Dedicated to H4Y13Y ~ Check out her story, Heir of the Dragon and the artwork she does for it! 

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Chapter 34 - One of the Many

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The forest called, and Skye embraced it.

Roots sprang from the ground under her feet, stem and limb working as extensions of each other to increase the distance each stride took her. Leaf litter cushioned her steps. Tree branches bent from her path and the grass whispered to her, letting her know where to leap.

All around her, life resonated with a tangible emerald light that replaced the air. Each breath filled her with energy anew, the draw revitalising her spirit as food or water never could. Time lost meaning and she barely noticed when night shifted into day, or when twilight crept over the land.

She came to a place where a creek had run a sizable rut into the landscape and leapt the distance without hesitation.

This was what it meant to be a Sentinel, what the forest had been trying to show her in her first days of her magic. It’d tried to show her this entire world that was open to her, a world where she could hide amongst the trees and never be found. She’d never needed Alguarde with its walls of stone that blocked out the forest. 

I wasn’t strong enough to accept your offer then, she told it. I wasn’t strong enough to be a part of the many and still keep myself.

It caressed her skin, more solid than any breeze. What are you afraid of? it asked. You would be one of many, and the many are strong... the many cannot be broken as one can...

The elven part of her mind reasoned that she didn’t want to be part of the many. She was an individual, deities be damned. The forest tugged at the thought, pulling her away once more. She was deep in the nether realm now, past the point where the rules of the mortal realm were absolute. Individuals conformed or they were absorbed into the ether.

Trees went by in a blur of motion, each reaching out and stroking her arm as she passed. Skye didn’t recoil from their touch. Rather, she leaned into them, absorbing their essence. For some reason, that made the many happy. Curious, she searched for the reason. She found one name floating in their consciousness.

Tayne.

A memory of silver blades and three men rushing into a room replaced her sight. She looked up at them from the floor before a burst of green light shifted the vision. A man dressed in silver, out of breath and panting in the doorway with emerald and lilac light fighting for control at the edges.

The name took root in her mind. Her fingers brushed the edge of her sword’s hilt and the haze clouding her vision faded.

Tayne.

Her actions became conscious and she faltered, tripping and colliding painfully with the ground. She sat there for a moment, hand wrapped firmly around her sword. She drew in deep breaths of air, anchored to the memory of Tayne.

Deity of nature, help me. Protect me from them. I can’t reach Naisha without their aid.

A root rose from the earth and curled around her boot, its edges tinged with a green glow. It promised assistance, but already she could feel her control slipping, her resolve being replaced by another’s. The haze returned over her vision. Skye closed her eyes and kicked it away.

Why do you tempt me so? Do you want me to lose my mind? she asked silently, glancing around for answers.

The forest sighed.

Protect the guardian...

Protect the link from the shadow’s hand...

Protect the guardian...

Skye pressed her hands to her ears as the chant echoed around her mind. Protect the link. It didn’t make sense. Did they not want her to reach Naisha? She placed a hand on her shoulder, fingertips searching for the marred flesh. It remained cool, which increased her confusion. If the corruption wasn’t at play here, what else was?

I should have waited, told someone. But we’d never get there in time on horses. We wouldn’t make it.

She went to stand, but her knees collapsed under her. It was then she realised just how long she’d gone without physical sustenance. She undid her pack and pulled out a piece of fruit she’d managed to find before leaving Alguarde.

Something strange passed through the Linaye.

Skye concentrated on it, calling it into focus. Disbelief, she guessed. Disbelief and... fear?

“Are you mad, Anton? The corruption has taken your mind more than I feared, if you believe that possible.”

Revelation hit Skye like a tainted’s strike. The Linaye was working! After weeks of being muted, with no way to contact her teacher, the bond had reappeared. Skye closed her eyes and delved into her soul, searching for the string binding her and Kiarae together.

“I could say the same to you, dear. You’re not as completely unaffected as you believe yourself to be. But the fact remains, it is entirely possible, and I think you know how.”

Kiarae growled. Skye felt the nervous fear pit in the bottom of her teacher’s stomach. “The Opal. Kumos’s pride, and his downfall, if you remember correctly.”

“Only because he was arrogant and impatient. He has seen that now. He believed it had power it did not yet possess, though that is irrelevant.”

“You are a fine example to preach of arrogance and impatience.”

The Master sighed. “Must we go through this every time I visit, sister? I understand, you aren’t as fond of me as you used to be. Perhaps that will change when I strip you of your magic. You’ll be a touch more vulnerable then, I imagine.”

