The trees trembled under the sound of the scream, a long, piercing noise that scratched deep into Leaf’s ears. He flinched from it -as did everyone else- and smothered his sense of hearing with a quick infusion of Ether. The sound dampened, but the power that was carried by the noise still washed over him. A sickly miasma, not unlike the ones that the Shriekers unleashed, but so far removed from their position that he only felt chills from its effects. No images were forced upon him, but that did not stop fear from building and traveling up his spine in the form of a shiver. He knew how far the hive was from this position, and if a scream from that distance could still have this effect…

  Muffled speech thumped against his deafened ears, and he dropped the blanket of Ether around his hearing.

  “We need to get to the village, now!” Camilla urged.

  Still holding onto his wife, any emotion or duress that Felix may have been feeling before was washed away by a steely resolution. He nodded and helped her to her feet. It was faint, but Leaf could see energy forming within Camilla’s chest. A steel gray color, one that matched the Core of her husband. It was no more than the size of a bead, but the pulse from it was strong. Color had also rushed back to the woman’s face, returning it to a fairer complexion as Merida’s previous magics were still flowing through her, restoring her vitality. Her physical appearance was still thin, frail, and hollowed, but traces of her true self, the Camilla that was before the parasite, were the clearest they had been since Leaf had first seen her.

  Felix looked towards Leaf, or rather, past him and at the one that had not been checked on since the chaos had begun. Leaf followed the stare and his own eyes fell upon Alatash, who lay on the ground. The stag’s chest heaved and a rattle passed from his lips from every breath, but there was a clear determination to the Enlightened Beast’s eyes. He moved to stand, but his legs failed him and he crashed back onto the ground, letting out a frustrated bellow with kicks that thudded weakly against the dirt.

  “Shite…” Leaf muttered. He ran to the stag’s side and knelt down near his head. Light had vanished from Alatash’s pale hide, and his movements were starting to slow. The archer infused his sight with Ether and scanned over the beast’s body. In the mass of white fur, a single fragment of light remained, one that faded with each beat of his heart.

  Merida was already next to Alatash before Leaf could say anything. Aether surged through her Circles -one around each wrist and three around her head- Transposing into raw power that the Druid forced through the crystal in her fingers. The surge of power steadied Alatash’s breathing, and while he could still not rise to his feet, the stag’s Core stabilized. That was as far as Merida’s treatment could go, and when she released her hold over the power coursing through her, she swayed for a moment before righting herself and shaking her head.

  “The parasite drained much of his power,” she said. “He is no longer in danger of dying, but…” She placed her hand on the side of Alatash’s face. “He will not be able to move for some time.

  “So he will be exposed,” Helbram concluded. “If the parasite knows where the village is, then it knows where this grove is as well, and if it seeped down into the cavern…”

  “That scream,” Leaf started, “It was like a Shrieker’s, but... worse, like it was clawing up from the hells themselves."

  "The power behind it as well," Merida added, "It bore the corruption of the Gaunths, but there was darker something beneath it - that energy from the parasite. Perhaps the creatures killed it, but it would be more prudent to assume that they have have a new leader, one that wears the skin of their former Countess."

  “Assuming the worst, that gives it power and numbers.” Helbram rubbed his chin. “With that being the case, we cannot leave Alatash undefended.”

  “I will stay,” The Druid said. “It will more than likely send most of the creatures towards the village, so just me alone will be enough to keep any creatures at bay.”

  “No,” Helbram said, “while you are powerful, we have no idea what is coming. You need support.”

  “I’ll stay,” Leaf said, “In all these trees and in the midst of night she’ll need another pair of eyes to see what is comin’.”

  He could tell that Helbram was frowning underneath his helmet, but his friend gave a curt nod. “Do not do anything rash.”

  “I’ll do what I have to do, jus’ like I know you will too.”

  Helbram snorted, then sighed. “Fair enough.” He held up his arm and the two of them tapped their bracers together. “Godspeed, Leaf.”

  Geroth and Romina gathered with them. The wolves kept glancing off towards the direction of the village, but remained near Merida’s side.

  The Druid rubbed their snouts. “Go, your children need you.”

