The Eighth Elder

They rode hard across the desert sands. The wind only occasionally blew from the north, a gentle relief from time to time. The desert would be hard-pressed to have rain or clouds, so it was a bit more ideal against shades, but the night was terrifying. They began their movements like before, to increase the distance traveled. Moving at the coolest parts of the day and night, while avoiding the extreme temperatures of the middle of the night and the middle of the day. Bard enjoyed watching stars, but with the growing number of shades, it was becoming a hard task. With the stars and the suns, they traveled, using the celestial lights to guide them across the changing landscape.

Kai’s ears pricked, and he looked to the northeast. Bard had him pause. The suns would be down soon. Those ruins must have a number of shades in them for Kai to notice at this distance. Bard groaned. They would likely have to proceed with extra caution tonight. He checked the sunstones and grabbed some light sticks and kept them handy. Sen noticed and helped him out. They began once again and, as Bard had suspected, they quickly became surrounded by shades. The sunstones were their protection as they traveled.

It became cold and Bard had them rest. When it got warm again, they traveled. Three days passed this way. To Bard, this was quite fast, as he had stopped at all the ruins along the way when he had come down. There were five in total in the immediate area, each a bit different from each other. To the northeast, an underground river had watered the area, making it habitable by people. He still shuddered, recalling what had led to him discovering the area. The southern city ruin was the only oddity. He couldn’t fathom how people had lived and built that place.

As they entered the fourth day, Bard caught sight of the Next Elder’s towering branches. Within an hour, they were at her side and dismounted. Sen looked about in dismay.

“Another forest-less Elder…” she grumbled. Bard laughed.

They were a bit early for her to be awake, though this Elder looked impressive. With a towering height that dwarfed elder Perspective, her blue-green foliage looked like it was covered in a sporadic snow of white stars.

“Come and rest, Sen,” Bard invited. “Elder Watcher sleeps during the day, so we will talk with her tonight.” As they came under her branches, her song hit their ears. Sen seemed to easily relax with this tune, and Bard enjoyed the occasional breeze. Kai followed on the far side where the branches appeared at higher parts. After enjoying the shade for a while, Bard unloaded Kai and prepared their meal. Kai, meanwhile, went north to hunt. Without people and a load, he easily disappeared from their sight into the horizon.

As Kai returned, the suns began their descent and Bard found a few flowers hat had fallen on the sands. He gathered them and brought them to Sen. She found it sweet and then begged Bard to braid her hair. As he did so, she placed the flowers in her tamed strands and gave him a hug when they were done.

The darkness came, and the stars eagerly appeared against the shattered moon. A yawn was heard as the shades appeared in the distance.

“Morning. Who is under my bough?” the female voice of watcher asked.

“Greetings Elder Watcher. It's a pleasure to be with you again.” Bard greeted. “This is Sen, a Dryad I have pledged myself to. We seek your wisdom and insights.”

“Sen, was it? She looks lovely with those flowers,” Watcher chuckled as she moved her branches to tussle Sen’s hair. More flowers embedded, along with some tiny petals. With the light of the sunstones, she looked quite lovely. Bard looked up at the night stars as they began to appear through the branches. Such a peaceful place. He had missed being here, stargazing.

“If a token is what you seek, then Sen, I’m afraid we don’t have enough time. To learn all the stars and their placements would take over a year. Especially now that those foul beasts roam the waste places. They tend to block the view.”

“The stars? Wait. So it’s going to be another approval token,” Sen said looking at the tree.

“Indeed. But for tonight, watch the sky. Enjoy the peace here, and see what you can find. This is your first task,” Watcher whispered. Sen looked at Bard and he pointed up. She looked up and after a bit of searching, she gasped. Watcher was a special tree, she moved her branches to surround the stars and with her flowering branches, she liked to trace the lines that made up the constellations. She wouldn’t say it outright, since it was to subconsciously imprint it into your mind.

