Book 2 Chapter 20: The edge of the scar
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Author's note (Edited in 9/7/19)
 
I just realized I forgot to give an act title to the current act. Well, time to fix that now.
 
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2nd Arc: Capital
 
Act 3: The fey court
 
Aerien’s POV
 
‘I see, it sounds like a lot is going on out there. This is a pretty dangerous area you are going through, isn’t it?’ I asked. This had become a regular thing. It was rather bleak sitting around in here on vigil for my younger self, having to stay at her side in order to prevent her from slipping away. In this time, the only thing I had to break up the monotony was the voice of Gaerien coming in to tell me about everything that was going on outside.
 
‘Yes, apparently it is from the fairy queen. You remember how we heard her voice a few weeks ago? Well, it sounds like she was levitating some giant tree at the time, one that has a dryad in it even more powerful than the one you turned that falmarin… err… what was the word you used… nymph? The one you turned that nymph into.’
 
‘What does that have to do with all the monsters you say are showing up?’
 
‘Oh come on! Weren’t you paying attention before!? It’s because of the arcane energy! Waste energy produced when spells are cast. It warps animals and sentient creatures into demons.’
 
‘Well, anyway, it is good to hear you have not wound up going out to do anything yourself again since that time… how long ago was it now? It’s hard to keep track of time in here.’
 
‘Two days.’ Gaerien says in answer to my question.
 
‘Ah, I see. Well then, how close are we to meeting the queen in all that time?’
 
‘The changeling man, you know, the one I told you about who showed up after you had collapsed? He says we should be about one more day out. Right now, we are resting for the night right outside of the final major obstacle on the trip. It seems like this “Heaven’s Scar” they keep talking about was a seriously big deal. Whatever it was, it tore up trees from the ground and made a wall of haphazard logs. Even though I went through all that to get the wagon back, we’re only going to have to abandon it here in order to get past that wall.’
 
‘Did you really have to go through all that in the first place if it was only going to turn out like this?’ I asked in a bit of a mocking tone. She seemed a little proud of her accomplishment when she told me about it the other day and I had just scolded her. It seemed she got a lot of the same from that Ether guy as well. I still wasn’t entirely clear on how she had done it, but apparently she used some of her divine power that demons were especially weak to in order to take down a demon even the adults were having a lot of trouble with and already had run away from.
 
Well, even if she did have such a power, there was still the issue of her having such a small and under developed body. She did not tell me anything about her growing faster as well, so that would mean she still had the same weak and underdeveloped body I had back before I came to be in this state. With the limitations of a body like that, it just was not good for her to be crawling through the forest after a demon of all things.
 
‘Of course!’ She bites back at my question about the necessity of her actions. ‘It is just safer to have the wagon instead of riding on an animal’s back for several days at a time. Especially in an area filled with this many threats. We are a lot less exposed with a wagon, and since that Ether guy is one of the two people who can protect us it would be especially bad if he had his arms full with me and Rolwen. I’m really not sure we would have been able to make it even this far without the wagon!’
 
Well, all of those points did make perfectly reasonable sense, but I couldn’t help but notice her tone seemed a little too impassioned as she explained it. It was almost like she was just using it as an excuse to cover for something else. Well, it WAS still a pretty good rationale, so despite the feeling of incongruity it gave me I decided to simply accept it at face value and dismiss the rest.
 
‘Alright, alright. The wagon was important. Anyway, you won’t be able to use it now. This brings up an important question. Just how large is my body out there now?’
 
‘You are a bit bigger than twice the size of the boys it seems, at least in terms of height. Levin says you look like you are around 4 or 5 years old.’
 
‘From what you have been saying, it is sounding like I am growing the equivalent of a little more than a year of age per day. I wonder just how much longer this is going to go on for.’
 
‘Actually, it seems to have stopped already. I felt some mana and spirit energy leaking from your body again, it seems like once you reached the full necessary height the extra started escaping again now that it was not being used for anything.’
 
‘Well, that is probably a good thing. It means there will be more available when the queen is doing whatever she will be doing in order to help my younger side. Not to mention, it would be a literal pain to have to wake up while I was still growing at that kind of speed. I’m certain it would be so painful I wouldn’t even be able to think.’
 
‘But still, something about your energy has really changed since before you went into that state.’
 
‘Changed? How so?’
 
‘Well, a lot of things about you have changed, so it’s not unexpected. It could be any one of those things. It is definitely more masculine, but that’s probably because you don’t have the kid’s energy mingling with yours anymore. It’s probably not good for a female body to have that much masculine energy running through it, so it is a good thing you’re pushing to save her like this. There is something else though… it seems very disordered in other ways.’
 
‘That’s not much of a surprise. If anything, I am more surprised that disordered is not the first thing you said. It looks like total chaos in here.’
 