  A look was shared between the two mates. Both huffed at each other in understanding, but only Geroth moved to join with Helbram and the others.

  “Romina…” Merida’s voice trembled. She pressed her forehead against the black wolf’s brow. “Thank you, my friend.”

  “We will get moving then.” Helbram climbed onto Geroth’s back. There was a small shake to his hands, one that was stilled by a deep breath. Leaf knew that meant his companion was now fully focused on what he had to do. He did the same.

  Felix helped Camilla onto Geroth’s back and tensed to let his Ether course through his body. Not a word was shared between the Huntsman and the white wolf, but they leapt into the trees at the same time, disappearing into the shadows.

  With them gone, the Core of the Tree pulsed behind Leaf. A singular desire to protect washed over the archer, followed by the creaking and cracking of wood as the forest at the edges of the glade shifted closer to one another. Roots forced themselves out of the ground, filling the gaps between the trees with a barrier that was as tall as he was. The natural barrier wasn’t impervious to assault, but it was a good deal better than the numerous gaps from before.

  Roots also emerged from the ground underneath Alatash, carrying the stag towards the Tree and pushing up to nestle the beast within the hollowed part of the Enlightened oak. He still struggled to move, but under the light of the Tree’s emerald Core, Alatash calmed. Branches pulled down from the Tree’s canopy and collected over the hollow. Light still slipped from between the twigs, but the glade was now mostly lit by moonlight.

  Romina paced around the border created by the trees and roots. She was alert and yellow Aether poured off of her body, pulling bits of stone from the dirt. They rolled over her fur and joined together into armor that covered her head, torso, and the tops of her paws. The black wolf’s nostrils flared with every breath, and her eyes remained focused towards the tops of the wooden barrier and any possible gaps in the trees.

  Leaf did a once over on his gear and made sure that all of it was secure. The quiver at his side was filled to the brim with arrows, but he refrained from thinking it would be enough. The Gaunths were numerous, and Brutes were going to be especially hard to eliminate without the aid of Merida or Romina. He took his bow from his shoulder and flicked the string. The weapon shook from the rebounding tension, and the sensation centered him. Many factors worried him, but in the end he had to let instinct guide him this night.

  “Question, why didn’t the parasite go after the Tree, wouldn’t that be much better for it to feed off of?” Leaf asked.

  Merida walked up to the Tree itself and held up her crystal. He could see a thread trailing off of her Temple and into the branches that covered its Core. “This is true, but even in its weakened state, the Tree still holds a large amount of power. The parasite likely sensed this and decided a target with less power, and much more mobile, would be ideal for what it wanted. From its study of Camilla’s memories… it thought of the Countess.”

  “...you don’t think that it chose to attack Camilla so we would bring it here, right?”

  “It’s very possible. Felix was in full knowledge of all the information we’ve learned and I don’t doubt that he shared that information with his wife when she was more active.”

  “Shite, then it knows everythin’. What does that mean about the tactics of the Gaunths?”

  “That… I don’t know. The Countess may have control of the hive mind, but those under it may not have the faculties to understand complex orders.” Merida sighed. “I wish I could tell you more, but until conflict arrives, there is not much I can give beyond speculation.”

  Leaf frowned. “Right. If this isn’t just the bloody best…”

  More branches bent down from the Tree’s canopy and towards the crystal in Merida’s hands. They wrapped around the catalyst in a lattice and then wound around each other in a spiral that connected at a single, narrow point. The branches then broke at that point, leaving a brand new staff formed around the Druid’s crystal. She spun it in her hands and channeled Aether through the newly repaired tool. Light pulsed through the grain of the staff, roughly the same way Leaf had seen it through the previous one. Satisfied, Merida grabbed it with both hands and planted it into the ground. Her Circles flared to life, and particles of power trailed through them. A hum started to vibrate around the Druid, growing louder as Aether condensed and wound itself around her.

  Leaf left her to her devices and started to focus himself. He reached into his Core with an effort of will and pulled at the Ether resting within. It spread throughout his body and radiated off of him in an aura of red. The air around him grew crisp when the power took hold of him completely. Rays of moonlight became more defined and he could feel a breeze that was not there before. The distant shifting of wildlife bounced through his ears but didn’t mask the smaller, subtler sounds within. This was the sensation that he focused on, and one by one he smothered his other senses until hearing was at the forefront of his consciousness.

