"And you had this vision when?" Aventus combined the Newberry juice with the Igsalum Shroom extract in carefully controlled drops. It was a new experiment, one that should be quite the hallucinogenic.
The putrid smell alone was enough to fire up Kai's gag reflex, which was why he kept his nose deep inside his cup of tea, or held it higher than usual so the floral scent of the herbs could at least mask the smell of his grandfather's concoction.
"When we exposed the fraud," he answered. "What do you think it means?"
The mixture turned from dark blue to a murky green, the color of sewage, and Kai wondered if that was a sign that it had gone downhill.
Aventus waved away the smoke that wafted up to his face. Even the garden sprites coughed.
"Well, it was your vision. What do you make of it?"
Kai displayed a rare smile. "I don't think Darius is a typical Shadowborn. He grew in the light of his twin."
"And you think that makes him incorruptible?"
"Perhaps," Kai shrugged, and sipped tea. "It seems to me that he has his own light. It could guide him when he ventures in the darker realms,"
"That's not all you've thought about," Aventus replied. He took tongs, and carefully lifted what appeared to be a lump of coal into his brew. It fell in with a hiss, and dissolved into nothing in the potent liquid. "You think it's a means of proving to the masses that Shadowborn are not all evil."
"The many dead who've they've provided a merciful reprive know they're not evil,"
"Aye," said Aventus, "but they don't speak of it to the living."
"Some of them do."
Aventus beheld his grandson over tiny glasses that were round as the moon. He wondered, while nearing the middle of his middle-age, when the man planned to be wed. Being married to his sword didn't count. "Our biggest concern now is finding them in time to keep them from getting killed. Have you spoken to Damon about this vision of yours?"
A pink sprite fluttered on over and perched on Kai's shoulder, started braiding a lock of his hair. He threw a glare at the tiny creature, but at it's solemn face, he softened and allowed it to continue. It was still a youngling.
"No," he answered, "Damon knows, consciously or not. He has to be able to sense the difference in Darius. That's why he took to him so quickly after the initial scrap they had, why he's so furiously trying to protect him now from the Medhir. But,"
A puff of smoke exploded out of the concoction. Kai bounced in his seat. Aventus coughed.
"But?" Aventus noticed a certain glimmer in Kai's eye. It might've been because he had to rub smoke out of his. Tears were obscuring his sight. "You've had another vision," he answered his own question.
"I saw him die," Kai's face remained stoic. Aventus slowly lowered the wooden spoon in his hand, which contained some animal's liver. "Darius. In the vision, a cloaked figure attacks him from behind." Kai shook his head. "I can't see where he is."
The sprites' chorus between the leaves in the garden became louder. Some of the alchemic potions on the shelves fleetingly glowed in vibrant color in reaction to the musical tones of their voices.
"You want to go after him," Aventus realized. "What makes you think Damon will allow it?"
"Because I'm the best huntsman in Arcania. I'm a better tracker than him, and he knows it. Beyond that, the Medhir will observe his movements very carefully for the next few days. They won't care about me. It's mutiny, for all they know."
"Taken to the Prince, have you?" Aventus asked with a slight smile.
"To be expected," Kai stood, leaving his empty teacup for the sprites to clean up. If he didn't leave the putrid smell of this alchemical laboratory now, the tea threatened to come back up. "I shadowed his brother for the longest time. Why wouldn't I do the same for him?"
They said their goodbyes, with Aventus well aware that Kai would take leave that very night. And when he'd shut the door behind his back, he returned to his potion.
With a final addition of peach skin, the potion blew up once more, this time the smoke lingered in the air before Aventus, and in it appeared a face.
He appeared to be one with the untamed forest. A face bearing countless lines etched by wisdom, sat atop a wiry frame hidden beneath tattered forest garb, which had wisps of moss and leaves clinging to the weathered cloak.
Strands of long, unkempt silver hair cascaded down, partially braided with the skulls of tiny birds. Each skull was a haunting memorial to their lives, woven into his tresses with reverence.
A beard, matted and tangled, spilled forth from his chin, complimenting overgrown eyebrows that overarched eyes of piercing emerald.
"Alderbane Bramblewick," Aventus greeted his fellow Arcani.
Those bushy brows furrowed. "Aventus?" Answered a shaking voice. "By the gods, it's been years my friend,"
Aventus couldn't help but smile. Alderbane was an eccentric, and even while he belonged more to the woods than to society, there was no kinder soul who walked the soil of Thalor.
"That it has been," agreed Aventus. "I think now is the time for me to claim that favor you owe me."
"Ahh,"
A small bird perched in Alderbane's messy tresses, on the top of his head. He fiddled through his beard before extracting, from some hidden place between the hair, a handful of seeds. The bird moved from his crown to his palm, and eagerly pecked at them.
"I need you to watch over someone for me. They shouldn't be too hard for you to find."
A streak of terror blew over Alderbane's face. "In the towns?" He whispered, as though monsters would hear.
Aventus gave a deep chuckle. "No, my dear friend. There, I'm afraid, they'll have to fend for themselves. I would never ask that of you."
"Phew, thank the goddess Daia. She wouldn't let me leave her realm with those monsters in town cutting down her trees so,"
Nothing upset Alderbane as much as inconsiderate Arcani, Aventus knew.
"I must ask you to look after a Galaeron Prince for me. One of them."
