Guardian of Elements

Chapter 27 - Old friend

Kate was looking down at the soaked valley. Had she really done it? Or was her mother helping her again? No. She remembered the feeling she had in the maze and this was different. She felt more like herself, she knew exactly what she was doing. If Andúril was here, she didn't help her. It was her doing.

But still, she felt sad. Yes, she saved the forest, but many animals were left without home. She turned to Tawarthion.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't fast enough."

He looked at her with honesty in his eyes.

"You don't have to be sorry. You saved my forest. And now it is my turn."

He stepped forward.

"Keepers of these forests, come and help me restore what was lost."

It took some time, but Kate noticed movement in the valley. A group of insects was flying towards them. When they came closer, she found out that those were no bugs, but fairies, those she saw being born at the magical river. Tawarthion spoke to them.

"Find seeds. Trees and plants, berries and mushrooms. Plant them in the ash. Let the forest regrow."

They left back to the healthy forest to fulfill his order.

"What were those?" asked Kate.

"Tenders. They look after this forest and keep it lush. They can heal this part," he answered.

"I think I saw them being born, at a stream with glowing trees."

"That may be so, every night, each tree drops a pod with one new tender. There are thousands of them in this forest, many more will be here in a minute."

He was correct. Kate could see dozens of tender swarms in the scorched valley. They were going back and forth between the green forest and the burned wasteland, bringing seeds and planting them in the ash.

"Will they grow? It doesn't look very fertile down there," Kate expressed her doubts.

"Don't worry, they will. In fact, this land is much more fertile now than it was before. This part of the forest will be lusher than any other in my domain."

Some time later, the tenders left. Seeds were planted in the soil and ready to sprout. Tawarthion stood up and said: "And now it's my turn to be a Guardian."

He looked upon the valley and utilized his power. As his gem was glowing in pure white, streams of green, sparkling energy came out of the ground, and where they touched it, flowers grew and blossomed, and trees sprouted in front of Kate's eyes. The forest was being restored. The Guardian of Nature was guiding the streams over the desolation, rapidly turning it into a green and lush place. Leaves grew on branches, moss covered the soil. When he was done, there was no trace of the fire left.

"Amazing," said Kate. "I didn't know you can do something like that."

"I did it only once in your forest, to hide the meeting place from you. But I think I wouldn't be able to do it later. Being there for so long was exhausting."

"Yeah, I know. Since I left, I feel like something is pulling my strength away."

It wasn't just that, Kate was without sleep for more than two days at this point and after her escape and this heroic deed, she really had to rest.

"Then come, you must rest, you look terrible," Tawarthion told her, as if he could read her mind.

The two left the hill. Tawarthion was right. Kate would never guess that there was any fire at all. The newborn forest was full of life as animals were returning to their homes. They left the valley and continued further into the woods.

"So, what has been going on since you left me on the cliff back then?" Kate asked to start a conversation.

"I left your forest. I wanted to get here unnoticed, but halfway through the fields, Verilion found me. He had many questions, like he always does. He wanted to know everything that had happened since we split up, mostly about you. I briefly told him about the past three years and that I had to go home. Then, he surprised me a bit by telling me that he saw you on the outskirts of his domain. To be honest, I knew you wouldn't stay in your forest, but I was hoping you would get some more experience before leaving. Verilion promised me to keep an eye on you, so I went on. I didn't meet the Guardian of Souls, but I'm almost certain he knew about me passing through his domain, he has eyes and ears everywhere, thanks to his spirits."

They came to a waterfall, which was too loud to hear anything else. They crossed it at the top and Kate could see those strange floating fish again, playfully chasing each other both in the water and air. When they could hear each other again, Tawarthion continued.

"When I arrived here, I found out that these woods were infested with humans. Although the others promised me to check on my domain every now and then, they simply couldn't do everything. I instructed ents to guard the borders, but because I didn't think it through, they didn't wake from slumber when the first trespassers entered. They had never seen a human, so they didn't recognize them as a threat."

"Ents?" asked Kate.

"Tree-like beings. Tenders maintain the forest, ents protect it. Or they should," he explained. "I've been able to get rid of some of the intruders, but many are still roaming the woods, unchecked. My work is far from done."

"Ours, you mean."

"Yes, ours. You have much to tell me as well, but now, rest. We're here."

Kate could see something shining between the trees. When they got out of the forest, she was amazed once again. In front of them, there was a quite sizable lake. But it wasn't full of water, but of bright white substance. It was somewhere between liquid and gas state. The only description Kate could think of was liquid light.

"You should see it in nights. It makes this whole place... come alive," said Tawarthion with a mysterious smile.

A little fairy came to the pond and looked into the glow. It picked up a drop and let it slide back from its tiny hands.

"It only works in the moonlight, you know that," the Guardian told her. The fairy looked at him, and then left.

"Those newborns have much to learn yet," he smiled.

"What was that about?" asked Kate.

"The Fountain of Creation is used by tenders to create new forms of life. Unlike the energies of the other Guardians, mine isn't a part of my domain, it's here, in this physical form. Whenever I need it, I draw it from here. It also allows tenders to manipulate it and create new animals or plants. Many of those live only here, but some can make it out of the woods and become a part of the outside world. You'll see the next night, it's slowly replenishing now, after I used so much of it to save you and to regrow the forest."

Tawarthion then led her around the lake and on the other side, there was a small meadow with blossoming flowers all around. Kate found a nice spot on the warm grass and lay down. The Sun was shining and made her fall asleep almost instantly. Birds were singing once again.