The Reluctant Warrior (Open)

Striding serenely towards the front gate of Sunshield Hold, Gohan Maedar could already tell that he had missed a large amount since his last visit a few years ago. The first thing he noticed was the bodies. Hundreds of them. Gohan's eyes widened as he fully realized the devastation in front of him. Order of the Sun members and civilians alike were working industriously to move the large mass of death from the ruins of the Hold's front gate, as well as trying to repair the damage. Gohan wondered inwardly about what could have caused such damage as he hurried inside. Clearly, his help would be needed today, and he was eager to give it.

Gohan looked around to try and find someone in authority, and he spotted a familiar figure dispensing orders to some volunteers. The figure was Randalla Thorne, mother to the renowned warrior Kairi Thorne, and second-in-command of the Order of the Sun. Gohan waved as he approached the striking woman, and bowed politely when he reached her.
"Captain Thorne, it is good to see you again." Randall returned his polite bow and smiled tiredly. Clearly, the Captain had not slept in some time, and her smile was beset by worry.
"Well met, Gohan. I regret we haven't met under more fortunate circumstances." Gohan looked around at the rebuilding effort with concern.
"What happened here, Captain?" Gohan listened with wide-eyed wonder as Randalla ran down the events of the last few days, culminating with an undead attack on the Hold, which was ultimately repelled. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to help. I will gladly try and rectify that if you'll have me?" Randalla smiled a little more energetically than before.
"You are most kind. We could certainly use all of the help we can get. Thank you." Gohan nodded and smiled.
"It would be my honor. Where do you want me?"

Kora had only been in the hold for a day before all sorts of bad things had happened. And then most of sunshields forces left to save Calixto before it was to late, and Kora was left behind. Bethany had left to get help in Edaria, and also left her alone. It had taken her a few hours to snap out of the fear that had gripped her following the undead attack, once the adrenalin had wore off, several hours where all she wanted was to go home to the safety of her islands. To cope, she'd made herself useful by offering help to Marie and the healers. They'd put her to work running errands and grabbing supplies, but she was unable to help in a more meaningful way. The shaking in her hands hadn't stopped, and Marie ordered her to bed with a sedative tea. 

When she eventually woke up, there was little for her to do. The healers had done their best for the wounded, and most would be fine. Or so they thought, until some began to show signs of further sickness. Kora overheard them talking about it. Marie mentioned a healing herb called Taìel, found in harodriel forest, a cure all for many infections and poisons. However the only ones who could find the herb were the holds local eldross, who were both out scouting. Kora knew the herb, having read about it, and offered to fetch it, but Marie had forbit it. "The forest is not safe." She'd said. She'd reminded Kora of her mother, who would be flying down to fetch her as soon as news of the attack reached Edia to wisk her home to safety, and Kora remembered Kairi's and nichol's words from the day before. She'd chosen to walk this path, and it was far to soon to give up. 

Perhaps it was rash. Insane even. But people would die if she didn't help, and that was what she'd come to the hold to do. Help. So she slipped out of the hold, easy enough when one could create a portal, and set off to harodriel forest.


After several hours of grueling work, Marie had found enough time for a cup of tea. Things were quiet now. There was nothing more to be done until Shran Trostani returned from scouting the area to make sure no more undead armies lurked nearby, or Miral showed up by chance. It was as good a time as any to check in on Kora and have her help with some minor injuries. Only, she hadn't seen the girl since the morning, when she'd offered to fetch some Taìel from the forest. The girl didn't seem the rash type, but Marie decided that perhaps she should check with Randalla to see if she'd seen Kora. She found Randalla overseeing the work of removing the remains of the undead. A shudder went through her as she surveyed the field of corpses. In all her years as a healer, she'd never heard of such a terrible use of magic. It was sickening, to say the least.

As she approached, she noticed the young man standing with Randalla. She recognised him as Gohan, who visited the hold on occasion to stock up on supplies and offer help. "It's good to see you Master Gohan. I'm sorry to interrupt, Randalla, but have you seen our newest recruit this morning?" Marie asked. "The last time I spoke to Kora, she offered to fetch some Taìel from Harodriel forest, but given how dangerous the forest is, I strictly forbade her from going. I'd like to think she wouldn't do something so dangerous, but We've both met her aunt." The first time she'd met Bethany the woman was near death after almost drowning in a river, and had insisted on ignoring her medical advice to rush off with Kairi thorne to rescue Aline Drexara. Marie was beginning to worry.

