The party traveled a bit further south and came across a field of onyx gemstones jutting from the earth. They skewered the earth, creating a rippling effect, as if an explosion were their origin.
"Holy shit!" Teddy flew up to the black gemstones. They shimmered in an oil-like rainbow radiance in the sun's rays. "Looks like this shit fell from the sky!"
Astrin pulled out the formerly waterlogged journal, taking out a small pen to draw the perfect image in her damaged notebook.
"I've never seen anything like this," Myria said softly, dragging her fingertips against the smooth onyx stone. "This reminds me of the void of nothingness. The black abyss that awaits us all."
Gwyn looked towards the twins for confirmation, as if this were a normal thing. They only shook their heads.
Leo walked up to the black gem and inspected it closely.
"I think it may be the remnants from a meteorite, although this pattern is… odd."
"A meteorite?"
Gwyn now approached the stones herself. Its surface was hot to the touch, soaking up every ray of sunlight.
Teddy raised his staff.
"Hard as stone,
Hammer this onyx,
Wood destroys rock,
Now isn't that ironic?"
The bottom of his staff turned into a hammer, and he swung at the surface. It made a high-pitched scream that caused Gwyn to cover her ears, as did everyone else.
"Fucking shit, Teddy." Myria cursed. "Trying to make us deaf?"
"Just getting a sample," he said, placing a small piece of the onyx in his robe. "I'm going to get the best fucking grade, I swear it."
"This field trip is to work on your magic, not to collect—" Terror replaced Astrin's thoughtful reminder. "Look out!"
"Huh?"
Teddy turned, and a massive beast leapt from the shadows and swiped at him. He barely raised his staff in time to block the attack before his catalyst snapped in two, sending him spiraling uncontrollably in the air.
"Quick! Say the rescue incantati—" Leo shouted, looking towards the sky.
The beast reared its head back and roared. Everyone was reeling in pain, but Gwyn. She couldn't hear anything. Everyone either dropped their catalysts or was unable to wield them.
"It's… a… shadowflame…" Myria said through gritted teeth, her bored tone replaced with terror.
The shadowflame appeared to Gwyn as a maned lion whose body was covered in a purple-ish, black fire. The fire crackled and burned white-hot at the edges. It prowled as it roared, disappearing once it stepped into the shadows.
Gwyn looked at her reeling allies. She had no idea why she wasn't affected. Her fellow party members were now becoming incapacitated, crumpling to the floor, eyes turning in their skulls as they screamed in agony.
"F-f-f-fire Fl-are!"
Leo choked out as he held his hand to the sky. His words were jumbled and not delivered with perfect enunciation, and it fizzled without achieving any result.
Gwyn's heart was pounding in her throat.
Should I run?
She looked to her new friends. They all looked possessed with pain. She pointed her shaky hand towards the sky and stumbled out.
"F-fire Flare Fo-r F-f-f-f-foster-ing."
The Chosen One felt a surge of magical energy swell within her like uncontrolled emotions, but nothing happened.
Teddy screamed, holding his skull.
"Gahhhhhh! S-s-s-s-say it r-right!"
All of their heads were now turning scarlet as the blood rushed to their skulls. Gwyn was only becoming more nervous by the second. But she looked at the ring on her finger. She knew the names carved within the band's surface. She thought of how powerless she was before, and how she wouldn't be powerless again.
She remembered July 4th before the Incident. Five members of the Grim family crammed into the Jeep Cherokee, heading downtown to watch the fireworks display. As a child, Gwyn thought it was magic that made the fireworks explode.
Later, she learned that it was a fuse, gunpowder, and different metals arranged in particular shapes to create the dazzling spectacle.
She sat on her dad's shoulders, so she could get a clearer view of the night sky illuminated into a colorful haze.
Now, magic would make the fireworks appear, and it would save her friends.
Like a lightning bolt, Gwyn shot her hand to the sky, a confidence possessing her.
"Fire flare for fostering!"
Her words rang like thunder. A bright light of emerald green shot from her hand and streaked across the sky, exploding like fireworks in the night.
Not a breath later, the two robed Dyads appeared. One of them tensed at the sound of the shadowflame's roar.
Then they raised their catalysts and gestured as if they were conducting an orchestra. Long, silver-like blades of water shot from their weapons, cutting the creature.
Black smoke steamed from its body, and it stumbled backward after each strike. It hissed as some of its fire was extinguished. Patches of white fur were revealed underneath its wounds.
It approached closer for a moment, only to retreat after a second barrage of water blades. The beast whined as the smoky haze retreated into the shadows of the towering multicolored trees.
