Chapter 86

Nayali

Path of a Priestess

Ash. Ash and pine, those were the smells that would forever remind Nayali of the moment she achieved true freedom. At this moment she was free. Her next set of actions were unbound by blood, bond, or oath to another. At this moment she was free. Charred bodies of fleeing villagers filled her eyesight. The dismembered corpses of the soldiers she slaughtered in retaliation lay not paces away from her feet.

Somewhere during the time when Aren left until now, she had grown flustered. She only realized her state when she noticed her eye level beginning to change. She was floating. Worse, she was floating and not aware that she had been doing so, a sign that her emotions were ruling her abilities. On reflex alone her body circulated mana quickly throughout her body, causing her to fly. This was she learned, a fight or flight response for when she felt nervous. Only seeing that she was in fact hovering now brought to light the fact that she was lost in her own emotions.

With a force of will she stopped her mana long enough to drop to the ground. Her circulating mana was a nervous tick, just as some of her other cousins and attendants would kick their legs, she circulated her mana. That was the key difference between her and her relatives, she had always been exceptional. So much pressure was placed on her due to her innate talents as a child that she rarely had time to relax.

In fact, the thought of not having the next few moments of her life planned out for her scared her. Whether she was to blindly and obediently follow a random stranger who beat her in a duel or follow her brother’s directives she was alone with her thoughts.

She held onto the moment, forcing long deep breaths lest she feel like her chest would constrict with the sudden tension of everything.

“Calm down.” Florijma, her bonded psychic dragon shared. From the bond it was clear that she too was feeling a bit of the rising tension.

Hearing the order, Nayali was able to force herself to be calm. At least on the outside she appeared to be calm. Her body landed, and her posture took on the rigidity of a courtly demeanor. Back straight, flowing hair down her back, clothes in perfect placement. A quick glance down showed that her clothes were in fact covered in blood and lacked courtly precision. Her mind wanted to scratch at the blood stains, to remove them. Only for her to realize a few of the blood stains might have been from Lykan. There were some stains that were well over a week old, while the other fresher ones she wanted removed right away. Still, she couldn’t help but feel a loss and pang of sadness at the thought of what she lost with Lykan.

Then her mind shook the thoughts of what could have been away. She was here. She needed to focus on the immediate present, not what might have been. She wasn’t an idle princess, not anymore. She had her chance with her prince charming, and well that story didn’t end with a happy ending at all. Idly for a moment she thought that when the bards got hold of the tale, they would end it right after the duel. Right where he conquered the evil witch from the south. That or how he absconded with her into the forest never to be seen again.

“You are stalling.” Florijma cut in.

Hearing the thoughts, Nayali wanted to protest, but couldn’t. Her bonded was correct, she was stalling. But why was she stalling?

She thought about that for a moment, only to realize that part of her problem was that she wanted someone to come along and tell her what to do. Idly she thought that if she waited long enough, another wave of her brother’s soldiers would come and take her back to her brother.

“You don’t want that. Not really.” Florijma again cut into her thoughts.

“I know.” Nayali said with a huff and the light stomping of her left foot. The effect was more pronounced as Nayali had still been cycling her mana throughout her body, thus when her foot stomped onto the ground she arose in a sudden burst of flight.

A prolonged sigh made its way over their mental link. Only then did Nayali realize that she was truly acting like a child. Or worse, as a spoiled princess.

“Fine.” Nayali said as she stopped her mana flow completely and landed on the ground with a slight thump.

Once she was back on the ground, she was about to get lost in her own head again, when Florijma asked.

“Can’t you get rid of the dead? Offer them up to your god or something?”

Hearing the question Nayali wanted to immediately dismiss the comment out of sheer audacity, but before she could get too far with her reprimand she halted. The more she thought about the idea, of offering the dead a final resting place with the great forest spirit, the more she couldn’t argue against it. Her original argument that these were the bodies of people, versus animals was quickly dismissed as they were by all accounts at this point just bodies. Bodies, nothing more and nothing less. The same as the chamelovores that she had offered up as an offering, not two weeks ago.

Just as she could feel Florijma getting frustrated with how long she was taking, Nayali took in a breath and offered a prayer.

She wanted to do two separate groups, in her mind she wanted to separate the villagers who were slaughtered from the soldiers she later struck down in anger. Focusing first on the villagers she held out her hand over the bodies and made a mental prayer to her god, or rather the great forest spirit.

Great Forest Spirit. Please tend to these battered bodies, take them within you and use their nutrients to enrich these lands.

A simple prayer, but one that seemed to be well received. For in a matter of moments the bodies slowly got pulled into the land, as if they were falling through quicksand. Then in their place the ground took on an ivory glow. For a moment all the ash and debris that had covered the lands and their bodies was cleansed. In its place, a new blend of grass that was white, or at least appeared to glow with a white sheen under the moonlight. The scorch marks that were left on a few of the trees were also covered by the glowing white energy, a sign that the great forest spirit was using what it had gained to repair the land.

