#riemo | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elementsofemotion · 4 years

Text

Chapter 4: Blooming Decay

Caelian woke to the taste of blood in his mouth. He coughed, spraying a mixture of saliva and blood onto the ground as he twisted himself up into a sitting position. He held his pounding head with one hand as he looked around, his vision spinning. Something felt extremely wrong.

Remembering the events of the day before, he quickly stood up, stumbling into a tree as his vision momentarily went dark. He braced himself against it, pressing the side of his head against the bark. Taking a deep breath, he let it settle before letting his eyes scan the forest floor. There was no trace of the purple lantern. The cloaked figure was nowhere to be seen, either. Had his elementals chased them off while he was passed out?

He could tell by the light that shone down through the trees that it was now daytime, but the foliage still looked as though they held the familiar dull purple hue they’d turn in the moonlight. Squinting, he positioned himself closer to a nearby bush and gently reached out to examine it. As his fingers touched the brambles, he winced and quickly pulled his hand back. A small drip of blood gently dropped off his finger onto the ground.

He didn’t remember any of the bushes in the forest having thorns. As his vision slowly focused, he realized that the bushes had indeed turned a sickly shade of purple. There were still some patches of green scattered throughout: an untouched bush, a few individual leaves on the trees that still hung on to their original color, some flowers wilting- but still clinging on to their vibrant hue. But everywhere Caelian looked, he was met with that same sickly purple. The greens that had always calmed him were gone.

He took a tentative step away from the tree. Where had the mana orb disappeared to? He needed to find it. Gaia probably didn’t even have enough energy to make another. Getting on his hands and knees, he tried to look under the nearby bushes, being careful of their thorns. It couldn’t have gone that far, could it? Maybe he could ask his elementals to help him. They were small, and could-

His body grew rigid with a sudden realization. Why couldn’t he feel the presence of his elementals?

“Nixidae?” Caelian called, waiting for the green lantern to materialize next to him, just as she always did. But the air was silent and still. A strange, bubbling sensation that was eerily familiar was beginning to rise in Caelian’s stomach.

“Iaestia?” He called, whirling around, “Riemos? Ishtar?”

The silence felt heavy as he kept turning in circles, looking for any sign of them. He eventually came to a stop, panting heavily as he struggled to breath. He placed a hand against his chest, swallowing as he felt his quickened heartbeat. What happened to them? What happened to him?

Caelian jumped at the loud crackle that came from behind him. He whirled around in time to see a lantern materialize a couple of feet away from him, it’s red aura intense and crackling wildly like electricity. He stared at it with wide eyes as it hung motionless in the air.

His heart was still pounding as he took a tentative step towards it. “Riemos?” He asked with uncertainty.

The elemental remained silent as Caelian took another step forward. “Hello…?” He reached his hand out, intending to touch the glass, but yelped in pain when a shock emitted from the lantern. Quickly retracting his hand, he grasped it with his other as he stumbled backwards. Caelian gave the elemental a disbelieving look before looking down at his hand, gently opening his fist to see the black mark it had left on his palm. He frowned.

“...Not … us…”

Caelian snapped his head up, hearing the familiar echo of one of his elementals speaking to him. His eyes locked back onto the red-hued lantern that was remaining perfectly still.

“What?” Caelian asked, in a quiet voice. Moments of silence passed. “I couldn’t hear you,” He said, pushing for the elemental to repeat itself.

The lantern finally moved, though Caelian quickly stepped backward as it floated towards him. It stopped again after a moment, now closer, but not by much.

“You’re not Reimos,” Caelian said, “Who are you?”

There was another long pause, to the point where Caelian had thought he wasn’t going to get an answer, until a single word flashed across the back of his mind.

“Fear.”

Caelian stared at the elemental for a few moments longer. He took a few steps back, before turning and running off into the forest. He wasn’t sure if the elemental was following him, but he didn’t care to look behind him and check. He needed to return to Gaia and see what was wrong with him and where his elementals went.

His pace slowed as he continued on through the forest, getting lost as he realized he almost didn’t recognize anything. There was nothing but the same sickly purple wherever he went, with bright green acid occasionally dripping off of the tree branches and onto the forest floor, leaving smoldering black spots in the already dead grass.