Kiarae laughed, a harsh and hollow sound so unlike what Skye had come to expect from her. “You base a lot on an assumption, brother.” She spat the final words at him like venom from her lips. “If you are so confident, why not do it now? End my miserable existence once and for all. Bathe the world in shadow.”

“I wouldn’t be so eager if I were you. Your time will come, never fear. Just as your apprentice nature Sentinel will soon follow in your footsteps. The spirit has given me access to magic beyond what we’d ever dreamed possible, Kiarae. There are so many things left unexplored.”

“There was a time you would not have condemned hundreds to their death for such things,” she whispered. “Why Anton?”

“The elves aren’t doing anything productive down there as far as I’m concerned. We’ve finally worked out where they are, how to get to them. Damn Kia, we haven’t had an elven tainted for nearly two hundred years!” He paused, and the only sound Skye could hear was her own breathing. “Perhaps I’ll make them fight for it. The losers can sacrifice their soul to the binding of the Opal. How about it, Kia?”

Skye snapped out of the vision. The piece of fruit she’d intended to eat rolled to the ground untouched.

Elves? Tainted?

She dug her nails into the dirt, fury shaking her limbs.

The Master knew of Naisha. How, she had no idea, but she was certain. Her vision, as incredulous as it’d seemed at the time, now loomed over her head like an executioner’s blade. It would happen. She had to get there. Now.

With a deep breath she called to the forest, steeling her thoughts around Tayne and her hand on her blade. She pictured Naisha in her mind and called the forest to her aid.

I cannot do this alone. I call to the many, assist me.

A tree branch wrapped around her waist and righted her quickly. The haze returned over her vision once again, but with her hand on her sword, she controlled it. Nether-magic coalesced around her grazed arm and melted the skin together.

The forest nudged against her will trying to sway her, but she resisted. She planted thoughts in her mind and let them take root.

Naisha was her destination. There was one day left. She would get there and stop its destruction.

She needed to save the people she’d lived by in her younger years. You didn’t destroy the tree because it gave birth to a few bad fruits. She struggled to impress that idea on the many around her.

With that in mind, she started running.

*+*+*+*

Tayne poked the fire, staring into the embers.

She was out there somewhere in the darkness. How far, he didn’t know, but she was there.

Had he done the right thing, following her? Or had she discovered something and not told him, hoping he’d get the hint and not follow her? Did he miss something vital while searching for clues? Was he heading in entirely the wrong direction?

The questions bounced around inside his head relentlessly, doubt flickering like flames in his mind. Wrain approached from behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. The elder Silverborn seemed to be watching Tayne carefully, peering past his physical form at his soul.

“You need to limit yourself, Tayne.”

The words weren’t unexpected, exactly. It was more the way Wrain had said them. Tayne shuffled over, making room for Wrain on the log. “I’m fine. Just resting while Luke gets his slow behind here.”

Wrain took a place beside him. “You’ve reached your Silverborn peak, something I hadn’t expected any of you to reach so quickly. You need to limit yourself; else you’ll burn yourself out.”

“My Silverborn peak?” asked Tayne.

“A silver tinge to everything you see; the feeling you could run forever and never be tired? That is your peak. Because Silverborn are gifted with a kind of magic, we can delve into the Nether realm for additional energy when our own fails us, but it is dangerous if you do not learn to control it. Mentally, it will burn you out.”

“Similar to what happens to Skye?”

Wrain considered the question for a moment. “Sentinels are capable of the same thing, but their repercussions are different. Their souls are free of the restrictions and transition much easier between the nether and mortal realms. Ours will dissipate if left in direct connection to the nether.”

Wrain spent the next few minutes teaching Tayne techniques for reigning in his soul and restricting himself. He detailed the process and asked Tayne to try it. Gradually, the silver tinge that had been present since leaving the Queen’s room faded, leaving Tayne with limbs like lead.

Luke arrived shortly after with Jesse and three other Silverborn. Tayne rotated the sentries and sent the newly arrived Silverborn to the tents for two hours rest. With that done, Tayne motioned Wrain and Luke to the magically enhanced Silver command tent.

“I take it you managed to leave the Advisor behind?” he asked Luke.

A wide grin crept across Luke’s face. “Oh yes. I doubt he’ll come within two miles of me for at least the next three weeks. He may also have a newly developed fear of carrots.”

