Hret rubbed his aching thighs absent-mindedly, thankful that being at the rear meant that he could rest a little bit longer. They were supposedly just outside of Anosora now, but all he could see were mighty trees the likes of which he knew existed between his old home and the plains the centaur frequented. Thu’lain and Raj’ken went ahead to scout out the area and everyone else was up ahead of them, leaving those few at the back to follow leisurely. He was drawn from his observations by ongoing soreness and complaints from most of his muscles.

Three days if we hurry, he said. Well, we definitely did that.

Hret stretched his large furred frame as Il’tan spoke with Anar’dea; they’d spent most of the three days with each other, talking and asking questions. It was a good thing.

El’tan, where are you?

Hret knew that he couldn’t show Il’tan that he was afraid, not after reassuring her for several days; he walked away as she spoke with Anar’dea, grateful to the elf for her reassuring presence and unexpected bond with his daughter.

I haven’t seen a sign of her for days.

He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Please be alive.

Hret fought back the creeping sense of dread that filled him every time he thought El’tan had died days before they arrived, or that she was dying now and they had no idea where.

Damnit.

Finally, as the breeze shifted toward him, Hret took a deep breath to calm himself; it was time to move on and keep looking. He could smell the faintest trace of El’tan and sighed, pulling one of her scarfs from his bag and sniffing it gently.

It’s not the scarf.

Hret instantly slid the scarf into his bag and started to carefully sniff the air as he realized he wasn’t just smelling the lingering scent of El’tan on an article of clothing, he could smell her somewhere.

He began walking off the trail, concentrated completely on her scent and frightened that it would fade as soon as the breeze shifted direction.

“Dad? What’s going on?” Il’tan asked from over his shoulder. He didn’t turn around, but heard as Il’tan followed him. He heard her take a few deep sniffs, following her father’s example.

“I smell her, too!” Il’tan exclaimed excitedly.

Good, I’m not going crazy.

“Wait, you smell El’tan? Are you sure?” Anar’dea was equal parts excited and concerned. Neither Il’tan nor Hret responded at first, instead trekking further off the path. The scent had become strong enough to be certain it was somewhat closeby.

“Yes! It’s definitely her! She’s close!” Il’tan exclaimed.

Hret shared her excitement, but he could smell the air was heavy with a metallic tang.

She’s lost blood. It smells too strongly to have just been a cut.

Hret looked over his shoulder at Il’tan with concern: there could be danger soon, and if the worst should happen - he hoped that she wouldn’t have to see her mother’s body.

“Il’tan, take Anar’dea and get the others. She may need help. You can lead them back to me. Do you understand?” Hret ordered. Il’tan looked uncertain, but it seemed Anar’dea picked up something in Hret’s tone and began to tug Il’tan away.

“Come on, let’s hurry,” Anar’dea urged, pulling Il’tan away as she was in the throes of indecisiveness.

Hret listened as they both left, grateful for Anar’dea’s presence just a bit more than he had been before.

He didn’t allow himself to linger on it, though, and pursued the scent of El’tan, being careful as he followed the trail through the thick forest. Every time he walked around a tree, he was on edge - part of him feared and expected to see his wife's body, torn apart and spread across the forest floor.

Hret took a quiet, calming breath and pushed forward into the forest and he knew that he was getting much closer to El’tan.

Meanwhile, Il’tan allowed herself to be pulled behind Anar’dea and the two moved at a brisk pace over the trail. She ignored the burning in her legs, her mind occupied by the potential to have her mom back. After all this time, it had seemed more and more impossible.

“Anar’dea. Let me go.” Il’tan spoke with determination. Anar’dea paused and looked back at Il’tan, struggling with herself.

“We need to find the others, and you’re going to run back to Hret as soon as I let you go.” Anar’dea shook her head.

“That’s exactly why. I finally found mom and I have to be there for her. Hal can lead you back to us, but you have to let me go.” Il’tan started to pull away, but couldn’t free herself from Anar’dea’s vice-like grip.

“Fine… just be ready for the worst…” Anar’dea sighed as she released Il’tan, and watched as Il’tan sprinted back to Hret. Anar’dea shook her head again, hoping that Il’tan would not come to regret her choice. She rushed to get the rest of the group.

Hret heard Il’tan rushing through the forest back to him. Thankfully, she slowed her pace so she wouldn’t be so loud once she got a bit closer.

“I wanted you to go get the others,” Hret growled under his breath.

“I’m here now, so deal with it,” Il’tan said indignantly, her voice barely audible even at their proximity.

Hret said nothing more and continued tracking El’tan’s scent through the forest. Soon, he was also picking up the scent of water.

Maybe she was wounded but found a nearby water source to recover next to.

As they came closer and closer, the scent of blood intensified and the glance he shot to Il’tan let him know that she could smell it now, too.

They both heard El’tan’s pained cry ring out and, for just one moment, they both froze.

She’s alive.

Hret was elated to have heard her, and then terrified that she could be in danger.

Before he could react, he heard Il’tan shout, “Mom!! Where are you!?”

