It was the third time that Lankor had led such an expedition, at this point it was more of a lash of anger at the forest than anything else really. His beloved nephew had disappeared several years ago, and as optimistic as he was, he was certain that his nephew could not have survived! Even if he somehow survived the fall from the runic-zeppelin, there would have been no way for him to survive the struggles of the Southern Magnolia forest. What Lankor had attempted in coming to the area wasn't to try to save Barandir, no it had been a desperate hope to recover the boy's body. Yet as he had expected, it had been but a vain and feeble attempt.
He had summoned the same demonic fire spirit three times now, the process in its summoning was long, and its duration was short, but good grief could it do some damage. It was his failed attempt at revenge for his nephew. The dent he had made in the forest was just that, a dent, even now some three years later he had barely made any headway or real damage.
Lankor watched as the spirit burned brightly and did battle against a Fiery Spotted Smoke Bear, three years weren't long for him, he could probably spend ten years and it wouldn't feel like much time had passed, but he had another nephew, and niece, and they were in that age where they grew awfully fast. He already felt pangs of regret at the time that he had missed, the letters of course helped, but they weren't quite the same.
The constant smoke and ash began bothering him so he drew a rune in the air, and shortly afterwards a small breeze began blowing in circles around him, effectively clearing the air. Continuing forward he couldn't help but be mesmerised at the battle that unfolded itself, as a mage he rarely if ever got up close and personal with his enemy, but he certainly did enjoy the spectacle of such a battle, from a distance of course.
The scorched path was black and grey, so when he stepped forward and his magic cleared up the air around him, it surprisingly also revealed a man with strange mud and pink blistering skin, he instantly frowned. There wasn't supposed to be any humans here, he was hardly a saint, but he didn't really see much good in him killing off some random hunter or whatnot, he didn't want that on his consciousness.
He approached the body, and to his surprise, the pulse was still active, although weak and ready to quit at any moment. He hurriedly made the body float and was ready to move back to the village in order to save the poor soul, when he saw the pendant!
The man in front of him might be pink and have a dirty beard and long hair, but the pendant, that did not lie!
"Nephew!" he yelled out in surprise, but quickly shook his head.
Older and much more muscular, and the man somewhat resembled his nephew, but it couldn't be, no it was more likely that some reckless hunter had found the pendant against all odds. He hesitated still, he knew that he should be hurrying in order to save the man's life, but he had to make sure, right then and there! His heart palpitated violently as he moved the eyelid upwards on the man, dark purple pupils! And that eye, it was surely his nephew, yet what good would finding him be now, if he still failed to save the boy's life?!
Lonkar didn't know much of healing or movement spells, and what good he did know wasn't meant for immediate use. That didn't mean that he didn't know some bad. He drew rune in the air that settled on Barandir, instantly shaking his body covering it in a layer of transparent fluid, afterwards he pulled out a piece of paper with a complicated spell diagram on it, and threw it into the air, whereas he drew another rune that sank into the paper. Instantly the paper burned into ashes, revealing a pale Skeleton horse with blue flames burning in its eye sockets, a worn leather saddle tied to its back. "The villagers are not going to be happy about this" he murmured to himself as he jumped onto the horse and began riding it at breakneck speeds, the floating body right behind him the entire way.
. . . . .
Memories of his reincarnation began flooding his mind as he regained consciousness, the night around the bonfire becoming ever more distant, until he could not remember that it had happened at all, only the feelings of the event remained, filling him with endless joy, pain and sorrow all at the same time.
When he opened his eyes he saw a man who looked very familiar to him, the man's short hair, his strange beard it all brought with it a picture, a scene, and a memory with every blink that he took.
"Hey Nephew, can you bring me the tobacco from the downstairs cabinet" he paused for a moment his sentence hanging in the air "...the good stuff" he finally finished with a sneaky smirk. Lonkar lay on a long divan while reading a scroll of sorts, he wore a small loop over one of his eyes as he quietly mumbled to himself once in a while.
A young boy no more than twelve became excited about doing something for his uncle, and jumped down his chair and quickly ran towards the stairs...
A quiet sobbing could be heard from behind the half-closed door, a small kid barely eight was passing by in the middle of the night, in order to get some water. It was his uncle's room, he had never seen his uncle crying, whenever he himself cried he would always get comforted by his mom, maybe he could comfort his uncle? He quickly returned to his own room and reappeared soon after holding a small teddy-bear, it was his favourite bear, and it always helped him when he was feeling sad, maybe it could help his uncle too. He pushed open the door gently...
A young man was walking hurriedly across an idyllic wheat meadow, the wheat was slightly tinted in shades of gold and a cool autumn air made waves in the ocean of wheat. There was a small river running through the meadow, and a small bridge connecting the two sides. On the bridge sat a man with a moustache and semi long unkempt hair, he wore a loose gray shirt which was blowing in the wind. He was seated on the railing while fishing and puffing on his pibe. When the young man saw him he waved and began talking in an agitated tone before he had even arrived "I can't believe that father did that!.."
Many broken, and short scenes of past memories of the original Barandir, flashed in front of him, bits and pieces, dots on a blank map, with no roads to really connect them.
"Uncle?" he spoke softly, he hadn't spoken for so long, the words felt strange on his tongue, as he spoke in a language that he didn't know that he knew. The man who was looking at him smiled at the recognition, and sat back in his chair. He pulled out some tobacco and began stuffing it into an exquisitely crafted dark brown pipe, with tints of red dots on the wood.
The room had revealed itself as the uncle had leaned back, it was quite a simple room, it appeared to be made entirely of ashen gray wood, it was small and there wasn't any furniture aside from the bed, a small table, a wooden chest, a desk, and the chair that the uncle was sitting on.
Lonkar held the pipe in his hand gently as he finished stuffing it, and then he lightly rubbed it, the small red dots barely flashing. He took a deep long puff, and an alluring smell of oak and pine spread out into the small room.
"We nearly lost you there..." he trailed off, emotion apparent in his purple eyes "...Nephew" his voice was soft and light.
Barandir stared intensely at the pipe, that was definitely a magic tool, did that mean that the uncle was a mage? Or was there more to it? He hated mages, but he also realised that he owed the man his live, and, he was much to tired to begin contemplating the consequences that it might have for him if Barandir's uncle was trule a mage.
Lonkar was quietly huffing on the pipe while observing the man in front of him. Quiet he was, different in demeanor, the look in his eyes sharp and observant, this was not the nephew that he waved goodbye to those years ago... He sighed deeply, sorrow apparent in his eyes. Everyone had thought him dead, and now that he returns, he is different, surely who wouldn't be. "You don't have to speak right now nephew, take your time, and when you're ready you can tell me what happened" he stood up with an smile full of pity "but for now, you need to rest, your injuries are quite severe still, and until we can get you to a bigger town, I fear they won't improve much". He turned around and exited the room.
His injuries? Barandir thought as began noticing his own body. His right arm was tied up in gauze, his feet appearing very large as they were completely wrapped in gauze and something soft and thick. Otherwise his skin was quite pink, it was obvious he had been burnt from the high heat.
It wasn't until he met the uncle that he had began questioning his options, he considered himself an honest man, yet he had called the man uncle, but revealing himself might carry with it unforeseen dangers, especially so if the man was a mage.
Closing his eyes and clearing his mind he began operating the Hibernating Bear's breath, clarity would come, patience rewarded all men, lest they took too long, in which case the reward might turn into punishment.