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𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐄 Evylyn wished she wasn't a necromancer. To wield something mighty like a sword or staff would give her leverage against suspiciously shaped shadows lurking in the woods. But no, she had to choose to specialize in a type of magic that didn't work unless she was around a graveyard of death.

"Ev?" Vareia said, the gentle caress of her tone doing little to soothe Evylyn's rising nerves. "Are you okay? I didn't see anything."

"I know what I saw, Vareia," Evylyn snapped before slowly blinking and forcing herself to inhale evenly. "S... Sorry. There's something in there, and I don't know if I want to know what it is."

Vareia moved, brushing Evylyn's arm as she bent down. Scooping up a handful of dirt, Evylyn could see the faint green glow of Vareia's eyes illuminating the dirt; she'd activated her Forestlight form. But why? There was nothing in the woods for certain. Vareia only had Evylyn's word. Did she trust Evylyn that much, or was she trying to make her feel better? A healthy mix of both, maybe?

When Evylyn snapped out of her distracted thoughts, she ripped her eyes away from Vareia, back to the woods. Her heart was racing, and her mouth was as dry as the Barren Desert, but she wasn't sure whether it was completely from nerves.

Evylyn yearned for the sun; the moon was pretty and all, but the downcast on the trees around them provided scarce light, and what light they did get was muddled by the leafy canopy above them. The warmth and trickle of sunshine that bathed Evylyn in an ambient glow was much preferable to the murky darkness.

Plus, then she could actually see through the trees.

The dirt cupped in Vareia's hand was blown into the air, each speck holding an illumination similar to Vareia's eyes as it faded into the air with a sharp pop. Vareia inhaled deeply before turning to Evylyn, not letting her Forestlight form falter just yet.

"There is someone there," she said, the passion in her gaze transitioning to something that looked like worry. She gnawed on her lip as she stood. "I can't tell if they're mortal, immortal, or an animal... the scent wasn't strong enough."

"Do you know any light runes?" Evylyn asked, to which Vareia shook her head.

"I know a lot of magic, but illusion magic isn't part of my knowledge. I was supposed to learn it, but my tribe leader never taught me before they, uh, kicked me out. I've always wanted to learn it, though, and..." she trailed off as she met Evylyn's pointed gaze. She cleared her throat. "No."

"I know one, but it's been far too long since I've used it. I'm not sure I'd be able to even draw it correctly by now," Evylyn muttered, eyes widening upon the realization she was blabbering just as much as Vareia had been.

"Come on, silly. You're smart. Aren't light runes simple?"

"If they're so simple, why don't you do one?" Evylyn asked briskly, and when Vareia responded with a sheepish smile, Evylyn sighed. "We don't need light, anyway. Whoever is in there will be too scared to leave the shadows." She let her voice raise in volume, and Vareia grabbed her arm in alarm before quickly letting go.

"If there is someone in there, shouldn't we be quiet?" Vareia practically hissed, to which Evylyn shrugged. Her glowing green eyes narrowed, and she turned to Eki'na. "Eki'na?"

When the hulking man swiveled on his heel to face Vareia with a smile, Evylyn crossed her arms and resisted the urge to kick at the dirt.

"Do you know any light runes? Or at least a very potent fire spell?" Vareia asked.

"Sure thing, little lady!" Eki'na wasted no time drawing a rune that shifted to marmalade as the low hiss of crackling embers filled the clearing, drowning out Eki'na's content hums. "Any reason you two were whispering up a storm?"

Vareia opened her mouth to respond, but clamped it shut as Evylyn spoke before she could. "We think there's someone in the woods. Obviously, they're no match for us, but I'd rather not be stalked."

She wanted Eki'na to trust her. She could tell he still didn't–she didn't blame him, though. Most were not as quick to trust others as Vareia seemed to be, as they should be, but if she was upfront with her thoughts and could prove she wanted to help both Eki'na and Ensceas, maybe he would trust her.

Maybe.

As flame erupted into Eki'na's expectant hand, he let his other hand stray to the hammer resting on his hip, dragging his gaze to the trees. He squinted, then turned to Evylyn with a tilt of his head.

"Are you sure?" he asked, beard twitching as he scrunched his nose. "Actually, I do smell something sour that isn't from my runespowder."

"Exactly," Evylyn said. She glanced at Vareia, who looked absolutely exhausted as she drew in a ragged, unsteady breath. It took a lot of energy to both activate and keep a higher state of immortality, and even though Vareia hadn't cast any spells, she would still be tired after this long of keeping her Forestlight form going. She stepped forward, gingerly resting a hand on Vareia's shoulder, who snapped her head to look at Evylyn, like she'd forgotten she was there.

"W... What?" she said, breathless.

