The following day,
Morning,
As the first rays of dawn peaked above the edge of the forest, it portrayed a beautiful scenery as if the world ahead had become a painting.
Two horses and a large attention catching wolf were trotting toward the forest leisurely after a long night of travelling.
On top of his horse, Craig yawned lazily as he focused on the first rays of light in the sky ahead. His eyes dropped slightly to the treeline that was slowly coming onto view.
This was it, the final bit of distance that would put this entire journey to an end. So much had happened in the span of ten days. He had left with a blind intention and a slither hope and had returned with more than he could ever have guessed.
A Transcendent, a Divine Lotus with an Argonian soul and a curse along with it. His life had taken quite the interesting turn.
They soon entered the forest and as the day brightened into fullness, they finally arrived outside of the Bamboo Forest within. Craig and Maeli dismounted from their horses and led them in by the rope. Greymont followed behind them glancing around curiously.
"Andre!" Craig called upon entering the front yard. He would always do this whenever he came back from any journey. This one was no different. He enjoyed pestering his brother's life and seeing the look on his face when he did.
Bang!
The large door to the main hut flung open as Andre rushed out with Joy.
Joy?
There was definitely joy, but what was that look in his eyes, and why were they red. The two dark bags underneath them denoted his lack of sleep. He seemed edgy and jittery.
"Craig!" He called out in excitement and relief. His voice carried a greater deal of relief than excitement. He rushed down the steps nearly tripping and falling over.
Craig was puzzled. What could have happened to leave his brother in such a state. The princess couldn't have died right? Even if she did he didn't know her at all. Her death wouldn't cause him such distress. Unless he was terrified about the consequences of her death?
"Calm down Andre. What's gotten into you?" Craig tried to settle his anxiety. He figured something must have happened but he didn't know what it could be.
"It's father!" Andre exclaimed as he got close. "They took father." His voice was filled with anxiousness. His usual chubby face was saggy and riddled with worry.
Craig's expression immediately darkened. "What do you mean?! Who took him?!" His heart dropped. He had offended a lot of people, mainly orcs. The first to appear in his mind were a number of orcs who had promised to make him suffer for messing with them. Following them, there were a few humans who vowed to take his life. They flashed through his mind as well. He was immediately sent into a fit of worry and anxiety.
"The imperials. They came for him two days ago led by some guy called General Lius." Andre replied.
Craig's anger boiled as murderous rage appeared in his eyes. His knuckles cracked as he squeezed his hand into a raging fist, blood dripping out due to his nails piercing into his flesh. If there was one group of people he hated the most it was the Empire. The king and all his court. For what they did to his father and for what they did to his brethren of the bandit brigade, he could never forgive them.
.....
Inside the Divine Lotus,
Avanelle looked up at the the sky which was usually blue with white fluffy clouds. Right now however, the blue sky had turned a dark grey with black clouds slowly gathering. The sound of faint thunder rumbled as the weather slowly transformed into doomsday.
She looked into the pond at the center of the plaza where she stood. An image of what Craig was seeing with his eyes was displayed in a small circle on the water's surface. She saw and heard what Andre had just said to him. "If he doesn't calm down soon, I'll eventually be affected as well." Her eyes narrowed into a frown. "This isn't good."
.....
Andre was frightened by the look of savageness that had taken over Craig's face. He knew his brother better than anyone. He could already tell that he was thinking of doing something dangerous.
"Don't loose it just yet Craig." He tried to console him. "Father left with them willingly--"
"Did he have a choice!" Craig interjected in an angry tone. He wasn't angry at Andre, he was just... angry.
Andre was bit frightened but he stood his ground knowing it was his brother and exactly what he was feeling. "He told me not to tell you the truth but I just couldn't keep it to myself. He wanted me to tell you that he'd gone searching for materials to make more medicine." He began explaining the situation in an attempt to ease Craig's mind. "He left the recipe and instructions for you to make the rainbow medicine. I have been administering doses of the incomplete one in his place. I know that's not what you want to hear right now but we should save the princess's life first and then figure out what to do next. That is... If you were successful."
Craig slowly calmed down as he took in deep steady breaths.
Greymont and Maeli were looking at him with concerned gazes, wondering if he would suddenly loose it again.
"I know what to do next." He said in a much calmer tone of voice. "After we save her life I'm heading to the imperial capital. If father is fine then that's one thing but if he isn't..." Without finishing his sentence Craig headed toward the main hut with a heavy stride.
Andre looked at his back as he departed then he looked at Maeli. He then looked at Greymont and was startled upon finally noticing that a horse sized wolf with horns and four tails was staring right back at him. He stumbled backwards and rushed after Craig. "Um, Craig, what is that thing you brought back with you? Please tell me it's tame?"
"Do I look like a pet." Greymont's cold voice echoed from behind upon hearing Andre's question.
Andre shivered as if electricity had rushed through his body. He rigidly turned his head and gave Greymont a bewildered look. "It spoke... It spoke? It speaks!" He turned around and rushed into the main hut without looking back.
Greymont couldn't help but chuckle in satisfaction. "Nothing like scaring the fur out of a human." He waged his tails a few times as he said this.
