Notes:
While I try to keep revising my work to avoid annoying typos, I tend to miss some. If you spot any, please let me know.
And please don't be shy about leaving a comment!
Enjoy!
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The fresh moss crunched under Nessa's boots as she climbed up the hill.
Despite it being daylight, the shadows in this part of the forest were oppressive, it's canopy closing over her almost like a wooden cage.
Shiny eyes, colours and even what appeared to be voices murmured from beyond her sight, disappearing into the background almost as soon as she could focus on them.
It made her feel as if something was about to pounce on her at any minute.
And yet, everything was absolutely stunning. The dim light pushing through the thick branches of the trees reflected on the flowers, leaves and moss of the woodland, reflecting it like the inside of a kaleidoscope.
Nessa could not even recall how she got there, she had been following the instructions on the ancient scroll in her possession, bizarre as they were, and after meandering the forest for a while she had found herself here.
It was almost dreamlike, not unlike a morning haze.
This had to be the place she was looking for.
Carefully, she pulled out from the case hanging from her belt the withered old scroll that had been guiding her.
It had been the care of her ancestors, for as long as anyone could remember, and with it came the warning that while it could be used to get power, this would always come with a price,
But right now, the young woman didn't care about the price, for she was desperate for the power to save those dear to her.
As she unrolled it again, she could feel a myriad of gazes peered at her from the forest. They were inhuman eyes of unlikely colours, embedded on figures sporting horns, diaphanous wings and nebulous shapes.
With a blink, the figures vanished, giving Nessa a cold shiver down her spine.
A few more steps, she thought to herself, looking for the next indication she was going in the right direction.
She finally spotted what she was looking for, an old gnarly tree, with huge twisting branches that almost interlaced themselves with the surrounding canopy and a trunk so thick you could build a whole house from it without chopping it down.
Carefully, she went around the tree leaving its trunk to her right, like the instructions said, and as she was about to completely circle it, she spotted what she was looking for.
Illuminated by persistent sun rays that refused to be blocked by the canopy, an ancient stone circle stood.
Its dolmens were withered and cracked, vines overrunning their mass as if hugging them.
No trees grew inside the circle, through a scattering of flowers bathed in the sunlight that seemed to stubbornly cling to this area.
Nessa took a deep breath, this was it, and for what she was going to do next, there would be no turning back.
She found a small flat rock nearby the circle, barely bigger than a book. Carefully, she knelt in front of it, and grabbed the knife hanging from her belt.
A deep silence overtook the forest, making her shiver for a moment.
With a long breath, she composed herself and unrolled the scroll next to the rock, the words on the spell she needed to cast looking clearer than under the brightest of lights.
Clenching her jaw closed to avoid any moans of pain, she made a deep cut on the palm of her right hand, only stopping when the grass below her was stained crimson.
With a swift move, she placed her wounded palm on the rock, pressing hard against it, her blood seeping into the small cracks on it's surface, giving it the appearance of having flowing veins.
Her mouth started intoning a short verse in an ancient tongue, it's words resonating all around her, as if the very trees were listening to them.
Again and again she repeated the verse, feeling her life pouring into the very ground she stood on.
Until she felt her throat cramp and air leave her lungs for a second, the verse stopped with its final word on her lips.
Once again, a deep, unsettling silence devoured the forest, only broken when the soft sound of hooves came from beyond the stone circle.
A stunning white stag emerged from the shadows slowly, it's gorgeous fur shining under the dim light.
Its head was crowned by the most magnificent set of horns Nessa had ever seen, firm and strong like the branches of the oldest tree, with veins of gold hewn onto their very substance.
As it moved towards her, its most striking feature became clear, it's eyes. Looking into them was as if looking into a starry sky, and Nessa could feel herself being sucked into them, incapable of looking away.
By looking into the eyes, she also immediately understood something, the stag was a he, and he knew her.
She felt almost rooted to the ground as the stag crossed the circle, walking towards her without rush yet without slowing down. Somehow, sometime while crossing the circle, his appearance changed, or perhaps it had always been like this, and she didn't notice, as impossible as that seemed.
He now walked on two legs, rather than four, and his body was like that of an inhumanly tall and well-built person, with broad shoulders, shapely chest and strong arms and legs.
His head remained like that of a stag, but it was somehow more human and expressive, and Nessa could catch the glimpse of a grin on his lips as he stood in front of her.
She could feel the colour draining from her skin. Here he was, she had summoned him, there was no turning back.
The fae lord shoot an inquisitive look at her, she could feel her power flowing all around them, digging into her like meat hooks.
Slowly, she lowered her head, giving him a respectful bow.
"Who are you, summoner?" his voice was deep, like the low howling of the wind under the trees, "and why have you called out to me?"
Nessa raiser her head and looked at the powerful being in his eyes, trying to hide how much she was shaking.
"My lord, my name is Nessa Haldir, and I have called you because I have need of your power," she said, trying to look firm. "May I know the name of the one who has answered my call?"
The being shot her a smirk as he placed one of his big hands on his hip, clearly amused by her fake bravado.
"You have not yet earned the right of my full name, but I shall give you something you may call me," he said, his starry eyes making her feel as if she was drowning in them. "Bastinor."
He crossed his arms, and Nessa felt a jolt on her knees that almost knocked down.
"But you will use proper honorifics when talking to me if you wish to earn my respect," he said in a stern but not rude tone.
Nessa slowly nodded to him and bowed again.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my lord", she said with the politest tone she could muster.