  He was numb to all else, and his vision had gone black, but that only extended the reach of his hearing. That sense delved deep into the trees, and when it did, he found a creeping stillness. The rustle of local wildlife echoed off into the distance, the sounds of retreat in face of what was to come next. Trees still shifted due to the occasional breeze, but even that felt like it was gradually fading. It was as if all within the forest knew what was to come next and were doing their best to get out of the way.

  Minutes passed, their seconds stretching like eons of nothingness. Leaf was tempted to think that maybe nothing would be heading their way, but he knew what such fortune was never in their cards. He readied an arrow and waited minutes more. The anticipation draped a blanket of tension around him that placed a pressure onto his shoulders. It pressed down and sank further into him to bring a quickening of his heartbeat. More minutes, and still no-

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The snap of a breaking twig cracked through the trees. Subtle, almost undetectable to most ears, but to Leaf it might as well have been thunder.

  “They’re here!” he yelled, pointing towards the direction of the noise. “North, sounds like a swarm of Crawlers!”

  The warning was followed by a garbled mess of chittering and scraping of nails against bark. Many were coming, perhaps too many. He didn’t have the time to think further about the numbers, for within a breath of his warning, the first wave arrived.

  A chorus of small screams from the Crawlers echoed into the clearing from the trees, splashing against them with pulses of sickly green Aether. Such an assault would have been enough to freeze him in place in the beginning, but he’d grown used to such mental assaults now. They washed over him harmlessly, and he drew an arrow in response. He let all of his senses come rushing back into him and loosed his shot right when his vision returned. It sunk into the heart of a Crawler that tried to leap into the glade. The creature let out a garbled cry and crashed into the ground as a corpse.

  The rest of the wave arrived right after.

  Merida sprung into action, her Circles glaring with pale blue light that shifted into the color of flames. Three Crawlers chased after their fallen hive mate, but before they could even touch the ground they were engulfed by a gout of flame erupting from the Druid’s staff. Force accompanied flame and the Gaunths charred bodies were knocked away from the clearing and back over the barrier.

  More sounds closed in from behind Leaf. The archer whirled around and loosed two Ether-infused shots at Crawlers that leapt over the barrier at the far end of the glade. The first sank into the open maw of one, punching through the back of hits head. The other sank into the flank of the remaining aberration. This creature carried on, mouth splaying open to latch onto him and claws still raised. He skipped to the side to avoid the initial bite and kicked the Crawler in its ribs. Ether reinforced the blow and the sharp crack of the creature’s ribs preceded the gargled scream it tried to let out. That fell silent with a stomp on its neck.

  Romina, having seen Leaf’s engagement, rushed in the direction that the Gaunths came from. Four more Crawlers clawed up the trees and sprang off of them to try and break into the the glade. The black wolf slammed her feet into the ground, sending a pulse of yellow Aether swelling in front of her. Spikes of stone jut from the dirt and impaled two of the Gaunths. One of the ones that avoided the spell was snatched out of the air by Romina’s teeth and slammed into the remaining Crawler. A wet crunch accompanied the blow and both ended up as a mangled pile on the ground. This, however, was not the end.

  Crawlers charged in from all angles over the course of the continued battle. Leaf’s senses caught wind of each approach before the Crawlers could fully capitalize on their shifting positions. It appeared that the parasite’s influence had not changed their core behavior, for Leaf was the target of each of the Crawler’s attacks. A fact that he capitalized upon by constantly shifting his position in the clearing depending on their approach. If they came from the east, he would move west, if they came from both the south and west, he would move northeast. This kept him out of range from the Crawlers’ initial leaps, so even as their numbers started to grow denser they did not have enough space to get to him before either Merida or Romina finished them off. Battle fell into a rhythm of arrows followed by either spell or fangs, and soon piles of the Gaunths littered the clearing.

