The fire was what triggered her. A stream of red and blue flames that burst and ate away at the troll’s flesh. The monster gave a scream of pain and Aaerynn felt her chest freeze and her eyes turn wide. She was back in that clearing, with the fire torches so bright she had to avert her eyes and with warm human blood still on her face. Crack. The pain brought her back to reality as Elrithos came for them, killing any enemies in his way. He ordered them to get back and heal and took it upon himself to rid the campsite of any more enemies. Aaerynn stood there in a daze, she had understood his words but she couldn’t move. Her hand went to the wound in her shoulder. Her skin had splintered, cracking open and allowing her blood to ooze out. She moved her hand to look at it, covered in her blood. It wasn’t black, as Setna had observed earlier, it was a dark brown. It was as if the blood leaking out of her body was already thickened, and turning into something else entirely. Crack. Another splinter. The grief in her chest was raging against her heart, but the wood elf ignored it. The pain was bringing her back to her senses, allowing some clarity to reenter her head. They had to move back. No one was faring well. Aaerynn ran over to Vordan who had fallen to his knees, his face looking drained. The wood elf wasted no time in lifting his arm over her shoulder and baring most of his weight as she began to drag the taller man back to the carts. “C’mon, I got you.” She mumbled to him, straining against the pain of her injury. Her gaze shifted towards the twins. The male twin had picked his sister up in his arms, and was moving at a faster pace to the refuge of the carts where he laid her down and placed his hand on her forehead. If she were honest, the wood elf had no idea how to help the female twin. She had never seen something like that, the body going into an uncontrollable fit. Since it had to do with magic as well, Aaerynn had no idea whether her medicine had helped stop the damage of the kickback or not. She didn’t know if the female twin would even be able to wake up. The wood elf looked away, feeling the overbearing sadness well up against her heart and felt her skin crack open again. She finally reached the carts and helped lean Vordan against one of the wheels. She didn’t know what was wrong with the scribbler either, but he looked drained and exhausted and he wasn’t the only one. Aaerynn turned her head to see the redhead fumbling over. He was moving slightly awkwardly and Aaerynn’s mind tried not to shift back on the memory of what he had done. It was obviously magic and he had to be suffering from his own kickback. “I’ll be back.” She said it to no one in particular, but she ran back towards where they had been and where she had abandoned her bow. ------ Setna sat hunched over besides his sister. His eyes were bloodshot, the tears refusing to surface any longer. His sister was covered in her own blood and as Setna tried to wipe it from her skin and dress, it still left a red stain. His hands were covered in it. He didn’t know what to do anymore. The medicine Aaerynn had administered seemed to be working. The seizure had passed and the blood had stopped, but she was still unconscious and unresponsive. Her skin felt cold and clammy, even though her heart was still beating. The boy ran a dirty hand through his hair and then gripped the navy strands. He didn’t know. He didn’t know. Perhaps they had been right. Perhaps a woman couldn’t handle the strain of the magic. What if he had been wrong? What if the gods were real? Were they punishing him? Why do this to his sister and not him? If he was to blame, they should have killed him. If he was a sinner, they should punish him, mark him, curse him. Not her, not Serna who did nothing wrong. Not his sister who worked with all her heart to make people happy. Fuck this. Fuck this! What if she didn’t wake up? Setna gripped his hair with enough force to rip it out. But his hand unclenched as Aaerynn helped to lay Vordan down beside him. The boy immediately shifted away from the man. Seething hatred filled his entire core. Setna wanted to kill him, wanted to punish him because if it wasn’t for him, Serna wouldn’t be like this. She wouldn’t be almost dead. But the boy didn’t move from his spot, only continued to seethe. He was still unresponsive, even as Tirian approached. ------ The wood elf made it back to her bow, which she immediately picked up and used, taking down a few more goblins with a few more arrows than usual. Her wolves and the rest