Sanguine Halo

Chapter Two: A Wilder's Request

Slowly... The demons shall reclaim the land slowly. They shall devour every Mauler, every Wilder, every Lightbearer, every Graveborn that they shall see and take the land as their own. They will witness the full extent of their chaos and no one can stop them.

"Yawwwwwn...." Mirael woke up early in the morning. She looked at the clock hanging on her bedroom wall. It's 5 AM.
She would want to wake Fawkes up but when she went up to his room, he wasn't there.

"I guess he's taking care of some important things." She mumbled. She was certain that she's alone when...

"I guess you're right. I came here to find a demon slayer but he's not here!"
Mirael turned back and saw a lamb-like figure holding a spear.

"AAAAAAAAA! Goat!" She screamed.

"Goat? Excuse me! I'm a Wilder! Nobody calls me a goat you devil root!" The lamb-like person walked right up to her.

"A... Wilder?"

Fawkes came running towards them and fell on the floor out of breath.

"Huff.... huff.... Mira... Don't be afraid. She's Nemora and she's a Wilder. She needs our help. Huff Huff...."

"I know."
Fawkes faced them and found Mirael squeezing Nemora's fleece back and forth.

"Wh-what are you doing Mira! She's our first client!" He screamed but Mirael just continued to touch Nemora's fleece which caused Nemora to fell on Mirael's bed helplessly.

"Ahhh. I haven't experienced being pampered like this once in a while...." She said while laying on Mirael's bed.

After all of the commotion, the two calmed down and Fawkes slowly addressed Nemora's problem.

"The hypogeans. They started invading the elder forest on the south... Our people needs your help. Please..."
Nemora begged and bowed her head on the floor. She couldn't do anything because for a Wilder like her, she couldn't specialize in battles but all she could do was to heal.

"Hypogeans? Is that what you call demons in your place?"

"Yes. They started feeding off on Wilders like us soon, they'll feed on Lightbearers like you too... My home... I couldn't do anything to save it."

Nemora's tears visibly fell from her eyes as she can imagine what her home would be like when the hypogeans would take over it.

"Don't worry Nemora. We will help you." Mirael made sure that they can help Nemora with the best that they could.

"I can take you now to the Wilder's territory. When you're ready..." Nemora was about to wave her spear when Fawkes stopped her.

"We're not ready yet. We still need to get ready ourselves for the danger that we're about to face. We're not ordinary lightbearers. We have a stain of the hypogeans so we need to be careful of all sorts."

Fawkes told Mirael to get dressed with a dress that she could pick.
When they're ready, Fawkes gave Mirael a pendant carved with a mark of a lightbearer in it.

"It is necessary to keep your powers at bay. We don't know what your powers are capable of."
Mirael nodded at him and with a swing of Nemora's spear, they are transported into a place with an abundant forest. Grasses were green and animals are freely roaming around. The place was somehow magical and strange at the same time.

"I haven't been into a forest before." Mirael chuckled as she picked a flower in her hand.
Fawkes took the flower from her hand and put it beside Mirael's hair.

"You look beautiful with a flower in your hair." He said. Mirael just laughed softly while Nemora rolled her eyes off.

They walked to the farthest south of the forest until they had reached the elder tree.

"Ulmus!" Nemora shouted as she saw the dying tree. She stepped right in and gave Ulmus a healing spell. The damaged roots replenished itself and Ulmus regained his strength to talk.

"Nemora... They took Tasi. You need to hurry. Tell Lyca and the others that we need to evacuate to the Lightbearers... This place shall become a wasteland for us!"
Ulmus' panicked state is very obvious. When Nemora touched his roots, she saw the horror that Ulmus and the other wilders had suffered... She shed a tear...

"No Ulmus. I promise, we will bring back Tasi safe and sound."

Ulmus nodded and Nemora and her party then departed to meet Lyca at the Western side of the elder forest.

When they had reached the West side of the forest, Lyca appeared to them armed with a longbow and her deer.

"Nemora, why did you bring lightbearers in this forest? This place is supposed to be hidden from any other kind except wilders. Have you no respect to the elder tree?"

Nemora bowed in front of Lyca and said... " I have already talked to the Elder tree at the south... Tasi, the dreamhopper guardian had been taken by the hypogeans. If you wish to bring her back, we would need these lightbearers to help us."

After Nemora had explained, Lyca believed her and she also called Kaz to help with Tasi's rescuing.
A mile of walking and then they reached the source of the problem.
A portal had been opened and the area of the south had been swarming with hypogeans.

"What do we do now, Fawkes?" Nemora asked him. Fawkes looked at them and saw Kaz.

"You're an assassin?" He asked Kaz.
"From the looks of it, I am..." she replied deviously.

"While I and Lyca shoot down the hypogeans, Nemora you will lead Kaz and Mirael inside that portal and bring back Tasi. You got that?"

The three understood Fawkes' plan and executed it.
Lyca and Fawkes started shooting down the hypogeans and Nemora, Mirael and Kaz went inside the portal.
Inside, the roots of a tree are fully corrupted by the hypogeans.
"I can't see anything except these weird black roots." Kaz said as she wielded her blades on the corrupted roots.
"My daggers can't even pierce this thing a bit."

Mirael knows what to do and volunteered to clear the roots off.
"Please take cover."
She instructed Nemora and Kaz to hide behind her while she cast her spell.

Mirael closed her eyes and after a short while, opened them and with a swish of her hand, the black roots cleared a path. A corridor like hollow way had revealed itself. At the other edge of it, they saw Tasi cocooned inside a crystal like chamber.

There are still some hypogeans inside and they could hear Tasi's anguished screams. She's in trouble!
Kaz took care of the remaining hypogeans while Mirael and Nemora focused on getting Tasi out from the crystallized chamber.

"My spell didn't work. Tasi won't survive inside that cocoon. Please Mirael..."

Mirael nodded at Nemora. She could do nothing more but to help someone in need. She's a lightbearer in fact.

Mireal burned off the crystallized cocoon and gladly Tasi came off safely.

Tasi had been removed from the chamber and the tree came crumbling apart. They had made their escape before the tree fell down.

Fawkes and Lyca had took care of the remaining hypogeans.

"So glad you're alive." Fawkes said after seeing Mirael safe and sound.

"Would you be glad if I'm dead?" she jokingly said. Fawkes came close to her and gave her a long pinch on her face.

"Owwwwwww..... What was that for?"

"That, was for your lame joke."

"What? A joke is a joke. Your jokes are even lamer! You little son of a-"
Before she could continue, Fawkes gave her an ardent kiss.

"That, was for returning back alive."

Fawkes walked away and winked before she could even say a thing. She went red peppers.

"So? What does a kiss taste like?" Nemora smirked and made a bubbly face on her.

"Faaaaaaaaawkes!!!!!!"