westwhere | I called out

Entry tags:

I called out

WHO: Eleven and OPEN to anyone around the Tree, chained to the Tree, or otherwise in search of one tree-hugger.
WHEN: May 31-June 10th-ish
WHERE: The Tree
WHAT: Tree simping/vibing
WARNINGS: tba?

It's simple curiosity that leads Eleven out to the tree when he hears of it. He doesn't expect more than a worn, old pine tree sticky with sap. But the moment he sees it, with wide-stretching branches held tidily up from its trunk and twining beneath the weight of a trim canopy, his breath catches.

Caught up in staring for several heartbeats, he becomes aware of a cold aura that the tree itself seems responsible for. Moreover, he senses the beginning stirs of life, entwined with another feeling that takes him too long to place: death.

Cold forgotten, his heart tumbles through his chest, tripping up his feet in his haste to reach the trunk of the tree. His marked hand touches first, palm thrust forward, fingers embedding into deep grooves in the rough bark. The whole of his awareness and focus narrows to the tree beneath his hand, seeking a connection that fails to immediately manifest.

A.

He wouldn't give up.

Over the next several days, Eleven spent considerably more time at the tree than the farmhouse. There was some connection to be made there, he was sure- it was just a matter of forging it. An effort well-worth his time if any of his suspicions or hopes came to fruition.

He spent hours circling the tree, prodding around its roots to extract visible shards of embedded glass with gloved hands, and occasionally stopped to examine an oddly shaped fallen leaf with focused intent. Sat between its roots and leaned back against the trunk to simply rest and attempt to feel for something else through the cold wafting from the bark.

Eleven spoke to it when he thought he was alone- voice soft with apologies, reassurance, or quiet concerns. Then near the end of the day, bent himself in prayer for lengthy spans of minutes, still and silent, willing his mind open to the brush of another consciousness until the sun began to set.

B.

Of course he's heard of the trials of Anurr and how he'd had to chain himself to this very tree for three days and three nights (or something?) and while he isn't surprised that Anurr's most fervent supporters have elected to follow in his footsteps, it does surprise him to discover slightly more familiar faces in the mornings he comes to visit.

Eleven crouches near them, tentatively reaching out to try and wake them if they don't appear to be conscious and anxiously hovering when/if they are.

"Hey, are you all right? Do you need help?"

C.

His persistence pays off.

Pressed fully into the trunk, Eleven knows when he's found it- a subtle feeling, but one that's reaching for the energy he's poured into the tree. The back of his hand shines with a soft glow just before he loses time and external awareness between one breath and the next.

He exists in a quiet, floating awareness, attached to a sense of aged perception. Understanding slowly permeates his mind quite without words, in the same manner his own questions reach out. It isn't much, but it's enough and he's grateful up until something within the tree pulls at him and leaves him cold.

Eleven starts back to reality with a sharp gasp and shivering breathlessness, cold and fatigue plaguing him with quaking arms and unsteady footsteps as he moves to peel himself away.

[ooc: action or prose is fine!]

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Eleven followed her gaze.

"Oh, no. That was- I was, ah.." he searched for the right word between lingering shivers that had at least faded in intensity.

"Talking to it, I guess. I've been trying for days and only just managed to reach its spirit. We didn't speak really, but I understand, now. It.. drained my magic and leeched my warmth in exchange."

"Drained your magic?" Lily had yet to encounter anything that could do that, and hearing that the tree was capable of such a thing made her take a half-step backward.

"Did you learn anything?" Thus far she'd been wading through her own confusion and would never judge anyone for trying to seek out information, however intense the method seemed to her

"Temporarily," he assured, despite not knowing for certain. But the drain felt similar to the after effects of Xie Lian's method of borrowing power rather than.. well, the alternative.

"I learned that while this tree doesn't regulate the cycle of life and death as I'd hoped it might, it's the residual energy of birth and death that I was sensing."

He turned an admiring look back to the tree itself. There was still a part of him filled with deep affection for it.

"Death I understand, but I am curious what it means that birth happens so often around it," he mused absently. "Animals? Or is there some other custom or ceremony..? But I can't imagine this would be a nice place for that."

His eyes dropped to the ground, tracing the carpet of flora. "Or plants..?"

The reassurance did nothing to remove the look of concern on Lily's face, though she didn't pry, resolving to find something to turn into a blanket for Eleven if he kept on shivering. Tea could fix a lot of things, but she wasn't sure if it was going to be enough.

While he spoke her worries after his well-being were replaced by keen curiosity, looking back at the tree again as she listened to him. "All of it? Perhaps? The animals eat the plants and then help new ones to grow, and so on?" Lily crossed her arms over her chest, studying the massive thing as she reached up and idly drummed a finger against her chin.

