[Willow Woods] Heart of the Wild

[Alistair]

109th of Ashan, Arc 717

My love, the man whispered to his lover, the much larger Lotharen who laid behind him, maintaining a rhythm, as the sound of slicked movements lined the room and resounded against the walls.

Cariad, called his mate. In the moment of their unity, Alistair called his name - though as he turned his head to view the man that had come to own his body, he realized that he was alone, awoken from his trance by the fact. He was no longer asleep in the dream of his lover's caress. Instead, he was solitary, the fact hitting him hard. It had been some time since he'd felt this amount of... emptiness at the recognition of this distance between he and the Lotharen, and yet each time, the truth hit him harder. He narrowed his eyes and frowned. Cariad, he repeated in his head.

. . .

At his sundial, the mage stood, staring into the scrying portal he'd created in Fridgar's room in clear sight. He waited, and watched, and dreamed. He stuck within his mind for the most part, distracting him from the reality of the situation; he was longingly waiting by a window into a different land, hoping his lover would pass by and notice it. Hoping that, all the way in Etzos, his Fridbear would see him. The mage sighed. Even for all his mastery in Rupturing, he could not always be with his mate. There were still boundaries, things that restricted him.

The telescope-like object before him was one, and he did not own these things everywhere. Ne'haer was one of the few cities in which he'd built this construct, and the mage knew he would need to build more.

"Fridgar," he called aimlessly. "Fridgar, my love, are you there?" he asked. "I wanted to go into a Fracture today. I haven't entered one in some time, and last I went, I had someone with me. Talia, she kept me safe. I don't know if you can hear me through this window, or see me for that matter, but -- I wanted to know if you'd be willing to travel alongside me." He didn't know if he'd receive an answer, but he desperately wanted to. He would feel a lot safer, and happier, if Fridgar was there with him. It had been too long since they'd done something like this together; he so dearly missed his beloved. The mage was starting to realize, fully, that he could no longer choose power over love.

He was ready to abandon it all, for his mate. All of it. His nobility, his city, all of his holdings. He wanted to do things like this with him - explore the darkside of the world, the things few others touched. It was the exploratory, wild nature of his fiance that had kept him drawn, and in his solitude he yearned for it.

Whether or not his lover heard him, he would try again, for hours if need be. He'd wait, by this small glimpse of a portal, a tiny little mirror into another place. Mages often kept scrying windows open for hours in places they wished to view in secret - this was no different. He would wait until his ether ran dry, if he needed to.

[Varthakh]

Fridgar was sat at the edge of his bed, in an Inn at Etzos, looking out across the city through the doorway of the balcony. By the immortals, he couldn't wait to get out of here. Etzos had been fun, but it quickly grew tiring. Even more so without the touch of his love, many nights he had spent alone, despite being engaged to Alistair. He didn't hold any grudges or anything of the sort, the life of a baron was a busy one, Fridgar understood. Still, it had been nearly a dozen trials since he held the noble.

His eye would withdraw from the scene of the city and look to his paws, fingers interlaced. The immortals knew no such boredom. Granted, he wouldn't have been bored if he hadn't promised his fiancé to become a better person. That one promise had removed him of many opportunities to smash up bars and get into fights with random civilians. Though, some ninety trials ago, Alistair had given him permission to take a man's life. Only one, anyone except Vuda. Granted, the noble had probably meant that he kill the knight from that trial, but Fridgar had taken his words literally. Kaleb Venora. That was the name of the man he was saving his free kill for.

While on the subject of Venora, his thoughts strayed further into Rynmere. Were they still looking for him? If so, why hadn't anyone come looking for him in Etzos? Surely, some poor soul out there wanted to seize his ridiculous bounty? Fridgar shook his head. When that trial came, he would need to kill them and destroy any posters they had with them. Hopefully, Alistair would understand.

The voice of his lover interrupted his grisly thoughts and forced his head in its direction. "Alistair?" he called out to the... portal thing? Alistair's face was in it! "Alistair! I'm here, I can see you!" A wetness rolled across his cheeks as he listened to his mate, Fridgar passively wiped the tears from his face without paying it a second thought. Only trills later did he realise that he'd been crying. Confusion claimed him as he looked to his wet paw. When had he started crying? While thinking of Rynmere? While thinking of Alistair? How hadn't he noticed?

