[In that place that’s always just out of sight]

Ahhh so the time has finally come for the two groups to meet. I’ve been looking forward to this and am quite interested to see how it turns out. There have been a lot of pieces moving recently and this meeting will be a tipping point for the things to come. I know how I want it to turn out but any interference on my part could make things go terribly wrong at this point. For now all I can hope for is that the things I set in motion will bear fruit.

The spirit that the little group of hunters encountered got a little too chatty for my liking but I don’t think that they will be able to connect the dots and figure out anything important. I guess I will have to keep a closer eye on it in the future. On the topic of watching them closely one member of their party caught my eye as someone rather familiar. Out of anywhere they could have turned up I was surprised to see them here. I’ll have to look back at the history of the game to see what moves created this change. Despite them showing up earlier than anticipated I do want to see how Reiza will react.

Speaking of things showing up earlier than expected Reiza is moving along far faster than anticipated. Her actions border on the reckless or insane yet she always seems to get past it. I would be quite disappointed if she got herself killed. I hope she slows down a bit or she might get in over her head.

Many things are in motion the only thing left is to sit, watch, and see if things follow my expectations.

Lilly POV

[Greenwood Forest Clearing]

I guess that’s really her. Adam said so and listening to her voice I have no doubt at all that this really is the guardian. Her voice truly is beautiful and the way that it is literally breathing life back into that tree as if reality itself is being over written is just… amazing.

The thing that surprises me beyond anything else is her age. It may just be a trait of her heritage or something else but she seems rather young to possess such potent magical powers. Perhapse it is a special ability or some other trait that has allowed her to grow so quickly. I will need to ask, but I just don’t want to interrupt her song. While I wait I think I’ll try to gather a little information with my identify skill.

[Reiza – Level 1 - [email protected]>?/?? – further information unavailable]

So her name is Reiza – wait! Level 1! That can’t be right can it? How could a level 1 possibly have such power? Something is definitely wrong here. And what does it mean by information unavailable? My skill should be high enough to show me her classes skills and magics. Does she have some way to block my skill?

While I am stunned at the information provided by identify I hear Will speaking to Adam and am barely able to choke back a laugh when he asks why she isn’t wearing any cloths. With everything else that I have seen and learned today I hadn’t even noticed something as simple as that. The realization brings me out of my shock and my mind starts working trying to figure out the best way to approach this Reiza when I realize her song has ended. In the silence that follows her voice makes me jump.

“You *********** not polite ** stare ************ out and introducing *****self.”

Well here goes nothing I hope things go well. Not having much of a choice I motion to the others with me to stay back and be warry before stepping cautiously out into the clearing. Crossing the distance to the tree feels like walking across a battlefield without any armor. Reaching the base of the tree several paces away from Reiza I stop and just stare into her vivid purple eyes. For a few moments I just stand there forgetting what I am supposed to do until she speaks again. “***** well introduce ****self”

Just like before I can tell she is speaking some ancient form of druidic but I can only understand a fraction of what she is trying to say. Wracking my mind I try to dig up everything I know about the ancient language before responding. “I… Lilly… pleasure meet you… have… companions?” My statement comes off more as a question due to my unfamiliarity with the language.

Reiza huffs and crosses her arms pouting slightly. The look is really quite adorable. “Not speak old?” she asks using only simple words and obviously not too happy about it. Not knowing what else to do I shake my head. “No. have spell… help. Can use?” I ask in response blushing slightly. We must seem like trolls communicating so simply. She looks at me for a long moment before nodding. Letting out a breath of relief I quickly start crafting my translation spell. The circles form and I am about to cast the spell when Reiza blurs forward faster than I had thought possible and grabs the spell.

I let out a gasp of shock as control over the spell is ripped away from me and Reiza starts manipulating it right in front of me while muttering to herself. Did- did she just steal my spell? What is she doing to it? Shocked I am able to only make out a few of her words. “Sloppy… not needed… *******” Sloppy? If she didn’t have a translation spell then how is she able to know what she is doing and what does she mean sloppy that is a high quality spell!