‘Yeah, you said as much. A constant hurricane and thunder storm raining lightning bolts at the chunks of earth flying around in there, right?’
 
‘Yeah, it’s a total mess in here. I’m guessing my next homework assignment after we get my younger self back up on her feet is going to be to clean this place up, right?’
 
‘Err… yeah that does sound like something that should happen, but…’
 
‘But what?’
 
‘I can probably guess from the words, but… what exactly is a home-work assignment?’
 
‘Oh boy. You really have been out of the loop on human culture for a long time, haven’t you?’
 
-
 
Eirlathion’s POV
 
Eirlathion looked up at the sight in front of him. There was no other way to describe it. It was a mountain. A mountain of wood and soil. The nearby trees, those that were still standing at the edge of the area, were half-buried in the wall of still loose dirt. It showed some signs of rain erosion over the past two years, but still every step he took into this leading edge of the mountain, extending around 50 strides from the edge of the mountain of fallen trees, caused his foot to sink in down to his knee.
 
Then, when it came to the actual trees themselves, they were stacked up well above the canopy, and at such a steep angle it was almost impossible to find a route up and over it. It is less a mountain and more of a wall when it comes right down to it. These haphazardly stacked logs were a truly daunting sight just to look at.
 
The dead leaves that hung from each branch obscured the vision, making it impossible to even get an idea of where you should be going as you progress toward the top. The dead twigs, although individually weak and easy to break through, combined into such great numbers made one feel like giving up before even attempting to break through. Just cracking one weak branch at a time will not even get you to the third tree in the mountain of wood by the time mid-day comes along.
 
A bludgeon or a blade would not do you much better. While they have become brittle and weak, the branches in such a number would still bend and support one another, and the cracked branches rather than creating a path would only continue to hinder you with the larger pointy fragments strewn about everywhere.
 
In this way, this mountain of wood seemed several times more daunting than the same size mountain of rock would ever be. It was not even that tall. Standing here, Eirlathion could indeed see the top towering above the living trees still planted in the ground. But, try as he might, he could see no clear route to the summit of dead wood.
 
It wasn’t like it was something they could go around either. Sagal had flown into the air when they arrived the night before, and he reported that this wall of fallen trees extended around the entirety of Heaven’s Scar. The good news though was that, as soon as one got up over this obstacle, the great tree was finally visible in the center of the field of stripped bedrock.
 
He sighed, turning to go back toward their camp for the night, but he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of his apprentice staring at the exact same sight he had just been looking at. She nearly jumped when she saw him approaching. “Master!” She cried, but he gently rose his hand in a calming motion. After blinking a few times, her gaze was drawn back to the megalithic towering pile of decaying trees.
 
“Yes, quite the sight, huh?” He asked. Her face seemed to drop at his words.
 
“Yeah…” she said. She stood there for several seconds, looking quite troubled. Eirlathion could guess what might be on her mind, but given the circumstances he could not think of a reasonable thing he could say to comfort her or to draw her out. The only thing he could think of to do for her was to just stand there silently as he waited for her to say something of her own accord, merely making himself available for whenever she won the struggle within herself.
 
She looked down and shook her head. “It… it must have been so much more intense this close.” She said. Eirlathion nodded with the realization. She must be re-living the night of the Heaven’s Fall.
 
“Yeah, that’s right. You were very close when it happened.” Not just close, she was quite likely the closest person to it who survived to tell the tale.
 
She sighed and looked at him. She looked like she still wanted to say more, but instead she only stared at him for a second or two before breaking eye contact. Her fists began clenching and un-clenching for a while before she finally began speaking again. “It… I guess it saved my life.” She gave a complicated smile and shook her head. “It was… so… so powerful. And… there was such a bright light.”
 
Eirlathion gently draped an arm around her shoulders. She relaxed into his arm for a second and he could see the tension on her face ease up for a moment before she lifted her hands and clung to his robes. “It… they all…” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I was certain I was going to die, and then… the winds from it picked me up and threw me across the forest. I don’t even know how far it was.” Her voice seemed to become stronger as soon as she started speaking about what was done to her by the Heaven’s Fall, as soon as the subject of her sentences turned from “they” to “it.” Eirlathion imagined the experience of being flung through the air in such a way would be a rather traumatic experience for anybody. But, for her, she had seen so much greater in terms of the horrors of that night that such a thing was likely a sweet release for her.
 
“We can talk about it if you want, we don’t have much to do except wait until Sagal gets back anyway.”
 
There was silence again. Neither one of them made a move. Túeth continued to cling to his chest as he continued to gently embrace her shoulders and support her. He could not tell the exact thoughts that were going through her mind at the moment, but he knew it must be difficult for her. They were at a place that reminded her of the very source of her traumas. How much worse would it be if they were to go to the burned remains of her village? They were likely only about a day’s journey from the place, might have even just missed it on their trip here.
 
