Looking around, Rai was quite proud of what they had accomplished in the months since the black flames. After Adra had decided to accept her fate as the last dryad on Arbortoma, the two of them had searched for a good spot to settle and start their efforts to rebuild. The black fires had burned for a few days, leaving nothing behind but dust, dust and despair. But under Adra’s guidance, the smaller trees, the shrubs and all the plants that hadn’t been part of the giant elven forest had begun to flourish. Trying to wrest as many resources from the ground and the choking dust, the plant life had started to reach for the sun once more, despite the cold winds coming from the south.

And their small oasis of green had started to attract people. At first, only a few but with each day, more and more people joined their efforts, the vast majority elves but others, too. The Oasis was focused on rebuilding, even as armies from other continents marched across the desolate, dust-chocked landscape, travelling towards the Mountains of Ice. There, as the rumours went, the Mad Queen of Ice had unleashed death upon the world, ignited the black flames and called forth the frozen storm. In turn, the gods had struck her down, burned away her very existence, but the damage was already done and now, it was in the hands of mortals to fix the damage. Mortal hands had wrought it, mortal hands had to fix it.

But why armies were needed to fix the damage, nobody had explained to Rai. Thus, his focus, and the focus of everyone in Oasis, was on rebuilding. On tending the gardens, on making sure that Adra, the glue holding everything together, was cared for and on protecting those who were doing the same as him.

Because sadly, not everyone felt that working together and rebuilding was the way forward. They felt that their voices needed to be listened to, and if people didn’t want to listen, they sought to force the issue, often with violence. Others simply saw the peaceful and flourishing Oasis and made designs on it. They wanted to rule over the place, to control its people, and if that wasn’t possible, they sought to destroy it.

That had been a harsh and incredibly disillusioning lesson. Rai had learned a lot from Morgana, something he didn’t dare to voice, just in case anyone connected the Traveller Morgana and the Mad Queen of Ice, but some lessons, he had thought exaggerated. That one should never trust unless one could verify, that one should always be careful of honeyed words. Those lessons, the distrust, the vigilance and the outright paranoia, Rai had never fully believed in. Sure, some people wanted to take advantage, that was a lesson he had learned when leaving his village, but just how many people only saw their own benefit, who felt that as long as they could take advantage, the sacrifices didn’t matter, that had been a harsh lesson.

There had been nights during which he had rested in Adra’s arms, tears streaming down his face, tears shed for the lives he had been forced to take in the shadows. To protect what he and Adra had created, to protect their people. And the next day, even after weeping for the lives lost, he went back out and did what had to be done.

As time passed, those with designs on Oasis had increased more and more, especially as the realisation kicked in that spring wasn’t coming. Around Oasis, crops and plants grew, thanks to the dryad’s blessing given by the last living dryad of the continent, but everywhere else, the combination of dust, the cold winds from the south and an acidic, poisonous rain had caused widespread famine. And as more and more people had to go hungry, they became desperate. Desperate to control the Oasis and the food grown within Adra’s domain.

To make matters worse, the armies that had travelled south before were returning. Or what remained of them was returning, at first, it was only a few deserters that trickled back north but some time during what should have been the middle of summer, that changed. Instead of deserters, trying to flee the war, speaking of abominations of Ice, of howling wolves and murderous ravens, the survivors were travelling north, fleeing their own defeat. The war in the south had been lost, the armies defeated and their supply lines crippled. Every soldier was only trying to survive and whispers of the Oasis had spread, making it a target for everyone.

“Lord, one of our scouts returned. We need to report,” a voice shook Rai out of the contemplative state he had been in, thinking about the future while carefully tending to the patch of salad he had been working on.

“Yes?” he stood, turning to the messenger, followed by a dark-clad soldier, one of those who had sworn to defend the Oasis and Adra as their spiritual leader.

“Wargs have been sighted and Nevermores darken the sky. We need to prepare, they will be here soon. It’s just a matter of days,” the scout explained and Rai could only let out a sad sigh. He had hoped that the war would pass them by, that their Oasis would be spared. Hoped, but not counted on.

