The air here was very different from just outside the boundaries, where it was fresh and cool. The forest was hot and humid; the air seemed thick and hard to breath. But even with conditions that seemed perfect for swarms of swampy insects, not a single one made itself known. The silence was so unnatural, given how green and lush the plants were, it simply didn’t seem possible.
“Well, I must say, if someone told me I would be traveling with you through the dead forest years after we first met, I would have had a hard time believing them,” said Morcel to Jade as he winked at her. “Funny how I’ve been fighting for years now with no real reasons other than to please a mob, and perhaps my own survival as well. All the time, I didn’t care much if I survived or not. Somehow I always managed,” he said with a chuckle. “But I’ll tell you guys something.” He stopped walking and turned toward everyone. “When I woke up and realized I had won my freedom, it didn’t feel like I thought it would.” He looked at Jade, who seemed a bit bewildered, wondering where he was going with all this. “Don’t get me wrong, little lady. I’m grateful for what you’ve done for me. It was just that—” he paused and stroked his long beard for a moment, “I felt like...like I had no purpose. I really didn’t know what I was going to do next.”
Now everyone looked bewildered except for Jade, who seemed as though a little light had gone on in her head. She knew what he was talking about. “I was going through life, never knowing when my end would come,” Morcel said as he began leading them on once more, “but when that threat was no longer present, I lost my simplest goal. Survival! What is a warrior without the constant threat of danger?” he said as he stopped again, this time turning to look at Eric. “I don’t know if you are what they say, but if you are and I die while trying to protect you…” he said as his eyes narrowed. Eric’s eyes met his and matched their intensity easily. The warrior’s stare softened, “then I would have given my life for a true purpose, and I welcome that honor!”
The warrior drew his axe from his back as everyone jumped a bit, not understanding what he was attempting to do. He then lay it down beside himself as he dropped down to one knee in front of Eric. “Eric Aethello, I swear to defend your life with my own. In the eyes of the Gods and all who stand with us, I will see your mission completed or die in its defense!” Eric’s eyes almost popped out of his head. He had no idea what to say or what to do. Jacob wore the same shocked expression. Jade turned her head and pulled her hood low to hide her smile. She understood the warrior’s feelings completely.
Chapter 14
Addel slowly hobbled through the tower, weighed down by a heavy heart. She had made many mistakes in her life, and wondered if now they were all coming back to haunt her. She had been summoning the puppeteers for days, and was exhausted. A flashing light show could be seen beneath the door of Dragot’s forbidden chamber as she passed by. No doubt he was attempting to contact Krytoes once again as the final preparations were being made. She longed to be anywhere else but here.
She just didn’t want to be part of this anymore. There was a time long ago when she no longer fit in normal society. Born with special abilities that needed to be kept a secret, her life had been anything but ordinary. Addel had been exposed to a world where anyone who could do extraordinary things with the aid of natural forces was simply known as a witch. Black powers could only be explained as sources of evil.
However, her innate abilities were only part of the problem, as she was born quite hunched and deformed as well. A broken body seemed a strange irony, given her substantial mental gifts. In the harsh world of Tarmerria, such a child was rarely ever kept alive. However, Addel had been a rare exception due to her parents, who could not go through with it.
But although her parents kept her locked away and hidden for obvious reasons, they were far from kind. They needed only the smallest of reasons to beat her incessantly. Addel knew it was because they had been robbed of having a child they could show to the world, a child that could be productive and someday contribute to the town, as all must eventually. Whenever they whipped her, she never held a grudge. She knew her very existence had robbed her family of ever having normal lives. Perhaps it would have been better had she been discarded at birth.
The day her hometown of Ackles was raided, she was forced to flee as the raiders set each and every home ablaze. Her parents had been among the many who had lost their lives that day, trying to defend the town. She remembered getting several miles outside of the town before collapsing. When she awoke, Dragot’s grotesque face stared down at her, like a lion eyes a wounded rabbit.