"Yes!" Fridgar immediately cast away his thoughts as the noble's offer came up, "I'd love to, I really would." Fridgar affirmed. Apparently, the giant had jumped at the chance to spend time with his beloved. "I don't know what a fracture is, but I’ll try as hard as I can to help, I promise." Fridgar pleaded. Hopefully, the noble would find some sort of use for him. The giant would stand and stretch, popping the bones in his back in a single, long, sensual movement, calm joy claimed his expression. When at last he stood, all limbered up, he spoke.

"Beam me up, Ali."

[Alistair]

When he heard the man's voice, his attention immediately shot back to the small window he'd created in the fabric of space. The mage's heart was quelled, he attempted not to react overtly, and with strong emotion - yet he could not. Fridgar's face had tears streaming down its cheek, and as a reaction, so too did Alistair. His eyes barely wet before the tears began to flow, subtly and softly; they were decorated in return by a brilliant smile, overjoyed to see his mate. It had been too long. "Fridgar," the mage called to his partner. He closed his eyes, taking in the joy, exhaling and inhaling as his chest warmed.

"I love you, Fridgar. I love you so much," he told him. "I've decided something, my mate. I've decided that I'm going to leave Rynmere," he told him. "For good. Because you're not allowed there. And I need to be with you. I want to rule; I was born to rule. But I won't rule in that condemned land; I will rule somewhere where I can be with you." He wiped his cheek, sighing. "I'll be moving my business to somewhere else - we can still work together. But you won't have to hide your face, soon. You'll be yourself, and everyone will know who you are: mine." He nodded as he spoke. Alistair needed Fridgar to know all of this - that he couldn't do this whole thing anymore. When they had children, how was it going to be? He and Fridgar would take turns raising them, sending them through portals between two wholly different cities, over and over?

No - it couldn't be like that. It couldn't. They had to raise the children together, they had to be together. They couldn't live in two separate worlds, Alistair only visiting Fridgar for a few breaks, often only to sleep in the same bed with him, before returning quietly in the morning through a portal, with a kiss.

It was a sad life to lead. It had to end.

The mage gestured with his finger, and from the motion, a portal opened before his sundial. The gem resonated and lit up, and the blaze of energy made itself present. He could see it appearing behind Fridgar, in his room. The man nodded.

"I'm going to close this now," he told him. "Step through, alright? I love you, Fridgar," he said again. The mage closed the window, so that he didn't expend any ether maintaining it. With the other mage coming through, he'd immediately come to him and give him a firm hug. The Baron was dressed very basically, with a thin cotton shirt and short pants that clung well to his form. He had only just now awoken, and with any luck, he'd be awaking with Fridgar at his side the morning after this one.

"My Thorn," he called him, "How are you feeling? I saw you crying -- is everything okay?"

[Varthakh]

The two shared in their silent sadness while Fridgar dried his eyes, Alistair had also felt the need to be with the man that he loved. "I love you too, my rose. Fucking hell, I've missed you." Fridgar pondered briefly if a dozen trials of distance was cause for such an emotional display before settling on the affirmative. Alistair had grown to be all he thought about, all he needed and all he craved. Sitting alone in his room with no taverns to tear up and no Alistair to hold had become something akin to a prison. This prison, he needed to escape.

Fridgar stopped when the noble spoke his plans. The motions he'd been rehearsing froze completely as the words sank in. "...You're leaving Rynmere?" The giant asked at last, seeming to struggle to believe the words of his mate, "But you're a baron now, you've got a duty and stuff..." Fridgar went on. "You can't just leave, you've got responsibilities and ties. Alistair, you're successful in Rynmere, you can't leave, not for my sake..." as much as he'd have loved to have the noble at his side, Fridgar recognised that Alistair had a life to live with lands to rule. It was more than he could ever provide.

When all was said and done, Alistair closed the scrying portal, Fridgar still didn't understand it, but accepted it's existence all the same. As promised, a portal opened in his room. Fridgar stepped through into a place he'd never been before. Immediately, Alistair took him into his arms, Fridgar did the same and lifted the man off the floor. He held him tight in his arms, perhaps tighter than he should have. The beast's snout found it's way into the noble's neck and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the scent of his mate before kissing the skin of his lover tenderly.

"I love you too, Alistair. I love you so much" Fridgar stayed as he was, cradling the noble in his tight embrace. For a trill, Alistair might have thought that Fridgar would never let him go. "I'm fine, I'm more than fine now that you're here." He hugged his mate tighter, trying his best not to cry again. "What about you, are you okay? Weren't you crying too?" The loving giant nuzzled his love, trying his best to comfort Alistair of anything that had wronged him. "it's been too long since I last held you, so I've gotta make up for lost time." Fridgar explained before shortly lifting his partner to about waist height and adjusting his grip to hold the man by his behind, cradling the noble in a loving embrace.