of the party had taken down most of them, and the enemy was dwindling. Yet as she moved forward to head back to the injured, another troll burst through the wood. The vibration of the earth made her fall and as she attempted to scramble back to her feet, the troll was already upon her. This time it wasn’t the red head or the desert elf that saved her, instead it was the giant three tailed wolf. The wolf god’s white fur seemed to glisten and glow as it moved nearly silent across the clearing. In one lunge, the wolf dislodged the troll’s throat from its neck. Its dark blood spewed and the creature fell to the ground with a sickening thud. The wolf god stood, troll blood staining her maw as she turned, her piercing yellow eyes meeting the blue of Aaerynn’s. The wood elf stood before bowing her head. “Daedhrogeth…” She whispered. The wolf god took in the sight of the young wood elf before her, her eyes focusing on the wound in her shoulder. But the wolf turned watching as her children cornered and ensnared a goblin, their teeth sinking into the goblin’s neck. The wolf god approached it. [b]“Let it speak.”[/b] The god’s voice was overpowering, and the wolves obeyed. The goblin would die of its wounds, but in its last moment of life it could not resist the all-knowing eyes of the wolf god. The goblin laughed, its eyes crossing with delusion. “He’s coming! He’s coming! The darkness….it grows and whispers….the underworld, the underworld! He sits and waits! But he comes! Oh he comes!” The god growled, baring her sharp teeth. [b]“Tell me what you have done!”[/b] Again her voice overpowered all sources of noise, and the goblin stuttered. “Th-The hearts! The hearts! The elven seeds! The magic, magic, the heart the heart…” Those were its last words, as the goblin’s presence faded as the last of its blood leaked from its wounds. The rest of the band of orcs and goblins had disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind the decimated bodies of their brethren. The wolf god’s piercing eyes took in all of the party. The desert elf, the halflings, the humans, the dwarf and finally the wood elf. [b]“This is the darkness that is growing.”[/b] Her voice was feminine and mixed within a growl. [b]“The trees cry out as they die, and you cannot hear them.”[/b] She turned, returning to Aaerynn who immediately bowed her head with respect. [b]“Adulteress, do you understand now?”[/b] The wolf questioned her. [b]“It is eating you alive, very soon it will kill you. Your fear, your anger, your hatred and your grief only make you rot faster. You can hear them now, those who share the same fate as you.”[/b] Aaerynn stiffened as she felt her wound crack open even more. Her eyes widened because she could hear it, the overwhelming voices of the forest that were carried on the wind. She clenched her fists feeling the rot burn her throughout her gut. [b]“The forest gives life, and takes it away. It is what you will become.”[/b] The wolf growled and opened her jaws, with the intention to snap the wood elf’s head from her body. But there was a sudden sound of paws pounding against the earth and suddenly a small wolf slid in front of Aaerynn. Its fur was bristled up, and the wolf was snarling with its teeth bared against its mother as it crouched down in a fighting position. Daedhrogeth backed down, snapping her jaws together. [b]“You dare defy me for the elf?”[/b] The small wolf stood its ground, its ears pulled back, and its teeth bared. Aaerynn’s eyes widened as she opened them to see the wolf in front of her. “Kai…” She mumbled. The wolf god back stepped, her ears flicking as her body relaxed. Her piercing eyes took in the sight of the young wolf and she retreated. [b]“I see.”[/b] She paused for a moment, huffing. [b]“You have received your last gift. I’ve granted your life for the moment. But your death will come if nothing changes… perhaps you will sow your seed in your final destination.”[/b] She began moving, the rest of the wolves following suit. [b]“I leave you this wolf that has risen against me. And I implore you to know that this world is changing. It is withering, and only darkness is going to welcome you.”[/b] With that the god was gone, and the young wood elf fell to her knees. Her body began to shake as the young wolf turned to her and buried its muzzle against her neck and cheek. The campsite was left in ruin. Bodies scattered the ground with a mix of orc, goblin and troll blood. A cart had been pushed over, its cargo scattered across the grass and everyone seemed a mix of emotion and exhaustion.