The Burning Blue Mage

20

     I went to bed late that night. Or should I say really early in the morning? It was about 2 I think when I went into my tent. Rook was already asleep and I tried my best to be quiet as I could so not to wake him.
     I got about 5 hours of sleep before Rook shook me awake. I sat up confused, tiredness still haunting me. "What's happening?"
     I heard shouting from outside and through the thin material of the tent, I could see lights flickering.
     "The dryad," Rook gasped, voice full of dread. "It came earlier than we thought."
     I jolted up. We didn't evacuate the knights out of the area yet and the dryad is already attacking.
     I was up and out of the tent in a matter if seconds. I didn't change into night clothes last night so I was already dressed. I don't remember grabbing it, but my iron dagger was already in my hand, my grip so tight on the handle that my knuckles turned whitish.
     Rook was quick to follow me out of the tent, his iron sword drawn. We moved quickly to where the shouting was coming from. And right on the border of the forest, in the orange hazy morning light, I saw a tall spindly figure that matched the thin trees surrounded her.
     I walked up to the group. "Make sure you have your iron weapons ready but stay back. Try to keep near the torches so you can use it to defend yourself if need be. Whatever you do, don't attack," I shouted to the knights before walking a good 20 feet in front of them. Rook walked up to my side. I didn't like the thought of him being so close to the front lines, but without my magic I guess I'm just as strong as him.
     The dryad walked calmly out of the forest until she was a good distance away from me and Rook.
     The dryads skin was entirely a dark greyish bark. Her fingers were long and twisted, her arms long and reaching to her knees. Her eyes were the most deathly pale green I've ever seen, so strange against the dark green moss of hair that swayed to her hips. Her face lacked any other facial features besides her eyes, looking like a swirled mask. Or like a knot on a tree. It mirrored her twisted stomach that gave her a rough set of curves, so like a tree. But the most disconcerting part about her though were her feet, or lack thereof. Instead of feet, her legs ended in single jagged points that honestly I was surprising that it held her body up.
     The dryads eyes flicked back and forth, obviously taking in every detail of her surroundings for self benefit. I just hoped she didn't notice the gas iron, if it's truly working. I never got to test it with my magic.
     "I'm surprised," I said, my voice a lie of calm that couldn't be figured out. "I thought you would at least wait and watch for a day before making your presence known."
     "But by then everyone would have left," the dryad replied just as calmly. Her voice seemed to echo through the ground and trees, sounding both old and young, both high pitched and low pitched. It was the sound of the land itself.
     "My, I was correct. You're much smarter than your water brethren," I commented.
     "Your blandishments won't do a thing against me. Don't waste your breath."
     "Yes, flattery and insults won't affect you at all. Not like the naiad. I figured as much. You're far too calm and collected. I'm sure I'm going to regret your calmness soon."
     "You seem knowledgeable about my kind," the dryad said. "Am I not your first? You're far from mine."
     "You can have the honor of being the first dryad I've encountered."
     "I hope you don't believe you can talk your way out of this."
     "No. You have your orders. I doubt you would betray her."
     "You may be able to talk with me and the naiad but I wouldn't recommend talking to the naiad. She won't listen. If you survive long enough to meet one, that is."
     "I definitely won't go down without a fight," a replied. Though anger seethed through my body, I kept my voice even and emotionless. The best way to deal with someone calm and observant is by being as calm as them, even if you're not quite as observant. I just needed to stay calm.
     The dryad calmly rose her long, thin arms, flicking her hand our way. Multiple branches suddenly spiked out of the ground, aimed to spike through us. The knights moved in frantic steps to avoid the branches. A few tried to cut the branches with their iron weapons and others tried to grab the torches, only to find that the branches had separated them away from the flames.
     There was far too many people around so I wouldn't be able to use my magic. That would be the second hardest part of this battle. The first would be dealing with and preventing casualties.
     I didn't move a muscle. Rook immediately looked back at the troops and ran back to them to help. I heard him shout something but his words fell on deaf ears.
     I stayed calm and relaxed. I tried to study the dryad, though I've never been perfectly great at observations. The dryad seemed emotionless, her body light and relaxed. Her claw like hand fell back to her twisted side.
     "You didn't even flinch," the dryad said calmly, more of a statement than a question.
     "You didn't even have a flicker of emotion," I said, voice just as calm as hers.
     "Most humans react to magic," the dryad said, ignoring my statement.
     "Magic is just another weapon. I should treat it as such and react like I would to any other weapon," I said simply.
     Magic is nothing more than a tool. It's a butter knife that can be used to cook or to kill. It's a double edged sword that can hurt others or yourself.
     "You'd be wise not to think magic can just be wielded."
     "Yes, I guess so."
     The dryads face contorted, as if confused or surprised. Her eyes narrowed slightly, focusing on me. She didn't understand my actions or words. That's good.