Some time later, Fridgar left the Coven's base, still holding Alistair as he had been for the past half a break. Granted, he'd swapped arms in that time, but that was only a few bits ago. "Where are we anyway? It sorta looks familiar, but not really." Fridgar's eyes idly traced the forest around them as they walked. It looked about the same as every other forest he'd trampled through, though with one difference. Fridgar's heart sank the moment he saw it: an orange bear. A giant one too, far bigger than the grizzly. Fridgar froze on the spot, eyes wide with a hard beating heart thumping against Alistair. He needed it.

Fridgar shook with excitement as he observed the creature from across the woodlands, near a grotto. "Alistair, look." he whispered with a point of his claw, "It's beautiful. Have you ever seen one before?" Fridgar was in awe. The beast appeared docile, simply bathing in the sun, probably after a good hunt. "Next time we come through here, I need to get a totem of one." He explained before setting off once more. "But right now, we're on a mission. Lead the way, my rose!"

[Alistair]

You can't just leave, his mate told him. The mage's eyes looked up into the concerned gaze of his lover, and then those eyes narrowed, and lowered. He sighed, wiping his cheeks and straightening himself. He had to learn not to be such a sap all the time -- it was a stark contrast from the sociopathic nature he'd prescribed to himself all those years.

"I'm successful, I have duties, and yet I will leave all the same," he said. "Because that's what's needed. Someone else will take my place - I'll have Kamden perform my duties for me for some time until I'm ready to perform another duty for the Kingdom. I already have one in mind," the Baron nodded. "I am going to colonize. The Kingdom needs a distraction - it needs a land in which to deport its unhappy men and women, it needs a grand goal that the masses can grow excited over. Imperialistic domination will be that goal, and the King will adore the proposition. I will not simply be another Lord of Venora, one of the many across history. I will be the Lord, and then, I will split away and found my own dynasty. This is what I have decided, my Thorn, and I do it for both of us. Don't fret," he said, shaking his head. "Don't fret."

And so - he didn't, it seemed. The man moved closer, took him into his embrace, sniffed at his skin and kissed him with a loving vigor. Alistair's heart warmed, and his chest became small in the embrace of his Thorn. He always felt so content from within this position; nothing mattered more to him than times like these, with the man he loved. Nothing. Not even being a Lord - that was what he'd realized, and that was why he was going to leave the Kingdom. Fridgar was everything.

"I was crying," he said, "but not anymore. You have your way of wiping off my tears," he said, smiling brightly, before giggling wildly as the larger man took him into his arms and carried him as if he were a toddler. Alistair would've complained if he didn't feel so cherished, and so, he allowed the man to take him wherever he desired as a display of his incredible strength.

They went out, to the woods, with Alistair bringing Icarus and Andreas to accompany them.

The man asked where they were. "The Willow Woods," he said. "The site of a major fracture. More than one, really, though I don't know if the other quite qualifies. There is the one that we in the Coven call the Heart of the Wild, in the very center of the woodland boundaries... and then there is Seraas en Avellach, or Mindrender, a ruin heavily contested by both city and sorcerer. We will be going to the Heart of the Wild. I do not really know what Mindrender is -- but I doubt it's what we need," he explained. Fridgar didn't even really know what a Fracture was, though, he remembered. He would need to explain that before they enter.

"A Fracture is a pathway between Emea and this world. It is half real, and half dream, where dreams are reality and reality is dreaming; nightmares dwell, and they can destroy you. Magic is toxic, as it is in Emea. Anomalies and aberrations of all sorts appear, all around -- and few are friendly. The ones who are, aren't for long," he stated.

It was then that they witnessed the Willow Redbear, or Ne'haer Bear, and the mage nearly laughed in delight; he'd actually wanted to see one in Fridgar's company. There was no finer animal to describe his mate.

"I've seen one from a distance. I've actually explored these woods an incredible amount; I've seen and learned about nearly every creature that dwells here. The Willow Redbear is a marvelous beast - and they're gentle. They're a lot like someone I know," he whispered, kissing his mate on the cheek. Before long, Alistair was pointing and shouting playfully, leading Fridgar through the woods. Icarus and Andreas dutifully cleared the path for them, slaughtering Skinbanes and warding off Syvithia alike.

