Special Chapter 29: The Lost Days in The Dark Forest of Aubrianne

This are the lost three days Dorin spent with Damien while waiting for Seb to wake up inside the Dark Forest of Aubrianne.

"You are awake."

Dorin turned around and gets face to face with the tall groundskeeper.

"Where are we?" He asked, "Why have you taken us here?"

"This is my abode." replied Damien Wolfsbane. "We are in the centre of the Dark Forest of Aubrianne." he looked at the boy in front of him who stood in a defensive stance. "Do you know why the Dark forest is called so?" he asked the guarded child.

"They say that the holy night Aubrianne once signed a truce with the fairy folk here." Dorin answered "There is untapped magic in the woods, but the fae refused to let people use this power for destruction, so Aubrianne suggested that a University should be built on the tableu, where persons of all walks, races and believes can come together and share their knowledge." Dorin looked proud of himself. "I read that from a pamphlet when I arrived in the University."

"I see." replied Damien, "So that is what they tell the students now-a-days."

Damien walked inside the hollow and looked at Sebastian who still lay sleeping on the furs. Dorin stood between them and stared heedfully at him.

"The Silver Tongue is still healing inside." said Damien. "The caladrius have closed his wounds but it would take some time before his organs recover."

"You have a caladrius here?" Dorin asked, his brows raised.

"Yes, she has already healed your shoulder injury." he kneeled beside Seb, Dorin moved aside hesitantly. "You can leave as soon as you are able."

"Then, I can leave any time I want?"

"Yes." Damien looked up at him, his face, unreadable. "As long as you are willing to leave this one behind." He motioned at the sleeping Seb who had a pained expression in his face.

Dorin opened his mouth, then closed it again. He feels fine, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with his body, there was no reason to stay. But Sebastian was still sleeping. And he has never seen a caladrius before. Perhaps he can stay for a while? Just until he meets the caladrius.

"I'm not really in a hurry." he told the groundskeeper, "Can I meet the bird who took care of us?"

"She's on her way." Damien replied, "She shall arrive as the rays of the sun touch the earth." he looked at the open hearth where a pot of porridge was cooking. "You must be hungry."

Dorin's stomach grumbled even before Damien's words were finished. He felt embarrassed as Damien handed him a bowl and poured some porridge in it. "Thank you..." he mumbled, "For the food... and for helping us."

Damien kept silent. They ate this way until Dorin had his fill. He was about to speak when he heard the sound of hooves on stone. He looked at the entryway and saw the centaur enter the hollow with a pale child riding on his back.

"Good morrow, Damien." called the centaur.

"Good morrow, Horatio, Azra." replied Damien.

"I see one of them has awakened." Horatio nodded at Dorin who nodded back."

"Good morrow." Dorin greeted the two new comers.

"How is my liege today?" said the pale child. She was dressed all in white and wore a small golden crown on her head. Her hair, a mixture of strands and feathers, was tied in a high ponytail which trailed down to her back.

"He still sleeps a bit fitfully, though his external wounds are all healed." Damien turns to Dorin. "This is the caladrius Azra." he said. Azra nodded briefly at Dorin, her pale pink eyes flashing, she then went straight to Sebastian's side. "As you can see," he added, "she has gotten very attached to the young Silver Tongue."

Dorin watched as Azra stared at Seb's body. "She's a little girl..."

"A caladrius can take human form." Damien replied. "As long as there is enough magic for their form to manifest."

"I am full." said Azra, turning around to face them. Dorin noticed that the girl's eyes have turned blood red. "I will be back." Upon saying this, the bird child stretched out her arms that immediately got covered with feathers. It folded to cover her body which shrank to the size of a large white bird, its head topped with a ring of golden feathers.

"She's going to release the pain." Said Damien. "She gathers them in her eyes and releases it by staring at the sun, thus the birds turn blind as they age, and can only see again when ever they take in the pain from other people."

"For a little while, at least." said Horatio.

"But that pain, does it not affect them?" Asked Dorin with concern.

