OathBlade (Wattys2015)

60. Fickle Winds*

The barrier of which Vydel spoke was not so different from that which protected them in Ildaugh. Opalescent white mist swirled across the surface but offered no breaks through which to look. The grass around it grew more lush and bright than anywhere else due to the concentration of aura, and Elery knew immediately that Vydel was correct. The aurel's strength rested in their unbelievable casting ability. There was no etherium to be found, nor were there stationary barrier casters, yet the barrier stood stable before them.

Nyph was positioned between them and the barrier with her hands pressed to the surface. "You sure of course?"

"Yes," Elery replied.

A tear opened in the barrier to expose the brilliance resting within. Flowers, grass, and trees in abnormally bright colors sprawled before them. They were well-fed from the abundance of aura originating from the green-feathered being resting on a bare rock at the center of the field. It was a small creature, far from what she would have envisioned a great spirit to be. It was small enough that Elery might have confused her to be merely another species of bird inhabiting the island if it weren't for visible aura shimmering off her body in waves.

Her wings-all four of them-opened as the group approached. "So you are the visitors I sensed." Her voice was decidedly feminine, though she offered nothing by way of outward appearance to confirm that speculation. "You bring with you a dark and pained aura." Her teal eyes fixed on Elery. "Why have you brought such hostility among these people?"

"We are desperate for as much aid as we might receive," she replied. "I've come not to see harm to your people, but to unite us all to protect this world we share."

"And it is danger that brings you to unite us," Sylver said. She stood, lifting her slender neck into a delicate S-curve. Her beak clicked softly as she stared shrewdly at them. "You did not seek us out until you had something to gain from our alliance. What makes you believe I would extend myself for people who would have nothing to do with us until we could be of use."

Elery clenched her fists. "We come here to protect you as well! Celestine will not stop at us! She will kill you and your people-"

Sylver laughed. "Little Landwalker, the aurels cannot be killed. They are aura made flesh. When that flesh expires they will be freed. They are beyond the grasp of your enemy. As for myself..." Her eyes closed. "I do not fear death. It is an inevitable part of one's existence."

"So then you would give yourself willingly to this evil?" Isandel demanded. His dragon form took up a large portion of the area and his claws crushed flowers underfoot each time he shifted.

"Willingly? No. But if my people are to fall, I care not for what happens to me. After all, I have come to love them as my children. My life would be meaningless if they should all become specks of light fated to wander Leria."

"Then stand and fight with them!" Misani said. "They are not fated to fall if they are given the choice to fight!"

"And if we fight beside you, what then? What becomes of us when the war is over and the alliances drift apart?" Sylver tilted her head. "Will we be thanked and sent along our merry way?"

"I-I-" Elery stammered.

"How kindly have your people taken to the dragons? The lycar? Or this being?" Sylver looked at Vydel. "How well-loved is she among your people? She may be your ally, but will she ever be accepted?"

"Our people will learn!" Elery stepped forward, "Please, I beg you. If you've any kindness-"

"Your manipulation tactics will not avail you, child," she snapped. "This has nothing to do with kindness. I sympathize with your cause and I wish you the best, but I must preserve my home and my children. I cannot send them into needless conflict to defend people who would otherwise shun us."