Chapter 3: Ancient Wisdom

Every muscle in my body wanted to sprint toward the ancient grove, but I forced myself to move carefully through the increasingly dense forest. The vitality essence pulsed through my veins, making me feel like I could run for days without tiring.

I jumped over a fallen log, clearing it by several feet more than I expected. Landing with perfect balance, I laughed out loud at this new ability.

"Let's try that again," I muttered to myself, eyeing a much larger fallen tree ahead.

I broke into a run, feeling the forest floor beneath my feet, and launched myself at the massive trunk. My body soared over it with ease, as if gravity had loosened its hold on me.

"This is more like it," I said, grinning as I landed. The blue lines beneath my skin pulsed brighter with my excitement.

A rustling sound caught my attention. I turned to see a small deer watching me from between two bushes, its ears perked forward in curiosity rather than alarm.

"Hello there," I said softly.

To my surprise, the deer didn't bolt. Instead, it stepped closer, nostrils flaring as it caught my scent. Its head tilted, confusion evident in its dark eyes.

"I smell different now, don't I?" I extended my hand slowly.

The deer approached cautiously, sniffing my fingers before gently nudging my palm with its nose. Then it turned and bounded away into the underbrush.

As I continued eastward, I noticed more animals reacting strangely to my presence. Squirrels stopped to stare rather than flee. Birds swooped closer than they normally would. A fox actually followed me for nearly half a mile before veering off on its own path.

The forest itself grew older as I traveled. Young saplings gave way to mature trees, which eventually yielded to ancient giants that must have stood for centuries. The light changed too, filtering through the dense canopy in beams that hardly reached the forest floor.

Soon I spotted what had to be Marcus's grove. A circle of massive oaks stood like sentinels around a central clearing, their trunks wider than I could wrap my arms around. But none matched Lyric's description exactly.

I walked the perimeter slowly, examining each tree, until I found it. It was an enormous oak with thin veins of gold running through its bark like lightning frozen in wood. The tree towered above its neighbors, its massive branches creating a canopy that shaded half the clearing.

"Marcus?" I called, approaching the trunk. "My name is Nova. I've been sent to - "

I stopped, feeling foolish for talking to a tree. Unlike water nymphs, tree guardians didn't simply emerge when called. They chose when to reveal themselves, if at all.

I placed my palm against the rough bark, sending a small pulse of energy through my hand as I'd learned to do with the trees of my home grove.

Nothing happened. Not even a tremor in response.

"Okay, not that easy," I murmured.

I circled the massive oak, touching different parts of the trunk, trying various amounts of energy. Still nothing.

"What did Lyric mean by service?" I wondered aloud, stepping back to study the tree more carefully.

I sat cross-legged before the great oak, considering my options. The vitality essence hummed inside me, making stillness difficult, but I forced myself to slow down and observe.

As dusk approached, a small woodland creature scurried past, stopping briefly to acknowledge me before continuing on its way. Moments later, more animals crossed the clearing, all heading in the same direction.

Curious, I rose and followed them, moving quietly through the underbrush. The animal trail led me to a smaller clearing about a hundred yards away.

What I saw stopped me cold.

Five forest creatures lay on the ground, their bodies twisted in unnatural positions. Their fur was patchy, with dark, oily stains spreading across their skin like a disease. The stains pulsed with a sickly rhythm, as if something alive writhed beneath the surface. But worst of all were their eyes. They were cloudy and seeping a thick, black fluid that looked nothing like normal tears. The fluid smoked slightly where it touched the ground, withering the plants it contacted.

"What happened to you?" I whispered, kneeling beside a rabbit whose breathing came in labored gasps.

I reached out cautiously to touch it. The moment my fingers made contact, I recoiled. The rabbit's energy felt wrong. Like it was contaminated with something that made my skin crawl. It was like touching decay that was somehow still alive, hungry and spreading.

A loud crash sounded from deeper in the forest. I rose quickly, moving toward the noise despite my instincts screaming to run in the opposite direction.