Randalla was about answer Gohan's enquiry, when they were interrupted by the arrival of the Hold's head healer, Marie Elenesta. Marie greeted Gohan warmly, and he bowed his head politely. "The honor is mine, Captain Elenesta." Marie then asked Randalla about a new recruit that appeared to have gone missing. Randalla's expression suddenly changed to one of confusion.
"No, I haven't seen Kora since the morning either. I'm aware of the Taiel shortage, but with Shran out on patrol I haven't had the chance to address it. We could really do with Miral right now but, as much as I like her, everyone knows she comes and goes with the wind." Randalla looked to the gate at the work in progress. "It's unlike Kora to not be here offering help, but I also remember that she doesn't have to use a gate like everyone else to leave the Hold. With Kairi and others gone, we're short-handed as it is. I'll try and rustle somebody up to go look for her, but it might take a while..."

Gohan had listened intently to the conversation. He politely waited for a gap in the dialog before offering a suggestion. "Excuse me Captains, but I can go to Harodiel and look for Kora if you'd like?" Randalla eyed Gohan with surprise and concern.
"It's dangerous area to be Gohan, especially these days. I'm not sure I'm comfortable sending somebody who is a guest here into that kind of peril." Gohan smiled reassuringly.
"I assure you Captain, I can look after myself. I've studied the area extensively from when I was last here, and I can already think of a couple of places that have a decent amount of Taiel that might be where Kora went." Randalla stroked her chin pensively, before nodding reluctantly.
"Well... if you're sure you want to do this, I trust you. We'll be in your debt if you can bring Kora home." Gohan nodded.
"I will. You have my word. I can leave immediately."


Not long after that, Gohan found himself back on the road, this time heading for the Forests of Harodiel. The region was once a lush, green forest that was once the home of the Eldross people, before it was destroyed by the Onyxus, the Lord of Dragons. Gohan had always found the Eldross people fascinating, with their love of nature and willingness to live alongside it being tenets that the Androssan Enclave also shared. He lamented the loss of such a remarkable area and people, but he had managed to meet two surviving Eldross on his travels. Shran Trostani he had met during his last vist to the Hold, while he had come across Miral Nerys on the road from Henneth Andros to Zadartis. Both were fascinating people with unique outlooks and experience, and he very much hoped to have the opportunity to speak with them again.

A looming shape in his periphery broke Gohan from his reverie, and he realised that he was approaching his destination. The Forest of Harodiel stretched in either direction, the rich green foliage long since replaced by countless blackened husks which was all of what remained of the famous Twilight Trees that once populated this area of the forest. The husks thickened as one got further into the forest, and there seemed to be a perpetual gloom over the whole area, as if the very land itself were lamenting the tragedy of the Eldross. Gohan knew that, despite the death that permeated the area, there werer numerous small groves where life yet lingered. One such lifeform was the famous Taiel plant, an extremely resilient green shoot-like growth that somehow persisted despite everything. It was to the biggest Taiel growth on the Hold side of the forest that Gohan ventured, careful to treat the area with the reverence that it deserved. As he drew closer to his target, he stopped and closed his eyes, calling upon his training to try and sense if Kora might be nearby. After a moment, Gohan cleared his mind and saw with the natural energy of the land, and he detected a signature within the Taiel growth. He moved quietly and slowly, until he saw the girl on her knees, plying a small knife as she attempted to harvest a Taiel herb. He spoke softly to try and not startle the girl. "Excuse me, are you Kora?"

The walk to Harodriel forest's border was about an hour, and it was peaceful for the most part. Kora knew the moment she'd passed the border, because the air changed, becoming forboding. Not long after, she entered the burned wasteland, the husks of charred trees dotting the landscape. Some new life had grown up through the dark ash. A few fresh trees had sprouted in places, but Kora knew this was nothing compared to the original beauty of the forest before it was burned. She knew that Taiel was hardy and grew in large patches, and was one plant that had quickly grown back after Onyxus' fire had destroyed the forest. She also knew that the remaining eldross had managed to cultivate small groves in the forest, which she would avoid. She didn't want to upset anyone.

It didn't take her long to locate a patch of Taiel, and she set to work gathering some. But as she cut up the first few leaves, she noticed something alarming. A blackish tarry substance had taken root in the stem of the plant, and the leaves veins had turned black. Taiel was supposed to have a feint blue tint to its veins. Kora put the leaves down and moved to a different plant, and soon realised that it was much the same. "This is not right." She said, unaware that someone was approaching her. Infact, she was deep in taught as she examined the strange substance, scooping some up on her small pruning knife, that she jumped when the stranger spoke. Kora looked over her shoulder, momentarily startled, but relaxed pretty quickly. Although she did not know the spikey haired individual before her, he knew her name, meaning he was likely sent by someone in the hold to find her.

