The Dark in the Woods
Phos sat meditating on the stone floor of her old cell in the mines below the nearly-completed Temple of the Flame.
Once the structure above was finished, this place where she and the others were first blessed by the Flame’s light was to be preserved. Though the ritual center of her people’s faith would move, and this place would see little use after.
Even before the change came, she felt wistful for the old improvised sanctuary. Despite her time bound here, this was where the Flame’s way was given. This was the first place hallowed since their liberation. The pain of her servitude, though not forgotten, had been diminished by the light that followed. Not all felt the same though, and the Temple above would be for all who sought the Flame’s warmth.
“A sacrifice from all for each, is freedom’s light command,” she half sang the line from one of her people’s liberation songs.
Suddenly the sound of washing came from the corridor beyond the cell wall. “O Flame, guide our path,” she heard Dendra intone before entering the space.
“I wasn’t expecting you to join me down here,” Phos said warmly as her daughter sat beside her.
“I wouldn’t have disturbed you,” unease apparent in her daughter’s voice. “The hunters have returned early and without game.”
Dendra's eyes were wide as her gaze flitted around the room, her tail twitching with agitation. She was afraid. Though having children of her own, Dendra quivered like a child.
“You didn’t say anyone was injured,” Phos said. “What’s happened?”
“Luo found me after returning with the others. He said a wasting disease plagues the deer, and that a shadow lurks in the woods.”
A shiver took Phos. “The light of the Flame shone forth in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” she uttered both as affirmation and desperate prayer.
“The hunter’s counsel has asked for your guidance,” Dendra said.
“Why?” Phos sighed, running her hand through the hair between her horns. “Domos is the leader of the priesthood. Many cycles gone since I last filled that role.”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know, mother,” Dendra said. “You are the last of the Three, and they’re afraid.”
“Our people must learn to let power pass to others; that is the Way of the Flame. I won’t usurp Domos’s role.”
Dendra sighed, “Maybe, but Luo led the hunt this cycle and he asked for you. I think he needs his mother as much as he needs ‘Phos of the Lamp’.”
“Perhaps,” Phos said, “but ask Domos to join me. I trust his counsel as much as anyone trusts mine. This matter sits ill with me. I’ll be up shortly; let me finish my offering.”
After her daughter left, Phos completed the offering of rendered fat, and cursed herself as she stood for insisting the room remain unfurnished as it had been in the time of their servitude. “Too old to be sitting on the floor,” she muttered.
She ascended the stairway from the old mineshaft, and soon entered the central chamber of the unfinished temple. Only the oculus above the great fire was left to complete. Though no construction took place today to allow rituals in the space below.
The corridors were dark and empty now, yet it was easy for Phos to imagine the temple warmed by the Flame, her people gathered inside for ritual meals and offerings. As sacred as she found the cell below, this would make a much warmer home for the Flame.
Sunlight overwhelmed her as she stepped outside. As far north as they were, even late into the evening the summer sun shone brightly in the sky. In the time it took her eyes to adjust, Domos approached her.
“The hunters have gathered on the green,” he said. “I’ve heard their story, but I don't know what to make of it.”
“So far I’ve only heard it second hand,” Phos said. “I’ll let them tell me. Perhaps we’ll make something of it hearing it again,” she added and walked on to where the hunters had gathered, Domos in tow.
“Ma,” her son called, “I…” Luo was at the brink of tears before he embraced his mother then collapsed sobbing. “The forest was dark at noon, and the beasts are dying in the woods.”
Phos patted her son’s back, at a loss for words. Most of the hunters appeared weak, as though they hadn’t eaten in days.
“Had I not seen Poneros dead myself, I would have thought him stalking us in the forest,” said one of the older hunters as his body trembled. “The shadow that fell over us was a thick darkness; I had to light a torch at midday, and only after calling on the Flame to guide us could I see more than a few strides.”
“Troubling indeed,” Phos said, holding her son.
“It’s not the Skotia, is it?” Luo said, shaking.
Phos shuddered at the mention. The word meant darkness, but in the time of their servitude it was what they had called the influence Poneros used to bind their minds. It was unlike other magic they had known of. And while its power had been broken by the Flame, they knew little of the force that bound them.
“Please tell me from the beginning what happened,” Phos said.
“The deer were the first sign,” the older hunter said, “their bodies wasting, and lethargic. We went deeper into the woods seeking healthy game. A day’s journey and the wasting disease was only worse. A terrible sight to see them like that. Not one looked well.”
“The next day,” Luo said, still clutching his mother’s arm, “Many of the camp members became ill. We didn’t know if it was our nerves or if the disease was catching. But Eluthane depends on us for meat, so we continued.”
“The darkness came not long after. By midday our hunt was fleeing the woods. Afraid to sleep, we pressed through the night and the next day until we arrived here.”
