Into the Forest

Hazmureth

     The battle had been going well. There had been a small hiccup when Becca disappeared, but it was not long before she was back in play. But now the bölog Val was gone, as well as her mate. Where was she? Had she, too, been brought out of the battle?
     I panned across to the barre from my vantage point high above the pulsating crowd. Its metal structure was crumbling, smoke and fire pouring from it. 'No,' I thought. 'Was she supposed to die here?'
     I thought back to my recent visions of everyone's fates. Rolygh was meant to die here, and had. But Val...
     I thought hard. Rolygh was to die to unlock a hidden power in her. That was it. She was supposed to aid Chrysanthemum by unleashing unbridled rage and pain onto the barre, disabling it.
     But is that what she had done? I tried to see what was going on, but the smoke was still too thick. Everyone else was safe, those who still had a purpose to serve. But if it was Val's fate to die here, would it be the fate of all the others as well?
     The worry grew within me, and I tried to think back to the barre wars of long ago. Had there been a definite hero then, I'd not known.
     Down on the ground, the fae were beginning to assess what had happened. Some cried out in grief, others in elation; but everyone was moved in some way. By luck alone, not a single fae, friend nor foe, had been harmed in the explosion, or the billowing smoke and fire pouring from the machine.
     The smoke began to clear, and those opposing justice found their boss in ruin. They fell to their collective knees, agonizing more now than ever. Some ran to the ruins trying to find something to dig out of it; others slunk away while they could, feeling their battle had been lost. I moved further in, inspecting to see what exactly the damage had been. It had not been foretold that Val would defeat the barre, but I had also not anticipated an eruption of that magnitude.
     As I had feared, a small pink lump crawled from the wreckage. It had had time to protect itself. What a shame; I'd hoped it would be over easier than this. The destruction of the metal shell had certainly made this easier, but I couldn't help but wish the blasts had destroyed the helpless pink mass that was the barre...
     But I shouldn't have hoped for that much; Chrysanthemum had still not filled her role. She'd not even formally interacted with the barre - how could I expect it to be over?
     The barre crawled away from the wreckage and the gathered fae without being spotted. What was it doing? It disappeared into the trees, and I followed. Was it trying to escape? This would not be its fate! I could not let it get away!
     Once safely away, it took the form of a fox. It turned its head, making sure it had not been followed, and ran.
     I would have to intervene. I'd not wanted to have to do this, but the barre could not get away. Not with things so close to being over!
     I withdrew my consciousness from Hlorr, and began my preparations for the battle. I'd come back here to observe things, as the magic was stronger here than in normal holds. The crystals and the ancient faalä within the walls allowed for this.
     "You're going so soon," the Spirit stated.
     "I must, friend," I told them. "The barre has fled; it is not meant to survive this battle. We can not afford for it to be free in the world. Without it dead, conflicts will never truly cease for us."
     "Very well," they replied. "Do what you feel is just. Stay safe, Hazmureth, last of the faalä."
     I turned from the scrying glass and opened a portal. The scent of death floated in: I had the right location. I stepped through and found myself on the edge of where the fighting had been.
     Bodies littered the ground, but I knew this would be the case. In the distance, the barre's metal body lay in a heap; this would all have to be cleaned up before any humans found out about it... I was sure Chrysanthemum and the rest were over there, contemplating whether this was the end. I was sure the arydium was confused, as I'd told her of a much larger role than just fending off other fae.
     I took to the woods to hunt down the barre; with luck, it would be too shaken from the blast to be able to use magic to conceal its presence.
     I walked on silent feet, waiting to feel its in the woods around me. It was in here, somewhere - it could not be far. Scrying present from Hlorr events puts one just a few seconds ahead of real time, so I had that slight advantage. But the barre was fast-moving and elusive as a fox. We were, I assessed, about evenly matched here.
     Would the others be dispersing by now, going back to the safety of their holds, or trying to rebuild a life and an identity for the Pythan fae? I sought Chrysanthemum's consciousness, and instructed her to stay put. 'The battle is not over,' I thought through her mind. 'Keep where you are; I'm working to fix the situation.'
     She, of course, did not know how to reply, but I hoped she understood that is was I who had contacted her.
