My eyes opened slowly to the blinding lights of the day. As I gradually adjusted, I noticed I was in an unfamiliar room, in a very comfortable, yet unfamiliar bed. I quickly sat up, and just as quickly, felt a sharp pain in my back. I noticed I was shirtless, bandaged, and clean.
I looked around the room. There was a table with a bundle of herbs, stitches, pliers, and bandages. The walls and roof were odd as they looked like the inside of a tree. I could see the grain runing all around the dome-shaped room. It looked carved into.
My bow quiver and scabbarded messer were on top of a round table to the left along with my cloak, shirt, and pants which all looked clean and fixed up. Where the hel am I? I shifted my sore, aching body to the edge of the bed and forced myself up. At least I still have my underwear on. I slowly put on my clothes and attached my weapons to my belt. I walked to the wooden door of the room, opened it, and walked out.
It looked like a balcony, but apon exiting, I realized I was standing on a wooden road-like path with thick rails along the edge. I walked to the rails to find I was high up in the sequoia trees—so high I couldn't quite see the bottom. But what I could see was a huge, complicated pattern of bridges and paths moving from one massive sequoia to another, many spiraling down all the trees. There were tons and tons of elves, without cloaks, walking all around them. It was beautiful, and terrifying.
"Oh! Y-you're awake."
I turned to my right to see a somewhat short wood elf woman. She had glasses on, and much like all the other elves I've seen, plant-like attire, though hers were very bright. She had blonde hair tied up in a messy bun with a thin stick holding it together, flowering small white petals on one end. She was holding a small bucket with a sponge in it.
"Who are you? Where am I? Where's Dannas, Tulas, and Gin-me?" I suddenly remembered everything from the last time I was awake. "Where's the girl?!"
"Calm down, calm down. I'll answer your questions, but only one at a time. I need to clean your wound."
"I need to see her. I need to. Is she okay?"
She seemed taken aback by my tone. "Sh-she's alive, and recovering. Please, let me take care of your wound."
I calmed myself down somewhat. "Okay."
We walked back into the room I left. I took my cloak and shirt off and sat on a chair at the round table.
"Alright, I'm gonna unwrap your bandages. I'm sorry, but it might sting a bit."
She did as she said. Once she reached the part that was directly against my wound, I grimaced and held back my voice.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll get it done quickly. I promise."
She took a second to examine, then started cleaning my wound with the soft sponge. "Well, The good news is your wound is healing rather nicely."
"I see."
"Mhm. It was pretty bad when we got to you. Tjali Inowyn herself came and helped stabalize you. The wound was deep and stretched. Fortunately no organs were hit, but you lost a lot of blood. I will say, you've healed much faster than I would've anticipated, even counting Tjali's assistance."
"I'm not exactly human."
"That's true."
"So you know?"
"It's hard not to guess, well with your unnatural hair color, the density of your muscles, and toughness of your skin. I would've been surprised if you weren't."
"I see. Why do you keep calling Inowyn 'Tjali'?"
"You can speak of her informally?"
"When she gave me her name, she left out the Tjali part, I guess. Is it like a first name?"
She started wrapping me back up. "No. It's a title, given to the daughter, or daughter's daughter of the Trewari, The voice of the Trelanwi, our leader. They hold the title until their training is complete, should they take it, and they can become a Gythya, or priestess.
"Am I allowed to speak to her informally?"
"If she says so."
"Can you tell me where I am?"
"If it wasn't for your mark, I would've said no. This city is a great secret. We're in the elvan city of Ith Trelanwi. It's deep in The Great Forest, as the world calls it, and it surrounds this forest's parent tree."
"Parent tree?"
"Yes. All life in this forest, and its size, are all thanks to the parent tree we named Trelanwi. I believe your kind would call it a sequoia, much like the tree we're in, if I'm not mistaken."
"I had no idea something like that existed. Is it big?"
"The biggest of its kind."
"What does that mean?"
She's now almost finished with the bandages. "Unlike the rest of the trees in this forest, Trelanwi is comparable to a small mountain."
"How could that be possible?"
"Anything is possible, should life will it."
"I see."
She stepped away to collect her things. "That's it. At the rate you heal, you'll probably be able to remove those stitches in less than a week. Until it's gone, don't stretch too far, don't exert your back too much, and try not to get stabbed again."
I chuckled silently. "Okay. What's your name?"
"I'm Prewana."
"Thank you, Prewana."
"Thank your friend. He had the bright idea to use your mark to find us, and convince us to help."
"I will."
"Alright, well, Goodbye. Tjali Inowyn will come to speak to you soon. Try not to wander."
