Amy looked up at her friends, all of whom were surrounding her and beyond happy to see her alive! Smiling at all of them, she knew they deserved an explanation for what happened. Her mom, her brother, and Elizabeth most of all. Felicitae glanced at the woman expectantly, with a lopsided smirk on her face.
"Well? They're waiting," the Nymph told her.
"I know! I just need a moment to sort it out in my head, OK?" Amy replied.
"Why don't you start at the beginning? When this whole thing with Felicitae kicked off?" Sheena suggested.
"I think it makes sense," Felicitae responded.
"That... makes a lot of sense. Well, when it all started was when I was knocked out by Felicitae during our initial fight, when a piece of her soul latched onto me," Amy started.
"Why did it do that? Latch onto you like it did?" Luke asked before Karla smacked him in the chest, indicating that he should hush up.
"No need to do that, Karla. That's actually where I was going to start my explanation. After I hit Felicitae, when a fragment of her soul attached itself to me, it did so for two reasons, each one different that the other," Amy explained.
"What were those reasons?" Elizabeth asked.
"The part that was Darkness was to worm its way into by body and soul. But it had to do so covertly, so no one would know until it was too late. Thankfully, my I fought back and disintegrated it, but not before I was able to link my mind back with my body," the young Shaman told them.
"And the other part that was Felicitae's soul?" Phalmina queried.
"It latched onto me as a means of survival, hoping that one day, Felicitae as she was, could be reborn. I also... kind of helped it do that," Amy replied with a shy smile.
"How did you know what to do? Did you know it would work?" Darren asked.
"I knew what I was doing because I am among the first of all Nymphs ever created. I knew our creator back when he started making us," Felicitae responded.
"Wait! Hold up! Are you saying that you knew Dionysius?!?" Luke gasped, awed by the implications of this.
"Knew him? The man was practically attached to me, for how fond he was of me. I did learn something of use though," Felicitae stated as she brought her Nymph magic into being. "Everything related to Gaia's magic and power, I learned directly from him."
"I'd say that explains much about how you knew to fight us like you did. It also explains how powerful your magic was," Jason mumbled, thinking to himself.
"Oh, it is still quite powerful. Just not tainted by the Dark Magic of the Dark Heart anymore," Felicitae responded, showing them a brief display of her magic.
"But how did you get this done? I mean... there's still a bit of a gap there!" Sheena posed, still struggling to put it all together.
"Well, for that to happen, we needed two things that Felicitae's corrupted body still had; the remnants of her soul and the Nymph's Heart," Amy explained.
"The Nymph's Heart? What is that?" Elizabeth wondered.
"The Nymph's heart is essentially the heart of every Nymph. The very core of their being and what makes them a Nymph. It's a magical artifact that was used to create the very first of the Nymphs and every Nymph since has one. If ever in danger or corrupted, the Nymph can use it to protect everything they are from being corrupted. It was a safety measure that was put into Nymphs, should they be badly wounded or 'killed'," Felicitae told them.
"I'm sorry, but I'm confused," Karla interjected.
"It's kind of like... a magical backup of the Nymph in question. If the Nymph is compromised in any way, once the threat or corruption had been purged, the magic of the Nymph's Heart can restore them back to the way they were," Amy stated, breaking it down further.
"Oh! Oh damn! If that's the case, then Nymphs are unkillable?" Luke questioned.
"Not quite. You see, when such a thing happens, the Nymph's Heart must be looked after and cared for properly. When such a thing happens, they are planted with the hope that a tree will grow from it and through the tree, the Nymph would eventually be restored," Amy went on.
"So, the Nymph's Heart wasn't corrupted?" Jason asked, a little worried.
"If it was, there would be no way this tree would have grown here in this now cleansed grove. The power of Gaia would have killed it, or you would have sensed it and done something about it," Felicitae responded.
"That does make sense. If there was still any trace of Dark Magic or the Dark Heart's influence, we would have felt it," Phalmina agreed.
"Seems like Dionysius wanted to keep you and your kind as safe as possible!" Xaera remarked, looking at Patrok and Vahlen in turn.
"That is one way of putting it. While he was a terrible man, he did care enough about us to not want to see us destroyed. He was at odds with many of the other Chosen of those days, and they were often devising inventive ways to hurt each other. Many of these ideas revolved around hurting those he cared about," Felicitae responded.