"Yes." Replied Damien. "But what is pain compared to seeing the world around you?"

"And to think that the more pain they hold in their eyes, the clearer their eyes can see." Horatio smiled bitterly.

"But Azra chose this." Damien sighed. "She is the youngest in her family, yet she was the one who answered the call, and she is also the one who chose the young Silver Tongue."

Dorin looked at Sebastian. He seems to be sleeping more peacefully now, and the crease between his eyes have disappeared.

"I believe you are supposed to leave today," Horatio suddenly asks Dorin, "Right after your Photography class?"

"Yes, but... I can't just leave Sebastian behind..." Dorin replied, surprising himself. "I think I should stay until he wakes up."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay in university, Golden Child?" the centaur asks again. Dorin looked at him questioningly.

Damien stared at Horatio. "Dorin may not have a choice." he said, looking back at the boy in front of him. "But perhaps he can talk his mother into it."

"I don't think it would be that simple." Dorin laughed.

"I know." Damien smiled thinly. "Well then, since you're already here, perhaps there are a few things we can teach you as well."

"That would be my pleasure!" Dorin beamed.

"Good." replied Damien. "But first, you need something better to wear."

Dorin and Damien left the burrow after Dorin was given the same kind of long pleated skirt the groundskeeper was wearing. It was made of a sturdy, canvas-like material that seemed to flow with his every move. They met Azra along the way who simply nodded at them and hurriedly entered the hollow. Her eyes once more, were a pale shade of pink.

Outside, the trees were so close to each other that only a small path led from the hidden cave to an opening wide enough for a patch of sunrise to peep in. Damien stood in the middle of the patch and made sharp calls to the air. Later, Dorin saw two large eagles circling in the small patch of sky above them, descend to the forest floor.

"Have you ridden an eagle before?" the groundskeeper asked him.

"Yes," answered Dorin as he lovingly caressed the velvety feathers near the base of the eagle's sharp beak. "But I didn't fly very far, my mother is against me moving more than a mile away from our homestead."

Damien gave a soft chuckle. "I never thought that your mother would be the over-protective type." he said.

"Did you know my mother too?" Dorin asked with interest.

"She was a former student of mine." was the other's only reply. Damien climbed up the eagle's back, urging Dorin to do the same. As soon as they were air bourn, Damien gave a series of sharp sounds, instructing the eagles where to go.

It didn't take them long before the birds were flying over a part of the forest full of glittering light. Dorin shielded his eyes. As they flew lower, he noticed that the light reflected off several large trees whose branches were covered with round glass leaves of different color. They landed in a clearing by the edge of the glittering trees.

"These are called bell trees." Damien said as he led Dorin near the huge trees. "These are used to determine a mage's aptitude for magic."

He went under one of the wide trunks and reached out to a low hanging red orb. It looked like a small upside-down fish bowl. As soon as Damien touched it, it began to glow and give a sweet tinkling sound.

"Red is the most resistant." said the groundskeeper. "Purple comes next, then blue, green, yellow and orange as the most sensitive to magic." he went over to an orange orb and breathed on it. The orb gave a high pitched tinkle, a small web-like crack forming around it. "As you can see, even a little magic can easily break it."

"So, this is to gauge my magic?" Dorin asked, eyeing the orbs with curiosity.

"Yes." replied his companion. "These bell trees don't lie, there is no way to hide your true capacity." he looked straight at Dorin, "You can choose which color to touch, but first, remove the restraints on your legs."

Dorin removed the bands around his ankle and handed them to Damien, surprised that the groundskeeper knew about them. He then touched a yellow orb. It shattered in his hand, giving off a broken sound.

"Let me rephrase that..." Damien told a surprised Dorin, "Try touching the red orb first and see if it will ring true."

Dorin touched a red orb. It gave a flickering light but made no sound.

"What happened?" Dorin asked.

"Nothing." Damien replied. "Try the next one.

Upon touching the lilac orb, it suddenly gave a discordant tune. Dorin quickly let it go. Next was the blue orb. As soon as he touched it, the orb gave a bright turquoise light and sounded out a deep mellow gong that seemed to resonate with the rest of the bell trees.