After a few more moments of muttering and humming softly I watch in awe as the spell circle I crafted fills with her mana before shifting, shrinking and finally clicking into place before flashing out across the clearing.

“That should do it.” She says with a bright smile on her face. “Wha- what did you just do?” I ask stammering slightly. “I thought that was obvious.” She replies with her head cocked slightly to one side. “I fixed your spell. It was quite messy. There was a lot of stuff that didn’t need to be in there and by moving things around a little I made it better, and now we should be able to talk easily.”

“V- very well I’ll have to ask about that later then. To introduce myself I am called Lilly a druid from Greenwood Village with me are my companions Will, Adam, and Mya.” I say with a slight bow. “I am Reiza and this is Melody.” She responds with a wide smile while gesturing to a small seed she wears on a necklace. A little confused as to why she would introduce a seed as if it were a person I decide to just go with it. “It is a pleasure to meet you both lady guardian.”

She looks at me slight confusion on her face, “Lady guardian? I’ve been hearing that around a bit but what does it really mean?” She asks. “Umm.” Her question throws me off a bit, this definitely wasn’t how I pictured this going, but I again just decide to humor her. “Well to the best of our knowledge a guardian is a being created by nature when there is a great threat to it. They are always extremely powerful and they fix problems in nature. Wouldn’t you know if you were a guardian or not?” I ask.

She seems to ponder my words for a bit before replying. “I guess I could be a guardian from the way you describe them. I do really want to protect my forest and fix the things that are wrong with it but I don’t know if I could call myself powerful since Mel and I are the only people I know.” So wait she could be a guardian, well I’m pretty sure she is one and she doesn’t seem all that hostile at the moment… “Wait what do you mean when you say your forest.” I ask, catching something important in her reply.

“Well I mean to say the forest belongs to me, or well it kinda does. Not yet really but it will soon.” “How could the forest belong to you?” I ask stunned a little by her assertion that the whole forest belonged to her. “There was this really, really old tree that I met when I woke up and it told me that the forest would belong to me now. I think it called itself a heart tree? Anyway it gave me a list of things that I had to do to claim and protect the forest. Oh and it also gave me this!” She replies excitedly, pointing to the beautiful flower in her hair.

I can’t believe it she actually met the heart tree! Those things are so rare and are supposed to be something like the mind or well heart of the entire forest. If the thing told her the forest was hers I don’t think I can argue against it.

“Yep so anyway why have all of you been following me through my forest. I can sense that you have held up your end of the bargain I offered so I am willing to speak with you?” She asks.

Gathering my thoughts into a reasonable line of questions I start getting to the reason for why the group came on the expedition. “Our party was formed to come into the forest and investigate a large magical disturbance that came from this forest almost two lunar cycles ago. We would also like to ask if you were behind the disturbance that happened at the site of a previous blight?”

“Hmm well I can tell you that I was the one who cured that section of forest of the blight and as I’m sure you know I also fixed the huge scar that used to cut through the forest where we first almost met. But huge disturbance? I don’t know what to tell you about that. I woke up… well I’m not really sure how long ago it was but I was underground for a while so I don’t think I would have noticed something like that.” She responds easily.

The shear levity with which she talks about these large scale magical exertions absolutely floors me. Does she really have no concept about how much power was used to accomplish these feats? “Did you do all of that by yourself?” I ask. She looks at me with a scowl. “Well of course not. Mel was there with me and I asked for help.”

There she goes once again talking about her seed as if it were a person. “So who did you ask for help to do all of this?” I ask. Reiza gives me a look as if I am an idiot before responding, “Well obviously I asked the forest for help. Where else would I get the power and knowledge to do what I did?”

Well I guess that does make sense with everything I have seen and sensed so far. Still this girl is quite impressive. “I see. So have you by chance met or hear of somebody called The Overseer?” I ask and hold my breath hoping that the innocent looking girl before me is innocent. She sits there for a few long moments scratching her head while she thinks. “Hmmm, I don’t think so. The name sounds a little familiar like it’s one I should know but you are the first person I’ve talked to.”