"There," the mage shouted, as the Fracture came into view - a rift in the land, visibly distorted. "That's it, the Heart of the Wild," he said, before motioning to be let down. The mage drew his longblade from its scabbard, and took a breath. "We are ready. You, me and those two - we'll do well. Just follow my guidance. We have to avoid this thing known as a Foyer, it's like... like a courtyard. Don't go past the initial tunnels, and remember the way you traveled. If I have to teleport us out, we might not come back the same on the other side," he told him, nodding his head. "Magic is dangerous inside of a Fracture. It's volatile. Anything can happen -- nothing at all could, or we could grievously overstep. The creatures know that. They are not all too welcoming."

[Varthakh]

Alistair had indeed seen one of the bears before, as he explained. Perhaps they were native to the region? The name of the beasts suggested so. "Willow Redbear..." Fridgar stared in awe. The beast was easily twice as big as any grizzly bear he'd ever seen. It didn't appear vicious either, as he'd described, it was docile in appearance. Not the slightest bit bothered by the presence of the two leggers that walked by. "Wow..." Fridgar spoke while carrying his beloved. "Killing one of those is gonna be hard for more than one reason, I think..." Fridgar explained with a nervous chuckle as they made their way to Alistair's directions.

The last he'd killed a bear was his first totem. Even then, he felt he'd commit an act of unforgivable cruelty to kin. The bear was, undoubtedly, his sparks most favourite form. Being extra big and extra cuddly just added to the appeal.

"So, as you were saying about these fractures..." Fridgar continued with their prior conversation, putting the bear behind them. "Emea, that's the dream world, right? The one where we..." Fridgar pursed his lips and motioned his head toward the direction of the bear, "You know..." A cheeky smile crossed his features, he was sure Alistair knew full-well what Fridgar was talking about without him actually speaking it. Fridgar cleared his throat, "How can the dream world even connect to the real world? That doesn't make sense to me." an odd question he'd spoken, for him. He didn't often care about the "how's" and the "why's", but magic was a massive part of his life, he needed a better understanding for it.

"Okay, okay." Fridgar planted a gentle kiss onto the soft skin of his lover as they walked, "So, don't use magic. Gotchya". Perhaps Alistair had forgotten that his ether sickness prevented him from using more than one becoming ability a trial. Though in fairness, he had been blinking about the place and attempting sky steps, the utility of rupturing was beyond useful. "I'm formidable enough without it, I think." Fridgar explained, a cocky smile that Alistair might recognise filled his expression. He of all people should know that considering the fight they had at the beginning of Ashan, Fridgar was a bit of a beast. Still, his undead minions would come in handy.

When Alistair pointed to their destination and announced their arrival, Fridgar straightened his back, trying to get a better look of the scene. There, he saw it; the warped and distorted land. Alistair motioned himself to be let down from the giant's grasp and Fridgar complied. The Lothar nodded in affirmation as the human's instructions were passed on to him. The four warriors stood together, hopefully ready for what lay ahead. Of course, that was assuming that the two minions had the ability to hope. Even a hundred trials after the fight, Fridgar still held a slight resentment for the archer.

Passing the undead thrall a glare, he followed behind Alistair. He'd almost missed the part about being warped upon teleporting from the fracture "Huh?" what the fuck? "Haha, that's a joke, right?" No, he wasn't. "What the fuck, Alistair? Why are we even going near that thing?" Mild panic took hold of the Lothar's voice. Sure, he could change shape, warping of the flesh and bone was natural for him. But Alistair? No way in hell would he allow anything of the sort. What is worse, there was some place called the foyer that they had to stay out of. Fridgar whimpered with self-pity.

No, he had to remain strong for his beloved. Now more than ever, Alistair needed him. By the immortals, why did he let himself get dragged into these situations?

[Alistair]

The mage blushed profusely at the mention of their... Emean sexcapades. He didn't even want to know why he decided to look back at that bear as he teased him; it was just not right. "Fridgar," he called his name, "my dreams for trials after were all about being unable to walk," he began to blush even harder, only now bringing himself to admit it.

Moving on to their discussion regarding the Fractorial teleportation -- the mage shrugged. "It's not like we're guaranteed to get hurt. I'm a pretty powerful mage, and Rupturing is natural to me; it's what I am. I'm sure you'll remember that I'm literally a portal," he explained, nudging at Fridgar. "One portal won't kill us. It's just a danger." Regardless, they needed to move out - they needed to be out of the Fracture by nightfall. While this wasn't factually proven, he'd heard that Fractures grew wilder at night, as everyone slept, and the creatures of Emea were most active. Not only that, but in the dark of night, the Sylvithia grew outrageous in number.

