Eternal Forest: The Shadow of the Throne

by Faith Naff

“There you are!” Dragonfly said excitedly as Mantis landed on the platform. Dragonfly ran to him, placing his hands on his forearms and trying to establish eye contact. Mantis kept looking away, which made him worry that things hadn’t gone well. “What happened?”

  Mantis averted his eyes again as he grinded his teeth. “You know I can’t say,” he said softly.

  “But it went badly,” Dragonfly said with a sigh. “That much I can tell.”

  Mantis remained silent.

  Dragonfly leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. “Come on,” he said, trying to sound cheerful. “Let’s have supper and clear your mind.”

  “I can’t,” Mantis said regretfully. “I have to be on patrol tonight.”

  Dragonfly’s hands dropped away. “But you said you were off duty tonight.”

  “I was, but the Rose is calling for doubled patrols to continue until tensions with Tranquility die down.”

  Dragonfly nodded somberly. “I understand.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mantis replied.

  Dragonfly leaned in, giving his beloved a soft kiss on the lips. “You have nothing to be sorry about. You’re working to keep us all safe and I’m very proud of you. You’ve always dreamed of being Thorn captain and now you’re getting your chance. I’ll still be here when you get back.”

  Mantis folded Dragonfly’s hands into his own and pressed them to his chin. “Thank you,” he said.

  Dragonfly smiled. “Go keep Windsong safe for another night,” he said playfully. “When you get home, we can talk about whatever you want...or at least whatever you’re allowed.”

  “I will,” Mantis said with a nod. Dragonfly turned away as his clear wings began to buzz behind him. Before he could take off, Mantis called for him again. Dragonfly turned again, looking deep into Mantis’s worry-filled eyes.

  “What is it?”

  Mantis swallowed hard. “I’m probably saying too much, but I have a strong sense that something terrible is going to happen soon.”

  “What kind of thing?” he asked.

  Mantis shook his head. “I don’t know, but all of this is leading to something, and it can’t possibly be good.”

  “What should we do then?”

  “Be prepared,” Mantis said with a shaky voice. “Be prepared for anything.”

  Chapter 11

  Beyond the forest where the demons had marched, the Savage Lands northeast of Tranquility were still as beautiful and serene as ever. The foliage was still green and lush. The songs of birds could still be heard all around. The smells of charcoal and soot were still detectable, but were far less noticeable than they would be just a little to the west. It was early morning. The leaves were still wet with dew and a fine mist hung in the air between the trees. It was a peaceful scene, enough to calm the heart and soul of any of the Lady’s creatures.

  Unfortunately, it was having no such effect on Moonbeam.

  The underbrush shook loudly as the elven seryan marched through the largely uncivilized forest. In her company were Galdaren, the human seryan, and Ladybug, seryan to the faeries. Behind them, a small cluster of soldiers marched. With them were two male centaurs, each with a large mound wrapped in burlap and slung over their hind ends. The trio of seryans moved with great purpose, with Moonbeam leading the way. A fire burned behind her old eyes and each planting of her walking stick upon the earth sounded with a loud thud.

  As they neared the base of the mountain, Moonbeam began to see signs of a fledgling settlement. At first glance, one could easily mistake it for a large camp. There were several tents of varying sizes spread out amongst the trees with the remnants of large fires in the widest spaces. Lines of rope crisscrossed the branches like a giant spider web, each one holding crudely made garments or blankets. At the center of it all, a flag waved at the top of a crudely fashioned pole. Upon the white sheet sat jagged emblem resembling a star or a snowflake. It had thin, curving points of red and black, all forming a design that looked as orderly as it did chaotic.

  Amongst all of this, there were the balisekts. The lizard people wandering the settlement in the early morning looked frightfully unrested for having recently awoken. Their eyes were like foggy glass. Many seemed to be moving about aimlessly, not knowing where they were going or why. Moonbeam could sense a great deal of fatigue amongst the balisekts. If she hadn’t been so angry, she might possibly have felt pity for them.