Watching the magic of the great forest spirit in action Nayali was once again reminded of what the great forest spirit truly stood for. The great forest spirit was for balance. A one for one exchange. A life was offered, so life could be restored. There was a harmonic beauty to the exchange. Seeing the beauty that was created from the vestiges of war Nayali couldn’t help but feel that her heart was a little lighter from the exchange.

Seeing the change to the land, Nayali turned her attentions to the dead soldiers, many of whom had already been attacked by Florijma for scraps of food. Shrugging to herself she felt that even desecrated as such, they would still make a worthy offering. Preparing herself she once again held out her hand and offered a prayer to the great forest spirit, though this one had less hope within it.

Great Forest Spirit. Please take these bodies of soldiers. May you make the world a better place through their sacrifice.

With that once again a faint glow enveloped the bodies before they too were sucked down into the ground. Then just as before the circle of repairing land expanded out in a circle around her. Seeing the shape caused Nayali to gasp in amazement at the sight. Wanting to test what her mind was already telling her to be the case, Nayali let her mana circulate within her body. As she rose into the air, she saw a dazzling sight. One bright patch of light shown in a circle where she just stood. For hundreds of meters in all directions a circle spread out cleansing the scars of war that covered the land.

Seeing the burnt land slowly give way to the power of the great forest spirit caused a moment of hope to arise in Nayali’s heart. Seeing the change for good she had made thanks to her prayers a new idea formed in her mind. Only after seeing the change directly did Nayali realize why she had been chosen to be a priestess for the great forest spirit.

A feeling of hope blossomed within her chest as for the first time in her life she realized her purpose. Not the purpose that others would choose for her. No, this time she realized the true purpose that she would choose for herself. For the first time in her life, she had been granted the chance to choose her own future, and she decided that since she was given the chance she would make her life one devoted to making the world a better place.

While such a thought would normally be scoffed at for being overly childish, Nayali realized she could accomplish this goal. Or maybe not accomplish the goal in its entirety, but she felt she had the ability to make the world better. No sooner had she thought this then she looked out to see her bonded familiar flying circles around her. Florijma was making wide slow circles to remain at the same eye level as Nayali. To her surprise Florijma seemed to be watching the changes to the landscape just as much as she was. Just as she saw her familiar, a strand of doubt formed. What if Florijma didn’t want to do this with me? Wouldn’t that be the same thing as forcing a future on her? Would that make me no different than the others who ruled my life? Fortunately, before she could get too far into these thoughts Florijma spoke through their connection.

“Looks pretty. We should do this everywhere.” Florijma offered.

Her voice seemed to be that of a child, though after a quick glance Nayali suddenly wondered just how old her familiar was? But before she could follow that line of thinking, her words finally sank in.

“You want to help me do this everywhere?” Nayali asked, gesturing to the glowing field below her that seemed to glow under the magic and moonlight.

“Yes. You can heal the world. I feel the world getting better from this.” Florijma offered.

Hearing that a weight that Nayali didn’t know she was carrying lifted from her heart. “Thank you.”

With that, she had a clear plan. For the first time she would be doing a plan she wanted. Also, for the first time, she had a friend who wouldn’t leave her. For a moment, the full force of what was happening settled upon her. For that moment she felt like she truly belonged in this world and was not just a decoration upon the land.

The two stayed there for a moment, basking in the view. Both wanting this one moment to be etched into their brains as a perfect moment to think back on and enjoy. They both realized that what they hoped for would be impossible, to change the world even the small amount they had managed took the offering of over thirty bodies. Still, it was a start.

After a few moments of floating, Nayali finally dropped to the ground as she sought the direction she was to go next.

“Where to now?”

“Now?” Nayali paused as she gave the moment some consideration. Part of her wanted to go west, hoping that she might be able to reach up to Aren. There was also south, where she could go back to the jungle basin and help make sure the changes there were permanent, but that would be the easy path. Then she looked east, towards the scorched lands that her brother’s army were already destroying. Looking east, she realized her destination almost immediately.

While her brother was a force of destruction on the lands, she swore she would be the opposite. While he destroyed, she would heal. With that being her new goal, she had only one true direction to go, east.

She made a note that she would travel through the ruins of Abberty village once more. She said that this was only to correct the errors of her brother, though she also secretly hoped that she might be able to find more traces of Lykan. While she liked her newfound freedom, she wanted to see the man who had single handedly upended her life. She was still mad at him. Mad that he had abandoned her, but now she also felt that there might have been something greater that came about from that abandonment.

Nodding to herself she headed east, towards the scorched and salted fields. Her first task, heal the land however long it took.