Guardian of Elements

Chapter 21 - Enemy of my enemy

Kate was trying to retaliate. She had known the story from Tawarthion, but to experience it firsthand like this... She was shocked.

Now she knew her mother. Actually knew. Her feelings towards her, her reasons... She didn't just share her memories with Kate, she shared who she was.

Many things came together. She knew those last two Guardians now, and also Raya. She was wondering what happened to her after that explosion. She probably fled to her lands. The truth her mother had uncovered, that Guardians could harm each other... If that was true, then Verilion either didn't know, or he lied to her on purpose. Why? To protect the others? Because he also believed that she could be a threat?

And she got to know the others through Andúril's memories, too. But back then, Lerinth wasn't hostile to her. Why was he now? She had to find him.

Kate had no clue where the Guardian of Souls could be, so she returned to the Tree of Spirits. But this night, it wasn't glowing so brightly, because many of its inhabitants were gone, and several wisps were still floating down and into the woods in one direction. She couldn't think of anything better than to follow them.

That proved difficult, as she already learned, it was hard to keep up with the ghostly animals, but because the line of wisps was continuous, she could see where they were heading. Kate could see between the treetops that they were going towards great mountains with snowy tops: the northern border of the forest of Souls. But soon, the forest became too dense to see the night sky.

It wasn't much later, when she saw him. The Guardian of Souls was running in the same direction, with several dozens of glowing wisps around him. He stopped, and they formed a whirl around him, creating impressive light effects on the ground and the trees around them.

"Don't let anyone escape!" Lerinth shouted. They split up and went left and right, beginning to circle a huge area in front of him, but because of how many of them there were, the flow of their orbs wasn't very sparse. Lerinth himself continued forward slowly, and Kate was finally able to catch up with him.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"Shush," he whispered. "They're here."

"Who? Humans?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Too many. Stay here."

"No, I will help you!" She didn't want to be pushed aside again.

"You cannot help yourself. How could you help me?" he replied and exited the dense forest.

Between the forest and the mountains, there was a strip of grass, about two hundred meters wide, and a narrow path leading up into a pass: the entrance to Morcion's domain.

But she could also see something that didn't belong there. A group of ten or maybe twenty humans, hesitating to enter the yellow forest. Lerinth was walking towards them, determined to not let them into his lands. She remained hidden in the forest and watched.

Lerinth stopped close enough to the humans for them to hear him, but too far from Kate for that. All the humans, mostly men, turned towards him. Some of them were holding wooden spears. Lerinth probably said something again and then, he utilized his full powers. His markings were burning with white plasmatic flames like Andúril's were in the memory, and his gem was shining white like a star. But then, his body collapsed to the ground. However, he wasn't dead, his Shard didn't stop glowing, and next to his body, Lerinth was standing as a white spirit.

Some humans went running just from the sight. Kate saw one run into the forest, but not long after, a scream was heard, and he came back, terrified of the sight of the wisps circling the area.