I let out a small breath of thanks. This means that baring any future complications things should go peacefully. “That’s good to know they are not a person you ever want to get involved with they are very dangerous. The only other question I really need answered is whether or not you are going to be hostile to others outside the forest?”

She responds quickly, “That is difficult to say. I am not opposed to letting people enter and use the bounty of the forest as long as they follow the rules that you should already know druid. But if they break the rules then I would have to punish them so the answer to your question is both a yes and a no.”

Her reply makes me tense for a moment before I just accept the state of things. The issues will be for people higher up the totem pole than me to handle I’ll just be the messenger. “Thank you for answering my questions lady Reiza.” With the end to my interrogation obviously over a huge smile lights up her face and I am reminded of a kid who is happy to be let out to play. “Great! I don’t really like thinking about all that boring stuff. Do you like my tree? I made her all pretty again!” She gushes exuberantly while petting a blossom covered branch.

The rapid shit in topics has me off balance once more so my reply is a little hesitant though still light hearted and honest. “Y- yes it is quite a lovely tree. How exactly were you able to do that?” She looks at me for several long moments before shaking her head. “I can’t tell you that right now. This is not the time to make deals and anyway in your condition you wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“H- how d-did you know?” Is all I am able to stammer out. The fact that she knows of my current condition is unbelievable. I have told no one about it and for her to be able to tell right away is shocking to say the least.

“I know because you are like me. Your song is broken.” She replies cryptically. What does she mean my song is broken? I doubt she will even tell me if I ask. That or she will answer with something equally as cryptic.

“So can I meat you friends now or will they just keep hiding?” She ask. Seeing no reason to deny her I motion for the others to join us. I can tell the moment the others step into the clearing because I see Reiza’s eyes go wide and then she disappears in a blur of motion.

Will POV

No sooner had I stepped foot into the clearing where Lilly and the guardian who is apparently named Reiza had been conversing when a dark blur shot across the clearing and Reiza appeared right in front of me.

“Holy sh-“ I cut myself off mid curse and barely stop myself from drawing my sword as my heart hammers. How can she move so fast? I barely even saw anything! Does she always move like that or was it some kind of magic or skill? Also why is she so close and looking at me like that?

She is looking me up and down almost seeming to be in awe. “Hello metal man.” She says her face breaking into a big smile. “Metal man?” I ask stupidly, still in shock due to her sudden appearance. “Yeah metal man. You look like me and Lilly but you are made of metal!” She shouts happily, before speaking again this time to herself. “But how do you move? I think Lilly would move like me but what would make metal move like me? What do you think Mel?”

Wait does she actually think I am made out of metal? Has she never seen armor before? Wait what is she doing? While my thoughts were spinning slightly Reiza had leaned in close pressing one ear against my breastplate and started tapping it slightly with one fist.

“You have an odd song Mr. metal man. It sounds a little sad but mostly happy and sometimes flat.” “I uhh… I… you know I’m not made of metal right?” I finally mange to ask deciding to put most of the crazy words and actions out of my mind. That last part is made slightly difficult by Lilly and Adam who are both fighting off fits of laughter at her antics.

She looks at me now seeming to be just as confused as I am. “What do you mean you’re not made out of metal? I can see it covering you although it does sound a little strange.” “It only looks like I am made of metal because I am wearing armor.” A light of understanding fills her eyes as she responds, “Oh so metal man is like a drake but instead of scales he uses metal. Which do you think is tougher Mel metal man or a drake?” She then nods to herself several times before continuing the conversation with the unknown Mel. “I agree the drake is probably tougher than metal man.”

Is she crazy? Also why do I feel a little hurt that she would say a drake is tougher than I am? I mean she is probably right but still I paid good coin for this stuff!

“Umm so who is Mel?” I ask deciding to test my crazy theory. Her attitude shifts almost immediately going from happy and maybe a bit air headed to stern and reprimanding. “You don’t get to call her Mel only her friends can do that. You can call her melody and obviously this is her.” She says pointing to the seed on her very naked chest which I am trying very hard not to look at. In fact the whole deal of having an obviously young and naked girl right in front of me is making me very uncomfortable. No one else has mentioned it yet either so I decide to just try my best to ignore it as well.