“El’tan! We’re coming! Say something!” Hret shouted as well - the time for stealth had passed. If she needed help or was in danger, then they would be there.

Both Il’tan and Hret ran forward through the trees toward the sound of El’tan’s cry. He nearly froze at the sound that came from El’tan, a guttural scream unlike any sound she’d ever made before, and he feared they would arrive too late. To Il’tan, it was just another sound.

“Mom! Dad, I think I heard her again!” Il’tan cried. She spared a quick glance to Hret and darted ahead, already pulling a sword from her waist.

Hret dashed after her to keep her from rushing straight into danger, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“El’tan! We’re coming! Say something!” The words Hret had just spoken were being screamed with Il’tan’s voice, multiplied by a hundred sources.

They both froze as a disturbed chill ran through their bodies as they both looked to each other as if asking:

Did you hear that?

The unsettled expressions on both of their faces confirmed they did, in fact, hear the same thing. They paused in that moment, each on deciding what the next course of action would be.

I should have sent her away.

As Hret reached out to grab Il’tan as she bolted toward her mother’s voice, heedless of the cacophony of voices.

“No! We have to leave!” Hret screamed as he chased after Il’tan, pounding his legs desperately to catch up to her, but the brief head start she’d gained made it difficult for him to gain on her in time.

“Leave!” Thunder cracked the air in the form of a hundred voices, it screamed out using El’tan’s voice, but was certainly not.

Il’tan broke from the tree line as he heard the screamed command and she skid to a halt at the sight that awaited her; El’tan knelt on the ground in front of a horrible creature: amorphous, currently with hundreds of mouths and different eyes spread across its massive tar-like body, and tendrils spreading out and around El’tan like the branches of a tree.

Tears streamed down El’tan’s face as she took in the sight of her daughter and she couldn’t keep the accusation from her eyes.

Why didn’t you run!?

The sight almost made Il’tan recoil; she could feel what her mom was thinking as if she’d screamed into her ear.

I couldn’t just leave.

Il’tan couldn’t help but look at the creature, and she knew it must be Uch’l’thein. There was nothing else that could be so chaotic and yet live. She could feel it regarding her with cold detachment, yet it didn’t move.

Hret came crashing through the foliage, nearly toppling into Il’tan as he did.

Suddenly, Uch’l’thein surged forward, lifting El’tan up in its tentacles as it barrelled toward the newcomers with unbelievable speed. Luckily, Hret had already been prepared to grab Il’tan and run.

They were already sprinting away even as Uch’l’thein rushed across the clearing around the pools of water. Hret’s heart pounded harder than before and the fur lining his body rose in scrunched hackles. The crashing sound of Uch’l’thein meeting the tree line filled the air with a snapping sound that rebounded through the forest.

It’s too fast.

Hret felt his chest tighten and he prepared to throw Il’tan as hard as he could to give her at least some chance. He saw someone running toward him from deeper into the forest and nearly cried out for them to run, but recognized the form of Anar’dea as she rounded the next tree, her cloak beginning to obscure her form.

“Get down!” she commanded, her face scrunched up in fear. Hret thought to continue running, but knew that, even in the forest, Uch’l’thein was going to catch up at this rate. If Anar’dea had a plan, then it was the only way they’d have a chance.

Hret pulled Il’tan to the ground and Anar’dea leapt over them with her cloak, covering the three of them.

Anar’dea squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that it would be enough. Beneath her, both Hret and Il’tan trembled like falling leaves. She held her breath as she counted, listening to the sound of a falling tree as it splintered to the ground.

But that’s all I hear.

In the absence of the thundering destruction around her, Anar’dea could hear the thrashing and grunting sound of someone being restrained.

What’s happening?

Thu’lain and Raj’ken brought up the tail-end of the group, but pushed ahead of Hal and the other gaur to get a better idea of what was happening. As soon as he saw the inky black tendrils of Uch’l’thein snaking around the trunks of trees, he froze and could almost feel Raj’ken mirror him.

He latched onto the sight of an elf restrained by one of Uch’l’thein’s tendrils, held off the ground effortlessly and - for the most part - ignored.

It isn’t killing her?

Thu’lain resolved to watch, knowing there was nothing he could do to save her and, as soon as whatever was keeping it from ending her passed, she would die horribly.

But the moment never came. Uch’l’thein itself turned many freshly formed eyes over the forest, each one locking onto a person, whether or not they were moving.

That’s not good.

Thu’lain tensed and prepared to run - if Uch’l’thein could find them even if they froze, the only hope of escape would be to scatter. - but instead of turning the forest into a bloody field, Uch’l’thein did something he couldn’t comprehend.

The elf in his grasp was lowered - kicking and writhing - to the ground and released unharmed. The elf fidgeted in place in shock, but, as soon as the tendrils started to seek out something in front of it, she rushed forward fearlessly and started to strike the beast with her bare hands.

Once again, instead of being torn in half or devoured whole, Uch’l’thein lifted the elf and set her several feet away, again with the patience of a parent dealing with a toddler.

What. Is. Happening?

