Chapter 68- The Forgotten Roots
POV: Outreach Leader – Commander Kaelin (female gamma from Kaleb's pack, tough as nails, bleeding heart underneath the snarl)
The trees whispered like they remembered war.
Commander Kaelin moved like a ghost between the gnarled trunks of the Fallen Tree Province, her blade already slick with corrupted shadow ichor. The remnants were everywhere, black, slithering, twitching things. The Entity had carved this place like a rotted wound, and it stank of pain, loss, and fear.
Her team, wolves, healers, soldiers, mages, fought tooth and claw to hold the path open.
"Push forward!" Kaelin barked. "They're still alive. I can feel them!"
The trees groaned overhead like they agreed.
Deep in a clearing, hidden by shadow wards and half collapsed barrier stones, they found the first survivors.
A crumbling schoolhouse had been turned into a makeshift shelter. Inside,
Over 100 orphans ranging from babies to barely teens, huddled in corners, skin and bones, but still breathing. Some clutched handmade dolls. Some bore claw marks.
A seven year old boy stood in front of the others like a soldier. He didn't even flinch when Kaelin knelt down. "You're real?" he whispered. "You're not shadow?"
Kaelin dropped her blade and pulled him into her arms. "Damn right I'm real."
Below the roots of a twisted oak, they found a coven of 50 witches, shielding a circle of candles that hadn't gone out in years. They'd been preserving light magic the only way they could.
"We thought we'd be next," said the coven matron, hands shaking as she pressed her forehead to Kaelin's. "We've been holding the ward while the children slept."
One by one, they passed out from exhaustion as the squad's medics arrived.
Hidden among thorn dens, tree hollows, and magically warped dens, they uncovered over 200 lost fae, dryads, and shifters, some feral, some terrified, most half starved. Many had gone decades without speaking to another soul.
One dryad clutched a bark wrapped child to her chest and simply wept when she saw the Benevolence Crest on Kaelin's uniform. "We thought you'd forgotten us," she whispered.
"We named a whole village after you," Kaelin replied, choked up.
Just as the last survivor is found, the shadow remnants rally for one final surge. The sky goes black. The ground pulses.
Kaelin screams for the portal.
"Sasha! Get us the fuck out, NOW!"
A pulse of white blue light flashes open a massive glowing portal.
Kaelin carries the seven year old boy through as soldiers drag the wounded, witches limp into the light, fae carry fae, and one elder shifter collapses as he whispers, "We made it…"
The portal closed with a thunderous hum, and silence fell.
Then came the sound of children crying.
Over a hundred orphans spilled into the courtyard, flanked by fifty ragged witches and two hundred fae and shifter survivors, their eyes wide with exhaustion, trauma, and disbelief. Dirt streaked their faces. Their shoes were worn through. Some limped. Some clung to stuffed animals made of rags. Others carried nothing but each other.
Rhiannan was already moving.
"Blankets!" she called. "Food. Water. Healers, now."
The royal courtyard exploded into organized chaos. Her mates snapped into motion beside her, directing crews of villagers, nobles, and medics to triage. Sasha's voice cut in, sharp and clear.
📣 FAENET BULLETIN – URGENT
314 SURVIVORS HAVE ARRIVED.
⚠️ 108 ORPHANS, AGES 1-14
🧙🏽♀️ COVEN WITCHES: 52, MOST INJURED
🌿 FORGOTTEN FAE & SHIFTERS: 154
🏘️ MOONHOLLOW IS AT FULL CAPACITY.
🔁 IMMEDIATE ASSIGNMENTS BEGINNING FOR: EMBERREACH, STARLIGHT RIDGE, THORNHELM VALE, HILLSHIRE PLAINS
🧬 ACTIVATING GUARDIAN MATCH SYSTEM FOR ORPHANED CHILDREN. FAENET USERS, STANDBY FOR ADOPTION INQUIRIES.
And then the comments started pouring in.
💬 "I'll take two. I've got room in Emberreach. Please tell them they're already loved."
💬 "We've got a warm cottage and a stocked kitchen in Thornhelm. Send them our way."
💬 "I'll build a damn treehouse for them if I have to. Let's go, Aurealis!"
💬 "Tell the goddess I'm on my knees. Put me on the guardian list now."
Some of the witches fell to their knees as healers reached them, cracked hands still clinging to old charms and spellscrolls. They had held the shadow remnants at bay for years, casting shields with barely any food, barely any strength, just stubborn hope and old blood magic.
Mo crouched in front of a crying girl, her tears cutting tracks through the ash on her cheeks.
"Hey," he said softly, offering her a piece of fruit. "Welcome home, shortstack. The monsters are gone."
She stared at the apple like it was made of gold before she took it. Her hand shook.
A shifter child, maybe six years old, with pointed ears and matted silver hair, let out a startled laugh as a fae healer handed him a plushie and tucked him into a warm blanket.
"Do I gotta pay for this?" he asked.
