The Soul Keeper

I threw myself to the nearest bush, hoping the leaves would hide me. If I were to be discovered now, it would be the end of my adventure. Probably for real this time. I doubted she would give Fetheion another chance to revive me.

I anxiously waited, my heart racing, as the silhouettes passed over me and continued flying west, towards Stonepatch village, and probably beyond it as well.

I only realised that I was holding my breath when I sighed in relief once they disappeared from sight. I crawled out of the bush and dusted off my clothes. 

"That was close," I mumbled as I washed my face and arms again to get rid of the dirt and leaves.

Once I was done with that, I quickly hurried to the alcove that had one kept me safe until my injuries had healed. I opted to walk as to not be seen in case the Ereth decided to return for some reason. 

Now, the wounds on the creature, the crushed scales and why they didn't even bother to finish it off made sense. The Divine must have come and wounded it. She didn't care about things such as experience and skill points – she was a Divine. 

I was lucky to not have bumped into her when I went to the cave. A little bit earlier and I might have been a dead man. Or worse – but I didn't want to think of that possibility.

It took me until dusk to reach the alcove on foot and once I did, I simply laid on the lush green grass, brimming with magic, and promptly fell asleep. 

I woke up in the morning with the cheerful chirping of birds and the bright rays on sunlight. It took me a moment to remember where I was.

This place really hadn't changed, had it? I couldn't help but smile as I watched the fish in the lake. That lake had provided me with so much food and water – I would have died ages ago without it. It felt like a lifetime had passed since then.

After a moment's hesitation, I decided to clean myself. After a quick but refreshing bath, I was ready to meet Luhen.

Once again, I opted to walk to the spot we were first teleported to. As I walked, I was amazed how much the forest remained the same and at the same time, how much more magical it was. Or perhaps it always was magical, but it was me who had changed enough to be able to see it.

When I arrived at the old campsite, Luhen wasn't here yet naturally. It was still fairly early in the day and I was sure he couldn't fly with just one wing. I pondered a moment as I glanced towards the mountain pass in the distance. How much did I trust him, exactly?

Not too much was my answer. I decided to climb on one of the taller trees and use its leaves as cover. This way, I could see anything that approached me before it saw me. Hopefully.

Some time passed before I noticed a distant silhouette. 

It was Luhen, as expected.

He approached the camp site and looked around. I waited for about a minute, to see if there were any other Ereth in the area. Only when I concluded that there were none did I hop off the tree and walk out of the woods.

"Hey, Luhen." I said as he turned towards me. He seemed a bit startled, not at all like the other day.

"Hello, Keeper." He said with an uncertain voice. "The Divine just passed over the village – I feared you had been found and killed."

I shook my head. "No, it was close, but they didn't notice me." I glanced at the sky. "Though I doubt we have too much time. What did you want to talk about?"

Luhen sighed. "Such hurry…" He said as he lowered himself onto one of the logs on the ground. We sat, and I waited for him to start talking.

"I know the Divine took the source of most of your power away – the souls you had gathered up until then. I'm sure they are suffering because of it." His voice was filled with sorrow. Who was he, really? How did he know so much about everything that was going on?

"I know you are trying to get it back too," He added as he fiddled with the end of his tattered cloak. "But you can't hope to go up against the Divine and win at your current state – you were barely a match for her back then."

I couldn't help but take a sharp breath. How did he know all this?

"I know I need to gain more power," I spoke, choosing my words carefully. "But I can only do so much,"

He shook his head and pulled a first sized crystal out of his pocket. "Do you hear anything?" He asked as he gave it to me. I furrowed my brows as I brought the crystal closer to my ear. 

At first, I heard nothing. Then, a faint ringing sounded. 

"You do, don't you?" Luhen asked with excitement in his eyes. I nodded hesitantly. "Just a low ringing."

He almost clapped like a young kid, then stopped himself. "Crystals are an amazing source of power, if you have the ability to shape them into something more than just that." He pointed at the pale crystal in my hand. "And if you can hear them, it means you can shape them."

"What does that mean, exactly?" I asked.

"I can't tell you how to do it – I don't have that power." He said with a bitter smile. "But an old friend of mine once did. I'll explain it to you as she did to me; Think of crystals as vessels that can store mana. Now, you can store just any normal mana for use later, or you can specialise the crystal to only store and release a certain type of mana." 

He waved his hand around. "Like the wind! You can shape a crystal in such a way that whenever the mana within is used, it will only create a mild breeze – or a storm!"

"I can store any kind of spell?" I asked as my heart began beating faster. He nodded. "As long as you can shape the crystal properly. From what I understand, the more powerful the spell, the more difficult the shaping process is."

I pondered. "That's… really powerful if I can pull it off."

"Keep in mind – anyone can use these crystals. Your enemies too if they get their hands on it." He smiled. "Do you think you can do it?"

I shrugged. "I don't even know where to begin." I glanced at the crystal in my palm. "Can you really not tell me anything more?" How was I supposed to know what shape equalled which spell?

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, she never was very talkative and disappeared when I was still young. I only have that crystal she's given me that can guide you."

I flinched. "This is all you have left of her?" I asked in surprise. I held it with both hands, suddenly afraid of dropping it. I motioned to give it back.

"Keep it." He said, "It's only a mana holder for me, I can't use it for anything else. You, however, can learn so much from it."

I hesitated – I didn't want to accept such an important gift. Yet… I needed it to learn, didn't I? I took a deep breath. "Thank you – I'll return it to you as soon as I can."

He didn't say anything – just smiled, then changed the subject.

"You should know – not all of us agree with the Divines." He glanced at the distant mountains. "Some of us hate this eternal state of war and weariness. And even more the fact that people from another world were taken from their homes to help us." He clenched his fists. His single wing shook as if he wanted to just fly off, but of course, he couldn't.

"So, if you need help – to take them down, know that we will help you. We miss the days where peace reigned; before the Divines started dying or disappearing. Once those who upheld peace disappeared, we lost what made our people who we were." I could hear the pain in his voice. How old was he, I wondered, how long had he been walking upon these lands?

"Then… When I ask for your help, will those who agree with you come to help?" I knew I couldn't count on their help, that I couldn't plan around it, but every little piece of help counted. I needed it all. Especially now that I lost Rina and Alex's trust and help.

"You can," He said with a smile, but then his smile shattered. He threw himself on me as a spear hit his shoulder. "Run!" He whispered before collapsing.