Thu’lain refused to move; there was just no way. He’d seen Uch’l’thein kill literally everything that so much as walked near it, and here it was letting an elf not only walk, but punch it without retribution.

Have I been poisoned?

“Stop!” El’tan cried out. She’d rushed Uch’l’thein as soon as she was set down, the very same moment that its tendrils started to snake forward, seeking something.

A sound somewhere between a grumble and a sigh escaped the massive creature and it raised a tendril, forming it into a point, and poked El’tan in the chest.

“Elf.” The single word was released from a single mouth. Uch’l’thein stared impassively at El’tan as it spoke. Then it raised a tendril and pointed at every other person there.

“Elf, elf, elf, elf, elf progenitor.” Uch’l’thein seemed to emphasize the last, while multiple eyes bore a hole through Thu’lain. It ignored the gaur near Thu’lain for now, focusing instead on the empty space in front of it, where Hret, Il’tan, and Anar’dea had been.

“Not-elf.” The singular mouth sealed shut, replaced by dozens of razor-toothed maws that all let out a shrill cry at once, “Threat!”

The cry chilled Thu’lain’s bones, and he realized that Anar’dea was missing, along with Il’tan and Hret.

Reckless.

Anar’dea listened as the creature listed those present in disbelief, but she knew that they’d be found soon; several times she’d heard a tendril snake within feet of where they were hiding and, if not for El’tan distracting it, she was sure they’d have been found.

But she is distracting it, and not dying.

Il’tan and Hret still trembled beneath her and Anar’dea couldn’t help but remember her father’s ruined corpse, and the way her brother and mother were embraced as they died.

She’s a lot like me.

Anar’dea shook lightly as she thought, and remembered.

It’s always been me. I’ve never had a sister.

She knew that Hret would die. Il’tan may pass for an elf, and so far that seemed to be enough. But her father was singled out as a threat.

Once more the flash of mangled corpses entered her mind, and the despair that had followed her for years. She took a steadying breath, and let it out with a resigned sigh.

I can’t do this again.

She unclipped the cloak from her shoulders, her body covered in a cold sweat, and slid out from under the cloak, still concealing Hret and Il’tan.

She took in the full sight of Uch’l’thein as it recoiled in surprise. There was something different: the madness that permeated the creature was not gone, but it seemed honed. Several tendrils snaked forward - around Anar’dea - seeking out the perceived threat. Then Anar’dea did something she never thought she’d do.

She swatted the tendril.

“No! Not a threat!” Anar’dea screamed at the great beast. For a moment, it looked almost confused, but kept snaking a tendril around her.

She smacked the tendril again and pointed at Hret’s hiding place without thinking.

“Not. A. Threat!” she commanded.

It seemed for a moment that Uch’l’thein considered her words. It analyzed the area where she had pointed - an inconspicuous bush - and swept up the entire bush in its tendrils in a flash, breaking the cloak’s enchantment and revealing Il’tan and Hret.

They gripped eachother hard and wept, the tendrils wrapped around them as they were held upside down.

Anar’dea began to panic and rush forward, smacking the tendrils.

“No! Not a threat! Not a threat!” she screamed again, and El’tan rushed the tendrils as well.

“Not a threat! Mine! Not a threat!” El’tan cried as she flailed against the leathery skin of Uch’l’thein.

Anar’dea and El’tan were screaming at Uch’l’thein over and over. It didn’t stop them as they punched and pummeled it, but it carefully studied Il’tan and Hret as if confused. It raised two separate tendrils, one pointing at Il’tan and the other at Hret.

“Elfing, non-elf...Not threat?” Uch’l’thein seemed confused as it recognized the similarities between the Lumin, Il’tan, and her father, Hret. It could somehow determine Il’tan was part elf at a glance, but was struggling to define Hret.

“Not a threat! Elfing father, mine!” El’tan pointed at Il’tan, to Hret, and then to herself, her voice filled with a hint of hope. Anar’dea and El’tan froze as Uch’l’thein righted them and set them down. It leaned in with a massive eye.

“Not a threat. Non-elf-non-threat.” It decided finally, and pulled itself away.

They allowed themselves to breathe a sigh of relief, only to stiffen up as Uch’l’thein turned to the gaur hiding behind Thu’lain, pointing at them with sharpened barbs at the end of tendrils.

“Threat.” This time Uch’l’thein spoke from only a few mouths, but it stared at Thu’lain as it spoke, as if awaiting refusal.

“Non-elf-non-threat.”

There was a tense silence as Uch’l’thein processed what was said, and Anar’dea was starting to wonder if they’d need to repeat it a few times for it to listen.

“Acknowledged, progenitor.” Uch’l’thein wasted no further time and slinked back to the pools, having effectively cleared the area of hostiles.

El’tan dove and tackle-hugged her family and they wept. Anar’dea smiled and made to walk away, but an outstretched hand seized her leg and pulled her into the family dog-pile anyway.

Meanwhile, Raj’ken stared in shock as she processed what happened. She shot Thu’lain a look.

“What just happened? What’s that progenitor stuff?” Raj’ken asked, a slight tremor to her voice.

“I have no idea.”