Peering through a dense thicket, I spotted the source of the disturbance. Three larger creatures that might once have been deer thrashed through the underbrush, destroying everything in their path. Like the smaller animals, these were clearly sick, but far more aggressive. Their antlers had grown twisted and sharp, branching in unnatural patterns that resembled claws more than deer racks. Their hides had split in places, revealing pulsing black tissue underneath. Their hooves had elongated into claw-like appendages that tore chunks from the forest floor with each step. The same black fluid dripped from their eyes and mouths, hissing as it hit the ground and spreading corruption wherever it landed.

One of them suddenly went still, raising its deformed head to sniff the air. It turned in my direction, fixing me with those terrible clouded eyes.

It had caught my scent.

With a sound no deer should make, half roar and half scream, it charged toward my hiding place, the others following immediately after.

I jumped backwards as the first creature crashed through the thicket, its antlers missing my stomach by inches. I scrambled away, but the second corrupted deer cut off my retreat, forcing me toward a large fallen log.

"Stay back!" I shouted, as if these creatures could understand.

The third deer circled around, blocking my exit route. All three advanced slowly now, herding me against the log. Black drool dripped from their mouths, sizzling when it hit the forest floor.

I felt heat rushing through my veins as the vitality essence responded to the threat. Blue light glowed more intensely beneath my skin, especially in my hands.

Acting on instinct, I thrust my palm toward the nearest creature. A pulse of blue energy shot from my hand, creating a barrier between us. The corrupted deer smashed into it, recoiling with a pained shriek.

"That's new," I muttered, staring at my glowing hand in shock.

The other two creatures circled more cautiously now, looking for weakness in my defense. I maintained the barrier with my left hand while reaching toward one of the circling deer with my right. Another blast of energy shot forth, striking the creature in the chest.

Where the blue light touched it, the corruption seemed to recede, the black stains withdrawing like ink being pulled back into a pen. The deer staggered, shaking its head as if waking from a nightmare.

"It's working," I said, amazed. I moved my right hand toward the third creature, focusing my energy into a more concentrated beam.

The corrupted deer dodged, far more agile than its unnatural form suggested. It darted forward, slipping past my barrier to slash at my leg with its clawed hoof.

Pain lanced up my thigh as the sharp edges tore through my clothes and into flesh. I fell to one knee, the barrier flickering as my concentration broke.

The first deer, still corrupted, saw its chance and lunged. I threw myself sideways, rolling under the fallen log as antlers gouged the spot where I'd just been.

Blood ran down my leg, but the wound already tingled with healing energy. I focused on the pain, using it to sharpen my concentration rather than diminish it. The blue glow intensified around my hands as I gathered power.

With a loud cry, I pushed both hands outward from beneath the log, sending twin blasts of purifying energy toward my attackers. The light engulfed both corrupted deer, spreading across their twisted forms like wildfire.

They thrashed and screamed, the sound terrible enough to make me cover my ears. But gradually, the black stains receded, the unnatural growths shrank, and their forms returned to something closer to normal.

Both deer collapsed, breathing heavily but no longer corrupted. The third deer, already partially healed, approached its companions cautiously, sniffing them before looking back at me with eyes that now held recognition rather than madness.

"Go," I said softly. "Get away from here before it happens again."

As if understanding, the three deer departed, moving slowly but steadily away from the area.

I crawled out from under the log, wincing as my injured leg protested. The wound had mostly closed, leaving just a thin line of blood to mark where the gash had been.

"What were those things?" I asked the empty air. "What could corrupt animals like that?"

"The darkness from beyond our borders," came a deep voice behind me.

I whirled around to see the massive oak with golden veins now had a face visible in its trunk. It's eyes had formed from knots in the wood, and a mouth from a curved split in the bark.

"Marcus?" I asked, limping closer.

"You have proven yourself through service," the tree said, its wooden lips barely moving. "Not many would risk themselves for corrupted creatures."

"They were suffering," I said simply. "What happened to them?"

"The same thing that happens to all who contact the corruption. It twists natural energy into something that consumes rather than sustains."

As I watched, the tree's form began to change. The bark split further, the trunk reshaping itself until a humanoid figure stepped free. Marcus stood nearly seven feet tall, his body resembling polished wood with the same golden veins I'd seen in the tree's bark. His face was angular, with eyes like amber set in wooden skin.

"The Elders spoke of corruption," I said, remembering the ceremony. "Is this what they meant? Animals being... infected?"

