This is Son-rah^

Finally, the mountain was in view, I hadn't traveled this far by foot in a very long time, so this was a welcome development. I felt Hel trying to connect with me, but for now, I blocked her out; for the last day and a half, she had been connecting with me every few minutes to ask if I was there yet, and then grumble to me when I said that I wasn't. I would have cut her off completely, but since she was my only form of contact with others, I tolerated it; but for right now I needed to concentrate on finding the leader of the Dryads, Son-rah, so I could secure safe entrance to their mountain.

Once I sensed her familiar presence, I immediately stretched out my mind and greeted her, "My sister bound by nature, I hail thee as a traveler and beg for refuge." This was an ancient greeting known only by a few and used only by the residents of this mountain.

I felt immediate displeasure flowing from her when she felt me and her response was swift and sharp, "You truly are a fool to think that we would welcome you here after all the trouble you and your kind have caused."

"What do you mean, Son-rah? I know we got in an argument when I was last here, but I thought that we left things amicably, was I mistaken?"

Pure rage flowed from her, "Things were forgiven, but when you sent your brethren to attack us, we rescinded our forgiveness. You mock us by pretending not to know the damage you have caused."

"Wait, you were attacked by banshees? I truly must confess to being ignorant in this matter, what happened?"

"AS IF YOU DO NOT KNOW ALREADY! Our once strong race has been cut in half by the attack you orchestrated; you may drop the façade Janis, we know of your involvement in this because of a stray banshee that we captured and interrogated after the attack."

I pondered this for a moment, "I'm sorry for your loss, Son-rah, but I have to deny this accusation. I would never do anything to harm you or your sisters, no matter the cost; would you give me a chance to prove this to you?" If she didn't accept this, I had no other options but to fight my way to the top of the mountain, which would definitely kill me.

"Just how do you recommend you do that? Our old oracle was killed in the attack, and her apprentice is yet too young to understand all that she sees. I must admit that it would gladden my heart to know that a once-trusted friend is not responsible for the blood that your race's hands."

"I could link minds with you or one of your people, if I do this while being restrained and guarded, it should be safe for everyone."

A new voice joined our conversation, "Janis, what are you doing? You know as well as I do that a full mind link is dangerous, it could damage you permanently." Hel sounded livid that this was my great idea to clear my name.

"Who is this? I sense a presence that is ancient and filled with great power, who are you to be conniving with a banshee?" I cursed to myself, this situation was precarious enough as it was, adding Hel into the mix was like throwing ale at Ban before a fight, it would only make things more complicated.

"Son-rah, this is Queen Hel, she rules over the underworld, and is currently trying to help me save this realm, she isn't physically here, I have a mist link with her."

"I am sorry for intruding on a private conversation, but I would advise strongly against a full mind link, it would be dangerous for everyone involved. If I may vouch for Janis, whom I have had watched for years; she has never collaborated with evil banshees, though I do recall a few fights she had with some."

I shook my head, there is no way that would work, "I do not recognize you as a trustworthy authority, Hel, Janis has been convicted of having the blood of my sisters on her hands, so a simple testimony of her innocence would never work. I hate to admit it, but a mind link is the only way to prove anyone innocent. Come to the foot of the mountain, and my sisters will take you captive." I smiled sadly as I heard these words, they had grown even more scared of the world then they were when I last saw them.

"Janis, please tell me that you aren't thinking of doing this? You could die! Who would protect everyone against Loki then, may I ask? What would Ban do if he found out you died without even saying goodbye?" Irritation was strong in Hel's voice and I allowed my head to drop.

"I know of the risk, Hel, but the only other option is to fight our way to the top, which would mean wiping out every last Dryad on this mountain. They are a strong foe even if we are strong. We may be able to defeat them but I don't want to have such a heavy cost on my shoulders when I know I'm innocent of a crime. I wouldn't be able to live with myself, can you not see that?" My pleading seemed to move Hel and I felt resignation swirl across our link.

"Very well, I will allow you to do this idiocy, but if you die on me, I will kick your butt once you get to the underworld." With that, Hel was gone as well and I was left on my own to become a willing captive.

Once I got close enough, I felt hands grabbing me roughly, even the tree limbs and vines got in on it, wrapping me securely so that I wouldn't get away, I was harshly dragged up the mountain and blindfolded so that once I reached the camp, I wouldn't know where I was.

They set me in a clearing and I couldn't help but call out sarcastically, "Oh, it's so good that you blindfolded me, even though I know exactly where I am, this will totally be able to stop me from coming here in the future."

"Hold your tongue, banshee scum, do you not realize that you stand before our queen, the one you betrayed most with your despicable actions?" I sighed as the people surrounding me continued to yell out insults.

"While I appreciate your devotion, Janis has come here in the hopes of proving her innocence we must give her the benefit of the doubt or we will be no better than the ones who slaughtered our people without provocation. She has suggested a mind link, and I have agreed to do this. Since I have no desire to put any of you in danger, I will be linking minds with her myself; this will give us the highest chance of success." The blindfold was taken off and I blinked in the bright sun, though it didn't last long because of Son-rah placed her forehead against mine; with that, everything went black.

I was falling, I could feel Son-rah's presence, but that was about it; at first, I could remember nothing about why I was falling, but bit by bit, information came back to me and I remembered what I was doing in this eternally black place.

"Son-rah, you're going to have to tell me when the attack took place so that I can access the memories for you, otherwise you're just going to have to give me something general and this will take a heck of a lot longer."

The way she reacted was almost like I had thrown cold water on her when she was deeply asleep; I could tell that she was disoriented and it took a while before she was able to answer. "Yes, of course. The attack happened anywhere from ten to twenty years ago."

If I had had a face, I would be face-palming at this point, "Seriously? Ten to Twenty years ago? You do realize that that is a huge amount of time, right?"

"It is? You know that time works differently for dryads Janis, I can remember the day as though it had been engraved on my eyes, but the exact time is blurry."

"Okay, fine, I will access those memories, but if you try to tamper with anything, I won't be able to pull you out; I probably won't make it back either." We were both aware of the fact the neither of us could make it back, which made our situation slightly more serious.

"Would I be able to view these on my own, I would like to not be influenced by your commentary."

"Sure, whatever, I'll still be seeing it, but we won't be connected as you do. Good luck." I could feel it as the playback started, it was like someone had frozen all of my memories and was showing them to me in a snapshot form, it was odd.

I watched as I went on missions for the kingdom and with my team, the prestigious Eight Deadly Sins. I made me sad to see how distant and cold with each other we were, I wanted to run and wrap my past self in a hug as I remembered the heartache I went through. I knew how much better things were going to get for me, but I could do nothing but watch. There were brief moments of home life, but most of my world was dedicated to serving the kingdom, I had promised that I wouldn't make any commentary while Son-rah was watching, but I could still feel her emotions to some extent, I mean, we were in my body. I could feel a deep sense of sadness emanating from her which was comparable to when emotions bounced across our mental link when she spoke of her family that had died.

As my memories approached Zaratras' death, I tuned it out, that was one thing I had no desire to see played out again, that instance made a starring in my dreams every so often, and that was more than enough for me.

As I felt the memories fade, Son-rah seemed to be speechless and we sat together in the darkness of my mind without anything being said. Finally, she was able to force some words out, "I have seen all I need to, you are innocent, please release me." Without another word, I felt her being pulled back into her own body, and I felt as though I was being wrenched upwards into consciousness.