I nodded. "Goodbye."
Prewana walked out of my room with her things, closing the door lightly. I put my shirt back on, detached my weapons, and put them on the table. I'm not going to need them here.
I sat back down and waited a few minutes. I wanted to find everyone, but I didn't know where they were, so I had little choice. Eventually, I walked out of my room and stood by the rails, taking in the freshest air I've ever smelled, and one of the greatest views I'd ever seen. Before I knew it, despite how calming this place was, even from this height, I was growing depressed; feeling down, stressed, and disguted for something I couldn't think of, and didn't know why. I took the time and silence I had to think.
Immediately, last night came to mind. I killed people. Thirteen people. If what Gin-me said was right, they were probably all shitty people, but they were still people; lives that I ended. I hate it. The only one I don't regret killing is Malkan, but the rest . . . I don't know. They all had the option to leave. I even told some of them, and they didn't. Is it even my fault then? Either way, I killed them.
Suddenly, somewhere in the distance, around this tree, I heard concentrated gusts of wind, then rapid steps to my left. I turned to see Inowyn, running around the tree to me.
"Ladon! You're awake!"
She had too much energy. "...Yes."
"You know, you've been asleep, recovering for two days?"
"What?"
"Yeah I—we were really worried about you." She changed to a whisper using her hand to hide it. "Tarwyn couldn't sleep, the first night."
I chuckled. "Hard to imagine."
She got uncomfortably close to me, staring into my eyes. "They're different, your eyes. The way they stare."
"What?"
"You killed people, didn't you?"
I took a step back. "Y-yes."
She shrugged. "If you killed them, they must've deserved it for one reason or another."
Before I could think of a response, I looked past her as Tarwyn walked calmly from the same direction she came from.
His cold expression lightened slightly. "Welcome to Ith Trelanwi: our home. I doubt I need to tell you not to tell anyone about it."
"Of course."
"Right."
Inowyn chimed in, "I bet you want to see your friends, right? Oh and that girl?"
"Yes. Prewana said she was okay. I need to be sure."
"Of course, I understand. Let's go, Tarwyn."
He nodded before we walked as a group. The path led us around the tree. It spiraled down a bit until it branched off to another one. The more we walked, the more I realized just how big this interconnected web of a city was.
"So, how are you feeling?" Inowyn asked.
"Fine." My body was aching ceaselessly, and my wound stung. "Prewana also told me you helped stabalize me. Thank you, Inowyn."
"Of course. Not every elf has magical healing capabilities as I do. I'm just glad it worked.
We followed the spiraling platform up the tree.
Inowyn leaned toward me. "You know, you even sound different."
"What?"
She smiled. "You're colder—like your eyes."
"I see."
We reached a door, much like mine.
Tarwyn, having let his arms uncross, opened the door. "This is where the demidragon girl rests."
Inowyn looked at me. "She's only woken up a handful of times since we brought her here. But she's recovering. Tarwyn, brother, can you fetch his friends?"
"I'm not an errand boy, sister. I'm—"
"Yes yes, you're the Tjalin: the successor of grandfather, blah blah blah. Just get his friends."
He stared at her, annoyed at best.
She started doing puppy dog eyes. "Please?"
"Fine! Fine, whatever. I'll get his friends." On his way away, he muttered, "Gods."
I grabbed the door in his stead, and stopped, hesitant and afraid to see her. Is she actually okay? How bad is it? What do I need to do? After a moment, I gained the courage and walked through. I saw the girl, unconscious in her bed, laying flat on her back, with a soft blanket on top of her. Her mouth was open, letting out the small wisps of her weak breath. She was alive, but certainly far from a decent condition.
"What are all the things wrong with her?"
Inowyn, for the first time I've seen since I first saw her, held a serious face. "Firstly, she's severely malnourished, and seems to have been sitting on that border for a long time. It's a miracle she doesn't have dysentery."
I could tell that much.
"It's going to take some time for her to be able to sit up, and even longer until she'll be able to stand."
"How long?"
"Hard to say. Being a demidragon would probably make the time much quicker than a human's or any Álfari. She might be able to walk in a week or so, maybe less, but she wouldn't be able to walk for long. Her recovery would end long after she can leave."
"Is there any way to speed it up?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Why?"
"In order for her body to heal completely, she needs time and nourishment. Due to her starvation, she'll have to expand her stomach by eating very small amounts of food. As her stomach slowly expands, she'll be able to eat more, and therefore would heal better. But right now, she can't eat much, and it will take time until she can. Her body needs specific nutrients to heal, recover, and grow."
"I see."
"We've convinced Grandfather to let you and her stay until you've both fully recovered."
