Final Form

Vara jolted awake as if lightning ran through his veins. He felt the sweat wrapping around his body like an icy blanket. He looked around, at first not realising where he was. The fire crackled low, thin smoke mixing with the night air. He smelled the burnt wood and felt his breath slow. The light of the embers was steady. He took it in and let out a long breath. It was all right. Just the fire. Just the night. 

“Another bad dream?”, her warm voice brought him back to the present. 

“Yes—” he looked in that direction, her friendly face floating in mid-air. “It was the same place again. The grove, the open gate between the trees. I looked inside it and saw darkness—mud and smoke… Barely any life left on the other side. I saw everything this time. The visions are getting clearer, Kaia. We’re getting closer.” 

“And how do you feel?” The question was half rhetorical. She’d noticed his greying skin, the red around his eyes had turned a deeper shade, almost purple. 

“I’m losing my connection to the forest,” he said while piling some branches on the fire. He snapped his fingers in a familiar gesture. It took him five attempts before a small flame appeared within his palm. “See… I can barely manage a cheap trick at this point.” 

“I wasn’t talking about your magic, Varauthak,” Kaia said as she flew towards him, her butterfly wings leaving faint golden light behind her. “I meant you. How are you?” she landed on his shoulder. 

“I’ll push through.”

“I’m worried about you, Vara. Whatever you think you’ll find at the gate, you can’t face it alone.” 

“This forest is our home, Kaia. I have to protect it. Or at least try. Besides, I’m not alone - I have you,” he said with a tired smile. 

“Well, you need your rest. Come on, there are a few hours before sunrise. Try to get some sleep. I’ll watch the fire.” 

As Vara drifted back to sleep, Kaia touched his forehead. He was burning up. She muttered a few words and the faint golden glow under her palms grew brighter. The light seeped through Vara’s skin and his face turned brighter. 

That’d be enough to stave off the fever and the nightmares. For now at least. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep him going, but she was determined to do whatever was in her power. The least she could do was share his burden. 

The next few days were difficult for Vara. He hadn’t ventured this deep into the forest before. The well-trodden paths he was used to walking were long behind him. Muddy trails had given way to peat bogs that couldn’t support his weight as he walked. His feet sank deep into the soil with every step he took. The terrain had gone from difficult to almost impossible.

The forest around him had also changed. Familiar sounds of birds and small beasts had given way to hollow silence broken only by the buzzing of mosquitoes. Green was no longer the dominant colour. The trees here were sparse and sickly. Their twisted branches carried a few blackened leaves. It was as if life had abandoned this part of the forest. 

Kaia did her best to lift his spirits, but there was only so much she could do. In any case, Vara was glad that she insisted on coming with him on this journey. He wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t for her. 

“Don’t you think flying would be easier out here?” Kaia asked as she saw him struggle to lift his foot from another muddy puddle. 

“I’ve tried eagle form. It doesn’t work.” 

“Maybe try again?” 

“I can’t even manage casting a small flame, Kaia. Shapeshifting is…” 

“Just try. Please.” 

“Alright.” He took an eagle wing from his satchel and held it in one hand while the other found its way to the eagle tattoo on his chest. 

The spell was simple, in theory. All the shapeshifter needed to do was bind an element of the animal to himself and concentrate on the form. This was magic that didn’t require any reading or preparation beforehand. Vara had carried this power within ever since he was a child. He couldn’t explain how it worked. He’d just been able to do it. It was as natural as breathing to him. 

He closed his eyes and focused on the feather in his hand and the image of the eagle. He took three deep breaths and let the eagle nature take over him. But this time nothing happened. He didn’t feel the surge of energy that came with every shift. 

“See,” he said looking at Kaia, arms open in desperation. “The closer we are to the gate, the worse I get. I’m of no use.” 

“You’re more than your powers, Vara. We can get through this. Trust me.” 

He nodded reluctantly and kept battling with the mud underneath his feet. 

The road didn’t get easier for another two days. Progress was frustrating. At dawn on the third day, the bog gave way to dry soil. Vara and Kaia found their way to a circular opening in the forest. In the middle of the circle stood a granite gate twice as tall as Vara. Grey vines were growing around both pillars of the gate. As Vara moved closer, he noticed fungus growing from the vine, its stalks were black, rotting from the inside. The leyline was drained of its powers. The forest was sick. Vara could feel it with all his senses. 

“This is the place,” he said as he peered between the gate’s pillars. The image within was exactly as he’d seen it in his dream. It was the Feywild. Where he’d spent his childhood. Where he’d met Kaia. But it was decaying - a continuation of what he saw around him on this plane. “This is the place from my dreams, Kaia.” 

