The Fifth Elder

Kai’s ears shifted multiple times as they headed to the next Elder. Had they been so fortunate that when the silver woods had moved, the warring tribes had a ceasefire for a time? Now they were in full force, and with Kai, Bard tried to steer them in different directions. He hoped to avoid being sighted and thanked Father that the mists were clinging.

Sen kept quiet, watching Kai’s ears.

As they moved past it, Kai panted with exertion and Bard looked back.

“Just a little father Kai, then we can stop. I know you’ve been pushing yourself. Thank you,” Bard acknowledged. As Kai walked along, the mists began to disperse as snow fell. It then changed to a pelting hail. Kai rushed into a cave he spotted. It was a bit tight, but they could wait out the hail.

“What is that?” Sen shivered as she brushed off Kai. The hail’s noise grew, and Bard waited for it to slow in velocity.

“It’s called hail.”

“The ice balls?” Sen clarified. Kai hummed under her brushing. Bard nodded and heard her practice the word.

“What is it in Asternum?” he asked.

“Grando… I think,” Sen said thoughtfully. “My mother said it to me once, but it’s pretty rare where I came from.”

Bard and her waited for a bit, and the storm passed over them. Bard poked his head out and noted the clouds were nearly gone now. He smiled and called them out. They were traveling again until Kai stopped and looked back at them, pleading.

“Alright, Kai. Find us a place, and we will stop to camp,” Bard said. Kai’s tail wagged. He quickly found a boulder they could be against, making it easier to protect against shades.

Once camp was set up, Sen stayed by the fire, looking up at the dark sky. Bard wondered what that was about, but once again, he felt tired and put himself to bed.

The next morning, he found Sen’s arm draped over him, and he rolled his eyes as he removed it. She shifted and took over his sleeping space. Bard sighed and looked out to see the fires were nearly dead, and the sun was barely up. Had she tended to it last night? Is that why she was still asleep?

He began to pack their things and then roused her when it was time to situate Kai.

Kai had rested well, so they made it to the next Elder at sundown.

“Elder Protection,” Bard kneeled before the snow laden tree. Sen followed suit, as did Kai. Bard barely caught a glimpse of the blueish berries before focusing his head down.

“Ah, Bardon. Welcome back. You brought one of her kind here. You know my opinion of them,” he said.

“Yes. Defender is no longer War Tree, and she seeks a token for a pledge, so I ask you ignore that past,” Bard said.

“Hmmm. Then it was your doing to move War Tree’s forest to the north? No doubt you’ve seen the growing number of shades around there,” Protection remarked. Bard bowed a bit deeper.

“It is as you said. However, we still seek your approval for our pledge,” Sen spoke up.

“Hmm. Smart girl. You won’t be receiving a full token from me. Not if you’re one of his kind who follows his perverted traditions of warfare, but if you can learn a little of the ways of a protector, then I will grant you approval.”

“We are grateful,” Sen said softly. They rose from their bow, and Bard felt a little root grab his wrist as he turned to move away.

He told Sen to set up camp with Kai, and he would be there shortly. He waited for her to leave and then turned to face protector.

“What is your request?” Bard asked politely.

“I can sense she carries some tokens. The fools. At least she is making attempts to follow after you. But one of her kind?”

“I hear your reservations, Protection. At first, it was to preserve my life, just as you had warned his Dryads would seek, but now…”

“Bah. You’re a love struck fool you are. Just… watch your back. Until she has all the tokens, I don’t fully agree to this.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Bard said before excusing himself.

“And don’t you go forgetting your mission either,” protection called after him. Bard paused and smiled at the old tree.

“I haven’t.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The morning dews permeated the wood and a small warmth grew, signaling the first spark of spring. Bard stretched and enjoyed the fresh, sharp and spiced smells of the wood hit his nose. He cozied into Kai’s fur again and then felt a tap as Sen touched his nose.

