Twilight was upon them as they all walked out of the house and into the forest that lay in their backyard. The forest was quiet as they moved from the grounds of the house, and along the path that lay towards the grove. The lot of them took in a deep breath, enjoying the night air and, for some of them, such a thing was welcome indeed.
"They've surely finished up their magical ritual by now?" Karla guessed.
"Well, they did say to show up by twilight. Here's hoping that they finished whatever needed to be done to complete the ritual," Luke replied.
"They're probably finished by now, anyway. Besides, I think they just wanted to give themselves some extra time," Emalia giggled.
"Extra time? For what?" Luke questioned, looking confused.
"Luke, honey. They're Nymphs," Karla told her boyfriend.
Luke scrunched his face, puzzled for the moment, until he realized what she was referring to. The moment realization hit him, Luke facepalmed himself, annoyed that he was so dense.
"You're cute when do that," Emalia snickered, staying close to Luke and Karla as they walked. Dominique was watching the trio, more than a little envious of what they had, but her focus was soon drawn to other things. The forest itself seemed to call to her, wanting the woman to walk its depths and discover its secrets.
"This is... odd... but nice all the same," Valerie stated.
"Odd? Odd how?" Phalmina queried as she walked with Jason and Sheena.
"I've been to places around the world. Places where no man or woman has been in centuries. Of all the places I have been, I have never felt such a pure aura of... welcome like this. Certainly not from a forest," Valerie commented.
"I was feeling the same thing! It's almost like it's... inviting me in, wanting me to walk the unknown paths of this place," Dominique agreed.
"Much has changed in the weeks since our battle with the Darkness that resided here. I think the forest is just glad to be back to itself after centuries of being a place of danger, decay and death," Xaera told the pair of them.
"The forest was a place of Darkness? How was this so?" Darnell asked, curious about what had transpired there.
Aaliyah and Hayley wanted to know this too, curious about what this place was like before. The Gaians humored them all and told the tale of what the forest was like when they first arrived. They spoke of how it had started, of Felicitae being corrupted by the Dark Heart, the children who were lost here, everything. The tale took a while to tell, finishing up as they were nearing the grove.
The newcomers gasped in surprise, fear, and delight before the story was over. A sense of wonder overcame them, as they knew the tale told was true, every word of it. They stared at the Gaians, wondering how it was that they were alive after such an intense battle.
"Well, in that regard, it was because of Amy and what she had inadvertently taken from Felicitae when she first fought her," Jason told them.
"What did she take from her?" Hayley queried.
"The remnants of her soul that weren't corrupted and her heart," Sheena replied.
"Wouldn't her heart have been corrupted? I mean, living under Darkness for so long, there was no way she should have survived!" Aaliyah argued.
"Apparently, Dionysus had created the Nymphs to not only be naturally resistant to Darkness, but to also seal off their hearts should any form of corruption find them," Phalmina told them.
"Wait, wait, wait! Are you telling me that the Greek god of wine and ecstasy was responsible for their creation?? And that he put safeguards so they wouldn't be corrupted?!?" Darnell asked, his voice almost cracking at this.
"That's right. If you want more details about such things, then you're going to have to wait until we get to the grove. I know the basics of the creation of Nymphs, but if you want the full story with all the details, then you'll have to talk to Felicitae," Phalmina told them.
"Why her? What's so special about her?" Hayley asked.
"She was one of the first he created. She was there, watching everything he did, everything and everyone created."
The witches and the warrior's mouth fell open at this revelation. Hearing about the history of the world that had been shrouded in mystery was something new to them! Not only was new knowledge being told to them, it was being done so casually, like it was an everyday thing! Such a thing was unheard of and they resolved to find out about everything that they could!
"What about the Dark Heart? I assume it was destroyed?" Darnell questioned, hoping that they had managed to destroy such an evil thing.
"Sadly, we do not possess the necessary power levels to even scratch the heart, much less destroy it! At least we were able to contain the damned thing," Jason growled.
"Contain it?? How were you able to contain it?" Valerie questioned, curious about how they did it.
"Using what magic and containment spells we knew and placed in a magically enchanted vessel, then blanketed by Gaian, Fairy, Nymph and Troll magic, so it cannot influence anyone or anything again," Jason told them.
"Might we know where you are keeping this thing? So we know it won't be getting out and influencing the world?" Valerie wondered, curious about how well guarded the Dark Heart was.
