Chapter 16

Haledon watched as the viscous stream of amber sap flowed over Witch-Hazel's wooden face. As it did, it began to spill over to their thick bramble shoulders. The crowd of Earth Druids in the surrounding glade cheered wildly as the liquid absorbed in.

"Go!" Witch-Hazel gargled past the alcohol that soaked through their wooden mouth.

Haledon panicked and thrust his stein into the sap, where three thick bubbles of air erupted from beneath the surface's slow waves. The world around him seemed to slow as he felt his heart thudding against his chest. He withdrew the mug and lifted it to his face.

The Astralaceae Druids in the crowd cheered an echoing chorus of encouragement as they watched Haledon represent the ship. He could hear the familiar screams and cries of friends he had known his whole life amongst the cacophony. It drilled confidence into his pith, exciting him to drink.

With a sizeable first gulp, he gagged against the burn. His confidence quickly faded, and he knew he was in trouble. With an instinctive flinch that caused him to nearly drop his mug, he gripped tighter and swallowed another burning gulp of sap.

Haledon grumbled through the alcohol as he managed a third and fourth gulp. Growling loudly, he finished the drink and slammed his hands to the table.

Without hesitation, Spark pushed past Haledon and drove her stein into the Basin. Through his heavy breathing, he watched her down her large drink with a quick swig.

"Go, Gaz, go!" Spark yelled, sap painting her cheeks.

"What?" A surprised and panicked Gazeas replied.

Taking her hand, Spark helped dunk Gazeas' mug into the fluid.

Gazeas withdrew it and looked at it for a moment before glancing across the table. Haledon followed her eyes and noticed the other team was on their last Druid. The woman had already begun drinking her stein and was nearly finished.

"What are you—hrm-glug—" Gazeas protested and coughed.

Haledon swung his head around in time to watch Spark as she tipped the stein to Gazeas' face.

"Spark, what are you doing?" Haledon yelled.

"Havinggg—" She paused to think as Gazeas struggled through the sap. "Fun?" 

Removing the drink, she yelled out to Witch-Hazel. "Go!"

Witch-Hazel dipped their drink and thrust it up and over their face. They immediately drove the second stein into the sap and pulled it up. Pausing, Witch-Hazel raised their head to look over the table.

"Vastum." They cursed before throwing the second drink back.

"Go—go—go—go." Witch-Hazel insisted as Haledon reluctantly dragged his mug along the Basin's base, revealing a thin band of red-tinted wood.

"That's the finish, come on—"

Haledon lifted the mug and took a large gulp. The taste of the sap flooded his senses before escaping down his throat. His face shifted into a frown as he took a second, smaller gulp. Beads of sweat formed on his temples, where they raced to join the sap already hanging on his chin.

"Nope—" He mumbled through the liquid as he began to lower the mug.

A tangle of roots pushed the drink back to his lips and tilted it up. In a panic, Haledon continued to drink through his grumbles of frustrated disagreement.

He felt his gaze loosen for a second as the vision of the Shaman Tree rushed through his mind. Reaching his hands behind his head, he instinctively gripped at non-existent vines.

Haledon frantically directed his eyes towards Witch-Hazel, who nodded with a reassuring smile. Beyond them, a figure stepped into view. A pale, bramble face stared through the crowd, its hollow wells for eyes fixating on Haledon. The head cracked to the side, and he felt a stabbing pain in his stomach.

The last of the liquid passed over his tongue, and he coughed a raspy breath into the stein. The wooden mug fell to the floor, thudding to the table before landing in the grass.

"What—what the forswyn?" Haledon muttered, pointing over Witch-Hazel's shoulder.

"I knew you had it—" Witch-Hazel laughed.

"No, I—I was not—That was not okay, Witch-Hazel!" Haledon yelled and started to walk towards the crowd. "Who's—"

"Where are you going?" Witch-Hazel asked, watching Haledon push his way around them.

"I need to know...just—" Haledon huffed to himself in a drunken state as he rushed away.

He pushed through the crowd, excusing himself with each step as various Druids eyed him strangely. Astralaceae Druids approached, patting him on the shoulder as he passed, and reached out with encouraging words that fell on Haledon's deaf ears.

He continued forward, eventually reaching the crowd's edge, where he looked to the spot where the pale bramble had stood. But what he found was untrampled grass.

"What?" He muttered to himself as he searched around.

"Seral Druid Haledon?" A voice asked and repeated. “Seral Druid Haledon?”