  The balisekts gave her puzzled looks as she stormed into their new home. Some cowered away, seemingly sensing her rage and moving out of harm’s way before it was released. She scoffed. What happened to these creatures? Where were the bloodthirsty savages that marched destructively through the Lands of Order like the Blight of old? Domestication had made them weak and fearful. Perhaps the Lady never intended for them to be counted amongst Her chosen ones.

  Moonbeam drove her staff into the ground when she stopped. Her grip on it released, leaving it embedded in the soft earth like a flagpole set by a conquering warlord. The balisekts backed away, forming a circle around her and her entourage. For a few chilling moments, there was only silence. The old elf’s eyes scanned the scaly faces around her, looking for even one among them who appeared to have a spine.

  “Who is in charge here?” she demanded. There was no response. The balisekts simply continued to watch her like a helpless animal cornered by a predator. Her fists tightened at her sides. “I know at least a few of you blighted creatures speak the Lady’s blessed tongue, so I’ll ask again.” Moonbeam’s hands snapped open, causing a ring of fire to radiate out a short distance from her body and scatter those balisekts nearest to her. “Who is in charge here?!”

  “There is no need for such a show of force, exalted one,” a male balisekt said as he emerged from the back of the crowd. He was very tall, even for a balisekt. A long scar ran down his face over his left eye. “You will find no enemies of the Lady here.”

  Moonbeam’s teeth ground behind her closed lips. It still felt sacrilege to hear one of these creatures speak Her blessed name. “Who are you?” she asked bluntly.

  “My name is Heeska,” the balisekt said. “How might we be of service to the Temple?”

  Moonbeam raised an eyebrow. “I’ve heard of you,” she said. Her voice softened a bit, but not enough to lose its sting. “You traveled with the dryad, didn’t you?”

  “I did.”

  “Which means you also traveled with the fugitives Sunrise and Firefly.”

  Heeska took a deep breath. “I pray this visit is not another manhunt. Our forest has been searched for them many times with no success.”

  Moonbeam scoffed. “Your forest. You may claim sovereignty of the land now, but you clearly have no control over it.”

  Heeska was silent.

  Moonbeam snapped her fingers above her head. Two of the dwarven soldiers behind her lifted the burlap bundles and slung them over their shoulders. Whatever the sacks contained, they were clearly heavy and difficult to handle. “Your problems with the goblins are getting worse by the day,” she said. “More and more attacks befall your borders, growing in intensity each time.”

  Heeska nodded, but his expression showed he was thinking things he shouldn’t say aloud. “It is a balisekt problem and we will handle it.”

  “Wrong, it was a balisekt problem!” Moonbeam bellowed. The two soldiers slung the sacks onto the ground. They unfurled as the rolled across the forest floor, uncovering the corpses of two goblin warriors. Their bodies were covered in burns, clear evidence they were killed with elemental magic. Heeska tried to speak, but Moonbeam’s strong words trampled over his. “These two are from a hoard that just came rampaging through the Acolyte Village! We lost three students trying to stop them!”

  Heeska closed his lips tightly before his true thoughts escaped them. He wanted to mention that it was the Grand Seryan’s fault Tranquility was so poorly defended. If she hadn’t sent so many acolytes and soldiers away in search of Sunrise and Firefly, a small band of goblins wouldn’t have been difficult
to stop. However, he knew mentioning such a thing would make the seryan’s rage burn even hotter. “We’ve settled the land allotted to us by the Grand Seryan herself,” he said as calmly as he could manage. “The goblins called these wilds home before the battle, and now they wish to take Keysakah away from us.”

  Moonbeam glared at Heeska. “And just what is a Keysakah?”

  Heeska spread his arms out, gesturing to the large encampment all around him. “This is Keysakah. It is our new home, named for one of the greatest balisekts in all of history.”

  “I wasn’t aware your species had a recorded history,” Ladybug said. The faerie seryan had been hovering quietly just behind Moonbeam. She could sense that tensions were running hot and thought attempting a dialogue might ease them. “Who was Keysakah?”

  Heeska nodded slightly. It was nice to have at least one of the Lady’s chosen speaking with him instead of down to him. “The tale of Keysakah is very old, dating back to the time of the Blight. In those times, a tribe of balisekts lived in the very wilds we stand in now. Keysakah was their leader. He was a skilled and wise warrior. Some called him the Blood Star.” Heeska pointed up to the flag pole. “It is his symbol emblazoned upon our banner.”

