Chapter 13

"Do not rely too heavily upon me, I cannot save your people from extinction. I cannot call upon the scattered Ether any more than you. I am even forced to speak to you with an accursed Human tongue. Change will come, of that I can assure you. How that will look has yet to be written. The Humans I travel with do not know my Fae identity," Talus spoke quietly, casting a pointed glance towards Crow and Thalora to indicate to the Myrmekes that he didn't wish for them to overhear. The insectoid creature hovered a few feet above the ground directly in front of him.

"Understood, Great Deliverer. I know which Fae Monarch you are. Only one could bear the face of the Human, Izarra the Forbidden One, creator of their unnatural Mana. Should you ever call upon us, the Myrmekes will answer your banner," The creature intoned, the sound created by a series of chitin being rubbed together and humming wings. 

With a gesture of one of its four arms, the creature presented a solitary, barbed finger towards Talus's lips. He nodded his acceptance, opening his mouth to allow the Humanoid monster to touch his tongue. He felt the faint stirring of Ether as an arcane symbol branded itself onto his tongue. It formed the stylised shape of a triangular insect with its wings spread. Thalora and Crow didn't witness the interaction between Talus and the Myrmekes because the deserters, forgotten in the wake of the creatures arrival, chose that moment to flee.

"I will require many allies if I'm to achieve my goal of reconnecting with the Spirit Realm and my true body. In this form, I am weak. I must act as a Human and learn their foul magic. I shall steal the Human's strategy and make it my own, undoing the great works started by Elidion and completed by Izarra. I will use their own magic to undo the shard towers and return the Ether to this dying world," Talus said, calmly watching the deserters leave. Crow was about to let out a sigh of relief, but quickly grimaced. He remembered they had more urgent problems than deserters, the Myrmekes. 

"The Myrmekes were said to have disappeared long ago," Thalora breathed, her usual cynicism stripped away in the face of seeing one first-hand. The Myrmekes watched the men go, then a moment later, launched into the air in pursuit. Its wings sang a battle cry of old hatred. Silence followed in its wake.

Thalora let out a shaky breath, relieved that she would not have to fight the creature. Crow, however, was less convinced, his gaze flickering to Talus with wary caution. He felt a sneaking suspicion that the shades were still nearby. The Myrmekes hesitated before it left, using its wings to hum a final message to Talus and the shades. 

A claw scraped at the split tree bark, revealing chitinous plates shed from its own body. Shimmering white armour, strong and light, radiating with the touch of Ether lingering on it. A gift. The Myrmekes continued its pursuit of the men without drawing attention to the loot, quickly catching up. The first was clawed down without resistance, causing the others to turn and fight back. The sound of metal clanged off the insectoid's exoskeleton without so much as leaving a scratch.

Talus inclined his head in gracious acceptance with the Myrmekes gone in the distance, gesturing towards the tree for his attendants to collect it while remaining invisible. He intentionally lowered his overladen pack onto a thick reed and flicked open the lid before moving away from it. He made a feint to follow the fleeing deserters.

"Talus, wait! Let the creature deal with them. We need to get out of here before it remembers us. You don't need to chase after corpses. That lot makes perfect bait," Thalora shouted, holding out a hand to stop him. He glanced behind her, watching his shades silently discard unwanted Human trinkets made of common metals from the pack into the shallow marsh water. "Listen to me this time. I told you to stay back, that Radiant Blood Flower is more important than your life. Ugh, Crow, why have you shackled me up with a second half-wit like you?"

He could hear the flicker of deception in her words when she said that the flower was more than Talus, she didn't believe it was true. He continued to watch the shades empty his pack behind her. Once there was enough room, the shades stowed the natural armour inside the pack, fastening it closed. Seeing that they were done, Talus moved back to his pack and pulled it over his shoulders.

"The excitement overtook me. You needed someone to keep the cowards at bay. Crow declined the role. It won't happen again," Talus promised.

"I don't care if it happens again. Just hand me over the Radiant Blood Flower for safekeeping, and then you can do what you want!" Thalora retorted. Talus considered for a moment and then retrieved the flower from inside his shirt and presented it on the flat of his palm. Thalora stared at him in surprise that he would actually offer it to her. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, watching him closely as she hesitantly took it from him. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"You were right. I was reckless. I need to earn your trust again," Talus replied. 

He understood that even if she carried the Radiant Blood Flower, she would do everything in her power to get him to the Arcane Council. After testing his Mana aptitude, with or without the flower, Talus was her ticket back into their good graces. And he knew it, no one was more suitable for constructing spells than the body of the person who created Human magic in the first place. Not even close.

"I hate to interrupt your touching moment, but I ain't wanna wait around for that bug to remember we exist. The screaming's stopped. That's never a good sign, " Crow urged. The last scream echoed in the distance as he stood up from where he had been sifting through the remains of the man Talus had cut in half, finding nothing of interest. Not even a single coin. Because of that, he was ready to get out of there as soon as possible. "Let's move. Blackroot's close."