Chapter Seventeen - Where the Forest Watches

CHAPTER 17

I think the most important thing people fail to recognize for a road trip to a famous capital magic city is that my feet hurt worse than getting vine whipped by a demon gorilla. But, nonetheless, it was exhilarating, walking through the woods and avoiding magic monsters. We still did training daily, mostly when we took breaks from traveling. I have been secretly practicing my Aether control while we walked. Sometimes, I would find myself staring at the incredibly large trees and thinking of Oliver.

“Hey guys, look.” Grace pointed towards a clearing that the dirt road led to. “This is my favorite part of the trip.” She smiled. We broke into the clearing and the world shifted away from the dense woods. The tall trees formed a natural circle around the open space. Cool air rustled through the leaves and made its way through the clearing and nipped my skin.

At the center of the clearing was a large crystal-clear pond that reflected the gentle sun. Stone statues of two Mages stood at the center of the pond; light danced off its stone accents.

“What is this place?” I asked. Grace looked longingly at the water.

“My dad would tell me that this was once a great battlefield between two Mages, and that when they had died, their Aether soaked into the ground leaving this place forever marked by their battle. Monsters don’t seem to enter this area” she paused, then continued, “but most people that come through here stop for the safety and to recharge.” She tossed her sack down and slumped next to it, beckoning for Drew and me to do the same.

“Finally.” Drew groaned and basically dove to the ground. He was making noises like someone who had just survived an epic battle instead of a long walk. I watched him for a second, then shot a glance towards Grace, who was already using her hat as a blocker from the sun.

I wasn’t tired.

“Alright Drew,” I said, stretching my arms over my head with a grin, “you ready for some training?”

Drew opened one eye, glared at me from his spot on the soft ground. “Training? Dude, I just sat down.” he rolled over, smushing his face into the grass. I waddled over to him and kicked at his boots. “Look around man, this is the perfect spot! We have a wide-open spot, no monsters—”

“And a pond for me to drown you in if you make me get up right now.” he muttered into the dirt.

I kicked him again, this time a little harder and in the leg. “Come on, I will even go easy on you.” That was enough to get him off the ground.

“Yeah, right. You are just trying to practice that fancy cast shortening we have been working on.” He brushed off his clothes. “Fine, but if I accidentally hurt you, that’s not on me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, in your dreams.”

We walked a little ways away from Grace and took our stances. The statues of the Mages watched silently like they had seen something like this before. Grace propped her hat up so she could see the action. Drew rotated his shoulder to stretch. “Alright, let’s make this quick,” Drew said, “I have a date with that comfy grass after.”

I grinned and set myself up in a defensive stance, reaching into my gut for the now familiar swirl of Aether in my gut. “Whenever you are ready, fire boy.”

Drew didn’t need to be egged on anymore. His hands sparked with flickers of flame as he began his chant and moved towards me, I noticed his cast was his usual fireball and countered it with a wind arrow, the two spells collided and dissipated, leaving a sizzle of hot air.

“That all you got?” I smiled. He smiled back,

“Just warming up.” He readied his palms again and began the same chant. I was in the middle of beginning mine when his fireball whizzed towards me hitting me in the chest and knocking me ten feet onto my back. Yep, I was definitely going to feel that tomorrow, who needs ribs anyways? I picked my head up and looked at him, then to Grace, who looked just as shocked as I was.

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“Drew…” she stuttered, “did you just shorten that chant?” he smiled at me again,

“I figured it out.”

How?!

His spell was weaker than a full incantation, but it still packed one hell of a punch, I could already feel my chest bruising. I picked myself from the ground and dusted off my leather padded armor and pants. Drew’s smirk was going to make me go insane. How had he figured it out before me? I had been working on shortening the chants ever since we left Verdiem, but every time I tried, it either fizzled out or nothing happened. Drew’s natural talent was insane. I played back his movements in my head, he had to be doing something different.

“Can I take a nap now?” he laughed.

Something clicked as I thought about the way Drew cast his fireball. It wasn’t just about speed; it was about the way he controlled it. I needed to change the way I felt the flow of my Aether in order to compensate for the loss of words in the chant. But how? Maybe by shortening the path of Aether flow as well. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, reaching for the swirl of Aether in my gut again. This time, instead of pushing it outward with the chant, I visualized the wind itself. Almost like grabbing specific ‘wind’ Aether from my being and feeling the way it naturally flowed and gathered strength.