“Okay well it was nice to meet you metal man work hard and maybe you be as tough as a drake one day. I am going to go talk to laughing man.” With that she is gone and I am left still trying to process everything she said while working to determine whether or not I am actually the one who went crazy.

Adam POV

I can say that without a doubt this meeting had not gone down the way that I had expected it to. Reiza, the girl who we have been hunting is quite the interesting character. She seems like a child who has been given near god like power. Her mood shifts quickly depending on if something is to her liking or if you offend her. Further evidence supporting her young age is her seeming lack of what most would consider common knowledge. Either that or she truly has been isolated as she has claimed.

The way she was interacting with Lilly almost seemed normal but when she got to Will I couldn’t contain my laughter. The whole thing was just too funny. At first she didn’t seem to know what armor was but once she was told she immediately connected it to something she as obviously seen before. When she kept calling him metal man I just couldn’t help but laugh.

After finishing her conversation with Will by telling him that if he worked hard his armor would grow just like a drake’s I had to work as hard as I could because a second later she was standing right in front of me. It is a little unnerving how fast she can move.

“Hello laughing man!” She shouts excitedly eyes roaming over every inch of me. “Ah, hello my name’s Adam it’s nice to meet you lady Reiza.” I respond smiling back at her. Her gaze snaps to my shoulder and her eyes sparkle with wonder. “Is that a bow? You use one too? Can I see it?” She fires off questions almost as fast as she can move while making ‘give me’ hands towards my bow. “Ah yes that is my bow and I do use it quite well in fact. How do you know what a bow is?” I say trying to answer all her questions at once while asking one of my own.

She pins me with the same ‘are you stupid’ look that she had given Will several times during their conversation. “Obviously because I use one too. Now can I see it?” She asks. I hesitate not really wanting to give up something so precious to me but also not really willing to anger her. After a moment I come up with something that I think will satisfy her. “You can see it but only if you let me see your bow.”

One quick blur of motion later Reiza is holding my bow pouring over it with the intensity of a seasoned veteran and I am holding a bow that I can only assume to be hers. Disoriented by the rapid and somewhat unwilling exchange I look between her and the bow in my hands several times before shrugging and deciding not to press the issue.

She has definitely not been around people before. She gets excited by every little detail and is very easily distracted. Also she doesn’t seem to have a sense of personal property or how to properly interact with people. Her slightly erratic behavior is probably due to being isolated for her entire life. Oh well all just interesting facts now let’s take a look at her bow. Speaking of where in the world did this come from? Never mind I’ll ask later. This… this is not too bad. It’s obviously hand crafted, likely magically assisted from what I can tell. The quality I would rate as moderate but still well done for someone with no training. She probably has some archery related class that helped her with it. I wonder what she uses for arrows, and this string… yep it’s definitely made out of condensed mana. I can say that I am actually impressed. Given the right arrows she could do pretty good with this bow.

My thoughts are interrupted by Reiza tugging at my sleeve and firing off several more questions in rapid fire succession. “Mr. Adam… Mr. Adam, Laughing man what is your bow made out of, how is it so nice, why is she sad, do you want me to fix her?” “Um thanks, she’s made out of a special wood from near my home, and- wait what do you mean sad and fix?” I ask just now processing what she had said.

“Its song. Her song is sad because she is damaged, well not damaged yet but she will break soon.” There she goes talking about songs again. I still don’t know what all that is about but hearing that my bow is wearing out is not anything new to me. I had known it was wearing out for quite a while now but there wasn’t anyone I had found who would be able to fix it without damaging it more or changing it.

“Um how would you fix it? Also if you did try to fix it would it be different from how it is now?” I ask not sure what she will say. “Well I would fix it by changing its song, well not really changing it but more… reminding it what it once was just like my tree.” Her answer involves no real cutting or changing of my bow so I am left once again trying to decipher her cryptic form of speech involving songs. “Do you promise that no harm will come to it if you do try to fix it?” I ask.

