The druid's clan pt2

As the four reos walked towards the Druid's clan territory, Auris talked to them about how he had heard from one haedian, sent by Pyrri, about their arrival. He also apologized for not having helped, but he wanted to know what their intentions were before opening up about the Druid's clan with them. Pyrri had sent a positive word for them, and when he asked the plants how they were behaving on their way to the clan, they also had only good words to say. But Auris would keep this information hidden, his powers were not to be disclosed so early to outsiders.

 

“I have something to show you,” Auris said, his voice a low rumble that carried an air of importance. Without waiting for a reply, he turned and padded toward a path in the forest. The four reos exchanged confused glances, the shift in topic unexpected, but followed him readily.

 

Auris led them deeper into the woods at first, in what could have been confused for an under the sky forest if it wasn't for the dark cave's ceiling, until they reached an area that at first started having less and less trees, and then opened up to a open field. At its center stood a tree that, by appearance alone, seemed older than their grandparents. Its gnarled roots clawing into the earth like the talons of a great bird, planted in the earth and unwilling to be removed. Its trunk was massive, over a meter in diameter, and its bark shimmered faintly of an amber glitter. The foliage created an immensely wide canopy of leaves, light from the crystals above it so intense and hitting it smack in the middle, giving it almost a halo, with the light poking through the leaves and making all the grass shimmer in different colors. 

 

“This is the Oracle,” Auris announced. His tone was reverent. “It is the heart of this forest and the keeper of its wisdom. Every creature, great and small, shares their knowledge and their very essence with this tree. Its roots carry more than water; they carry the lifeblood of the woodland.”

 

The four reos stared in awe. They had never seen a tree so imposing and so mystical. Faced with the Oracle’s presence, they felt small, like their existence was being compared with the whole universe, for some reason.

 

“Why have you brought us here?” Cailu asked, breaking the silence. "This cannot be something you show to reos outside of your clan, I'm certain of it" His voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed his confusion.

 

Auris sighed, his gaze fixed on the Oracle. “The tree is healthy, but it struggles. The rain that falls through the cracks in the ceiling does not reach all its roots. Without help, parts of the surrounding soil may dry out, and its connection to the forest will weaken when it happens.” He turned to the pack. “I thought you would appreciate lending me a hand in this instance too, an opportunity to learn more about our clan if you know where to look.”

 

The reos nodded, sensing the urgency of the task. Auris showed them how to collect water from nearby underground streams using hollowed-out pieces of bark in the shape of buckets. They worked tirelessly for hours, going in a spiral motion all over the parts of the roots further from the tree roots and away from where they could see little droplets of water falling. The ground, dry at first in many spots, started having an earthy smell and a darkened color. As they worked, the reos noticed peculiarities about the tree. A weird shape in the roots here and there, some hollowed ones that had nests in them, and one very dry root that was probably dying. They all followed it curiously, as it was the only sign that the tree was suffering somewhere, and soon enough they got close to the tree trunk. One there, the root seemed healthy enough, with just a weirdly lighter color to it. 

 

But what drew the reos' attention the most were the glowing runes etched into the bark.

They weren’t carved in him, it wasn't some kind of message the Druids or any other clan had left on it, they seemed to be a natural part of the tree, pulsating gently with a life of their own. The glowing runes seemed to react to their presence, growing brighter when they drew near and dimming as they moved away.

 

“These runes,” Jeon-e observed, “They feel… alive.”

 

“They’re pulsing as our blood pulses in us,” Mer added, weirdly creeped out by them. “Do you think they’re magical?”

 

Valentine, who had noticed them earlier and had been satisfied with leaving them alone, spoke up. “Whatever they are, they’re part of the tree. And the tree is part of the forest. If this tree really shares the collective wisdom or whatever of the creatures, we should stay as far away as possible from it so we cannot do any harm. Help from afar, but mind our business. There's a lot we don't know about how the world goes around, especially here”

 

The others nodded, sobered by his words. They continued their work, hauling water and spreading it evenly around the Oracle. As the day wore on, the harder it got to ignore the runes. They kept glowing unbothered.

 

As they rested beneath the Oracle’s shadow at some point in the late afternoon, Jeon-e’s curiosity got the better of her. “Auris,” she began, “what do the runes mean? Why do they glow like that?” the others spun their heads to look at her, but said nothing. If asking would bring consequences, they had already done so, no reason to get angry anymore.

 

Auris hesitated, his gaze lingering on the tree. “The runes are… complicated. They are a language, but not one that can be easily translated. They hold the collective wisdom of the forest, but their full meaning is beyond our understanding.”

 

Cailu furrowed his brow. “If you don’t know what they mean, how do you know what they do?”

 

Auris turned to face the reos, his eyes pensive. “Because the tree can talk to us, and can hear us.”

 

Mer tilted his head, confusion all over his face. “What do you mean, it can talk to you?”

 

Auris decided to reveal about his powers in part, after all, the reos had not tried to harm the Oracle in any way up until then. "The Druids' share a connection with plants and creatures. It's vague, not really a dialogue itself, but we are able to tap into someone's mind and understand their feelings. Their needs, their wants, their emotions. The Oracle itself was displeased, and it took a while to understand the reason, but now it's emitting a low buzz of satisfaction right in my brain."

 

Valentine’s gaze was fixed on the runes, horrified in a way. “Do you all feel it? Or is it just you?”

 

Before Auris could answer, the runes’ glow suddenly intensified. The reos all focused on them and watched as the light pulsed faster than before, as if to get their attention. A breeze rustled the leaves and passed over them, and then the leaves dimmed.

 

The reos fell silent, each lost in their thoughts. Jeon-e whispered into the stillness, “Auris, what did that mean?”