"Quattuor." Damien said beside him. Dorin looked at him, an expectant smile on his face. He looked like a child that was waiting for his parent to praise him. "You did good." said the groundskeeper.

"Did I?" Dorin beamed, "Is that really good?"

"Good enough to be a wizard." Dorin grinned from ear to ear. "But grossly lacking in experience." Dorin's grin disappeared.

"My mother is still teaching me..."

"A narrow-minded person could never make a good teacher." Dorin was taken aback, but before he can defend his mother, Damien asked him, "How is your water and healing magic?"

"Well, we haven't really had a thorough lesson for healing, but my water skills are okay..."

"Your mother was an elementor, but even with the mastery of all the elements, she refused to develop her healing magic. Her family, you see, the Briar Rose, are earth mages, thus, having fire as a base element, she decided that she didn't want to further study the water element, since, according to her, she can control it at will, anyway."

Dorin looked at the groundskeeper. His face was as expressionless as usual, tough his voice was rising.

"That's true..." mumbled Dorin, "She even asked someone else to teach me water magic..."

"You see, your mother was never a patient person. She refused to understand that fire and water leads to creation." Damien looked at Dorin, a sad smile on his face. "And those who tried to show her, were the ones who had to pay for her mistakes."

Dorin wanted to ask him what he meant. But the sadness in his face made him feel embarrassed. Too embarrassed to even speak.

Damien broke his gaze and turned around. "Your element is wind and lightning." he said. "I have seen you in action. You seem to have mastered these two elements."

"A-actually..." Dorin confessed, "My lightning is still a bit erratic... the bands on my ankles actually help me control the release of thaum from my body."

Damien looked at the bands Dorin handed to him earlier. "Hmm... Althea's work I presume?" he asked. Dorin nodded vigorously.

"Usually, when I don't have my charms and debasers, I end up frying the immediate vicinity for a 3 meter radius..."

"Didn't your mother help you with the lightning?"

"Well, she was rarely home, and she said there was a shortage of trustworthy lightning mages in the empire..."

"True. They were either killed or exiled after the uprising years ago..." Damien said thoughtfully, then looked back at Dorin's questioning face. "Didn't she tell you about the uprising?"

"Not really..." replied Dorin, "Though I heard her mention it before in a message, and some students in campus have talked about it..."

"Then there really is so much I need to teach you." Damien sighed, looked to the sky and called their ride back. "But first, I shall teach you the Song of the Aerials." he placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. "You shall learn the song of the wind mages."

The sun was making its trip down the horizon when Damien and Dorin returned to the burrow. Horatio had already left with Azra. Damien shared a supper of roasted venison with Dorin, and then left after a session of story telling.

"Still not waking up?" Dorin nudged Seb. "I bet you would have loved to see the things I saw today... and the stories Damien told me... but I guess, being a student here, you already know most of that stuff." He looked at his companion and placed a fur blanket over him which the other kicked off. "Let's talk lots when you wake up." he said, placing the fur back. "So hurry up and wake up."

The next morning, Horatio was waiting for Damien at the mouth of the small cave, his hoof pawing the ground as they came near.

"You took your time yesterday." he said to the groundskeeper.

"We had a little lesson." replied Damien. "It seems Dorin's mother have taught him the song of aerials, but pronounced the words wrong." Damien explained irritably. "Now it's proving hard to correct his diction."

"Well?" the centaur asked, "Is he worth it?"

"He is powerful. A genuine Golden Child. But he needs work. A lot of work." Damien sighed, covering his face with his hands as he sat on a small mound beside the burrow. "His mother tried to teach him, but ended up muddling him instead." he looked up at Horatio through the gaps between his fingers. "She had almost corrupted him."

"Then, that means..."

"No worries." Damien cut him short, "He takes after his father. His goodness is second nature. And I thank the gods for that." another sigh. "But there are so many things we need to teach him. And soon."