Phos didn’t know what to make of the tale, but what she did know was, “Each of you should go to the Temple. If this disease is catching, it isn’t safe to send you about town, and there is no other place large enough to house you,” Phos said.
They nodded and began to depart for the unfinished sanctuary.
“We need to bring together the other priests,” Domos said, “and anyone that knows a bit of healing; we can’t see to all of them ourselves. If they are very sick they may need care for days.”
Phos nodded, “And the shadow?” she asked.
“Let us see to our people first, then the woods,” he said.
~~~
Before long, the priests and other healers had been summoned to the Temple, and the sick were laid up in the empty ritual rooms.
Few hunters had been healthy upon returning, and most had fallen ill since arriving at the Temple. Luo however found himself well, though a quarantine prevented him from leaving. Yet he found himself grateful not to be alone.
Unease weighed on him. Closing his eyes was enough to return him to the shadow he fled. His waking thoughts were a nightmare. He had never known the darkness his parents had faced. He hoped he never would. Now though, only the work he’d been given to assist with the care of his fellow hunters distracted him from his fear.
“Luo?” a voice called, and he startled. “I’m sorry,” said Aithos, one of the priests caring for the hunting party. The man came to his side and smiled, resting a hand on his back.
They had been friends as children; though they hadn’t spoken in many cycles, not since Aithos had left to study abroad.
“Are you alright?” Aithos asked.
Luo was surprised by the man’s touch, yet it put him at ease. “I will be, thank you,” he said, exhaling deeply.
Aithos smiled, “Good,” he said. “Are those the herbs I asked for?” he asked, gesturing to the bundle Luo carried.
Luo nodded, though his hands trembled as he handed the bundle to the priest. Aithos lifted Luo’s chin, concern clear in his expression. “Your party will recover. There are skilled physicians looking after them. The herbs I asked you for will help them sleep. They need that now more than anything.” The young hunter made himself smile, not wanting Aithos worrying about him when others needed his care right now.
“You’re cold,” Aithos said. “Go rest by the fire; I’ll let you know if I need your help again.”
Luo left the priest and headed for the central chamber, then stopped and watched Aithos walk the opposite direction, realizing how much he had missed his friend.
~~~
It was late at night and the sun was truly set by the time each of their patients had been seen, and Phos was sure they would survive the night.
She found herself walking the corridor of the hallway to the Temple’s central chamber, where a fire had been lit in the great hearth beneath the unfinished oculus. There she found Domos tending the Flame and Luo sitting nearby.
“I thought it fitting to light a watch fire even though this space is yet to be sanctified,” Domos said as Phos knelt before the Flame.
“The Flame’s light shines where it is called, if a space is hallowed or not. The lady of Eluthane will still keep us,” Phos said, then added, “You needn’t justify yourself to me.”
“Would that you filled my role at a time like this,” Domos said, looking pleadingly to Phos.
She shook her head. “I would not,” she said.
“Why?” Domos asked. “Our people look to you. You are the last of the three after all.”
“That’s true,” Phos said, “The three of us were the first to receive the Flame’s blessing, and the first to hear the voice of the Flame give the Hodos. Many cycles ago it became clear that we could take power any time we asked the people for it.”
“The people trust you,” Domos said. “You spoke with the Flame and called their power; of course we want you to lead us.”
“I could have been a queen,” Phos said, “Or maybe the three could have ruled together. Better than one perhaps, though had we come to disagreement we would have torn Eluthane apart. No it is better that no leader hold power over others for more than a cycle; that is the way of the Flame.”
Domos sighed and looked deep into the red fire burning in the hearth. “You’re right, of course,” he said. “And yet you still lead by not,” he said looking up at her. “Even still I’ve only been a priest a few cycles; I feel unprepared to lead in the face of…” he stopped short, not knowing what they faced.
“The dark in the woods?” Phos suggested, and shook her head. “You were elected to lead the priesthood because I and the other priests trusted you to fill that role. And for this cycle you will. But you are not the only leader in Eluthane, nor do leaders act alone.”
Luo chuckled to himself, “I guess I’m not the only one elected to lead their workers’ group feeling inexperienced.” He looked up and offered a sympathetic grin to Domos.
“I think the older hunters thought it would be fun to let me lead on my second cycle with them,” he added. “I accepted, knowing they’d help me along. Though had I known what we would face I would have refused.” Luo shook his head.
“None of us saw this coming,” Domos said, looking up at the hunter.
“Still someone is going to need to go back into the woods, and I’m afraid to.”
“Light of the Flame keep you,” Phos uttered as she pulled her son to her. “You are perhaps the only member of your party well enough to lead a group into the woods, but you won’t go alone.”
“You don’t intend to go yourself, do you?” Domos asked, alarmed.
