Daegan (The Age of Alandria: A Companion Novella) by Morgan Wylie Page B
Authors: Morgan Wylie
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heart and in his hands.
“Come back to your tree. Lan du ílleyll. Find life. Breathe. ´INYTH! LIVE!” Daegan shouted as he released the pent-up stores of his magic as a Ferrishyn and of the Faeries, the power to cultivate.
Then he felt it... A pulse, faint and weak from the center of the stump, began to beat.
“Now!” Daegan commanded the men. They each placed their hands on the trunk as well and began pushing their own energies and magic into the broken tree.
Thump, thump... thump, thump. The pulse grew stronger and stronger. Daegan could feel the magic of his men as it flooded the tree.
“More,” he shouted. Daegan could not remove his hands from the tree if he wanted to. His energy began entwining with the growing energy of the tree. He could feel her—her life force growing stronger and taking shape. Unable to take his eyes off of the tree, he saw it once again return to its rich brown color. Then it began to grow. It grew and grew, but paused at the head when the branches were trying to shoot out.
“Everything you have, men,” Daegan shouted with a hint of joy at witnessing growth such as this. It gave him life and energized his own magic, as he was able to push out even more than he knew he had to give. His men gave everything they had as they watched in awe and shock as well—not only at the tree but also at Daegan himself.
The tree exploded one by one with branches and leaves and the most beautiful orange and red flowers bloomed—the largest of any flower Daegan had ever seen. He was not even sure what kind of tree she had become, but one thing was certain... she was alive . Once he saw the green life force circulating from roots to crown and over again, he felt the freedom to release his magic from that of the tree’s own. His men followed suit, but everyone simply stayed kneeling, unable to break the spell of beauty the tree invoked.
The ground rumbled and shook with light tremors. All around the men, the desecrated remains of the Ónarach began to shake and tremble. The earth was swallowing them into the forest floor. The ground never opened, but instead the bodies somehow seeped into it, becoming one with earth until nothing remained of them.
All around them, the circle of destroyed trees also began regrowing, though at a much slower rate than what they had just witnessed. Life was beginning again for this part of the forest. Daegan felt satisfied with what had happened there and was happy for the forest. Looking around at his men, he saw the same sense of victory and amazement at what they had been a part of resurrecting.
Suddenly, darkness clouded the bit of sky that was visible, causing the forest to become even darker than it had been. A twisting of something dark and evil gripped Daegan where he stood in the center of the once destroyed clearing... the clearing, that now was thriving with the regrowth of all the trees that the Ónarach had attempted to destroy. Pain gripped his head and sent him to the ground on his knees. He felt an energy break through his defenses into his head that instantly cleared the pain of the darkness he felt, though it did not remove the malicious feeling that was growing stronger.
He looked to his men with a strange fear. “Run!” he yelled to them.
Without question they did, but not fast enough. A darkness swept through, as if a wind of its own—not solid, but a transparent blackness with eyes of red.
A voice from darkness itself spoke with words made of wind. “You stole her from me. I will take them from you, Hero.” In a matter of seconds, the darkness swept through the clearing, engulfing every single one of his screaming men into the nothingness that was the evil creature—the Droch-Shúil. They were there one second and simply gone the next. Daegan, unable to move, was bound by the extra energy he recognized as that from the tree he had saved.
“NO!” Daegan shouted as he tried to break that which bound him. Why she would bind him, he
“Come back to your tree. Lan du ílleyll. Find life. Breathe. ´INYTH! LIVE!” Daegan shouted as he released the pent-up stores of his magic as a Ferrishyn and of the Faeries, the power to cultivate.
Then he felt it... A pulse, faint and weak from the center of the stump, began to beat.
“Now!” Daegan commanded the men. They each placed their hands on the trunk as well and began pushing their own energies and magic into the broken tree.
Thump, thump... thump, thump. The pulse grew stronger and stronger. Daegan could feel the magic of his men as it flooded the tree.
“More,” he shouted. Daegan could not remove his hands from the tree if he wanted to. His energy began entwining with the growing energy of the tree. He could feel her—her life force growing stronger and taking shape. Unable to take his eyes off of the tree, he saw it once again return to its rich brown color. Then it began to grow. It grew and grew, but paused at the head when the branches were trying to shoot out.
“Everything you have, men,” Daegan shouted with a hint of joy at witnessing growth such as this. It gave him life and energized his own magic, as he was able to push out even more than he knew he had to give. His men gave everything they had as they watched in awe and shock as well—not only at the tree but also at Daegan himself.
The tree exploded one by one with branches and leaves and the most beautiful orange and red flowers bloomed—the largest of any flower Daegan had ever seen. He was not even sure what kind of tree she had become, but one thing was certain... she was alive . Once he saw the green life force circulating from roots to crown and over again, he felt the freedom to release his magic from that of the tree’s own. His men followed suit, but everyone simply stayed kneeling, unable to break the spell of beauty the tree invoked.
The ground rumbled and shook with light tremors. All around the men, the desecrated remains of the Ónarach began to shake and tremble. The earth was swallowing them into the forest floor. The ground never opened, but instead the bodies somehow seeped into it, becoming one with earth until nothing remained of them.
All around them, the circle of destroyed trees also began regrowing, though at a much slower rate than what they had just witnessed. Life was beginning again for this part of the forest. Daegan felt satisfied with what had happened there and was happy for the forest. Looking around at his men, he saw the same sense of victory and amazement at what they had been a part of resurrecting.
Suddenly, darkness clouded the bit of sky that was visible, causing the forest to become even darker than it had been. A twisting of something dark and evil gripped Daegan where he stood in the center of the once destroyed clearing... the clearing, that now was thriving with the regrowth of all the trees that the Ónarach had attempted to destroy. Pain gripped his head and sent him to the ground on his knees. He felt an energy break through his defenses into his head that instantly cleared the pain of the darkness he felt, though it did not remove the malicious feeling that was growing stronger.
He looked to his men with a strange fear. “Run!” he yelled to them.
Without question they did, but not fast enough. A darkness swept through, as if a wind of its own—not solid, but a transparent blackness with eyes of red.
A voice from darkness itself spoke with words made of wind. “You stole her from me. I will take them from you, Hero.” In a matter of seconds, the darkness swept through the clearing, engulfing every single one of his screaming men into the nothingness that was the evil creature—the Droch-Shúil. They were there one second and simply gone the next. Daegan, unable to move, was bound by the extra energy he recognized as that from the tree he had saved.
“NO!” Daegan shouted as he tried to break that which bound him. Why she would bind him, he
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