"Sounds to me like these... 'gods' were right pricks!" Luke grumbled. Felicitae looked at Luke oddly for a moment, as though she didn't understand what he was saying. Then a smile wormed its way onto her lips and she erupted into belly shaking laughter.
"That is... the most accurate... analogy I have... ever heard!" the Nymph laughed as she spoke.
"You said that the Nymph's Heart could be planted and grow like a tree. Would it also grow as slowly as a tree would?" Sheena questioned.
"Normally, yes, but this was a special case. With Amy, my soul had been attached to her body long enough for a link to be formed between us. Almost like a... bond between sisters," Felicitae explained.
"This bond isn't too unlike what Elizabeth and I share, but it ran deeper because of her plight and need. We would often speak to each other inside my head, where no one else could hear us. It was there that Felicitae told me of what needed to happen, if she was to be restored," Amy told them.
"Why didn't you tell us about what was going on? We could have offered our help," Eva stated, while glaring in disapproval at her daughter.
"Honestly, mom, would you have let me help? Knowing what sort of magic was involved and what needed to be done?" Amy replied and Eva tilted her head one way, then another, admitting that her daughter was correct.
"And what needed to be done?" Jason asked, curious about how this had happened.
"In order for Felicitae's body to grow back, she needed... a template. Someone to mimic as she regenerated and also... some of me to bring her body back," Amy confessed.
"Some of you? What do you mean 'some of you'?" Elizabeth asked, more than a little concerned.
"What I mean by that is that to help with bringing her back, she had to duplicate parts of me. Organs, bones and even some of my blood was needed to help her rebuild what the Dark Heart had eaten away. When the Darkness takes hold and consumes you, nothing of what you were, can grow back. Not even with Gaia's magic," Amy told them all.
"So... part of Felicitae is... you?" Darren asked, managing to wrap his head around the concept.
"In a way, yes. With Amy bonded to me and willing to help, I was able to grow back into who I was. In some ways, I think I might even be better!" Felicitae stated as she stood and moved her limbs around experimentally.
In many ways, she was right about that. There was much about her that resembled both Amy and Eva, making it almost appear as though they were related. They looked like they were distant cousins, or even direct cousins, depending on how you looked at them. While Felicitae was still herself, there was also an aspect of her that reflected Amy to some degree.
It went beyond the physical appearance, as those who could use Gaia's magic sensed a... similarity between the two women. It was almost as though they were sisters, even though they were born by different means. The energy that rolled off them was both different and the same. The same could also be said about how the Nymph looked now as opposed to before.
Felicitae's appearance was almost a hybridization of both Amy and what she had originally looked like. She still had the enticing allure and magic of a Nymph, but she also embodied all the qualities of a human woman. Her skin was more of a terracotta in color, and her hair, which would have been more vine and leaf, was now a blend of that and human hair.
Her eyes and body were where the changes were more apparent. They were no longer the pale yellow they had been, but they weren't Amy's brown color either. The color was more of a hazel-green, which had a slight glow effect to them. Felicitae's form had always been voluptuous, but now she was full figured and buxom to boot! The way her hips flared out, you would think she was a MILF rather than a childless Nymph.
"You've certainly changed from what you used to look like! I mean, I'm guessing that you looked like the opposite of what you were when you were corrupted?" Sheena asked.
"I suppose I have. Why? What do I look like now?" Felicitae asked.
"Like this!" Karla said as she took a quick photo with her phone. She then turned it around to show the Nymph the picture. Felicitae was awed at what she was witnessing, not just the neat little device, but also how she looked now!
"I... I have become... a Matriarch!" she breathed in disbelief.
"A Matriarch? What do you mean by a Matriarch?" Phalmina wondered.
"It is a stage of life that female Nymphs enter in their lives, should they live long enough or wish for the change. Either by time or by the Nymph's will, her body changes to where she is more capable of bearing children of her own. Her entering this stage of her life shows her desire to have children. Many, many children," Patrok explained in a slightly husky voice.
"So... this is her way of saying... time for babies, so knock me up?" Elizabeth blurted out.
"Liiiizzzzzzz!" Amy whined. "Do you have to be so... blunt?"
"I'm just trying to understand why things are the way they are. Sorry if I come across as blunt!" Elizabeth apologized.
