Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Quade sat across from me in the cart, forcing his sister beside me. His green skin was several shades darker than Varin’s and his eyes held a soft blue, but his hair, a bright blonde. It stretched down just below his ears with one braid on the left side. He wore a similar robe to Walter but Quade’s had an insignia on the breast—indicating that he was royalty. 

“This Esmeray, they are the cause of all this?” I asked.

Quade nodded, glancing at his sister, then back to me. “In a way, yes, Esmeray was once a prominent member of the church, going as far as to remove his own eyes to not be blinded by temptation, but something changed about thirty years ago. He began acting differently, spouting how WE were the blind ones and how he was mistaken.”

“Something in him changed.” I said. “We can’t rule out that he isn’t being controlled by an outside force, but continue, I want to know more about what has happened to Vol.”

*

Esmeray is a Nymph, one from a family whose lineage stretches back before even the Elves stepped foot on the island. He was born and raised in a Northern Village, known as Marathra. He was a quiet and reserved Nymph, always looking to run to his study over playing with the other children. His mother, Diatra, was the first Queen of Hykal—the original name of the island. She kept Esmeray close to her side, never allowing him to stray too far from the village border, this combined with his reclusive nature turned Esmeray into a prolific genius.

He had spent most of his life studying the very nature of Hykal and when he came of age, he began teaching his findings to others. He was the first on the island to establish what could be considered a religion—known as The Forest Whispers; his way of life spread far and wide throughout Hykal and with it, a revelation. The island that they had been calling Hykal was very much alive and her name was Vol.

Vol is a Higher, one from the beginning of existence. She is a byproduct of when The All Tree gave birth to Eternity and Infinity—the first Highers. Vol slept for nearly one hundred billion years before awakening and when she awoke, she was met by the Highers; Chaos and Void—long have the two of them been waiting for another. 

For eons they had loathed their existence, lying in wait for their purpose to be discovered, but when Vol awoke, something inside them changed. The three of them began creating branch after branch on The All Tree, casting Higher after Higher into existence, forging the universe into being. When The First Highers returned to show them their real purpose, Vol would be the first to step down on the planet. Vol began linking The All Tree to Arrithia, using the islands as tethers, but upon the final island, Vol was struck with a curse. 

The Highers call it The Long Sleep, a resting point after exerting all of their mana. When an Arrithian uses all their mana, they die, but Highers fall asleep, waking only when their mana is completely restored. Vol would fall into this sleep and over tens of millions of years, the island of Hykal formed around her and with it, Arrithia was complete.

Esmeray would come to learn all this by Dream Walking through Vol’s subconscious and with his knowledge he set out on guiding the people of Vol toward harmony and peace. He would go on to do this for twenty thousand years before the first Dungeon appeared and with the Dungeon came Hunters and with Hunters came outsiders and thus, the Dryads were born.

*

“Wait, wait, wait, you’re information dumping on me Quade, it’s too much.” I interrupted his exposition and he surprisingly wasn’t upset about it. 

“Oh, I apologize, I was running amok with my noise, I got off topic didn’t I?” Quade looked out the window, his eyes examining the dying trees and barren lands. “I just don’t understand, he was the one to discover Hykal was actually alive, he discovered Vol, why would he turn his back on her?” He turned his gaze back on Varin and me, half expecting us to answer, half expecting us to just listen. I could tell that he was lost, I could hear it in his voice, and the way he spoke about everything.

“The Dryad Empire, you say it’s led by Esmeray?” I asked. “What has he done to show you this, is he acting in sabotage to the island, or is he just speaking on their behalf?”

Quade pushed his hair from his eyes, tucking it behind an ear as he raised a brow. “He has only been seen speaking, praising what The Empire will do.”

I lifted my hand to my mask, tapping it on the center. The plain, oval-shaped surface pulsated with a blue hue before changing from white to black. The slits for my eyes widened ever so slightly, allowing more light inside. “I’ll be back, take her to Amara, I have to go see this Empire for myself.” 

Varin and Quade both went to speak, but before they could say anything I teleported myself to the top of the cart.

Quade pointed to where I was sitting, then looked to his sister. “Does he, uh, do that a lot?”

Varin nodded, looking out the window. “Yeah, I’m still getting used to it, but he has his reasons.” She turned back to her brother. “Mom hired him to bring me back and without hesitation, the second the borders opened in Sidra, he brought me here.” She laughed as she looked down at her lap. “I wouldn’t even be surprised if he was the cause of the borders opening in the first place.”

“It sounds like he has secrets that he is keeping from you, can you trust him?”

Varin quickly looked at Quade, glaring as she snapped back. “Actually he is, he just, yes he has secrets, just like us, but if anyone will fix Vol, it’s gonna be him.”

“Ah, so you’re in love with him?”

“What?” Varin kicked Quade’s leg.

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“Ow!”

“Oh stop, I barely touched you, and I’m not in love with him.” She made sure her brother saw the look in her eye, locking gazes with him as she spoke. “He is a good friend and for the first time in centuries, he makes me feel safe.”

Quade waited a moment then let out a smirk followed by; “That sure sounds lovey-dovey to me.”

Varin and Quade began bickering back and forth, throwing their arms and legs at one another as they exchanged friendly blows and laughs. Walter continued driving the cart, making his way to the vault where Queen Amara and the other inhabitants were waiting.

“Watch over them, okay Walter?” I said.

He didn’t turn his gaze, he simply nodded with a “Yes’r.”—I teleported from the roof into the forest, just as the day was turning to night. I stood by just for a few moments longer to watch the two of them fight through the window, waiting until the cart was completely out of view. “Now that I know you’re safe, I can start investigating.”

