Elements of Emotion

Chapter 4: Blooming Decay

Caelian woke to a metallic taste in his mouth. He coughed, heaving violently as he got up onto his hands and knees, his wings draping around him. His body still felt hot. He sat up, holding his pounding head with one hand as he looked around, his vision spinning. Something felt extremely wrong.

Remembering the events of the day before, he quickly stood up, stumbling into a tree as his vision momentarily went dark. He braced himself against it, pressing the side of his head against the bark. Taking a deep breath, he let it settle before letting his eyes scan the forest. The cloaked figure was nowhere to be seen. Where did they go? Had his elementals chased them off while he was passed out? What had they done to him?

From the light that shone down through the trees, he could tell that it was daytime. But the leaves still looked as though they held the dull purple hue they'd turn in the moonlight. Squinting, he moved closer to a nearby bush and reached out to examine it. As his fingers touched it's branches, he winced and pulled his hand back. A small drip of blood gently dropped off his finger onto the ground.

He didn't remember those kinds of bushes having thorns. As his vision slowly focused, he realized that the bushes had indeed turned a sickly shade of purple. He looked around, examining the forest around him. There were still some patches of green scattered throughout. But as Caelian watched a patch of green leaves on a tree, he could see them slowly change to the same purple that was all around him. The green that had always calmed him was gone.

He took a tentative step away from the tree. Where had the mana orb disappeared to? He needed to find it. Gaia probably didn't even have enough energy to make another. Getting on his hands and knees, he tried to look under the nearby bushes, being careful of their thorns. It couldn't have gone that far, could it? Maybe he could ask his elementals to help him. They were small, and could-

His body grew rigid with a sudden realization. Why couldn't he feel the presence of his elementals?

Nyxidae?" Caelian called as he stood, waiting for the green lantern to materialize next to him, just as she always did. But the air was silent and still. A strange, bubbling sensation that was eerily familiar was beginning to rise in Caelian's stomach.

"Iaestia?" He called, whirling around, "Riemos? Ishtar?"

The silence felt heavy as he kept turning in circles, looking for any sign of them. He eventually came to a stop, panting heavily as he struggled to breathe. He placed a hand against his chest, swallowing as he felt his quickened heartbeat. What happened to them?

Caelian jumped at the loud snap that came from behind him. He whirled around in time to see a lantern materialize a couple of feet away from him, it's red aura intense and crackling wildly like electricity. He stared at it with wide eyes as it hung motionless in the air.

His heart was still pounding as he took a tentative step towards it. "Riemos?" He asked with uncertainty.

The elemental remained silent as Caelian took another step forward.

"Hello...?" He reached his hand out, intending to touch the glass, but yelped in pain when a shock emitted from the lantern. Quickly retracting his hand, he grasped it with his other as he stumbled backwards. Caelian gave the elemental a disbelieving look before looking down at his hand, gently opening his fist to see the black mark it had left on his palm. He frowned.

"...Not ... us..."

Caelian snapped his head up, hearing the familiar echo of one of his elementals speaking to him. His eyes locked back onto the red-hued lantern that was remaining perfectly still.

"What?" Caelian asked, in a quiet voice. Moments of silence passed. "I couldn't hear you," he said, pushing for the elemental to repeat itself.

The lantern finally moved, though Caelian quickly stepped backward as it floated towards him. It stopped again after a moment, now closer, but not by much.