It was probably a good thing they missed it if she was having this much of a reaction to the sight of this mountain of wood. She has only just begun to deal with her difficulties from that event, and it was plainly obvious she was not ready for that yet.
 
The silence continued with her in his arms until she once again was the one to break that silence. “Is he... do you really think a dragon will come?” she asks.
 
So, it seems she wants to change the subject. Well, he made the offer. Guess she’s just not ready yet. Eirlathion sighed and decided to go along with her redirection of the discussion. “I’m pretty sure,” he said. “We ought to at least be able to get enough sub dragons to take us the rest of the way. The tree we slept in last night is enough evidence of that. There is no way we are still inside Dryad’s territory. That means our camp for last night has to have been prepared by the great tree themself.”
 
“Hmm...” Túeth nodded and gripped his robes tighter. “Aerien’s power, it really means that much to them, doesn’t it?” There was a hint of sadness in her voice. Of course, if the fey court was going to the extent of personally supporting them on their journey to the capital, it was unlikely there would be any end that does not include Aerien being placed in the queen’s personal custody. They had been prepared for this, but the reality was really beginning to set in now that they saw this.
 
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Sagel’s POV
 
“I see. Thank you Sagel, Isanil has been looking forward to meeting this child ever since hearing about her from the new dryad of Cundo village. Nebelis, I will ask you to retrieve our guests.” Sagal was shocked at the queen’s words. Nebelis was a true dragon of Marquis rank! She was sending someone in the upper court out to pick up mere elves!? Well, she did just say that the great tree themself was quite interested, so perhaps it only makes sense for her to send someone with that level of power to make certain they are conveyed in safety.
 
“At once, your majesty.” The deep voice of lord Nebelis boomed in response to her majesty’s orders, and the great winged serpentine dragon sailed out from the upper branches of the great tree without even raising so much as a current of wind. It was considered a point of courtly etiquette among the dragons, when in the presence of the queen it was considered highly rude to flap one’s wings and raise any air currents. Therefore, all flight in and around the upper branches of the great tree had to be done using magic only.
 
A murmuring was raised among those gathered in the upper branches. It seemed the queen had gathered the entirety of the senior upper court to the upper branches for this audience. She certainly knew he was coming. Large serpentine bodies seemed to coil around and hang from nearly every one of the colossal branches, and their numerous angular heads stared down at him. On the lower levels that can be reached by those without the ability to fly and hang from branches with such ease, the great fairy earls lined up along the edges, surrounding him in two semi-circles that allowed them to see both him and the queen at the same time.
 
In the midst of all the most powerful people in the fey kingdom, Sagel continued to kneel. He had not been given permission to leave, which meant there was more that her majesty still wanted out of him. He was quite certain he knew exactly what it was as well.
 
“Now, while he is out collecting the charges you have escorted, I would like to hear a report. I will hear the detailed version later, but for now, I would like to hear about your impressions about the dryad who was awoken by this child we are bringing into our care.”
 
“Of course, your majesty.” It was exactly as he had expected. “My personal assessment, this dryad is particularly unpredictable. Upon their awakening, Aerien, the child responsible for granting them their power, was placed into a near-death state due to the foolish actions of the sub-dragon Everon. The new dryad, as one might expect, launched a retaliation against the people of Cundo village. However, they exhibited a level of craftiness rarely seen even among the wisest of races, using minimal words without direct threats to cause the villagers to turn on one another while not lifting their own vines to do anything more than punish Everon himself.”
 
“While I discussed with the dryad later, it seems they drugged me with some kind of specially enchanted beverage, during which time they extracted an unknown amount of information from me. I can honestly tell you, I do not recall anything that transpired after that. All that I have is what they and the magus Eirlathion who lived in their tree told me afterward.”
 
“My assessment is that this dryad will not take any rapid or violent actions, but they are not to be trusted. The elves are already spreading word among themselves that Cundo village is to be avoided, and this is something that I could not possibly agree with more. That dryad is extremely dangerous and is not to be crossed. I would personally suggest that village be placed under quarantine and no fey without noble rank should be allowed to travel to that location.”
 
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Subscriber's comments of the chapter
 
"some real content is coming aye!! we had alot of character build up already so progress is a nice. I wants to see other reborn fo0's and how this queen is like. These full grown teens and young adults will proby add new tech and war tactics to blow the minds of these elves normal sloth like speed of doing things, at least until they all meet Aerien the loli with the skills a karate grand master rofl."
 
                                -Roy
 
"Yay!!! Aerien is only a day away from being better! She's the biggest now too. Mafia boss Dryad and her sidekick Aerien."
 
                                -meowingLexi
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Yeah, I decided to include the longest thing Roy said. No room for the rest of them.
 
This chapter got active in the comments. A preview of what's going to happen here? I'm looking forward to your thoughts. :)
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