Kora straightened up and nodded. "Yes, I am indeed. And who might you be?" She asked. "If you're here to retrieve me, I will have to decline. There is something wrong with the Taiel. I believe it may be sick, though what has caused it i'm not sure. I will need to investigate another patch to see if it is suffering from the same thing." She said firmly. She should probably be more abashed about having someone sent to retrieve her, and for going against Marie's orders, but all of that was overshadowed by the mystery before her. She bent down and pried a plant up by the roots, which were black and sickly, not anything like she'd observed in her books on herbs. Careful not to get any of the strange substance on her bare skin, She stored the sick plant in her satchel and straightened. In the distance, a wolf howled.

Despite Gohan's efforts, the girl started at his words, but she recovered quickly. "Sorry! My name is Gohan." Kora then went on to correctly deduce his purpose in the woods, though she then immediately put a halt to any talk of actually returning. She told him about the apparent sickness afflicting the Taiel, and his own curiosity and concern was piqued. "I was sent to find you by Captain Elenesta and Captain Thorne. They're worried about you. This place isn't safe." He studied the blackened plant in Kora's hand. While he wanted to finish the job that Randalla and Marie gave him, and thus justify their trust in him, he couldn't ignore the sickness that seemingly lay upon the land here. He looked at the patch with curiosity, before gazing at Kora. "While I don't want to disappoint the Order, this appears to be an issue that needs addressing." He approached Kora until he was next to her and close enough get a better look at the Taiel growth. "I have a proposition for you. I'll stay with you while we investigate what's happening to the Taiel, as long as you come with me if we run into trouble. Do we have a deal?"

Gohan then bent down to examine the patch of Taiel. Whatever afflicted the plant had to be powerful, given that the plant was able to grow in the charred remains of Harodiel. "This is strange indeed. Give me one moment, Kora." Gohan closed his eyes and focused on the plant, gently guiding the magical power of the land through his target and then to him, and bringing information. After a moment, he hadthe information he needed. He opened his eyes and looked at Kora, gesturing to the plant that he crouched beside, which was glowing faintly crimson. "Do you see this? That glow means the Taiel is afflicted with some kind of magical malady." He looked back to the glowing plant as the glow subsided gently. "Not just that, but it also happened recently." He looked around for a moment, before finding what he expected. He pointed to the ground at his feet. "There's tracks here. If I had money, I believe I would wager a good portion of it on those tracks belonging to the culprits."

The stranger introduced himself as Gohan. She hadn't heard of him, so it appeared he was simply one of the hold's soldiers. He mentioned that he was sent by Marie and Randalla and Kora tried to keep the look of shame off her face for worrying her superiors. She expected him to argue about investigating the Taiel, however he agreed, which was her first surprise. He then offered to accompany her so they could investigate the strange sickness together, if she promised to leave if things became dangerous. "Very well, I accept these terms." She said.

The second surprise came when Gohan approached the Taiel and did something with the plant. Kora knew enough about magecraft to know when it was being worked, even though she wasn't familiar with what he'd done. Somehow, he'd caused the black veins to glow red, and discovered it was a magical malady. Kora crouched down beside him to get a better look at the plant. "Fascinating. I've never seen magic like this before." She said, watching as it faded. She stood straight and took a few steps back, giving Gohan a proper look. Tall and muscular, he had the look of a warrior, but it appeared she had misjudged him. She looked around when he mentioned it happened recently, as if she might spot the culprits sneaking away. "This is intentional then. Perhaps to hurt the Hold?" She wondered.

Gohan mentioned the tracks. "We best follow them. If we can catch the culprits before they reach another patch of Taiel we might be able to prevent further damage." She said. Kora let Gohan take the lead. She was no tracker. No amount of reading could teach that particular skill.


The Wraith of the Forest stood in a patch of Taiel. The once green plant was black, rancid magic killing it from the inside. The great black wolf beside the Wraith sniffed the air and howled. He had a scent. Humans did this with twisted magic. Smell it in the air. They must pay. "They will." Rip and tear their flesh. Eat their hearts. "Track them, Morgren." The wolf stalked off in the direction of the scent, and the Wraith followed.


They moved through the forest, the trail becoming fresh enough that even Kora could pick out the tracks in the ash. And then she heard shouting up ahead. With a flourish she summoned Aer'nir, and quickly pulled out a tiny bell from her satchel and rang it, the tinkle it made traveling only a short distance before it was trapped in a bubble that silenced it, and them.  "There are people ahead, but we can speak freely, I have muted our voices." Kora explained. "I believe we may have found the culprits. However, I am not keen on violence. Perhaps we could convince them to leave willingly? I could attempt to calm them with magic, if you want to do the talking."