“Morning sleepy head. It’s pretty out here,” she hummed in a playful tone. Bard smirked.

“It smells nice, that’s for sure,” he stretched and rolled over. Kai’s nose rubbed his shoulder. When he did a second time, Bard rolled over and patted his head. “Alright, I’ll get up,” he said with a half grin.

“Elder Protection called you Bardon yesterday. I wanted to ask, but I fell asleep before I could…” Sen muttered.

“Oh. Bardon is my first name. I go by Bard, but he’s been a stubborn one,” Bard referred to Elder Protection who had this internal law to call everyone by their full first name.

“Oh? Then do you have a family name?” she asked with a tease.

“It’s Jaystrum. Father Tree gave it to me when I became his son, and I received his token,” Bard answered. Sen seemed shocked and then confused.

“Wait, your family name comes from an Elder Tree?” she asked.

“Sure. Why do you look so confused?”

“Bard. That’s super rare. Only a select few according to Elwood ever received the family name of an Elder Tree. It’s rare that anyone even knows what they are,” Sen said, jumping back as he climbed off Kai.

“Oh,” Bard said flatly.

“Bard!” Sen insisted. She looked a bit frustrated at his lackluster reaction. “But then… when we get married…” her eyes grew wide, and then she shrunk, looking pondering at the ground. Bard wasn’t privy to her internal thoughts, so he had no idea what she was thinking about. He stretched and started to prepare breakfast. They would be staying in the area, so it made sense to eat instead of getting ready to leave and consuming dry foods.

After cutting some winter roots and adding some dried meats in, he simmered it with some melted snow to rehydrate everything.

Sen paced back and forth for a while till her nose caught the smell of the meal.

“Have some breakfast before you go learn from Elder Protection,” Bard invited. She heartily ate the stew till Bard reluctantly pulled out more rations and made some for himself. He wasn’t fully hungry yet, having just woken up, so he could wait till more was cooked.

As the food cooked, Sen cleaned herself up and checked on her tokens. She then left to meet with Elder protection. Kai came over and Bard pushed his nose away.

“No you don’t. You can get your own food. I can’t cook for you.” Kai’s inquisitive nose came back, and Bard growled protectively. Kai’s head ducked quickly before he slunk away and then went to hunt his own food. Bard finished in silence, enjoying the aromas of the forest and the stew.

Sen returned in a bit with a token of approval and slightly puffy eyes. Her lips puckered in disappointment.

“I figured as much,” Bard sighed. Stubborn Elders were not his favorite.

“It’s not fair. Why would he do that?” Sen asked and Bard paused in ladling himself some soup, looked her in the eye and then shook his head. This conversation would wait till after Kai had eaten his fill, and they were safely out of the woods. He returned to his task and Sen sat down opposite him, still very upset over the idea. He would find out the specifics later, but he had a vague idea what had happened.

Kai returned in short order and ate his catch before sniffing around Bard again. Bard sighed and pulled out the last winter root under his cloak and tossed it to the gaping maw. Kai munched it contentedly, and Bard rose to put out the fire to begin preparations to leave. Sen stayed silently sitting at her spot, though she did cover her face when he doused the fire with snow. The sizzle that popped, as it heated up quickly, was startling.

Bard chuckled as he saw her reaction. She pouted playfully until her gaze returned to her token, and Bard stopped his tease and finished getting ready to leave.

They traveled a bit west and to the north, skirting around warring tribe sites.

When they made camp again, Bard noticed Sen was moving about and helping them unload; a marked improvement, but she lacked the gusto of her normal self.

As the sat down to more stew and smaller fires around them. Bard swung his tokens around. Sen watched mesmerized as he danced with them, adding to their melody. He heard her hum along to the tune, and he gently set the tokens down and fished out his flute. The warmer day had made it better conditions for playing it.

He joined her, and she sang louder, her tokens joining the song his own wove.

