When you have nothing left to lose, any other option you are presented with seems like the best option. This is how Nanthal felt as he was trudging through the dark forest undergrowth. With Adnilia leading him, holding some strange heatless lantern, they carefully walk on.
Willing, almost able
Every time he tries to stray from the beaten path, she corrects him. “Prince, don’t just step where you want to, the plants and creatures of the forest deserve…”, she says before he interrupts. “Yes, yes yes. Deserves my respect. The plants are sacred, the animals are blessed. I get it”, he exhales with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
How can I walk perfectly, when every other step is met with haziness and a drop in focus?
She slows down and surveys the area, “Give me a moment Nanthal, I am going to ask for the forest’s blessing on this path”, she announces. “Why do we need to ask for a blessing?”, he ask while scraping the mud from his one boot.
She looks back from her knelt position and smiles, “Well for one thing, we might need protection from whatever created that heap of dung you are playing with.” He stops, feeling the emotions of disgust and then shame hit him.
“Quiet now, young prince”, as Adnilia starts to chant a soft prayer to the forest spirit in elvish.
Humbly we wait here
For your energy
For help and strength
Quietly we wait here
For calm and peace
For hope and promise
Happily we wait here
For a night’s rest
For the night’s blessing
s
Under your loving reach.
He sits in wonder and props himself up against the branch as he feels a soft warmth building inside him. For the duration of the chant, he forgets what and where he is. Forgets the pain in him and feels at peace.
Then it all snaps back, the darkness within. The sore muscles from the walk, the bark digging into his back.
“You set up the camp and ready a spot for a fire. I am going to scout for deadwood”, she commands. “Yes m’am, he replies tiredly, and starts to layout the campsite.
The night takes over
She comes back to a sleeping man. Her bedroll and some basic set up. She covers him with his coat and sets the wood ready for the fire. With a soft magical command, she starts a soft green flame that after a few minutes, changes into embers. She takes a small kettle and prepares herself a soothing tea, before she also sets in for the night.
Through the night she welcomes many a forest creature. From monkeys that are just passing through, a lone elephant that came past for a sniff and pair of leopards that just finished a kill and was dragging it to a safer spot. A spider even started to form a web close to the sleeping prince.
Most of the creatures approach calmly, but then moves away with purpose, when they smell the prince. When the smell the corruption within. He spent the night, deep in slumber, where dreams and nightmares fight for time in his mind. Nightmares of his warriors dying and the spear cutting into his flesh. Dreams of his family, his sister that always knew what to do and the welcoming walls of the Citadel of Hope.