Where gnarled roots had once been were now twisting vines, their thorns looking razor sharp as they glinted in the dull sunlight. Wilted flowers were everywhere he walked, though he noticed a few new ones growing among them, their buds turning to watch as he walked past. It was as if he had woken up somewhere that wasn’t the Eternal Forest.

But he knew it was the same. As much as he wanted to believe it wasn’t, every now and then, despite how different it looked, he could just barely recognize a few of the landmarks he once knew.

He walked into a familiar clearing, the pond now an unnatural, bright pink as opposed to the crystalline blue he remembered. He finally came to a stop, his arms wrapped around himself as he took in the sight. He didn’t jump this time at the sharp crackle beside him, signaling that the elemental from before had appeared. Ignoring it, he walked down closer to the water.

He peered over the edge. Despite its change in color, it was just as reflective as before. Caelian almost didn’t recognize himself when he saw his own reflection. The expression he had on his face seemed foreign to him. Why was he even making that face?

He stepped away from the edge, ignoring his urge to dip his hand into the bright pink liquid. Somehow, he felt that would be a terrible idea.

He tried to rack his mind to remember where exactly in the forest he was, but his thoughts were a swirling mess. He was just glad that the Great Tree was in the middle of the forest, standing above all else and easy to spot. He’d just have to climb up onto one of the trees.

Choosing one that had less acid oozing out of it from the others, he hoisted himself up easily. He climbed quickly up the trunk until he reached the branches, doing his best to avoid any of the acid. He pulled himself up until his head popped out of the top layer of leaves, and when he did, his heart sank.

He should’ve expected it, but it wasn’t really something he had wanted to consider. Off in the distance stood the Great Tree, towering above the rest of the forest. But it’s wood was a pale purple like most other things in the forest, and its leaves brown and decaying. Even from a distance, Caelian could see the waterfalls of green ooze spilling from the treetop.

He dropped down out of the tree and tumbled roughly onto the ground. He forced himself back up onto his legs, taking off quickly through the forest. The sight had left him feeling like he was going to vomit.

Gaia had always assured him that nothing could ever happen to the Eternal Forest, that she would be able to protect it. But something clearly had happened that she wasn’t able to prevent. Was she okay? Caelian’s worry and fear was eating at him from the inside out.

He was barely paying attention to where he ran, only making sure to keep to the same direction as the Great Tree. He hadn’t considered from which side he’d be approaching, and when he accidentally stumbled across the forest denizens’ town, he had barely recognized it. The same signs of death and decay had spread even to it, many of the homes now seeming uninhabitable from the acid as it melted the roofs and walls of their tree-homes.

He stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily as he took a moment to observe the town. He’d decided to continue on and check on them later- Gaia took precedence- but as soon as he took a step forward, he froze as someone shouted,

“Look! It’s the disciple!”

Within moments he was surrounded, the desperate forest denizens all speaking at once as they crowded into him. It was a tangle of voices where he could barely pick out where one sentence began and where another ended.

“What happened?!”

“Is Gaia okay?”

“What’s wrong with the forest?”

“The trees are dying!”

Caelian took a step backward, his eyes wide at their panicked cries. He only managed to stutter out in response, “I… I…”

“You!”

Silence immediately fell upon the crowd, and spirits shuffled out of the way to make room for the man whose resonating voice was heard above all the rest. Garson approached Caelian briskly, fire behind his eyes like Caelian had never seen before.

“What have you done?!” He yelled, getting right into Caelian’s face. “What happened to the Goddess?! To the forest?”

Caelian shrunk away from him, taking a step back. “I- I don’t know, I just-”

“Don’t play stupid with me!” Garson snarled, grabbing Caelian by his coat collar. Other spirits tried to step in and separate the two, but Garson quickly blocked them with his free arm.

“You came by the other day with a bunch’a the Goddess’ mana, an’ the next day the forest just falls to ruin?! What did you do, boy?!”

“Why are you blaming me?!” Caelian spat, causing everyone, sans Garson, to reel back in surprise. “I haven’t done anything! I don’t know what’s going on either! I woke up and everything was like this!”

Garson gave Caelian a shake as he spat back, “Because you’re the disciple! Your job is to protect the forest an’ you don’t even know what’s happenin’ to the forest?!”

