Shifter - Infinite Transformation-Chapter 52: Mother’s Insanity

She was the youngest mother of her kin. Compared to her brethren, she was still a youngling. The cycles she lived through did not even reach a century. And yet she was expecting. Or had been – several years ago.

She gave birth to a beautiful egg, which hatched into an even more beautiful dragonling. The child was her greatest joy, even when it was born without wings. Her brethren disregarded her beloved and shunned her, but she did not care. For as long as she could be with her baby, she would be content. The Dragon Nest be damned; her baby was perfect. Intelligent and powerful.

It grew quickly, its appearance that of its mother, whereas its power was a mixture of both parents. The means to wield nature itself and dominate it. If not for the loss of its wings, her baby would have been the incarnation of perfection. No, even without wings, she thought of the dragonling as perfect.

Kind and generous, yet powerful and domineering when necessary.

And that was taken away from her. They took it away from her. When those disgusting beings – humanoids, wielding weapons and magic that had been attuned against her very power – wounded her. They nearly killed her but failed to do so. Instead, they had to seal her away. But her child had not been as fortunate.

She thought her baby dead for several cycles. She mourned and rampaged in her fury, her flames consuming entire settlements in the hope of filling the hole in her chest.

Her power grew, but so did the hole in her chest. The more she destroyed, the worse the pain within her grew.

Then, she sensed her child. It had returned to nature. It...was still alive.

She had to get to it. Yet, as she returned to the forest, fae magic reached her. It confused her to no end, and so did the scent of a creature that should not be walking this realm.

Are the gods no longer afraid? She wondered but didn’t quite believe it. She diverted her attention momentarily to the home of the fae. There she found a man. A human, sparring with fae, smelling like fae...bonded with a fae.

He was unlike the men she learned to loathe. He did not fan the fury in her heart. Instead, looking at him, she felt a calm spread through her. And for the first time in cycles, she drifted into a sleep she needed. A day full of rest, a day without the nightmares that had haunted her for cycles. She slept without a nightmare.

Soon, she would reunite with her baby. Soon, they would travel the realm together.

Unfortunately, peace did not last long. Nor did she wake well-rested and happy.

Her eyes snapped open as the very connection that had just returned to her snapped once more. This time, however, she knew that it would be forever.

Endless fury, guilt, and sadness overcame her, and she turned to the fae’s home. They were at fault! If they hadn’t distracted her, her baby would still be alive! They lulled her in a false sense of safety, promised her comfort when there was no comfort to be.

They were at fault for...for...for her mistake.

The loss of her child consumed all reasoning. Fury and sadness were all that remained. Alongside the desire to burn down the entire forest. After all, the forest, too, was at fault.

Everyone was at fault for her child’s death, and they were going to pay for it.

***

Fern had a really bad feeling when she woke up alone in their bed. Xavier wasn’t with her. He’d snuck out of the bed early in the morning, but that wasn’t something new. He’d been sparring with Clove every day for the last few weeks. It saddened her that he would not snuggle with her until late into the day, but she understood his desire to grow and become more powerful as well.

She, too, wanted to grow even stronger. Only then would she be able to protect the Eserian, and, maybe,...just maybe...visit Xavier’s family.

Fern was curious about his family. She wanted to meet them and befriend them. But they lived in the Zetrian Empire. Going there was not dangerous – it was suicidal. It was foolish to go there, yet Fern could tell how much Xavier was fighting with the thought of staying forever in the Eserian.

They should move closer to the Eserian. We can meet on neutral ground, eat together, spend time together, and... have our children play together. She blushed thinking about having a family with Xavier.

As short as their time together was, Fern knew what she wanted. And she was sure that he wanted the same as she did.

They belonged to each other. Their connection was ever-present, the bond stable and growing. The bond was not something anyone could force. It came to be when the souls of two united. Usually that happened the first night a couple spent together. As long as their souls were in tune, it would happen over time. Months, if not years.

Yet, Fern and Xavier hadn’t spent that much time together. They hadn’t even known each other for years, but their bond was already strong. It had been born when they first kissed as well.

She told Maer about it and found out that it was possible. As rare as it was, a bond formed before the first night together was powerful. It was much greater than any other bond if nurtured properly. And that they did, daily.

Fern’s blush deepened as she thought about their time together. Those nights, mornings, and afternoons. And if not for Clove, they would have had even more time to strengthen their bond.

Searching for Xavier, Fern quickly realized that Clove was alone in the training grounds. It didn’t take her long before she found out that Elder Taria had sent him on yet another reconnaissance mission either, which only worsened her premonition.

Something bad was about to happen.

And when the Gnome popped out of nowhere, telling her about the human who smelled like fae and transformed even better than a Changeling, Fern felt sick to her stomach.

Then, as Gnome Sheraq spoke about the Berserkia Fairies and the poor monsters the humans tortured and experimented with, hell descended.

He could not even mention the dungeon entrance or the Hnoll attack when a massive shadow peeled off the ancient trees towering high above the Eserian Grove. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

A looming sense of death encompassed the Eserian Grove.

That was the day the grove ceased to be.