### Chapter 30: And the Elms Bend
Trill could feel it—the pull, the strain. His connection to the forest, once strong and vibrant, was weakening. The earth beneath him had become a barren, desolate thing, suffocated by the corruption of the Wood Sage. Every step he took was like wading through tar, the roots of the trees withering and retreating from his presence. His usual bond with the land was fraying, unraveling at the edges like a rope coming undone.
"Stay focused, Trill!" Bren's voice cut through the growing despair. Her words were urgent, but laced with a faint tremor that made his stomach churn.
He glanced over at her. She was locked in a fierce battle with the corrupted tree spirit, her blade glowing with molten fury. The beast roared as it slashed at her, its massive limbs cracking the earth with each strike, but Bren was relentless, her magma powers flaring up and carving deep gashes into the creature's bark-like skin. Yet, it wasn't enough. Despite the damage she was inflicting, the beast's corrupted form was healing faster than she could burn it down.
Trill's gaze returned to the Wood Sage standing at the edge of the clearing, cloaked in shadows, staff raised high. Every movement from the sage sent ripples through the air, spreading an unnatural stillness that sucked the life from everything around it. The once-vibrant forest had turned into a dark, twisted mockery of itself. The trees groaned as their branches drooped, their leaves wilting as though drained of purpose. The air, once thick with life, now felt oppressive and barren.
The Wood Sage's dark eyes locked onto Trill with cold amusement, sensing the weakening of his connection to the forest. "You think you can stand against me?" the sage whispered, his voice low and reverberating through the very ground beneath them. "The forest bows to me now. The Elms bend to my will."
Trill's hands tightened around his blade. His mind raced, every instinct screaming at him to push back, to fight with every ounce of his being. But the world around him was turning against him. His summons, his gnomes, his fairies—all of them, too weak to stand against the overwhelming force of the Wood Sage.
"Not if I can help it," Trill muttered, refusing to show any weakness.
He turned toward the trees, reaching out through the fading connection. The Elms. The Oak. The Pine. All those spirits that once answered his call now felt distant, unreachable. The corruption spread like wildfire, creeping into the very heart of the forest, twisting it, warping it into something unrecognizable.
"We need to stop it, Bren," Trill called, his voice strained. His connection to the earth was slipping, and he could feel the last threads of his power growing frayed. "We can't keep fighting this thing alone."
Bren barely looked over, her focus entirely on the corrupted tree spirit she was battling. But Trill saw the flicker of hesitation in her movements. She knew—she could feel it too. The land was dying, the forest was dying, and if they didn't act fast, the whole area would fall under the Wood Sage's control.
A loud roar split the air as the corrupted tree spirit swung its massive limb toward Bren, the sheer weight of the blow sending her sprawling back, skidding through the dirt. She grunted but quickly recovered, her body already aglow with fiery determination.
The battle was going south. Trill knew it.
"Trill, focus!" Bren shouted, pushing herself to her feet, her fiery magma blade carving through the tree spirit's bark once again. "We can't stop this thing if we're both distracted."
But Trill's mind was already elsewhere. He wasn't watching the corrupted tree spirit. His attention was fixed on the Wood Sage. The sage's power, though insidious, was not limitless. There had to be a way to break its hold.
The trees had once been allies, ancient beings who had welcomed him as their son, but now, they were retreating from him, cowering from the corruptive influence of the sage. The very soil beneath his feet felt wrong, poisoned by the dark magic swirling in the air. He could feel the wood spirits struggling, fighting back from within their roots, but they were being overwhelmed.
And then, through the haze of corruption, a thought pierced through—faint, like a whisper carried on the wind.
*The heart of the forest.*
The phrase echoed in Trill's mind. He didn't know where it had come from, but he understood. The heart—the center of the forest—was the key. If they could get to it, perhaps they could sever the connection the Wood Sage had with the land and stop the corruption from spreading further.
"Bren!" Trill shouted again, snapping out of his daze. "The heart of the forest! We have to reach it before it's too late."
Bren, her face grimy with sweat, nodded in understanding. She didn't need an explanation. She knew what was at stake.
"Then let's get moving," she said through clenched teeth, already charging toward the heart of the forest, her magma trail leaving a faint glow in the darkening woods. The path ahead was still filled with dark energy, but Bren's blazing trail of fire illuminated the way, cutting through the shadows like a sword through fog.
Trill's connection to the forest wavered with each step he took, but he forced himself to press on, his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't afford to falter—not now. Not when they were so close.
The ground trembled as the Wood Sage raised its staff high, commanding the corrupted creatures to charge. The trees groaned in pain as their twisted limbs lashed out at the duo. But Trill and Bren were determined.
"Get through!" Trill shouted, summoning the last of his power. A surge of energy erupted from him, the land beneath his feet cracking as a barrier of stone rose up to block the oncoming assault. The gnomes and fairies that had fought valiantly against the sage's forces were now scattered, retreating to protect the caravan.
Bren, without hesitation, leaped over the barrier, her fiery blade cleaving through anything that dared to get in her way. She was unstoppable.
Trill followed, his every step a battle against the corruption eating away at the forest. He could feel it, the strain of his connection to the land fading with each passing second. But the heart was within reach—he could feel it pulsing, a rhythmic beat in the heart of the forest, calling to him.
The deeper they went, the darker the forest became. The trees, once standing tall and proud, were now twisted, their branches reaching out like fingers grasping for something they could no longer have. The ground, once firm and alive, now felt like a suffocating grip, pulling at their feet as if to drag them back.
And then they found it—the heart.
A massive, ancient tree stood at the center of a clearing, its trunk thick and gnarled, its roots sprawling like veins across the earth. But even this sacred space had been tainted, the once vibrant bark now darkened by the corruption of the Wood Sage. The air around it hummed with power, but it was a power that was fading, slipping away.
The Wood Sage was already there, its figure looming at the base of the tree. It turned to face them as they approached, its eyes glowing with malevolent power.
"You think you can save it?" the Wood Sage sneered, raising its staff high. The earth shook violently, and the very trees around them seemed to come alive, attacking without mercy.
"We have no choice," Trill said, stepping forward with Bren at his side. "This ends now."
With a final, defiant shout, Trill summoned the last of his power, calling upon the very heart of the forest. The earth trembled beneath him as he reached out with his mind, seizing control of the roots beneath the corrupted wood. And in that moment, he felt the presence of the Elms—the ancient trees that had once welcomed him. Their spirits were weak, but they were not entirely gone.
Trill wasn't sure if it would work. But he had to try.