The winds blew in a wild torrent, viciously flapping at the hem of Thane's clothing, he had been sitting down on a small piece of rock outcrop in deep thoughts, he hadn't wanted to carry Kayden who was still asleep, he simply placed his back against a rock while he slept, Thane however couldn't stop thinking, he gazed continuously over the river into a village that once existed.
The crater that was left had cooled down, but he was sure nothing remained, not even a shred of vegetation and for all he knew, that land had become barren, too destroyed ever to bear a plant ever again, how iron it was.
"Mhmm," Thane heard behind him. He looked around and saw Kayden stirring in his sleep. Thane sighed in relief. It was good to know that Kayden was really okay and wasn't bound to wake up after being possessed by a god or something. He wasn't sure what he should do next, but at least he knew where he had to go.
"Hey buddy," Thane said as he walked over to the just waking Kayden, Kayden looked up and confused then he looked around as if trying to remember how he had gotten himself into this situation.
"Uuhhm, Thane?" Kayden asked for assurance.
"In flesh and blood," Thane replied, spreading out his arms.
"Where are we?" Kayden asked incredulously, "I was pretty sure we were fighting a plant or something like that" Kayden held the sides of his head with both hands as he fruited his teeth in pain.
Thane wasn't sure how to bring up all that had happened to him, he wondered if he should even tell him at all and keep it to himself but he thought better against it, there was no point in him keeping it to himself.
"Well yes, we were fighting inside the hall of the Village Chief's house, but now there's no need to bother about all that anymore," Thane said calmly as he held out his hand to Kayden to pull him up.
"Why do you mean, we shouldn't be bothered, there's an entire village Thane" Kayden said trying to get his legs under his feet.
"Don't worry, you'll understand" Thane said tiredly, he preferred to just show him than talk, he pulled Kayden up to his feet and watched his reaction as Kayden stood and saw the crater in confusion.
"I don't get it Thane, where are we and what is that huge crater doing there, why are we so up in the mountains, so far away from the village" Kayden muttered in confusion, he held his hands to his hair, pulling them back to ease his thoughts.
"That crater" Thane placed a hand on Kayden's shoulder, "Is the village we were in" he tightened his grip on Kayden, "It's alright if you don't believe me but I'll explain everything to you as we walk away from here," Thane said as he began moving slowly, he had realized that they had no more clothes, food, water, or coats to keep the cold at bay, they had to act first.
"I don't understand Thane, what the fuck is going on?" Kayden said louder than intended, he was frustrated and felt weird inside, he couldn't exactly describe the feeling but something deep in him had changed and he wasn't sure what it was, but more importantly, he had wanted to at least bury the villagers that he had killed with his own hands and now all he had left to look at is a huge crater in place of where the village had been, slightly glowing like magma.
"Walk with me, Kayden," Thane said as he faced the other side, towards South, their next location, the Water Clan after that he didn't want to think about what would happen, he had an idea of what it was but that only made him more unmotivated to go.
Kayden stepped beside Thane, "You're going to tell me everything Thane, down to the last detail, in already feeling weird enough as it is" he said softly as he walked side by side with Thane.
No words were spoken for ten heartbeats, both just walked, listening to the sound of the howling leaves and the crunching of snow under their boots.
"Did my final attack work?" Kayden finally asked the one question that had been on his mind, he had gone all out in battle against the Blood Vine but, he couldn't even remember how it had ended, all he could remember was himself standing and slowly falling into the ground.
"You almost did Kayden" Thane's said patting him on the shoulder, "But the demonic beast was smarter than any of us had given it credit for," he said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Kayden asked as he looked at Thane's face.
"It borrowed into the ground as it covered itself with all those vines taking over the roots and plants of the forest, gradually becoming one with nature" Thane stated, "Simply said, he could control every root, tree, and plant in the village, everything was under it's control".
Kayden kept silent, he couldn't even imagine what Thane had just said, controlling all the plants in an area such as this was an insane feat, he couldn't think of any monster he had studied that ever pulled off a feat like this.
"How did it die then?" Kayden asked as he could think of a way they both of them had survived much less killed it, Thane hesitated for a bit before answering Kayden.
"Well... You killed it, I guess?" Thane sounded doubtful to Kayden, he cocked his head to the side as the cold wind blew against his face.
"I'm sorry what?" Kayden asked once more to confirm if he had indeed heard right or if this was all a joke.
"Look, calm down, it wasn't exactly you but let's just say your body was possessed by an entity, a really powerful one," Thane said in an exaggerated manner, Kayden kept finding it more hard to believe him but the crated behind them was proof enough for something and he had to believe what Thane had to say.
"Tell me then?" Kayden scoffed as he shook his head, he couldn't believe he was buying into the nonsense Thane was spouting, " That I was possessed by a god or something, a being so powerful that the heavens would shake at his Descent, go on and tell me something as stupid as that" Kayden was filled with sarcasm, at least he would get a laugh out of Thane but the only problem was that, Thane wasn't laughing.