Caelian bit his tongue as a memory struck him. The cloaked figure and the fifth elemental. Could that have been related to what happened to the forest? No, surely not. This was not his fault. It couldn’t have been. All he did was accept a new elemental. Elementals didn’t have the power to do all this.

“Like you could have done any better?!” Caelian shot back, “Why do you always act so much better than me, Garson? What would you have done? You’d only have been a disciple for just as long as I have, you wouldn’t have had enough time to absorb any more of Gaia’s mana. So what makes you think you're so special and that you could have done any better? You can barely even control the element of nature!”

Hushed murmurs engulfed the crowd around them, though Garson seemed unable to hear them.

“I would have stopped this before it could even become a problem!” Garson shouted.

“Stopped it how?! Do you even know what is happening? What would you have done? I followed Gaia’s orders. Are you saying you’d have gone against what she said? You think that’d make you a better disciple?”

Garson’ face was a hot red at this point as he continued to shake Caelian as he spoke, “What makes you think you can talk to me like that?! You know nothin’! The goddess gave you a pointless task because you’re not capable of anything!”

“Yet she still chose me over you, didn’t she? So what’s that say about you?”

Garson gripped Caelian’s collar tighter, staring directly into his eyes.

“You weren’t good enough,” Caelian continued, “Look at you. Thinking you’re so great. Then why didn’t Gaia pick you? You’re so qualified for the position, so why would Gaia have ever chosen me over you? Because you’re not good enough.”

“You…” Garson breathed, the veins on his neck and fist bulging.

“What, can’t come up with anything to say?” Caelian taunted, “You can’t, can you? Because you know I’m right. You try to act like you should be Gaia’s disciple, but why should you be? Because you act important and pretend that you're helping the denizens? Are you sure it’s out of good will or just because you want to pretend you’re the disciple? You purposefully drove the denizens away from me. You’re jealous Gaia chose me over you. You want me to have nothing so that-”

Caelian’s tirade was cut short when he was thrown, the breath knocked out of him as his back collided with the ground. He tried to take in a breath, but it was quickly forced back out of him when Garson stomped his foot down onto his stomach.

“You fuckin’ no good halfie!” He yelled, stomping his foot down a second time. The other spirits quickly intervened and pulled Garson off Caelian, though none of them bothered to check if Caelian was okay, as he slowly heaved himself up into a sitting position.

“A full-blooded forest spirit is the only thing worthy of servin’ the Goddess! Not some half-blood that doesn’t even know what element his spirit half is!” Garson spat, ripping himself away from the grasp of the two spirits holding him back. As soon as Caelian stood back up, Garson shoved him backwards, “You’re a disgrace to the entire fuckin’ forest! An’ now look what’s happened to it!”

Caelian kept his balance, glowering at Garson as the man towered over him. He could feel his blood start to boil just by looking at his face.

“I’m not a halfie, I’m a forest spirit,” He said through gritted teeth, “And I’m not a disgrace.”

“Bullshit!” Garson said, shoving Caelian back again, “You think you’re worthy to be the Goddess’ disciple?! Look at what’s happened to the forest because you couldn’t do nothin’ to stop it! The forest is dying because we had a fuckin’ no good halfie trying to do a spirit’s job!”

“I’m-”

“Imagine how disappointed the Goddess will be,” Garson interrupted, his voice more level as he stared directly into Caelian’s eyes, “That her forest, her home, everything she loved, was destroyed by her own disciple.” Caelian glared at him.

“The Goddess should have let you rot out in the forest,” Garson sneered, “Halfies don’t bring anythin’ good to anyone. The Goddess’ kindness has cost us all.”

“I’ve told you I’m not a damn halfie.”

“You ain’t no forest spirit. You’re a disgusting, no good, mistake.”

“I’m not-”

“Your parents probably left you in the forest because they were ashamed,” Garson said, “that they brought such a useless, emotionless, piece a’ shit halfie like you into the-”

“I’M NOT A HALFIE!” Caelian yelled. In an instant, dark purple ooze traveled up and around his arm, forming it into a monstrous claw as Caelian slashed it across Garson’ face, sending the man flying backwards.

