to know, at least not the details. If you insist on helping, assist me here. Castyr will not appreciate your interference, especially with the tree in such a precarious condition. Now, excuse me, I need to settle these people.”

Emma harrumphed as Myrrah left them, quickly disappearing into the crowd of displaced humans. She folded her arms while her mouth pouted from side to side as she weighed her options. Ruby knew even before Emma grabbed her hair and pulled that the pixie would not listen to Myrrah’s advice.

“Perhaps she’s right, maybe we should leave them to fix the tree. Our interference could cause even more damage,” Ruby suggested as Emma led her to the tree by the hair.

“It will not,” Emma bit out.

“What if it’s the Great Tree’s will?”

“Bah, I’m a Nature Fae. No one knows the Great Tree’s will better than I,” she said, but she stopped and bit her lip nervously. “I… I think.”

...

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