Chapter 22

Casually walking forward, Haledon inspected the room. He had never entered Sparrow's workshop through the Megacolides corridor. Placing him in a different corner, he stared towards the bramble alcove at the room's far end. There, he could see the overgrown archway where his foliar clone remained inactive.

Closer to him was the elevated platform where Sparrow spent the majority of her time. The branch walls stretched up like grasping hands before curling over the dais. They bowed in at their apex, leaving a small opening where a waterfall of spores poured into the lonely room. With intense curiosity, he watched Sparrow fiddling away in the dull orange light of bioluminescence.

Approaching quietly, Haledon walked up the curved ramp and stood in the open archway behind her. He watched for a moment as her fingers pulled threads of glowing silk from a spiralling double helix. The image was half her size and spun gently in the air against her tugs as she cautiously weaved the third helix into the design. With a twitch of her shoulders, she stopped and raised her head.

"Haledon," She cleared her throat. "I didn't hear you enter."

With a wave of her hand, the image erupted into a pollen spray, flickering into darkness.

"I apologize for my tardiness."

"How was the talk with Mesa?" Sparrow chirped, turning to face him. "Wait, allow me to speculate—deserts are where strong Druids are grown, we must fight to survive, and Sparrow is weak."

"Close," Haledon replied. "Do-nothing Druids are weak."

"Ahh, the subtlety..." She stepped past Haledon. Stopping, she eyed him up and down. "Wait, you're you."

"Yes?" Haledon questioned. "I always have been?"

"In meaning, you're not in a bramble clone, and you're—" Sparrow paused and stared at him loosely. "You're not in the Hypogeal Nexus. How did you find your way here?"

"Mesa walked me—"

"Mesa, walked you here?" She snapped, revealing a flicker of panic in her eyes. Pushing past Haledon, she stepped to the doorway he had entered and looked around. He watched her as she thoroughly investigated the opening.

Haledon's gaze wandered past hers and down the hall he had walked. As he did, a distant wolf came into view. It stopped at the end of the corridor where Mesa had gone his separate way. The hallucination stared his way, baring its teeth in a silent growl. With a shake of his head, the creature vanished, and Sparrow withdrew back into the room.

"You do not enter my workshop through any means other than bramble clone again, do you understand?" She scolded.

"I don't understand—"

"That is the opposite of what I asked you to say." Sparrow interrupted and pinched at the bridge of her nose. "Remember, this shop is alien. The bramble clones are for—"

"Sparrow," Haledon cut her off. "I know how to behave in your workshop; I promise I won't touch anything I don't know how to handle...now, why did you panic about Mesa walking me here?"

She inspected Haledon again. He could see the seriousness in her eyes and the slight enjoyment of his disobedience. Watching closely, he saw the edges of her lips curl into the slightest smirk, betraying her sharpened stare. Both faded quickly as she answered.

"Mesa and I came to an agreement several seasons ago. He doesn't intrude into my Arboretum, nor do I step into his Hilum. That he walked you here shows he is willing to push my boundaries."

"But that is the purpose of the Carnyx Druids, is it not? To push boundaries, like a stream cutting into a riverbank."

Sparrow smiled fully as she waved Haledon toward the Shaman Tree.

"Very good, Seral," She replied. "But like the mighty mangrove, I have stabilized my shoreline against Mesa's persistence."

"Mesa said something interesting..."

"Oh?" Sparrow hummed as her attention waned, and she eyed the nearby Broadhead.

"Nature will twist the rules."

"Not this nonsense—"

"Water boils at the touch of lava—"

"Trees ripped from the ground by hurricanes. An avalanche razing mountainside...yes, Haledon, I know."

"Does that mean…it's true?"

"The words that Mesa uses are as valid as mine. But Mesa will also use those same words to twist the meaning of Nature. To explain away the destruction of his hunt with the promise of revegetating the felled worlds. Destroying Nature to restore it is unnecessary when you live symbiotically."

"Like the do-nothing Druids?" Haledon asked only to be met by Sparrow's laughs. "What?"

"It's just funny to hear you say it because it's so—" Sparrow sighed with a final chuckle. "Yes, in Mesa's definition of 'do-nothing,' the Druids who simply live in harmony with Nature are weak. To him, being a Druid means you must be ready to fight and die at a moment's notice."

"And he sees you as one of these do-nothing Druids?"

"Oh, most certainly. But Mesa also looks at Hummingbird and her phytoreligion like he does me. Though she's more easily persuaded to submit than I am, which is why they get along so well. She is the bark, and he is the bite."

Haledon nodded as he considered Sparrow's perspective, but his mind wouldn't be allowed much time to process. Stopping in front of the Shaman Tree, Sparrow waved her hand and sent pastel light across the canopy.