  During all of this, Leaf could sense that there was something different about their behavior. They were more aggressive and less stealthy in their assault. Some even crashed through branches between the trees in a mess of broken limbs and frenzied cries just to rip a hole through the defenses that the Tree had put up. Other Crawlers would then exploit this gap, and though Leaf could always sense their approach, the avenues by which they were able to assault from were increasing steadily. That alone was enough to instill a sense of dread, but he knew that this was only the beginning.

  A shiver ran up his spine when the first Shrieker let out its screech. Waves of corrupted Aether washed into the glade and swept over Leaf and the others. The bare, sickly forest from before started to form in front of his eyes, but it did not have time to fully envelope his vision. Merida flicked out her staff and released a fireball from it, aiming at the glowing spot that was at the edge of the glade. An explosion of heat and flame engulfed the Shrieker and it fell silent. The illusion that it tried to form shattered, but it was soon replaced as another Shrieker let out its eldritch cry. Leaf saw the glow at the other end of the glade before the illusion washed over him again and loosed an arrow towards the aberration’s maw. The sound cut off with a gargle as the shot sank into the creature’s frail throat. It collapsed on top of the barricade of roots, twitching but otherwise unmoving.

  The distraction was enough to let more Crawlers into the glade and Romina swept through the edges, her stone coated hide slick with brackish green blood as she barreled through the aberrations with a feral intensity. Claw, teeth, and crashing stone splattered the Gaunths, but no breathing room could be found during the relentless assault.

  A blow thundered against the barrier of roots at the south end of the glade. It was a single impact, but it was followed by the sharp cracks of breaking wood. There was only one creature at the Gaunth’s disposal capable of that kind of force.

  “Brutes!” Leaf yelled.

  The warning was nearly smothered by another cacophony of snapping wood from the north. Then, from the east, the west, every direction. Blow after blow crashed against the defenses, but they were all too occupied by keeping the increasing number of Crawlers at bay and making sure that the Shriekers that crawled along the trees were not allowed to let out their corrupted screams. The emerald light within the Tree flared and more roots ripped out of the ground to reinforce the weakening barriers, but it was not enough.

  A Brute crashed through the north barricade, its body bruised and bloodied from its frenzied assault against the wall. A final roar ripped from its splayed lips, but after that it collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Two more Brutes stomped over its corpse and lumbered into the glade.

  “Merida!” Leaf called out. He loosed a volley of arrows towards the Crawlers that approached from her direction.

  All fell from his shots, allowing the Druid enough room to whip her staff around and thrust it forward. Aether of all colors surged through her five Circles and Transposed into the nearly white shade of frost. A blast of cold tore from her crystal and engulfed the lead Brute. In an instant ice covered its body and it struggled to move against its frozen restraints. Merida twisted her staff and reared it back, the Aether from her previous spell swelling back into her and Transposing into yellow. A large stone forged from power formed over her head and when it was nearly her size in height, she whipped her staff forward and slammed the stone against the frozen Brute. The ice around it shattered and the stone crushed the Brute’s head into paste, but still the Druid was not finished. With another twist of her staff she shattered the stone into fragments that sprayed the group of Crawlers that tried to follow after the Brutes. It tore through their bodies and ripped them to shreds.

  Romina was already on the other Brute before Merida or Leaf could act. She crashed into one of its legs with her stone plated head, snapping it at a sickening angle that brought the aberration crashing down. Her jaws wrapped around the creature’s head and yellow Aether pulsed from her and into the ground. A mound of dirt wrapped around the Brute’s broken leg and pulled. The black wolf yanked her head back in the opposite direction, her neck straining from the tension building within it. A gut-wrenching tear sounded soon after and Leaf flinched as he saw Romina tear the Brute’s head from its shoulders.

  A scream smothered them all before they could gather themselves, followed by another, then another, the number growing as torrents of corrupted Aether crashed over them.

  Leaf tried to see where the Shriekers were, but their locations were masked by the newly mangled forest that formed around him, a destitute reflection of the glade absent of snow and life. The sheer weight of the Aether bearing down on him rooted him in place, but he pressed against it with his own power. Ether blazed through his body and he stood up, pushing back against the illusion enough to now see Merida and Romina again. The Druid was in a similar situation to him, but was too focused ahead to acknowledge his presence. She staggered forward, power swelling around her as she tried to keep the corrupted energy at bay. Romina, however, still moved swiftly and engaged the Crawlers still pouring in around them.

