Rot - The Druids

Following Auris further into the Druids’ domain, Noka witnessed so many beautiful wonders she could hardly contain herself. The vast open caverns, the glowing bioluminescence bright enough to make you squint as it gleamed in clusters in the ceiling. The wildlife was bustling and hearty, chirping and hopping in every nook and cranny. The druids had such comfortable huts and groves to gather and commune with each other and the life around them. She found glee from knowing her magic could tune her so well with the earthly life around her-
Coming colliding against another Reosean, Noka stumbled backward. Not out of knockback, but out of surprise. She’d half expected to topple over whoever she bumped into, but the gray puller was equally hefty as her and only looked at her with mild surprise.
“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” Noka flustered, bowing her head in apology to the older puller.
“No harm done,” Damocles dismissed the sorry puller, all the while looking around him like he’d lost something.
Noka raised her head, though the uplifting confidence from her prior striding around the grove had dwindled to a mere bud stuffed back in its leafy shell. “Hm? Looking for someone?”
“I got separated, is all… Ah, well. They’ll make do till I find them again.” Damocles sighed to himself, eyes following a small critter that brazenly jumped along between his paws. “Friendly lot aren’t they?” He asked mostly himself, but Noka hummed in agreement.
“I was separated as well, but knowing them I should find them fairly easily near this Oracle tree I’ve been hearing talk about. Maybe your companions are there as well?”
Damocles looked at Noka for a moment, before nodding at the possibility. Joining forces, so to speak, the two decided to find their way to this tree to see if this was the case. On the way, Damocles got to witness Noka’s drifting off as the nature around her budded and blossomed around her paws. For a moment he thought to step further away when the buds got too close, but they did nothing aside from bending beneath his steps as he moved on. So he decided to stay his path.
Underneath each paw, Noka could hear the pulsing hum of life, spreading like webs, rippling like tides in an ocean. It was harmonious and bright whenever she closed her eyes. Yet beneath the waves was a darkness, mudding out the hum of the Oracle tree. Like the chitter of a bug’s mandibles under the string pulls of a lute, or a crackling dead root in a rustle of vibrant leaves. Turning from Auris’ tail, Noka followed the feeling through trees and hanging vines, feeling the Oracle’s song almost guide her, feeling her intentions.
Seeing her drifting off, Damocles looked between her and Auris, though even the Haedian seemed more pleasantly intrigued rather than confused. These nature folks were a bit beyond Damocles’ interest in nature, but he wasn’t entirely disinterested. Deciding to sate his inkling of curiosity, the gray puller followed after the trail of buds Noka left behind before they returned to the earth.
The way forward was quiet as Noka walked with decisive steps out into a small huddle of trees looking as though they’d been choked from all life. Noka gasped softly at the sight, approaching with almost urgency, inspecting the blackened roots of the trees.
Auris emerged from the trees soon after, smile bittersweet at the sight. “This blight has been ravaging our forests here ever since some surface dwellers went by. We’ve yet to find a way to stop it’s spreading.”
“The plants are diseased, rotting,” Noka chimed up quite quickly. “Fearsome blight even on the surface if it’s allowed to spread.”
“Having all these strangers go by was sure to have some problems,” Damocles avoided stepping on the blackened roots while looking at the suffering trees. “I’m not big on herbology, but any disease should be nipped in the bud before it gets this bad. Fields are burned and regrown, so on so forth…”
“Oh no, we could do no such thing, not here!” Auris shook his head. “This forest is so dense, it would only do more harm.”
“You are correct. But luckily, I can help.” Noka smiled back at Auris. “I heard the forest’s cries, I heard the Oracle call to me. My magic can feel this sickness, and hopefully it can root it out.”
“If you believe you can help, please,” Auris gestured his hand for Noka to proceed.
“Damocles, could you..” Noka nodded her head to her side. “I may need another pair of paws, if you know magic well enough.” 

Noka ushered Damocles by her side. His magic may not have been tuned to the elements, but he could feel the presence of the forest with his magic, the sickness that harbored this area like a thick miasma. WIth his mind’s eye and Noka’s concentrated magic, the two tried to cull the blight that clung to the soil. Concentrated waves of magic rippled through the grass, circling into the darkened plants in waves, but the more she tried to restore the life into the plants, the more they fought against her, the darkness creeping along the stalks of grass.
Noka focused her magic anew. If forcing a bandaid on a weeping gash wasn’t doing it, she would need to sear the wound first. Where before blossoms budded around Damocles’ paws, there was now… death. The grass withered and dulled into an earthy brown. The soil groaned as life sapped away from it, the strange blight withering with the trees. Auris gasped at the sight, but Noka persisted, her magic changing like currents in an ocean. When the miasma had faded all that remained was silence, she brought back her soothing waves. With each pulsing ripple, the bark of the trees began to crackle and small green buds popped up here and there. Fresh clover, grass, and stalks overtook the dry earth, revealing a kaleidoscope of colors.
After finally relinquishing their magics, Damocles sighed heavily at the mental strain, while Noka seated herself on fresh clover as she felt her magic fizzle and settle after so much work. The sight of vibrant green and glimmering crystals brought a smile to her face.
‘There… the earth can do the rest at its own pace. It will persevere.” Looking back at the most relieved Auris, she smiled. “This kind of affliction can be treated through herbal remedies and magic both, I will teach you the ways and you might prevent this from ever getting this bad again.