The encampment met a transformation in a matter of hours.

Witches who brought their spells and their potions managed to erect a protective barrier of sorts, something much smaller and weaker than the one that was fading from the edges of the Wyldes, but it was more peace of mind than having nothing. They also began sleeping in shifts, the waking ones seeking out resources and drying herbs immediately. Expending their energy to the fullest efficiency possible before waking one of their sisters and trading places.

The elven children were just as helpful as the witches. They came with a few horses and spears, though I have no idea where they picked up horses along the way. Eidelhein was not built for beasts of burden atop the high plateau so they didn't come with them from there. The spears and a handful of bows would already be a welcome addition to our side of the fight, but they also paired up with the scouts Teyber brought with him to identify local edible foods to forage for. Liana was put in charge of a large team that followed the nearby stream up the slope to a bountiful source of lentils and carrots.

It was only Fandor and Kalor that took time before jumping in to assist. A silent mourning as they surveyed the city they once called home now reduced to nothing but a field. A sad fate that I couldn't begin to imagine for beings so old, and so I left them to it until they were ready. But once they were ready, they had much advice to give from their memories, and more resources as well as underground spaces were uncovered thanks to the elves.

I can't say that there were no hard feelings though. The camp was suddenly overflowing with underlying hostility as the Autumn court fae were now the smallest population of creatures in the encampment. Surrounded by the children of the elves and the witches who, for reasons I still hadn't uncovered, the Wyldes did not trust. I just prayed Teyber and Thain were enough to keep anything from boiling up to a fight until the battle arrived.

And while the entire encampment had erupted in new building, new making, new supplies, I sat under the new simple roof they built for the eventual injured. Purda took charge easily, though the quarter elf and the Autumn fae that had also come over as healers were obviously older than her. There was just something about Purda they didn't argue with.

Spaulder had recovered well with some more work from me and a lot of guidance from Purda. The moment he was recovered, Schula began flying with him to scout from the air, promising to stay well away from Bara Khalja if they encountered him.

It killed me to watch them go, but I was committed to staying with the infirmary and watching over Nassir. The old fae was another problem entirely as he had woken up but barely offered any words since. He kept to himself, didn't fight us when we went to change his bandages or give him medicine. But he wasn't himself. He was a reflection of the Nassir I met in the depths of Icehold. Quiet and introspective, his humor and vibrancy we had built up all this time was gone.

And so I sat by the simple bed we had made for him in a row of empty beds that may well be filled with the injured soon. Nassir sat up, his eyes closed in quiet meditation. The same pose he had held since breakfast. All I could do for him now was stay close by.

His body had been mended, but his heart had not.

I sighed. There was little I could do for him, the raw wound on his heart left by his own triquetram's madness and hate couldn't be closed by me or anyone else. This was something for Nassir to deal with between him and DuVarick. My guess was that the near confrontation in the mountains that led Nassir to causing a landslide is what triggered his new state, but he wouldn't talk about the incident with anybody and the elves and witches weren't close enough to see what happened until after it had already been set in motion.

A soft hand sat on my shoulder, and I turned my head to see Mila. Puko sat happily on her shoulder, eating a piece of bread. Bread that was probably baked on a newly constructed flat stone oven. I had my suspicions that if this battle took much longer to reach us, we would have a simple frame of a functioning village instead of a rough encampment.

Mila's ancient eyes were tired. More tired than I had ever seen them before. Fair enough, considering the distance she just crossed to reach me. 

I stood and she began walking away. I followed, leaving Nassir to his peace and curious what Mila may want to talk to me about. We stepped out from under the roof, and I saw the pair of elven children that had been gathering large fronds like those the roof was made from. I wondered if they were planning to put up even walls or if they were for more roofs near the infirmary.

"Wren," Mila began, snapping me out of my stray thoughts. "Tell me of the people here."

I was surprised by the question, hesitating to answer. "Mila, you taught me my first lessons on the Wyldes when I was little, and even then you knew much more than you ever allowed me to find out. You already know about the Wyldes."

Mila shook her head, something almost like amusement crossing her face. "I want to hear it from you, child. Are you going to make your old teacher wait?"

"No!" I said instantly out of habit, then I chuckled. "No, Mila. If that's what you want, I'll try."

I looked around as we walked. Everyone was lively at work. The hammering of bent and damaged metals were being done by the elves on hard stone and one small anvil they bothered carrying across the world to this very spot. Fae creatures of all kinds were working to gather the sort of supplies that could make basic structures. They had already built up a roof for the healers to use, and now they stacked thick reeds and cut wood near the room Teyber used as a base of operations. Were they planning to do more to it? Perhaps make it more comfortable inside, or include proper furniture? I caught sight of a deep blue fae at the edges of the trees, running some sort of fighting drills with his warriors and it brought a smile to my face.

