Adreanna's heart stilled as she heard Styx scream. Was that really her familiar, or was it the spirit baiting her, wanting her to attack.
She could use a scrying spell, but that would take time. Time she couldn't afford. Any moment Styx could be experiencing a horrible and gruesome death.
She had to go. Now.
She closed her eyes, trying to detect the sources of the scream. She estimated it was only a few hundred meters away. So close, it was almost certainly a bait. But she couldn't leave Styx. She had to make sure he was safe.
He's my friend. I have to save him.
A vine snaked down as if lowered by unseen hands.
It was a risky plan, playing into her enemy's scheme.
It was also the only plan she had.
She climbed, reaching the top. Around her, ravens crowed. The stench of death filled the air. Was it a glimpse of the future? She wondered.
Was she sensing her demise?
Real, accurate divination was impossible, but signs like these existed. Signs of something unstoppable, unchangeable.
Someone would die here. She was sure of it.
All that was left was to find out who.
"Welcome back..." A voice echoed through the trees, resounding in her mind's ear. Styx lay on the ground, his blood gushing from the open wound in his front left paw. The others were badly twisted at odd angles.
He turned to look at her, eyes filled with pain. Broken, but alive.
She stood still, observing him and gauging the chances of his survival.
She could fix those bones. Or maybe create a new body for him? She noticed the fangs jutting from his mouth. He had been trying to suck the energy from the spirit, trying to weaken it.
It hadn't worked.
She stared around her. The vines slithered once more, and childlike laughter filled the air. The waves crashed against the shore.
Fire erupted from her hands, dancing on her fingertips. If she would die here, she would not die without a fight.
Those vines could choke her or drag her into the lake. Not only that, there was the monster that had destroyed their boat. Would it come to its master's aid?
The land began to darken; the clouds converged rapidly. A storm was coming. She could feel the eyes of the spirits on her, daring her to make the first move. Vines flung themselves from the forest, outstretched and ready to consume her.
"Spiritus ignis, ego vocare te. Convergunt ad interitum inimici mei. Perdes omnes, qui iacet in via tua. Ego te voco, magnus ignis!"
The sparks merged into a wave of magic, unlike anything she had ever seen before, devouring all that lay in its path. They ravaged the trees around them. A scream of pain echoed through the forest.
Satisfaction filled her veins. She prepared another blast.
The sands divided, tendrils of shadow emerging from the fissure it created. It advanced upon her, ready to drag her into the abyss. They clawed through the Earth, massive tentacles preparing to snatch into the void from which they came.
Her hands glowed with magic, the blue flame turned violet.
The tentacles were upon her. Would they burn, devoured by the flames of her magic? Or would they extinguish the feeble sparks, dragging her into their shadowy home?
It didn't matter. They were here.
"Stop!" A voice rang out in the air, the workings of powerful magic evident. Her magic recoiled as if struck, retreating into her body. The energy she built up faded away. The tendrils retracted.
She ran to Styx, but another was already there. Voiceless words moved from her lips, and Adreanna could only gape in shock as the wounds faded, the bones putting themselves back together. The woman stared at her, clothed in a black gown. Her hair was blonde and bright.
"You're a witch!" She blurted out.
The woman smiled. She couldn't have been any older than Adreanna, but carried herself with a prideful demeanor that the other knew she could never replicate.
"I am Sidero. And you are Adreanna Lucian, I believe? We have been expecting you. Come." She held out her hand.
Expecting me?
Her eyes narrowed. She didn't trust her. But she had saved Styx...
"How did you stop that thing?" She asked. Sidero shrugged.
"It's easy to stop your own creation. How do you think we've survived here? We crafted the creature, giving it life. It is our guard, and unfortunately, we were only just given awareness of your arrival."
"You...you created this thing? How many of there are you?" Styx asked, fully healed in his raven form. He flapped his wings, embracing his freedom. Adreanna nodded, deep in thought.
This was an egregore, a thought form created by magic and given form in the outer world. Egregores had many names, including tulpas, servitors, and many more. They were all crafted for specific purposes. They had created this one to be a guardian, slaughtering whoever came ashore.
The spell led me here.
"Were you the ones who hijacked my spell?" She asked.
Sidero nodded.
"We couldn't leave the island, not without being detected; Our protector's reach is only so far. We had to watch the world at a distance. When we found out you were the last of our kind outside this island, we had a duty to protect you. We led you here, but unfortunately could not do much.
Things have been rather hectic lately, we did not notice your arrival until now."
Adreanna wondered what Sidero meant by "we", but Styx beat her to it.
"Who do you mean by we?"
Sidero only smiled. Adreanna wondered how much smiling she did per day.
"I'll explain later."
As they traveled into the Earth by a spiral stairway, Sidero told them what had happened.
"When Hekate died, witches scattered all across the globe. Easy pickings for the gods. But we understood that the strength of the witch is in the coven, and so we went underground, locking away the world, sealing ourselves inside.
We have been here for ages and know of your desire to find Yggdrasill. We want you to aid us. This world is not safe for us anymore. The gods are warring and there will only be one victor, one True God. They will find us. We need to find the Tree of Worlds and escape."
"You believe in the tree? Most witches consign it to folklore." Adreanna said, her voice filled with skepticism.
"All legends begin with truth." Sidero replied.
"We're here." She said, pushing open a door so well concealed Adreanna hadn't realized it was there.
She stared in surprise as a full community of witches bustled here and there. The walls were stony, the floor black and elegant.
Forget a coven. This could fit an entire army.
Sidero smiled, as if reading her mind.
Could she? Adreanna wondered. After this, this witch was at least partially responsible for the creation of an egregore strong enough to control an entire island, not to mention defeat a rival spirit. No doubt Sidero's abilities went far beyond hers.
She didn't like the idea of someone going through her mind, reading her most private inner thoughts. Sidero's voice rang clear in her mind, shaking her from her stupor.
"Welcome, Adreanna, to the dwelling of the Coven of Daseh."
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