The Healer's Crown

Chapter Twelve

They returned briefly to the village for a resupply, choosing different supplies for the new journey. Seraphina and Caelum had wrapped themselves in fur attire. Seraphina opting for a cloak, and Caelum a fur armor set. Under the pale sky, they raced through the woods; the Crescent Peaks looming in the distance ominously. They were jagged across the horizon, like the bottom set of the sky's teeth.

Caelum had opted to take a few of the men who were waiting at the village for their return, wanting more protection for when Seraphina was still learning to harness her power. Over time, the forest begins to grow cold, the ground slowly freezing as the horses struggle to walk on the uneven ground; their breath was visible in the air.

Seraphina's head darted around... something was wrong.

"Hey," she gestures to Caelum, her horse begins to shift under her, "something's wrong."

Suddenly, a shrill cry echoes through the trees: bandits. Their faces were covered in cloths, their weapons primitive, and their numbers greater than what would have been expected for this area. Caelum draws his sword in one swift motion.

"Calvary charge!" His men race forward, sliding through the enemy like a spoon through applesauce. Seraphina went to retreat, her hand instinctively grabbing for her dagger, but then she paused for a moment. Her magic pulsed beneath her skin. She steadied her breath, trying to focus. In front of her is a flurry of steel as Caelum's men and the bandits fight. The years of training in his men are obvious. Their movements are sharp and precise, not to mention they have a determination behind them. However, the bandits were relentless.

One soldier bursts through the line and rushes Seraphina. Her heart pounds, and without thinking, her hand lifts. A burst of life appears before the man, blinding both sides for a moment. The man who had run after her writhed on the ground, engulfed in flames. The bandits pause, momentarily stunned. However, the lull is brief, the bandits now sensing the danger they had gotten themselves into. Another bandit falls, clutching an arrow in his chest.

As the battle progresses, her strikes become more confident. The air fills with the smell of burnt flesh and leather. Caelum, in the thick of battle, sword dripping with blood, pushes forward. He knows that their too exposed here and instead tries to make his way up the mountain; hoping his skill would continue to better their superior numbers. There's a path up a ravine that he starts barreling his men towards. As they begin to make their way to the ravine, the few remaining bandits unleash a few arrows, their aim lackluster.

Suddenly, an arrow grazes Seraphina's arm, and she grasps it. Blood leaks from her fingertips. They reached the rocky, winding paths of the ravine; the bandits in pursuit behind them. They pause for a moment, looking over the steep cliffs of the peaks. They move slowly as they try to navigate the treacherous path, allowing Caelum's men to escape.

A rumble sounds under their feet, and rocks begin to fall. Their horses stir as they try to dodge around the rocks. Seraphina reaches into herself and summons a triangular barrier above them, allowing the rocks to slide off of them. However, she can only do this for so long. Before they reached the end, a large boulder toppled into their path, blocking the enterence.

"We fight here!" Caelum yells, his men giving a collar of acknowledgment. Though his voice was calm, there was an edge to exhaustion because of it. Seraphina steps forward, light flickering in her palms. She does her best to quickly heal the wound on her arm, which is reducing her range of motion.

The bandits approach, their numbers were seemingly endless. Seraphina grits her teeth and summons a barrier of light against the cliff to the side of the bandits. As they approached, she took all of the energy she had left and pushed them to the edge, causing them to topple over the sharp, steep side of the ravine.

There is an eerie silence as the three bandits that remain look down at their falling comrades before they begin to retreat.

"We made it," a soldier says.

"For now," Seraphina responded. She looked behind herself, staring up at the Obsidian Peaks. The journey was far from over, but the exhausted group needed to rest.

They sheltered in a large cave in the side of one of the mountains, lighting a fire towards the entrance so that the smoke would dissipate while keeping them warm. Seraphina, exhausted from her use of magic, sat with the other men near the fire. Caelum, watching her from the corner of his eye, sits next to him. Slowly, all of the men drifted to sleep together, resting their heads on their supply packs.

Slowly, Seraphina did, too. As she begins to dream, she is teleported to a world of warmth and soft golden light. The ground beneath her feet are soft with grass, and she is surrounded by a field of wildflowers. This dream was very common for her.

Suddenly, the air around her darkened, and the ground beneath her feet began to crack. The once beautiful landscape decayed into ash and shadows. Misty tendrils writhed on the ground, and shadowy figures appeared in the distance. She tried to summon her newfound powers. However, she had been left defenseless in this dream world.

Slowly, the tendrils and figures began to close in on her. She gasped, attempting to flee, but she was held in place. The figures engulfed her, and she shot up awake. Engulfed in sweat. The fire had burned low, and she shivered in the cold of the mountain.  She raises from her bedroll and walks a small distance from the camp, trying to shake her mind of the strange dream.

A shadow appears behind her, and she gasps.

"Couldn't sleep?" Caelum asked as she caught her breath from him, scaring her.

"I had a nightmare," she admitted, sitting down on a fallen log for a moment.

"Whatever is ahead, we will get through this together," he placed his hand on her thigh reassuringly, "all of us."

Despite the lingering fear of the dream, she felt a surge of strength from his words. She grips his hand back, perhaps having Caelum by her side would make the journey ahead a little less perilous.