"Are you lot alright?" One of the robbed figures asked. They pulled down their hood, and Gwyn noticed a familiar face, but couldn't quite place them. The Dyad noticed the same thing when she looked at Gwyn. "Chosen One!"
She raised her hand and shook it.
"Hello!" Gwyn said, surprised at her kindness. "Do I know you?"
"Yes! Oh..." She appeared bashful. "I'm Venni, from the Summoning!"
"Oh!" Fake recollection on Gwyn's face. She never saw Venni in her entirety; all she remembers is her arguing with the Head Whisperer. It was her voice that was familiar. "So, you're the ones defending us?"
"Mmhmm." She nodded furiously. "I heard you would be here, but I didn't see you." She looked around at the elves, trying to catch their breath. "Are you guys alright?"
"Fuckin' fantastic," Teddy said. "Thanks to you."
"Yes, thank you."
Astrin's hands were on her knees and bowing deeply in gratitude.
The other Dyad scoffed in Gwyn's direction.
"I'm leaving."
Venni rolled her eyes.
"Don't mind him. He isn't the biggest fan of our Chosen Ones, but neither are most people! Me included, at first."
Surprise possessed Astrin.
"Why the change of heart?"
"Well, first I heard about how Gwyn nearly got blown up in the café."
Gwyn nodded.
"And then I thought: 'Glad that isn't me.' Then I heard about how you utterly embarrassed yourself at the Meeting of the Chosen."
Gwyn nodded again, more slowly, less eager.
"Then I heard how you were able to cast lesser magic after a week! Other than a handful of other Chosen Ones, that's basically unheard of."
Gwyn looked surprised.
"Well… t-thanks."
"Don't mention it, honestly. I love an underdog story." Her eyebrows narrowed. "Although you vomited on my shoes at the Summoning, which, quite frankly, pissed me off."
Gwyn looked nervously around her.
"S-sorry about that."
"Oh, it's no big deal. Vomit, schmomit." She waved her hands. "Who cast the flare spell?"
Everyone looked towards the Chosen One.
"And you cast magic with the poetic component? Gods, you are going to be a force to be reckoned with." Venni said confidently and was overly excited. She looked around. "Well, that thing's run off, so I would probably head back now, if I were you. Those things like to ambush their prey." She wiggled her catalyst. "But if you get the drop on them, they aren't so bad."
Leo held his head. The throbbing ache from the attack still permeated.
"We'll keep that in mind."
"Good luck to you."
Venni smiled sweetly, then took off into the sky.
Teddy fixed his collar.
"Thank the Gods she showed up. Do you think she was interested in me?"
"I'm pretty sure she'd only be interested in people who could save themselves, Teddy," Myria quipped.
"So you are saying she's interested in the Chosen One?" Teddy scoffed. "She's already doing it with the two hottest people in all of Keceo! Why would she need some lowly Dyad?"
Leo squeezed his temple as Astrin tried to change the subject.
"I hope that was interesting enough for you, Teddy. I'd like to go back now."
"I second that notion," Leo agreed.
"Third. Although death's sweet embrace was close, I think I'd rather wait for another day," Myria said.
Teddy frowned and crossed his arms; his floating spell was no longer active, and the waist-high grass smacked him in the face—a grumbling under every word.
"I guess we can head back."
"Buuuuuuuuut," Astrin strode up to Gwyn. "You cast a spell!"
In the heat of the moment, Gwyn forgot she had cast real magic, not lesser, but an actual spell.
"Jesus, you're right!"
Gwyn felt the excitement overcome her; she couldn't wait to tell Artero.
"Holy shit, we may have a real Chosen One after all," Teddy commented, but Myria slapped him.
"Stop doubting her. She is the only reason we are still breathing," Astrin scolded.
"You know, I kind of like when you hit me, Myria."
Teddy raised his eyebrows, and Myria rolled her eyes.
"Whatever, Teddy."
The other three just laughed.
"I can't believe it. The worthless Chosen One saved our lives," Astrin said.
Leo nodded.
"Without a doubt, I know you could do it."
"Your saving of us was appreciated, but unfortunately, it disappoints me greatly," Myria said.
Gwyn bashfully rubbed her hand against the back of her skull.
"It was… nothing."
Astrin grabbed her hands.
"Don't say that!"
"Yeah, I think we might be friends for life now," Leo said.
Everyone seemed to nod in agreement.
"Friends for life!" Astrin shouted.
They all put their hands in the center after her. Gwyn was the last to do so.
"Friends for life. So…. How long does your kind live anyway?" Teddy asked.