The Willow Woods were always unsafe, but in the night, they were almost unlivable.

He stepped closer to the Fracture, and beckoned for Fridgar to follow. Entering the rift felt almost like a drastic change in altitude; he'd experienced this before. His throat felt dry, his ears were ringing, and for a moment he felt his head go light. Icarus and Andreas experienced no such reaction, or at least it didn't seem like it, as they unflinchingly retained their stoic and dead expression.

The two stepped past him and began to scout ahead. This Fracture, the Heart of the Wild, was different than the last one - it forked into several paths right at the start. Down each of them, he could see eyes staring back at him, along the walls, and on the ceiling of the cave, which was atypical by every standard - the walls were a strange chromatic color, but only at times. The entire place felt wet and damp, but in a strangely pleasant manner. It really didn't feel like the same world - nothing in Idalos matched the feeling of this fracture, which was by every metric, otherworldly.

"Fractures are, from my experience, often cave-like. Tunnels, hallways, things like that. It's a narrow pathway between our world and the dream world. While there may be open or natural areas within Fractures, I haven't yet seen one," he said. The mage gestured for Fridgar to follow him further, and took his hand so that they did not somehow get separated. As he stepped forward and took one of the forks within the cave, he felt the stare of the eyes intensify. From the walls, creatures began to emerge, spewing onto the floor like an amorphous ooze until they took shape.

They were disfigured and horrendous. The mage bit his lip and raised his sword, pointing it at the one that had centered his vision, blocking their travel. Andreas loosed an arrow from his bow, firing it into the skull of the creature, though the impact was not final; it remained alive. Alistair stepped forward cautiously, aware of the vulnerability of his gear; he was wearing only studded leather for the sake of mobility. He could not get hit.

Swiping his sword upward in a powerful motion, he found his steel clashing against the chitinous material of the creature's arm. The beast lunged its head forward and wailed, and in response, Alistair drew his fist and beat against the side of its head, violently. The creature's resistance weakened, and pulling back his blade, he stuck it through the skull of the beast to accompany the arrow already lodged into its head. Around his sword the creature's skull melted, though as it did, the bladed arm of the apparition flung forward and nearly punctured through his armor. Alistair jumped back in a panic, swiping down with his blade and rending the arm of the beast.

Andreas took down the creature with a tackle, and viciously plunged his dagger into the confines of the apparition until the whole of it melted away, screeches filling the halls of the Fracture.

All the while, Icarus fought his own adversary, and Fridgar found himself one man against two.

[Varthakh]

Fridgar followed as he was beckoned. As frightening as this place apparently was, Fridgar would still follow his beloved with unwavering loyalty. Nothing would stand between him and the man he loved, not even some weird dream-land-rift that had wormed its way into their world. Alistair had described it as a cave, Fridgar liked caves. He stayed close to his beloved, though stumbled a little when the vertigo hit him. "Whoa!" he called out, expressing his discomfort, "Is that normal?" Fridgar held his head as he caught up to his mate.

The atmosphere was bizarre, almost as though they were underwater? No, not quite that extreme, but it was damp all the same. The sensation was bizarre, like nothing he'd ever felt before. As careful as he knew he had to be, he couldn't help but get curious of the strange world he'd entered. It was kind of pretty, but also scary. Never had the Lothar ever dreamed of places like this. Alistair took his hand and pulled him along, which snapped him from his daydream in turn. "Alistair, this is so coool..." Fridgar laughed a little, apparently enjoying the new sensations.

The focus he'd sworn to keep had left him already. The two minions passed ahead of them and scouted ahead, Fridgar paid little attention. Instead, he watched the walls of the tunnels they were in. No matter how hard he tried to focus, no details of the stone texture showed themselves. Then, he met the eyes embedded into the walls. Fridgar froze and Alistair's hand slipped from his grasp. The eyes then took shape and melted out of the walls, manifesting into otherworldly beings. As hideous as they were, Fridgar had been subject to similar transformations of his own flesh.

Two stood opposite him with their mantis-like-blade-hands. Fridgar stared back at them and lifted his lips into a smile. "Howdy!" He activated three sheets to the wind with use of Palenon. The two dream creatures looked at one another before turning back to him. "Hello" the one on the left tilted it's head, seeming to be the one speaking. Fridgar's attention turned to the beast that he assumed had spoken. "I'm lost, haha. I was riding my dragon and everything was good, then I crashed into a flock of geese and now I'm here. can you give me directions?" Fridgar asked, taking the piss. A strong silence filled the empty space between the three before righty spoke "That's quite alright, come with us and we'll take you back to your dragon."

