It didn’t take long to reach the nook, an area at the midsection of the Starmoss tree’s canopy that offered cover and privacy—both of which would be nice now. I climbed up the trunk, gripping and moving from branch to branch, until I entered the shaded space. Once inside, I realized I was the last one to arrive, except for Dima, who hadn’t shown up yet.

​

Sitting upright on the highest branch as usual was Vica, a tall, dark green-skinned troll with short black hair and purple eyes. She wore baggy, light-blue robes rolled up past her elbows, and she let her legs swing back and forth as she stared into space. Blue hydrangea tattoos covered both her arms and legs, connected by light green stems. Her tusks bore engravings of tropical flowers, each surrounded by different bees busy pollinating. She looked a bit pale, and by her distant expression, I could tell she was dissociating.

​

Below Vica, Civa reclined back comfortably against a larger branch. She shared her sister’s dark green skin and purple eyes, but wore her black hair long in a ponytail. She wore a similar baggy black robe, tied tightly at her elbows and knees with black thread. Her tattoos, mostly hidden by her clothing, showed black pansies at her wrists, hands, neck, and ankles. Her tusks were etched with a garden of medical herbs, detailed with insects resting among them.

​

Civa’s hands were fidgeting with a chain necklace centered with a small emerald gem—an item I’d given her after she became my mother’s apprentice a month ago. My dad and I made it together as a sign that we were making our relationship official. I noticed her face looked pale, and her hands trembled slightly as she handled the necklace.

​

The last one in the nook was the giant troll lying on his side, taking a nap in the corner, Ordo. Though he was 13, a year younger than all of us, he was the biggest of any of the young ones in the Sanctum, standing over 6’8 and 350 lbs. He was over a foot taller than the rest of us and wore tan banana-fiber shorts and a shirt, with a straw hat. A brown leather belt was strapped around his waist, with a loop that held a giant machete he used for farm work. His skin was predominantly olive green, with patches of white around his right eye and mouth that continued onto the rest of his body. Dark brown, moss-textured hair was short on top of his head, courtesy of his machete, which he used to keep it that way, as he preferred it. He had been yelled at by his father more than once after he accidentally cut himself doing so, but he persevered in his ways, as he complained it was always too hot for him.

When I entered the nook, Civa’s gaze shot up to meet mine. Anxiety filled her eyes, as if she expected bad news, but her expression quickly shifted to surprise when she recognized me.

“Harovth!”

She hopped up from her spot and made the few steps over to me. The nook wasn’t big, and she threw herself into me as she wrapped me in a big hug. I returned the hug and squeezed her tight, glad she was alright. I didn’t doubt she would be ok, as she lived close to the center of the village, where it was safest. Her parents were on the council and in charge of village management, so both she and her sister were more affluent. My family could’ve lived there, but my parents chose to stay on the outskirts because they wanted more space and easy access to the outdoors.

Ordo lived closest to me because his fathers needed a lot of farmland to grow specialized food and resources for the village. One ran the farming operation and the employees. The other managed the logistics. They both told me they were lucky to have so much farmland, since Ordo ate more than ten times what a normal troll did. I got to know him at a young age because his parents brought him in for checkups with my mother. We got along well. Our families were connected with the twins' and Dima’s families for resources and management.

Dima’s family were top experts in creature bonding within the Sanctum. They worked closely with Ordo’s and the twins' families to get special resources. They went to my father for construction and underground resources, while my mother helped them with their bonded's problems. These connections helped us know each other from a young age, and we formed a tight-knit group that is still going strong.

As I hugged Civa, I could smell the scent of freshly ground medicine that permeated her hair. She had always drifted toward science, and thanks to her parents' connections, she had plenty of resources to pursue those endeavors. We had talked a lot about science and magic, how they interacted, and the pursuit of knowledge, all of which brought us closer together. We had only started dating a few months ago, and it brought her closer to my mother, who worked specifically with a wide range of affinities. She decided to apprentice to my mother, not to become a doctor specifically, but to learn about life and science.

I had even gotten Civa to join my father and me for underground trips a few times. The one thing she loved that I didn’t as much, but still encouraged her to explore, was her love of bugs. She could spend days researching and learning about them, while I found them less interesting but still cool. Going underground with her introduced her to a lot of that, and she returned the favor by showing me around her family's research and storage facilities, which we both spent a lot of time in together.