  “Why name your city after such a warrior?” Ladybug questioned further.

  Heeska continued. “When the Blight came, it pushed Keysakah’s tribe northward, into the world of the Lady’s chosen. The tribe scattered as they moved, unable to agree on a unified course. In the end, Keysakah had only a small group of loyal followers left. Nevertheless, he led them up through the land of the faeries. With the Blight coming so suddenly, they’d no time to prepare for the journey, and quickly ran out of food.”

  Heeska paused as his eyes surveyed the faces in his audience. The seryans and their company seemed more intrigued than bored, so he continued. “Keysakah and his fellow balisekts reached Tri-leaf Pass late at night and during a ferocious storm. Crazed with hunger and fatigue, they happened upon a group of travelers waiting at the crossroads, travelers that would have food and supplies to steal once slain.”

  Moonbeam’s brow furrowed as the story began to take a familiar turn.

  “The balisekts outnumbered the travelers and had them surrounded. Victory seemed inevitable. But before Keysakah sounded the charge, he saw something that would change him forever. An elf among them, with fiery red hair, distributed five seeds to her fellow travelers. The seeds glowed most unnaturally, shining like fireflies in the night. They pushed the seeds into the wet earth. To their astonishment, thick vines burst from the soil, and the fruit they bore was armor and weapons.”

  “I knew it!” Moonbeam shouted as she stomped her foot. “You recount the tail of Shimmer and the Lady’s divine blessing!”

  “That is a story most holy, balisekt,” Galdaren said coldly. The human seryan extended an accusing finger towards Heeska. “Choose carefully the way you interpret it.”

  Intending to convey his reverence for the tale, Heeska raised his hands and bowed his head. “I assure you, seryans, this is an inspiring apologue from both sides.”

  There was a pause as Moonbeam considered not letting the balisekt continue, but ultimately allowed him to resume his retelling.

  “As you already know then, the Lady’s blessing gave Shimmer and her companions the advantage. The balisekts were slain after a short but bloody skirmish.”

  “Those that revere the Lady always triumph over savagery,” Galdaren scoffed.

  This subtle bullying was trying Heeska’s patience. Tranquility has entered their fledgling city already furious, and the seryans seemed eager to push him over the edge and give them an excuse to attack. “That’s exactly what Keysakah learned that day. Thinking him dead along with the others, Shimmer’s followers left him bloody and broken on the ground. It was dawn when he finally found the strength to stand again. As he rose from the blood and the mud, his eyes beholding the lifeless corpses of his brethren, Keysakah was convinced that the deity worshipped by the northern races was as real as it was powerful.”

  “What happened next?” Ladybug asked. Her sisters in the Temple were full of anger, but the balisekt’s tale intrigued her greatly.

  “Mortally injured and near death, Keysakah dropped to his knees. He clasped his blood-covered hands together, and became the first balisekt to ever reach out to the Lady in prayer. He told Her that he believed in Her power, and begged for the strength to bring what he’d learned to the rest of his race. When he could go on no more, he fell forward into the vines that had grown the holy armor. To his astonishment, the once lifeless sinews began to wrap around him. They closed his wounds and mended his bones. When they fell away, Keysakah rose again fully healed. He thanked the Lady for her blessings and went off into the forest to tell all of balisekt kind what he had witnessed.”

  “This is blasphemous,” Moonbeam said. “There is no account of such a miracle in the Temple records.”

  “I was asked to recount the tale and I have,” Heeska said. “Whether you believe it or not, I don’t care.”

  “Was Keysakah able to spread the message?” Ladybug asked. The other seryans glared at her, but she paid them no mind.

  “He was,” Heeska said with a nod. “For the last two hundred years, there have been small pockets of faithful balisekts throughout the Savage Lands. Though we lived beyond the reach of the Temple, many of us have always revered her.”

  “And yet your entire nation invaded our lands, letting your demons burn them to ash,” Galdaren said with a scoff.