Fridgar hadn't noticed before, but there was a subtle screeching beneath their words, as though the form was speaking from an echo of some sort. He wondered, did dream creatures have bones and blood? Could one be made into a totem? He had some ranks to fill, perhaps they'd be useful? The one on the right turned, showing its magnificent tails before taking a few steps in that direction. Meanwhile, lefty stood there as if waiting for him to pass. Oh, hell no. Like hell was he going to fall for that shit. Fridgar played along and walked forward. The tension in the beast's form was almost physical, it was ready to pounce.

Unfortunately, Fridgar pounced first. Fridgar jumped at the wall and pushed his foot at the edge, leaping off a curve in the stonework to slam his fist into the face of Lefty. Somehow, Fridgar pushed himself back with the impact. He'd become weightless, it seemed. The only thing he had to compare it to was his initiation into rupturing. even so, the creature's face was severely broken, shattered like glass around the impact of his fist. It screeched as shards of its body began to fall from its form. Horrendously pissed, the creature swung for him. Fridgar effortlessly caught the appendage, stopping all its momentum before snapping it from the creature with the sound of shattering glass rippling through the caverns.

Eventually, the creature fell into pieces, but it's weapon held firm. Righty was nowhere to be seen, perhaps it had run? Without warning, the creature charged at him through the wall to his right. Fridgar had managed to turn in its direction, but failed to throw any attack in time. It pinned him to the wall with the edge of its blade and slashed his face. Fridgar growled with irritation before driving the other creature's weapon into the jugular of his captor. It's skin broke like water, parts of it splashed apart into the open air and floated. Gurgling came from the beast as it searched for its broken vocal cords. In quick succession, he uppercut the beast and sent its whole head splattering into various drops among the others, floating about through the open air. After a few bits of their floating, they hardened into stone and fell to the ground with obscene weight and shattered on impact before dissolving into dust.

Gravity slowly increased on Fridgar until it became stable once more and he was firmly on his feet. When he looked to the weapon in his hand, nothing was there. Unsure, the Lothar looked around, he was alone. "What the fuck? Alistair!?" Fridgar called, roaring into the tunnels. "Alistair! I'm coming!" he ran, but as he did, a trial of liquid left his cut face and trailed through the atmosphere in a rainbow variety of colours. Pink, yellow, blue, magenta, aqua. These colours streamed in abnormal quantity from his wound. As he ran, his skin began to glow in various different colours, darker to what he appeared to be ‘bleeding’ but colourful all the same.

He ran off ahead, passing through several tunnels, leaping massive chasms before reaching the outside. He stood in a forest with giant trees of blue leaves, the sky was purple. The grass rolled like the waves of the ocean and the trees flickered and waved like fire. Fridgar looked around at the scene in awe before speaking "WHERE THE FUCK AM I?!". All the while, Alistair stood before the flailing Lothar, not that Fridgar could see.

[Alistair]

The sharp blade dug into Fridgar's face, and while to Alistair his blood ran crimson, the Lotharen saw many different things; colors across the spectrum, and within that distorted reality, he saw an entirely adverse realm. Nature prevailed, with trees of white bark, blue leaves and purple skies. Yet to Alistair, this world was not so concrete. It was a hallucination, something that at first, he did not find himself realizing.

What the fuck? Alistair?! he exclaimed. The mage looked back and yelled, "What?!" concerned, whilst Icarus and Andreas ruthlessly executed the last of the dream-like beasts.

Before he could make his way to the other man, he yelled again.

Alistair! I'm coming! he yelled. And more. WHERE THE FUCK AM I?

Confused, his mate made his way over to him and touched the man's skin, placing his hand upon his shoulder and shaking him. "I'm right here, Fridgar. I'm right here," he said. In Fridgar's mind, the mage's words would only appear as a distant voice, and the touch would take the form of a warm gust of wind flowing around him. The hallucination they offered him was almost a dream within a dream -- a dreaming reality formed within the Fracture. Was that world real? He doubted it, but Fridgar would think it was real.

