Submission (#6110) Approved

With all the visions, it was a little hard to discern what was reality and what wasn’t, which was why when Chester had first discovered a daeva trail, he thought it was just his own hallucinations. 

Dark violet anima splinters sprung out of the ground as if they were weeds, the ground tainted in the same hue in the areas they rose from, with the same tell-tale glowing halos that denoted the connection to daeva. It wasn’t until he saw the familiar surroundings of Enmir’s marsh and moss-laden trees that he realized this was not a dream, but occurring in real life.

A light purple haze wafted through the air, and Chester held his breath, using his wings to try and fan it away. This didn’t do much, and he gave up, trying his best to stay clear of it where he could and resist breathing it in. Considering he already had some degree of mana poisoning, perhaps it meant he also had some resistance to it as well in comparison to other elnin, as perhaps his djinnin status and dire stature also helped, but regardless, it wasn’t a theory he intended to test in the long run. The sooner this area was purified and all traces of daeva removed, the sooner that things would go back to normal, and the corruption would hopefully ease up with time.

Well, first things first. He should determine where all the contaminated areas were, and then-

Something out of the corner of his eyes made him freeze, and for a moment, he doubted himself. No… it couldn’t be. That was… this was…

Swallowing nervously, he decided to investigate. Maybe he was wrong, maybe it was-

With each step, he came closer and closer, and felt his body tremble and heart drop as his fears were confirmed. Before him was what looked like an elnin. Or perhaps, what USED to be an elnin. It was a crystallized structure, seemingly in the shape of an elnin, but with various anima shards splintering out of the body, not unlike his own splintered anima. 

Chester took a step back, clearly shaken, and let out a ragged breath. This was… this was an elnin, wasn’t it? One that had been thoroughly corrupted. Perhaps one who had been unfortunate to venture close enough to a daeva, or perhaps foolish enough to attempt approaching one. He’d never know. All he knew was, they needed help, and fast. It was hard to say how long they had been in this state. Perhaps only a few hours had passed. Perhaps it had been an entire week. That said, he knew that there was little he could do, but… he had heard stories about a group of scholars in Strynhalde who were known for the taboo of working with living anima.

It wasn’t really something he wanted to be associated with, but if he didn’t find help for them soon, then… it really would be too late.

He lifted a paw, slowly reaching out, but stopped just before he touched it. No, he probably shouldn’t. But… if he just left it here, something could happen. Well, technically something already DID happen, but maybe it’d be better if he could remove it from the contaminated area. Of course, it’d be best if he could bring it back to those scholars in Strynhalde, but… was that possible? He didn’t know how fragile it was, let alone being able to touch it or carry it over long distances. What if he accidentally broke a part of it? Would it be re-attachable? Would that part cease to function if the elnin was fully brought back? If there was enough damage… would it end up killing them?

Thoughts raced through his head, as he tried to figure out what his best option was. Sure, given his size and wings, maybe he could even carry it while flying, but Strynhalde was still an ocean’s length away, and he would have to fly over Ealei. The distance alone, not to mention the weight of carrying something possibly fragile for so long was out of the question. Maybe it was better for the scholars to make their way here instead, but then, did that mean he would have to stand guard over the elnin to make sure nothing happened while they made their way here? That could easily take several weeks, and he still had to figure out how to handle getting rid of the miasma. If left for too long, it could spread to more areas, and possibly infect more elnin. No, time was of the essence, and-

“Pomu!”

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see his pomu, Rook, glaring at him sternly.

“Pomu pomu, pomu!!”

With angry squeaks and chirps, it gesticulated wildly, pointing a clawed finger at him and the corrupted elnin, shaking his head while still waving its arms.

Chester let out a ragged sigh, and smiled.

“You’re right. Fretting about this is getting us nowhere. As much as I want to help them… there’s not much I can do right now, and making sure this contaminated area is under control is more important. I’m sure nothing else will venture into this area, and the daevas themselves…”

Sure, they were generally seen as malevolent fae, but even he was fairly certain they wouldn’t do anything more to this corrupted elnin. After all, the deed had already been done.

Casting one last glance, Chester turned around.

“I’m sorry… but we’ll find help soon. We need to take care of this first.”