“The Lorastil Theocracy is a strange, isolationist country, intertwined in an eternal war against Isvaarheim. Nowadays, said war is mostly reduced to small assaults against elven outposts, as the elves of Isvaarheim seem to care little for the Theocracy threats.

Lorastilians claim to have arrived from a different reality through a rift; their lifespans, unnaturally long for humans, give their pretension some credibility.

Ages ago the pillar of the Theocracy was its royal family. According to a legend, they were descendants of the Maker, a deity that brought them to this Plane. Records are describing numerous Gifts and abilities his scions had at their disposal. It is widely believed that their progenitor’s bloodline would once more resurface one day.

A very interesting fact is that, even if their deity had not given any signs in the recent ages, most of the Lorastilians are still worshipping it. Any suggestions that the divine powers granted to their paladins might, in fact, come from a different source are treated as a heresy and culprits are persecuted. A vacuum of clerics caused some of the paladins to perform clerical duties. It also allowed priests of other deities to set up their temples there, albeit not many native denizens are willing to worship them.

A core of military forces of the Lorastil Theocracy is made from numerous paladin orders, in which firstborns of every family are trained. Their spellcasters are congregated in Circles, that assist every order. Lorastilian troops are known from the usage of pegasuses as their flying mounts.

The ruling power is made of a triumvirate:

- The Highest Paladin of the Maker – elected by paladins every ten years.

- The Order’s Regent – a wizard elected from the Circles, ruling until his death or his resignation from the office.

- The Blood of the Maker – a noble from a branch line of the ancient royal family. It is the only hereditary position, but also the least influential.

Lorastilians have a strong prejudice against elven-blooded, as they call half-elves and humans known to have elven blood, even so thinned that they no longer show any visible elven traits. Until recently they were not even allowed to own their own businesses and in most of the cities, they are still confined to ghettos.

Better treatment of the elven-blooded is a consequence of efforts made by the current Regent to develop a better relationship with the Vrolan Dynasty. His political opponents claim that the Regent is an elven-blooded himself and should be removed from the office.”

- Aethera University Lecture

„We are almost there,” Istniel called on the early afternoon.

During today’s journey, they only encountered a pack of wargs that attacked one of the scouts, yet it scattered when more of the guards came to help.

“The road is passing close to Myconid Lake so try not to drown in hallucinations.”

“I’ve read that Myconids are peaceful folks… erm, shrooms,” Ion said.

“Haha, sure they are! But just their way of communicating with others might have some adverse effects if you know what I mean,” the soldier continued with a tinge of sadness. “Not so long ago our waystation was a quite popular place for young nobles, who wished to chill for a time. Before the king decided to mount an all-out assault against orcs we could earn quite many coins from them… currently, only few are daring enough to still make a trip here…”

“Something’s up in the skies on the south-east,” hearing Sae’s words everyone got ready.

“Only two griffons,” Ciros calmed them down. It was not the first time when Ion was jealous of elven sight.

“They are patrolling the area around the waystation. Can you send them a signal? Green, blue, green,” Ion looked at Milas who nodded and then casted Dancing Lights as high as he could.

After a moment they saw the lights in a response. They continued the exchange for some time until Ciros reported that griffons left.

“We confirmed to be a caravan heading from Windhelm…” Istniel explained, his voice strangely distorted as if coming from far away.

“Welcome far’hyphae!” an eerie voice sounded in Ion’s mind. “Would you like to seek enlightenment and join our meld?”

A world around him changed. His horse was now riding through deep water, trees changed their shapes and glowed like stars. If focused, he still was able to see the real world, but why would he want to? The one he was watching currently was so peaceful, so inviting.

Another eerie voice resounded at the back of Ion’s head creating an image of a battered ship, its sailors preparing for the last stand against a leviathan. Before he could see the details, the voice sounded again and Ion felt himself being kissed and touching girl’s body, then once more and he was falling into the skies as if Feather Fall was reversed.

Finally, the visions stopped and Ion felt himself floating in an empty space. He could not feel nor see his body, yet he was able to sense a presence of someone else.

“Uther, help me break this illusion.” Ion rather felt than heard.

‘Was this Lyssa?’

Suddenly a torrent of voices assaulted Ion’s mind. They were painful to listen so he tried to block them.

‘Are those the minds belonging to panicking caravan members?’

He focused on the other presences. Some felt alien, yet somehow he was still able to sense their excitement.

“It’s been so long since we last communicated with such a big colony. Please stay and let us exchange our stories,” the voice who greeted them earlier spoke again. Enthusiasm was radiating from other alien minds.