Caelian immediately froze, staring wide-eyed at Garson as he writhed and screamed in pain on the ground in front of him. He hadn’t even noticed the purple lantern that materialized next to him, emitting a soft hum as the ooze slowly disappeared from his arm. Only the blood dripping from his own fingers remained.

“I- I’m sorry,” Caelian stuttered, taking a step back as the other spirits rushed to Garson’ side, “I- I didn’t mean to-”

His words were cut off as 3 more lanterns materialized next to him, alongside the purple one. The familiar red one, its aura wild like electricity. An icy blue one, frost clinging to its glass and icicles hanging from the black steel. Then finally one that caused many eyes to fall upon it: A bright, neon green lantern that had thorns wrapped around it, as a familiar green ooze leaked out of its cracked glass, burning the grass it fell down upon.

“You…”

Garson’ voice made Caelian rip his eyes away from the four elementals. When he saw him, sitting up with the assistance of another spirit, one his eyes closed and bloody, he was surprised. There was no more anger in his expression. Only a look that, until recently, Caelian wouldn’t have been able to place.

He looked at Caelian with fear.

“You’ve been corrupt,” He almost whispered, “This is your fault. You… you caused the Goddess to become corrupt. It was through you. That’s why… that’s why the forest is like this.”

Caelian’s stomach sank at Garson’ words, alongside the looks he was receiving from the others. They all looked at him the same way. They were afraid of him.

“What?” Caelian asked in a small voice, “But I’m not… how?”

Garson shakily stood up with the assistance of one of the spirits, “That’s somethin’ we should be asking you, boy,” He said, “Where did you get those dark sprites? What happened to your elementals?”

Caelian stared wordlessly at Garson as the four elementals circled around him. He was corrupt? From what?

Having those four elementals meant he was corrupt? That didn’t line up with how corruption had been explained to him. It was something born of negative feelings, sure, but… They were just elementals for the emotions he didn’t have. That didn’t mean he was corrupt, did it?

“I… I’m not corrupt,” Caelian said, “I don’t… how could I have been? I don’t- I… I didn’t… even feel… negative emotions…” He trailed off, coming to a sudden realization. He could feel them now. It was all he felt.

Did he really have corruption? He thought back to the robed figure. The purple lantern. What did they do?

His eyes swept across the line of forest spirits that still surrounded them, their murmurs filling his ears.

“The disciple is corrupt?”

“But he doesn’t seem it.”

“Did you not see how he just attacked Garson?!”

“He’s dangerous, then?”

“He would have never lashed out at Garson’ taunts before.”

“Surely everyone has a limit?”

“No, he was incapable. Something is different. Something happened to the elementals the Goddess gave him. Look how that one spews the same acid as the trees.”

“What are we supposed to do if the disciple is corrupt?”

“What are we supposed to do?!”

“What about the Goddess?”

What about the Goddess? Caelian focused on those words as they echoed through his mind. What happened to Gaia? Garson had said she became corrupt. But surely, she wasn’t…? Not because of him?

He stared down at his hand as the blood dripped off of it. The denizen’s murmurings had become a faint buzz in the back of his mind. Slowly, he took a step back. He needed to return to the Great Tree and speak to Gaia.

He turned and ran, deaf to the shouts that suddenly erupted behind him. Though he could ignore the voices, he couldn’t ignore being tackled to the ground, his face skidding in the dirt.

“Get off!” He shouted, flailing his legs and wings as more spirits rushed over to hold him down, “I need to go to Gaia!”

“You won’t be goin’ anywhere, Halfie,” Garson growled as he moved towards the downed disciple, supported by another spirit to help him walk.

“What should we do?”

Though Caelian couldn’t see them with his face crushed against the earth, it sounded like the spirit that had their knee on his back was speaking.

“What do you mean what should we do?” Garson snapped, stumbling forward as he left the spirit helping him behind. “The same that we do with any spirit that’s been corrupt!”

A silence fell over the gathering, the only thing to break it being Caelian’s heavy breathing as he lay still underneath the hold of the other spirits. His heart and lungs felt constricted, and sweat was beginning to form all over his body. His wings twitched helplessly under the hold of the other spirits. He wanted to get away, but he felt paralyzed, unable to fight against those holding him down. Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes as his breathing grew more even more erratic.

They were going to kill him.