"Thank you."
"Of course."
"What if I need to leave, before she's recovered? Can I come back? So that I can take her with me later?"
"Grandfather hasn't made a decision on that possibility yet. I'm sure he'd say yes, though I doubt he'd do it without meeting you first."
"I see."
I sat down on a chair, next to the girl, watching her.
"Did you kill for her?"
I held a fist on my lap and slouched forward just a bit in a second of silence. "I killed to get to her. When I found her, I killed to get her out."
"Did you kill all of the people who did this to her?"
"Almost."
"Where are they?"
"Killed by Gin-me."
"So it's over?"
"It would seem so. I'm inclined to doubt."
"Why is that?"
"The dragon inside me told me it's not."
"A demidragon's inner dragon can talk to them?"
"Mine can. Someone important to me said it's unusual."
"How can that be?"
I gestured my head lightly, in the direction of the girl. "Because of her, apparently."
"And here I thought you were the most mysterious person here. Who's the one who's important to you? Another girl?"
I chuckled lightly. "No, quite the opposite. What are the Álfari's opinions on dragons?"
"Intelligent, capable of mass destruction, wise, like any other intelligent race or species."
"Good, cause he's a large dragon. His name is Abraxas. He took me in a month before I met you."
Her pupilless eyes widened. "You live with Abraxas?"
I nodded. "He's kinda like the father I never had."
"You live with an earth dragon, you're joining the rangers, and a forest spirit guided you. You must be one with nature. That or fate has grand plans for you—grand enough that all of this would happen."
"I doubt it. Not that I can make sense of it all myself."
I started hearing footsteps a distance outside the room. Before long, Dannas burst through the door.
"Ladon! You're alright!"
Gin-me walked in to just lean against the wall by the door, just before Tulas. Then Tarwyn, who looked like he had just gone through the gauntlet of two hundred questions.
"You alright, brother?"
In an annoyed tone, Tarwyn answered, "The blonde one is quite the chatterbox."
"Hey don't blame me. I've never been in a place like this before. Hey, Ladon, how're you feeling? The food here is great. You hungry?"
"I'm fine for now."
"Alright!"
Tulas walked closer. "How is she?"
Inowyn answered. "Recovering. Only time can tell how long she'll take to heal."
"How long are we staying?" Gin-me asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Why?" Dannas asked in return.
"I have a little sister to get back to. She's probably worried sick. It's been two days since that night, and she knows what my job was."
"Oh shit," Dannas responded.
"The sooner the better," I answered before turning to Inowyn. "I guess there's a grandfather I need to talk to."
Inowyn smiled. "That there is, Ladon."
Tarwyn sighed. "Let's just make it quick."
I turned to the rest. "I'll be back. We'll leave then."
Before closing the door on our way out, Tarwyn warned the group, "Do not wander too far. Some guards will be here shortly to watch you, and take you wherever you might wish to go within a reasonable range in this city."
Tulas nodded respectfully while Gin-me said nothing and Dannas sighed of preemptive boredom.
"Just some warning ahead of time, Ladon," Inowyn started. "Make sure to use our formal names when you talk to grandfather."
"Why?"
"He might get uh, get the wrong idea. Speaking informally in our culture means you're either family, friends . . . or more."
"Uhuh?"
"I'm just saying, he might . . . even if we start it off by saying we're friends, he might think it's something else, you know?"
"Why would he think that?"
We stepped onto a bridge.
"Well, you see, he's been trying to find a suiter for me, for a long time. If he finds out I have a male friend, he might assume I view you as a suiter. And I don't want that. Not that you're not attractive, not saying I'm attracted to you, I mean look, you look, you're . . . good." She laughed nervously. "Uhm."
Tarwyn gave her a confused look.
"I understand. Tjali Inowyn, Tjalin Tarwyn, and Trewari Borowyn."
"G-good."
Eventually, after making it from tree to tree, past buildings and more, we reached a large building wedged in the middle of three of those unnaturally massive sequoias. It sat on one large wooden foundation running around and in between those trees. The building was huge, shaped like one large cylinder of wooden beams and boards with a short, cone roof of fiber and wood. Like the city, it was heavily decorated in moss, flowers, and all sorts of plantlife. When we reached the doors, a gust of wind suddenly blew from behind, gently swinging the front door open. As soon as we entered, I saw crowds of people gathered, split down the middle of the large room, for walking. They were all in the colors of the seasons, with winter being the least common. Scattered around windowsills, walls, rafters, and floor, many forest spirits were staring at me. They all had the same flowing body, but of different colors. There was a green squirrel, red falcon, blue bird, tan chipmunk, purple wolf, and the fox. I stopped in my tracks. Tarwyn and Inowyn stopped shortly after.
