The Spells that Bind Us

The Leaf

The day of the meeting had arrived, and we had yet to head to The Grove.  Jax and I were in a scramble to get ready and eventually we were both in the kitchen and about to leave when remembered to get the flask that held the invitation.  I ran back and grabbed Jax's hand and saw his body tense up before I started focusing on the entrance of The Grove. The image came up and I felt the rush of magic and the deconstruction of our bodies.  I felt a more powerful rush of mana reflect us away. I quickly tried to focus on a nearby spot, the nearest one being about ten miles away from The Grove.

When the world appeared around us I let go of Jax's hand and nearly collapsed on the forest floor, and started coughing.  After a few minutes I stopped and explained what happened to Jax. He said we should start heading towards the grove on foot, and he just started walking in a random direction.  I quickly pointed out his lack of navigational skills and redirected him towards The Grove.

We walked for about an hour before encountering the Sylax River of which had no bridge for miles.  Jax saw the river and looked like he had an idea. I recognized some of the ingredients from the trip to The City, but there were a few more herbs and powders that were foreign to me.  After a few minutes he started packing his case and handed a flask to me and asked me to fill it with river water. I complied and handed him the flask. He mixed the compound with the water and took a sip and handed the flask to me and ran over the surface.  I took a sip of the concoction and ran after him. The water seemed to condense under our feet as we ran.

Once we made it across the river I redirected us toward The Grove and started walking for another half hour until reaching The Ring of Birch.  The Ring of Birch is a large circle of birch trees that act as a barrier and a warning to those approaching The Grove, but hold a deeper power of prophecy from their roots are intertwined with ancient magic.

We approached The Ring and stopped at the midpoint for the trees to allow us passage.  Only two trees reacted. The one closest to me becomes for me to come closer. I complied and held out my hand.  A leaf fell and landed perfectly, I held it to my heart and felt the world give way to a dark void.

The void showed a bright crystal floating in its space, slowly lighting more until it hit halfway.  Then a second dark crystal formed opposite it seeming to suck in the light and they battled for dominance of the void until both shattered into explosions of light and dark respectively.  Then the duality of the void gave way to a seal of sorts, with several openings, with druid glyphs wrapping around the circumference. Roots were wrapping around the seal and pushing it under the ground.  Then the scene changed once more, to a single drop of blood falling onto the seal with all the openings filled.

The world returned and the leaf was gone, i quickly whipped around to see Jax starting to walk towards the grove calling for me to hurry up.  I was still processing the vision as we walked the final distance to The Grove.

Hiya friends, I finished writing this in ceramics, so that's why it's coming out during school, see ya round!