     I felt a sudden pulse of magic go through my body, one I didn't try to conjure. It was strong, nothing small, and it tugged like it was fighting against another force.
     A tree branch spiked out of the ground not even a foot away from me.  Physically I didn't react, though my heart pace quickened. The pulse of magic... Magic can react even without asking it to. It's alive like that. If my magic hadn't reacted on it's own, if my magic didn't decide that I was worth saving, that branch would have just impaled me.
     The dryad remained emotionless, though I could see her hands start to shake and curl ever so slightly into fists. She studied me carefully.
     "Your aim could use a little work," I said, not being able to stop myself.
     I heard shouts behind me. I didn't have to look to know the dryad had just sent another wave of branches. By the sounds of it, her aim was quite well.
     "Sage!" Rook suddenly shouted at me, anger coating his voice. "Sage, what the hell are you doing?!"
     Rook ran up to me. I didn't turn to look at him but instead kept my eyes on the dryad. When I didn't acknowledge him, Rook grabbed my shoulder and turned me towards him. "Sage!"
     "Sage. What a beautiful name. A name of the earth," the dryad said.
     Rook and I both turned to look at the dryad. I could feel the hatred emanating off of Rook. "The hell are you doing? You're just talking while you attack my men!"
     "Your men aren't use to magic. They react badly to it and don't know how to defend against it," the dryad observed.
     "You don't know anything!" Rook shouted at the dryad.
     "Rook," I said quietly. "She's just trying to get under your skin."
     "You can shut up too," Rook snapped at me. "You're not doing anything!"
     "You believe that he can stop this," the dryad said.
     "Shut up!"
     "You think he's strong enough. That if he did something he could end this."
     "Don't pretend like you know us!"
     "So Sage is the expert here. He came up with this whole thing."
     The dryad lifted her hand again. I looked back to see a grove of thorns suddenly curl up from the ground. I heard shouts, orders, from the knights. Screams.
     That was Rook's breaking point. He suddenly launched himself at the dryad, striking at her head. A large wall of bark appeared before the dryad, Rook's iron sword hitting against it.
     Rook pulled his sword back, the tip pointed to the ground. Vines spiked out of the ground and wrapped around the blade, holding it in place.
     I dashed forward to where Rook was now tugging at his sword to no prevail. The dryad flicked out her hand and a bramble suddenly spiked from the ground and darted towards Rook's heart.
     I was able to jump in front of Rook before the bramble was able to pierce him and I blocked it with my iron dagger. The bramble shrunk back as it touched the iron.
     "You're a damn idiot sometimes," I hissed at Rook, cutting the vines wrapped around his sword.
     Rook opened his mouth to say something but the dryad slashed at my face with her sharp claws. I jumped back, being careful not to jump into Rook.
     The claws barely missed my face. I stabbed my dagger into the dryads arm. The dryad hissed and jumped back.
     "Rook, you should get out of here," I said coldly before the dryad could attack again.
     "Sage-"
     "Get out of here before you make things worse," I hissed, interrupting Rook's protests.
     Thorns arched out of the ground where we were standing. I quickly shoved Rook out of the way and jumped to the side. A thorn sliced through my leg as I jumped out of the way. I cringed at the pain, blood dripped down my leg. The cut was fairly deep and would heavily slow me down.
     I stood up as quickly as I could. Rook stumbled to his feet, confused. I briefly glanced him over. He didn't seem hurt. Good.
     I dashed towards the dryad, hoping I could strike before she could dodge or block. Unfortunately, my speed was definitely reduced and a wall of wood blocked my iron dagger.
     "For someone who set this whole thing up, you're not using your cards very well, the dryad said calmly.
    "Sometimes you get dealt a bad deck," I said, voice even as I jumped away before the dryad could swipe at me with her claws.
     "You seem quite prepared to fight me," the dryad observed.
     "I have a general idea about how to fight mythical creatures," I said simply.
     "But I'm guessing no one else does," the dryad said with a nod of her head in the direction of the knights behind me.
     I felt my body stiffen despite me trying not to react. "They know how to fight dryads," I said, my voice ever so shaky.
     If her main focus was on me, if she would just fight me, I would be fine. But if she goes after anyone else...
     Though she had no mouth, it seemed like she was almost smiling, the most calm and sinister smile.
     I lunged at her, hoping to keep her focus on me. Before my iron dagger could hit it's mark, a large vine snapped at me, sending me through the air until I landed a good distance away. I groaned as I hit the ground, desperately trying to sit up.
     I looked up just in time to see the dryad flicked her hand out. A labyrinth of tree branches and thorns snaked out of the ground, targeting the knights.
     The brambles sought out the knights, running them through multiple times. I watched in horror, a flash of blue flames and a blackened village crossing my mind.
     I felt my body start to tremble. The knights screams drowned every other sound. I saw a handful try to fight off the branches, blocking them with iron weapons, only for another branch to come up from behind and strike them. I could see the darkened red spot on every single branch as it retracted from it's attack.