"You already did," the healer said gently. "You're safe now."
Kaleb and Arwen coordinated the housing lists with Sasha, placing survivors in every village that had space. Thornhelm took two large families. Starlight Ridge welcomed fifteen children and six elder witches. Hillshire Plains opened four bunkhouses. Emberreach pledged to build a new orphanage by dawn.
Elisha stood like a stone guardian, arms crossed, eyes wet. He whispered something about contacting the dragon kin for backup supplies.
Sable paced behind the healer lines like a demon barely holding back his rage. Every injured child made his jaw clench tighter. Liam, seeing this, casually threw his arm around him and whispered, "If you need a good cry and a cuddle, babe, I'm here. Shirt optional."
"Fuck off," Sable growled, but didn't shake him off.
By nightfall, every single survivor had been bathed, fed, and given a bed.
Rhiannan walked the courtyard one last time before sundown, barefoot with Caelum on her hip and Nyxira clinging to her skirt. Lyrielle flew lazy little circles above her, glittering in the moonlight.
She stopped in front of a small group of children gathered around a glowing fire, their bellies full, their eyes heavy.
A witch elder approached and bowed low. "They haven't slept indoors in years. They'll remember this moment forever."
Rhiannan blinked back tears. "So will I."
Sasha chimed in again, voice softer this time.
🕊️ "FAENET FINAL COUNT: 314 NEW LIVES SAVED.
108 ORPHANS. ALL CLAIMED OR BEING MATCHED.
May the goddess bless this kingdom of second chances."
Faenet Feed — Sunrise Surge
🏡 UPDATE: ALL 108 ORPHANS HAVE BEEN MATCHED TO GUARDIAN HOMES.
👶🏻👧🏽🧒🏿 "We have never seen a response like this. Entire villages lined up to take in children. Aurealis… you made us cry today."
📸 Images flood the feed: small hands reaching for bread. Laughing kids chasing each other in newly assigned gardens. Villagers kneeling beside fae toddlers and shifter teens, offering food, toys, open arms.
💬 "He asked if he was allowed to laugh here. I told him this whole damn kingdom was built so he could."
💬 "My new daughter has horns. My wife braided them with flowers. I think I'm going to cry forever."
💬 "We've never had kids. Now we have four. I've never known this kind of love."
💬 "He woke me up at dawn and asked if the monsters were gone. I told him the queen made sure of it."
POV – Elder Witch Serahna
The cottage was small, but to Serahna, it was a cathedral.
She stepped inside slowly, her aching knees trembling as her fingers brushed the carved wooden doorframe. Warmth seeped from the hearth, a basket of bread already waiting. Sasha had rerouted enchanted furnishings from the overflow storage in MoonHollow.
She clutched a crumbling charm in her hand and whispered, "We are safe."
Two teen girls ran in behind her, both witches under her care. They shrieked when they saw the bath...a real one..and started giggling for the first time in years.
POV – Fae Survivor Thalyn
Thalyn's wings twitched as he walked barefoot through the gardens of Starlight Ridge, the flowers glowing faintly under his step. He couldn't remember the last time he'd touched something alive without it screaming.
A nymph child peeked from behind a vine covered trellis. He smiled.
She offered him a flower.
He cried.
By mid afternoon, whispers spread through the new villagers like wildfire:
"There's a temple."
"MoonBlood Temple, they call it."
"They say it pulses when she walks by. Like the gods themselves built it for her."
And so they came.
Carts were pulled from farms. Children were carried. Elders leaned on one another. The 314 survivors, one by one, made their way to the MoonBlood Temple, guided by curiosity, reverence… and something deep in their bones.
Even the youngest among them seemed to know.
Rhiannan stood at the altar, Lyrielle curled in her arm, Nyxira perched on her hip, and Caelum clinging to her gown. As the crowd filled the temple grounds, the light changed.
The stone glowed.
The air thickened.
Rhiannan swayed slightly.
A rush of gold and violet light burst from the triplets, arching across the crowd like stardust. The children gasped and reached for it. A small witch boy, no older than five, giggled and clapped as sparks danced around his fingers.
A teen fae clutched his chest. "It feels like… home."
A whisper rippled from Sasha's external speaker, almost reverent.
"We are witnessing a miracle."
Rhiannan dropped to her knees at the base of the altar as the divine surge poured through her body. She didn't weep this time.
She glowed.
Her voice carried across the temple, soft but unshakable.
"May every orphan find love. May every survivor find rest. And may every soul who walks these lands know they are mine to protect."
Faenet Feed – Temple Watch
🕊️ "MoonBlood Temple surge detected."
💖 "Rhiannan's divine resonance increased 12.8%."
🔮 "Triplets activated another glyph layer in the altar."
💬 "My kid asked if we could go to temple every day. I said yes. Yes, baby. Every damn day."
💬 "Is it normal to cry during divine light shows?? Asking for my entire family."
💬 "That queen ain't just saving the world. She's giving us our hearts back."