Gohan was relieved when Kora agreed to his offer. He saw no harm in investigating the cause of this affliction, especially if it benefits the Order in the long-term. Kora then expressed curiosity about his magic detection technique, and he smiled at her. "It must seem weird to you, huh? It's a technique I learned from my master a while back." She supposed that the affliction on the Taiel might be a deliberate act to undermine the Order, and Gohan shook his head. "I can't say for sure, but if it is it is an awful act. To harm nature in such a way to forward a political goal is incredibly short-sighted and selfish." Kora then suggested they follow the tracks to see if they could intercept the culprits before they could do more damage. Gohan nodded, but fixed a concerned gaze on Kora. "Agreed, but remember our deal. First sign of trouble, we get out of here."

After a short while, Gohan and Kora approached the source of loud voices they heard as they followed the tracks. Kora immediately cast a spell that muted them to any listeners outside of a large bubble. She asked if he would take the lead, telling him about her aversion to fighting. He nodded. "I feel the same way. I have no desire for conflict, but we must be ready for anything." He studied the group from his position, pondering over Kora's suggestion about calming their emotions. "That's a good idea. I can do something similar, and if we combine our spells, it would greatly increase our chance of success." Gohan nodded to Kora and began the somatic component of his Calm Aura spell. "Alright, ready when you are." On Kora's go-ahead, Gohan stepped out into the open, finishing his spell as he reached the group. Gohan saw what appeared to be five Humans standing in a small perimeter, with another figure crouched next to a Taiel growth. The five seemed to be shouting at the crouched figure, as he seemed to be struggling with a spell of some kind. Gohan cleared his throat and raised his hands in as peaceful a gesture as was possible. "Excuse me. May I ask what you are doing here? It's not a safe place to be you know."

He mentioned that what he did was a technique he'd learned from his master. Kora nodded. "Not weird, just new." She replied. She nodded in agreement on the selfishness of destroying plants for a political goal. "I wouldn't call the goals of people who intend on hurting the Order or the Eldross, or what ever their reason for this is, political. But selfish and short-sighted none the less." Kora nodded when he told her to remember their deal.

She suggested she use her calm Aura, and Gohan mentioned he could do it too. Kora nodded. "Interesting." She said, giving him an appraising look. Gohan prepared himself and she did the same, then she gave the go ahead and they cast the spell. She could feel his spell affecting her emotions slightly, but ignored it. He would probably feel her's too, and their targets would feel it compounded. They stepped forward and Gohan addressed the five men who were initially screaming at a crouched figure, but as the combined effects of the spell hit, they began to quiet down. They looked at the newcomers without alarm. One of them even smiled. "What are we doing here? what are you two doing here. This is private Order business." The man said.

"What's he mean dangerous, boss?" One of them asked. "We were told it was safe." The boss turned and shrugged. "It is. Aint that right friends?" He looked at them. "Listen our pal here is just helping the local Fauna. Its sick you know." "It's Flora. animals would be Fauna." Kora pointed out. The man nodded. "Yeah that's what I'm saying. He's nearly done." Kora ignored the man, instead focusing her gaze on the crouched figure. She shared a quick glance with Gohan and then cast telepathy, ending her own calm spell, before reaching out to the strangers mind. Please, remain calm. We are here to help. Kora said into the stranger's mind. Just think the words, dont say them out loud. Tell me what's going on, and how we can help you? In the distance -or was it closer?- A wolf howled. It echoed through the dead trees eerily. The brigands, or whoever they were, straightened slightly. Their boss looked at Gohan. "We didn't get you're names? Are you from the Order too?" He said, looking around with some concern on his face.

Tohma had deviated greatly from the return home. The victory was shortlived as the repercussions from the battle was felt...the power vacuums in Mondolin and the Asentari were not ones that he envied in being a part of. Inter-clan politics were difficult at best. And their council sessions can be so draining without any drama. The forest was called dangerous by the locals, but so far, Tohma didn't have any issue. Maybe Tscuchigumo was scaring everything off. But the only reason he hadn't left yet was the odd magic plaguing some plants. When it was so obvious that even he could notice...

The silver haired Kijin had found the group, and stayed hidden in the tree tops. His large spider already making a framework of a web above the group of men. The one in the center seemed to be responsible for the disease...but maybe not willingly. Tscuchi was ready to rescue the man...if Tohma can confirm that this wasn't his choice. The Blue Lotus captain was about to focus on their yelling and try to decipher it when two others showed up. It took a little pause for him to understand what was said...and it was obvious then. The five foot five Kijin could tell that the duo weren't buying it either. And just waited for their move, hand on his sword, ready for his traditional quickdraw.