Wrain raised an eyebrow and Tayne rolled his eyes. Luke burst out laughing at their reactions and fell back flat on the ground wiping tears from the corner of his eyes.

“Ohh... I’m sorry. Serious discussion. I’ll tell you about Donovan’s new fear at a more appropriate time,” said Luke, coughing. Tayne waited while Luke composed himself with deep breaths.

“Okay. Even so, we can’t discount the Advisor as a factor here. If he truly is the betrayer among us, he’ll have access to things we can only dream of,” said Tayne.

“What’s this?” asked Wrain. “The Advisor has betrayed us? Did I miss something?”

Tayne glanced at Luke and shared their earlier conclusion. “Not exactly. Luke and I came to the realisation that everything the Advisor does is in some way detrimental to Skye. Trying to convince us to leave her behind when we were ambushed, blaming her for the wards, the demons, and possibly staging the altercation with the Queen, himself and Luke. It’s also not such a stretch that he poisoned the Queen, since he is often alone with her.”

“The Queen was murmuring about a Sentinel, was she not?” asked Wrain.

“Yes,” said Luke. “But as Tayne said, we don’t know what Donovan has access to. For all we know, the Master’s turned him into a Sentinel and that’s what the Queen was talking about. She said something about not expecting it, right Tayne?” Tayne nodded the affirmative and Luke continued. “She could have meant she wasn’t expecting Donovan to turn against her or to be a Sentinel, or what she thought to be one. Nissa said she wouldn’t wake for several days, so Donovan has enough time to act and get Skye out of Alguarde.”

 Tayne rearranged his undershirt, pulling the corner out from under the plate armour.

“There is that too,” he said, giving an apologetic glance to Luke. “Nissa was acting... strange when she healed the Queen. She seemed to have cut her hand on purpose. It kept bleeding and she never tried to bind it at any point.”

Luke shifted. “She was probably just stressed. You know, under pressure from the King being in charge of the Queen’s life.”

“Luke, I know you have a thing for her, but if there’s something I should know, you need to tell me. She knew the details of the poison and its antidote, too. Just happened to have studied it, although Verdrana couldn’t recall the details of Nistall, and you know how she is with books and facts.”

Wrain remained silent, casting long gazes at both Silverborn. Luke bit his lip, staring at the ground.

“You need to trust her, Tayne. She’d never do anything to harm our cause, or Skye. She... has a secret, but it’s not mine to tell, and I won’t break her trust,” said Luke. “She fears retribution for something she can’t help.”

Tayne stared long and hard at his friend. “I’ll trust your judgement, but if it ever becomes relevant...” he drifted off.

Luke nodded. “I’ll tell you. She’ll tell you in her own time, but right now, you have your hands full with an elf and her magic gone wild.”

Tayne attempted a smile but the attempt fell flat after a few seconds. Nissa was scared of punishment? For what?

Another mystery to add to the pile.

They discussed movements and the location of Naisha for a little while longer before Luke retired for a power nap. Tayne glanced at his own sleeping roll before shaking his head and exiting the tent to check on the sentries. He’d never find rest tonight.

He found himself standing beside Jesse. The Silverborn stared out into the night, his distant gaze never faltering.

“We have to find her, Tayne.”

Tayne watched Jesse’s face and realised just how much the blonde haired boy had changed in the past weeks. He rarely stumbled over his sentences anymore and there was a new glint to his gaze.

“We will, Jess.”

Jesse turned to him and locked eyes with him.

“Would you do anything to save her? Even if it meant giving up your own life?”

The question caught Tayne off guard. “There’s always an alternative, no matter how hard it might be to see, or how difficult it is.”

“But if it came down to you or her, could you do it?” asked Jesse.

Tayne thought of the moments lit by Skye’s magical touch, calling to mind the night in her room when she’d fended off the shadows seeking to claim her. He remembered the day he’d found her and the healing light that’d saved Jesse. How she moved with her blades, dancing to a strange music only she could hear.

He looked to the Silverborn beside him, here only because Skye existed and he found his answer. “Yes, I would.”

Jesse nodded and returned his gaze to the darkness, apparently deep in thought. Tayne clapped him on the shoulder and went to see the sentries, a calming sense of peace dimming the questioning doubts in his mind.

They’d find her. No matter what.  

*+*+*+*

A/N - You guys broke 18k reads! Thank you so much! Not tooooo far off 1k votes either, might reach that by the end of the story if we're lucky ^.^