“Great Sovereign, we are honoured by your proposition, but I am afraid that we are in a hurry,” Ion was almost sure that it was Mchac who answered. “Yet I believe that even this short encounter was a great boon in our shared pursuit for knowledge…”

While the druid exchanged thoughts with the myconid, Ion ‘looked’ at other minds around him. He felt something akin to the radiance and rightness emanating from the one he earlier identified as Lyssa. As he observed it for longer, he also caught glimpses of her memories; a training in a temple, a grand cleric sending her on a pilgrimage to Utherlight.

Curious, Ion approached another mind. He caught a memory of someone laughing as people around run screaming when a luxurious room they were in started to burn. There was an overbearing feeling of fulfilment and sadness emanating from the image.

Ion moved on, sparing only a single glance at someone’s memories of a recent combat against Yugoloths. Then, for a moment he could experience a duel with Dorian from Nanoc’s perspective. Certain images were shattering as soon as he tried to see them as if hiding from him, yet Ion was too excited to wonder about this.

He approached another mind. It stood out from the others as it seemed to be completely silent. Ion was unable to sense anything from it, but as he observed it, from time to time he could spot thoughts moving in and out. Being unable to probe them, he prepared himself and tried to peek inside with the next thought...

“GET OUT! Don’t even try it!” Ion felt as if a thousand of needles pierced his mind, then felt as if he was being thrown away in this illusory space.

Ion had no idea how many time passed until the pain subsided. This experience somehow sobered him up.

‘Was I really trying to pry in others memories?’ He thought, pain still lingering. ‘I hope nobody recognised me… or at least that they won’t hold a grudge…’

The area where he was now was engulfed in a deep silence.

‘This coldness here… is this Maval?... no, it just doesn’t feel like her, there is also stillness and… boredom?... no, no, no… it’s a bad idea staying there, I really want to end it now…’

He put all his will to focus on the real world. While trying to get out of this web of minds he noticed that Myconids were no longer interested in their group, and contrary to what had been happening at the beginning nobody seemed to be panicking any longer.

“You are finally awake? It’s been almost 15 minutes since Mchac convinced the Sovereign to stop sending those hallucinogenic spores in our direction. And I even used a 3rd circle spell Cure Poison on you!” Ion saw Lyssa’s face, the world around looked normal, except for the fact that everything seemed to be still twisting before his eyes. “Do you even hear me?”

Ion wasn’t in such pain since he tried to cast his first spell. Everything was aching.

“He really is a sleeping queen. Always the last to wake up.” Sae commented electing small laughs from around.

“Seems like your wizard had a bad trip. It sometimes happens.” Istniel commented.

“Sae, you aren’t any better, stop dozing and start scouting,” Thaleus said.

“Come on, how often you get a chance to communicate with someone just by using your thoughts? I want to try again! There are enough other scouts who can look around.”

“They are not someone, they are shrooms, you eat them, not talk with. Even if, would you expect a mushroom to say something interesting?” Thaleus grumbled.

“I will find out.”

****

Ion felt much better by the time they have arrived. He expected them to find just a small fort, but as it turned out the waystation really deserved to be called a town.

Even from the distance, he was able to sense a faint movement of mana as it fuelled wards drew on the walls. On the battlement figures of numerous soldiers could be seen. When they entered inside Ion was surprised by the number of houses and people; he even spotted children.

“Most of the soldiers who serve here, live in this town with their families,” Istniel commented, leading them towards a place where they would stay for a night.

‘This would explain why some of the services here would be more adequate for a small city than a military station.’

After a while, they arrived at the spacious empty area located not far from an inn. There was more than enough space for their caravan to set up there. As soon as they stopped another soldier approached them.

“Commander wishes to speak with your leader.”

The soldier left with Milas and the merchant, heading towards the inner wall.

Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, assured by the presence of other people, expecting at least one night without having to worry about anything.

“I hope they serve good food here.”

“Yay, comfortable place to spend a night. I’m going to take the best room in the inn!”

“Everything is all right, Arde?”

“For a moment I had a strange feeling… it must have been my imagination.”

“Maybe those spores are still working.”

“It’s your turn to take care of the horses, see ya later man!”

Idle chat continued. Then they drew lots to figure out who gets a guarding duty around the wagons.

“Onwards, to the tavern!” Thaleus shouted and some people contently followed him.

“I’m going to look for a blacksmith,” Sae went in another direction.

All but a few unlucky caravan members scattered around the town.

Ion decided to have a walk around the town, before heading towards the inn for an early dinner.

****

‘Istniel was right that mushrooms are the most common food here,’ Ion thought, finishing his stew and taking a sip from a mug.

“So are you in? I already talked the guards into letting us in after the dusk. They are used to visitors behaving in such a way after all,” Sae was full of enthusiasm.

