Savage Rising: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 1

Chapter 30

Enjoying the story so far? Please contribute to the author's Patreon. patreon.com/expressivemedia

Firefly couldn't help but detect a terrible sense of irony in her situation. It wasn't just the physical beauty of Tranquility that moved her, it was the history. Every time she would look across the lake, she imagined the dried, empty bed it was 200 years ago. It was in that lakebed Shimmer and her army of dryads did battle against the forces of the Vailrock. She'd always held those stories close in her heart, wondering what it was like on that fateful day.

Now, she was standing on the shores of Tranquility once again, and as the great elf, Shimmer, she was about to go into battle. Moreover, like Shimmer, it would be a battle with terrible, demonic creatures. A part of her wondered if this was fate playing a cruel trick on her.

The other part was terrified.

The weather was beautiful, as it usually was in Tranquility. She wasn't sure if it was by natural forces or the Lady's grace, but rarely did this sacred place receive any kind of terrible weather. It rained only enough to sustain the plant life, and the wind never seemed more than a gentle breeze. It was paradise in every way. The fact that the coming hours would be filled with bloodshed and death seemed inconceivable.

All these things Firefly contemplated as she sat perched on the wall of the bridge on the backside of the Temple. The sun was high, casting its warm rays upon her face and heating the stone surface beneath her. It had been a long and restless night for all. The balisekts had been housed and fed, but they were still weary from their battle some days before. Using her power, Azalea had healed them as best she could, but they were still far from prime fighting condition.

Their size was small, too. Those that made the trek to Tranquility only numbered around one thousand. Still, they were eager to turn their swords and their spears against their cruel, tyrannical master, even if death was inevitable

Not knowing the size or the strength of what was to come; only one battle plan could be conjured. Though Killika's demonic creations were formidable, they seemed only intent on carrying out the will of their master. The hope was that, if Killika were to be eliminated, his demonic army would simply stop fighting, perhaps even be destroyed. It was a plan with no guarantee of success, but even the balisekt rebels and the Lady's army combined could not hope to outlast an entire legion of those terrible creatures in a long, drawn-out battle.

It wasn't a great plan, but it was a plan, and it was all they had.

"Firefly," Sunrise said as he appeared at the top of the bridge.

She turned to face him, giving a look of both uneasiness and worry. Since her dramatic announcement in the Wilds, they had been avoiding each other. Even now, she knew he was going to tell her things she didn't want to hear, but seeing how these could be their last moments in the Lady's forest, it was truly now or never. "Have a seat," she said with a polite gesture.

"It's eerily peaceful," Sunrise said as he sat on the wall next to her.

Firefly laughed. "I was just thinking that." It felt good to make small talk with him again.

"Listen, Firefly," Sunrise said. His foot scrapped casually against the stone floor of the bridge. "I want to ask you to do something, but I know you will want to resist."

"I'm not coming back to the Temple," she said without turning to look at him. "I will never be an acolyte."

Sunrise chuckled a bit. "You may be surprised to hear that wasn't it."

He was right. She was surprised. "What is it then?" she asked.

He sighed. "I don't want you in this fight," he said.