It was like science class all over again: air pressure, velocity, and probably a couple other lessons I had decided to skip to hangout with Drew and Oliver. I didn’t need the full chant to tell the Aether what to do, I just needed to feel it, to direct it like a current. I prepared myself in my stance and yelled just the end of my chant.

“Wind Arrow!”

A small arrow of wind formed in my palm and shot towards Drew, who like me was sent onto the flat of his back.

“Just warming up.” I smirked back at him.

Grace looked to be in absolute shambles now as she watched both Drew and I perform shortened casting. Drew jumped to his feet and began with another shortened chant.

“Fireball!”

Another fireball launched itself towards me. I dodged the first attack, but a second shocked me. Drew had covered his entire arm with flames.

Oh, fantastic.

He charged towards me flames in hand, literally. I tried thinking quickly, I jumped back, summoning a wind arrow. Drew anticipated it, deflecting the arrow with the fire Aether he had wrapped around his arms, and before I could blink, he was right in front of me. I felt a flaming fist connect with my jaw, and I bit my tongue hard.

I hate it when that happens.

“What the…” I muttered, rubbing my jaw. I looked at Drew, but his emotion had changed from playful to angry. I have to admit, I got a little scared.

“You lost your sister! And here you are having fun? Think about Oliver.” He scowled at me.

Where the hell did that come from.

Anger welled up inside of me, and I threw out any semblance of composure. I murmured the Wind Splice spell under my breath and fired it off at him, he shielded himself with fire once again. Before I could react, he grabbed my leg, his touch burning my skin and threw a punch aimed at my chest.

I twisted, trying to dodge but he was faster. My ribs took another hit, and I felt the wind leave my lungs. I staggered, but I wasn’t done yet. I summoned all the Aether I had left trying to create anything to get him away from me. I had to try something new.

“Ball of Wind!”

I visualized an airball. Compress, focus, release. I slammed the air ball into Drew’s chest, sending him flying backward. He cursed as he hit ground, rolling to a stop a few meters away.

“Enough!” Grace ran between us, “are you two trying to kill each other?” she screamed. I had gone too far. Grace walked over to me and started healing my hands and ribs, her touch was cool and soothing.

Drew laughed, maybe a little too hard and dropped to the ground.

“I’m going to take that nap now” he chuckled.

I laughed back and headed to my sack to do the same. Grace plopped down next to me; I could already hear Drew snoring.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” she shuffled her feet.

“Sure, shoot.” I turned towards her. “How well do you know that girl from the dungeon?

“Claire?” I could feel my face getting red. “I’ve known her ever since I was young, we have never really been very close though, “I paused. “But she is from my hometown.”

Grace seemed to not be very happy with my answer because she nodded and told me that we would leave for the capital again at first light.

“You’re an idiot.” Drew mumbled before turning over. I laid down and felt my eyes grow heavy. Once again, my vision whirled in darkness signaling the start of my terrible dreams.

I found myself in a different place this time though. Instead of my usual volcanic dreamy home, I was in a forest. Not just any forest either, glowing green veins lined the trees, and they pulsed faintly. Silver and blue leaves shook and fell casting a beautiful shimmering light. The air was thick with Aether, similar to the demon that sent us here, but it had a different tone. It still made the hairs at the back of my dream neck stand up. The trees felt alive, but not in a comforting way. The air pulsed with Aether, like the whole place was holding its breath. Every step I took made the ground hum below my feet; I couldn’t shake that weird feeling that eyes were on me.

At the heart of the forest, in between the shimmery and pulsating trees, was a throne, weaved out of branches and leaves. I couldn’t help but notice the dichotomy between this throne and the other one that plagued my dreams. It was smaller, forged from the roots that twisted and curled from the earth. The glowing veins seemed to converge here, as though it was the center of the forest itself. The throne also had weird arcane symbols carved into it, each one etched perfectly. There was the most eerie feeling being cast over me, gripping me. Though it was empty now, I could feel a presence, watching me, waiting for me.

‘Hello Leo.’ It whispered.