Hexe - The Great Exodus

[CH.0010] - The Uncrowded King

Orm

Ohrm

Type: Noun

Meaning: "Home" or "Place of dwelling". It represents a space where one feels a sense of belonging and safety. It's not just a physical structure but also a concept of comfort and familial or communal connection.

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The sight before them was heart-wrenching—a living nightmare transmuted into grim reality. Yeso and Noctavia sat atop their horses, staring at the settlement they'd spent countless Falls to build, to settle, to nurture.

The word 'catastrophe' barely did justice to the pandemonium unfolding below them. The place was teeming with spiders—swarms of them, in numbers that defied belief. It was as if the ground itself had opened up to release this plague upon their home.

Slowly, Yeso and Noctavia urged their horses forward. As they approached, they saw the frantic activity taking place. Children clung to their mothers as they packed up their meagre belongings.

Groups of faeries, even Claramae, were saying their goodbyes, their moth wings quivering as they prepared to retreat to Faewood.

Magis moved meticulously through the sea of arachnids, capturing them and placing them into wooden crates with the kind of respect one gives to a misunderstood creature.

It was clear to everyone: the spiders had to be returned to their rightful owner, to the Herbstdame, Veilla. There was no other way to resolve this disaster than to right the wrong that had been committed.

The 'why' and 'how' would have to wait for another, less calamitous, day.

While the camp had been resolving the Spider situation for days now, they saw Prince Xendrix huddled inside his tent, the flaps pulled tightly shut as if they could ward off not just the spiders but the shame and regret that he must be feeling. Yet, instead, Xendrix felt something else—something exhilarating.

His tent had been oddly immune to the spider invasion, an irony that wasn't lost on him. He should be with the others outside, lending a hand in the frantic effort to restore order. Yet, he was paralyzed by something. It was like heated waves rushing down him while his heart raced excitedly.

Just as he sunk further into his morass of thoughts, a hand pulled back the entrance of his tent. "Can I come in?"

Before he could even answer, Ulencia stepped inside. She sat down beside him and extended a plate laden with eggs and bread. "Sorry, we haven't much..."

"It's fine, thank you. But I'm not hungry," Xendrix lied.

Ulencia smoothed her skirt before looking at Xendrix with genuine concern. "What's bothering you? You seem... off. Are you sick?"

Xendrix shifted uncomfortably, his eyes evading hers. "Sick? No, it's more... complicated than that," he replied, pretending a shame he was expected to feel.

"You shouldn't burden yourself with this," Ulencia reassured, though her smile failed to mask the depth of what was happening around them. "We were always aware of the risk that our efforts might not be what we hoped for."

"But why? Why is this happening?" Xendrix asked, executing a show of confusion. It was as if he couldn't understand the gravity of the chaos that shrouded the settlement, but he played his part perfectly.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could remain all blissfully ignorant?" Ulencia sighed, trying to infuse some levity into the grim situation. "The humans are driving us out; our Dame is dragging us back, back to Ormgrund. It confuses me—why can't we share this land in peace? What's so difficult about that?"