     My course took me deep into the wood. I could sense the barre, but it was well hidden. It got stronger as I approached a particular tree; I looked to the roots to discover a hole. A wonderful hiding place for a fox. Sure enough, a life form was sheltered within
     I used magic to drag the animal out, tail first. It was the barre. "You cannot expect to live your life as a fox," I told it, suspending it midair.
     The fox flailed about chattered as it helplessly, unable to morph due to the spell I'd placed on it. "Let me go!" it demanded. "You have no power over me!"
     I opened my mouth and smiled. The fox looked nervous, with eyes wide and ears back. "You will not mess up the sequence of events this world needs to go through. You know what will happen if you're left alive. You should have known this before fleeing. The arydium girl has survived all sorts of hardship to get where she is today; and now, her role it to slay you, Ka, last of the barre."
     It blinked nervously, and made a strange clicking sound, as if it was a real fox. "Let me down, so we can talk as equals. If you wish to get me to give my life because you've seen some reality in your magic mirror, I will need some respect."
     Hesitantly, I set the fox down; I could sense its intentions were not ill, though the thought of running again did cross its mind. As soon as the barre touched the ground, it began shifting into a different form. Instead of the pink blob I was expecting, stood Rolygh. "I see," I said. "We're playing this sort of game, are we?"
     It smirked with the bölog's face. "You sent that kid to die, and you're the one who's acting like this is in bad taste? I prefer this body, anyway. It's much larger and stronger than I am naturally."
     I nodded, knowing there would be no point arguing with it. "You need to go, back to the battle. It is what is best for us all. You must die there."
     It looked into the trees. "But I don't think that I will." There was no indication that it would start running, or attack me; it was simply stating fact. "I'd rather like to go on living. Do you know how long I've been locked away, laying in wait on the mind plane for a moment like this? Fae like you made this world a hostile place for me, and now that I'm finally free to live, I'd like to have that chance."
     "It's not your choice," I reminded it. "I've seen futures where you remain alive, and none of them lead to anything but death and destruction. Your army has dispersed, thinking you have fallen, and you have all but lost. I just need you to go back and die, to fulfill your purpose. You could have killed Chrysanthemum long ago; not doing so was your choice. You wanted to play with her, as you like to play with all life. The paths we all must walk now are because of you. Had you not murdered thousands simply for the thrill of it, had you not been hidden during the war against the barre, this would never have happened. But it did, and you at least need to face what must happen."
     It looked into the woods behind me. "Some fae stirs," it reported. "We are being watched."
     "So be it," I knew who was there already; only she knew why, though.
     "You're not concerned your weak little friends will see us speaking, and think you a traitor?"
     "I have faith that they would ask me for details." I thought for a moment, concluding that this would likely be true. "Plus, at some point we were friends. I cannot hide things such as that from them and expect us to still be on good terms."
     "But we're friends no longer," it spoke solemnly, almost as if it was sad.
     "No," I assured it. "No longer. Not after your kind figured out how to harness the power of the earth in your metal suits, and tried to kill all other fae in order for you to have a good time."
     "I saw that one among your side possessed an arm which uses the same sort of magic. How, and why? You know it's against your silly Code."
     "That was pure coincidence. The same result by a different method, and from stone instead of ore. There is nothing against that in the Code."
     "Not in writing, but it is implied."
     "Perhaps," I spoke carefully. It was not, in fact, a crime by the Code of the Civil Fae to have a prosthetic in the nature of Becca's, but if it wanted to believe such who was I to correct it? Ka was merely buying itself time now with this insipid back-and-forth.
     "Your ally in the trees grows impatient," it warned. "I can sense it." It was true. She, too, was tiring of the senseless conversation.
     "You are alright to come out, my friend," I directed over my shoulder. "It should be safe." If the barre would keep still...
     She stepped out, bow in hand, drawn and ready to fire. Her green skin glistened with sweat, her amber eyes fierce and focused. "Have you betrayed us, Hazmureth?" she asked, voice thick with suspicion.
     I moved my head toward the ground, implying my peace. "There's nothing wrong with speaking with an old friend, is there?" She glared. "I'm trying to convince it to go back and stop trying to outrun all the harm it has done."
