Jul 27, 2026 · 20 min · 11 segments
Rue and Orion’s investigation is off to a rocky start. \[Marked Explicit for language, also the animal death from Chapter 7 and 8 is discussed briefly from 11:00-11:40] \--- Written by Olivia…
In a strange way, Rue was relaxed as she and her newfound guide, Orion, made their way across the Pine Savannah.
She was floating in the almost delirious state of someone whose worst fears had all come to fruition at the same time.
It couldn't have been much later than 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but in the last 12 hours, she had watched someone die, and had almost died herself at least twice.
And she had seen a big snake.
Thankfully, none of that felt real right now.
She didn't dare ask what else could possibly go wrong, though life had seemingly answered anyway.
Orion expected her to lay hands on the poisonous plants.
A part of her wanted to laugh, but she was scared what sound might come out of her if she did.
As she watched the tall grasses streak past, she thought about her options.
She hadn't considered the possibility that the plants were affected by magic, but she had no real way to disprove this theory other than by touching them, which was obviously not something she wanted to do.
How was she going to explain that to Orion? Though she believed that what had occurred between them had indeed been a misunderstanding, she was wary of triggering Orion's apparent...temper.
That was a generous word.
She would have to find a way to skirt around the question of magical involvement for now.
Hopefully, another solution would become clearer to her later.
For right now, she just had to preserve herself long enough to get to that later.
She was certain that with a bit of time and a lot of charm, she could win Orion over.
Orion had been right about the sun out here.
It was hot.
Luckily, like most prophets, Rue's plant magic made her skin immune to sun damage, but that did nothing to save her from the heat.
Were it not for the air rushing past them as they rode on dirt's back, her clothes would be fully plastered to her body with sweat.
She found herself feeling grateful to ride on the back of this beast, despite her initial resistance.
The ride was smooth and the scenery beautiful.
Unlike in Asteria, most of the Old World infrastructure that had once existed in the Council Lands had crumbled into useless ruins or been swallowed by the landscape.
Orion startled her from her thoughts by grabbing the reins and tugging, which slowed Dirt down until he stopped.
They were approaching the back of a small house tucked in a copse of tall, skinny pine trees.
In a strange way, Rue was relaxed as she and her newfound guide, Orion, made their way across the Pine Savannah.
She was floating in the almost delirious state of someone whose worst fears had all come to fruition at the same time.
It couldn't have been much later than 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but in the last 12 hours, she had watched someone die, and had almost died herself at least twice.
And she had seen a big snake.
Thankfully, none of that felt real right now.
She didn't dare ask what else could possibly go wrong, though life had seemingly answered anyway.
Orion expected her to lay hands on the poisonous plants.
A part of her wanted to laugh, but she was scared what sound might come out of her if she did.
As she watched the tall grasses streak past, she thought about her options.
She hadn't considered the possibility that the plants were affected by magic, but she had no real way to disprove this theory other than by touching them, which was obviously not something she wanted to do.
How was she going to explain that to Orion? Though she believed that what had occurred between them had indeed been a misunderstanding, she was wary of triggering Orion's apparent...temper.
That was a generous word.
She would have to find a way to skirt around the question of magical involvement for now.
Hopefully, another solution would become clearer to her later.
For right now, she just had to preserve herself long enough to get to that later.
She was certain that with a bit of time and a lot of charm, she could win Orion over.
Orion had been right about the sun out here.
It was hot.
Luckily, like most prophets, Rue's plant magic made her skin immune to sun damage, but that did nothing to save her from the heat.
Were it not for the air rushing past them as they rode on dirt's back, her clothes would be fully plastered to her body with sweat.
She found herself feeling grateful to ride on the back of this beast, despite her initial resistance.
The ride was smooth and the scenery beautiful.
Unlike in Asteria, most of the Old World infrastructure that had once existed in the Council Lands had crumbled into useless ruins or been swallowed by the landscape.
Orion startled her from her thoughts by grabbing the reins and tugging, which slowed Dirt down until he stopped.
They were approaching the back of a small house tucked in a copse of tall, skinny pine trees.
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