"It's so tremendous, the roots must spread beneath these woods, don't you think?" Hadn't the groundskeeper at school said something like that about some of the trees in the forest back home? "Perhaps that means it's part of a good deal more, however slightly, than we can see?" She looked down at the ground, her eyes following one of the tree's thick ropey roots studying how far they went.

Eleven brightened, tracing the nearest root as far as the surface allowed with an avid curiosity.

"Yes, that could be."

Yggdrasil after all, had roots spread throughout Erdrea. And it made sense, if this tree's roots were further spread, why that energy might not encompass the whole of the forest.

He drained the rest of his tea for its last vestiges of warmth, then found himself awkwardly holding the empty leaves-turned-teacup without being sure what should be done with it, just as tempted to keep it as see if it could be restored to its former state.

It had helped at least, warming him enough so that his shivers were more manageable things that didn't leave his teeth chattering with the force of them.

"Can I ask.. what kind of magic this is?"

Looking on while he studied the roots Lily cast one more glance back at the tree itself, a little less fearful now, seeing that Eleven had been shaken but seemed to be warming back up, however slightly. Whatever the tree had done to him really wasn't harmful, at least, not as much as she had originally feared it might be.

"It's called transfiguration, you make something into something else. I can't make food, at least not good food, but tea's straightforward enough if you practice it." It wasn't an easy subject to master by any means - as her quest for a good cup of tea would indicate.

"Are you still cold? If you can't make it back to the farm I can build a fire quickly, further away from the tree." Considering its roots, and the way Eleven said it had drained him, she didn't want to accidentally hurt it and make it angry. "Will you tell me what your magic is called, too?"

Eleven considered that, but he'd rather not risk anything close to the tree or its roots.

"No, that's all right. I can make it there now, thanks to you."

He probably shouldn't have left Hendrik, but surely the man knew where to find him by now.

Eleven smiled a little, self-concious. "I don't know if my spells have another name. It's just.. magic, as far as I've heard. I'm not a sage, so I haven't studied it too much. I'd show you if I could, but neither are my abilities terribly unique, as I am now."

Though apparently he could commune with trees that weren't Yggdrasil, so that was something.

Glad to put distance between herself and the tree Lily's arms stayed crossed over her chest, huddling into her clothing for warmth. She had changed some straw into a bulky, itchy sweater that could be worn over the things she'd brought with her, which was definitely helping with the cold. At least, she thought she looked less frozen than Eleven did. A fire would do both of them some good

"Not unique? I've never met anyone who could gather information from a tree like that before." Actually, Lily wasn't sure she knew of anyone who could gather information from a tree at all. "Have you been in this place for a while?"

Eleven huffed a laugh.

"Well, all right, that but might be unique, but I think the tree has to be willing to let me commune with it."

He massaged his hands up along his arms as they walked. "But usually, I can conjure fire, heal, sleep.. Um, that's about it, really."

"Do you use a wand?" She hadn't seen one in his hand while he was working whatever magic it was over the tree to get in touch with it.

"Where I come from not everyone knows that magic exists, but here it's very different. It's been one of the biggest surprises, but I admit I still don't know that much about this place."

"Well, I wouldn't say everyone here knows about magic," Eleven hedged, then shrugged. "But it seems pretty common."

He cast a sidelong glance to her, curious. He's not unfamiliar with wands, but the ones he's seen used were far larger.

"I don't use a wand. I guess it would probably be better for magical focus, but I can't imagine favoring it over one of my swords. Is that what you were using?"

Nodding she pulled the wand out of her pocket, holding it out enough that he could see, but by no means offering it to him to take and examine more closely. It was slender, just over ten inches long, and looked - oddly well suited to the person who owned it. Life was full of uncertainty, especially in this strange place - but she could be sure she knew how to use her wand, and she wasn't going to let it out of her sight.

"We get them when we're about eleven years old - strangely enough," she laughed, turning it around so he could see the scrollwork on the handle. "The saying is that the wand chooses the wizard. It's meant to be with you for life."

[ they never gave lily a wand replica bc of course not so pls humor me and picture this but paler willow wood. ]

Eleven peered at it; the wand appeared rather unassuming, but there was something about its natural simplicity that spoke of a more raw power.

"For life," he repeated with a curious note. "I haven't heard of something like that. Serena's wands were rather different and Veronica used a full staff, changing them in favor of those with greater magical energy."

He straightened with a smile. "It's always interesting to learn about the differences between worlds."

Edited 2021-06-07 06:03 (UTC)

Pocketing her wand once more after letting Eleven get a good enough look at it, "I hadn't the foggiest that there were any other worlds to learn about," she laughed lightly, gesturing at the forest around them.

"Clearly, I have been deeply mistaken."

Falling quiet once more she gave another glance around. "We're getting close to where the farm is, aren't we?"

"Yes," Eleven said with some relief, steps quickening. "Through the treeline up ahead.."