"But enough of that. You’ll take your test, return to the Hypogeal Nexus and reenter as your bramble clone before further teaching."

"Fine," Haledon begrudgingly agreed. "I still think—"

"And that is what I am trying to prune." Sparrow interrupted. "Prepare yourself. The test will begin shortly."

Walking around the tree, Haledon found Gazeas lying comfortably in her regular spot. Her relaxed face glowed in the shifting pinks and blues of the tree as the faintest shimmer of white bioluminescence radiated from deep within her floral armour. Admiring her, he watched the colours dance across her peaceful figure. He felt his heart begin to swell before he looked away awkwardly.

Haledon sat beside her, pulling one of the celial trumpets from the canopy to his chest. Resting comfortably in his bed of moss, he affixed the flower to his mouth and waited for the tree above him to transform. With a coordinated flash of pinks and blues, Haledon knew it was time and inhaled deeply.

The world rushed around him, but even after his feet landed on a solid surface, his vision was still blurred by darkness. The harsh wind that naturally disappeared remained forcefully present and assaulted his body. Raising a hand to shield his eyes, a bitter chill began to cut through to his bones. He was no longer wearing his SOIL but primitive fur and leather wrappings.

Looking around, Haledon tried to see through the storm but was met with nothing but snow and icy winds.

"You were interested in deserts? How about experiencing one?" Sparrow's voice clearly announced through the howling vortex.

"I thought deserts were hot?" Haledon yelled into the wind.

"Deserts come in many forms, and the Antarctic Polar Desert is the largest desert on Earth."

Haledon stood quietly as the wind tore at his body. With a shift, the gust assaulted from another direction and sent him to the ground. The soft snow stuck to his gloves, forcing itself between the creases in the fur.

"You've made your point," Haledon grumbled as he stood, attempting to knock the snow from his body. "Not everything is as it seems. Mesa twists words, and a cold desert is a good example. We can go to the test now."

"No, I don't believe you do understand, Haledon. This is your test. Display that you understand what you have been taught, and then come find me."

"Wait, Sparrow, this can't be right." Haledon protested into the storm. "If this is the test...then to succeed, I need to exhibit my talents. How am I supposed to do that without any vegetation?"

"If I answered that, it wouldn't be much of a challenge. We have discussed this test's purpose at length, what you needed to do, and how to accomplish it. I will be leaving now—"

"What's changed?" Haledon quickly interrupted.

"Nothing has changed."

"Observe and interact, Sparrow. I have observed you often changing the rules," Haledon turned and tried to look through the storm in every direction. "What. Has. Changed."

"Well done, Seral Druid Haledon," Sparrow replied and appeared before his sweeping vision. "There is a change…you will not be able to leave until you complete the test."

"Okay," Haledon looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "You’ve left me in here before. Is there anything else?"

"Yes—Because you're not in a bramble clone, your synapses are significantly more receptive to the celial network. As such, it will become significantly colder when I leave."

With a snap of her fingers, Sparrow's body erupted into a spray of snow. The figure was quickly swept up in the gust, becoming one with the storm and disappearing into the night. In an instant, the cold wind became frigid, and Haledon found himself stunned. Doubling over, he pulled his arms tight and put his back to the wind. But no matter how he turned, the icy gales found their way through his patchwork parka.

"Agh," He groaned and began to walk with the wind.

As the morning hours came, the darkness of the storm began to lighten. A sliver of red light hugged the dark horizon, fading into oranges and pinks that merged into the blue of twilight. Looking up, Haledon peered through the snowy wisps towards the darkened sky and saw only the brightest stars still blinking above.

This starry sight would occasionally disappear behind a thick gust of wind and snow. But there was no stopping the sun from rising, and as the day became bright, even the winds would die back.

When the storm broke, Haledon's snow-covered body was shivering uncontrollably. Examining the desert in every direction, he only saw the expanse of frozen dunes and deep blue sky. The occasional cottony cloud drifted overhead like patches of foam across an infinite ocean. But unlike the freedom the clouds had to escape over the horizon, Haledon was trapped—held in an open cage atop an endless ice sheet devoid of protection from the elements.

Breathing deeply to yell, he began to cough as the crisp air chilled his lungs. Trying again, he inhaled from within his clothing and exhaled into the desert.

"Hello!" He yelled out. "Gazeas!"

He stood for a moment, looking in every direction. There were no trees, grass, or rocks, and he didn't see any other Druids or even the hint that anyone had ever set foot on the frozen waste. All Haledon could see was the blinding white reflection of the sun against the snow and the blue skies above. He would be alone for however long it took him to find plants.