Arya Slytharion
Ever since I got the news about Ezra, I'd wanted to be by his side, but my duty as heir to the Slytharion Clan made that impossible. Finding out Theron was the cause shook me to my core.
I could only imagine the pain Ezra and Cyrus endured in those dire moments, and now that madman shares this continent with me under the guise of Lord Enzo, the leader of the most prominent guild on this continent, The Eclipsing Dawn.
Lying in plain sight.
I walked out of the doctor's office, greeted by buildings laced with vines and roads built of solidified amber. The capital city could be a relic itself, the product of deep-rooted Slytharion ideals and their rejection of new technology.
As I walked along the amber road, I received a message. It was from one of my advisors. It was urgent, and I was needed on the outskirts of our territory in the astral realm.
Luckily, the capital city of Edin had an astral gate anchored within.
I commanded the nearby vines hanging from the tops of the buildings into my hands and swung myself over to the astral gate.
From above, everyone in the capital city of Edin speckled the ground, wearing their vibrant family colors. But even those colors seemed muted now.
I dropped to the ground in front of the gate and gently pushed past the line of starbound citizens waiting to enter the astral realm. One of the guards appointed to ensure the gate ran smoothly noticed me and commanded the line to pause so I could pass through quickly.
When I stepped through the gate, my eyes fell on the lavender sky that held all the planets of our solar system. In the physical world, these planets looked like a single seed buried in soil.
But here in the Astral Realm, they were like full moons hanging low in orbit, each taking turns claiming the sky. No matter how experienced a Starbound was, it was hard not to be amazed by the sight.
I didn't have time to be in awe today, so I headed straight to the Celestial Grove, which was one of the twelve neutral zones in the astral realm where violence was prohibited.
Going through the Celestial Grove was the fastest way to reach my advisor, so I didn't have to travel a long arc, wasting precious time.
The grove was busy as usual, starbounds and rift runners in the city center buying and trading supplies, but I couldn't help but feel a sense of unease as I made my way through the merchant market to the other side of the grove.
I wondered what was so urgent that Beth had to interrupt my appointment. I knew she was away on business with one of Valador's governing council members, discussing the discovery of a new astral plant species.
What could have gone wrong that I needed to be here? But I also knew she was not one to cry wolf.
When I left the grove, I pulled out my communicator and looked back at the message that was sent. She was extremely brief; come to the outskirts.
Hurry.
Strange. She is normally long-winded. I searched for her cosmic energy signature. But I couldn't find it for some reason.
I tried searching for the council member Barrot's signature as well.
No luck with that either.
Now my heart was beginning to thump because they never concealed their signatures within our clan's astral territory. I placed my hand on the ground and whispered to the roots in the dirt.
In a few short moments, the roots illuminated, branching out in the direction I needed to follow.
I darted north through the astral rain forest to the very edge where the territory ended, and the sea of astral sand began. To my right, I saw a large cocoon made of leaves and vines, nestled off to the side.
This was a technique that could blend someone's cosmic signature with the astral flora around them.
But why would this need to be used now?
I looked to the ground. The mossy ground beneath me glowed with a crimson aura, unlike the natural green-and-white aura the planets emit in the astral realm.
Is Malakar's seal weakening again?
Then an astral rose drooped down next to me, its petals moving frantically,
"What are you trying to tell me?" I said to the rose, enveloping my entire body in a shield of cosmic energy.
It kept pointing towards the cocoon.
"Do you want me to open it?"
The rose bobbed up and down.
Imbuing my hand with cosmic energy, I cut through dense layers of leaves, hardened dirt, stones, and vines to reach the center of the cocoon. When I ripped open the slit I created, I found Beth trying to resuscitate the council member Barrot.
"What happened?" I asked, dropping to the floor, trying to help her keep blood from pooling out of his abdomen.
"We were examining a new species, and all of a sudden, a crimson arrow attacked us. It all happened so fast; I couldn't find who shot them. I just panicked and created a cocoon."
Goosebumps prick down the back of my neck as I look into the open expanse of the astral desert.
I inspected the wound, which was just underneath his rib cage. I ripped off his shirt and saw the decay spreading towards his heart and lungs.
Dammit.
The skin was decaying fast, shifting from yellow to green to black.
Beth looked up at me. Her long brown hair was a mess, and her tan skin was spotted with blood. Her brown eyes gave me a solemn look.
He can't die. He was one of the few council members who agreed with my new proposals to improve Valador for its citizens.
I need him.
"My lady, I don't think he's…"
"We have to try at least and stop it."
I pulled two vials from my dimensional storage, and as I began to pour one into Barrot's mouth, it shattered.
Was my grip too strong?
I tried to pour the second one, gripping the vial by the lid and applying no pressure to the bottom.
It shattered again.
I looked at Beth, "We have to get out of here now!!"
Then a ghastly surge of cosmic energy erupted from the desert.
Hundreds of crimson and gold arrows manifested in the lavender sky as a dark, shrouded figure began to take form on the horizon.
A deep, murderous intent began to envelop the terrain, making me choke on my breath.
The arrows twitched
"Run!" I yelled, commanding the astral flora to raise walls and shield us from the volley raining down.
I didn't look back to see the damage. If our control of cosmic energy hadn't been enhanced by the enchantment our High Pantheon placed over the Slytharion territory, we would have been killed on the spot.
Keep going, Arya.
With every step I took, I felt the forest weep as more decay energy invaded our territory. The agony of the environment made my chest heavy.
I looked behind me, making sure Beth was still there as she carried Barrot.
She's moving too slow.
I commanded a vine to propel her ahead of me, and trees to use their bark to block another incoming volley.
"Beth, hand him over to me," I yelled out, over the whistling of arrows.
I sped up and took Barrot from her, allowing her to use all the speed she had as an adept to escape.
Volley after volley came, forcing me to ask the forest to sacrifice itself to protect us.
One arrow slid through my defenses and pierced the dirt in front of me, cinging it.
He's grown bold.
But why isn't he entering the forest?
I pushed the thought aside and poured more cosmic energy into my legs, propelling me further through the forest.
I just need to get through the gate. If he attacks the grove and breaks the astral law, he would be declaring an act of war.
Is that what he wants?
No, he's still in the Empyrean stage, from what Cyrus told me.
He's bold but not that bold.
Fewer but larger arrows began to rain down, forcing the walls I erected to splinter and break.
The sheer impact of these arrows caused the ground to rumble, causing me to trip over a root.
Damn. Get up, Arya.
A shadow loomed over me.
It was a hundred-foot arrow headed for me.
I closed my eyes.
I felt the shudder, but my body was still there.
A world tree intercepted the arrow, its large trunk now dismembered.
I got up, grabbed Barrot, and continued sprinting.
Almost there.
In what felt like an eternity, the gate to the grove was before us.
The volley stopped for some reason.
Beth had made it in before Barrot and I, and had guards waiting at the entrance.
I didn't bother talking to the guards and pushed past everyone. Barrot didn't have much time left, and I needed to get him to a medical facility.
But it was too late.
The decay reached his celestial core and eroded all the layers of fortification that were built up. Destroying his supply of cosmic energy.
His body crumbled to dust in my hands.
I looked to Beth; her eyes welled with water. I felt the same ache.
"Tell my mother what happened, and let her know the grove needs to go on lockdown, along with bolstered defenses."
"But where are you going, Lady Arya?"
"I'm going to see if I can secure some help."