Chapter 14: Chapter 14

“Am I understanding you correctly, little Ko was able to get us Varin, but you couldn’t Nix, interesting.”

“Ko has not had the pleasure of dealing with Xayddryrth, so spare me your commentary, Protos.”

“I must say, he has done well, even if he had help.”

“There will be a stir amongst the other Highers once they find out Baruu is likely sealed forever and that a Childs Higher fooled them.”

“We will deal with that when it comes, Nix. I’m more curious what Xayddryrth will do next.”

*

“And you guys are doing a coup within a coup?” Varin asked.

“Pretty much and we need your Soul to do it, which, I understand, is bad for you.”

Ko had taken Varin to the Northernmost tip of Vol where he was to hand her over to Fontaine—it would be another few hours before he would arrive. 

Ko transformed a bundle of trees into a chair for himself while tying Varin to another.

“Why do you need my Soul for a coup?” She asked.

“You sure ask a lot of questions. How are you so calm, you’re going to die?”

“That’s because I’m not gonna.”

Ko leaned back in his chair. His nose curled as he continuously tried to adjust himself. “Disgusting.” He tapped his index finger against the arm. It shimmered and glowed as it transformed into a cushioned iron throne. He rubbed his back against it. “Much better.” He looked back to Varin. “You still have confidence in that arrogant child?”

“I do.” Varin held herself up as straight as she could against the tree, struggling a bit against the ropes. “I have more faith in him than I do in any Higher I’ve prayed to over the centuries.”

Ko uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, placing his palm against his cheek, he smiled. “I’ll admit, he does fascinate me.” Ko sat back. “We have been monitoring him for billions of years and for all of them, he has been, how should I put this—.”

“An idiot?”

Ko continued to smile, this one more sincere. He looked at Varin again, examining her up and down. There was a part of him, the tiniest, maybe the smallest bit that there could be in a Higher—but—it was there—there was this part that felt bad for her—no—was it for her? 

This was a new feeling, one Ko had never felt before.

It started in his head, this little, what would you call it?

A pressure.

It started around his forehead and traveled down to his chest, switching from a pressure to—how would he describe it—a floating sensation. 

It made him feel like he wasn’t himself, like he wasn’t a part of the world around him—he shook his head and stood up, shivering his entire body to shake out the sweats. “Ah, no, what, I don’t, no, hmm, was I?” He moved toward Varin. “You, why are you so confident that he can save you?”

Varin looked almost insulted. “I don’t know a lot about him, he is a mystery more than he is a friend, but if it is all the same, I love him, I don’t know if you have ever felt something like this, but when I am around him, it isn’t that I am attracted to him, but the atmosphere around him, it invokes happiness.” Varin’s skin began to change from green to black around her nose, spreading to her cheeks where it changed again, this time to a pale purple. “Even when he is overexplaining or telling me something I already know, I know he is never judging, he is always just trying to help.”

Ko didn’t have a response, he had never felt this feeling in his chest. He crossed his arms as if he was about to punish her, but his words were the opposite.

“Could he help me too?”

*

Once Huornos realized who we were, he was more than happy not to turn us into plant food and the more we talked, the more I realized why there wasn’t a pattern to the tunnels.

When Ek Hajaar Haathon Ka Shahar was destroyed, most of the Ents were put into a hibernation state, with some of them only surviving because their roots were seeded so deep underground. 

Huornos was one of those lucky few. He has been tunneling through the underground, searching for others. He has come across a few of his kin, but most are still in a hibernation state or long dead. He told me that the Shroomers are thriving in underground villages deep in the soil, far beyond where he can reach—he says once this is all over, they’ll be the first to repopulate the surface.

“Hey, Huornos.”

“Whatcha needs Zero?”

“I don’t recall you talking about Satyrs or Fairies in your retelling, were they wiped out too?”

