World Awakening: The Legendary Player-Chapter 83: Chat With Fena

Back in the village, Fena knelt on the floor, her hands working on Serian’s ankle. The poultice she applied was dark green and smelled of crushed leaves and damp earth.

"This will sting," she stated, not looking up from her work.

"I can handle it," Serian said, wincing as the poultice made contact with her swollen skin.

Fena finished her work and began wrapping the ankle with a clean, white cloth. Her movements were efficient, but also careful. "The bone is mending. But it will take time. You will not be walking on this for at least a week."

Serian watched the older elf’s hands. "Thank you for your help."

Fena tied off the bandage and sat back on her heels. Her eyes, dark and sharp, finally met Serian’s. "I am not helping you. I am ensuring my prisoner does not perish from a preventable injury."

Serian’s back went stiff. "I am not your prisoner."

"You are a stranger in my woods," she countered, her voice unchanging. "A Sun Elf. That makes you a potential threat. So you will remain my guest until I decide otherwise." She tilted her head, her gaze piercing. "Which brings me to my first question. Why are you traveling with a human?"

’Here it is.’ Serian shifted on the blanket. "He is my companion."

Fena’s eyebrows drew together. "A companion? Your kind does not take ’companions’ from the race of men."

Serian lifted her chin. "Times have changed. My world is gone. His is broken. We are survivors."

’She’s so naive,’ Fena thought. She stood up, her movements slow. She walked around the fire pit, her eyes never leaving Serian. "Survivors do not trust their enemies. And humans have always been the enemy of the forest."

Serian looked at her hands, which were resting on her lap. "He is not my enemy. He saved my life."

Fena stopped her pacing. She let out a short, sharp laugh. It was not a happy sound. "He saved you? A boy barely out of his cradle? He has no training, no skill. He is just a ball of uncontrolled, raw power."

Serian’s head snapped up. "That power saved me from Gorok’s hounds. And from his mercenaries."

’Gorok? Hmph.’ She walked closer, crouching down in front of Serian. "You speak with such conviction. It is almost believable." She reached out a hand, her long, dark fingers hovering just over Serian’s forehead. "Let me see if this conviction is your own."

Serian flinched but didn’t pull away. ’What is she doing?’

A faint, cool energy flowed from Fena’s hand. It washed through Serian’s mind, a gentle but probing presence. It searched for any sign of outside influence, any trace of a compulsion spell.

She pulled her hand back, her expression twisting from suspicion to confusion. "There is no enchantment. No mind-twist." Her eyes narrowed. "Your will is your own."

Serian just stared at her. "I told you."

"But..." she leaned in closer, her dark eyes scanning Serian’s face. "I feel something else. Something dark. A brand on your very soul." Her hand moved from Serian’s head down to her chest, her fingers hovering over her heart. "Here. It is a curse."

Serian’s own hand went to her chest. ’The mark.’ She remembered Gorok’s cruel laugh as he branded her. "It was a warning. From the one who hunts me."

"Who would use such foul magic? Speak his name."

She took a breath. The name felt like poison on her tongue. "Gorok."

Fena’s expression hardened. A memory crossed her face. "Gorok the Defiler." She said the name like an old, unpleasant memory.

Serian looked surprised. "You know of him?"

"I know the name," she said, standing up and turning her back to her. She walked back to her herb table. "An old friend spoke of him. A brute who leads a broken clan, preying on the weak from the Shadow Wastes." She picked up her stone pestle. "He is a coward who sends others to do his work. That he is hunting you is... interesting."

Serian felt a small sense of relief. Fena wasn’t afraid. "He wants to use me as leverage against my kingdom."

Fena slammed the pestle down into the bowl, making a loud crack. "His ambition has grown. He used to be content with raiding border villages." She turned around, her eyes burning with a cold fire. "Tell me everything. How did he place this mark upon you?"

---

"I see, quite the situation you found yourself in," she kept looking at her like se was feeling sorry, "does the human know?"

"No, I didn’t think it was important to tell him."

"You did not think it was important? You travel with a beast, and you choose not to arm him with the truth?"

Serian’s jaw tightened. "He is not a beast."

Fena slammed a hand down on the table, making the small clay bowls on it jump. "He is! I felt that power he unleashed. It is a foul, uncontrolled thing. A cancer." She pointed a finger at Serian. "It reeks of a hunger that has no end."

"That power saved my life many times," she shot back, her voice rising.

"For now," Fena scoffed, turning away to pace in front of the fire pit. "A rabid dog might save its master from a wolf, only to turn and bite the hand that feeds it." She spun back around, her dark eyes burning. "He is a weapon without a wielder. A storm without a sky. He is a danger to himself and to everyone around him, especially you."

’She doesn’t understand him at all.’ Serian pushed herself up a little straighter against the wall. "You’re wrong."

"Am I?" She took a step closer. "I see a child drowning in a power he can’t comprehend. I see an arrogance born from ignorance." Her voice dropped. "He is a walking calamity, and you have brought him to my doorstep."

"He just wants to get me home," Serian insisted.

"He wants power," she corrected. "I can see it in his eyes. It is the same hungry look I have seen in a thousand other humans before they burned our world to ash." She leaned down, her face just inches from Serian’s. "He is not your protector, girl. He is a time bomb. And when he finally explodes, I will not let him take my forest with him."

Serian met her gaze without flinching. "Then you do not know him."

"And you do?" Fena stood up, a cruel smile on her lips. "You think you know the heart of a boy who has a power inside him? You are a fool." She walked to the door and threw it open. "Mela!"

Mela appeared a moment later.

"Take the sun elf back to her room," she commanded, her back to them. "And bring the human to me. It is time I had a... talk with him. If he is alive that is."

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