The forest exhaled around them, its breath thick with the scent of moss and damp earth. The trees loomed like ancient guardians, their bark etched with the scars of centuries, their leaves whispering secrets in a language no human could decipher. The air was heavy, pressing against Eryk's skin like a weight he couldn't shake.
Yavanna Elvinia sat cross-legged by the remnants of their campfire, her silver-blonde hair catching the faint glow of the embers. Her pointed ears twitched at every rustle in the underbrush, her amber eyes flickering with a mix of exhaustion and wary hope.
Eryk studied her, his fingers absently tracing the edge of his tunic.
"So," he began, his voice rough from disuse, "you're from the Court of Thorns."
Yavanna nodded, her fingers tightening around the hem of her torn dress.
"Yes."
Sera, perched on a fallen log with her knife spinning idly in her hand, snorted. "Great. Fantastic. And how, exactly, do we get there?"
Yavanna hesitated. "It's… not simple."
Sera's knife stilled. "Of course it isn't."
"The Court isn't a place you can just walk to," Yavanna explained, her voice soft but firm. "It exists between realms. To reach it, you need to find the lost portal."
Eryk frowned. "Lost portal?"
Yavanna nodded again. "A gateway. It shifts, moves. It's never in the same place twice."
Sera's grip on her knife turned white-knuckled. "You're telling me we have to find a door that doesn't stay put?"
"Yes."
Sera exhaled sharply through her nose, her shoulders tensing. For a moment, Eryk thought she might throw the knife—either at Yavanna or into the trees. Instead, she jammed it back into its sheath with a force that made the leather creak.
"Perfect," she muttered. "Just perfect."
Eryk rubbed his temples. "Do you at least know where it might be?"
Yavanna shook her head. "No. But… it's drawn to magic. Strong magic. If we—"
"If we what?" Sera snapped. "Wander around until we trip over it?"
Yavanna flinched, but held her ground. "If we follow the ley lines, the natural currents of magic, we might find it."
Sera opened her mouth, likely to unleash another torrent of sarcasm, but Eryk cut her off.
"And how do we do that?"
Yavanna's gaze flicked to Eryk.
"Eryk is a Spellbreaker, maybe he can track magic." Sera glinted her eyes on Eryk.
"You're a Spellbreaker? So you can feel magic, can't you?" asked Yavanna.
Eryk's jaw tightened. "I can feel it. But it's not like I can track it like a scent."
Sera groaned, tipping her head back to glare at the canopy.
"I hate this life!"
Ares, curled at Eryk's feet, let out a soft chuff, as if in agreement.
Sera's eyes narrowed at the dragon. "Don't think I've forgotten about you. You're still on the menu!"
Ares hissed, smoke curling from his nostrils.
Eryk ignored them, his focus on Yavanna.
"There has to be another way. A sign, a marker—something."
Yavanna bit her lip. "There's… one thing. The portal is tied to an ancient tree. It looks different—older than the others, with bark like twisted silver. But even then, it won't open unless the magic is right."
Sera threw her hands up. "So we're back to wandering aimlessly. Fantastic!"
Eryk exhaled, frustration simmering beneath his skin. He reached into his pocket out of habit, his fingers brushing empty air. The earth core was gone—swallowed by the void when Yavanna had crashed into him. He grimaced.
Sera caught the motion and scowled. "Don't tell me—"
"It's gone," Eryk admitted.
Sera's expression darkened. "Gone."
"Into the void. I can't—"
"I hate this!" Sera shouted, kicking a nearby rock hard enough to send it flying into the trees. "I hate you! I hate that stupid dragon! I hate this forest! I hate everything!"
Yavanna shrank back, her eyes wide.
Eryk winced. "Sera—"
"No! Don't 'Sera' me! We're lost, we're running out of food, and now we're supposed to find some magical tree that may or may not exist?!" She spun on Yavanna. "How did you even get here if the portal's so gods-damned impossible to find?"
Yavanna's voice was small. "I was taken. During the Flower Festival. The portal opens once a year, for a short time. The men—they must have slipped through when it was open."
Sera went very still. "Once a year."
Yavanna nodded.
Sera's face drained of color. "You're telling me we have to wait a year for this thing to open again?"
Eryk's stomach dropped.
Yavanna hesitated. "Unless…"
"Unless what?" Sera demanded.
"Unless we can force it open."
Silence.
Then Sera laughed, a sharp, brittle sound. "Oh, of course! Why didn't I think of that? Let's just force open a magical door between realms! What could possibly go wrong?"
Eryk ignored her, his mind racing.
"How?"
Yavanna chewed her lip. "The tree responds to strong magic. If you—if you use your power, it might react."
Sera's laughter died.
"You want him to use the void? Are you insane?"
Yavanna met her gaze squarely. "Do you have a better idea?"
Sera opened her mouth—then closed it with a snap.
Eryk exhaled. "It's worth a try."
Sera's glare could have melted stone. "No. Absolutely not!"
"We don't have a choice," Eryk said quietly.
