Sylven remained frozen in place. His face was pale and his mind was completely blank, as though every thought had been driven out of it.
He could barely process what stood before him. His mother had returned from the dead and was now looking at him with the same sorrowful expression that he remembered so well.
She was accusing him of abandoning her. She was accusing him of abandoning the plants as well, the very beings that had been his friends and companions for most of his life and the living essence through which he had always understood and wielded his power.
"Mother..." Sylven wanted to say something more. He wanted to explain himself. He wanted to tell her that he had never meant to betray her, but his mind could not find the words. All that escaped his lips was the name he had not spoken in years.
"You betrayed us, Sylven." His mother's voice struck him with tremendous force.
