Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Disappointment

"That's not what the agreement says!" the dryad protested.

"The agreement stipulates that visitors won't be able to contact beings of great power that they knew before, until they resolve the pending issues," the great black dragon argued.

"That's not an unfinished business! When he was a visitor, it was a problem that didn't even exist!" the dryad rebutted.

"That doesn't matter, it does now," the emperor of the seas intervened.

"You're distorting the terms. You know perfectly well that it was not the meaning," the dryad refuted again, irritated.

"As if it mattered. The letter is the letter, so we demand that it be fulfilled," a phoenix stated, arrogant.

"We've all reinterpreted the rules, but never affecting others. That's abusing the visitor. Besides, Melia isn't going to forgive you," a leprechaun threatened.

They were the first to play with words, to twist deals and laws. They loved to joke, and annoy the other guardians, but there was a principle that they never broke. No real harm was to be done. Furthermore, they still owed a request to the dryads from some time ago.

"Tsk. Since when have you little greens been so formal? If a dryad gets angry, then let her get angry. She'll end up understanding, it's for the greater good," the dragon responded with disdain.

"If he has to go, he'll go, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't complied. At least, allow them to meet," a unicorn asked.

"We can't risk it. It's too important. They'll have time in the future," a qilin refused.

"It's enough. We're not going to get anywhere if we keep arguing all the time. Let's vote," the dragon proposed, impatient.

He ignored the dryad's anger and proposed the vote. The dryad, the elf, and the unicorn voted against, and they weren't the only ones. Some abstained, like the titans. A not very large but sufficient majority voted in favor, much to the frustration of the dryad. She stared at them with accusatory eyes.

The conclusion was clear. Eldi Hnefa would still not be able to contact Melia, not until he completed his new task.

That resolution left many dissatisfied, although none more so than the dryads. Above all, because they could feel the uncontrollable fury of one of her sisters, Melia.

She had been waiting for Eldi to finish his matters in Engenak. She was looking forward to meeting him, hugging him. There was so much she wanted to tell him that she didn't even know where to start. However, they would now have to wait, and that was if he came back alive. She was afraid for him, because there, she couldn't help him, even if she broke all the rules.

Around her, the plants stirred furiously, sharing her feelings. For a long time, it raised alarm in nearby areas. There, although not as obvious as next to her, something strange seemed to happen to the flora.

Her sisters didn't know how to calm her down, and were even affected by her fury, as well as worried. It wasn't going to end like this.

It took her hours to control her feelings, to keep them from radiating around her. Although controlling and eliminating are very different things. She wasn't going to forget so easily what they had done to them.

"They'll pay for what they've done," she threatened with anger. There were also tears of nectar running down her face.

Eldi arrived at the beginner's village, and looked towards the direction where the Oracle used to be. He smiled when seeing that they were really there, as if they hadn't moved since last time.

They were as expressionless as ever, were wearing the same mask, same clothes, sitting the same. The only gesture they made was to turn their neck slightly to look at him.

With some haste, the high human approached and sat down in front of them. He hoped that they would finally give him a clue, or at least, answer him affirmatively. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

"I've finished what I had pending. Will I be able to see Melia now?" he asked.

"That's how it should have been, but that's not how it is," the Oracle replied.

The battle mage looked at them confused first and then incredulous. He didn't understand what that meant, but it seemed like he wouldn't be able to meet his beloved. That was frustrating and irritating.

"What does it mean that 'that's not how it is'!? Why can't I meet her!? Why can't I see her!?" he demanded answers, while raising his voice like he had never done with the Oracle, clearly annoyed.

"Some of the powerful beings who established the rules have decided to reinterpret them as they please, in a selfish and insensitive way. It may not be fair, but there is nothing that can be done about it," the Oracle explained.

Despite doing so in the same neutral tone as always, the choice of words made Eldi believe that the Oracle was angry. It was the first time they had expressed anything resembling a feeling, which undoubtedly disconcerted him.

Although that was nothing compared to what he felt himself. He had gone from being irritated to feeling aggrieved and furious. It was as if they were playing with him, with his life, with his feelings.

"Damn them all! No matter how powerful they are! That doesn't give them the right to play with the lives of others! How dare them!?" he exclaimed angrily.

"It is a good question for which even I have no answer," the Oracle responded. The tone was again neutral tone, and again their words seemed to indicate something else.

"What's that other thing I've pending?" he asked while gritting his teeth.

"It's not the moment yet. You'll soon know," the Oracle responded as they used to do.

The high human couldn't get any more relevant information out of the Oracle, and he couldn't blame them either. He had gone there hopeful, encouraged, even excited. He left depressed, sad, angry and frustrated.

Eldi wanted to see her more than anything in the world. He wanted to apologize for leaving in the past. He wanted to look directly into those green eyes again. The battle mage feared and waited for that moment, but for nothing in the world did he want to delay it. Unfortunately, they had given him no choice.

With nowhere better to go, he returned to Gjaki's mansion. There, at least there were people who appreciated him, and he felt comfortable. Furthermore, his children would be busy for a few days with what they hadn't told him. Therefore, he couldn't go see them.

Little did he know that they were with their adoptive mother, a dryad named Melia who needed them by her side. She was even more angry and frustrated than Eldi, since she had experienced the argument firsthand, through one of her sisters. She needed the warmth of her children more than anyone.