"The people of the Wyldes are passionate. No emotion is given half effort. If one is sad, they are truly sad. If they are angry, their rage will be seen plainly," I said.

Mila huffed a dark laugh. "A true description of the fae, child."

'It is as you say, witch.' The comforting sound of Spaulder in my head brought a smile to my face as I looked up, searching for my triquetram in the skies.

"Spaulder!" I called. Any who heard me immediately stopped their work, looking up to make sure they weren't near where the great dragon would try to land. It didn't take long before I spotted them high in the clouds, circling their way down to the open space of the forgotten city.

"A sight I am still not used to," Mila said, turning back to me. "Go on, Wren. Tell me more about this place so special to your heart."

I gave her a warm smile and looked around again. "The fae are fascinating. So long lived and yet somehow never changing. The beauty in each of the cities is amazing. Each court so different from the next, and filled with so many different creatures. I have met satyrs and dryads, my neighbors have had antlers, scales, and feathers. Every color the Mother has made is in the faces of the people here. There is always something new to learn and a new perspective to stumble across."

Mila nodded. "As is the way of all life among many people. It is very different from your upbringing by Silver Lake, isn't it, child?"

I laughed. "Yes, it is."

"You speak with love of the fae, tell me what you feel for the others present," Mila said.

Another surprising question.

"Well," I said slowly, thinking. "The witches are of course close to my heart. My sisters, so close to the Mother's earth that I could mistake you for creatures of the Wyldes yourselves."

"Do you include yourself in that assessment?" Mila asked.

"Caw!" Puko flapped his wings, scattering breadcrumbs in his excitement.

"Hush, Puko," Mila chided. "I understand your feelings on the matter."

I bit back my amusement and cleared my throat. "I do. I'm proud to be a witch, one of my mother's people. I have learned so many things from you all, and I look forward to working with Purda. Except..."

My face fell.

"Except you must be with Purda to train under her, at least until she finds another successor," Mila finished for me.

I nodded, and a large shadow descended over us. I looked up to see how close Spaulder had gotten, and the wind swirled around me from his giant wings.

"What of your father's people?" Mila asked. "You found them, against all odds. Even I was surprised to learn what you are."

We stepped away as Spaulder landed, and I watched Teyber come up to ask Schula and Spaulder for anything they may have found on their flight.

"A tenacious people. Hard working and loyal to their heritage. The way the elves survived fascinates me, but it saddens me that this place was lost to them." I looked across the emptiness. A few trees and stones was all that remained of a once sprawling city. My eyes lingered on the empty spaces, trying to remember the bits and pieces of the image the Mother had shown me in my dream.

"Child," Mila softly called me out of my thoughts. "We have been studying the mural you showed me."

I turned to Mila curiously. "You have?"

"Indeed. And there is much more to it than simply an answer to the barrier. This is a piece of our history. This is not the first time an encasement of such magic was placed between the Wyldes and the rest of the Mother's world."

I shivered, standing up straight. "What?"

Mila nodded gravely. "Truth be told, there are few old enough to remember it. The dating of this place is quite old. The magic of this forsaken place is all that held it together so well."

The breath in my lungs left me slowly as my eyes sank to the ground, looking at nothing in particular while my mind tried to process what I had just learned. "The witches were here before, and they put up a barrier..."

Heavy footsteps told me Spaulder had arrived. I looked up to meet him, Schula standing by his side. My fingers ran up to meet his warm black scales absently as I searched Mila's eyes for more answers.

"What does it mean?" I asked.

"I do not know, child," Mila said. "I only know the witches have done this before, and if the mural is to be believed, the Mother wills it."

'Do you mean the witches that were once here?' Spaulder asked.

My head snapped to meet Spaulder's gaze. "What do you mean? What do you know of this, Spaulder?"

He settled onto the grass, his feet tucked under his belly as much as he could and his tail wrapped around himself in a large oval as he got comfortable. Schula sat, leaning against him. She looked tired, but not alarmed so they must not have found anything upsetting on their flight.

'This place has the essence of witches all over it,' Spaulder answered. 'As well as the elves and other creatures from these lands.'

I bit my lower lip, choosing my words carefully to form the best possible question. "Do you mean...these elves and witches and fae? The ones present with us?"

