The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 345: The Tree of Elements (Part Four)

Chapter 345: The Tree of Elements (Part Four)

The faery lifted his hands and shadows gently swirled around Annalise, surrounding her in a distortion field that made Esmeray appear as if she was watching him through a screen door, and the blue-golden tree as well. And when she tried to get out of it, she hit a wave of something so cold it burned her skin.

The distortion thickened and she started seeing faces appear out of the corners of her eyes. There was Valerius, Damien, and Kenric. Her parents whom she hadn’t met for a while. All her friends - Leela, Ezra, Elijah, and Marley.

She was in a vortex of all those people who were dear to her.

For a moment, she got freaked out as terror started taking control over her. She wanted to shut her eyes, but instead, she ended up following her husbands.

They seemed to be busy training the Seelies, working hard every minute of the day to save the people and the world they loved so dearly.

Just seeing their faces again, even in some strange magical context, made her soul ache for their company. Even if she just spent a really lovely night with Kenric a couple of days ago, her heart was still crying for them.

’Valerius, is that really you?’ She tried to call out to the Winter Prince through the mind link. "Damien... Kenric!’

’Annalise...’

She did get a response but it wasn’t from her husbands, instead, the voice belonged to Esmeray.

’You do remember that all this is just a part of a test, right?’ He tried to press the words into her brain, causing her to feel fuzzy for a moment as she tried to separate reality from illusion.

’You can’t lose your focus. Fight it, Annalise. Whatever it is, fight your way through it.’ She heard his voice once again before he was completely cut off from her by the spell that the faery had cast over her.

She shut her eyes, blocking out the visions. Now, she was aware of her own self again and she realized the cold was seeping slowly into her and her hands and feet had already turned numb.

She tried to summon her fire element once again, but it didn’t work at all. Still not giving up, she called on her light element but instead of using it to break free from the faery’s spell, she used it to connect with Esmeray, and fortunately, it did work.

’Esmeray!’

’Annalise!’

’Will my light element be able to bring this spell down?’ She asked hurriedly as she could already feel the spell diminishing her link with Esmeray.

’It won’t be able to do that. You need to find another way, but first, keep your eyes closed.’ Esmeray immediately responded and warned her the very moment she was about to open her eyes as if he sensed that.

’Okay. I understand,’ she said, although she wasn’t sure she did. ’Just...tell me how I can take this spell down if not by my elemental powers.’

’Your powers aren’t working here because you haven’t gotten full control over your light element, which makes your powers inferior to the faery’s powers. But since you control the element of light, you can try and summon the essence of seven elements that still linger in this place. There are elements everywhere that can help you if you ask them. Some of them protect the land you stand on now.’

’We’re in the middle of Primordial Realm, a place that has lost all its magic,’ she said.

’Depends on your perspective. After all, this is the place where the seven elements originated. They will always be here.’

’Oh.’

The connection got cut between them right at that point and Annalise realized that even her legs had gone numb in the past few minutes.

She took a deep breath to collect herself before she spoke the words out loud for the elements to hear - "I wish to take a branch from this tree," she said. "To make a weapon to wield my magic and strength in order to fight against the evil. I honor this land. The trees and soil, and the elements that walk upon it."

Though she felt kind of awkward, she still continued - "I bear no ill intention toward this realm or those who venture here. All I want is the blessing of this magical tree and a powerful weapon. Please, I ask for your help."

Her eyes were still shut, but she felt it. Elements swirled around her, all seven of them - including Darkness, surrounding her with warmth.

She opened her eyes and saw a spectacular scene where all seven magical elements were present at the very same time, creating a view of beauty of colors and glow. They swirled around her, engulfing her in their protection while fighting against the faery’s spell.

The vortex dissipated and she was able to see Esmeray and the tree again.

She started shivering from the cold but it disappeared in a blink as all the elemental energy of the seven elements merged into her body after dispelling the faery’s spell.

Annalise felt her own light element reacting as her body and her element hurriedly accepted the foreign magic and made it their own. She suddenly felt every cell of her body filling with magic, a powerful one.

It took a couple of moments as her body calmed down and she went back to normal as if she hadn’t just merged with a lot of elemental magic.

"Good work," the faery said, pulling her attention toward him. "You have passed the test by demonstrating your true potential. You are indeed someone worth carrying the power of seven elements and a weapon made from the Tree of Elements."

"Who are you?" Annalise asked.

"Just a fae who was punished for stepping into this realm uninvited. I have been watching over this tree for a very long time. I was curious to see if you would make your way here. This tree has been here for millennials, but only one person ever made their way here and got a weapon from this tree." The faery answered.

"The late light fae queen,’ Annalise voiced out the obvious.

"That is correct."

"So it’s really a pretty special tree."

"It’s a very special tree, one that created the first two elements - darkness and light."