Guardian of Elements

Chapter 35 - Chill of body and warmth of heart

But as soon as Kate left the meadow border behind, that strange spell was gone. The sparse forest was looking normal and there was no trace of any illusion. Kate wanted to explore this phenomenon, but then she remembered why she was there. She could ask the Guardian of Minds about it, once she would find her.

In every other domain she had visited so far, she felt very foreign. But not in this one. There weren't any things she was finding unnatural. No spirits or otherworldly looking plants. The coniferous forest was normal, much like her own. Except colder.

Kate was used to living in lower altitudes, in warm places. Here, her blue and silky fur wasn't enough to keep her warm. After half an hour of wandering around the woods, she had to stop and create a small fire to get some heat.

While she was trying to warm up, she was thinking about how to find Eriana. First, she had to know if there were any points of interest that she could navigate by. That meant she would need to find higher ground, somewhere from where she could see the domain as whole. The idea of being even higher in this cold made her shiver. But where would such a place be? This entire land was steadily ascending to the northwest, where Morcion's mountains were.

An idea struck her, to use the same thing as she did to transport Tawarthion to the Fountain, but she remembered how much of her strength that required, and after her deeds in the cavern, her power was at its lowest low. She had to wait for it to replenish, so no using of her magic unless it would be really necessary, she thought. After several more minutes, she extinguished the fire and continued on. All she could do was to go forward, north, away from the forest of Nature.

She found a river, and after a moment of hesitation whether to follow it or cross it, she created a small ice floe in the current and used it to jump to the other side. She didn't want to get wet in this cold.

The boreal forest was very phlegmatic. Kate hadn't seen a single animal since she entered it. Why was that? Maybe humans had hunted them all out? But she hadn't seen any humans either. She had heard several strange noises, like moans, but when she tried to investigate, she found nothing. That was making her nervous. Tawarthion's forest was full of humans and it was directly bordering with this one. Could it have anything in common with that mesmerizing barrier at the border? Or they couldn't withstand the cold? Maybe, but she couldn't be sure until she would find the Guardian of Minds.

The cold was getting unbearable. She was probably somewhere in the center of the domain when she had to stop for the third time in one hour to warm up. She decided to not continue to the north. It was pointless, she had the same chance of finding something at random in any other direction. She went east, down to the coast.

As she was descending, the forest was getting more and more dense and brown and dark green colors were replaced by lusher green hues. After an hour of going downhill, she could even see a flower blossom here and there.

And then, all of a sudden, she heard it. It was like singing of a bird, but louder. Like whistling of wind, but more melodic. She couldn't help but to follow the strange sound that was making her ears tingle. Spruces and firs were now much closer to each other. She couldn't see the source, but her ears were guiding her towards the sound of steady melody, resonating through the woods. Finally, a grassy clearing opened in front of her. And there, in front of a small cave, a human girl was sitting on a stone, with a strange wooden tool against her mouth.

Kate knew what humans were capable of. All of those she had met so far were hostile and ready to attack. Yet this girl was looking peaceful. She lacked the two things typical for every corrupted human: pale skin and hostility in her face. And the melody she was playing was calm, flowing through the air like a lazy river. Could've Eriana really done it? Kate encouraged herself and went out the shade of trees.

The girl was playing her tool with closed eyes. She didn't notice Kate, who was slowly walking towards her. This was the first time she really had a chance to see a human up close without having to fight. The girl had long, golden hair and poor-looking brown leather clothes. To Kate, she looked weak, almost fragile. She had no claws or teeth to defend herself with, there was no weapon anywhere near her, only the wooden stick she was holding, and Kate doubted she could fight with that. Was that really the same kind of human as those that she had to defend herself from all that time? Was that how much Raya's plague could change them?

A stick suddenly broke under her foot. The girl stopped playing and opened her eyes. Kate took a step back, ready to fight or flee. But the girl didn't move to attack her. She spoke, in a very strange language, yet as before, Kate could understand her somehow.

"Oh, hello little kitty. Have I summoned you with my flute? I've never seen a blue cat before."

Kate had no idea what to think about it. She was careful.

"Come here, don't be afraid." And she reached out with her hand towards Kate.

Kate remembered how a man reached the same way for her gem when she was tied. But this girl wasn't trying to chase her, nor she was shouting. She was just leaning towards her on the stone, smiling.

She overcame her anxiety and went towards her. The girl was waiting patiently until Kate was within her reach. She let her sniff her hand, and then petted her between her ears. A strange new feeling came through her body, not uncomfortable however.

"See? I won't harm you. Oh, what is this?" she noticed Kate's collar and looked at her gem. "Wow, you have this too? It's just like the one that Eri has, but she has turquoise one."

"You know Eriana?" asked Kate, surprised. That startled the girl, she pulled back her hand and looked at her.

"Whoa, you can speak??"

"Um, yes, I thought you knew, you were talking to me."

"No, I mean... I talk to animals sometimes, but none of them answered me, except Eri..." She was obviously trying to deal with the fact that she was having a talk with a cat.

"You know the Guardian of Minds?"

"What do you mean, the guardian?"

A new voice suddenly announced its presence.

"Oh, I wasn't expecting you to arrive so soon. I see you've already met Arneia."

A great gray wolf entered the clearing behind Kate.

"Oh, she's here!" the girl shouted, jumped off the stone, carefully put her flute on it, and then ran across the meadow to Eriana. She knelt in front of her and hugged her around her neck. Even though she was kneeling, she was still higher than the Guardian.

"I missed you Eri! You said you'd be back soon, but it's been four days! Where have you been?" She let go and looked her in the eyes.

"Sorry my dear, a friend of mine needed help. But I see you have found yourself your own friend," she nodded behind her, at Kate.

"Yes, that cat came here just minutes ago! And you won't believe this, she can talk, and she has the same pendant as you do!"

They were walking towards Kate, side by side. She couldn't believe the sight. So, the Guardian of Minds had really done it.