"What?!" Haledon frustratedly yelled out.

He looked up from the grass to see the radiant body of Primeval Druid Hummingbird standing before him.

"Oh—forswyn.” He muttered under his breath. “Sorry, Primeval Druid Hummingbird."

"That was quite the display." She replied, her face resting emotionlessly before cracking a smile. She nodded back to the table. "I watched my fair share of Astra Druids before you, and they didn't hold their sap quite as well."

"Yeah, I—" Haledon cleared his throat as his body gradually relaxed from the rush of his sap-fueled pursuit. "I tried it earlier."

He continued to glance around, looking for the figure.

She smiled and clasped her hands together. "Walk with me, Seral Druid Haledon?"

"I, umm, really should be getting back to my guild—finish the game—"

"Oh, yes, of course. Understandable. But before you do..." She grabbed at his arm as her plumage flared with colour.

Impossibly vibrant, emerald-green flowers flashed across her chest, revealing a ruby red undercoat. The colours of her body shifted and danced as she pulled him closer.

"If I may offer some personal wisdom."

Haledon watched as she looked around the room, scanning the faces before returning to his.

"Your Primeval is enthralling. I am sure you can attest to that."

He gave a slow nod, his eyes narrowing as he stared into her determined glare.

"I was once like you, a Seral in my first season, when I learned of Sparrow's talents. My fascination and awe of her grew like a vigorous plant with each passing day. My fascination became an obsession. I wanted to know more. I wanted to be guided by her. I simply wanted to be in her presence.”

Hummingbird smirked and shook her head before continuing.

“I had forgotten that she was a Druid, like you and me. Her stories, the way she talked of the past and future so clearly...made it easy to forget that. And when I sat in front of her, I saw someone more...someone who was immortal."

Haledon paused at the thought and looked back towards the crowd. He scanned for his guild before returning his drunken attention to Hummingbird.

"We all die, and through composting, we become alive again in Nature," Haledon replied carefully. "Aren't we all immortal in that way?"

Hummingbird nodded in agreement.

"Yes, but I believed that Sparrow could bypass death altogether. That she was a—" Hummingbird chuckled to herself. "A god."

"I’m unfamiliar with that word—a god?" Haledon pushed back.

"Gods are an ancient Earth belief. A being of immense power that created everything that is and will be...including Nature."

"Something creating all of Nature? That's impossible. How could anyone believe that? Nature simply is and always has been."

"Yes, but long ago, Earth's people didn’t understand the world that surrounded them. They feared what they didn’t know, so they created the idea of gods to explain away these terrors. They prayed to these gods that shared their visage, lived within invisible castles atop the clouds, and shook the ground when the people defied them. They hoped their gods would listen and increase their crop yields or keep their enemies away—"

"Gods sound like a Roman belief."

"I see Sparrow has begun teaching you already. That was incredibly fast..."

Haledon again looked away for his guild, his attention waning. Noticing a familiar Astralaceae Druid, he stretched his neck for a better look at them as they laughed and drank. But as he continued his search, he couldn't locate the floral crowns of his friends.

"Druids are bound to the Balance of Nature." Hummingbird continued, drawing his attention back. "And when one Druid begins to act as though they’re beyond Nature's canopy—as though they’re a god—they then risk disrupting the whole ecosystem."

"Primeval Druid Hummingbird," Haledon asked carefully. "Are you saying Primeval Druid Sparrow is a threat to Nature?"

"I wouldn't say that I used those words," She stepped back, releasing her hands from Haledon. "Just that some Druids seek power without balance. Be sure to keep your mind open to new possibilities. There is more than one Earth Druid here to aid you and your fleet of Astras."

"Thank you, Primeval Druid Hummingbird," He started as his vision began to spin. "You are not the first one today to tell me to keep my mind open and—" He hiccupped, bringing sap up his throat. "Erm—excuse me—"

Stumbling away quickly, he pressed a hand against a nearby Druid for stability.

"Hey, watch—oh, Seral Druid Haledon!" A familiar voice called out.

"Pioneer Druid Kelean," Haledon mumbled, using Kelean’s body for support.

"I haven't seen you recently at the watering hole—crazy times, huh?"

"Yeah—" Haledon felt the sap churn in his stomach as it began to bubble up. "Sorry, Pioneer—Kelean, excuse—"

Leaning to the side, Haledon spewed a spray of glistening sap against the grass.