They were lucky to make to back before dark, though Eleven paused just as they reached the forest's edge to peer out around the farmhouse. The touch of frosted bark reminded him once more of the lingering chill threaded beneath his skin and shuddered with it.

"..I don't see any wolves, so we should be all right to head in."

"Beg pardon? Wolves?" She tried not to look nervous at the thought, but the sudden tightness in her voice was unmistakable.

"Wolves wolves? Werewolves?" It was a very prudent question to her, and she desperately hoped it was not the latter. While she was loathed to do it, a well-aimed stunning spell was enough to clear a regular wolf away, but werewolves were another matter entirely.

Quick to bustle across the last bit of distance between the edge of the forest and the sprawling farmhouse Lily looked over at Eleven once they approached the entrance. "Are you still frozen? We'll get a fire going, and more tea."

"Still cold," he agreed, "Fire and tea sounds wonderful." Worst-case, his magic should return by morning, probably.

Eleven cast one more glance around, then reached for the door to haul it open.

"Undead wolves," he clarified, "They always seem to take exception to my existence. But we're okay now."

"Undead wolves," she repeated under her breath as she ducked inside and headed immediately towards the nearest hearth. "Naturally," Lily paused, considering her conclusion as she tilted her head towards Eleven.

"Or, I suppose unnaturally, given the circumstances." Reaching into her satchel she pulled a small handful of leaves out to rest on her palm. As with before she was quick to reach for her wand, using it to change the plant into another cup of tea, which she passed to Eleven as they walked.

"If you think it would help, I could try to find something to make a blanket out of, though I'm afraid everything I've tried so far ends up rather itchy."

Eleven flashed a grateful smile and huffed a laugh over the warm tea.

"No, that's okay," he assured, "I'll be all right, but I appreciate the thought."

He veered toward the parlor where he was delighted to find the hearth already lit and warm. Eleven swiftly settled into a chair, cradling the cup between his hands and nursing it between small sips. He delighted in breathing in warmth even as the remnants of the cold shuddered through his limbs.

"I really am very grateful for your help. If there's anything you need while we're here, I won't likely mind if I can assist."

While Eleven got settled Lily set about the task of building the fire a little more, hoping to flush out as much of the chill in the air as she could for her own benefit as well as Eleven's.

Turning towards him as she took a seat not too far from his chair Lily nodded earnestly at his words.

"Thank you, there is something you could help me with if I'm honest." Leaning forward in her seat she frowned across at Eleven, her expression taut with concern.

"Can you tell me what's going on here? Please?"

Eleven looked her over, brows creasing in a reflective concern. She was new here, he knew that much, but he dialed back his assumption of just how long she had been present in this world for.

"Of course," he said readily, fully happy to repay her with as much information as she'd like to ask for. "But ah, there's rather a lot, so where would you like to start in particular?"

Her shoulders sank with relief when he agreed to help her, and Lily scooted further onto the edge of her chair, eager to finally have someone willing to help her get a better grasp on what's happening.

"From what I've gathered, there's Anurr and Unhalad at war, the people in the forest are on the side of Anurr, and we come here because Unhalad brings us and absolutely nobody likes that. The forest people pushed me into the lake, so I know they don't like that." Lily looked over at Eleven, her eyebrows raised. "Am I on the right track so far? I know some of the ones staying here have been here longer than others, like yourself, and I don't know anything much beyond the farm and the forest though I know we're meant to go east."

Eleven nodded along as he listened, though he paused to frown a moment over the fact the forest people had.. pushed her into the lake? The lake with the body emanating a mirror's touch. Although, people had gone into the waters before without ill effect, so he can't imagine why.

"That's a good summary," he mused. "We stayed in the Citadel- Sa-Hareth- for several weeks before we were moved out here. At the time, Unhalad still held a lot of power. Now, there's a lot of tense unrest in the city. Anurr has gained a lot of strength and favor since then, it seems."

"How did you come to be at the citadel? Is it a safe place?" Since her arrival, Lily had kept very close to the farm and while she ventured into the forest she hadn't gone much further than to the trials and back again. After her first run-in with the people who lived in those woods, she was hesitant to go further and risk ending up where she started, or worse.

"Is Unhalad powerful everywhere else? Or is Anurr as strong?" Lily had so many questions, and the things Eleven imparted to her only brought up more. She paused, frowning at Eleven. "Would you be terribly offended if I wrote some of this down? I've been taking notes on what's happening as well as I can, and you know so much I don't want to miss something helpful."

It was flattering, that she thought he could offer a great deal of valuable insight. It certainly didn't feel like he knew all that much. But the fire was warm and unlike a good number of their group, she seemed rather nice.

"I don't mind," he assured, "But the Citadel isn't what I'd call safe- at least not for us. There's a lot of tension there, now. The people of Sa-Hareth seem to think he'll make for a better ruler than Unhalad, but Anurr's undead have long been said to be more vicious, so I'm not terribly hopeful it will prove true."

I called out

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