"This is merely a symptom," Marcus replied, his voice sounding like branches creaking in the wind. "The corruption takes many forms. In animals, in plants, in water, and in other beings as well."

He gestured toward the smaller clearing where I'd first discovered the sick animals. "You purified these creatures temporarily, but without addressing the source, the corruption will return."

"And what is the source?" I asked.

Instead of answering, Marcus studied me intently, his amber eyes seeming to look through rather than at me.

"You carry Lyric's essence," he observed. "The vitality sustains you well."

"It does more than sustain me," I said, looking down at my healed leg. "It changed me."

"Each essence transforms in its own way. Vitality grants healing and adaptation. Intuition, which I guard, offers insight and perception." He tilted his head. "But I do not give my essence freely, even to one marked by prophecy."

"So I've been told," I said, crossing my arms. "Lyric said you judge worthiness more harshly."

Marcus made a sound like wind through leaves, which I realized was laughter. "Not harshly. Thoroughly. There is a difference."

He gestured for me to follow him back to the great oak. As we walked, I noticed small plants sprouting in his footsteps, growing visibly in moments before stabilizing into seedlings.

"Tell me, Nova Wilder," he said as we reached his tree, "why do you seek my essence?"

I thought about my answer carefully. "Because I need to understand what I am, what I can do. And because something is wrong in the forest, in the world, and I'm apparently part of fixing it."

"An honest answer, if incomplete," Marcus said, touching his tree. Where his wooden fingers contacted the bark, the golden veins glowed brighter. "The Elders kept many truths from you, yes?"

"Just about everything that mattered," I said, bitterness creeping into my voice.

"They feared your potential," Marcus said matter-of-factly. "Some argued you should be sent away as an infant."

"So I've heard," I replied, remembering what Fern had told me. "Did you know them back then?"

"I know all that happens in this forest," Marcus said, which wasn't really an answer. "I was ancient when the first spirits settled in Sylvan Glade."

He turned to face me fully, his wooden features impassive. "Show me what you learned from Lyric. Not just the essence, but the understanding."

"How?"

"Create something," he instructed. "Use your new power purposefully."

I looked around, uncertain what he wanted. Then an idea struck me. I knelt and placed both hands on the ground, calling up the blue energy that now lived within me.

I pictured water flowing from my palms into the soil, nourishing whatever grew there. The blue light pulsed from my hands into the earth, spreading outward in a circle around me. Where it touched, tiny shoots emerged, unfurling into small blue flowers unlike any I'd seen before.

"Interesting," Marcus said, bending to examine one of the blossoms. "You created something new. Most would simply accelerate what already exists."

He straightened, regarding me thoughtfully. "Perhaps there was wisdom in the Elders' caution, though their methods were flawed."

"What do you mean?" I asked, rising to my feet.

Before Marcus could answer, a disturbance rippled through the forest. Birds took flight in the distance, their alarmed calls echoing through the trees. Something was coming.

"The corrupted return," Marcus said grimly. "In greater numbers."

I turned toward the sounds of cracking branches and underbrush being trampled. "Like those deer?"

"Worse," Marcus replied. "These have been corrupted longer, their transformation more complete."

His wooden form shifted, branches extending from his back to form a protective canopy over both of us. "Now you will learn through necessity. The intuition essence reveals patterns and connections, allowing you to perceive what others cannot."

"And how exactly am I supposed to - "

I was cut off by the arrival of the first corrupted creature. It might once have been a bear, but corruption had twisted it beyond recognition. Its fur had fallen away in patches, replaced by a thick, black crust that pulsed like a giant scab. The skin beneath had split open in places, revealing oozing wounds filled with what looked like moving shadows. Multiple eyes blinked from its malformed head, each a different size and dripping that horrible black fluid. What should have been claws had elongated into serrated blades of bone, scraping against the ground with each step.

More creatures emerged from the forest behind it. There were wolves with too many legs, their spines split and reforming into extra limbs that moved with sickening coordination. Foxes whose bodies had ruptured, their insides now outside, with multiple mouths forming along their exposed organs. All leaked the same black fluid from eyes and jaws, and where it dripped, plants withered instantly.

