"Wake up, Shael," a low coarse voice whispered, soft as a kiss. "Wake up." The voice rose to a higher pitch, frantic and growing louder. "Shael. Wake up. Wake up!"

Shael’s eyes flickered open to see Arvin standing above her, his hairless face furrowed in distress. The pupil of Elder seer Natu was not even over a century in life, having agreed to join Shael's party for a chance to escape the Elder's teachings. The others were former Wardens, experienced and as a result wary of man. They had been stationed at the forefront for days, the humans seemingly intent on burning the Elder forest one tree at a time.

"I sense a small group of humans entering the Elder Forest."

Shael spoke with growing irritation, "And? The humans have made their rounds for the past week."

"These humans are all gods' blessed," Arvin informed with grim finality.

"They are close, and have not moved for some time."

Shael snatched her spear along with the rest of her gear, stuffing them into her shouldered pack.

"Waken the others. We must find out their purpose."

The Warden focused her hand upon the Elder tree, channeling Serendrial's Sight. The network of the forest filled her vision, tethers of life guiding her to the thirteen human souls that flashed brilliantly, their forms swirling with the golden power of Heli and Oss. She awoke to find her party, fewer than a dozen members, gathered before her. All veterans, save for the fledgling seer Arvin, having long put down their bow and spear.

“Move as one, hidden from above,” Shael spoke harshly. “Strike as one, and not at all. We lost our most capable Wardens to a lesser number of gods’ blessed. Do not repeat their mistake.”

Shael ran ahead, at the lead. It was not long before they saw the light below, soft and contained compared to the cruel brilliance of the forest’s past destruction. Fire, a tool that man used as a weapon, as all things in their hands. Nothing was sacred to them, nothing respected besides war, of which Shael swore she would bring to them.

She felt guilt for wishing the destruction upon the forest, if only to face the humans on her own terms and avenge all she had lost. There they stood, twelve gods' blessed in a circle like the others before them, one human, a boy, unarmored unlike the rest sitting against an Elder tree. Their fire controlled overhead, a shining beacon.

The sylven watched them, silent and as still as those below.

More gods' blessed come, Arvin's voice sounded in her mind. A new light appeared, revealing a group that outnumbered the former twice in strength. The fire suddenly extinguished, and the boy ran past deeper into the forest.

The gods' blessed glowed with the borrowed power of Heli and Oss, their movements impossible to track in their unnatural speed, their strength matching their foes. They fought desperately at ill favored odds, falling one by one until a lone warrior stood against roughly half their original number of the opposing group. Shael's ears perked to hear his cry, "You shall never rule the Empire! For the true King!"

One god’s blessed stepped forward, her allies motionless. It was her, the leader hiding her true face. She walked slowly, without care in her certain victory. Shael heard her voice, no louder than a whisper from the distance, "You shall die knowing I slew your charge. Do not fret, for I shall make sure he lives, for a while at least before I am bored of his screams."

The warrior charged towards her. Shael turned to join hands with Arvin, This battle is over, she relayed unspoken through the seer to her party. Leave the humans to kill themselves.

Arvin asked, What of the boy? An enemy of our enemy can be a friend, such as he.

We cannot risk revealing our presence, Shael answered. Our mission remains unchanged. The boy cannot outrun the blessed, he is already dead.

This is not the way, Arvin insisted. Shael pulled her hand away, severing the connection.

“It is not your place to question my judgment,” she snarled. The Warden took the lead, following in the boy's path. He was not far, Shael's eyes peered through the darkness, spotting his figure below. The faceless one landed and walked nearby, speaking as a serpent, hissing her lies to goad him out. The boy leaned against the tree behind him, and disappeared into the moss covers that concealed the hollow’s entrance.

It is a sign, Arvin exclaimed in their minds. Serendrial harbors him! We must aid the human, for it is the way.

The others looked uncertain, Arvin dashed across the branchworks before Shael could stop him to the Elder tree the human now hid in.