“I do,” Phos replied flatly.
“But the darkness, if it’s the Skotia… You’re not so young, could you face it?”
“If it’s the Skotia, the Flame will face it. That power was broken before; it can be broken again,” Phos said. “Though I don’t intend to go just the two of us. I would ask you to send others with us.”
Domos nodded, “I’ll need to inform the Eluthane council, and ask them to release provisions for you. I’ll also ask the aid of the forestry counsel, I’m sure they will want to send one of their own.”
As Domos spoke, Dendra stepped in from a corridor where she had been lurking, “I couldn't help but listen in,” she said. “If you’re going to ask the foresters for help, I would like to volunteer,” she said.
“But your family…” Phos said.
“My husband and children are safe at home, but my mother and brother are heading into the woods.”
“Besides I’ve been stuck here since everyone exposed to the hunting party is under quarantine. The only help I can give in the Temple is to fetch herbs and water from the mine. But I’m not a housekeeper; I’m a member of the forestry team. Being exposed makes it logical that I should be the one to go.”
“She’s right,” Domos said, and Phos gave him a level gaze.
“I suppose so,” she said finally.
Domos suppressed a sigh of relief when Phos accepted her daughter’s aid, but there were more that were needed for this expedition. “As for priests,” he started, “I recommend Aithos. He may have only joined the priesthood recently, but his time studying herbs and mundane healing among the drow has made him the most skilled among us.”
“Isn’t he needed here? I can…” Phos questioned.
“I know you can call the Flame to heal,” Domos cut her short, “but you are also a mortal with limited strength. Take Aithos. We have enough healers to care for the sick, and I would be remiss if you didn’t take the best where you go.”
Phos laughed, “I see we were right to elect you after all.”
Domos chuckled in return. Then said, “We will need to make sendings to report our plans and request for aid to the People’s Council and workers’ councils in the morning. I would ask you to join me in the hallowed space below to cast them.”
To this Phos nodded.
~~~
The next day, replies came well before noon by messenger. Their plan accepted, and provisions for several days released, Dendra waited near the Temple entrance with her pack and equipment prepared.
It wasn’t long before the others joined her and they set out. The woods were a little way beyond the edge of town. Their path took them within sight of the forestry station, and she longed to stop there to retrieve some of her tools, but restrained herself. Her colleagues would be on staff there, and it wasn’t known if she could spread the malady the hunters suffered.
Even still, she was relieved to be back in the woods. The air of the warm summer forest carried her, though she found relief to be in the woods incongruous with the dread she felt for the dark her brother described. Even still as they walked it was hard to believe that anything could be… She stopped suddenly in her tracks.
“Dendra?” her mother called.
“These trees are sick,” Dendra said, gesturing to the yellowed pine forest.
“It looks like a blight,” Aithos said, coming up behind her, “Isn’t that relatively common?” he asked.
“It is,” Dendra said, “but I was here just a few days ago gathering fallen wood, and there was no sign of it then. It's spread to parts of the tree that aren’t commonly infected as well. For it to have spread this fast…'' she cut short. “Was the forest like this during your hunt?” she asked Luo.
“I… I don’t know,” he said.
“We need to keep moving,” Phos said. “Luo take us the way your hunting party went.”
Luo nodded, but before they could leave, Dendra stopped them, “Please, I need to collect samples. I want to compare them with other parts of the woods.”
Their mother nodded and Dendra went to work collecting and cataloging samples.
~~~
Luo had been anxious about returning to the woods since escaping with his hunting party. Then when Dendra highlighted that illness was in the trees as well, his unease mounted.
Nominally he had been asked to lead their expedition. Even still he found himself deferring to his mother wherever he could. So far she had spared him one of her lectures, yet he worried that his deference annoyed her.
With the stress of the expedition, he found his mother and sister intimidating, so it was a relief when Aithos decided to walk with him. Though Luo had missed him, he felt unsure how to talk to the man since his return. Yet the priest chattered with Luo now as easily as though he had never left.
“See that plant over there? The one with the conical blades and the purple flowers?” Aithos was saying.
Luo nodded as he looked in the direction the priest was pointing.
“That plant has an edible bulb,” he said, “It's a bit pungent, like an onion.”
Luo smiled in spite of his worry. His friend had always been fascinated by this sort of thing. Ever since they learned that dandelions were edible as children, Aithos had taken an interest in wild plants. Despite the dread they faced, hearing his old friend's voice eased his mind.
“Hmm,” Aithos said, placing his hand on Luo’s shoulder to get his attention, “What animal leaves droppings like that?”
Luo blinked. He hadn’t been paying attention. It was the sort of thing a hunter notices, but lost in his thoughts he didn’t see it until he was made to.
Coming closer he took a look. At first they didn’t seem like anything he recognized. “I think it’s one of the sick animals. Caribou probably, though they're not holding together the way you’d expect.”