Whilst Fridgar imagined himself in a forested realm, Alistair found that somehow, this path had led them incredibly close to the Foyer. He saw colors and felt radiating heat in the distance, signs of a collection of many wells. Some of the colors appeared to reflect Emetyte, though Alistair found that it would be difficult to bring Fridgar forward in his current state. He couldn't leave him here by himself; he would surely die. So, he decided on a plan, considering the possibility of hallucinogen as the cause of this confusion.

"Fridgar, follow my voice," he said in a resounding tone. "Come to me, Fridgar. Walk forward," he said. "Do you sense that there are a different pair of legs, much more difficult to use? Walk with those legs. They will guide you to me."

This was a strategy he'd only really read about - it was a method of breaking someone out of hypnosis, essentially, though he imagined it could work in this situation as well. If not, Andreas and Icarus would have to haul the man forward, or Alistair would need to take the risk of portaling them all out.

Either way, for now he stepped forward, hoping Fridgar's dreaming body would physically follow the voice. The mage kept his sword ready, and for good reason. As he came upon the Emetyte well that he sought, not far from the beginning of what appeared to be the Foyer, he witnessed a vision he could only describe as petrifying: a Harvester, with fingers laced over the Emetyte well, seemingly captured in its beauty. The chaotic entity's body melted and reformed, over and again, and eyes sprouted on the side of his head to view the mages that had come seeking these wells.

"Hello," called the beast, turning and ripping a vibrant smile across its demented face. "I am Anohk, a Harvester. And you?" he asked.

"Alistair, of the Coven," the mage replied.

"Ah, Coven," he said, nodding. "Did you want this well? A shame; I claimed it already. But you could always have one of these other rocks. I've heard there's quite a bountiful collection of Ezymite at the entrance," the creature said sarcastically.

"That won't do," Alistair replied, and brandished his blade. The creature had no Aberrant. As long as it didn't incapacitate either of them, it would not be able to flay them. Without flaying, it was not strong enough to challenge the group. Icarus stood directly at Fridgar's side, defensively, whilst Andreas loosed an arrow from his bow. The arrow surprisingly hit, impaling the Harvester through the chest, and throwing him back slightly. He winced, but then smiled again. The creature then disappeared into darkness, and re-appeared in a black cloud, inches from Fridgar. With a maw nearly the size of the Lotharro's chest, he sought to swallow the mage and all of his ether whole.

[Varthakh]

The Lothar stood in the weird and lurid landscape. How could anything like this exist? A look behind him revealed that the cave had disappeared, wherever he'd come from. Warmth enveloped him, taking its grip around his body in the form of wind. Out from the trees stepped a smaller, humanoid-ish figure. Its head was that of a rose, it's body made of several stems, all twisted to merge into one. The same for its arms and legs, leaves aplenty of various sizes sprouted from all over its body, but it was bare of thorns.

A quiet voice roused in his head I'm right here, Fridgar. I'm right here, Fridgar looked to the rose creature, unsure. "Alistair? They turned you into a flower?!" he barked in panic. No, how could this be? His love had been turned into a flower, all because he couldn't find him in time. They shouldn't have ever entered the fracture, they could have simply spent the trial in each other's arms, but no. They had to go into the Emea hole and get fucked about by weird dream creatures! "Alistair, I swear I'll find a way to turn you back." He kneeled, but in reality, he stood firm. Alistair shaking him did no good, his body was rigid and tense and he merely wobbled a little from his mate's administrations.

A long pause followed his oath before the voice came from the rose creature, Alistair's voice, though still quiet, distant. "Follow you?" Fridgar took a couple of steps toward the rose-man. His voice then explained to use a different pair of legs. "Uhh" he started, looking to his feet in confusion, "I only have one pair of legs, Alistair" But when he came to think about it and search for another pair of legs, he could somehow feel that his spirit wasn't aligned with his body? The sensation was odd, to say the least. "Hold on..." Fridgar spoke while focusing.

Suddenly, his true form would move, bending at the knee slightly, then extending at the hip to take one pace forward, the back leg would follow shortly. In his mind, Fridgar had levitated, moved forward a pace, then dropped once more. "Oh!" he spoke, full of surprise, "Alistair, I can fly!". The Lothar continued to take steps forward and in his head, he levitated. His gait was weird and wide, as though he'd forgotten how to walk, but still, he made progress, albeit a little slower than normal.