This question seems to stump her as she stops and thinks hard for a long while ocationaly bringing my bow to her ear and then going back to thinking. After doing that several times she vigorously nods her head, “Yes I promise that no harm will come to her and that she will not change in the way you are afraid of.” The words seem to go beyond a simple promise as a weight settles in the air between us.

What was that? Was it something like a fey oath? Did I accidentally just push her into a binding contract? Could it be that her word carries weight like that? I would guess so judging by this feeling. I will have to tell the others because this could cause some real trouble if we’re not careful.

While I a pondering over the implications of what just happened Reiza brings my bow up to her mouth and softly begins to hum to it. At first the melody is a little… broken or disjointed for lack of a better term. This continues repeating several times and soon it almost seems like my bow is humming the melody back.

What is this? Is it some kind of magic? Is this the songs she keeps talking about? If that really is the song that my bow is making I can tell what she means when she says it is sad and need to be fixed.

After both Reiza and the bow are humming the same melody she slowly begins to change hers. Repeating herself over a dozen times the melody slowly shifts over into something much happier and more lively. After repeating herself several times with the final version of the melody she stops and listens to the bow for a few moments before nodding and holding it out to me.

Looking it over there is no real outward change to my bow except for possibly it looking a little shinier and maybe a little less scraped up so with bated breath I reach out to take it from her. The instant I wrap my hand around the grip I can feel the difference. It isn’t really anything that I would be able to point out but it is more just something I can feel. The bow feels healthier and… yes it feels happy. I had been using it for so long that I couldn’t tell there was a problem but whatever Reiza did the bow feels exactly like it did on the day I first got it.

“H-how is this possible? What did you do?” I ask my voice shaking with repressed emotion. The bond between weapon and user runs deep so the service Reiza just did for me has rocked me to the core. She just smiles as if she knows what is going on in my head, for all I know she might be able to tell, and replies, “I fixed her song. She had forgotten what she once was so I helped to remind her.” “I- I don’t understand. How could humming fix it like this?” I ask still confused.

Reiza seems to think for a while before responding as if weighing her words carefully to not give out too much information. “Something is its song. Change the song change it. I changed her song.” The explanation must have made sense to Lilly since I hear her gasp quietly from off to the side. I make a mental note to speak with her later. Bowing deeply to Reiza I thank her gratefully. “Thank you lady Reiza you have done me… a great service today.” Not know quite what else to say my mind lands on the first thing I can think of and I regret it the moment the words leave my lips. “So… uhhh… why are you naked?”

Damit Will!

She looks at me seeming to either not understand the question or wonder why I asked, possibly both. “Naked? What do you mean?” She asks. Out of the possible responses I could have gotten that one I should have expected. Now I have a dilemma on my hands. How to explain cloths to someone who obviously has no concept of the reason people wear them.

“Umm… well… you see…” I flounder for a bit trying to come up for something before deciding to just wing it, “Look at us we are all wearing cloths. Most people wear them because… because they just do. Cloths can be pretty and they help to keep you both dry and warm while keeping it so others don’t see you naked. They also usually have pockets to hold all of your stuff so you don’t have to carry them.” There I think that explanation was pretty good… and obviously it wasn’t because it just seems to make Reiza more confused.

She sits there deep in thought for a long while pondering what I said before speaking, “I still don’t see why I should wear them. I can keep warm and dry on my own with magic. I already have something to carry all my stuff, and why would I worry about someone else seeing me like this? None of the animals care and they don’t wear cloths, except the drakes. The drakes wear armor like metal man does.”

I… I really have no way to explain this. Thinking about how to explain why people wear cloths is like trying to explain why people breath. It is something that is just so natural that it is beyond my ability to explain. More confused at trying to explain the issue than anything else I decide to just give up and simply shrug in response.

“Well I hope we meet again Mr. Adam.” She says happily and just like that she is gone leaving me standing there awkwardly holding a masterfully restored bow and contemplating whether it would be better to be struck by lightning or simply sink into the ground and disappear forever.

