Sorceress of the Second Sphere

21. The Ghost of the Emerald Forest - Loldirr

It hit her hard, that moment when she regained her consciousness. After several hours unaware of anything happening around her, when reality hit, it smacked her on the face like an overzealous lover.

The smell of death was pungent, overwhelming the smell of life with comparative ease, as Loldirr attempted to gain some sense of her surroundings. There was a time that the stench would have made her wretch, but now it had become commonplace, a smell that she had endured several times before that it was something her nostrils had embraced with ease.

Her head did feel woozy, and as she first opened her eyes, she understood why. With her head mere inches from the floor, and her feet dangling in the air, she realised that she had hoisted up like a slaughtered pig. A nervous chill ran through the length of her body as she attempted to move her wrists, they felt constricted and bound, tied up with vines that dug into her skin with every movement.

Loldirr had been captured but did not know by who or why.

Instinctively she focused her thoughts on conjuring fire to melt through her bindings, yet nothing happened. As she focused once again attempting to create some sort of warmth through her fingertips, the result was identical.

A nakedness washed over her, clasping her in a vice-like suffocating grip. For the first time since her attempted execution at Lionmane, she was not able to use her powers.

This bizarre feeling of complete vulnerability brought fear to Loldirr's mind. How was it possible that her powers could not manifest themselves? Why had she become so reliant on them? Was this temporary or would she never feel them again?

The final question also brought anger to her thoughts, that only one winter ago, she did not realise that she could command the elements, but now she was completely dependent on them.

Realising her powers were of no use, she decided to perform the next course of action. To scream her lungs out.

Opening her mouth and attempting to bellow the words of help, like her powers, her attempts were futile. Whatever predicament she found herself in had put her in a position of complete defenselessness.

Looking up toward her feet, she examined the vines that wrapped around them as they almost cut away the blood circulation to her toes. They were tense and strong, and while she could feel the life force flowing through their tendrils, it felt like her senses had been dulled, and the connection to them had been severed.

How was it possible that she could feel so helpless?

To her side, she heard a groan, and as she struggled to twist her head toward the noise, she spotted Jeffry and Sigurd, both in the same precarious position that she was in. They too were exiting their slumber, groggy from the supernatural encounter just a few hours before.

Loldirr watched as Jeffry immediately attempted to break from his shackles, and it wasn't until she noticed his thick muscular physique, that she noticed that he had been stripped of armour, almost allowing the elements to brush his almost carpet-like hairy skin. It was at that moment that Loldirr realised that her nakedness did not just focus solely on her powers.

The burning sensation in her cheeks as blood flowed effortlessly from her embarrassment took her mind away from the predicament that she was in, but as the sound of humming could be heard deeper into the forest, her thoughts were brought back into the present.

The humming was so peaceful and in complete contrast to the turmoil that had been stirring in her head just moments before. Loldirr recalled that just hours before, the very same humming had caused her thoughts to start drifting away from reality. The peaceful melody, the serene voice, the incredible illustrious harmony, how was it possible to hum in a way that let her body feel like she was melting into the vines?