"It's okay," Evylyn said, and Vareia's dazed gaze softened slightly. "Thank you. But you don't need to keep doing this. I can tell you're exhausted."

The words felt sticky and unnatural to say, like Evylyn had swallowed something that had blocked her from speaking properly. Her voice had even quivered slightly, but Vareia either hadn't noticed or didn't care as she released a long sigh, the bright green of her eyes fading back to their natural brown.

"Thanks," Vareia said quietly, the single word breathy and uneven. Evylyn noticed the sungriffin seemed to have returned, and it nuzzled its beak against Vareia's leg. "I appreciate... it."

Evylyn responded with a squeeze of her hand before she let it drop and stood up straight to face Eki'na, who was now patrolling the outskirts of the small clearing with his trusty flame.

"Find anything?" she asked Eki'na, who shook his head before he froze.

"Who are you?" Evylyn could faintly hear Eki'na ask, his voice becoming gruff.

After a moment of silence, Evylyn called out, "Do you recognize them?"

"No," came Eki'na's delayed reply, before he shuffled to the side. The bush beneath him parted slightly, and someone half Eki'na's size waddled out.

They seemed to be a Qhelmite, with purple feathers covering their body. Their small wings fluttered slightly, and if it wasn't for the graying feathers that acted as hair or the twinkle of elderly knowledge set in their green eyes, Evylyn would have assumed they were a child.

"Hello!" they said cheerily. "I've lost my way. I was traveling to Whiyuae from Duenta's temple. I left a surplus of offerings, but... she didn't visit me."

Evylyn's brows furrowed together, and Eki'na rested a hand against his beard. Vareia, on the other hand, leapt to her feet.

"You're lost?" she exclaimed. "We can help you!"

"Oh, please," the Qhelmite said with a beaky smile. "I lost my map to the recent storm, so I've been wandering around aimlessly since."

Shouldn't someone of their age know their way around Astania without a map?

The thought was all the more suspicious the more Evylyn pondered it; if this person was a frequenter of Duenta's temple, wouldn't they know the path by heart?

She didn't voice her concerns just yet; she didn't want to seem like she was dampening the mood, especially if the others were trusting this Qhelmite. If she was constantly doubting everything, they'd likely cast her out soon enough, no matter how much Vareia insisted she liked Evylyn.

"If you head north, there will be a dirt path that should lead you to a main road," Vareia said, beaming.

"Can you show me?"

Vareia blinked before her smile widened. "Sure! Do you... need all of us?"

"No." The Qhelmite returned the grin, though it was... slimy. Their green eyes pinned Eki'na down, who raised an eyebrow. "Just the Eaxnae."

"What? Why?" Eki'na asked, taking a step back as his large hand tightened around the hilt of his hammer.

And that's when Evylyn noticed it. Tucked beneath the Qhelmite's shirt was a cloaking stone–a powerful magic artifact that could disguise the wearer with any appearance they chose. This Qhelmite likely wasn't a Qhelmite at all.

As Evylyn opened her mouth to warn Eki'na, she could see a glint of gold from behind the Qhelmite.

"Eki'na, watch out!" she blurted out. Eki'na turned to her, but before he could respond, move, anything, a pained screech tore throughout the woods.

Eki'na crumpled to his knees, the white of his shirt staining red as blood crawled throughout his skin. Now, Evylyn could see someone had been behind him–and she recognized that someone all too quickly.

Judge.

His marmalade eyes were alight with mad delight as a crooked, broken smile stretched across his lips. He took his time removing the weapon he'd struck Eki'na with–an axe, Evylyn was realizing.

The Crazed One.

For Eki'na to be struck by that... he'd be lucky if he wanted to be alive now. The axe, a relic of Britana's, corrupted you from the inside out. It created a space for Britana to slip into your mind and whisper unholy, venomous words that would tempt you to doubt reality. Evylyn had never personally seen the weapon in effect, but she'd heard nothing but bad things about its usage.

A gurgled choke struggled to leave Eki'na's lips as he coughed, a splatter of crimson staining the grass. Evylyn was frozen in place, frozen in time, as she helplessly watched. She'd seen death before. It never rattled her then. Eki'na hadn't even died–so why couldn't she move?

She looked up at Judge, who wiped his bloody axe with a bare hand. Droplets fell from his peach skin to the grass. And when she looked to her side, Vareia was gone.

Vareia? Evylyn tried to speak the word; nothing came out but a drawn-out breath. She tried to move, but remained still.

Judge stepped towards her. Then, she saw her. Vareia had rushed to Eki'na's side, and had his head in her lap as she whispered in frenzied bursts.