“I thought you were kidding. You really want to go to those Myconids again?”

“Of course. Just think about it; they are able to recall the memories and experiences of other people… who knows what lands they might be able to show us? Aren’t you interested?”

“Sure I am. But have you forgotten about Yugoloths lurking nearby?” despite his curiosity, Ion was still sceptical.

“Oh c’mon, that waystation is far away. If we move fast we should arrive at Myconid’s circle in less than an hour. There won’t be anything dangerous that close, and even if, you and Aren could use Invisibility, I would just hide…”

“You convinced him too?” Ion asked.

“He was the one who suggested it at the very beginning! He seeks something to draw the inspiration from, and believes it would help him with his newest ballad.”

“But I don’t even know that spell. Invisibility.”

Before Sae managed to answer something, Reria approached their table.

“Invisibility? What are you two planning?”

After Sae explained her, the sorceress immediately made her mind.

“So when are we going?”

****

Sae guided their small group out of the town heading towards Myconid Lake. As they marched, Ion could almost feel memories of the archmage screaming to him that joining this expedition is a foolish idea, but he ignored them.

They moved under the cover of Invisibility spell - Reria was able to upkeep it on both herself and Ion, Aren casted it on himself.

‘Even if effects of their spells seem to be the same, the way they casted them was so different. The way the bard guided mana with his humming was so subtle as if the spell was created by its own will…’

Ion, wanting to contribute, enchanted everyone with Darkvision spell allowing them to move swiftly unaffected by the dim light.

“We are almost there.”

Despite having a magically strengthened sight, Ion was able to localise Sae only when she spoke.

“Do you hear it?” Aren asked.

“I can feel that we are affected by their spores again,” Reria spoke.

Ion began to sense a faint presence of other minds around, along with the feeling of joy and relaxation. He tried to fight off this sensation, not wanting to be overwhelmed and influenced by it like the last time.

“Far’hyphae! You have come again!” a familiar voice resonated in his head, “Come, be our guest!”

Not far away, beside the lake, he could spot a group of almost forty creatures standing in a circle. Most looked like brightly coloured fungi of various shapes and sizes; some were smaller than a halfling, yet there was also a few who would make Nanoc seem short. One of those towering, ancient Myconids stood in the middle of the circle, holding a staff in a hand which stretched from just below of its cap. Ion instinctively knew this one was the Sovereign of this colony.

“Let’s join them,” the young wizard was no longer sure whether he heard Aren speaking or thinking as they approached the circle.

“The meld begins,” the Sovereign called and all the Myconids around released their spores.

Suddenly a whole world exploded with radiant colours and Ion found himself floating above, able to see his body still sitting in the circle. Everything began to slowly shift and wave, traces of mana so clear as never before radiating not only from them but also from every tree and every single blade of grass.

He had no idea whether he spent seconds or hours observing them before he noticed currents of energy flowing above them – subtle and elusive, yet so strong that he wondered how he could never have noticed them before.

'Were those the so called Leylines, encompassing the world?'

He saw the music performed by Aren, a song about nature, beautiful and wild, a yearning tale about a plane once lost and found, only to be lost again…

Myconids answered with their own tale, about an escape from a vicious underground land, where creatures so alien lurked that Ion could have never imagined them, letting the listeners experience both joy and pain their ancestors felt when they were blinded by the rays of the sun for the first time ever.

Images shifted and voices changed in a cacophony that made it hard for Ion to follow. He could catch glimpses of Sae describing her exploration of the old ruins, intertwined with depictions of various places other travellers had shown Myconids.

At some point, an image of a once splendid city appeared. Its spires soared up in the skies, a reminder of a past glory. Even if the city was now being reclaimed by the sands of the desert, strange, winged creatures seemed to still live inside.

‘It could almost compare to the greatest of the cities I saw in the dreams,’ Was Ion’s thought as he imagined a towering crystal spire piercing the clouds, many smaller towers situated around it in the focal points of the rune pattern upon which the city was constructed. He felt a sense of clarity, as more and more details seemed to fill the picture. Concerned by nothing, he continued, like a painter, wishing to finish his masterpiece.

Suddenly, his mental image developed a will of its own and appeared among the stream of pictures, sounds and sensations shared by the Meld; a few of Myconids immediately taking interest seeing something new.

“Escalith” a distant, familiar voice resonated at the back of Ion’s head. Hearing Vision-he speaking, Ion mentally jumped; the image immediately shattered as the young wizard lost his focus.

‘What happened? How?’ If Ion could still control his body he would be surely shivering now.

‘Hello? Can you hear me?’ The young wizard asked mentally, yet received no answer.

The meld continued; seemingly no one else experienced this strange phenomenon.

The voice spoke no more.