Secrets of an Alchemist

Varian and the Great Tree: Part 4

(Alt title: Sh** Gets Real - please mind my French)
(Also, I decided to add part of the Eugene and Lance scene into this so it wasn't such a pitifully short chapter lmao sorry- skip from the Eugene emoji marker (💛) to the Varian one (🧪) if you don't want to read it (although if you enjoy my writing regardless, it'd be nice if you DID read it ;3). Also they canonically sing in this universe. Because they're high off their as- BUT I DIDN'T DO THAT PART, THAT'S WHY THE VIDEO'S HERE)

(Chapter warnings: two boys high off their ahhs on flowers, evil moon incantations and possession by ancient evils oh my! Also me pulling an Office and looking at the camera for a minute (you'll know what I mean when you get there). Additionally, there's disguised manipulation in order to persuade someone to unalive. :) And the author's note at the end might make you wanna scream or throw something. Just sayin)

The group passed through a hall, each side lined with statues of soldiers. Varian glanced warily from side to side, gently tapping his sword's sheath once to make sure it was still there.

"Where's the war?" Cassandra commented, gazing up at the archaic carvings.

Adira strode ahead, walking towards a room at the end of the hallway. Apprehensively, the rest of the group followed.

"It looks like there's something up there," Rapunzel said. Adira stepped up to a doorway crossed by vines, and swiftly drew her sword, slicing through them. She then walked through, the rest of the group trailing behind.

Once they crossed the threshold of the doorway, Varian gasped in wonder. A large, circular room stood before them, many trees dotting the edges of a large, shimmering pool. Purple shrubbery dotted the ground between the trees. However, the thing that drew Varian's attention the most were the walls. Inscriptions were carved here and there, but on one side, there was a whole cubby system, scrolls littering sone of the cubbies.

"What is this place?" Rapunzel asked, gazing around in wonder much like Varian. She then spotted one of the inscriptions, and gave a small laugh. "Eugene, come look at-" She suddenly stopped mid-sentence. "Wait." She turned around. "Where's Eugene and Lance?" Varian whirled. Sure enough, the other boys were gone.

"Where's Max?" Hook Foot added.

"Where's Pascal?" Cassandra exclaimed.

"Where's Ruddiger!?" Varian yelped. The raccoon had been right behind them. ...right?

"Where's Shorty?" Shorty asked in horror. Varian fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Okay, uh, we should circle back and-" Rapunzel declared. Suddenly, however, her voice stopped, and her eyes widened as she spotted something on the wall. She swiftly pulled a piece of parchment out of her bag- one bearing a sun and moon, along with writing.

Wait... He hadn't noticed before, but the borders on that scroll piece and the one he had offered to translate earlier looked eerily familiar...

"Is that... another part of the scroll I gave Rapunzel, back before... everything?" Varian asked. He suddenly smacked his forehead. "And that scroll we found at the Spire! Was that part of it too!?" He dropped his head into his hands. "Suns, some genius I am not noticing that earlier..." Rapunzel simply nodded, now comparing the scroll to a matching carving on the wall. The rest of the group looked up in awe as well.

"What does it mean?" Hook Foot wondered.

"No one knows for sure," Adira replied, picking a scroll up off the ground. "But many have perishing trying to unravel its mystery." She rolled up the scroll in her hand.

"Well, someone translated some of it," Cassandra offered, handing Rapunzel a larger scroll and then pointing at a line of text.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine..." Rapunzel murmured before gasping. "It's the Healing Incantation for the Sundrop!" Varian's eyes widened.