The Heart of the Forest (5)

"Oh, thank the sprits of the world." Lord Ladran breathed out a sigh of relief. He threw his head back on exclaimed. "I almost had a heart attack!"

Aether couldn't help but laugh. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, then looked around them.

The field of flowers was gone – reduced to ash. The creek was no more as well – the water had been vaporised, and all that could be seen was the body of the creature, and its boiling blood.

"So that's what it was." The young man mumbled. "I thought it would be a trickster demon. I wouldn't have thought it would be something like this."

His gaze fixed on the remains of the creature, Aether shook his head. "This probably used to be a spirit of the world beyond." He spoke in a low voice. "It realised it could kill others and feed on their power. As spirits are, it could not kill another one itself, so it simply led them to their deaths through different means."

"How so?" Lord Ladran asked.

"Visions of the future." Aether explained. "It showed them glimpses of the future – knowledge forbidden to those like us, because it always leads us down a path of destruction and death. It threw you out because you refused – it needed your permission to speak after all. Then, it tried its luck with me, but I didn't allow it to see my future." He glanced at Lord Ladran. "That's how it killed all the spirits of this forest. It told them the future, and they died trying to avoid whatever they were told."

Lord Ladran gritted his teeth. "That's twisted…" He mumbled. "But what is its connection to the wildmagic anomalies?"

Aether sighed. "I only have what it told me to share. 'A human asked me to, and I agreed because is sounded fun. That is all'. It was not lying." He clenched his fists, then winced as the wounds around his wrists hurt. "Ah, damn it…" He mumbled. "We should head back – I'm exhausted, and I don't want to come across Lady Luna's group on my way back."

Lord Ladran nodded. "We should indeed but let me put up a protection spell around this place. I will come back later with Luna to clean up the mess we left."

The scholar chanted a few words, and soon the spell was erected. They set off, heading back towards Fawn's Academy.

"So, what was that spell you used?" Lord Ladran asked as he led the way back. "The one that drained the world of colour?"

Aether chuckled. "It wasn't a spell. I demanded passage to the world beyond." He grinned. "We were in a different plane of existence for a short while. How does that make you feel, Lord Ladran?"

The scholars eyes shot open. He looked like a fish out of water as he opened and closed his mouth, trying to decide what to ask first.

"When I harmed the creature, it tried to send me back to this world. It succeeded, which is why I ended up in the middle of your spell. The timing was less than perfect, I must admit." Aether laughed.

Up above in the mountains, Lady Luna's expression formed a smile as a distant explosion lit up the skies. The lightning storm raging around her and the students finally came to a halt and the weather returned to normal.

"Time to return." She declared. "Looks like Master Soren took care of the issue."

Iris's gaze focused on the forest below. "I hope everyone is safe." She mumbled. She fiddled with the silver chain around her wrist – it had grown cold and lifeless. "I'm worried."

"I am sure they are. Let us hurry back so you can see for yourself." Lady Luna's faint smile and reassuring tone helped only little to ease Iris' worries.

Seth's lips formed a thin line as he clenched his fists. How come was this girl so focused on the other two groups, while he was right next to her? He had spent the entire day trying to shield her from harm, and he hadn't even gotten a simple 'thank you' in return.

"Let's go then, I'm sure the others are worried about us too." He said as they set off. That Aether – he was the problem. He was sure of it.

"How come," The stern nurse spoke, glaring at the scholar, "Is this kid so badly wounded, and you don't have a single scratch on you?" She scolded Lord Ladran as her warm, soft magic healed Aether's wounds.

"I, uh…" Lord Ladran scrambled to find an explanation.

"Burn marks, claw marks, cuts, bruises, scratches and even pieces of crystal buried in his palm." The nurse continued. "If I didn't see it for myself, I wouldn't believe it. In fact, I'm fairly convinced you juts sat back and let a student fight off the anomalies."

Aether chuckled as the nurse brutally teared into Lord Ladran. The scholar tried to defend himself, but it seemed to be futile as whatever excuse he came up with was immediately demolished by the nurse's relentless words.

"No – you got it all wrong. Please just let me explain first!" Lord Ladran's plea was ignored as the nurse scoffed at him.

"And what is this? Looks like something even caught him by the wrists!" She turned to glance at Aether. "Are you alright? Did they do anything else to you? I can throw him out if you don't want to share while he's here." She tilted her head towards Lord Ladran, whose shoulders dropped. "Please don't even suggest-"

"I'm fine." Aether finally spoke. "Those are from the creature that were causing the anomalies. The cuts are from splinters of a tree." He chuckled. "I really appreciate your concern, but I asked Sir Ladran only to step in when it looked like I couldn't handle it. I felt like I could use the experience."

The nurse hesitated. "Are you absolutely sure?" She asked.

"Yes." Aether smiled again. "Oh," He pointed at his head. "I hit my head at some point too, could you heal that as well?"

The nurses magic did its job, then she scolded Lord Ladran some more before she left the room, but not before instructing Aether to rest some.

"Thanks." Lord Ladran sighed and collapsed on the couch. "I thought she was going to get me arrested or something."

Aether laughed. "It was quite a sight, seeing a Lord of the Doirioth clan struggle so much against a nurse of the mundane world." His grin widened. "You owe me one."

"That I do." Lord Ladran sighed. He placed his hands on the armrests of the couch and pushed himself back up on his feet. "I'll let you rest for a while. Come and find me when you're feeling better. We have much to discuss still."