Chapter Text
Viktor knows he shouldn't go foraging during a storm, much less venturing this deep into the dark forest. The Alchemist always says it's too dangerous for children to travel there unsupervised.
Now, however, the trip is unavoidable. Rio's treatment is scheduled for today, and it's imperative that one never postpones the Riversoul's therapy. If this is delayed even one day, all the years of his mentor's hard work healing the creature would be in vain, and her condition would worsen again.
The Alchemist has trained him to do many things, but he has never helped with treating Rio. His mentor describes the treatment as a very complex and unsafe procedure, not suited for a soft-hearted boy like Viktor. But today his tasks include venturing into the forest, alone, in the middle of winter, during a storm with strong, thick rain and fast, violent winds.
The idea of leaving the cave in this weather is completely unappealing, but he knows he must go today if he wants to aid in Rio's recovery.
Winterstorm moss, maintains unique magical properties when collected, as its name indicates, during a storm in the cold season of winter. But only if collected during rainfall, once it starts snowing its beneficial effects get altered. This moss is very important to the Alchemist's work, he needs it for most of Rio's medicine, and after a particularly dry winter the storage from last year is scarce.
With the end of the year approaching the days are only going to get colder, and there might not be another rainy day like this before it finally starts snowing. So, the moment he starts hearing the sound of water falling to the ground, and his eyes meet his mentor's serious gaze, Viktor realizes:
Today will be a demanding day for him.
The forest is a dark, dense, and ancient place. The more one ventures into it, the taller the trees get, with crowns tall enough to reach the sky. In the deepest zone of the forest the trees are so old they develop their own souls, for their roots encompass the whole forest, observing ans learning from everything that happens inside of their domain. Their bark, strong as stone and wise as time, works as a very powerful catalyst for most potions, exponentially increasing their effectiveness when prepared correctly.
There are also bio-luminescent plants that come to life at night, dancing together as their light brightens the darkest corners of the forest. Their roots are the most crucial ingredient to make very potent sleeping spells, but ointments with small doses of powdered Nightbloom root work wonders for pain relief. Other applications of said plant are strong hallucinogenic brews, quick migraine remedies, and even energizing potions when mixed with the ashes of a fire hornet. Viktor is in charge of brewing said potions, and his mentor often consumes them in the long nights when he needs more time to work. Which is almost every night.
The forest is also home to a large variety of animals, but they are very fast, and their instinct is to hide from humans, Viktor has never managed to catch one. He knows, however, that in a place surrounded by magic, their diet is often rich in magical plants, so most animals here develop an immunity to curses. Once deceased, the ashes of their bones are used in all kinds of remedies.
But of all the magic things in the deep forest, ponds are the most dangerous. There are not many of them, just a few, but if someone dares tell a pond their name, the pond will use it to lure them in when the forest starts its call.
The call can be heard by anyone who wanders too deep into the forest, and those who come unprepared, or don't know how to recognize its effects, are prone to be bewitched.
It starts as a dim, barely noticeable sound. With it comes a small pull, almost instinctual, that guides lost wanderers to it's source. At that moment, one can just ignore it by having something else in mind or just deciding to go back. Most people don't even realize they've felt the call at this stage.
Then it gets stronger. However, it happens so slowly, so subtly, that the ears get used to the sound. At this point, despite the closeness to the core, one is still capable of escaping this fate if something external catches their attention. They might wonder how they got so lost, or notice the ominous sound in the back of their head. In some cases, those exposed to it can even experience fainting spells for some time after, get dizzy, confused, or become a bit paranoid.
There are not many reports on people who get closer still. Most people with traces of the forest's magic either disappear forever or come back permanently changed. Those able to describe the journey say there came a point in which their whole body vibrated in harmony with the forest's song. They couldn't think nor see, their souls were dissolving in the magic that surrounded them, their bodies driven by impulse alone, guided by magic. The point of no return seems to be reached once their thoughts stop being strong enough to be heard over the call.
His mentor told him about the call in one of their first outings to the forest. While there are potions one can take, to keep their lucidity long enough to realize what's happening, it's better to just be cautious.
On days such as this, when the sound of the wind is so strong it hurts his head, and the violence in which the rain falls makes it difficult to think about anything other than the discomfort of his body, he can venture deeper than usual without much fear. He keeps, however, a small manual timer with an alarm he resets every 10 minutes. Just to be careful.
Collecting the ingredients is far from easy.
The cold air freezes any skin he has exposed. His hands get numb and he has to constantly strengthen the grip on his cane, even if it hurts to do so. He almost can't feel his nose, trying to breathe in the frigid air is uncomfortable at best and painful at worst. And, since the moss is close to the river, he must be very careful. The stones are very slippery and his clothes won't keep him dry if he falls into the water.
Curse this weather! Of all days there could be a storm, it just had to be today, he thinks as he manages at the last second not to fall down after tripping on his own feet. But, despite the hardship and the rapidly increasing aches of his body, he collects as much Winterstorm moss as he can find, at least in this part of the forest.
He's resetting his timer when the rain starts falling impossibly harder. The storm is too strong to see properly, and the sky is getting even darker than before. Viktor notices then that he's spent almost all day looking for the ingredient, and he has more than enough materials to last for a year.
He can go back now, back to the cave, back to his mentor.