  Beyond this, Leaf could do no more. The cracks of the barricades around them still widened with each thundering blow, and shortly after the bulbous image of his father crashed into the glade. He knew it wasn’t real, knew that it was a Brute wearing the mangled image of the man who raised him, but that did not stop the Shriekers’ influences from bringing horror into his heart.

  “LEECH, TAINT UPON MY LEGACY, YOU’RE NO SON OF MINE,” his “father” collapsed to the ground, draining blood into the dirt as two more of his image staggered over him, both saying the same things.

  Romina moved to rush them, but the cries of the Shriekers grew in number, crashing against her and slowing her movements. Merida’s eyes widened and she pointed her staff at Leaf, erecting a barrier around him as Crawlers swarmed around him. Except, these weren’t Crawlers, not now.

  Ronila Broadcreek was a stout woman with long red hair and a warm expression. Her features were rounded but strong, like a stone that had been worn smooth by a riverbed. A brightness sat within her hazel eyes, one that had pulled Leaf from the darkness of a confused adolescence many, many times. He’d hardly ever seen her without her apron, stained the colors of the forest by years of herbalism and draped over a simple dress. There was not a sight on Ellios that could have given him the comfort he felt upon seeing her, which made what he saw now all the more heartbreaking.

  Mangled visages of his mother surrounded him, their mouth’s splayed open in that fleshy flower that draped over the translucent barrier. At their center, mangled maws hissed daggers into Leaf’s heart.

  “Not our son.”

  “Filthy creature.”

  “Worthless, useless.”

  Words that she never said, but words that brought him to his knees, that forced sobs from his lips as his eyes filled with tears. It was a heartbreak forced upon him as the result of magic, but that did not make it any less real. His bow shook in his trembling hands and he found it harder and harder to breathe. All was lost, and his final moments would be nightmares made reality. That was what most of his mind told him, at least. A small corner, a sliver that remained, screamed against the nightmare.

  In the face of illusions, the truth was his greatest weapon.

  He grit his teeth and remembered the real face of his mother, the feel of her arms around him as he cried just like this so many years ago. The tears of that time were shed for his father, the one who rested with newly acquired stitches from a bottle that was shattered on his head, from a brawl that started in Leaf’s defense. He remembered the foolish words that he said then.

  “Why? Why do this for me? I’m not your son, I’m not of your blood…”

  His mother held him closer then, rocking him back and forth as she ran her hand through his hair.

  “It's true, we are not bound by blood,” she said. She pulled back and looked him in his eyes, that kindly face filled with an unconquerable resolution. “But we are of the soul, and in the face of that… blood might as well be water.”

  Leaf stood up, the tide of corrupted Aether washing over him weightless against his mothers words. His Core throbbed and shifted, the aura bleeding from him changing its color into what it should have been all along. To the shade of blue that the plant on the windowsill that day held.

  The color of Skybells.

  He smothered all of his senses and heard his father’s voice.

  “First, touch to set the canvas.”

  He stomped on the ground, sending a pulse of his Ether through the air. He could feel it brush over the dirt, the Gaunths, Merida, Romina, setting the stage for the chaos around him.

  “Second, hearin’ to add some lines.”

  Ether funneled into his ears and he no longer heard the curses of his twisted parents and instead the screeches of his targets.

  “Third, smell to give it some dimension.”

  A deep breath brought the putrid smell of the Shriekers into his nostrils and he traced it beyond the edges of the clearing.

  “Fourth, taste to add some more definition.”

  He licked his lips, the sour taste of their scent pinpointing their locations in the trees. His hand reached for his quiver.

  “Fifth, sight to tie it all together.”

  His eyes snapped open and Ether flared through his vision. The forest was draped in shadow and the glows of the Shriekers hidden within their depths was barely visible, but with the aid of all his other senses, it might as well have been as clear as day.

  Seven arrows, filled with the light of Skybells, flew from his bow. Seven lights dimmed in the forest.

  “That’s my boy.”

  Author's note: Not gonna say much here, just gonna let Leaf have his moment.

  Till next update! Have a good time ^_^

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