Suddenly I remember the bow she had given me and look around trying to see where it had gone but just like how it had appeared the bow like Reiza was gone in a blur of motion.

Mya POV

If I had to describe Reiza in a single word I’m not sure I could do it. Based on her attitude and actions I might say strange. She keeps flipping between acting almost child like and wise beyond her years. It is a little disconcerting to see the disparity between the two modes so strange would definitely qualify. She is also very… pretty and her voice… when she sings… it’s beautiful, so I guess I could also describe her as beautiful. She is also very powerful. Her movements are so fast that I can’t track them and her magic… the way she can just change things by singing, or well humming to them is beyond amazing.

With all these differing descriptions of her in my head and the odd way she acted with each of the others I had absolutely no idea what to do when Reiza appeared in front of me. I also definitely wasn’t prepared for the way she looked at me. It was the kind of look you give a person you are almost certain that you know but can’t place how it is you know them. That look seemed to confuse Reiza more than me since she obviously had been isolated and alone up to this point. Finally most of all I wasn’t, not in any way whatso ever, prepared for the first thing she said to me.

“Pretty.” It was a whisper almost as if she hadn’t meant to say anything at all. The complement made me blush a deep shade of scarlet and I could already hear the others laughing at me in my head. What’s going on here? Why would a simple complement make me react like this? I don’t- she- no way- it- why is she suddenly so close?

While I was floundering in my own head Reiza had moved again and was now so close as to be almost chest to chest with me. Her eyes were closed and there was a happy and contented smile on her face. Still off balance and confused the only response I seemed capable of was embarrassment so my face heated up a little bit more.

When Reiza finally opened her eyes to look at me I was lost for a moment in those luminous purple orbs that reminded me of the night sky and almost missed what she said next. “I like your song. It is pretty just like you.” “I- uh… I- I like your tattoos.” I blurt out through my stuttering. It had been an instinctual reaction to need to return a complement and they were one of the first things my frazzled mind had grabbed onto. I mean how are you supposed to respond when someone telling you that you have a pretty song? What is that supposed to mean?

Despite all of that I actually do like her tattoos. Some of them are dark and stand out boldly like the spiral on her chest and the swirling belt around her waist, while others are faint like the hexagonal grid that seems to fade in and out across her body and something else that seems to do the same but follows her muscles and veins.

Reiza just smiles and nods happily before responding, “Yes. Magic. Very useful.”

Wait is she saying that she made them all with magic or that the tattoos themselves are magical? One would show that she has excellent control over her ability to mark herself with magic and the other would just be the coolest thing ever. I mean who doesn’t want magical tattoos.

Realizing that I am staring while lost in thought I quickly ask, “Do you mean to say that the tattoos themselves are magical?” She nods again a little more enthusiastically almost bumping my chest with her head as she is still very close to me. “Soul lock, healing, enhancement, storage, phoenix blessing.” She says pointing to each in turn as she describes their functions including the dark phoenix shape on her back that I hadn’t noticed.

Amazing! I wonder how she got all of those? Could I get any? I wonder if- “What’s that?” A thin scar on her chest just above where her heart should be catches my attention and I reach out to touch it. The instant my fingers make contact with her skin she appears several steps further away from me now holding her tail while looking away with slightly colored cheeks. What was that about? Does she not like to be touched? Wait is she blushing? “Reminder.” She mutters.

Unsure if I did something wrong or not I hesitantly ask, “Reminder of what.” “My first fight.” She seems about to stop there but continues, “I was loosing and had to do something terrible to win… to survive. I got stabbed at the end and now the scar reminds me to get stronger. I need to be strong enough to win without doing something terrible again.” I’m not really sure what to feel about that. Is it pragmatic? Chilling? Should I feel sad? Whatever the right answer is I don’t know but I guess it getting stronger to avoid needing to do whatever she did again is as good a reason as any.

I am about to ask another question about what lead to the fight or what happened when her question brings all the gears turning in my mind to a grinding screeching halt. “Why are you cursed?”