Maeli removed her hood and headed toward the main hut as well.
Greymont remained outside, alone. He sat down and looked at the horses beside him. "Guess it's just us now."
Inside the hut Andre was walking back and forth like a man who had lost his mind. His current look and mental state did not help him at all. "A talking four tailed wolf. Am I hallucinating from a lack of sleep? No I definitely heard it speak. I mean orcs can speak right? But technically they're also people so that's normal."
He was unravelling by the Seams. He hadn't slept or eaten for two days and during that period of time he had been worried and anxious nonstop. His body and mind was underneath a lot of stress. He needed a good rest and a good meal.
"Andre." Craig said as he entered, catching his attention and stopping his ramblings. "The wolf can talk yes. I'll explain later. Get some rest, you need it. Drink some valerian liquor if you have to." He paused. "Matter of fact, definitely drink some valerian liquor."
Andre hesitated briefly, then sighed, "Yeah, yeah I should rest. But first uh, the instructions." He prepared to fetch something for Craig.
"Don't bother." Craig stopped him. "I know what to do. The instructions aren't necessary. Just get some rest."
Andre looked at Craig in puzzlement for a moment. Then he raised both arms, "Alright, I guess you know what you're doing. The instructions are in dad's book if you need them. Page 306." Then he walked out of the the hut and headed to his own hut to sleep. As he walked out he cast a few strange glances at Greymont. Hurriedly rushing toward his hut in a slight panic.
Bang!
He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, breathing a sigh of relief. "Giant talking four tailed wolves. I really need to sleep."
He walked over to a shelf a grabbed a bottle that was filled with roots of some plant inside. He uncovered it and took five to six gulps after which his face twisted this and that way. Then he walked over to his large bed and threw himself onto it.
Instant K.O.
Inside the main hut, Craig walked over to the bed ln which A'ina was lying fast asleep. Her eyes trembled every now and then and her mouth moved slightly. It was as if even the strength to grimace had left her body.
They had estimated a total of twelve days give or take. It had been ten days since so they had made it back with two days to spare. However based on how pale and weak A'ina looked, she probably wouldn't have lasted another full day.
Maeli walked over from the entrance of the hut and stopped at the foot of the bed. She looked down at A'ina's pale looking face as water welled up in her eyes. "She's so weak right now." She said in a soft teary voice. "I can barely sense her aura."
The usually cold Maeli had instantly melted in the face of her best friend's demise. She looked at Craig with tears in her eyes. "You have to save her. Make sure that you save her. I can't loose her." The tears flowed down her face in a endless stream.
Even if she had seen the capability of Craig's new power, she still had doubts as to whether or not it would work against dragon fever. No matter what, dragon fever was an illness that had never been cured before. It had only been said to have been cured in a tale that no one believed. No one knew if all seven lotuses could truly cure it.
Craig looked at Maeli's watering face and felt an ache in his heart. This was it, the moment of truth. She would either live after this or die since there wasn't time for anything else. "I will put everything I have into saving her." He said with a half smile, unable to show true joy at a moment like this.
He closed his eyes and cast all thoughts out of his mind, clearing it from every other problem or situation. Then he focused on feeling the energy within his heart until he grasped onto it. He directed the energy into his arm's then down to his hands. He then placed one hand onto A'ina's forehead and one onto her abdomen.
The energy in his palm began flowing into A'ina's body. He continued to draw on more power and poured a steady supply in her body. Little by little it spread throughout her system until it had occupied her entire body.
Craig suddenly had a peculiar sensation of feeling as one with her state of her being. He could feel her heartbeat, follow her blood flow and even trace the flow of her mana. He felt how weak she was at the moment and even got a sense of how long she had left.
Unlike with Greymont her situation wasn't improving. In fact he had the feeling that her life was fading away at a faster rate than before. If it continued to deplete at this rate she would die within no more than than five minutes.
He panicked. 'This is bad.' He thought. 'What am I supposed to do? Am I doing something wrong? Maybe I'm using too much energy.' He cut of the supply of energy as he remembered that he had nearly imploded from doing the same thing to himself. 'Her life is still fading away.' Cutting off the energy didn't stop the accelerated decline.
Maeli who was looking attentively at A'ina with eyes filled of hope suddenly had a change in expression. "Her aura is growing weaker. What's going on?" She asked.
Craig however didn't respond. His eyes remained closed as he was immersed in deep concentration. He searched his mind for answers one after the other. 'Dragon fever, dragon fever, damage to the soul, the soul. Where is the soul even located? Okay calm down Craig and think.' As he ravaged his mind for answers he used his mysterious link with A'ina's body to search for anything that could help.
Tracing the flow of her mana he eventually found a central hub where all threads of mana interconnected. It was like a large ball of yarn that had hundreds of tentacles coming from it, the only difference being it was a large transparent crystal like ball instead. On this ball there was a large crack straight down the middle and within that crack radiated a dim light. From the crack an ocean of white mist flowed out into the surroundings in a continuous manner and the light seemed to grow dimmer by the second.
'Is that... her soul?' He thought.