"There are too many," I said, backing up against Marcus's tree. "I can't fight them all."

"You need not fight what you can understand," Marcus replied cryptically. "Watch their movements. Find the pattern."

The corrupted bear charged forward, its blade-claws leaving deep gouges in the earth. I dodged sideways, barely avoiding its attack.

The wolves circled, their movements oddly coordinated despite their deformed bodies. The foxes held back, their many mouths chattering in a disturbing chorus.

I tried to focus on their movements as Marcus had suggested, looking for patterns while staying just ahead of their attacks. The bear seemed to be the primary threat, charging repeatedly while the wolves maneuvered to cut off my escape routes.

"They're herding me," I realized aloud. "Working together."

"Yes," Marcus confirmed from where he stood, making no move to help. "And what else?"

I ducked under a wolf's leap, rolling to avoid the bear's slashing claws. As I moved, I noticed something strange. There was a faint, dark connection between the creatures, like threads of shadow linking them together.

"They're connected," I said, focusing harder on the shadowy threads. "Something is controlling them."

The threads all led in one direction, back toward where the creatures had emerged. I couldn't see what they connected to, but somehow I knew it was the source of the corruption.

"I need to cut the connection," I said, gathering blue energy into my hands.

I targeted the shadowy thread connecting the bear, sending a pulse of vitality essence along it. The bear roared in pain as the purifying energy traveled up the thread, temporarily disrupting the connection. It staggered, momentarily confused.

"It's working!" I called to Marcus.

"Temporarily," he warned. "The source remains."

The wolves growled, changing tactics now that the bear was disoriented. They attacked from multiple angles, forcing me to divide my attention.

I created a barrier similar to the one I'd used earlier, but larger, encircling myself with blue energy. The corrupted creatures slammed against it, testing its strength. Black ooze splattered against the blue light, sizzling where they made contact.

"I can't hold this forever," I said through gritted teeth, feeling the drain on my energy.

"You don't need to," Marcus replied. "Look deeper. What connects them all?"

I focused on the shadowy threads again, tracing them back to where they disappeared into the forest. Gradually, I began to sense something more. There was a pulsing node of darkness hidden from normal sight, but visible with my new power.

"There's something out there," I said. "A central point where all these threads connect."

"The corruption has a heart," Marcus confirmed. "Find it, and you can stop these creatures without fighting each one individually."

I pushed my barrier outward suddenly, knocking back the closest attackers. Then I sprinted toward where I sensed the dark node, dodging between trees and leaping over fallen logs with my enhanced agility.

The corrupted creatures howled and gave chase, but I was faster now, propelled by both vitality and desperation. I followed the shadowy threads to a small, fetid pond hidden among dense underbrush. The water was black and oily, with a surface that rippled though there was no wind.

At the center of the pond floated what looked like a chunk of crystallized shadow, pulsing with sickly light. The dark threads I'd seen connecting the creatures all originated from this object.

"That's it," I whispered. "The corruption source."

The creatures crashed through the underbrush behind me, having tracked me to their master.

I gathered my power, blue light building between my palms until it formed a sphere. With a cry of effort, I hurled it at the crystallized shadow.

The corrupted creatures screamed in unison as my energy struck their power source. The black crystal cracked, dark energy spilling out only to be consumed by my blue light. The pond's surface bubbled violently, steam rising as the corruption was purged.

The crystal shattered completely, sending a shock wave through the clearing. The dark threads connecting the creatures disintegrated, leaving them suddenly autonomous and confused.

Without the controlling influence, the corrupted animals whimpered and backed away, some fleeing into the forest. The bear shook its massive head, blinking its multiple eyes as if waking from a trance.

I approached the pond cautiously. The water was clearing, black oil dissipating to reveal normal water beneath. Small fish that had been hiding beneath the muck rose to the surface, swimming freely again.

"Well done," came Marcus's voice from behind me.

I turned to find him standing at the edge of the clearing, watching with those unreadable amber eyes.

"What was that thing?" I asked, pointing to where the dark crystal had been.

"A seed of corruption," Marcus replied. "One of many spreading throughout the realm. They take root where energy flows, twisting it to their purpose."

"And these seeds, they're coming from outside the Glade?"