“Ah, nose laddie. Da Fareez an’n Sayturts, theys justs over yonders n’da Land of Poppies, wents inta high’den whens Maras dieds.” Huornos leaned his trunk back and then pushed forward again, lifting more of himself from below—his eyes and mouth lowered down the trunk to meet me. “Comes, doobees dinnertime.”

Huornos lead us to a tunnel entrance that was about three kilometers south of The Land of Poppies. He warned us about the outposts and how they had them set up all over the island—we didn’t have the heart to tell him we knew already, he was so happy to be of use after so many years.

Though I can say we didn’t know that those entrances are where he puts his leaves for sunlight when he needs it. As much as I would love to have an Elder Ent on my side in the upcoming battle, I can understand why he wouldn’t want to come.

“Lyren, what about you all, staying or coming?” I asked.

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Lyren was hesitant. He was glancing back to the others for help when Maeve intervened.

“No, they should stay, we can’t risk losing what’s left of this iteration of Vol.”

“Thank you,” Lyren stated. He crossed his arms. “May Ivara Return To Bless You Both.”

*

“You’re asking for my help while you have me tied to a tree?”

“Oh right, sorry about that.”

Ko snapped his fingers and the rope around Varin disappeared, allowing her to stand.

“You’re also the Higher of Tricks.”

“I am.”

“That wasn’t me just making an observation. Why would I trust someone whose title is MASTER OF TRICKS?”

Ko tilted his head back and forth, his eyes wandering around the forest. “This place was once so full of life.”

“Don’t change the subject.” Varin stomped her foot. “This is exactly why I won’t trust you, you can’t even act like you won’t betray us when it benefits you.”

“No, listen.” Ko looked around the forest some more, his movements slow and steady.

“WHAT AR—.”

“Shhh, listen please.”

Varin let out a frustrated sigh and then began to listen. She stood there a moment, moving only her head back and forth. No matter where she moved, there was no sound beyond the breeze sneaking between the trees.

“I don’t hear anything,” Varin stated.

“Exactly,” Ko replied. He moved his attention to the North. “They plan to give your Soul to Xayddryrth, yours and the others from each island, once he absorbs all of them, they will use him to challenge Eternity, we have been at this plan for billions of years and things are aligning to where we can finally move forward.”

“That’s why you’ve been resetting him and paving a certain path for him, you want to ensure he is strong enough to beat Eternity, but if you’re trying to sway him on another path too, that means you want him to be able to kill Infinity too.”

Ko smiled. “You ask a lot of questions because you know a lot of answers. I like you, Varin.”

“I still don’t trust you.”

“I understand, but yes, you are correct. There is a Civil War brewing amongst The Highers and it is almost at its boiling point.”

*

Huornos lifted Maeve and me to the surface where we expected to be greeted by a platoon of Dryads—instead, we were greeted by nothing but an empty outpost.

“Well that’s disappointing, I was itching to hit something,” I stated.

“It doesn’t look like they left in a hurry either,” Maeve said.

The outpost was empty, but not abandoned. The fire pits that lined the corners had newly formed ash and the food storage was still in use. There was no sign of a struggle or a fight, their weapons and gear were all in the armory and their beds had been folded for the day.

“Maybe they went on patrol?” I asked.

“And leave the entire outpost empty?” Maeve replied.

“Fair.” I rubbed the back of my head. “I don’t know, let me take a look upstairs.” I teleported into the air, repeatedly doing so to keep myself in place above the outpost. I peered around, trying to see if I could see anything, even the slightest trace of a trail. “I GOT NOTHING,” I called out, teleporting back to the ground. “What you think?”

I looked at Maeve. She was crouched on the ground, rubbing her thumb against her fingers.

“Come here.” She said, “Tell me, what this is.”

I walked over and bent down beside her, running my hand against the tiny charred spot of dirt. My hand became reflective as the sun pressed against it. “Ah, Fairy Dust!”

“Whiiich means?”

I reared my head back in shock, turning to Maeve as the realization hit me.

“Are the Fairies fighting back?!”

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