I teleported my way through the forest, following the stars North to Marathra. I’m sure Quade had more information he could have provided me, but Esmeray isn’t acting on their own, I can attest to that without having ever met them. If Varin hadn’t told me her idea about the false Goddess, I would have never put two and two together, but I can say without a doubt now—that Esmeray died centuries ago.

*

They are known as Mhetymorfs, Shapeshifters, Skrulls, Mimics, and I’m sure there are other names, but regardless, there is a reason their entire island of Fadsper was banished to The Under Gardena. They can’t reproduce on their own, not until they take over a host’s life does their body allow it, and even then, they still must mate with the same species, but they will ALWAYS give birth to a Mhetymorf. They were thought to be defeated during The Great War, but based on everything that is playing out right now, this is the playbook execution of their secret invasion.

Mhetymorfs will burrow their way inside an island, slowly taking over those in positions of power, while also reproducing with the rest of the island as fast as possible. They do this not to spread their kind, but to please their creator—Void, The Higher known as Nix.

*

I stopped teleporting, sidestepping to my left just as an arrow landed next to me. I turned myself around, dancing in the dead grass as a barrage of arrows rained down around me. I watched as some of them changed direction at the last moment, all in an attempt to hit me. I smiled under my mask, my eyes widening as I took in my surroundings. “YES! COME! LET US HAVE SOME FUN!” I called out, continuing to dance through the storm of arrows. They endlessly came for me, falling from the sky in wave after wave, but they had been fired in such intervals that I wouldn’t have to teleport in order to dodge them.

I turned around, teleporting away as an arrow appeared right before my mask. I summoned my sword, using Transmutation Magic to change it into a dagger. I swung around, clashing the blade against two others as I blocked my attacker's assault. I looked up to see them, their face was hidden in shadow by the magic of their hood and their body was shivering like smoke. “Been a while, how much have you improved?” 

I pushed them back, giving them no time to answer. I swung the dagger downward, blocking both their next attacks. I swung it to my left, then to my right, blocking another four attacks on each side. “So, you’re as fast as ever, but as you know, I will always be faster.” I began teleporting around the forest continuing to make my way North, blocking every attack that came my way—each increasing its speed and number of swings—two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, sixty-four, one-hundred-twenty eight, two-hundred and fifty-six—I waited on the next barrage of swings, but was instead met with another volley of arrows.

This set came from directly in front of me, five hundred and twelve of them to be exact. I stood my ground, lifting the dagger upward to transmute it once again. I pulled it down as it transformed, sending out my first counter. The black blade of the dagger extended, dropping down into a whip as its color faded to white, then over to a mix of silver and brown. “Here, we go.”

I swung the whip rapidly, creating an enormous array of lines through the air—knocking a few sets of arrows into the ground around me with every crack. The arrows slowed as they neared their end, dropping to just two to three a second as the barrage faded away. “That all you got?!” I called out. “I know you haven’t spent the last five hundred years goofing off like this!” The arrows around me began to glow a faint purple, lifting themselves around me. I smirked under my mask as they all changed the direction they were pointing, angling themselves at me. “That’s more like it,” I muttered.

I teleported away and the arrows gave chase, all of them following me around the forest with ease, tracking my every move. Each time I would appear, a handful of them would volley themselves toward me, forcing me to teleport again. “Haha, now this is fun!” I increased the speed at which I was teleporting, causing some of the arrows to lose track of me and as we continued, more of them began to falter, forcing their shooter back out from the shadows.

They attacked just like before—twin daggers from my flank, followed by a volley of arrows from the opposite direction. I teleported just as the arrows were about to connect with my back, forcing them to connect with my assailant. The arrows rallied into them, turning into puffs of smoke as they bounced off their cloak. They turned to the right, catching sight of me just as I came out of my teleport. I smiled under my mask as they extended their arms out beside them. The daggers slid down into their hands, falling from within the sleeves of their gown. Their grip tightened as they leaned forward, bending their knees slightly. I pulled back the whip, using another Transmutation Enchantment to change it into a thin rapier. I pointed it at them, knowing all too well what happens next. “There it is, the restraints have finally been lifted.” I pointed the rapier at them, rotating its translucent metal back and forth in the rising moonlight. “Now let’s see which is faster, you or my teleport!”

I forced myself forward, teleporting rapidly to gain momentum as they launched themselves at me. The second their back foot left the ground—a shockwave erupted from behind them, propelling them toward me with intense speed. We clashed blades repeatedly. Forcing one another to change directions with each counter, each step was focused and precise, each swing was strategic and each parry was another chance at living.

It took me a moment at first, but I soon realized that they were trying to force me West. I teleported as far as I could see North, hoping to teleport again the second I came out, but I was swiftly met with twin daggers clattering against my rapier. “What’s West? I wanna go to Marathra, gotta go see a certain someone of yours.” They disappeared into the dark, silencing the metal clashes of our fight, allowing what was left of the nightlife to soak its way into the scene.

The Siaght Ravens began their songs and the Willow Wisps started their dances, illuminating the area with a faint bioluminescent hue of blue. Even with everything going on, nature was still trying its best to pull through—in this chaotic game of catch-up, there was something soothing about it all.

We had fought our way over two hundred kilometers from where I left Varin and the others—and judging by how much more dead it is around here, I’d say I’m getting close. The two of us clashed against one another some more, again they tried to push me toward the West. I pulled the rapier back, positioning it to the right of my head as I moved my left hand in front of me. “Alright then, you want me to go West and I want to go North, which means your objective is in the West and you want me to—.” I stopped, turning around quickly. I pulled the rapier upward, blocking the downward slash of their daggers. I rotated the rapier’s blade to the left, tangling their blades with mine, keeping them locked in place. The magic shadow inside their hood parted just enough for me to see one of their silver eyes. “And you want me to help you, don’t you? Maeve.”

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