"Yes. From beyond the mist barrier that protects your home." Marcus approached the pond, dipping his wooden fingers into the now-clear water. Where he touched, water lilies sprang to life, spreading across the surface. "The corruption has been growing stronger, spreading further. That is why the prophecy matters now."

I watched the bear as it lumbered away, its form still twisted but its movements no longer aggressive. "These creatures... can they be healed completely?"

"With time. The longer corruption takes hold, the harder it is to reverse." He turned those amber eyes on me. "You did well. You used vitality to purify, but you also saw the pattern, which is the first gift of intuition."

Now I understood. "This was a test, wasn't it? You could have helped, but you wanted to see what I would do."

Marcus nodded. "I needed to know if you would destroy the corrupted creatures or try to save them. Many would choose the easier path of destruction."

"I saw threads connecting them," I said, returning to his earlier point. "Is that what you mean by intuition?"

"Partly. True intuition is deeper. It reveals not just connections, but intentions, histories, possibilities." Marcus gestured for me to follow him back toward his oak. "You glimpsed it today out of necessity. With my essence, you will see much more."

As we walked, I noticed the forest seemed to heal in our wake. Trampled plants straightened, broken branches mended themselves, and the disturbed earth settled.

"The Elders said there were disagreements about how much to teach me," I said, thinking of Fern's revelation. "Were you part of those discussions?"

"I advise, but do not interfere directly in Glade politics," Marcus replied. "Some Elders feared your potential power would draw the corruption's attention. Others argued that leaving you untrained would be more dangerous."

"And what did you think?" I asked.

Marcus stopped, turning to face me. "I believed you should know your true nature, but be taught control from the beginning. Suppression rarely works for long."

We reached his oak, which seemed to welcome him with subtle movements of its branches.

"The corrupted creatures were drawn to this grove because they sensed my power," Marcus continued. "And now, yours as well. Energy calls to corruption like light to moths."

"Is that why these trials are necessary? To teach me control?"

"To teach you mastery," Marcus corrected. "Control implies suppression. Mastery means understanding and directing your power purposefully."

He placed his hand on the oak's trunk, and the golden veins glowed in response. Branches began to move, bending and weaving together to form walls around us. Roots rose from the ground, creating a floor of interlaced wood. In minutes, we stood inside a dome-shaped chamber grown from living trees.

"The intuition essence is not given through combat, but through communion," Marcus explained as small flowers bloomed along the chamber's ceiling, filling the air with golden pollen. "This will be an intimate joining of energy and spirit, allowing me to transfer not just power, but ancient knowledge directly to you."

The chamber continued to form around us, growing more complex. Living furniture emerged as roots and branches wove together, creating a raised platform in the center covered with soft moss. Small, glowing fungi sprouted along the walls, illuminating the space with gentle golden light.

"Are you ready to learn what the Elders feared to teach you?" Marcus asked, his amber eyes gleaming in the warm light.

"More than ready," I replied without hesitation.

Marcus nodded, his wooden features shifting into what might have been a smile. "Then let us begin with the foundations of perception. Close your eyes and tell me what you sense."

I did as instructed, closing my eyes and focusing on my surroundings. Immediately, I became aware of energies I hadn't noticed before. The slow, steady pulse of the trees, the quick, bright flickers of small animals nearby, and something deeper and older that I sensed was Marcus himself.

"I can feel the forest's energy," I said in wonder. "Every living thing has its own pattern."

"Good," Marcus said, his voice somehow inside my mind rather than reaching my ears. "Now look deeper. See not just what is, but what connections exist beneath the surface."

As I concentrated, new awareness bloomed within me. I could sense how the trees communicated through their root systems, how animals related to one another, how energy flowed in currents throughout the forest.

"It's like a web," I whispered. "Everything connected to everything else."

"Yes," Marcus agreed. "And this is but the first level of perception. With the intuition essence, you will see much more."

I opened my eyes to find him watching me with something like approval.

"You've begun to see beyond the visible," Marcus said. "Now you must learn to interpret what you perceive. The patterns have meaning, Nova. They tell stories of past, present, and possible futures."

"How do I learn to read them?" I asked.

Marcus's amber eyes gleamed in the filtered light. "Through experience. And through this."

