Aiden was driving as a sense of dread spread throughout his body and made him nauseous. Despite his iron will to join Cassius, fear was running amok in his brain, especially since learning of the Oracle's intervention at their old base. All he could think of is his father's reaction if he knew of his involvement in a setting like this one. The road ahead of him was dark and winding, a light rain descending onto his car's windshield, a strong wind blowing sideways. His nausea kept getting worse, and the necklace Cassius gave him felt like a lead weight hanging off of his neck, growing heavier and heavier by the second, a horrid reminder of the fact he's taking a path of no turning back.
Battling through the now intense rain, Aiden reached the forest and left his car nearby the west entrance. The trees stood tall and silent, casting a large shadow over Aiden as they blocked the little moonlight that was left. Although sparse at the very entrance, the forest grew thicker and thicker the further you went in. Although, despite the darkness and the density of the trees, Aiden knew exactly where he was going. It felt almost as if the necklace was telling him where to go. He had heard of this place from Aldegar before. Supposedly, it's a place where the veils between worlds tend to waiver. People have told stories of them coming here and seeing ghosts of deceased relatives, neighbors, sometimes even random people they had never met before. And so, this place got a reputation for being haunted and was almost always empty, except for grieving people trying to speak to their loved ones for the last time. But none of it mattered, Aiden's resolve was still firm, no matter how much his hands were shaking. "It's just the cold." Aiden kept trying to shake of this feeling he couldn't describe. Was it paranoia, anxiety, what was it? Not even he was sure, but it was nibbling at his sanity bit by bit. He kept trailing through the woods, in the corners of his eyes he saw shadows running around, he even felt as if the trees were watching him. But, he still pushed forward.
Finally, he saw the man he was looking for. That scar of his was such a distinctive feature that no one who had ever met him would forget. "Cassius!" called out Aiden, as he struggled to catch his breath.
"Let me guess, 'Why do they call this place the Forest of Clarity, there's nothing clear here, I almost got lost!', right?" said Cassius teasingly, Aiden still crouched over trying to get a hold on himself.
"Yea, that's a good question. I did almost get lost!" said Aiden, finally standing up and leaning against a tree. "Do you have, like, a bottle of water or something? I'm going to pass out, I swear."
Cassius threw a bottle at him before stepping away. "Follow me, child. From here, you'll truly get lost without a guide." He slowly began walking away, and Aiden quickly followed.
"What do you mean 'truly lost', I was lost up until now as well." said Aiden.
"Yes, you were lost, but you could be found by someone else. The Forest of Clarity, Aiden, is a place where our world seemingly intersects the Afterlife. Those without an absolute goal in mind, those whose hearts beat with fear, the barrier between the two worlds eats them up. We're approaching the middle of the forest, that's where the effect is the strongest. If you were lost here, you would probably be stuck in a limbo of a never ending forest until you overcame your fear. Or, until you died of hunger and thirst. Whichever would come first." Cassius began laughing at himself. It seemed he thought Aiden would understand that last part as a joke, which he most certainly did not.
They kept walking, and Aiden kept feeling the darkness seeping into the depths of his soul. It was clear to him why Cassius chose this place, no one would be able to find them no matter how hard they tried. At last, they arrived at the heart of the forest. A large clearing opened up in front of Aiden, and within the clearing was something resembling a small town. Little wood cabins, one next to another.
"You should call your Commerce boys to come fill this area back up with trees, aye?" Cassius began whistling, and from each of the houses emerged a few figures. "I'll be honest with you, the base north of Lake Zenith was nothing more than a distraction. This is the true home of the Cult of Feyr."
Finding such a place here confused Aiden, but also made him feel very relieved. The fear that Cassius meant only harm for him, it slowly began fading away. The sight of families living here under the protection of the Forest of Clarity, it set of a sense of tranquility in his soul. "So that's why Cassius mentioned an 'absolute goal'. For those living here, coming home is the goal, so they have no issues traversing the forest." thought Aiden as he slowly took a step forward, noticing one of the town's inhabitants waving at him. He greeted the young woman, before her child ran up to Aiden and offered him a cookie.
"Wow, you guys are really hospitable." said Aiden, before biting into the cookie. "Damn, this is good. Could I get another one, please?" And as he said that, the little child went and grabbed one more for Aiden, running through the kitchen with a bright smile on his face.
"Aiden, you can meet with the locals later. For now, we have business to attend to." Said Cassius, pointing at a house larger than the rest at the very end of the clearing. "That place is mine. Meet me there, and don't drag."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." grumbled Aiden while his mouth was still full. He quickly paced behind Cassius, before stepping foot in his home. The dimly lit house was surprisingly warm inside. Aiden wanted to ask a few questions, but before he even got a chance to, Cassius started going ahead of him, down into the basement. "Wait, where are we going?"
"You'll see soon enough." The sounds of Cassius' heavy duty boots hitting the wood steps echoed through the vast and seemingly empty basement. "Just follow me for now."
Aiden and Cassius made their way through the dark room they were now in, before Cassius instinctively stumbled over to the left wall, and flipped the light switch. Before Aiden now stood a large, circular altar, with the X symbol written across the middle.
"Listen, I know you're going to freak out and call me a liar, but…" Cassius hinted at the necklace around Aiden's neck. "You're not going to get powers yet. If someone born without powers gets them suddenly, the side effects can be disastrous. So, you need to train. Both your strength, and your resolve."
"And what does the necklace have to do with this?" said Aiden as he pulled it out from under his shirt.
"Touch that ruby, and then bring it up to your eye. See how it glows a bit? That ruby is what we call a catalyst, it helps channel Essence." Cassius pulled back his sleeve, showing Aiden once more the hand where his X shaped tattoo is. Unlike last time, now on his wrist was placed a bracelet, one lined with multiple tiny rubies. "These are catalysts too. I usually jam-pack mine full of Essence, and use them almost like a bomb. For the ritual to succeed, you need to use your own Essence to fuel it, and since you're powerless, you don't generate Essence naturally. So, you need to train in an area where Essence is denser than normal, like the Forest of Clarity."
"I see. So, when the ruby fully glows to the touch, I assume I then have enough Essence?" Aiden returned his necklace back.
"Yes, that's correct. But, don't put the necklace back in place yet, give it to me." Cassius placed out an open hand, onto which Aiden placed the pendant and necklace. Cassius moved over to the altar, and placed it in the middle.