"Well, I would say, but we just met. I haven't really gotten a chance to get to know any of you yet. Trust, like a great many things, is something that is earned," Jason replied. Valerie and the others looked a bit crestfallen, but they understood his reasoning. On top of which, the Dark Heart was a powerful, corruptive artifact, which wasn't to be trifled with.
The group was quiet, but appreciative of the forest's welcoming embrace as they journeyed to the grove. They reached it just as the sky darkened to night and saw that the way was open to them. There was laughter and giggling coming from within and going by the tone of it all, it was fairly obvious what the Nymphs had been up to. Once they all walked into the grove, the lot of them could smell the sex in the air.
"So, Nymph magic only, huh?" Phalmina questioned with a teasing voice.
"That part was true enough, but there was also everyone's... safety that I was concerned about," Felicitae said in her defense.
"Our... safety?" Darnell questioned.
"Yes! It was a theory I had that was confirmed after we accessed the magic from within the Nymph hearts," the Nymph Matriarch told them.
"What theory?" Jason asked, curious.
"The theory was that the... sexual energies that rolled off the hearts was suppressed because the core of it was sealed inside the heart. Once we opened them, then the energies were released. The effect of them was... overwhelming, even for us," Felicitae explained.
"You were overwhelmed by the energies from the Nymph hearts?" Sheena queried, finding it difficult to believe.
"Yup! Normally, we have a pretty good rein on our urges, but this... the three of us just nearly lost control. We had to... handle each other so we could at least not be consumed by pure lust," Patrok chuckled.
"Indeed! If the lot of you had been with us, then things would have devolved into an all out orgy! You would likely have kept going, no matter how sore or raw you would become," Felicitae warned.
"It was that potent?" Luke wondered, never having experienced such a thing himself, but hearing that it was very unpleasant.
"Yes! Though we are speaking with all of you all right for the moment, we will likely go back to full on debauchery after you and yours have left the grove," Patrok laughed.
"Sounds to me that the caution was warranted, then. No need to hurt or tire ourselves out with such activities... yet," Jason smirked while glancing over at Phalmina and Sheena. The pair of them looked back, fanning themselves with their hands. They were more than a little hot under the collar from such looks from their man, and this look promised them much.
"Well, we do celebrate events such as the solstices and each equinox. Maybe we could look into something to happen then?" Emalia suggested with a glance at Luke and Karla, her stare telling them all that she just wanted to devour the both of them.
"We'll discuss the particulars and who wants to show up for that, at a later date, Ema. Right now, we have other things to discuss and do," Phalmina told her friend, pulling the focus back to why they were there.
"Right! Sorry," the dark-haired fairy apologized as the general focus shifted from that topic to the tree and the pool. The healing energies that emanated from both points in the grove washed over everyone, soothing their minds and their souls.
"Wow!! Is Nymph magic always... like that?" Dominique questioned.
"Our healing magic, yes. Speaking of which, Valerie, you will need to step into the pool for us to help heal your magic," Felicitae told the witch.
She nodded and started to step in, when the Nymph Matriarch then stopped her and gestured for her to disrobe. Smirking, Valerie had a feeling that was coming, as Nymphs were an open-minded race, not one to embrace the 'proprieties' of humans. Her clothes slowly came off, eventually forming a pile on the ground, and Valerie stepped in.
Though she was an older woman, Valerie was still quite the looker. Her honey blonde hair fell down her back in waves, almost blending with her sun kissed skin. It was clear that Valerie had some sort of workout regimen, as there was very little fat on her frame. Anything that was there sat in all the right places, which attracted the male eye. Both Nymph men weren't shy about getting an eyeful, which Valerie found flattering.
The water was cool, but not unpleasantly so, which felt like a balm on her raw and cut skin. She sighed happily as the sensation of the cool water did much to alleviate any pain she felt. The Nymphs then gestured for Dominique and Aaliyah to come forward and help them as they wove a spell of healing. Once Valerie was immersed in the water, the spell was cast and sent into it.
The spell saturated the water and, in turn, soaked into Valerie completely. She could feel her wounds not only closing up, but the pain receding to where it was nothing. Valerie sighed as the marks she had suffered under the Black Witch, Kathryn Syme, were washed away.
"That was... wow!" Valerie remarked as she felt better almost instantly.