Alderbane's eyes widened. "The whispers of the crickets were truth? He has returned?"
"With a Terra, no less."
"Oh dear. You know I cannot go into Vaharith. Despite my last name, I can't stand those giant brambles shielding their tree nests!" If he'd had a stump of wood, he'd smash his fist on it. "Have you seen all the skeletons lining them? Good thing there's a Terra with them, they wouldn't know how to pass through the brambles otherwise."
Alderbane was well-known for his rambling, Aventus remembered now.
"She does not remember her roots. She comes from the other realm, like the Prince."
"It matters not," he swayed a finger, "the path is ingrained in her blood. She will know it. Now the Whispering Mother," Alderbane continued, and those hard lines in his face softened again, "what a perfectly charming lady she is. She's a beauty for her age, you know. Seraphina," he sighed her name and let his eyes fall closed. "I wonder why she never married?"
"As I wonder when my grandson will settle."
Alderbane's face dropped, then morphed into a sort of non-chalant expression. "Ah. Wed to duty, is he?"
"Will you let your birds watch over the boy, Alderbane?" Aventus cut to the chase.
"Of course! Anything for a Prince."
As the first tendrils of morning light seeped through the cobblestone streets of Aeacasius, the city began to stir, casting off the veil of slumber.
The air was tinged with the fragrance of dew-covered flowers, freshly baked bread, and a hint of the distant, earthy scent of the great forest that hugged the outskirts of the city's walls. A gentle breeze carried with it melodies of awakening birds.
A few stragglers careened out of the tavern, clutching empty mugs that once held ale. They grumpily grunted at the sapphire sky, realizing that it was time yet again to resume duty, and bid farewell to the joyous revelry of the night before.
The stables had a rustic charm. Sturdy wooden beams supported the thatched roof above, sunbeams streamed through the small, grated windows, and cast dappled patterns across the hay-littered floor. The walls were decorated with various bits of tack, bridles, and saddles. Brushes against hooves created a rhythmic clatter, and the creaking of leather tack accompanied the morning's symphony.
As Kai saddled his horse, anticipation rippled through his blood. It had been a few years since he had gone off on his own. But the vision he had in the night had shaken him to his core.
It was his charge, his self-chosen mission, to take care of the Princes. He was indebted to Damon for accepting him as family when his own was lost to the elves, even if Damon didn't expect it of him.
They were brothers to him, even if he was of a much lower standing. And Damon knew him better than anyone else.
So when he heard him speaking behind his back, he wasn't entirely surprised. "Where are you off to? And without informing me,"
"I'm going hunting." Kai answered simply, strapping in the saddle.
And just like brothers, he was the only one who could disregard Damon's rule without getting his skull burned off his shoulders. Because deep down, Damon knew he was good for it. And maybe, he even took note of the older Arcani's wisdom.
"You know I need you here," Damon countered.
"You have Remy."
"What hunt could possibly be so important?"
Kai mounted his ebony mare, and when Damon caught his gaze, his face dropped with realization. "It's my brother, isn't it."
Kai remained silent.
"You've had a vision,"
Ah, the power of the light to penetrate the darkness of secrecy.
"What was it?" Damon demanded.
Not only to pierce the darkness, but to burn passionately.
Still, Kai remained silent.
"Why you alone? I can send the guard with you. I can come with you."
Kai smiled. "You know that's not wise. You need them here. The Medhir are watching your every move. I am the best huntsman, the best tracker in Aeacasius. I'll find them faster without a whole horde following me."
That, Damon couldn't argue. Kai's reputation as the best huntsman wasn't due to his skill in reading prints and clues.
It was due to his Chronokinesis. In a meditative state, he could retrace the footsteps someone had taken through the forest. Even if their prints had been washed away by rain, the ghost of their passing remained, and he was the only one who could see it.
It did, however, bring into question what exactly this vision of Kai was, and added a seriousness to it that Damon didn't like.
"What did you see, Kai?" He asked.
A vision of his twin dying a horrible death, was something Kai didn't think Damon had to know about. He simply had to trust that he would find him in time.
He simply stared at Damon. And in one of those characteristic rebellions which marvelously left his head attached to his shoulders, he said, "Goodbye Damon."
And he was off, passing the Prince without a second glance.
"Kai! You do not brush me off like that!" Damon stomped after him, then halted. "Kai!"
He ignored him, didn't even glance over his shoulder. And Damon blew air out of his nostrils. "Flames!" He kicked a nearby rock, and his fists lit up, as he planned to send down a blinding beam in front of Kai's horse. Just enough to scare her.
Then he paused, and let the light in his hands draw back.
Although the fires of anger burned in him, his logical mind won out over his emotions. For once. It would attract too much attention. He turned his head to the western tower of the wall, where soldiers of the Medhir were stationed.
Only a few more days of observation, he reminded himself, and then he'd be free of their scrutiny.
And he'd have to spend that time worrying about his twin. He turned his gaze back to Kai, who was now nearly out of sight.
Well, there was nobody else he would trust more to look out for Darius.
Come'on, getup.
50 words 
Terry Pratchett - The Folklore of Discworld Chpt 1/20
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I suspect I'll always be a Bee.
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Hence, why I have to eat the cake.
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This just mucked up my whole day. I craved food ALL. DAY. LONG. after eating this.
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