'No,' Spaulder answered, stretching his wings comfortably. 'I mean an essence of what this place has been for longer than I have been alive.'

His answer shook me, and brought curious stares from Schula and Mila as well.

"So the witches were here before? In this elven city?" I asked.

'I would call it no elven city, for it shares memories from long ago equally with all I have seen in the Wyldes.' Spaulder yawned. 'Could you not sense it? This place is the heart of the Wyldes.'

"The heart of the Wyldes?" Schula asked, dumbstruck.

Mila hadn't spoken all this time, she was just staring down Spaulder as her mind raced.

"I suppose...that doesn't change things now," I said. "I doubt even here in these lands where lives are so long that it would be possible to find someone old enough to remember these ancient times."

'Hm. I wonder,' Spaulder said, moving one eye to gaze east.

Mila hummed, stroking Puko's feathers.

Schula spoke softly. "Any change for Nassir?"

My heart sank. "None. He's been that way all day."

She nodded sadly. "I see."

"What did you see on your flight?" I asked.

Spaulder chuckled, but closed his eyes and didn't elaborate.

Schula sighed, eyeing our dragon before turning back to me. "No DuVarick and no Bara Khalja, but we did see how close the Spring court is getting. We didn't get too close a look but it was definitely them. They'll be here soon."

I looked over her shoulder to the mingling elven children, witches, and fae creatures. "I hope this ends well," I murmured.

"It will have to for their sake too, won't it?" Schula pointed out. "Besides, we found one more interesting group on their way here, and I doubt King Diamid would allow himself to be on her side as easily as ours."

My brow furrowed. "Who?"

Schula grinned. "Queen Peyorla, the rabid bitch."

My lips parted in surprise. "Really? I mean, I'm glad her people survived the attack, but what is she doing coming here?"

Schula shrugged. "The same thing we all are. All of the Wyldes can sense it. This thing between all the pieces of these lands is coming to a head, and it's happening here."

I ran a hand through my hair, messing up part of my braids in the process. "I doubt we'll have time for a proper sit-down. Or, hells, maybe we will. The wait is killing me more than the actual looming battle."

'It is always the way of war,' Spaulder interjected. 'The battle itself will give you no time to think, but the time leading up to it will stretch on for years.'

I groaned, and Schula placed a hand on my arm.

"Hey," she said softly. "We're going to figure it out. Look at everyone we've pulled together already, we have the element of surprise on our hand."

"That's true," I began, but my last word was cut off by the loud call of horns to the south.

Spaulder lifted his head, standing on his feet before unleashing a terrible roar into the air. The ground shook, birds from the trees around us scattered to the skies.

"Eidelhein, spears to the front!" Fandor called.

"Scouts to the trees!" Teyber roared.

Thain came bursting from the tree line where he had been with the other Autumn fae, a fierce growl thundering through him as he dropped his glamour completely. A beast ready for blood now raced across the grass to get into position, his fellow court in his wake.

"My sisters will need me," Mila said. "I will watch Puko."

"Thank you," I said, reaching out a hand to squeeze my beloved Mila's small shoulder. "Be safe."

Her face wrinkled as she gave me a rare smile. "You as well, child."

She walked off as Spaulder, Schula, and I took our place near the front and center of the assembled forces.

Suddenly, my mouth was dry. I was straining to remember my training, remember my spells. I might have nothing left in a fight but my instincts for fire. What if that caused our downfall? What if I couldn't protect this place??

The grass under my feet was already trampled where all of us assembled. The air held a chill that couldn't cool the fever on my skin from my anxious fears. The enemy was here, and I felt so ill-prepared.

Was it DuVarick? Had he climbed himself out of the landslide? Or perhaps Bara Khalja finally showed himself after all his tricks.

'Hush, daughter.' A cool, feminine voice cooed in my ear, sending shivers down my neck. I stiffened, for fear that if I moved I would alert someone else. I knew this voice, and it knew me. It had followed me across the world and back in the form of dreams, fate, and effort.

'These Wyldes do not belong to one kind,' she whispered to me and me alone. 'I will have my lands back, and you will take them back for me.'

I fell to my knees, suddenly nauseous. What kind of pressure is that? The Mother wanted me to ensure the Wyldes were saved? And what was that about them not being for one kind? One kind of what?

"Mother?" I cried, but received no answer.

A cool hand found it's way to my neck as the tip of a black wing rubbed gently against me.

"You okay?" Schula asked, and I barely managed to nod.

Horns sounded again as a disturbance in the trees shook everything around them.

And as the first steps of the risen dead emerged from the trees, the battle began.

For the Wyldes.