     "And what if it does not?" she questioned. "I implore you to remember that this is the enemy, a fae who sided with a dohl that tried to murder Chrysanthemum in cold blood. Is this the kind of friends you keep?" She lifted the bow and drew back the string, ready to let the arrow fly. "If you mean to betray us, I will do all I can to kill you both."
     The barre laughed. "She really thinks she could do anything to us? Our power is so far above your head, child!" She drew further back, ready to release.
     "Hazmureth?" she addressed me, eyes remaining focused on the barre. "We can trust you, correct? Please stand aside."
     I could tell what she was about to do. I stepped aside, just enough to give her space. Juniper let go of the arrow, allowing it to fly. It struck the barre, still wearing the skin of her friend, causing it to screech. "You idiot girl!" it yelled. "You fae need to stop trying to kill me! You can't! All you're doing is making me angry!"
     I turned back to her, and nodded. She understood. She ran off through the woods.
     The barre reverted to its natural form, too tired from the blow to maintain any other form. Had it been poisoned? The pink thing crawled around on the ground, back and forth as if it was pacing. "You let that arydium shoot me!" it said incredulously. "What are you doing? What's your true purpose here, Hazmureth?"
     I kept my mind blank. It had touched me before, and could therefore read my thoughts; in any other fae it'd be able to control my thoughts as well, but our powers were roughly equal, so it took much more effort to control one another.
     "You're not here to compromise. Your mind is blank, but I can feel that faint nagging at the back of your mind. You're planning an attack, aren't you?"
     I stood, staring blankly. It couldn't know what was going on in my head beyond what it could assume from the situation.
     It sighed. "Fine, then. I'm out of here. There are places I'd like to see. The world has changed so much in the past several thousand years, I don't have time for dying."
     "You must not have been listening," I reprimanded it as it began to turn away from me. "You must die. Whether it's done easily or not is fully up to you." I had seen it being the latter of the options, but there was still time for change.
     It turned and began to slowly slink away. "It was nice to see you, old friend, but it's not going to happen. I'm not dying just yet. You'll have to fight countless wars before I just give up and die."
     The barre had been weakened from its encounter with Val, and could not fight me: I forced it to stop in its tracks. "You must be going deaf, Ka. You are not leaving." It stayed in place, incapable of countering the spell I had on it.
     "You're holding me while your army comes. The thought passed across your mind for a fraction of a second. Very well. If you're bringing the fight to me, if you will not let me run away a coward and paint yourself a hero, so be it. I will fight. And I will kill them all without mercy. And after I absorb their power, I'll kill you, too, Hazmureth." It said this flatly, but with such an acid sting to it that I couldn't help but feel a hint of sympathy.
     I took a step backward, keeping it suspended for several minutes before crashing could be heard in the woods beyond. We kept silent the entire time; there was nothing more to be said, and Ka finally understood this as well.
     The fae burst from the brush, following the trail Juniper had left on. Chrysanthemum was at their lead, with an army of some thirty fae behind her. 'Good,' I thought, not caring if Ka heard now, 'they've arrived.'
     Juniper broke to the front of the group to whisper something to Chrysanthemum. The younger arydium nodded and led the troops to me.
     "You said to stay put," she said, a hint of suspicion to her voice, "but Juniper followed you, and found you with the barre."
     I nodded. "My intention was not to deceive. I naively thought I could sway the barre using logic. As it turns out, it is as illogical and emotional as ever."
     "Or," it cut in, "perhaps I just don't want to die, and that I fight for what I believe is right."
     I scoffed. "I'd believe that from any other fae - but you? You, who has long sided with whatever group will allow you to kill the most? I don't trust for a second that you believe in this cause you fought for." I gave it a moment to react; it did not. "Perhaps if you didn't want to die, you should have thought about choosing the peaceful side, or simply not murdering any being which got in your way."
     Chrysanthemum came to stand directly left of me. "So how do we kill it?" she asked.
     I looked at her, worry in my eyes. "It will not die easily. Many of you may die in the process - it has promised to kill as many as it can. As for how..." I hesitated. There was no easy way around this.
     "Stop being so dramatic!" Ka yelled. "To kill me, you will have to fight yourself. There's no other way."
     "Fight ourselves?" Juniper asked. "What does that mean?"
