It was a busy morning for them. Waking up with the sun to start their day was only the beginning of it. (Y/n) would have loved to sleep in just a little bit longer, but she had responsibilities as Supporter that needed to be handled.

        The first thing Add had done was set up a computer system in the room across from theirs. He brought enough technology with him to replicate his work room to a minimalistic degree. While he had put together the temporary workspace, (y/n) had prepared him some tea to start off his day. The kitchen was stocked with food as well, so she fix them a meal and brought their plates upstairs.

        "I'll make this quick since Kassias may arrive at any time," Add began to say when she walked into the room. He accepted his plate of food without question before continuing. "I was able to do a quick scan of the sample I took from that ancient phoru. There were traces of a foreign substance in its blood. Since it was just a quick scan, I don't have any details to tell me what it is, but I do think it might be the same thing causing this disease."

        "You'll need a sample from a patient to compare," (y/n) noted. "Do you have any ideas as to what it could be?"

        "I do, but I'd rather not say right now just in case it's something else. I don't want to be right this time."

        (Y/n)'s brows furrowed with concern. "Add...you've hardly ever been wrong about these things."

        "I know." He dropped his head into his hands. "The chance of me being incorrect isn't zero. There have been a couple of times."

        Shortly after they finished their breakfast, Kassias arrived right on time. He brought them out to a carriage similar to the one they had been traveling in, but (y/n) and Add both paused before they reached it.

        Looking up, they could see the branches of an enormous tree stretching across the sky. Their gazes followed the thick branches until the tree itself was found at the center of Eldemyr standing taller than anything (y/n) had ever seen. Neither of them had noticed it last night, but now that the sun was supposed to be shining brightly, they could easily see that the tree loomed over them. The sun could hardly get in leaving the entirety of Eldemyr to be lit by other sources of light. (Y/n) was at a loss for words.

        "It's ridiculously large," Add mumbled while still looking up.

        "Hm? The El Tree?" Kassias briefly took a look at it and tightened his grip on the tome he was carrying. "It's been here for as long as I can remember. I don't think anyone really knows how old it is. The tree saddens when the people of Eldemyr suffer, but it hasn't shown any signs of wilting in response to the growing crisis."

        "We should hurry then. I want to start on a usable cure as soon as possible," Add commented. The boarded the carriage allowing the Senarhl pulling them forward to take them further into the area.

        (Y/n) was entranced by what she saw. Eldemyr was beautiful just as the stories described it. The magic lanterns that illuminated the area were colored with hues of yellow and orange now that it was daytime. They passed by workshops and stores that displayed a variety of things to the elves passing by. There were elves of drastically differing ages everywhere. Children as small as toddlers and even elderly elves who actually appeared to be hundreds of years old were going from place to place with their own agendas.

        "Are they even aware that there's a sickness spreading? Do they even know?" (y/n) wondered. Sometimes ignorance was bliss, but spreading awareness could save lives. She sat idly with her thoughts as the carriage went onwards. "This place is beautiful..." she thought with a feeling of longing. It only lasted for a moment.

        When the Senarhl stopped them in front of a large facility, (y/n) knew it was time to get to work. Kassias guided them into the marble building where they were immediately met with elves lying sick on padded mats. Most of them were sleeping. Those that were awake didn't have the energy to spare in greeting them or making any noticeable gestures. Kassias' mood immediately grew clouded with uncertainty.

        "Please, wait here." He walked to the center of the room between a row of the sick and opened his tome. The pages flipped on their own until they stopped on a page of their Kassias' choice. The book began to give off a blue light, and an aura surrounded every elf in the building to ease their pain at best. Once Kassias was done, he returned to them. "Do what you must and take all the time you need. I will be here if you need me."

        Add gave him an nod and began to walk down a row of the patients. (Y/n) followed after him until the stopped at a child, a young boy who was awake and curiously staring at them. Add knelt down next to him and gently placed the back of his hand against the little boy's forehead. The boy smiled at him and attempted to reach out to grab his hair. His small hand fell just short of reaching the strands.