Sen looked quietly until her eyes wouldn’t stay open and she fell asleep. Bard continued for a while until he was too tired and woke her up again. She would need as much time as she could at night. Day would become their sleep time. Kai however would maintain his sleep schedule so they could leave when it was time.

Night after night, they watched the stars. Sen’s gaze wandered quite a bit, and she began to observe the shades as well.

“Bard. Just how many of them are there?” she asked, and Bard tore his gaze from the sky. He looked out at the swirling mass, occasionally seeing their eyes pause to look at them. If not for the song and the sunstones, they would be consumed by them.

“Too many,” Watcher chimed in.

“I agree. But since they keep their distance, we are fine,” Bard said as he noticed Sen’s worried look.

“They border the light more than my song. Since this place dried up, I was one of the few to stay because I drove my roots deep while the others tried to grab all the surface water. They didn’t watch how each year the rains came less and less. It wasn’t long till they had me be the elder, and eventually they all perished. I took their seeds underground in the chance the waters ever returned. For now, they lie dormant while I wait and watch.” Watcher shuddered, and some flowers fell around them. “Since that time, my song barely keeps the shades at bay, but it has provided me a lot of time and a close distance to observe them.”

“You are the expert on shades,” Bard admitted.

“Wait, she is?”

“When one can spend all their time watching, it becomes easy to be an observer and notice the small things. Like how the shades have begun to exponentially grow in numbers since Bard was here last. I believe they are about sixteen times more abundant in the area and with greater variety.” Watcher answered. “However, when it comes to dealing with shades and what works against them, that would Bard’s expertise. I just watch them from the safety of my song.”

Sen’s gaze was cast at Bard and he shrugged.

“I’m on the road a lot. So it was a necessity. And since they are mostly not strength based, it leads well to my skills,” Bard said humbly. It was a part of his responsibilities from Father as well. He looked out at the shades and began to watch them. He could see new shapes from the last time he was here. Some were larger, too, like the merlants and Kai. He wondered if they were shading animals as well as the trees. Could that mean they could affect humans and other races?

“Sen. You must remember that the path you take will not always be clear. Look up. What do the starts say of your way?” Watcher gently reminded. Sen bit her lip and hastily looked up at the sky.

While she worked with watcher, Bard began his own observations on the shades.

A total of fifteen new shade shapes. Their forms still shifted between physical and shadowy. None had strange eyes or exaggerated form, except the shadow tail. It was what seemed to constantly fall off them and followed them as they ran about. Their speeds were also still concerning. As morning was on the verge of coming, Bard heard Watcher speak again.

“The night never rushes, yet it always moves. What did you see tonight?” she asked. While Sen relayed her findings, Bard felt a bit tired.

“That is good,” Watcher said. “Bard.” She paused and he shook himself awake. “Your beloved flower is fragile but enduring, just like the stars above. Take good care of her.” Her voice changed to be more directed at Sen. “When you cannot see the path, find something that is unchanging and use that as your guide.” A branch with flowers moved down and Bard noticed another token as it came in front of Sen. She reached out her hands and received the approval and bowed her head as she brought it to her chest.

“Thank you, Elder Watcher. I will continue to watch and learn,” Sen said respectfully.

“I know you will. As for you two, as much as you are tired, I would recommend leaving today. This is the lightest amount of shades in the past month, so your travels should be more smooth and safe on your journey.”

Bard groaned a bit and then rose to his feet, stretching. That was a bit of a mistake, as his vision began to fade to black, and he hastily sat back down.

“Are you alright?” Sen asked.

“I’m fine. I just got up too fast. We should get Kai ready,” Bard answered. He waited a bit and rose once again. Sen also joined him, and they packed their things and got ready to leave. Kai woke as the sun rose and saw them ready with their things. He looked dissatisfied, but let them load him.

Soon they were off and Bard made sure to strap themselves in as they got some rest and tried to readjust to the traveling schedule. It was four days of getting used to being awake in the day before they made it around the fighting tribes of Humans, and they could rejoin the caravan routes to the east. They would hit the land of lakes soon.