Judge saw her too, slowly turning his head as Evylyn stared in horrified obedience. He would kill Vareia next. He'd somehow obtained a goddess's relic, one of the only things that a mortal could wield to kill a demigod with. Vareia would be left to watch the woman she'd trusted do nothing but comply. Not because she wanted to, but because she could not do otherwise.

Judge raised his axe, swiftly moving towards Vareia. And like a phantom took hold of Evylyn's body, she was ripped from her icy prison. She dashed forward, hair lifting into a black cloud as her eyes blazed more ferociously. A crimson wave of energy soared from her hand, slicing into Judge's hand.

Judge dropped the axe with a hiss, fixating his attention on Evylyn, who had closed the distance between them. Though Evylyn was shorter than Judge, it did not feel that way as she seized his hands with her own. A bleating cry, similar to an infant's, bubbled at Judge's lips as Evylyn's grip tore through Judge's hands. Steam rose into the air as his skin darkened, burning under her touch.

She didn't say death followed her everywhere for no reason.

Though no words had been exchanged, all the maniacal joy had vanished from Judge's eyes. In its place was raw fear, and though he still said nothing, the message written in his features was clear: mercy.

"A daughter of death can only be so merciful," she said, cold venom laced throughout her words as she tightened her grip on Judge. He cried beneath her might, tears pricking at his eyes. Pathetic. "Your days were numbered the second you sought me out."

"Please," he finally said, shoulders racked by a violent sob as his voice choked. "I'll leave you alone. Just let me go."

Though blood rushed through Evylyn's ears, muddling her hearing, she could hear the faint cry of the sungriffin nearby. It sounded panicked, but Evylyn turned a blind eye to it for the moment. If she took her burning gaze off Judge for a mere second, she wasn't sure what he would pull.

Dropping her voice into a dark hiss, she narrowed her glowing eyes. "You're familiar with death, aren't you? Well, why don't I show you a thing or two I know?"

With that, Evylyn's glowing lavender gaze seemed to pierce right through Judge. Moans echoed throughout the forest as the corpses of animals long gone rose to her command. Evylyn released her grip, and Judge fell to his knees, but it didn't matter. Her army had arrived. They dealt a swift hand of justice. Evylyn blinked, and Judge had been dragged into the shadowy depths he'd used as refuges just minutes before. His screams still ripped through the forest, shaking the trees as his cries slowly faded.

The second she could feel his life force fade, she rushed to Vareia's side. She let her form falter as she knelt down, gently grabbing one of Vareia's shaking wrists with her own steady hand.

"He's fading," she whispered, voice choked by a sob. "I can't..."

"Vareia..."

Before Evylyn could continue, Vareia's bright eyes had shifted back to the pale green she'd become uncomfortably familiar with. She didn't have much energy left. Evylyn knew that. Her form would fall soon...

But Vareia didn't seem to care, drawing runes into the ground. Evylyn faintly recognized them as a mix of nature and healing runes, and as newly bloomed flowers began to sprout, Evylyn realized what Vareia was trying to do. She was trying to heal everything around Eki'na in hopes the magic would seep into his body if a direct shot wasn't enough.

"Please... please..." she said, her voice barely audible as more flowers curled around Eki'na's body. But Eki'na's body wasn't healing, and the gash in his stomach was only oozing more and more blood by the second.

And suddenly, Eki'na ripped his hand up from the flower confine it had been trapped under. It violently shook, but he took Vareia's hand in his own as he slightly cracked open his eye. "Vareia."

"E-Eki'na?" she breathed, a hopeful spark lighting in her eyes.

"Tell Gryna I love them," he said, voice shuddering as harshly as his body. He gritted his teeth as he forced in a shaking breath. "And take this. I... it will help you."

He drew another rune, similar to the one he'd used to summon fire. Once he cast it, a shower of what Evylyn recognized as flame powder dropped into the palm of his hand after he let his hand fall to the earth.

"Flame... flame powder. It will help you. It's... imbued with my life force." Something within the crack of his eye Evylyn could see had already faded. "Pl... please don't resurrect me. My mind will be g... gone," he said, meeting Evylyn's eyes, who could only give him a slight nod. "Thank... thank you. I'm sorry for my mistrust. And... good... good luck in saving the town."

"No," Vareia said, ripping her hand from Evylyn's as she continued to draw runes into the ground. Flowers erupted, decorating a grisly, bloody battlefield with beautiful chaos. "No!"

But Eki'na had fallen. His body had gone cold. And Evylyn was going to respect his wishes.

Vareia said nothing more as she tore herself away from Eki'na, tears staining her beautiful face as she buried herself into Evylyn's awaiting arms.

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Word Count: 20,300/20,000

A random bolded word in a chapter indicates where I've passed a milestone!

QOTC: Lol I'm sorry I had to add angst

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