“I see,” Aithos said. “If it’s a sick animal, I’d like to see it. Do you think you could help me find the one that left this?”
Luo looked to his mother. They had already been walking most of the day, but it would be hours still before the sun set.
“It's a good idea to look into,” she said. “We had probably better set up camp before it gets too much later anyhow. We’ll set that up while you go.”
Not far from the droppings they found a narrow path used by wildlife. Luo scanned the area for signs of the direction the deer went. A bend in the underbrush suggested something had recently moved through there. The ground on the path was covered by fallen pine needles occasionally disturbed, exposing the soil below.
“This way,” Luo beckoned Aithos to follow.
The path carried them for some time as Luo watched for signs that the animal had left the trail. Eventually they heard something move around a bend. Luo stopped and drew his bow as they rounded the path, and his body tensed, afraid of what would meet them.
Aithos caught his arm. “Stop, it's just a deer,” he said as the animal tried to stand and failed.
Luo exhaled deeply as he lowered his bow. “Thanks,” he said.
Aithos patted his back, “Are you alright?” he asked.
Luo rested his arm on Aithos’s shoulder, letting himself lean into him a little as he caught his breath, finding comfort in his friend’s touch. “I will be,” he said.
Aithos rubbed his back for a moment as Luo’s breathing returned to normal. “Good,” he said. “I need to examine the animal; can you help hold it down?”
Luo nodded as his wits returned to him.
The caribou struggled only for a moment before it lost strength to resist. Aithos ran his hands over the animal's neck, and examined its mouth and eyes.
“Did you study animal medicine?” Luo asked as the priest worked.
“No,” Aithos said, “but there are enough similarities between people and animals that I have an idea of what I’m doing.”
Luo nodded. “And?” he asked.
“Well despite the droppings, I’d say this animal hasn’t eaten in several days. But also, when people are sick there are parts of the neck and throat that swell. If deer are similar, I can’t find them.”
“What does that mean?” Luo asked.
“I don’t know. But the hunters were the same. Clearly ill, but certain signs were missing that indicate disease.”
Luo shivered, “We should go. I want to get back to the others before dark.” Aithos agreed.
~~~ Not far from the trail where they had departed, Aithos and Luo found the others camped near a narrow stream of snow water from the mountains above.
Phos sat praying near a fire while Dendra examined the plant samples she had gathered.
“What did you find?” Phos asked as they approached.
Aithos described the animal they found wasting away as the others listened.
“So it is the same with the trees then,” Dendra said.
“What do you mean?” Luo asked.
“It's just these needles I’ve been looking at. With a blight you would expect to see color banding, or spore dimples, but there aren’t any. From afar the trees look blighted, but it's almost as if they’re just dying.”
A chill ran through the camp. Aithos watched as Luo left his side to sit on a fallen log; his tail twitching in agitation. Signs of distress were apparent on the others as well.
Aithos sat on his own and took food from his pack to distract himself from the apprehension that gripped him. The others did so as well, and at least tried to eat in silence. Before long though his appetite failed him. Standing, he unstrapped his kettle, filled it from the stream, and heated it by the fire. Then, withdrawing a bundle of herbs from his pack, he selected a few and added them to the water.
Twilight was coming on as he finished preparing the tea, which he took to the others. “This should ease your sleep,” he said, offering the kettle to Dendra and Phos.
“Thank you,” Phos said, taking it and pouring cups for her daughter and herself.
When he took the kettle to Luo, the hunter jumped as he approached. “I’m sorry,” Luo said, catching his breath.
“Are you alright?” Aithos rested his hand on the hunter’s back, and he could feel the man next to him trembling.
“I…” Luo stammered, “I’ve never been afraid of the dark before, but tonight it’s oppressive.”
Aithos draped his cloak over both of them as he sat with an arm over Luo’s shoulder, and the other man collapsed into him weeping as Aithos stroked his back.
After a moment, Aithos unfastened his horn lamp from where it was tied to his hip. Lighting it, he uttered a blessing, “Joyous I rest in Flame’s light. Steadfast her ward preserves my will.” As he spoke, he drew his hand from the lamp and touched the cloak covering them. Suddenly it shone, and a pool of warm red light filled the clearing.
“The Flame’s light will guard us tonight,” he said, and Luo smiled weakly, though worry still showed on his face. Aithos hesitated. He liked Luo. He had for a long time. But he wasn’t sure the hunter could feel the same. Still he offered. “If you like,” he said timidly, “I can stay with you tonight.”
Luo grasped his arm and whispered, “I’d like that,” through his tears. Then pulling him into an embrace, Aithos finally felt the hunter relax.
~~~
Phos was relieved when morning’s light returned to the woods. Nights were short this time of year, and she sat silently to let the others rest as long as they could.