"Oh, my—wow!" Kelean laughed and stepped back. "That's a lot of sap. I guess you did compete in the—"

"Seral Druid Haledon." Another voice arrived at his right.

"Seral Druid Gazeas!" Kelean drunkenly yelled out.

"Pioneer Druid Kelean, good to see you."

"Yes, you as well. Thank you for your assistance the other day. My hand is much better."

"That is great news. Accept feedback from what happened and proceed with small, slow solutions. Excuse us," Gazeas leaned down and picked up Haledon. "Come on, Prime-primev—Sparrow is going on soon."

"Where were you? I couldn't find you," He asked drunkenly as he reached out and touched her face. "How are you not throwing up?"

"I did the minute you left. I ran a detox through—oh," Gazeas paused and slapped a hand against Haledon's face.

"Ah, ow." He grumbled and pulled his hand back, holding the bruised cheek.

"Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to hit so hard." She continued, reaching out again and poking at three points across his torso. Mauve burdock bulbs budded and bloomed. "These are for detoxification. They should help with the inebriation."

"What was the slap for?"

"Snap you out of your stupor?"

"What stupor? I was fine!" He rubbed at his cheek. The drunken feeling that rushed over him with Hummingbird had already begun to fade.

Haledon, taking advantage of the moment of clarity, searched the crowd for Hummingbird. Her vibrant SOIL had disappeared, leaving Earth and Astralaceae Druids mingling in her place.

"Where is everyone?" Haledon asked.

"Inebriated, somewhere."

"Willingly?"

"Yeah, for some reason." Gazeas smacked her lips and immediately gagged. She held a hand over her mouth for a moment.

"Do you know where they are?"

"Witch-Hazel is over there—" Gazeas pointed to the bramble as they rooted themselves against the grassy wall in an attempt to get comfortable. "Spark and Mek-Tek...well, they disappeared."

"Druids of the Astralaceaes," The familiar voice of Sparrow boomed through the glade. As she spoke, the bioluminescent daylight orb drifted beneath the faux horizon. Yellows, oranges, and pinks melted into the dark purples and blues of the night cycle.

"It's starting. Come on, let's go over to Witch-Hazel."

Haledon and Gazeas made their way through the crowd to Witch-Hazel as the words of Sparrow echoed through the room. Spores began to drift from every corner of the glade, forming a larger-than-life image of the Druid at its center. And as Haledon moved, the image's eyes followed him, as though only concerned with his attention.

"I am Primeval Druid Sparrow of Earth. And on this evening of both celebration and mourning, I come to you as a voice. To be the mouth for all Druids’ past. To address the struggle we are facing in the present. And to show you the future of our bountiful galactic garden."

"Just in time." Witch-Hazel's broad smile twisted with leaves and roots as the two approached. "Sit beside me."

They patted the ground, and the two Druids sat. Getting comfortable, Haledon could see the glow of bioluminescent moonlight beginning to come into view opposite him.

"The loss of Druid life, especially those of the Astralaceaes, dealt an emotional blow to us all. And while we mourn their passing, we must remember that life is never lost in Nature. As we collect our brothers and sisters' fallen ecosystems, we return them here, to us, where they will decompose as Nature intended. And as their nutrients become one with us, we will grow in their honour. They will eternally live on through us, and in the Mast years to follow, we will remember their sacrifice and all it gave..."

"Yeah, this seems like a good time," Witch-Hazel muttered and looked around. "Lean back."

"We...are leaning back?" Haledon answered with his back against the soft wall.

"Lean back farther."

With a confused look, Haledon adjusted himself and forced his back into the wall. He felt the earth hugging his body, consuming him in darkness, before he emerged in an empty den.

"What?" He asked as he pulled the rest of his body through the wall.

"Whoa!" Gazeas remarked as her torso slid through the foliage. Haledon reached over and helped pull her through. "Are we in someone's den?"

"Yeah—the walls shouldn't have allowed us to do that."

"It's really a lot easier than you think," Mek-Tek squeaked from a white cloud in the corner. He emerged and scratched at the flower crown. "You two ready? We're on a schedule."

Haledon nodded to Mek-Tek and looked at Gazeas. She stared at him with a smirk.

"What?" He asked.

Reaching out her arm, Gazeas rubbed sap from Haledon's face.

"Oh," Haledon laughed. "I was saving that."

"You're funny." She replied with a laugh of her own and walked out of the room.