“I… I don’t know about that, Garson,” Caelian heard someone further away speak up.

“What do you mean you don’t know about that?” Garson sounded like he was nearly boiling over with rage.

“I mean… He’s still the disciple, isn’t he? Should we really-”

“He’s corrupt, Sen. Disciple or not, we can’t just let corrupt spirits hang around and take the rest of us,” Someone else said.

“But…”

“I agree with Sen. We shouldn’t kill him.”

“Are both of you stupid?”

“What if it negatively affects the Goddess? She became weak when Nathaniel left us.”

“It’s ALREADY negatively affected the Goddess!” Garson roared, drowning out the others. “Just take a look around you! You think this could have happened to the forest if she wasn’t affected somehow?! We need to start by getting rid of the source of the problem. The corrupted halfie needs to be killed.”

There was a shuffling behind Caelian, and he felt a weight lifted off of him. His first instinct was to run, but he was quickly kicked over onto his back, only to be held down again as Garson planted his foot squarely on his chest. Even with his hands free and his feet kicking at the air, it yielded him nothing. He grasped desperately at Garson’s boot, trying to push him off and struggle out from underneath him, but it only caused the man to press down with more of his weight, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Caelian could hear a commotion spark up around him, and thought that out of his peripheral vision he could make out some of the spirits trying to get past the others that were holding them back. But his focus was placed solely on the dagger that Garson had already raised above his head. Tears blurred his vision, and part of him was telling himself to just close his eyes, but they remained open in terror, even as the dagger was thrust downward.

“Garson, don’t you dare!”

Flowering vines sprung up around them within fractions of a second, one of them wrapping around Garson’s arm and tugging it back violently, causing a loud pop to emit from his shoulder as his arm was violently twisted away from Caelian.

Garson’s shout of pain caused everyone to stop what they were doing and stare. Caelian also stared up in disbelief for a few seconds, before quickly flicking his eyes over in time to see the crowd part to let someone through.

Tamia was storming towards Garson as fast as she could hobble with her cane, a stony glare etched onto her face. Caelian managed to turn his head enough to look at her, though no sense of relief was able to flow through him as the tears and struggling, panicked breathing continued.

More of the vines wrapped around Garson and yanked him off of Caelian. He stumbled, barely being able to regain his footing as the vines released him, disappearing back into the ground just as suddenly as they appeared. He dropped the dagger as he grabbed onto his injured shoulder.

“What do you think you’re doing, Tamia?!” He shouted as the old woman stood in front of Caelian, shielding him.

“I won’t let you hurt this child, you stupid, ignorant man.” She said.

“He’s corrupt, Tamia!” Garson shouted, “He needs to-”

“Corrupt?!” She shouted back as she stomped her cane against the ground, causing Garson to clamp his mouth shut. “The lot of you are all fools! Look at him, tell me, does he look like a corrupt spirit?!”

Caelian had sat up by now, gulping back some of his tears as he stared up at Tamia. Garson gave her an incredulous look.

“He attacked me, you delirious hag. Were you not watching?!”

“I would have attacked you too if you spoke to me like that, you damned oaf.” She spat back with venom.

“But… his sprites- the elementals,” Someone else spoke up as Garson glared at Tamia.

“Yes, the elementals.” Tamia’s spoke sullenly, turning to glance at the four lanterns that still hovered around Caelian, “It does seem as though they have been corrupt. But let’s focus on the boy. Tell me, does he look corrupt?”

There was a silence as she turned to stare at them.

“Has he been transformed? Became deranged? Lost his mind? Yes, Garson, he attacked you. But I fail to see a corrupt spirit that only lives to kill and destroy. All I see is a scared and confused child, experiencing all of the negative emotions that he has never felt before in his life. The forest is in shambles. The elementals he knew are gone. He is overwhelmed. Look at him, you idiots,” She stomped her cane into the ground just as Caelian sniffled and wiped some of the tears from his face, “You dare to tell me that this is a corrupt spirit?!”

“Corruption is corruption, Tamia,” Garson hissed, “Even if it is just the elementals, they're tied to him. Everyone here knows that. What do we do if he can’t control himself over the persuasion of his own corrupt emotions?”