She smiled as she realized Luo and Aithos slept in each other's arms. It was the first time her son looked truly relaxed since escaping the woods the other day.
As quietly as she could, she arose and prepared a small fire for a morning offering. After heating a kettle she performed a ritual cleansing with ashen water. Soon the others began to stir and joined her.
“Oh Flame, keeper of my will, may your light guide our path,” she said, breaking a piece of bread and offering part to the fire. The remainder was passed around and each partook.
“How long before we reach the place where your team turned around?” she asked her son.
“Not too far, actually,” Luo said. “We had spent most of our time hunting before. Our path yesterday was far more direct.”
“Good,” Phos said, “we’ll take down camp and leave soon.”
“We really should try to eat before going,” Aithos said.
“I’m not sure I could.” Phos’s stomach soured at the thought of eating more than the morsel of bread from the offering.
“We can’t travel all day nor face the darkness hungry. I have herbs that can stimulate appetite; let me make a broth. At least that much will help.”
Food was the last thing Phos wanted now, but she knew Aithos was right, and she nodded.
Luo offered to help the young priest, which appeared to amount to following the young priest around while he worked and holding the occasional lid or spoon.
Before long the broth was prepared. After drinking, Phos’s stomach churned, and she was afraid it had only made her sick. But after a moment her nausea abated. Her appetite whet, she was able to eat a little more. “We had better move,” she said after eating. “Summer days are long but not endless.”
Again Luo guided them along the branching paths of the forest which he had traveled before. While still morning, the daylight seemed to dim, though no cloud obscured the sky, and the illness that plagued the forest worsened the further they went.
“The place we were forced to turn back is a little beyond this hill,” Luo said. His voice trembled as he spoke, but Aithos rested hand on his shoulder, and the hunter smiled as his gaze turned to the young priest. “Right,” Luo said, nodding, “Onward and upwards then.”
The path was steep, but soon cresting the hill, a valley stretched on before them.
“The trees!” Dendra cried looking out. “The forest is no longer dying here; it’s dead. This will take generations to recover, if we can help it at all.” She sank to her knees as tears fell to the dusty path.
“We will help it,” Phos said, raising her daughter up. “We will face the darkness, and we will help it. Eluthane will help it,” she said.
She fell into her mothers arms as she stood still sobbing, “It’s dead, so much dead,” she whispered. And Phos stroked her daughter’s back.
“More will die if we don’t continue,” Phos whispered. “We must save what we can.”
Dendra nodded, wiping the tears from her face. Breathing deeply she looked to her brother, “Down we go then.”
As they descended, the darkness deepened, when suddenly the world before Phos disappeared in the blackness. The sun was still overhead, though it appeared a dim star in an empty sky.
“Luo!” Phos called for her son, knowing his trauma.
“Mother?” her son’s voice quivered, “I’m with Aithos. His lamp gives us a little light. Can you see us? I don’t know where you are.”
She could see, just faintly, a burning light ahead of her. Lighting her own lamp, a pool of light surrounded her. The darkness seemed to press its weight against her, yet the light of her lamp persisted.
“Dendra!” She called, “Dendra where are you!”
“I can’t see anything, Mother help!”
Phos turned to the sound of her daughter's voice. Her sight extended only a few feet, but where she looked only dead trees were in her path.
“Aithos and I both have our lamps lit, can you see them?” Phos called.
Suddenly a terrible roar filled the air. “Dendra!” Phos howled.
Fear gripped the elderly priestess as she sank to her knees and recited a prayer in desperation. “The light of the Flame shone forth in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” As she uttered the prayer an aura of light rose up from the Flame that danced on her lamp, pushing back the darkness surrounding her with dawn’s light.
“Mother!” Dendra called. Phos saw her now, where she had lost the path in the darkness. But then she turned as her daughter pointed back toward the path. “Dragon!” Dendra cried.
Turning, she beheld a towering dragon standing before them wreathed in shadow. Luo and Aithos stood at the dragon’s feet, bow drawn and lamp held aloft.
“Oh Flame be my shelter!” Aithos called, and at the same time as Luo loosed an arrow, a great radiant Flame burst from his lamp as an arrow struck the dragon’s wing. The shadowy form reeled in pain then roared as it retreated.
“A dragon?” Aithos cried. “Has Liliq come after us at last?”
“I don’t think so,” Phos said. “I doubt a god could be turned back by such an assault as you provided, though a mortal dragon seems no more likely.”
“How do we fight a dragon?” Luo asked.
“We don’t. At least not any dragon I’ve heard of. Yet we must face it again,” Phos said, “at least to persuade it to leave Eluthane in peace.”
~~~
They had come further now than Luo had come with his hunting party. Even still, he led them through the woods. Though the darkness pressed around them, his mother’s lamp shone with the Flame’s light, enough to see the way the dragon fled.