  “If all of balisekt kind thought as Lord Killika did, we wouldn’t have rebelled against him,” Heeska reminded. “That is why the great balisekt city will be named for Keysakah and not for him.”

  Moonbeam laughed condescendingly as she looked around. “Great balisekt city; it’s a cluster of tents.”

  Heeska scowled. “It’s in far better shape than Tranquility was when Shimmer found it.”

  Moonbeam’s eyes widened and her fists clenched at her sides. The only thing that angered her more than the balisekt’s remark was her lack of a counter argument.

  “Don’t forget,” Heeska continued, “your ancestors burdened you with greater sins than mine.”

  “Take care of your goblin problem,” Moonbeam ordered. “If these creatures move on Tranquility again, the Temple will intervene. If it takes giving them this land back to make the attacks stop, so be it.”

  Chapter 12

  When Viyana awoke the next morning, she was treated to an urgent report about the weather. The tower watch in the west had spotted a terrible storm on the horizon. By the pace of the wind, it would be over Meadowgold by early afternoon. It was disheartening news. Today was the day their high priestess would arrive, and a massive storm would either cut the festivities short or postpone them.

  With time now against them, the Lady of Meadowgold prepared for the day even earlier than usual. The morning sun was resting upon the treetops on the horizon when she entered the city. There were a few people out, but the hour was still early, even for such a momentous day as this. In studying their faces, it was clear the coming storm wasn’t the only darkness being cast over this joyous day.

  The incident with the young man on the stage has spread fear and confusion throughout Meadowgold. Lawbreakers weren’t unheard of, especially when the ale flowed so freely, but never before was magic used by a common human. Most in the city had never even seen such powers at work. Her guards had been injured in the skirmish and the attacker escaped into the Savage Lands; thank the Lady no one was killed. Viyana hadn’t seen her people look this worried since the start of the Balisekt War. Expressions of joy had been replaced with clear uneasiness, and it seemed all the joy they’d been building to had been undone.

  Still, the new high priestess would be here any moment. Seeing their new spiritual leader may yet soothe their troubled hearts. She would be a reminder that they were in good hands, that the Lady was watching over them now more than ever. Besides, she knew th
e mood would shift just as soon as the high priestess finally arrived. She could already hear the musicians at the city center warming up. Things wouldn‘t stay bleak for long.

  “Your people seem very frightened,” Sunrise said from behind her. Still shrouded by a large cloak, he’d been following at a distance since she left her home.

  “Do you blame them?” she asked. Her head didn’t move as she responded, keeping the illusion that they weren’t traveling together. “They all just watched my guards get defeated with magic not from the Temple. That’s not supposed to be possible.”

  “But we already knew it was,” Sunrise reminded.

  Viyana nodded, but only enough for Sunrise to notice. “That’s different. I know Firefly and trust her to keep her powers in check. I have no idea who that man was or what his intentions are.”

  “The Temple’s control over magic is what keeps it contained,” Sunrise said. “That’s why they’re looking for us in the first place.”

  Just a few feet behind them, Sparrow crept along the edge of a nearby roof. Her feet made no noise as she moved. Her wings were folded down flat against her back and her stance kept her as low as possible. In the aftermath of yesterday’s excitement, the Rose Captain had noticed more than just a magic-wielding human. In observing the Lady of Meadowgold, her eyes were drawn to a mysterious cloaked figure standing near her. When she found her again after dawn, the same person was there.

  Sparrow had little knowledge outside the confines of her mission, but she did know both of the fugitives had once been friends with the human leader. Her instincts told her the day before that this strange figure was likely Sunrise, and she only felt more certain now. She couldn’t believe her luck. In two days she’d already gotten leads on both of the fugitives. Soon she would discover Firefly’s location and deliver the letter buried with her belongings.

  Dewdrop would be so happy.

  “That’s exactly why you should be even more careful,” Viyana said to Sunrise. “If word gets out about the incident yesterday, Tranquility will increase their focus on…” Her thought escaped her as a movement in her peripheral vision stole her attention. Her senses had been telling her all morning that she was being watched, but now she was certain. She didn’t dare whip around to face it, possibly letting the spy know they had been discovered, but she could no longer pretend that there wasn’t anything there.