Guardian of Elements

Chapter 51 - Nightmare lands

Kate took few steps in the dark grass and ash-like dust rose around her feet. She backed off, but she churned up more of it.

"What is that?" she asked, a bit startled.

"That's the corruption. The plague in its pure form," said Lerinth with a grim look on his face.

Kate examined it closer. She realized that the dark purple, sparkling dust was covering the ground, the grass, the entire domain.

"So, this is how she took control of the people in her domain." She remembered her mother's memory, when Raya unleashed the dark cloud of the same dust on the village in Andúril's forest. "Should we worry about it?" she asked.

"We should be fine," said Lerinth. "It shouldn't have any effect on us. Besides, it seems to be working only on humans' complex hearts, no animals in our domains were affected by it."

"All right then, let's move on," commanded Tawarthion.

As the group was walking over the small hills, a dark cloud of dust that was rising from their feet appeared behind them. They ignored it and pressed on, only stopping once, near a twisted tendril that used to be a cherry tree.

"Tawarthion..." Kate breathed out. The dark and thorny tendril was looking exactly the same as those that he used against her after he was revived. It was a creation of the dark power.

They could also see humans' influence all over. There were houses scattered around the landscape, some with fences around fields next to them. They even found a table with two benches next to it, out in the open. But there were no humans around. It was a land of ghosts, except that there weren't any ghosts there, according to Lerinth. Everything was silent, except the rustling of the dust under the Guardians' feet.

Then, they arrived at a river. But the water in it was different, dark, mixed with corruption. Kate attempted to raise a bit of it, but the water would not obey. She tried it several more times, before it finally subdued to her will and an orb rose up.

"It's still water, but it feels different," she said, looking at the swirling particles inside.

"Don't do that!!" shouted Tawarthion, when they noticed what she was doing. She let go of it in surprise and the others ran to her.

"To control a creation of the dark power, you need to use your own dark power. Don't attempt to manipulate anything here," he said, a bit calmer.

"All right, but if I'm forbidden to stop the current, how do we get across? I don't really like the idea of swimming in it," she said.

"So, you don't want to touch it, but instead you connect with it on elemental basis?" Morcion's poisonous note was left unanswered.

"The last time we were here, Andúril froze it for a moment. But since that's not an option now..." Lerinth was trying to think of something.

"Humans for sure had a way to cross it, before they got corrupted at least," Eriana pointed out. "There, behind the hill," she pointed at a partially hidden bridge. They went to it and crossed the river.

"Unnatural," said Tawarthion, not really trusting the human craftsmanship.

"Fitting from you." Kate didn't drop the chance.

Once they were on the other bank, Morcion went on again, but Tawarthion stopped him.

"Wait. I want to see something. It's not far from here, just down the river."

"Is it necessary?" asked Morcion.

"It won't take long."

And so, the others followed him with the current, to the east.