“Odd,” Luo said as the dragon’s tracks led them off the path. “Why didn’t the dragon fly away?”
“Did we injure their wings?” Aithos asked.
“I don’t think so,” Luo said. “Not enough to stop them from flying.”
“It's almost as if they forgot they were a dragon,” Dendra said.
“You…” Phos started and hesitated, “You might be right. Dragons, even mortal ones, are ancient cunning beings. This one seems more a beast than any lore I know would suggest.”
“If that’s true,” Luo said, “we will meet them soon enough if they continue this path.”
“You mean the mountain?” Dendra asked.
“I mean the cliffs,” Luo said. “On a lucky hunt we corner game here. The dragon is heading straight for them.”
Though Flame’s light allowed them to see their path, the darkness before them became darker than black, the world beyond a void. Phos started singing the songs of her people’s liberation and the light of her lamp burned brighter, and again still as the others joined in the song.
The light of their lamps pressed back further as the song progressed. Then the cliffs and dragon came into view. Dendra and Luo both raised their bows and Aithos his lamp.
“No,” Phos said in almost a whisper, “lower your weapons. We mustn't harm them.”
Then continuing her song, Phos pressed forward, and the dragon roared, yet no breath of fire came. Persisting in her song, the light of the Flame was wreathed about her as she neared the shadowy dragon.
New bonds they forged made from trust Together now to fend And called the Flame to aid them Poneros’ rule to end With fire held against the sword For lord no more to bend
She continued and reached out toward the dragon as she sang the final chorus.
For together alone we shall be free, we shall be free! For together alone we shall be free.
As the last lines were uttered the dragon reached their claw to the priestess’s outstretched hand, and the light of the Flame enveloped them both.
Where once was shadow now a great brass dragon shone in the evening sun as both Phos and the ancient being sank to the ground.
~~~
Phos awoke to find Aithos examining her. “You’re awake,” he said, and sighed in relief. “Can you drink?” he asked, and Phos nodded. He poured a cup of some brew he’d made and passed it to her, and she drank. “You’ll need energy if we are to find a safe camp before nightfall,” he said.
“What of the dragon?” Phos asked after drinking.
“Still unconscious, though I don’t know how long before they rouse. We should go quickly.”
“No,” Phos said, sipping the tea. “They need our help. Please prepare to camp here tonight, and help me with the dragon’s wounds.”
Aithos hesitated. “Are you sure?” he said, casting a troubled glance toward the creature.
“By Flame’s light, yes I am sure,” she said.
He nodded. “In that case, may the Flame keep them,” Aithos said before he left to help the others set up their bed rolls.
The tea did rouse her faculties, and she found eating easier than it had been in the morning, and more satisfying. She considered the great dragon that lay next to her. Though the shadow had fled, the being it had possessed was left extremely weak.
She stood and rested her hand on the ancient one’s side. They were cold. She knew this dragon should have a breath of fire, yet they were cold. “O Flame, guardian of my will,” she said bringing forth her lamp, “warm and defend the life of this being.”
The Flame shone deep scarlet as she prayed, and though the brass clad creature remained unconscious, warmth returned to their breathing.
~~~
Luo sat in the evening twilight watching Aithos and his mother attend to the fallen dragon. Though darkness now fell on the valley, his fear no longer held him. He could still feel it at the back of his awareness, yet since Aithos held him through the previous night he found himself able to relax knowing his friend was near.
Lost in his thoughts, he almost didn’t realize that Dendra had sat down next to him. “Where have you been?” he asked.
“I’ve been using the last of the daylight to survey the woods,” she said, and showed him some samples she had collected.
Luo frowned. In the firelight he couldn’t make much of what she’d collected. Pine cones and dry plants as far as he could tell. “So how is it?” he asked.
Dendra sighed. “The forest is dead,” she said. “Well, mostly dead,” she corrected herself.
Luo looked at her confused.
“Throughout the area I was able to survey, the trees, undergrowth, and most animal life were all dead.”
Luo slumped where he sat as he took in the news of the devastation.
“But,” Dendra continued, “the seeds in these pinecones are still viable. The seeds of the other plants were too.”
“What does that mean?” Luo asked.
“It means that even though the mature plant life has perished, these still have a chance to grow. It means we can help the forest live again.”
He smiled. His sister’s optimism gave him hope that the animals of the forest would too recover in time. Though with so much of the forest devastated he didn’t know how long it could take.
They sat together silently for a while when his sister smiled suddenly as though musing on something entertaining. “So, you and Aithos,” Dendra said, looking at him with a grin. “You two have been cozy.”
Luo felt himself blush and was glad his sister couldn’t see it. “Oh, um… yeah I guess we have been.” He scratched his head behind his horns.