Now that he's not hyper-focusing on finding the moss, he feels the consequences of spending the whole day walking and kneeling. At least that morning he was feeling good. That certainly wouldn't last into tomorrow, and he would probably have to spend some days on his room. He's dressed for the weather, but considering he's been in the cold all day, he'd be surprised if he doesn't get sick. Well, at least Rio will have enough medicine for a long time, things could have been worse, if Rio gets to be healthy for a year maybe being sick is worth it—
The timer sounds just as his mind starts to wander, breaking him from his trance just in time to notice it. The tree. Not just any tree, one as big as this one surely must be very old, old enough to become a Spirit tree. And they're great sources of old magic, so strong it radiates from them, which means that anything growing near their roots feeds on the magic they release, making them incredibly valuable magic ingredients.
Amazing! Definitely worth it! he thinks. And despite the late hour, his aching body, the bone-deep cold he feels, and his fatigue, he kneels down and starts searching for anything he considers might be useful to the Alchemist.
He spends a great amount of time rummaging through the wet fallen leaves, and the ingredients he finds are of such good quality too. His mentor will be so pleased, maybe it saves him time, this could make him happy enough, he might say he's proud of him. He thinks maybe he's a bit glad that it's raining so much, since he wouldn't be this deep into the forest if it weren't for this damn storm.
He's about to leave with the ingredients he's collected when something similar to a cry grabs his attention. It sounds like it's coming from the roots of the tree. He stops for a moment to listen but doesn't hear anything else. Just as he starts to believe it might have been his imagination, he hears it again, and it's undoubtedly someone crying. So, with a grunt, he gets on his knees again and searches for the source of the sound.
And there, on the roots of the tree, hiding and drenched in water, he finds something he had only ever dreamed of seeing.
It always goes like this: something happens, he gets overwhelmed, he get sad, then angry, then scared, he escapes, someone finds him, he gets home, his mom talks to him, and then he calms down for a few days. Rinse and repeat.
Not today. Today it's different. It starts the same way as it always does: something happens, he gets overwhelmed, he gets sad, then angry, then scared, he escapes. But then, when he doesn't feel somebody else's hands stopping him, not even after hours of restless flight, he slows his speed and looks back.
There's no one following him. He's alone now, like he intended when he ran away, but the thought doesn't bring him any joy. He's also never been this far away from home. He doesn't recognize his surroundings.
This new change on Jayce's fleeing routine is scary. He's alone. Alone in a strange, unfamiliar place. If today were brighter, he could probably find his way back home. But the whole forest is covered by a strong shadow, and he's not sure he will be able to return to the colony. Not on a day as dark as today.
That's when he finally looks up. He notices, for the first time that day, the color of the clouds. His blood runs cold.
There's a storm coming.
Suddenly, there's only two things he can think about: the storm and going home. He must go back now, if he doesn't get there before it starts raining, it will be impossible. He needs to turn around, he must be fast, he can't fly when it rains, if he doesn't fly he won't be able to find his way home, he doesn't know the ground.
Just as he finishes that last thought, lightning strikes in the sky, and the storm breaks.
The water is a violent thing that falls mercilessly from the dark clouds. It hits hard on his back, on his wings, soon he's loosing balance and he can't even finish thinking: I'm flying way too high before one of the drops finally manages to make him fall.
The fall happens fast, his head spins and he can't see anything, but one second he's in the sky and the next he's hitting a tree. It doesn't stop him, he keeps falling and it hurts. In one of the branches he feels a pull on his wing, but that doesn't decrease his speed either. It's only when he's almost to the ground that some smaller branches and the foliage finally start slowing his fall.
Then he hits the ground. He doesn't even have the energy to be grateful for the muddy soil and fallen leaves cushioning the impact. He doesn't have the capacity to panic. He just closes his eyes and lets the ringing on his head be the only thing he hears.
Jayce doesn't know how long he's been awake. He's not feeling well, and he can't concentrate long enough to really think about what just happened. He's soaked, he's cold, and he doesn't have the energy to move. Not for a long time.
It's not until he hears a loud, unfamiliar ringing noise, that he realizes he's out in the open.
His whole body is in pain, his head is pounding. He can hear slow, heavy footsteps approaching. They're unlike anything he has ever heard before. His mind is foggy, but he senses he's in danger, so he tries to hide under the leaves and roots of the tree he just fell from.
He doesn't think the creature heard him, but he hears rummaging outside. He tries very hard not to make sound, but he's tired, and cold, and in a lot of pain, and he's just so, so sorry.
He realizes now that, even if the creature doesn't find him, there's no way he's going to get home. He'll probably get lost on his way back, or get himself killed by some beast. He won't see his mom ever again, he won't be able to apologize for always worrying her, and everyone back home will be right. He doesn't belong there, he never did.
Had he just stayed, had he known it would rain like this, had he been a better son, he wouldn't be cold and hurt and alone. And that's it, he just feels so alone. He's so sorry.
He wants his mom. He wants her to hug him, and tell him everything will be alright, even if she's mad at me and she hates me for running away and everyone blames me and they think I'm weird, I want to go back. He's just so scared, and so cold, he just wishes he had stayed at home today.
He doesn't even notice he's crying, but something else does. And before he can even process what's happening, there's a sudden vibration next to his hiding spot. He opens his eyes and notices, with great horror, that the creature is on the ground. Right by his side, looking intensely at him.