As they finished, he set the flute back in its place and Sen approached him. He turned and noticed her energy was still off, so he patted her head and then felt her arms grasp around him as she pulled him into a hug. Without a word, he returned the embrace until she calmed a bit.

“Ready to talk about it now?” he asked. She nodded slowly. Bard guided her to the fire and sat next to her. He held her shoulder in his embrace, and they stared at the fire for a while. Eventually her voice rose.

“That stupid Elder,” she said with a quivering in her voice. Bard felt his teeth grit. He reminded himself of another Elder’s teachings and calmed down.

“Stupid?” he asked, wanting her to elaborate.

“He’s so conceited and stubborn. He’s not the only one who knows how to protect others,” Sen growled out.

“Sen, his is a different protection. He mostly is upset that Defender lost his way and is loosing his song. He is critical, and it shows, but he has a different perspective. If not for his direction and awareness, I’d be dead right now.”

“What?” Sen said in hushed tones. “Wait. So all that was because he is mad at giving a child of Defender’s forest a token? That’s so stupid!”

Bard laughed at her tone. “It does sound that way. But I created two topics here to discuss.”

“Right. This should be a fast answer. Why would you be dead?” Sen asked.

“He, Protection, along with Steadfast, were those who taught me what to do in your forest to keep my head on my shoulders. They both had insights into what was going on with Defender, which is why I had to go there.”

“Had to… Okay, this is getting a bit long,” Sen growled out. “You’re just answering with more things that I don’t know about… Bard,” she whined. Bard chuckled and then gave her shoulder a squeeze.

“I’ll answer that later, Sen. About the other topic… he focuses on the protection of the soul and the heart. It manifests in how he works. He’s not in his original forest.”

“Another one?” Sen asked, referring back to Perspective.

“Yes. He can transfer all his memories and intent into one of his berries and move with the help of the birds. He then is transported to a place with little of anything,” Bard answered.

“How is that protection. Sounds like defeat and running away.”

Bard smiled, recalling his own conversation with Protection about that.

“If the source of what you are seeking isn’t there, what is there to destroy?” Bard muttered. Sen cocked her head and he paused. “Never mind. That’s another discussion. But as for why he does that, think of our village. I chose a location that is pretty ideal in a lot of areas. He chooses to go to places that have nothing, are unwanted and inhospitable.”

Sen straightened, her head cocking in confusion.

“Why would he-” Bard placed his finger on her lip.

“Can the forest grow very easily in those places?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Sen. He has the ability to grow in those areas and restore them to their full glory. He makes it possible for other trees and animals to move. Even paradise won’t last forever. He creates new paradises for other’s to move into, then he moves on. He restores the heart and the spirit of the places he dwells in. If we had waited a few dozen years, I doubt we could have you get his token, and I would have talked to Elwood about it. That is how he protects. By doing only what he can do and creating places for others.”

He watched her lips part into an O shape as she looked at him in surprise.

“It’s why he also doesn’t see eye to eye with Defender. You guys have migrated a lot and strained the areas you move to until it can’t sustain you anymore. So he often comes through afterwards and fixes the place.”

“Then why haven’t I heard of him?” Sen asked. Bard’s eyes closed as he faced towards the fire.

“Because Defender was war tree, and he would have found Protection to be an enemy. At least, that is my guess. I’m not entirely sure why things turned out the way they did.”

Sen became very quiet after that.

Time passed and with a snap of the fire, Sen shook herself, causing Bard to let go of her. She stiffened her back and then looked at him with a big grin.

“Who is the next elder we are going to meet?”

Bard smiled, happy and relieved to see her shaking off that energy that had been sitting with her.

“Elder Craft. He’s more like Abundance with a bit of… well, you’ll meet that one later.”

“Well, I liked Abundance. Is Craft going to be like Healer in that I’ll need to learn about some sort of craft in order to get his token?”

“You’ll just have to find out,” Bard said as he leaned down and touched her forehead with his own.