“So is it romantic, or did he just help you make it through the night?”
“Umm…” Luo said, realizing he wasn’t sure, “I don’t know.”
“If it helps…” Dendra paused. “Well perhaps it’s nothing, but he’s asked me about you a few times since returning to Eluthane. I know you two were friends but I got the feeling he likes you. I would have said something before, but I didn’t think you would return his feelings.”
“To be honest, I didn’t know I would either but…” he cut short. “I need to talk to him,” he said, leaving his sister’s side.
~~~
It was dark when Aithos finished applying a poultice to the various wounds the dragon had sustained while held by the shadowy force. He only hoped his work helped. The creature was incredibly weak despite their size, and he knew almost nothing of their anatomy.
He gazed into the fire they had lit near the dragon and found Phos calling the Flame for a blessing.
“I think they'll live,” he said to her as she finished her prayer. “They’ll recover with time and rest.”
“I hope so,” she said. “It would be a shame for one of the gods’ kin to pass this way.”
Aithos frowned, “You should rest as well; we won’t be any help exhausted.”
“I will soon,” she said. “I would like to make an offering to the Flame in thanks for her aid today. Would you join me?” she asked.
Aithos started to nod, but halted as he noticed Luo stand and walk toward them from where he’d been sitting with Dendra.
“I would,” Aithos answered, “but I think I might be needed by someone else.”
Phos looked in the direction of the camp and chuckled as she saw her son approach. “Go take care of him,” she said earnestly, and patted his hand.
Aithos nodded and left to meet Luo in his path. “I…” Luo started and paused as his tail twitched. “Would you walk with me for a bit?” he asked finally.
Aithos smiled and considered the man standing before him. “It’s dark; will you be alright?” he asked, remembering the night before.
“Your lamp should be enough for tonight,” Luo answered. Aithos nodded and followed the hunter on the path in the dark. They walked silently for some time before Luo eventually spoke. “I wanted to ask you about last night.”
Aithos stopped. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable.” His hand tremembed as he realized he had left unspoken his feelings for the other man.
Luo turned and looked at him, his face lit only by the lamp light. “No, it’s not that,” he said, “I desperately needed you last night.” Luo reached out and fell just short of touching Aithos’s face. “When you held me last night though, I realized I had missed you, perhaps more than I would a typical friend.”
“I missed you a lot too,” Aithos responded.
“Which is to say,” Luo paused and looked down for a moment, “I think I love you.” he said, bringing his gaze back up to face him.
Aithos felt his eyes burn and his vision blurred as tears welled up. He took hold of the other man and buried his face in Luo’s chest, weeping. The hunter wrapped his strong arms around him, and in the comfort of the embrace he inhaled deeply the man’s scent, and clutched him tighter.
“I think I love you too,”Aithos whispered, “which is to say I have for a long time.”
The touch of Luo’s hand raised his chin, and the hunter gazed into his eyes and smiled before bringing their faces together. Gently he touched his forehead to Aithos’s then caressed his cheek with his nose, before finally they kissed.
“That was nice,” Luo said softly, as his lips came away.
Aithos chuckled and kissed him back; the hunter’s hand holding the back of his head. “Your mother and sister are just over there,” he said, feeling Luo’s hand travel the length of his spine to the base of his tail.
“Should we walk further on then?” Luo asked with a grin.
Aithos chuckled, “Yeah, I’d like that.”
~~~ ~~~
When Phos awoke, she again found the others still asleep. She stood before the brass dragon in dawn’s greenish light. Then holding aloft her lamp, she offered a blessing before preparing a fire for her daily rituals.
As the others roused, she beckoned them over to share a meal with her and the Flame.
“The dragon’s still unconscious then?” Aithos asked as he and Luo sat down together by the fire.
“So it would appear,” she said, watching the creature resting beneath the cliff. “Though their breath does seem much easier this morning.”
“Do you think they will awaken soon?” Dendra asked as she approached the fire.
Phos shrugged. “Flame willing,” she said. “Whatever power killed the forest held the dragon directly. I can’t say what to expect after that.”
“Still,” Phos said, standing before the fire, “we should eat. I for one am very hungry after eating little for days.” Before eating, she again performed a ritual washing in order to make an offering to the Flame.
“Oh Flame, keeper of our wills, breaker of bonds,” she began, and the fire deepened to a near crimson Flame as she continued. “May your light ever guide our path of liberation and strengthen our labors.” As she spoke, she placed a bit of bread and poured a libation of wine onto an offering stone in the fire ring, which in time was consumed.
The meal she had set out was a simple one of cheese, bread, and onion, served with tea. They ate in silence for a while when a sudden rumbling shook the land. “What an odd spirit you pray to,” a deep resonant voice reverberated around them. Phos’s eyes met the dragon’s who now watched them.