"What are you doing?" Tarwyn whispered.
"There's so many."
"Afraid of crowds?" Inowyn asked.
"Spirits."
The room collectively whispered and murmured amongst themselves.
"You see more?!" Inowyn grew excited.
Tarwyn stared at me, shocked. "How can this be? Are you sure you're not seeing things?"
The wolf walked up to me. I reached out to pet its head, but as I did, my hand passed through it, as it changed shape to a formless one as it flew away, before landing and reforming, right at the feet of the only person I could assume to be Borowyn, sitting on a wooden mossy throne of sorts. He looked old, fairly skinny, eyes holding memories of entire ages behind them. His skin was somewhat saggy, his hair grey and long. He had a crown of spiraling antlers, vines, and leaves. He sat there, waiting with a resting face I couldn't read. He held a staff in his right hand that reached higher than himself on the throne.
"I'm sure." I stepped forward.
Once I passed the two groups of elves staring at me, Borowyn rose and lowered his staff, making a soft knock all reacted to with utter silence.
Borowyn spoke, hoarse and wise. "The spirits of the forest are assessing you, young boy. They're questioning who you are, what you are, and what you're capable of. They must be planning for something big for so many to do that."
"Do you see them too?"
"For a long time I didn't, but one by one, each of them opened up to me throughout the years. I can see they're not all here."
"What could they be planning for?"
"Who knows. Catastrophe, mischief, fun, or otherwise. They don't exactly communicate their intentions often. Days, weeks, months, or years; you'll never know until it comes."
"I see."
"Oh how rude of me. I seemed to have forgotten to do introductions. I forget many a things nowadays. I am Trewari Borowyn. I take it you are the amateur who beat my grandson in a trial by combat?"
"Yes. My name is Ladon."
"Ladon? Well that's a name I never would've thought I'd hear again."
"What?"
"I knew a Ladon once. He was only a hatchling then, of course. Fitting you now hold the name, considering the soul you hold."
"I was named after him."
He smiled. "Well that makes even more sense. Who named you?"
"A dragon named Abraxas."
He coughed a moment, seemingly out of excitement. "Abraxas?! Oh how I miss my talks with him, though I doubt he particularly misses my rambles. Oh you are making my day, young man."
I didn't know how to respond, so I stayed quiet.
"So, am I wrong to assume you didn't come here just to meet me? A frail, old grandfather."
"No, you're right. Tjali Inowyn told me I should talk with you."
"So you know some of our culture too . . . Interesting. Very well. Tell me what you wish to tell, and ask me what you wish to ask."
I nodded. "A friend of mine, her name is Gin-me, she helped bring me and the demidragon girl here. She has a little sister to get back home to. Considering it's been a couple days, she needs to leave soon. My other friends and I are also in the middle of an incomplete mission. As much as I don't want to leave the girl, I want to get those things done."
"Of course you would."
"I would like to ask, if I could come back, when I'm done. For the girl."
"Of course you would want to come back. She's your people, and terribly unwell at that. You have my permission to return."
"Thank you."
"Of course. I'm no tyrant."
"If I may, how would I return? I don't exactly know where this city is in relation to anywhere else."
"The same way you got here, and the same way you'll leave: with my granddaughter's magic."
"What?"
"She's training to become a Gythya, so the more practice she can get, the better."
"Wait, grandfather," Inowyn stepped forward. "I've only done it twice."
"Yes, and the second was under the pressure of saving this boy, and the girl, am I wrong?"
"Well, yes…"
"Then I can't see why you wouldn't be able to do it again. You must push yourself, Inowyn."
"Okay…"
"Then it's settled. Ladon will leave today with his friends. He will not return with any of them, as we can not trust humans enough to give any more exceptions to our laws. Since he has the mark, and we share a very old friend and the interests of many a forest spirit, he will henceforth be allowed to come and go whenever he wishes."
Tarwyn stepped forward. "Why? He's only consciously been here today, and I myself haven't known him long. Isn't this a bit too soon of a judgement on that last part. It's been a millenia since a judgement like that has been made."
"Hmm . . . perhaps. Perhaps on his return we will test him, and teach him. Then the judgement may be put in place."
Tarwyn nodded, satisfied with his grandfather's final decision.
"Very well. Good day, Ladon. And please, do give my regards to Abraxas, and tell him that I invite him to have a chat with me again."
"I will. Thank you."
He nodded, tapped his staff again, and Tarwyn and Inowyn turned. I turned right after them, assuming their actions.