“Are you not able to control your emotions, Garson? Actually, don’t answer that, you’re not a good example,” She waved her hand, causing Garson to sneer, “I’m sure he’d be able to control the elementals in time. Regardless, he is a baby. I will not let you hurt him.”

“He can’t just stay here, Tamia,” Garson growled, “He’s a risk to us all.”

“Then have him leave,” Tamia said flatly, “Banish him if you must. But I will not let you kill him.”

Garson and Tamia stared at each other in a silent standoff before Garson finally relented, stepping away with a grunt. Though Tamia remained standing tall, Caelian noticed her shoulders droop just a little bit as soon as the attention was taken off of her and put back onto Garson as he began to throw orders.

Caelian watched as she slowly crouched down next to him, gently placing her hand on his check as she gave him a weak smile.

“I’m sorry. This is all I can do to protect you,” She whispered, “I’m so sorry this happened, Caelian. If there was more support for you, I’d push to have you stay. But I can already tell there’s more that want you gone than those who don’t.”

“Tamia, I-” Caelian was cut off by a choked out sob, and Tamia shook her head.

“It’s okay. You don’t need to say anything. Caelian… If i’m being honest, I can’t say for certain if you’re truly corrupt or not. But I can tell you still have your mind about you. But I know you. Regardless of whatever negative feelings have taken over you, I know you’d never want to hurt anyone on purpose.I want you to live, and maybe someday, by some miracle, you will be allowed to return to us.”

Tamia pressed her lips firmly together as two spirits roughly grabbed Caelian, dragging him away. He began to struggle again, until a sharp blow to his head made him still. The spirit that had knocked him out with their blunt weapon gave him a sympathetic look, as he and his comrade continued to drag Caelian out of the town and towards the edge of the realm.

Tamia stood and watched, until they disappeared into the forest. “Take care of yourself, Caelian,” She said weakly.

When Caelian finally woke, it was to him being thrown onto the muddy ground. Though his vision was blurry and his head was spinning, he tried to push himself up. Rain battered against his face as he looked around at the glum scenery around him, before one of his hands slipped and his chin slapped back into the mud. Having no will to get up, he stared blankly ahead.

Behind him, unnoticed, the two spirits that had bought him there were quietly observing.

“Are you sure this is far enough?” One asked in a quiet voice.

“He’s never left the realm before. He won’t know how to enter,” The other sighed, “So it doesn’t matter how close we leave him. He won’t ever be able to return. He’ll be stuck in the human realm for as long as he lives. Even if he finds another spirit, I’m sure they wouldn’t show him the way back. Only an idiot would be willing to hang around someone that's corrupt.”

“Yeah… I guess... Hey, can… Can we even get a new disciple if the last one is still alive?”

“...I think that’s the least of our worries right now.”

The quiet one looked at the other sullenly. They took a moment to look pitifully at Caelian before the two of them turned and disappeared into the forest.

Time felt like a lost concept. Caelian had no idea how long he laid there, and the rain never seemed to stop. He wasn’t sure how long it had been when he finally pushed himself up, his arms shaky and barely able to support his weight. He didn’t bother to wipe the mud from his face as he stood up. He wobbled off to the side, grabbing onto a nearby tree for support.

He sniffled as he surveyed his surroundings, barely able to see through the dark downpour. He was in a forest, but he could tell it wasn’t the forest he had called his home. The trees and foliage looked normal, green and flourishing just as the ones he once knew. But the air around him felt different. It was too still; lifeless, with a lack of mana. Where was he? They had said something about the human realm, but… where was that? Caelian had only heard about humans in passing, or when he was being insulted for ‘being a halfie’.

He stepped away from the tree, though he had no motivation to move. Even though at the moment he felt nothing, he knew that he needed to try and get to Gaia. No matter what had happened. He needed to return to her.

He wandered aimlessly through the forest, looking hopelessly for something that he didn’t even know to look for. If he just kept walking, would he find his way back? Humans sometimes mistakenly wandered into the Eternal Forest, so surely he should be able to find the way in?

He wasn’t sure if the rain or his own tears were stinging his eyes more. He raised his sleeve to try and wipe away some of the water, but only succeeded in smudging more mud onto his face. He let out a pitiful whine, stopping in his tracks to try and clear the mud from his eyes.