“So you’re awake,” Phos said trembling. “Flame preserve us.”
“As you say we are preserved, though a rare thing indeed for people to call on powers other than my elder kin,” the dragon said in a slow drawn out speech.
“Who are you?” Aithos asked, his hands shaking as he clutched his lamp. Phos waved her hand for him to lower it. Yet he remained frozen in the dragon’s stare until her son took the young priest’s hand.
“We’ll be alright,” Luo said to Aithos as the priest relaxed and returned the lamp to the ground beside him.
The dragon's chuckle shook the ground, “Your friend is right,” they said. “Had I wished you harm I would not have spoken. As for my name? It’s not so easily spoken by your kind, but in your tongue I might be called Arete.”
The dragon paused, humming for a moment before continuing. “I am grateful to you, to be free from that shadow. Though I’m curious about the Flame you called. Powers of destruction aren’t known for their ability to preserve.”
“A power of destruction?” Phos questioned.
“Yes,” Arete said in their droning voice, “A primal force, that. I did not know it capable of hearing prayers, nor make answer. How did it come by your veneration?”
“It wasn’t that long ago,” Phos found herself shaking having to explain her faith to a god kin, “when we called to other gods with great need, yet for generations we were not answered.” She breathed deeply, stilling herself. “I’m not sure why we started praying to the Flame. Perhaps it was because fire was the one comfort we had. But no matter the case, the Flame answered. She rescued us from bondage, and as such we established a bond of reciprocity.”
“She?” Arete tasted the word as though pondering something, “I did not expect such a personal word as she.” They hummed again without speaking, taking in the information. “It would seem with the Flame as your patron, you have lifted each other. Interesting. The others may be curious to know.”
Phos didn’t understand what the dragon meant, though other matters weighed on her more. “What was it that possessed you, if I may ask?” she said, averting her eyes from the dragon’s watch.
“You may ask, though I do not know. I hardly remember how I came to your land. I did not know such powers still existed in this world.”
“Still?” Phos asked.
Arete smiled in a way that only a dragon can, and then appeared to think better of something, “Never mind that,” they said. “It grieves me to learn my elder kin didn’t hear you in your times of need. Yet I am glad for your patron’s rescue. Relieved that the blight I carried did not spread further,” the dragon said as they surveyed the dead forest.
“I’m curious though,” Arete returned their attention to the Eluthanai, “what do you make of my elder kin?”
Phos considered the dragon and thought carefully how to answer such a powerful being. “We respect them to be sure,” she started, “Some here make offerings to them, but as a people we have no formal cult for their worship.”
“I see,” Arete said. “It is no matter to me if you keep their ways, though extending offerings of friendship to the gods can be… helpful,” the dragon said finally.
“Your words are taken into account,” Phos said. “But our way can neither compel nor forbid such things,” Phos said. “The Flame works with any who value liberation, trust and benevolence. I suppose that is for gods as much as it is for mortals. But I don’t know what to expect from gods that left my people bound for generations.”
Again the ground shook as the dragon laughed, “Ha, ha, ha. I see my elder kin have much to atone for,” Arete said. “Though I wonder if perchance you would allow me to leave you with a gift? I am no god, nor am I strictly mortal such as god kin are. Please is there something I can bless to offer friendship to you and your Flame.”
Phos was at a loss, unable to imagine what they might ask a dragon for, but suddenly Dendra stood. “Please,” her daughter pleaded, “The darkness that followed you destroyed much life in the forest. Could you restore it?”
Arete hung down their head, “So much loss I cannot undo,” the dragon said. “However if there is any life to be found here, I can help it thrive.”
Then Phos watched as her daughter brought a bundle of cones and other seeds of the forest. “I’ve gathered these. The seeds are the only things to survive in the forest surrounding us. Could you bless them?”
The dragon nodded. “Place them before me, and I will.”
Dendra bowed lightly, and Arete greeted her likewise as she unfurled her bundle of seeds before them.
Then bringing their claw lightly over the bundle, the dragon spoke. “With regret I weep for the destruction I brought to these woods,” Arete said as tears fell from their eyes. “With heavy heart I ask the land’s forgiveness.” The tears flowed now onto the seeds and the soil below. “May the virtue of my blessing lend vitality. May the Flame preserve this land in my absence.”
Where the dragon wept, a sapling already took root from among the seeds. “Take these,” Arete said to Dendra. “Wherever you plant these, life will flourish.”
Dendra again gathered up the remaining seeds. “Thank you,” she said, weeping, “Thank you.” And Phos drew her daughter into a tight hug.
Then Arete looked at the sky as if reading something from the blue. “Would that I could remain with you, but the others must know of the power that befell me. May your Flame watch over you and your people.”
With that the dragon took flight and vanished over the mountain.