A Different Path

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Cult of the Lamb or Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter. I am simply a fan of the game and the series. I was inspired by Jbrine061. Please check out her story. She is amazing. Now onto the story.

TW: Attempted suicide in this chapter. Nothing gory.
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The Glistening Forest held many secrets from those who didn't know how to see them. It was a place where few were invited to. Callisto, the High Priest, was welcoming so long as the guests treated the forest and its denizens with respect. If not, the trees would kick them out. He received a message from Rose about her visiting and bringing the lambs and children with her from the Cults of the Old Faith. Callisto was more than happy to host them, and so were his children. Callisto's wife didn't have the title of High Priestess. She preferred the quiet life of a keeper, a guardian to the unicorns and the other denizens. There wasn't a High Priestess as the moment, but there would be in the future. Callisto got things prepared for the children and Rose's visit. He and his son, Caelum, only needed to wait for their guests to arrive. Caelum's sisters were with some of the unicorns that day, but would stop by. The unicorns were eager to meet the children, so long as they weren't too rambunctious. The foals were especially excited to meet them!

By midday, Rose had arrived with the flock of children behind her. She carried Lelouch in her arms and another baby on her back. Callisto hadn't seen her like that since her own children were born. The young ones were awed by all the beauty they were seeing. The forest glittered and sparkles, as if the trees were made out of crystals. Those from the Cult of Pestilence wanted to take some home!! Fortunately, Callisto was there to guide them. He told them which plants were okay to pick and take, and which were not. The kids were distracted again when the unicorns came to greet them. The lambs and the other kids were more than happy to see them. The foals took care of the energetic young ones. They were all running around before the adults knew it. Rose was happy to see them playing. Last night, some of them had cried in the night, worried about their families back in the Cults... Rose would wake up and comfort them as best she could until they fell back asleep. While the children played, she and Callisto talked about medicine. Caelum played with the kids and helped Lelouch become the first flying lamb. He held the baby up and moved him around like he was flying!

Callisto and Rose talked about many herbs. Now that he had more information, he could pinpoint more specific ones that might help more efficiently than others. However, he suspected that a different one would be needed. A magic plague may need a magical cure... There were several types of  magical herbs, but not everyone would help. They would need one that would take down Sheep Blight... Many came to mind, but he couldn't be sure of all of them. If anything... they would need to experiment by sending samples of the herbs to each Cult with sheep followers... But time was of the essence... It wouldn't be long until the sheep started to die and Narinder would guide their souls to the afterlife. With no other ideas, Callisto gathered five types of herbs that could work. If they didn't work all the way, then they could at least ease some symptoms. It was temporary until they knew for sure which could help. Callisto sent word to their brothers to ask for assistance and they were working on it. Rose sent the herbs with notes to the Bishops explaining what they had. In time, the Bishop's sent replies of what happened with each herbs. Two were ineffective, one helped immensely with fevers, and the other two helped with nausea.

The process of elimination did help and pinpointed a couple of herbs, but it still wasn't enough. Several days would go by after that... some sheep began to die... Thorin and Oona were still alive, their will to live strengthened knowing their son was alive and well. Oona imagined her son growing up and becoming a handsome sheep like his father. Thorin saw him as a priest or disciple who would marry a nice ewe and give him and his mother grandchildren. It was that which kept them alive. Narinder hated each time a sheep died... he still did his duty, but it still hurt. Faith went down with each death. Kallamar informed him of the pandemic's origins, but he didn't really remember that battle. He was too busy guiding the dead. He sent a few scouts to investigate around the grounds, just in case they found something, but nothing came up until a week later. A follower found a talisman used by that false god, one a follower of high ranking would carry around. It meant nothing to Narinder aside from being a clue to a heretic being present. Not even destroying it seems to help... Narinder kept an eye out in the meantime, waiting for the herbs that Rose sent. He wouldn't see the culprit until much later.