When Dorin woke up, the first thing he noticed was the pale child lying on top of Sebastian. She was giving off a soft glow as she stared at Seb's sleeping face

"Um..." Dorin said in a low voice, "Is it okay to lean on him like that?" he asked, "Didn't he just break a couple of ribs?"

Azra stared at him, her red eyes contrasting against her white face. "I am light as a feather, Master Dorin." she answered, "I would never hurt my Liege."

"Well, if you say so..." Dorin hesitated, "How is Seb, by the way?"

"Recovering." answered the caladrius. "It may take another day before all the pain is extracted."

"That's good to know... by the way, I want to thank you for healing me too..."

"No need, Master Dorin. It is my duty and my pleasure to serve my master's bond."

"Please, don't call me master," Dorin said, "I'm not used to such honorific... I'm merely bonded to Seb by friendship and brotherhood, but that does not make me your master..."

"You helped my liege in his distress, that makes you my master." at this, the young girl started to bow at Dorin who raised her up frantically.

"Stop that!" he said, noting how light Azra really was. "I could hardly do anything for Seb," he blushed, "it was you who have brought him back from certain death..." he bowed his head instead, facing the caladrius who looked at him with her head tilted. "I am the one who should thank you for saving Seb's life." he insisted. "Thank you, Azra."

"Azra." Horatio called from behind them. "You should release that pain before it affects you."

The young girl nodded and turned once more into her bird form before it flew out of the cave entrance. Horatio then faced Dorin.

"Take your breakfast, Dorin. There is much for you to learn today."

That day, Damien taught Dorin the dance that accompanied the song of the Aerials. It consists of meticulous steps that seem to glide in the air. As he sang and danced, the rustle of the leaves and the whispering wind seem to harmonize with his voice, and the air around them turned warmer.

"Learn the moves for the first four stanzas." Damien stands still, the wind stops as he does. "I will teach you the next four after lunch, and the rest tomorrow."

Dorin slumped down on the rock he was standing on. They were near the edge of a wide waterfall so clear that you could see the underground caves underneath the catch basin.

Dorin sang until his voice got hoarse. Damien continued teaching him the dance of Aerials until the sun descended behind the tall trees.

"That will be all for today." Damien finally said.

Dorin collapsed on the boulder he was dancing on and tried to catch his breath. The dance movements became faster as the song went on, and he was having trouble keeping up with the groundskeeper.

"Damien," he panted, "I have been meaning to ask, what is your element? I mean, it doesn't look like wind is your specialty...?"

Damien threw a flask of water his way. "I have no element in particular." he replied. "My forte is Mental magic, particularly with animals."

"Oh, control magic." Dorin said knowingly.

"I prefer the term 'conduct'." the other said. "I do not command them." he continued, "I suggest to them what to do."

"And they obey you?"

"If they wish to." Damien extended a hand and helped Dorin up. "Come, it is time to return to the burrow. Tomorrow I will teach you the last four parts of the song and dance."

That night, after a satisfying dinner of roasted rabbit, Dorin eagerly waited for the groundskeeper's stories. They spent the rest of the evening telling more stories. About the truce in the Dark forest, the conditions under the truce, and the fairy folk who live there. Later, Damien left the hollow once again, leaving the 2 boys behind.

Dorin watched as Seb shoved off the fur blanket yet again.

"You're going to catch a cold, you know?" he told his unconscious friend. "How long do you plan to sleep? Azra says you should wake up by tomorrow, so you better wake up then, or else I'll be leaving you behind." Still no respond.

Dorin sighed and settled beside the sleeping boy. "I mean it." he continued talking, "The shortest time mother leaves home is usually a week. Since she left on Sunday, I need to get home by tomorrow – a Saturday, so I can have a day to spare."

Still no reply. Dorin's face fills with concern.

"Well, anyway, Damien still has to teach me the last 4 parts of the Aerial dance, so I guess I have no choice but to stay... Just take your time and heal..." He sighed and placed his head on his friend's shoulder. "Hurry up and wake up so I can tell you goodbye.��