“Foolish shivardthei,” Shael said under her breath. She motioned for the others to hold and followed the fledgling, glimpsing him hastily moving down the spiral steps of the hollow. The boy huddled on the floor, looking round in confusion. Shael whirled round the steps, shoving aside Arvin and continuing past.

The human drew his knife, wary of the fast approaching sylvan. Shael swiftly prodded his gut with the butt end of her spear. As he bent over, the wind knocked out of him, she sweeped his legs out from under him; dropping her own weapon and dodging his weak slash as he fell to disarm his knife with both hands, bending his wrist back. She covered his mouth with one hand before he could cry out in pain and deftly caught the knife with the other before it could clatter to the roken wood floor.

“Listen to me,” she whispered in his ear. “You make a sound and we’re all dead. She is tracking you. This seer will hide you from her sight. Quickly!” She hissed to Arvin.

The seer bent down to place his hand over the human’s forehead. The boy’s eyes widened then closed as he collapsed into slumber. Shael examined the knife, it was a good blade, made from the shining metal as the Romir. She stashed the knife in her pack along with her spear and carried the boy over her shoulder, taking two steps at a time up the shaped spiral stairs.

They heard a distant scream of rage and promised wrath. Shael did not give pause; no doubt the serpentess was coiling herself in knots searching in vain for her prey, now gone without a trace.

Let me gather his mind, Arvin urged. The sooner we understand his plight the sooner you can decide what course of action to take.

“There is no need to further speak unspoken,” Shael said tersely. “You may do so when we reach the branchworks.”

They trudged up in silence. The human was heavier than he seemed, and Shael eventually had to instead carry him as she would an elkith, atop both shoulders. Once they reached the tree tops Shael slung the human down, so that he slumped against the open entrance to the branchworks. Arvin wasted no time, placing his hands over the human’s temples, eyes shut as they flitted wildly beneath his eyelids. The others murmured at the sight of the boy. Thisei, a Warden of the past, strode forward and said, “So. What do you plan to do with this god’s blessed?”

“He is not god’s blessed,” Shael answered with uncertainty. “Not yet at least. We must wait for Arvin to tell the boy’s tale.”

The seer opened his eyes and slumped down opposite the slumbering human, as if gathering his mind had taken its toll. The other sylven grouped round Arvin in expectation.

“The boy is the son of their dead king,” he said tiredly. “They believe we killed him. I can only see his most recent path. He was betrayed, by his own kind. He just now realized that his father was not slain by sylvan hands, but human, at the hands of the faceless one.”

“We should leave him back to where he came,” Thisei spoke.

Arvin shook his head weakly at the suggestion.

“He has no place with his people. You would be leaving him to die. This is not the way!” He whispered vehemently.

“Arvin is right,” Shael said. “The human knows too much. Now that he is a fugitive from his own kind, who is to say he would not head deeper into the forest, until he eventually reached the arboreal? The path is clear, he would tread atop the branchworks. No, the only mercy would be to grant him a swift death."

Shael drew the human's own knife, but Arvin stood up to block her path.

"You would go against the will of Serendrial? Would you say that all humans are blind to the way? He can be guided, just as he was before him."

Shael underestimated Arvin, it seemed he like seer Natu would remain adamant to their foolish way. The others nodded to the seer's judgment; they were the interpreters of the living goddess, and as such held clout that Arvin now wielded.

"Very well," Shael said, if not reluctantly. "I call a vote on this matter. Who agrees that the human should live?" Shael and Thisei were the only ones to not raise a hand. The seer relaxed, sinking once more to the support of the Elder tree.

"It is decided," Shael decreed. "I shall bring this human back to the arboreal. It is up to the chieftain to decide his fate."

"I have already spoken with Elder Natu," Arvin spoke. "Only he can gather more knowledge."

"Remember your mission," Shael looked at each one of her party. "You must be our eyes, our tribe depends on it. Fall and we are blind, our home lost. Be shadows, light as the wind and silent as the trees. May you walk a bright path."

"And may yours shine brighter," they answered in turn.

“Waken the human. He is too heavy to carry,” Shael ordered the seer.

“His name is Hector.”

Arvin did as he was bid, placing a hand over his forehead.