I also got to know Vica better. She was being groomed to succeed the family and became the leader of our small group. Most of the time, she was busy studying under different elders who oversaw various sections of the Mossy Sanctum. She even pushed her parents to let her go outside it to learn more. Martial arts was something she enjoyed, practicing despite her parents' concerns until they eventually relented. Her favorite topic was the time she began gathering mana in her body. She could feel its texture and sense connections between various things. The ability seemed to come naturally to her, but she continued to explore it because it was entirely hers and could help the village. She always said it was her key to success. Still, it did make her dissociate at times, as she was sensing mana in ways nobody else could. My grandfather had given her a few tips but limited them, explaining that his viewpoint could affect her own understanding, and it was better for her to understand herself.

As we hugged and all of this flashed through my mind, I thought of what was happening now. I wasn’t sure what would happen to the village, whether it would be destroyed or not, but I knew I would always cherish the memories I had with Civa, my friends, and my family.

I swore I would never forget it.

Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap gently around my side. Vica had silently climbed down from her branch and approached us, joining the embrace without making a sound. She hugged both of us, and Civa and I exchanged a quick look and a smile before we wrapped Vica up in the middle of our arms as well. Among us, she was the most affected by the situation, given her responsibilities and state of mind. She needed our support.

Our short and quiet moment was interrupted by a groan from the corner, as Ordo woke up and stretched. His emerald eyes slowly opened, blinking away the sleepiness, and widened as he saw all of us together without him.

“You guys really - yaaaawn - didn’t wake me up for a hug? I’m only napping, so I don’t have to think about all the horrid shit going on outside. I need comfort too!”

“Sorry, Ordo!”

“Sorry!”

The twins apologized together, and I followed up just a second later, since I had missed the invisible cue they somehow always had. Civa had teased me about not knowing how they matched up and said it was twin telepathy, which I didn’t buy. There was clearly something else going on I hadn’t seen yet, and as I looked over, Civa was sticking her tongue out at me, confirming my suspicions. Ignoring that for now, I turned back to Ordo and opened up my arm to have him join us.

“Join the hug, man!”

“Hmmmm…” Ordo said as he tapped his claw on his bottom lip. “I think it makes more sense for me to seal the hug instead, especially since you didn’t include me in the first place.”

Before we could react, Ordo took a large step forward, wrapped his arms around all of us, and lifted us off the ground in a huge bear hug.

“ACH-”

All three of us let out noises between laughs and groans, caught off guard by Ordo’s gentleness mixed with sudden strength. He set us down immediately, squeezed us once more, and then released us, allowing the rest of us to let go too.

“So, is everyone alright?”

Ordo looked at me as he spoke, causing both Civa and Vica to look at me too with concern in their eyes.

“Well…Dima and his parents are alright. They were separated from Alvestra, but luckily, my mom found her, and she’s ok too. My dad was at the Curling Wall, fighting off a swarm of… crimson bugs and these weird crocodile, shadow bugs, but I saw Falldren’s glaive kill a bunch, so I think they’ll be fine. ‘My grandfather is at the top of the Starmoss tree, which I think you guys saw…?”

I looked to the rest of them, and they all nodded.

“So he’s alright and managing things. The rest of the village…I don’t know. Around 1,000 people are already gathered at the Starmoss tree, but many more are missing. Some of the young, old, and weak have contracted some weird mana sickness that is ravaging their bodies. I… got it, too, when I woke up. It was really, really bad, and if my parents didn’t make it there, I don’t know if I would be alive. It honestly still doesn’t feel real, more like I had a bad dream.”

“I’m so sorry, Harvoth. Is there anything we can do?” Civa said to me as she put her hand against my shoulder as they slumped forward.

“Uh, I don’t think so, but the hug was nice.”

“Well, there’s more where that came from!” Ordo said loudly as he put a hand on my other shoulder.

“Harvoth, there’s a weird feeling I’m getting from your mana, do you mind if-”

Vica was cut off as Dima’s head poked through the entrance of the nook, looking worried.

“You all need to come down.”

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