He reached out, placing his wooden hand against my forehead. Golden light flowed from his fingers into my skin, merging with the blue glow of vitality essence already there.

Images flashed through my mind of ancient forests, beings of pure energy, darkness spreading like ink through water. I saw Marcus as he once was, a young tree spirit growing to become a guardian over centuries. I glimpsed the moment he first sensed the corruption crossing into our realm, like a shadow passing over the sun.

When the visions faded, I gasped, staggering slightly as reality reasserted itself. "What was that?"

"A taste of intuition," Marcus replied. "A glimpse of what awaits when you receive my essence fully."

He gestured to the center of the chamber, where roots had formed a raised platform covered in soft moss. "Rest now. When night falls, we will complete the transfer."

"Why wait?" I asked, impatient to continue.

"Because intuition essence strengthens with moonlight," Marcus explained. "And because some lessons cannot be rushed."

I sat on the moss platform, feeling its surprising softness beneath me. Now that the excitement of battle had passed, fatigue washed over me. The vitality essence was still there, but I'd used a significant portion fighting the corrupted creatures.

"While we wait," Marcus said, settling across from me, "perhaps you have questions I might answer. Unlike the Elders, I believe knowledge freely given is safer than knowledge desperately sought."

I had a thousand questions, but one rose above the others. "The Elders mentioned a prophecy about me. Do you know what it says exactly?"

Marcus was silent for a moment, his wooden features still. When he spoke, his voice had deepened with power that made the chamber vibrate subtly.

"When darkness spreads beyond the mist, when waters turn and creatures twist, a child of passion shall arise, bearing three lights within their eyes. Vitality's blue and golden sight, with passion's crimson burning bright. Together form the triple key, to either bind or set it free."

He fixed me with those unnerving amber eyes. "The 'it' in question is what your kind would call the Hollow, which is an ancient entity of anti-passion that consumes and corrupts natural energy."

I felt a chill despite the chamber's warmth. "And I'm supposed to either stop this thing or help it? That's not much of a prophecy."

"Prophecies rarely offer certainty," Marcus replied. "They show possibilities, not absolutes. Your choices determine which path manifests."

"What choices?" I demanded. "I didn't choose to be abandoned at the Glade's edge. I didn't choose to be lied to my entire life."

"No," Marcus agreed. "But you choose now how to use your growing power. You choose whether to seek understanding or mere strength. You choose whether to heal or harm."

He gestured to the walls of our chamber, where images of my battle with the corrupted creatures played across the living wood like a moving tapestry. "Today, you chose to heal rather than destroy, even those who threatened you. That choice reveals much."

The images shifted to show me freeing the corrupted deer, then destroying the shadow crystal in the pond.

"I just did what seemed right," I said, uncomfortable with his analysis.

"Precisely." Marcus's wooden lips curved into a definite smile this time. "And that instinct serves you well. Not all succubi would make the same choice."

"There are other succubi?" I asked eagerly. "Where? Can I meet them?"

"There are others beyond the Glade, yes. Some use their powers for creation and connection. Others for domination and destruction." His expression grew serious. "The Elders feared you might become the latter if fully awakened."

"Because succubi feed on passion, and that can be taken by force," I realized aloud.

"Yes. Though true sustenance comes only from willing exchange, many of your kind take what they can through coercion or trickery."

I remembered how it felt to draw Lyric's essence into myself, the rush of power, the satisfaction deeper than any physical pleasure. The thought of taking that by force made me sick.

"I would never do that," I said firmly.

"I believe you," Marcus replied. "Which is why I will grant you my essence when the time comes. But remember this warning, Nova: power changes perspective. What seems unthinkable now may become tempting when your hunger grows stronger."

His words sent another chill through me, but before I could respond, the light in the chamber shifted. Looking up, I saw that small openings had appeared in the domed ceiling, admitting beams of silver moonlight.

"The time has come," Marcus said, rising. The living chamber responded to his movement, reshaping itself around us. The moss platform expanded, becoming a proper bed that glowed faintly green in the moonlight.

"Are you ready to receive the intuition essence?" Marcus asked, his wooden form seeming to grow more solid, more present in the moonlight.

I stood, feeling the blue vitality essence surging through me in response to his question. "I'm ready."