After a few moments Caelian blinked his eyes back open. They stung even more now, but hopefully the rain could make itself useful and help wash away the mud.

Seeing blurry movement out of the corner of his eye, he spun around to face a deer that had poked its head out of the brush. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and when Caelian held out his hand, the deer turned and fled. Caelian stared after it in quiet disappointment. Why did it run? Was it afraid of him? They never had been fearful of him before. Could it tell that he was corrupt?

He gently wrapped his arms around himself as he stared down at the ground. Was this all he had to look forward to for the rest of his life? Stuck in the human realm, lost and alone? Maybe it was what he deserved.

Caelian frowned. No, he didn’t deserve this. It wasn’t his fault any of that had happened. How could it be? All he did was claim his fifth elemental. The cloaked figure was only there to deliver it to him. Something else must have happened.

Maybe if the forest denizens hadn’t forced him out he would have been able to do something about it. What were they going to do by themselves, anyways? He was the disciple. He could handle the situation better than anyone else could. Who the hell did they think they were to kick him out, anyways? He was essentially second in charge next to Gaia. They should have been listening to him. Maybe if Tamia hadn’t been so useless and quick to agree in banishing him-

He shook his head, as if to shake away the thoughts. He didn’t like how he was feeling or thinking at that moment. What the hell kind of emotion was that? He knew the forest denizens were just trying to do what they thought would protect the forest. He knew Tamia did what she could. So why was he feeling differently?

Hearing a chime beside him, he turned his head to see the neon green lantern floating beside him.

“... You, huh?” Caelian said, “Then stop.”

He wrapped his arms back around himself as he trudged through the mud. He kept trying to not think about it, but the events of that day kept playing through his mind, getting more and more twisted with each passing.

“I said stop,” He said, not bothering to look at the lantern that had kept up by his side, “Do you not speak the common tongue or something? Just leave me alone.”

The lantern merely chimed in response, and Caelian felt a flicker of annoyance that it still hadn’t pulled back its influence. He turned to look at it, barely getting his mouth open to speak before tripping over some stray brambles and slamming back down into the muddy ground.

He slowly pushed himself up, kneeling in the mud as he stared down at the ground. Feeling something inside of him break, he let out a sob. Why was this happening? What had he done to deserve this?

Caelian tensed at the sound of more elementals materializing. He flapped open his dirty wings, forcing the lanterns away from him.

“Leave me alone,” He muttered, before dragging himself over to a nearby tree trunk. It provided little shelter from the rain, but it was better than nothing as he curled up into a ball with his wings wrapped around him.

All four of the lanterns gently floated closer, each making their own unique chiming and humming sounds as they crowded around him. Caelian stiffened again, pushing the blue one away as it got close to his face.

“I said go away,” He said more gruffly.

But they continued to draw near, staying within inches of Caelian as he buried his face into his knees. In the back of his mind he thought he could hear voices. They all echoed over each other, like a buzzing, incomprehensible mess as they struggled to be heard. Caelian’s head began to pound, growing worse with each passing second, as the voices slowly began to grow in volume.

“Leave me alone,” Caelian choked out, “I don’t want you anymore. I don’t like you. Look what you’ve done.”

Ignoring him, they remained. It wasn’t until the purple one gently drifted forward enough to touch him that he finally snapped.

“GO AWAY!” he yelled, flinging his arm out with the same purple claw he had used on Garson.. He knocked all four of the lanterns away in a single blow, hard enough to send them all flying into the muddy ground. The purple ooze around his arm disappeared quickly as Caelian buried his face into his hands, sobbing.

“Go away, leave me alone. Go away, go away, go away. I hate you. I hate this. I hate all of you. I’d rather feel nothing. Just let me feel nothing if I can’t have the others back. Let me feel nothing. Go away.”

His desperate babbling continued as the lanterns remained still in the mud. Their light began to slowly dim, before they disappeared one by one. When the last had vanished, Caelian fell silent. He sat perfectly still as the rain pattered around him for hours, him never moving an inch.

It was nearly pitch dark by the time Caelian slowly lowered his hands from his face. He let them fall lifelessly to his sides as he stared down at the ground between his feet, his eyes dull and lifeless. The elementals had finally listened to him.

He felt nothing.

#EoE #Elements of Emotion #Chapter 4

1 note · View note