“Spread the word, we will follow the plans laid out in Preparation Two,” Rai ordered the messenger, declaring which of the plans they had prepared for certain scenarios to use. The messenger only nodded, leaving Rai and the scout behind. Rai continued to ask questions, while everywhere around them, various people were preparing for battle, according to the plan laid out in advance. There was a mix of desperation and determination filling everyone, they all knew, it would be incredibly difficult to withstand the coming onslaught. But if they didn’t fight, they would simply die regardless.

Finally, Rai had managed to dredge up every piece of information from the scout and dismissed him with a nod, focusing on his own part in the battle. And inform Adra of the trouble ahead.

“Dear, the battle is coming towards us,” he quietly told his friend. The last months had strengthened their bond, the secrets they shared, the connection to Morgana a burden and bond neither of them could deny.

“And we have to fight,” Adra nodded, regret oh-so-obvious on her face. She had decided to try and rebuild, to make Arbortoma their home. And now, they would pay for it. She had felt the changes in the earth, had noticed the very essence of life fade. At first, she had thought it was due to the destruction of the black flames, that life would recover eventually. She had managed to use some of the destruction, to turn life into death by harnessing the endless cycle, but now, she was reconsidering. Death was flooding the Astral River, coming from the South and while she had been pushing against the flood, there was only so much she could do. And while she had some affinity for the end of life, she was feeling her own limit, was realising that if she went much further on the path of Death, there would be no turning back. She would cease to be a dryad and become something… different.

“Together,” Rai gently reached up, touching her face.

“So, you want to stand and die together? Or would you like to live?” A different, incredibly familiar voice broke through the silence, shattering both the affectionate feelings between them and the sombre mood that had been pressing down on them.

“Teacher?!” Rai asked, his eyes darting around, searching for his teacher despite knowing that all Travellers are gone from this world. Have been for months.

“No,” the voice replied and a figure emerged from the shadows, “It is only me. Morgana has left this World, but her legacy is still there. And given that you are part of that legacy, the Lord has agreed to give you a chance. Or at least a stay, if you are willing to take it,” Lenore explained, landing on one of the tables.

Rai simply looked at Adra, keeping his mouth shut. Uncertainty was written all over his face in capital letters, whether to abandon what they had built or to remain, even if it might mean death.

“What…” Adra began, before having to pause to clear her throat, ”What would that entail?”

“Morgana has given her word, that she would keep an eye on you. While she failed to do so in the throes of her grief, now, we can offer you shelter and, if you are willing to take it, passage to one of the safest places on Mundus. The Lord conversed with the Grandmother and she agreed to offer you shelter.”

Rai looked at the raven, his face a frown. He had heard of the Grandmother, the figure of myth amongst his people and apparently, the teacher of his own teacher.

“We will take it,” Adra agreed as if she didn’t even need to think about it. It was a lesson she had learned years ago. Only by living, can you fight another day.

“Simple,” Lenore replied, quickly flapping her wings. Her beating wings shoot out feathers of Ice, creating a perfect circle and suddenly, that circle turns black, black as the depth of night.

“Step into the portal, and the Lord will facilitate your travel to Neyto. With that, Morgana’s debt to you will be paid, Adra, and you, Rai, will have completed your studies with her. You both shall step forward on your own merits, unbound by your connection to her,” Lenore explained, looking at the two humanoids.

“But isn’t she gone anyway?” Rai asked, suddenly feeling uncertain.

“Gone from this world, yes. But she still exists. I can feel her, weakened, lost but still striving. We will meet again, one day. Of that, I am certain,” Lenore replied, her voice filled with utmost conviction.

Rai hesitated a moment longer, wondering if he should remain, maybe join Lenore and her Lord. To hope for the return of his teacher and stay true to her. But after another look at Adra, he follows her, into the portal to a distant place.

Behind them, the raven let out an amused caw. Oasis would crumble without its spiritual and military leaders, while the promise Morgana had given to Kallista was fulfilled. As things should be.

Leaping up, Lenore returned to the shadows, soaring through the sky on unseen black wings, back towards the Lord she had sworn fealty to. And the countless dead, she was ferrying into the afterlife, as she continued on her own path.