The Prodigies: The Return of Equinox

Chapter Fifty-Five: Appealed

Ellondra saw him standing on the other side of the pond. The Druid. His clothing was far different from what he had on before. It was a color that resembled the color of the space between stars. An empty blackness that had no business being on the earth. Darker than anything she had seen before.

"What are you doing here?" Celesta spoke through bared teeth.

"For the funeral. Her funeral. Biel."

"She almost killed us, and for no reason."

"Never said I was defending her. Just paying what little respects I have. I never did like her, and for good reason I suppose."

"Why's that?" Asked Ellondra.

"Well, I couldn't sense The Six you guys had just fought. Biel hid it all from me somehow. I guess you could say she was a Druid's apprentice in her own right."

"What? How?"

"I don't know, but my master was quite the powerful Druid. Maybe he gave her the potential to be one. But either way, she broke many tenants. Had I found out, I would have been compelled to kill her myself."

"Is the order that serious?" Seilana was skeptical of the need to do something that drastic.

"It used to be, according to what Calorn had told me."

There was a silence then. A silence both eerie and comforting. They knew then what the Druids were at their most base level. A cult. A cult with literal power over everything they could think of. And the only thing holding them back was a code of conduct of sorts.

"I see you've still used that forbidden magic."

"You can't tell a queen what not to do." Celesta smirked at the Druid.

"Apparently so. But you're quite lucky you have a summoned here. Not yours from what I can tell. Whose are you?

"I'm no ones. I'm free."

"Dead summoner then. Better life for you in the end I guess. Complete servitude is quite taxing I've heard."

"Get on with your funeral then." The Druid looked at the center of the pond. He pondered for a moment, and struggled to find some words to say. Hesitant syllables whispered past his lips.

"I'm sorry for my master's loss. Rest well."

"Is there a life after death?" Ellondra had always wondered if there was something to look forward to. Or dread.

"I can't remember if you do, but I know that Druids become one with the world. We turn into the leaves that turn color and fall and such. You, though, might have nothing waiting for you. You might struggle to live, or it might come suddenly, but I think you just lose consciousness and forget your whole life. Not having a single frame of reference for any experience that you might have after, if you experience anything at all. But I could be wrong. The death of a regular mortal is not mine, and I could never experience it."

"Aren't you lucky?"

"You could say that. But to live forever in a weird sense seems awful. I've heard that there used to be mercy killings amongst the druids. It was different than the death that a Druid first experiences. To release each other of the pain of living. I hope that I can find a few students to mentor so that I may finally die when I want to."

"What a funny thing to look forward to."

"Maybe, but it doesn't matter right now. Did you want a reward?"

Celesta paused after his question. "For what?"

"Dealing with Biel, of course. Surprising that you managed to do it, and highly heretical in the way you did it, but a chore off of my list nonetheless."

"How about my arms and legs back, the real ones?"

"No, I don't think I'll be doing that. You'll just have to live with your transgressions."

"How about a blessing?" Asked Seilan

"Funny, didn't expect that."

"A blessing that allows me to regrow lost things."

"I see. And quite foolish. But I'll grant it."

"What about stronger control over myself?" There was a hint of excitement in the buzzes and chirping from the mass of insects that wrestled to come into shape.

"Reasonable. There will be a cost, but it shouldn't be much. You are already Druidic. Wouldn't want you to become another Biel."

"Nothing for me."

"For the queen of her dying people, nothing?"

"Nothing. I want not."

"How gracious. Still, your reward will wait for you. Call upon me if you have a need for it." The Druid turned and started to walk away.

"I have a request!" Celesta couldn't let this opportunity walk away.

"What would it be?" The Druid turned ever so slowly to meet her stare.

"During and after my life, I want my kingdom, my people, to thrive. And if not, I want them to at least persist."

"Very well. It might end up helping me get more apprentices anyways."

"And no curses. Nothing about twisted immortality, resurrections, or purgatory states. I want the dead to stay dead."

"Why's that?"

"Too messy to deal with."

"Fair enough. And remember, Huven, your reward still waits."

"I'll call you when I need it."

"I'll be waiting." With those final words, the Druid turned away from them for the last time and walked away. Slowly dissipating into the background.

"Can you get up?" Asked Seilana.

"I can try." Celesta groaned as she willed her limbs to perform some sort of action to lift her body, but it was near fruitless. She had told her limbs to move in one way, but they decided to become heavy, move in a different way, or not at all.

"Did you need a lift?" Ellondra knelt down to meet Celesta as she spoke

"No, I think I know a way." Celesta closed her eyes concentrated. She moled her magic through the fabric of the holds that held her limbs together. She forced and stabbed into the unfamiliar nerves of her pretend limbs, beating them into submission and obedience.

"What're you thinking?" Ellondra couldn't see the invisible struggle that Celesta was in. But before she could get her answer Celesta started moving her fingers. First, as though she had been kissed by a deep cold. The movements were slow and unrefined. In the moments following, Celesta could move more of her new limbs and with finer control. Slowly, but surely, she was able to stand on two feet again however unsteady.

"This is going to be much harder than I thought."

"It's fine. You're a Prodigy, a Chosen of two gods, and the Slayer of the Six. Nothing is above you." Ellondra held onto Celesta's shoulders as she spoke, making sure that the message between the queens of two peoples wasn't misconstrued in any way.

Celesta shed a tear then. She convinced herself it was because of how her arms and legs felt. The feeling was akin to when your limbs fall asleep, though far greater. It was definitely that feeling. Nothing else.