The responses I have seen others give when told they are cursed is crying, screaming, even anger. My response, “ Huuuuu?” A long questioning sound of disbelief. “What do you mean cursed? I’m not cursed. I would know if I was cursed.” I press defiantly. “Yes you are cursed. Very subtle. Very nasty.” Reiza counters. Could I possibly be cursed? No it shouldn’t be possible my holy magic would react to it and if not my blessing should definitely counter it. “How do you know that I’m cursed?” I ask trying to find a reason to doubt her.

“I can hear it. It’s song is evil and… hungry. I couldn’t at first because it was hiding in your song but now I can.” She replies nodding her head as if to confirm her new certainty. “Umm, okay? Where is it then?” I ask still not sure weather to believe her or not. In another blur of motion she is standing right in front of me with he finger pressed to my chest… right over the mark of the sun given to me by Radiance.

“What are you talking about!” I shout anger bubbling inside of me at the notion that she would call this blessing, this gift from my Goddess, a curse. “That’s not a curse it’s a blessing from Radiance.” Reiza only shakes her head. My anger continues to grow and I am about to push her away when she speaks again. “I can prove it.” I pause my anger still simmering beneath the surface. “How?” I ask slowly. At the question she seems to go through a mental argument fighting with herself over what to do next.

“I will make a deal with you need to find right words. Will require mana link you will have to accept.” After her response she goes quiet again considering the wording of the deal she wants to make. The process obviously carries a lot of weight with the amount of effort she is putting into picking her words. “Very well. If the deal is acceptable I will let you in.” I’m not quite sure what made me say that but the seriousness with which Reiza is taking this made me think it could be a wise choice.

After a few more moments of consideration she speaks again, “If you let me in you have my word that I will not attempt to harm or deceive you in any way and that my only purpose will be to show you the true nature of that which you carry until the end of this mana link.” The words seem to settle as a physical weight in the air and I can tell that if her word is broken there will be major consequences.

“Mya… you need to accept this deal. The words she spoke are binding I am sure you can feel it.” Lilly states from off to one side. The added reassurance of the woman I have come to call my friend recently helps to ease my mind and without further hesitation I say, “I accept.”

Reiza nods and starts speaking to me. “Stay still and when you hear the songs do not panic. I will protect you as best as I am able to but it might be a little overwhelming. You must stay focused on me.” With that she brings her other hand up to my forehead and I feel a thin stream of the purest mana flowing like a clear stream into my head. Like I had promised I put up no resistance to the intrusion and the world seems to shift around me.

The colors change becoming more vibrant with new shades I had never imagined, the feeling of the forest around me shifts from a place that felt pleasant to something that feels truly like home, and the songs, I finally hear the songs. The first one I hear is bright and happy, a tripping tumbling melody of joy and contentment. Immediately I some how just know this song is me. Not just about me but it is me. With this realization all of Reiza’s previously cryptic replies involving songs suddenly make sense.

The second song that I hear is definitely not mine and it is… broken. It is a complex symphony containing joy, and sorrow, grim defeats, and great victories, loneliness and companionship and above all a vast gaping emptiness. It is almost as if a large portion of the song has just been ripped out while someone tried to scramble the rest which is slowly being put back together. This is Reiza’s song.

“Wha- what happened to you?” Just knowing the weight of the burden that holding such a song brings threatens to reduce me to tears but Reiza just smiles sadly. “I was broken but I am fixing it. Someday I will be whole again.” For a moment she closes her eyes lost in the mingling of our songs. When she once again opens her eyes she is looking right at me with determination and compassion. “Please know that I do not do this out of malice or pity but from compassion. Do not let what you hear break such a beautiful song. This will be but one note of sadness before it gets lighter again.”

Her words worry me deeply for what could come next. I had been so sure that she was lying to me or somehow misunderstanding what she heard but after being here seeing the world like she does, after hearing the songs I know she’s not wrong. I can already feel the foundations of my world starting to crack from what I know must be coming but I still have to know the truth. The only thing keeping me going is Reiza’s promise and her song. If she could push on after being so broken then so could I. Looking into her eyes I muster up all of the resolve and nod. She closes her eyes for a moment as a thin stream of mana enters Radiance’s mark and she pulls. My world shatters at the sound of the third song.