Sera's hands clenched into fists. "There's always a choice."
"Not this time."
They stared at each other, the air between them crackling with unspoken words. Then Sera turned away, muttering curses under her breath.
Eryk turned to Yavanna. "Show me the tree."
~○~
The tree was impossible to miss.
It stood apart from the others, its trunk gnarled and twisted, its bark a shimmering silver-gray that caught the moonlight like liquid metal. Roots as thick as Eryk's torso snaked across the forest floor, half-buried in the earth. The air around it hummed, a low, resonant thrum that vibrated in Eryk's bones.
"This is it," Yavanna whispered, her voice tinged with awe.
Sera folded her arms. "It's a tree."
Eryk stepped forward, his pulse quickening. The void in his chest stirred, restless, as if sensing the magic woven into the ancient bark. He reached out, his fingertips brushing the trunk and recoiled as a jolt of energy shot up his arm.
"Damn!" he hissed, shaking out his hand.
Sera smirked. "Having fun?"
Eryk ignored her, pressing his palm fully against the tree this time. The magic surged against his skin, warm and alive, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. He closed his eyes, reaching inward, toward the void.
"Open!!" he thought, pushing the words into the darkness. "Open for us!"
Nothing.
He gritted his teeth and pushed harder, willing the void to respond. The tree's magic resisted, pushing back, a wall of energy that refused to yield.
"Come on!" he muttered.
Ares nudged his leg, chirping softly.
Eryk exhaled and tried again, this time channeling the void's hunger outward, letting it brush against the tree's magic. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a faint tremor in the earth.
Eryk's eyes flew open. "Did you feel that?"
Sera frowned. "Feel what?"
The ground shuddered again, stronger this time. The tree's roots shifted, groaning like waking giants. The air thickened, charged with energy, and the space between the roots began to warp, twisting inward like a whirlpool of shadow and light.
A portal.
Eryk stumbled back, his breath catching. "It's working!"
Sera's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding me!"
The portal swirled, its edges flickering like candle flames. The void in Eryk's chest pulsed in response, a strange, almost eager sensation.
Then... afigure stepped through.
Tall, lean, with skin like weathered bark and hair the color of autumn leaves. His eyes—golden and piercing—locked onto Eryk with an intensity that made his spine stiffen. In one hand, the figure held a gnarled branch, its tip glowing with a soft, greenish light.
Yavanna gasped. "Grandfather!"
The elf's gaze flicked to her, his expression softening for the briefest moment before hardening again as he took in the scene. His grip tightened on the branch.
"Who are you?" he demanded, his voice deep and resonant, like wind through ancient trees.
Eryk opened his mouth, and was abruptly thrown backward as the elf raised the branch, a pulse of energy slamming into him. Ares let out a startled yelp as he tumbled after Eryk, both of them skidding to a stop at Sera's feet.
Sera stared down at them, unimpressed. "Idiots."
Yavanna rushed forward, her hands raised.
"Grandfather, stop! They helped me!"
The elf hesitated, his gaze darting between Yavanna and Eryk. "Helped you?"
Yavanna nodded frantically. "They saved me from the men who took me. They—they were going to sell me to the circus!"
The elf's expression darkened. Then, slowly, he lowered the branch.
"Is this true?"
Sera snorted. "No, we just enjoy getting thrown around by strange old men for fun."
The elf ignored her, his focus was on Eryk. "Why are you here?"
Eryk pushed himself up, wincing.
"We need to get to the Court of Thorns."
"Why?"
Sera answered before Eryk could. "Because this idiot has a void and the Null Grimoire was inside him where his magic should be, and we're hoping someone in your fancy elf kingdom can fix him before he explodes or something."
Eryk shot her a glare. "I'm not going to explode!"
"You don't know that."
The elf studied Eryk for a long moment, his golden eyes unreadable. Then, abruptly, he spoke.
"Are you the one Riven spoke of?"
Eryk stiffened. "You know Riven?"
The elf's lips thinned.
"He reached out to me. Telepathically. Told me of a young Spellbreaker with a void inside him." His gaze flicked to the dragon. "And a dragon."
Ares chirped, puffing out his chest.
The elf exhaled, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "My name is Eldrin. Eldrin of the Silver Grove."
Eryk blinked. "You're—you're the one Riven said could help me?"
Eldrin nodded.
"If anyone can, it's me."
Sera groaned. "Great. Can we go now? Before more kidnappers show up?"
Eldrin's mouth twitched, almost a smile. Then he turned, gesturing to the portal.
"Come. The Court of Thorns awaits."
Yavanna didn't hesitate, darting forward to take her grandfather's hand. Eryk exchanged a glance with Sera, who rolled her eyes but followed anyway.
Ares trotted after them, his tail flicking with excitement.
Eryk took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.
The world twisted, colors bleeding together, the ground lurching beneath his feet. For a heartbeat, he was nowhere and everywhere at once, suspended in a void of sound and light.
The forest was gone.
And the Court of Thorns stretched before them, vast and impossible and beautiful.