The Verdant Mark

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Mikyla's voice trails off as Sam shoots her a perplexed look which cuts straight through the grease of her fat lie.

"Mikael," Sam begins in all serious, "That's a brillant idea! Let me try it too!"

Mikyla face palms as Sam promptly hugs the other side of the tree. Yup. Stupidity comes naturally. Definitely a Noble.

"As much as I appreciate the sentiment, I am afraid that I will have to bust that there myth." Mikyla feels something wriggle along her chest and she jumps back to a flat reminder. "The myth that hugging a tree will help with directions arised from the legend of walls having ears and trees having eyes. Due to our tallish nature, we bave the ability to see far and in exchange for our navigational expertise, the elves of the past used to show us affection by hugging us."

Suddenly, the trunk starts to crack and as bark slowly falls the the ground, a deep carving is revealed leaving a face behind which was as real as the tree itself. Eyes blink within the woody crevice and forgotten moss gave way to wrinkles within the hollow. It was unnerving to say the least but as Mikyla put distance between the tree and herself, the other Nobles filled in the gaps.

"Ah, this form always does attract the necessary attention..." The tree opens his mouth to reveal rungs upon rungs of knowledge amassed over the years, each spiral a living library of the past itself. "It is now time to commence the test!"

Immediately, as the last words part from the tree, the forest seemed to shift, leaning inwards as if not wanting to miss a breath. The trees branches waxed and waned, the leaves rustling a symphony of hushes, and like that there was quiet before the storm.

With a sharp intake of breath which shook the very earth, the forest fell into a whirlwind of solitudal silence. The tree blinked slowly, carefully scanning each and every Nobles and with a small snort which caused a cascade of falling foliage the tree started his riddle.

"Riddle me what, riddle me when, riddle me who, where, why,
Riddle me this, riddle me that, riddle me once in a blue moons sky.
Tis not to seek the futures past yet what that merely is,
The answer lies to satisfy lest not a fleeting quiz."

Mikyla stood transfixed alongside an army of statues as the tree sang a lullaby untethering the sealed frontier between the magical world and the one of hardships. His words gnarled the roots around the trunk, the wisdom deeper and more profound than the earth itself. When his lips parted, flowers bloomed before their primes, encompassing the Nobles in a bouquet of life yet the tone in which they are uttered juxtapose the the illsuion of the benevolent tree man. The Quenya he uttered spat like wildfire, his prose ablaze with the woes and sorrows of a thousand lifetimes each sparking inspirational jest. Nobody moved as the melody brought tears to their eyes but as the tree uttered his final words, the tongues of flames became apparent.

The Nobles stumbled back as they snapped out of the trance, the face of the tree charred to cinders as ropes of flames danced upwards to the tips of its branches. The fire dripped downwards, engulfing the circumference of the tree in a matter of seconds turning the treeman to ash. It didn't stop there- once the tree smoked to cinders the fire raged out spreading outwards, chasing the Nobles to the far corners of the forest.

Mikyla ran, the inhibitions of her Noble body apparent as the pains in her chest threatened to resign her to the prowling fire behind her, awaiting the prime opportunity to pounce. She urged her legs forward, keeping distance between her and the flames yet near enough for Sam to catch up. She didn't anybody except for him and if she was going survive the Trials, she would need someone who she hoped knew the ropes.

Suddenly, a mechanical rhythm roared into life and from the far corners of her eye, Mikyla saw the machine that the Nobles used to transverse between cities - the car. It's rumbling wasn't too far ahead and if she caught up to it she might have a chance of survival. She knew the Nobles used the cars to cross through the forest but she didn't know whether or not using the aide of one would have any repercussions towards the Trials. Either way it didn't matter if she were dead.

As Mikyla neared the path of the car she was surprised but not due to having seen other Nobles who had spotted the potential escape. Sure, it was obvious that they were the competition but instead of the car taking a straight route, she had found it was heading straight towards a rock face but more importantly, a portal much like the one she had come through was situated on said rock face.

Upon noticing the portal, the other Nobles as well as Mikyla shifted into full sprint mode. The car to accelerated and Mikyla knew she would only have seconds before the swirling blue mass would disintegrate. She fought against her expanding chest as well as the stones her legs had become. She knew she had to make it. She knew she was going to make it.

The car zoomed past and as predicted, the portal began to shrink. The other Nobles made it before Mikyla, each one disappearing into the nether but just as Mikyla was about to leap through - she froze.

With a short turn of her head she found Sam hot on her heels but he wouldn't make it. He was too slow and even if Mikyla went back and tried to help him they would be too late. The portal was right there, shrinking right before her but Mikyla couldn't budge. A voice screamed in her head to forget about Sam and live but she just couldn't. She watched as the portal imploded before her. She watched as Sam reached her, collapsing from fatigue. She watched as the fire hissed with delight as she backed up against the rock face.

So that was how it was going to end...

No.

Mikyla wouldn't end like this. She couldn't.

As if sparked by her determination, the book rested against her hilt began ti glow and it was only then that Mikyla remembered that they had all been giving the magic tomes for survival. She quickly unlatched it from its holster and by magic it opened to a page revealing the spell to create a wall of water.

Mikyla began to chant feeling the words tumble out of her mouth with fluid ease and slowly forming a ball of water. It grew in size as more words added to its volume but as it enlarged substantially she stopped in shock of a reflection much like her own. The reflection she once had. The same long untangled hair, the same dark skin but the eyes were as lifeless as a shattered pearl, buried deep within the crevice of an Ocean trench.

Mikyla's spell popped as her concentration waned only causing the fire to hiss in irritation. In retort to the sprinkle of mana the fire leapt at her, scalding the hand that etched the failed glyph. Mikyla dropped the book in shock and watched horrified as it was engulfed by the fire.

Without hesitation, The flames licked against the hem of her trousers and the growing smoke choked Mikyla's vision for a further spell. It seemed to be the end but it couldn't be. Mikyla wasn't going to give up without a fight. She would find another way. She wouldn't give up as long as her burning desire continued to light up her future.

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Word Count for Chapter 16: 1975
Total Word Count: 24797

Authors Note:

Hope you liked the UNEDITED chapter 16! Don't forget to press on those magical stars to light up Mikyla's future path and leave a comment telling me what you like so far or what you don't like. Thanks for reading so far.

Happy reading 
~ Dracollavenore