Road to Recovery …
After having fallen asleep with the seed of the blighted vela-tohr plant clenched tightly still in my hand. Then waking several times just to open my fingers slowly, I find my breaths catching at the wonder of having been given this opportunity for regaining back fully my Empathy. Recognizing that this is truly a chance that I have been given to explore this plant that Salvur, the current Guild Leader of the Crossing Empaths, had discovered. And that this seed kept on the medallion would use MY life mana to indeed germinate if I could manage proper bond.
Hopping up to face the task given from the current path chosen I slip through the city to collect my friend, Tyler. He has been my companion in learning and the steady ear when I have things to say. I ask him to travel with Leth Deriel with me so that I can find a spot to meditate. As we travel and talk of places to check I realize that on the Southern Trade Route there is a hillock in the forested area with lambent life mana. As I stop our trek I touch the seed. I close my eyes and direct my mental and magical senses toward the vela’tohr seed, trying to still my thoughts. I inhale and exhale, the scent of the forest’s loamy soil dominating my senses. My mind wanders as I continue to meditate in silence I consider the richness of the soil, the smell of freshly turned earth in the rain, and the minute sounds of the sightless creatures that aerate and inhabit the earthy depths. After a while, I can almost sense the trees around us drawing strength and nutrients from the soil, their roots spreading out beneath and around me in every direction. And as these strange sensations subside, I feel fatigued and unsteady. Luckily Tyler was there to take my arm. He was smiling and asking me if I was okay and that I looked weak and wobbly. In truth, I was wonderful. Already I could feel a weight slowly lifting from me. Knowing that this was not a task that I could undertake again so quickly and that I would obviously need time to rest we headed back towards Crossing.
Tyler and I have been working very hard recently. As a young Empath I remember him as one that I always looked up to. Being able to become friends with him and learn from him lessons in hunting and in spells has been rewarding. Knowing that we are both closing in on our 100th circle and that we will do that together means so much to me. To have him at my side for the first moment of bonding with this special seed seemed very fitting. But I also realize that some of this journey must be mine alone to do. So, as he needed to run errands around town I thought it would be a good time to go hunting and contemplate where I would go next to try to focus on this seed.
Staying out of the area where skunks stray into the pointy end of my weapon I figured a walk up the Northern Trade Route towards leucros would be a good plan. Searching the paths and finding my way in I find an area that is clear of any black leucros but filled with life energy. It’s not a particular foresty area. But it is peaceful. Once more my mind wanders and my fingertips brush the precious seedling. I close my eyes and direct my mental and magical senses toward the vela’tohr seed, trying to still my thoughts. I feel a breeze stir the branches of the trees around me, the air carrying a scent of rain. The smell stirs a memory within me casting me back to other rainy days. As my mind wanders, the scent of rain grows stronger, the susurration of the wind in the tree branches reminiscent of the sound of rainfall. I can almost hear the crack and rumble of thunder in the distance and I imagine the feeling of cold rain on my face, dripping downward from the trees to sustain everything that grows. Once more my life magic and energy pour into the seed from me. I snap my eyes open thinking now would be a bad time for a leucro to come in. Blinking rapidly I smile and regain my strength in peace and silence. Exhaling to summon my Guardian Spirit. Hornet seems happy to be called to my side as the first prey creeps in. I let him take the lead while I focus once more on thinking ahead to paths I must follow to complete this quest.