As Prince Logon sat by the trunk of the towering tree, his soul power fluctuated wildly. He sat for what seemed like an eternity until his body began to heat up and bruises and cuts appeared on his skin. He started gasping for air as if he were choking and panting heavily. Suddenly, he jolted awake, looking around in fear.
"Harlow, are you there?" he called out, his voice shaking. He looked down and saw the tree vines wrapping around his body, and quickly broke free from them.
"I'm here, Logon. Are you alright?" chirped Harlow, his spirit animal.
Prince Logon leaned forward, tears streaming down his face. Harlow tried to comfort him, but being a spirit animal, he could only do so within his soul. The prince sat there for a while, consumed by sadness.
Finally, he stood up and made his way to the tree. He touched it with his hand and whispered, "I am so sorry, I failed." He then walked away, his body broken and his spirit crushed. The tree, Ald, watched him leave, its branches blowing sorrowfully in the wind.
Prince Logon slowly descended the mountain, trying to make sense of what had happened and why. He had no idea how much time had passed, but he knew that the experience had been invaluable to his soul.
Three days after the party, as the royals were engaged in their daily activities, news arrived that Prince Logon had returned and was requesting food in the dining room. They rushed to see him, relieved and worried about his well-being.
King Aerin had told them that Prince Logon's journey would take longer, as his own had taken five days. But Queen Estel, being a mother, had not stopped worrying about her baby boy and had cried herself to sleep many nights.
As they all entered the grand hall, their eyes were immediately drawn to the sight of Prince Logon sitting at the table. As soon as he saw them, he jumped up and they rushed to embrace him, tears coming down their faces as they hugged their baby boy tightly.
But as Queen Estel held her son close, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. And as Prince Logon kept crying, she held him tighter, fearing the worst. King Aerin and Princess Aeryn hugged him as well, but the room was filled with an air of unease.
"Son, what's wrong? Talk to your mother, please. My baby," Queen Estel implored, her voice shaking with worry.
Prince Logon simply held onto his mother, tears streaming down his face. "I'm better now, mother. I promise you," he choked out.
King Aerin, noticing the bruises and cuts on his son's body, as well as his obvious fatigue, handed him a glass of sweet water. "Thank you, dad,"
Prince Logon said as he took the glass and chugged the whole thing in one go, before requesting another.
Queen Estel picked him up and walked to the table where everyone was sitting, watching them with concern. She put him in her lap and held him tightly, stroking his back as a servant came over to clean his wounds and apply healing cream. As Prince Logon ate and drank, everyone waited patiently for him to speak.
Finally, after finishing his meal, Prince Logon let out a burp and looked around the room at his family and friends. "Please excuse me. Phew, wow. I feel much better now. That journey was insane. After I woke up, I thought I was going to be an old man. It was like hundreds of years passed in there. What a journey," he said, his voice filled with wonder.
As they looked at him, they noticed that Prince Logon's appearance had changed. He now had dark blue and brown runes all over himself, and the dark blue was more prominent. His hair and hazel eyes had become a brighter brown, and he looked even more handsome. His body had become more toned and muscled. On his hand were plants and elf runes, one rune said water, and the other said wood.
On his back were markings in the shape of raindrops, and on his chest were stick-shaped markings that kept flowing and then disappearing. A sparrow was on his back shoulder that kept moving around as well.
Queen Estel couldn't help but ask again, "Are you okay, my baby boy? Why were you so sad?"
As Prince Logon looked at his mother, a hint of sadness crept into his eyes. "I'll explain it all later, but first, let me tell you what happened," he began.
"I was sitting down and suddenly, my head was flooded with voices. That's when Harlow, my spirit guide, chirped in my ear and made them quiet. I then found myself in a giant field, surrounded by nature's beauty. Harlow emerged from my chest and told me to follow her, so I did without hesitation."