“I don’t like it,” she flew over to him timidly. “Vara, we shouldn’t stay here long. All this –” she spun around pointing in all directions “ – this is Unseelie magic. It’s evil. Twisted.” 

“Why do you think the Unseelie would have ventured to this side?” Vara asked as he moved closer to the gate, half ignoring Kaia’s warning. He lay a hand on the stone. It was strangely warm to the touch. He brushed one of the vine leaves and it cut him like a rapier blade. As he tried to pull away, the vine shot up and wrapped around his wrist. 

Suddenly, a loud drawn-out creak echoed from all directions. The trees leaned in towards the centre of the forest opening. Their branches tangled together, trapping Vara and Kaia within the circle. 

One of the nearby poplars opened up and a tall lanky figure emerged from inside. Its skin was dark and damp, like the bark of an ancient tree. Its face was twisted in a wicked smile. Its yellow eyes fixed on its prey. 

“Look out!” Kaia screamed as the creature rushed towards Vara. 

In a hurried frenzy, Vara managed to draw his hunting axe and stop the creature’s claw from slashing at his neck. With all his strength he pushed the dark fey away and bought himself enough time to chop the vine trapping his other hand. He rolled away from the gate and stood between the creature and Kaia. 

“Stay behind me!” he shouted as he readied for the fight. 

The creature snapped its neck, tilting its head to the side. It looked into Vara’s eyes as if sizing him up. The gaze pierced through to Vara’s core. He felt a chill run down his spine. The dark fey’s grin widened as if realising Vara’s weakness. It made its move. 

The next few moments were a blur. The creature charged with unnatural speed. It swung its twisted arms at Vara like a windmill in a storm. He could barely catch his breath. The only thing keeping him alive was sheer instinct. He did his best to block each blow, but several got through, leaving their bloody mark. The creature pushed him back, forcing him near the trees around the circle. He felt the branches moving behind him, entraping him on both sides. 

Kaia’s first reaction was horror. She stood watching her friend struggle against this Unseelie abomination. As the creature took the upper hand, she knew Vara didn’t have long left in him. He needed his powers back if he was to stand a chance in the fray. He needed her support now more than ever. 

She summoned all her courage and flew nearer the dark creature. She started chanting in an ancient tongue she hadn’t used for years - the language of the forest. The dark fey turned its head towards her. It stood in a stupor, hesitant to continue its attacks. 

Kaia’s melodic chants reached Vara with visceral force, emboldening him to continue his resistance. Her voice was amplified tenfold by the trees around them. As the words bounced from trunk to trunk, green leaves started budding from each branch. 

Kaia made her way towards Vara slowly, keeping an eye on the terrible twisted creature. The delicate beauty in her gaze had turned wrathful. Her otherwise small figure now looked menacing. She was ready to protect her friend at all costs. Wild flowers sprang up along her path, a green carpet unfolding beneath her as she moved toward Vara.

Kaia flew close to Vara’s face. She looked into his eyes with a warm smile and a hint of sadness in her eyes. She leaned in, speaking softly in the ancient tongue—a language that, somehow, Vara understood this time: 

“I give you life.” 

She kissed his forehead and closed her eyes. Her body dissolved into countless golden particles that made their way into Vara’s body. 

A sudden surge of strength ran through his muscles. The deep gash in his shoulder seemed to close a little as he stood tall once more. He grabbed the axe and threw it at the dark fey with everything he had. The axe flew true and found purchase in its leg. The creature gave out an ugly scream as it reeled back, pain and surprise taking over its senses. 

Vara used this moment of confusion to charge ahead and seize the fight. He leapt forward and just as he’d done it before a thousand times, he thought wolf. He took three breaths mid-air and he felt his body transform into a shape he knew very well. 

What hit the dark fey in the chest was a giant grey dire wolf - fangs out and ready for blood. The creature staggered back and fell over under the weight of Vara’s charge. A powerful bite to the next, and it was over. The dark fey tried to scream, but all that came out was a rasping gasp as the light left its eyes. 

The forest was silent. The fey lay dead. 

As the echoes of battle faded, the pain of Kaia’s sacrifice hit Vara. She’d given her life to keep him going, and now her power was gone. He tried to shift back to his goliath form, but nothing happened. He was bound to wolf form. And he was spent. 

He turned homeward, moving through the trees on heavy paws. He may have won this encounter, but somehow he knew darker things would come. Kaia’s warmth lingered in the cool air around him, her presence steady in his heart. The forest was her home too. He would keep guard. For as long as he had breath, he would protect it.