The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (Season 2+)

Tree Speak

The grasses rustled with the breeze that whipped through the plains. The whistle was empty yet pleasant. The solitude had eased its way in hours ago and she had settled into her meditation. She was already one with Thra, but she still took a few moments to better attune her mind to its sways and flows. There was a lot on her mind as of late, and she wasn't as level headed as she once was. The formation of the resistance had been necessary for a multitude of reasons. The time of skekSis needed to end. Their very presence strengthened the Darkening and defiled the very lands and people that they governed. The gelfling uprising was Thra's way of fighting an infection, like any living, breathing organism.

Then there was Raunip. Her son had always been a wild card. He came from a living meteorite she had found and decided to use its substances to form another being. One she could converse with. And he was just that, for a few moments of time. He had been a good sounding board and an intelligent, sentient being she could talk to. But over the trines, he started to rebel. He didn't hear Thra's song and therefore he didn't understand the importance of some of her actions. And when the urskeks arrived, changing the song of Thra, he really started to fight back, creating more upheaval. He saw hypocrisy everywhere and decided he would take matters into his own hands. He went off on his own. He would disappear for trines at a time, and everytime he returned, something major happened. Though he was doing things his own way, he still had Thra in mind and wanted what was best. He did it in his own way. It was just annoying that his actions interfered with hers. And he wasn't really one for open communication while there were things he could be doing instead.

She hadn't felt Thra's song change since they had parted ways from Raunip's Cradle. She didn't know whether to take that as a sign of relief or worry. After he left, she had regained her strength with the fruits growing from the tree in the crater. She then took the long hike demanded of her by Thra to Nenadi-Staba; The Gnarl Tree of the Spriton Clan. She then took this moment to sit down and meditate with the world. She didn't know how much longer she had to go, so she was preserving her strength.

Mother Aughra, she heard through her meditation.

She didn't open her eyes and instead reached out with her mind to the beckoning call.

It has been a long time Mother Aughra, the voice continued. You are close, not much further now. Come, follow my roots. I await your audience.

Aughra opened her eyes and looked down to a tickling sensation. A small root had grown up from the ground and the tip was now scraping the ball of her foot. She took her walking stick from across her lap and jammed the end into the earth, lifting herself up to stand. She looked down at the small little root that was swaying in the breeze with the grasses. Looking to the horizon of the grass ocean, she saw a line of hills and mountains rising in the distance. At the top of one, she saw the massive shape of a physically squat tree.

You won't have to climb to the top, the tree assured her.

Aughra smirked a bit and began walking again. Walker Aughra had a nice ring to it, maybe she could convince the gelfling to start calling her that.

After an hour or so of walking, Mother Aughra came to the Spriton city of Sami Thicket. The fragrance of freshly baked bread and homestyle cooking filled her nose. She would have to have a taste before she left. The city was uncharacteristically quiet. Not to say it was completely dead, there were still gelfling walking about and doing their business, but there wasn't the bustling, lively atmosphere that she was used to. Everyone was keeping to themselves, holed up in the houses built into and under the massive labyrinthian roots from the Gnoll Tree. They were scared, hiding away from something.

She came to a market square with empty booths and carts scattered around the area. A small, simple fountain bubbled in the center and a breeze swept light dirt and soil across the ground in small tornadoes. Aughra looked around in confusion at the marketplace. She looked up to the great tree.