"I walked for days without eating or drinking. I didn't even feel the need to. Years went by and I was still walking, but Harlow told me not to give up. After five long years, I finally reached a swamp. The trees were tall and covered the sky. I walked deeper into the swamp and the trees started attacking me. I couldn't react in time and the branches pierced my chest, but they didn't hurt me. Instead, I could feel the wood becoming a part of me."
"After 12 years, I had fully grown into a tree. The trees had moulded me into one of their own and I grew as tall as the other trees. But then, a giant sandstorm came through and swept all the trees away, turning us into nothing but fine dust. I travelled as the wind for 10 years until I collided with a waterfall and turned into water."
"My journey didn't end there. I flowed from the waterfall to a river, then from a river to a stream. After that, I ended up in the sea, filled with the bluest water. It took me 50 years to travel there. But my path carried on, as the sun kept shining so bright and hot, heating the water for days without any nights."
"I eventually started evaporating and turned into raindrops in the clouds. I spent 20 years as clouds before falling back into the same swamp I had started in. But this time, the trees didn't attack me. Instead, they lit up a path for me to follow back into the giant field. Harlow had been with me the whole time and she kept me sane. I don't think I would be here right now if it wasn't for her," Prince Logon said with a smile, as Harlow chirped and moved around on his body.
As he spoke, everyone in the room was in awe, taking deep breaths and staring at him in amazement. They couldn't even begin to imagine going through such a journey alone. The King and Queen were overjoyed that their son was safe and had learned so much, but as Prince Logon spoke further, a hint of worry crossed their faces. What could he have said that would worry them so? Only time would tell.
Prince Logon then stood before King Aerin and Queen Estel, tears streaming down his face. "Grandfather appeared to me while I was in the garden," he said, his voice quivering. "Harlow tried to protect me, but he was too strong. He held me down, choking me, and whispered into my ear, 'Tell your father I'm waiting for the day I see him again. I'll make him pay. I'll make you all suffer at my hand, little boy. He's gonna beg me to...''
King Aerin and Queen Estel were frozen, wanting to hear the rest of it...
Prince Logon continued, "An Ancestor then appeared to help me escape. They fought... he lost. While I was running away, scared, Harlow told me that grandpa absorbed him, somehow killing him."
"How is that possible?" Drac asked, looking to Queen Safria for an explanation.
King Aerin replied, "The Tree Ald keeps our souls to help the next generation learn what we have learned. That includes that prick since he also went through the journey and awakening like us. Queen Estel's blood is also in the tree's records, so when she dies, we can find each other in death and be together."
"Wait... what? How is that even possible? I've never heard of something like that," Fenris interjected, trying to understand.
Drac explained further, "Fenris, the Tree Ald isn't just a tree. It's a seed of the original tree. The main one is in the Immortal Sky River with the Forest Elven. There are other things like the Tree Ald out there. For example, the sirens' ancestral pools, where they bury their dead and can talk with them for guidance."
"I see. Thank you, Drac, for explaining it better. Wait, can he hurt King Aerin's family?" Fenris asked, a hint of worry creeping into her voice.
This made King Aerin and Queen Estel worry again, but Drac reassured them, "No, not really... well, if what King Aerin says is true, when they die, he might be able to hunt them in the tree, which is worrying, to say the least. Aerin, can you explain the tree's gathering of souls better?"
King Aerin shook his head, "I'm sorry, I can't. We don't know much about it."
Drac suggested, "May I see it, Aerin? Then I can study it better and maybe get some answers from it?"
"You can, Drac, but it won't communicate with you. It only calls to Forest Elf royalty. Unfortunately, I wish it would talk as well, but that's impossible. It only has a link with the father tree," King Aerin replied.
Drac shrugged, "Well, it's worth a shot. It won't kill me, only teach you more things, I say."
They all agreed and talked for hours about what Prince Logon had experienced, and what they thought it meant. But just to be sure, they decided to test Prince Logon with the new machine that had arrived this morning. Prince Logon requested to shower and change first, and they agreed. They then made their way to the laboratory after.