     I saw Rook suddenly turn and start running up to the dryad. "You bitch!" He shouted.
     My eyes grew wide with trepidation. "Rook, stop!" I shouted, frantically stumbling to my feet and running towards the two.
     A vine came up from the ground and impaled Rook's arm holding the sword. Rook dropped the sword, letting it fall to the ground. The splash of red looked so unnatural against his pale skin, like it didn't belong. My pace quickened.
     Rook winced from the pain as the vine retracted. Blood dripped from the puncture mark, leaving a trail along Rook's skin before he gripped the wound with his other hand.
     The vine posed itself to strike again. I immediately ran in front of Rook and cut the vine. The vine turned a dark green and fell lifelessly to the ground.
     I kept myself in front of Rook, being the only thing that stood between the him and the dryad. I had my dagger ready to strike at a seconds notice, my knuckles turning pale from how hard I was gripping it.
     The dryad studied me carefully for a minute. "Most people get sloppy when they're angry but you do quite the opposite. I think it would be in my best interest to wait until you feel more guilty than angry."
     I didn't relax my stance. I wouldn't relax until I knew Rook wasn't in any danger.
     The dryad looked me over one more time before she turned around and walked back into the woods, her wall of brambles on the knights retracting as she walked away.
     It seemed like the whole world held it's breath for a few minutes, watching to see if the dryad was gone. Watching to see if any more blood would be spilt. If I was more impulsive, I would have attacked the dryad instead of watching her disappear among the shadowy trees but it was more important for me to be near Rook than being able to fight the dryad.
     A minute passed. Two. Five. It wasn't until then that I relaxed slightly and turned my back to the woods and faced Rook.
     Rook's face was tight, his left hand covering his wound. The vine had stabbed at his mid arm, just below his elbow. His hands were shaking as he stared off into the trees.
     "Rook, are you okay?" I asked frantically, tearing off one of my sleeves.
     Rook said nothing for a long while. His hands kept shaking as I tied the torn sleeve around his arm in a hope to stop the bleeding as much as I could.
     "We were hopeless, weren't we? The iron wasn't effective. We couldn't use the fire because she wouldn't let us get close enough to use it," Rook said, barely more than a whisper. He didn't look at me, still staring off into the woods.
     "I thought I could take her down with my magic..."
     Rook finally looked at me. "She baited me. She baited me and I fell hook line and sinker."
     "Dryads are tricky. They like to provoke their enemies," I said. I'm not sure why it mattered. I'm sure it didn't give him anymore reassurance.
     "I shouldn't have attacked. You told me not to. You told me to stay back and I didn't do that either. I should have just trusted you."
     "Rook, this isn't your fault. None of it. It's my own damn fault. For the nymphs even attacking. For not being able to take the dryad down. For dragging everyone into this. You did nothing," I argued.
     "You knew what the dryad was trying to do. You were able to stay calm. You might have been able to beat her if I wasn't here, even without your magic."
     I was silent. No. I wouldn't have been able to defeat the dryad without magic, with or without Rook. That was made clear with how easily she was able to throw me across the clearing. That made me wonder why the dryad pulled back. She said it would be wise not to fight me when I was angry but there's no way I could have beaten her. I guess I should feel lucky she did pull back.
     "You said it yourself, I messed everything up."
     I flinched. I was angry when I said that to him. I didn't mean it when I said it and I didn't mean it now. "Rook..."
     We stood there in silence for a good amount of time. We couldn't think of what to say.
     I glanced back at camp. With the brambles gone, you could see the shadow outlines of bodies. The hazy grey light offered a perfect eerie setting with the lifeless bodies laying on the ground.
     Rook noticed my glance over his shoulder but didn't follow it right away. I could see him bracing himself before he looked back at the camp.
     I quietly tucked my head and walked towards the camp. I was slightly hoping that Rook wouldn't follow because I didn't want him to see the aftermath of the battle but of course he did.
     I stopped about six feet away from the first body. A gaping hole was left in the middle of his chest. Blood splattered the ground under and around him. His face was contorted into a scream, mouth gaping and eyes white.
      The others were worse. Large gashes and holes protruding through them. Blood stained the grass a deep red that seemed to go on forever. Tissue and organs strained about the open clearing.
     I felt my hands start to shake. I took a deep breath to call myself as I glanced at the gore that displayed itself. 46 knights had came with us. None of them were alive.
     Rook walked up to me with uneasiness. He looked at the scene for a few seconds, his face even more pale than normal. He suddenly turned and threw up.
     I guess it was a good sign that he threw up. That means he's never seen anything like this, that he still reacts to blood.
     The scene just reminded me too much of Lyneria.
     I turned my head away from the corpses, keeping my eyes to the ground.
     I thought I knew how the dryad would attack. I thought our plan was secure. I thought all would go well.
     I was wrong.