What comes out of the mark is no blessing. Instead it is a writhing black serpent. Its disgusting oily appearance I eclipsed only by the slime that is its song. Malice, hatred, and hunger. It sings not of a blessing granting power from a Goddess but of devouring ones own soul to fuel both the Goddess and the marked. Any who were gifted this mark would think they were granted power from above when it simply fueled them through their own self destruction. It was a curse.

Even with the curse hidden once more the memory of it still tainted me like oil that I would never be able to wash off. Worse than that it had tainted everything before it. All the memories I had gained growing up and of my life in service to the church were now soaked in the oil of lies and set aflame with the embers of betrayal. Slowly I started falling away as I felt my song begin to unravel, then I was jerked to a stop.

“No. All is not lost. There is still joy in your song.” Reiza’s voice is like iron stopping me from falling away but I still fail to see any light. My song has been consumed by flames and darkness. Feeling only betrayal and despair I turn away from Reiza. I turn away from my song. That is when I hear it.

At first it is soft barely above the whisper of the wind but it grows. Reiza is singing. She is singing my song. As she sings I feel our connection deepen and no longer am I just hearing the song but I am now a part of it.

In the song I become a ship lost at sea. All around me is darkness as far as I can see. For a time we drift in the darkness despairing at the loss of everything when a small light breaks through the darkness. High overhead a single star burns, its dim light driving back the emptiness just a little. The star is a memory, the first time I ever used healing magic. It is a small light of joy in this dark place, but soon it is joined by another and another. Star after star lights up the darkness around me. A thousand small memories, a thousand small joys that I never appreciated now light the sky. My song has changed what was once a bright and shiny meadow is now a dark sea lit only by the light of a thousand small joys.

“You are never truly lost. There will always be light you just need to know where to look.” Reiza’s voice echoes softly in my mind, “Let these stars guide your way, fill your sky with them and keep sailing on.” As her voice fades away the song starts to close, the vast sea slowly fading away. But just before it all disappears a new star lights the sky. A shining north star unwavering, a star to guide by sits on the horizon.

Returning to the world is a jarring experience. The colors all seem a little too dim and everything a little too quiet. I miss seeing the world as Reiza does and hearing the songs it sings but at the same time I know I am not ready for something like that quite yet. As the world slowly resolves itself around me I find myself sitting on the ground surrounded by my friends. They all look worried and concerned for me so I manage to scrape up a sad and slightly forced smile. “I’m going to be alright… I think. It will take time and I still have a lot to work through but I should be okay.”

My words seem to comfort them slightly and they all let out sighs of relief before thee avalanche of questions come barreling in. “What happened?” “What did you see?” “What did she show you?” “What is it like to do a mana link?”

“Whoa, whoa, everybody stop please, I can’t answer you all at once. The link was… impossible to describe. I just don’t have the ability to put into words what all she showed me other than that I got to see things the way that she does. I’ll tell you a little more but it will be later I need time to go over it first.” I say trying to placate the party while also escape their questions.

Turning to Reiza I speak again, “You can’t get rid of the curse can you.” It is more of a statement than a question. The brief glance I had gotten of her giving me a small understanding of her nature. In response she shakes her head. Before the rest of the party protest she starts to speak. “Not hear. This is not a place for such deals to be made. If you want to make deals you must come to my home.”

A long black feather cut through with lines of red appears in her hand as she extends it to me. “Bring this to me in the heart of the forest if you wish to make a deal. The rest of you are welcome to come.” Facing us all now she concludes, “For those seeking a bargain or answers to questions I will see you again in The Twilight Grove.” With that she walks over to the tree and picks up a large dark egg. Holding it tightly in her arms she starts walking toward the edge of the clearing.

“Wait!” I shout just before she reaches the tree line. She pauses turning back to face me with one eyebrow quirked in question. “What’s that?” I ask. A sly smile lights her face and I know the answer even before she gives it. “Secret. Not Telling.” With that she vanishes once more in a blur of motion.