The Trinity War (Book 3 of the Trinity series)

Chapter 9

"So what are we looking for?" Gerrard asked me as I wiped my hands on my shorts.

"Beats me," I replied.

"Maybe we should have done a little more research before we left," he said.

"Well, it's a little too late for that now," I replied. He frowned and looked around him.

"I guess we should just start walking, then," he said.

"Let's use a detection spell to see if we can find any traces of magic," I suggested.

"Good idea," he said, conjuring it up.

A faint yellow arrow formed on his hand and pointed towards the East. It was so faint that it was barely visible on Gerrard's sun-kissed skin. That meant that there was no magic around us for miles. The way a magic detection spell worked was that a colored arrow would appear on the conjurer's hand. If it was faint and not very visible, it meant that there was no magic around. The reason it wasn't completely invisible was because the conjurer had magic themselves. The arrow would point in the direction where it sensed the most magical activity and the brighter it got, the closer it meant the conjurer was to the site of magic. It was a really simple spell and it didn't take a huge toll on the energy reserves, which was nice because sometimes, the spell would be needed for quite some time.

We began walking the direction it was pointing, our footsteps crunching the dried leaves and forest residue beneath our feet. As we walked, I observed my surroundings, gazing in awe at the beauty of the forest.

One of the things I noticed was the amount of noise that was in the air. Maybe it was due to my continuous heightened sensitivity to my surroundings due to my being a witch that had high awareness of her environment, or maybe it was actually loud, but I was overcome by the amount of noise there was. I could hear birds of all different kinds chirping and calling out to one another. I heard the call of the monkeys, the croaking of frogs, the breaking of twigs as forest animals moved about. The amount of sound was overwhelming, but at the same time, it made me appreciate the forest even more.

I realized as we walked through the tall trees and ducked beneath branches why this was such an ideal location for a nation of Earth masters. The nature around us was absolutely magnificent. The amount of sustainable energy that Earth masters could summon from the nature around them must have been endless. Additionally, the forest was so isolated. Not many people lived in the Amazon and even fewer dared to walk through the depths of the forest. The members of the nation wouldn't ever have to fear being found out by the wrong people. It was the perfect location for a nation of magic to thrive.

After walking continuously for about five hours, Gerrard stopped. I had begun lagging behind and tripping over branches. I was sweaty, exhausted, and incredibly thirsty. But I didn't want to show my weakness, so I kept trudging along behind Gerrard. He seemed completely revitalized. Aside from the perspiration that dripped down his forehead, he looked fine.

"You want to stop for a bit?" he asked me.

"Only if you do," I said. He glanced at his hand, which was still sporting the light yellow arrow. It hadn't brightened even a little bit.

Gerrard smirked at me.

"You don't have to act all strong, you know. You can tell me when you're tired. I don't want to push you," he said.

"I'm fine," I grunted.

"Right," he said, "sure you are." I glared at him, which only caused him to smirk further.

"I hate you," I said.

"Sure you do," he replied. "Let's set up camp here. It's getting dark and I don't think it's a good idea to be walking around the forest at night time, even if we can fight off any animal that tries to attack us," he said.