In his head, Fridgar followed the rose-man as it too levitated ahead of him. The landscapes crumbled and rebuilt around him, over and over. The forest turned into a pink desert, littered with dead plants and animal skeletons, the sky was an aqua blue, very bright and colourful... full of dead things... The sands of the pink desert soon overturned and he resided along a mountain pass, only the mountains were melting like ooze, collapsing in on themselves slowly as Fridgar and the rose levitated further. After that, came a snowy taiga, only everything came in reverse. Snow would form from water and be dragged back to the sky, trees would shrink into saplings, plants would un-wither, dead animals would be repaired miraculously then start walking backwards, it was all very odd.

Then, they came through a landscape he'd not seen before, a single black stone path then twisted and snapped, seemingly at random. On the sides of the pass, massive pillars of green fire would screech, roar, reach for the sky. As he peered into the flames, he would start to see shapes. Shapes of mighty fauna, no, creatures. Some with four legs, some with two, some with none. Some had wings, horns, tails. All were massive, colossal, though some stayed small. One of the shapes noticed Fridgar staring, it turned its head to him. "Whoa..." Fridgar spoke at last as he passed the pillar. As the pair continued, Fridgar couldn't help but feel as though he was being watched. Looking around revealed just that, the head of the beast was following him through the flames. Its yellow eyes stood out among the black, basalt coloured shape, but could have easily been mistaken for the green canvas of fire.

While half tempted to ask 'What are you looking at?', Fridgar showed some restraint and continue to follow his rose. Soon enough, they reached the end of the black passage, sat at the end was a massive knight, dressed in black and purple armour. Spikes and horns adorned the plates that wrapped it's body, as well as skulls. It sat atop a throne of massive bones. Bones that were too big to even be considered as human. In his gauntlet was a rock, a rock that his rose seemed to want. The knight argued with his rose about something or other, the conversation went by too quick for Fridgar to understand what was being said.

Unsure, the Lothar looked to the flames again. The head of the beast glared at him still. Then, it moved. Its jaw dropped slowly, revealing a maw of sharp teeth, sharper than any he'd seen. They were like swords. The black creature's head grew a leg, it stepped from the fire and grew massively in size, towering above him, thousands of feet in the air, but still stood on the ground. The maw of the beast opened and bellowed a roar so loud and fierce that the green flames extinguished all around them. Standing in the pits of green fire stood a colossal beast of proportions not previously imaginable to the Lothar. "A-alistair?" he called to his rose as the argument turned to violence.

The beast took flight, circling above. One beat of its wings blasted stone apart with the sheer force of air, the path they stood on cracked and crumbled, falling apart in trills. Immediately, Fridgar activated his spirit legs and levitated. Looking down, he saw the green fires swallow the dark stone. The knight disappeared in a cloud of black smoke, but Fridgar knew not to where. Everything fell apart around them, even the fire, it seemed to shatter. "Alistair!?" He called out once more as the beast swooped from above, diving toward him. Fridgar cowered, raising his arms in an effort to protect himself, it would serve little use of course, but instinct demanded it.

In that moment, Fridgar experienced a trill of clarity and his actions became synchronised with reality. Fridgar would raise his arms, whimper in fear, cower, all while the beast approached, faster and faster. The knight appeared beside him, it raised its sword slowly in a puff of black smoke. Was this the end? The maw of a colossal beast on one side and the sword of a knight on the other, both were ready to strike him down. No, this wasn't the end. What was he thinking? Fridgar the mighty, defeated by some big scaly bird and a tin suit? No. His whimpering stopped suddenly, a trill before impact. Fridgar held just a little bit longer before twisting his whole body, throwing all his strength into a right hook. Instantly, the fist cut through the skull of the winged demon and the hallucinations fell apart, shattering around him in one fell swoop.

Fridgar recognised that he was still in the fracture, but a different place? Almost as soon as he'd noticed it, his fist collided with the harvester, snapping the top half of its mouth from the rest of its body. The punch had been intended for the beast of fire and stone, but he'd thrown too much momentum into the strike and walloped the harvester instead. In a single strike, he'd removed the top half of the creature's head. It fell to the floor, twitching slightly as the life faded from it. "Ew." slime coated his fist, probably from the creature or the harvester. Who knew? He wiped the goop into his clothes and looked to his rose.

"Alistair, you're back to normal!" The Lothar rushed to his mate and took him into a loving hug, "Didn't I promise I'd turn you back?" he kissed his lover's forehead and held him tight. Meanwhile, his head spun. Whatever the creature had done to him had taken its toll in the form of graphic, lurid hallucinations, and now a skull-splitting headache. At last, the adventure was over, their quest was complete. "Alistair, I wanna go home." Fridgar pleaded, nuzzling his lover's neck.