     The barre laughed uncontrollably, but I kept silent. "You didn't tell them?" it cackled, addressing me. I made no indication of having heard it, causing it to laugh even more. "You must face your weaknesses, your pasts, the awful things you've done." This was part of the reason barre were so dangerous; only those who could move beyond the bad things they'd done could win against them. Barre had to be shut down from inside. Given enough time, they'd recover from any physical damage.
     Chrysanthemum looked extremely worried. "Why am I the one who has to go through this? Why me specifically?"
     "Something in your past gives you power beyond your years and natural abilities. I don't know full details, to be honest, but you alone can do this." In the past, those who had defeated the barre had always been those who'd had a difficult past, and many of them had even been taken down. But it had never been a single fae to take down one barre. So far as I knew, Chrysanthemum was the only fae to ever fight a barre one on one.
     Her anxiety was clearly building again. I could see in her eyes that she'd rather this task be given to anyone else. But she also wanted to save the world, to make sure it was a safe place for all fae, and humans; this was evident from the look on her face.
     She took several minutes to talk among the two friends she had left. The others who had come with them waited eagerly to prove their skills in battle.
     She came back to where I stood soon after, telling me she was ready. "The barre will not hold back," I reminded her. "If it destroys us all then it gets to live, and it will show you no mercy. If it lives, life as we know it will cease."
     "I know," was her only response.
     She left me and walked over to the barre. "Release it," she said, looking at me over her shoulder, green eyes tearing up slightly. "I've got this."
     "As you wish," I said, dropping the barre from its confinement. It shook itself, then launched.
     It soared over Chrysanthemum's head and into the fae who had come in support of her. It had morphed into a bölog, an unknown one this time, and was firing spell after spell at them. Each one it touched was battling their own internal demons right now, as well as having to battle outside their heads.
     Juniper had stationed herself in a tree, and was firing arrows down at the barre. Most all landed, and the creature decided to direct its attacks at her. She dodged expertly, jumping from tree to tree with ease.
     Chrysanthemum and I stood to the side, waiting for a chance to attack.
     "You will succeed," I assured her. "I've seen it many times over. It's a little different each time I see your success, but it will happen."
     She smiled weakly, then jumped forward into battle, tiny arydium swords at the ready. Juniper was in trouble, and she was going to aid her. Becca was soon with her, attacking the barre with a magical axe.
     I knew I could not interfere here. It was not my place, and could have serious ramifications. I was here in case of an emergency, not as a grunt; and if I disposed of Ka, who knows what would happen as a result...
     Becca had been struck, and was crying as she went; behind her eyes, I could almost see her past playing out by how emotive her faces were. Juniper had yet to be hit, and the barre was all but ignoring Chrysanthemum.
     'It's looking to kill the rest before it kills her,' I thought; I should have anticipated that it would act this way. Of course it would want to absorb some energy before it fought its greatest opponent here.
     A few of Chrysanthemum's small army had fallen already, too overcome with their pasts to fight. Their bodies were quickly being absorbed by the barre. Becca, in horror, noticed this through her torment, and nearly got herself killed to stop it. As quickly as she could, Juniper began bolting the corpses with flaming arrows to burn them before they could be used to fuel the barre.
     This greatly displeased Ka, who went to deliver a killing blow to Becca.
     Chrysanthemum acted fast, shoving Becca out of the way and blocking the barre's attack. In a desperate attempt to keep untouched, she pushed it back with a barrier as well.
     It growled in the bölog's voice as it went, slamming into a tree. Each of those possessed by its haunting magic were released for a moment, before bringing brought back under.
     "Stop playing games with me, arydium!" it roared. "Your friends here are useless! You should sacrifice them so we can battle one-to-one! Without them, I'm sure I'd have you dead in an instant!"
     Chrysanthemum ignored it, setting the ground ablaze around her and her friends. The barre would not pass through it, and instead stayed put for a counterspell.
     As soon as the barre put the fire out, it was shot by arrows from multiple directions.
     "Fight me one-on-one!" it yelled again. "In the end, your friends will be no use to you anyway! You're only wasting time."
     Becca threw her axe at the barre while it ranted, slicing cleanly into the right thigh of the bölog skin it wore.
     "No more!" it yelled in absolute seething rage. "NO MORE!" The earth rang with the sound of Ka's rage.
     A flash manifested across the clearing, and when the light faded, the barre was gone.
     And so was Chrysanthemum.