        "How are you feeling today, little one?" Add asked him, already having his dynamos perform a scan on the boy.

        "Hurts..." the boy reached for his hair again. "You're not...?" The boy kept staring at Add strangely knowing that he was not an elf, but unable to tell why he knew. (Y/n) could tell that he was fighting well against his discomfort all the while.

        Add caught the boy's hand and lowered it back down. "Get some rest. You need to save your strength. I will make your pain go away." He reached into his pocket and pulled free the patch that he created to help with (y/n)'s tendency to overheat. He placed it against the boy's head and put his hand over the boy's eyes. "Go on to sleep. You'll feel better when you wake up." He waited a moment before he removed his hand, and sure enough the boy's eyes were closed.

        "Add?? Is he...?" (y/n) quietly asked.

        "No, he's fine for now. This should give him more time." He stood back up. "Let's go outside for a moment." They walked back to Kassias who hoped for some sort of good news, but the light in his eyes faded when he caught sight of their concerned expressions. "Kassias, contact that boy's family and have him separated from everyone else once we leave this building. If he wakes back up before I come back from outside, inform me immediately. Focus your attention on him for now."

        "If you need privacy, outside is the last place you'll want to be. Stay in here. I won't speak of anything that I hear. Most of everyone else here will think nothing of it," Kassias warned.
(Y/n) was going to suggest something similar, and Add realized why after a brief moment of confusion. Kassias left them near the door to give special care to the child.

        "Is it what you thought it was?" (y/n) asked. Add nodded. He wordlessly brought up an array of data. "Huh? Wait, Add this is the data from Altera. Why is this...?" Here eyes widened in realization. Add then showed her the data from the ancient phoru and the information from the scan he had just done on the child. With all three sets of data side by side, Add was able to display the similarity of the sample he found in Altera with the one he collected in Eldemyr.

        "I wanted to be wrong," Add mumbled. He swiped the results of the ancient phoru out of the way. "That child is in the most critical condition out of everyone here. This isn't a disease at all. It's a parasite." He pointed to the data from Altera. "This came up as an exact eighty percent match to the foreign substance in the phoru which was the same thing I searched for in the patients as soon as we arrived. That boy..." Add turned his attention to the child's scan data. "It's gone through one hundred percent of his blood. It's a miracle that he's even still alive. His fever is high, but not high enough to kill him. It's the Alterasia that I'm worried about. I could decide to harm him at any given moment."

        "Alterasia...?" (Y/n) was still in shock. How had that plant from so long ago get all the way from Altera to Eldemyr? Why was it even effecting the elves to begin with when it had only been nasods that fell victim to it?

        "Yes, Alterasia. I've decided that's what I'll call it. For now this is only speculation, but I think it's trying to obtain hosts by killing them to take over their functions like it did back then. Elves are living beings. It's not the same for them as it was for the nasods, but the parasite doesn't understand that."

        "If it's a parasite then it's been choosing who to infect. It must have a reason, but how does it even determine that?" (y/n) wondered. She was doing her best to get her thoughts focused on helping rather than panicking. "Some elves have to just be immune it if that's the case."

        "They're carriers." Add looked at Kassias when he spoke. "If they're not sick, then they're carriers. Even we could be now that we're here though I doubt either of us will get sick if we haven't already. I can't be certain right now, so I'll have to do a scan later." He balled his fists. "I can reverse its effects. I know what it's made of so I can undo its very existence to get rid of it, but that won't solve the problem. Getting rid of the spore will cure them...but they can easily be infected again. I need to find the source and quickly."

        (Y/n) caught his hand and pulled it down from the screens to hold it within her own hands. Add looked at her, still keeping his frown. "We," she simply stated. "We can reverse its effects and find the source. We can do this, Add, and I fully believe in your ability to make that happen." She saw him calm down and gaze at her with hints of gratitude.

        "Right...we can." Add turned his attention to their elven guide. "Kassias," the call got his attention immediately. "I need you to take us to a garden. The best one Eldemyr has."
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Until next time you spectacular readers!