#oc cevender

       “Come on, guys,” Ciara said, breaking the tense silence. “We’re walking in circles. We’ve seen that mushroom three times already.”

       “That’s not the same mushroom,” Rain said tersely. 

       “Yes, I am,” the mushroom replied.

       “And we’re walking in a straight line. We should be halfway through the forest by now.”

       Ciara groaned. “I told you, this forest is always moving around. We could be right back where we started for all we know.” She spun her karambits, staring suspiciously into the fog.

       The growls and screeches of creatures could be heard through the oppressing air, and although nothing had made a move yet, it was only a matter of time. Dawn would soon be upon them, and they couldn’t tell whether that was good or bad.

       “Why don’t we just keep going?” Stella suggested. “Standing around makes us easy targets.”

       The five travelers silently agreed and they continued walking, hoping to actually get somewhere.

-

       The rising sun didn’t make much of a difference on their visibility, as most of its rays were blocked out by the foliage. Although the group had begun to tire hours ago, they hadn’t taken any breaks, fearing that if they stopped, the shifting forest would reset their progress. They’d long since noticed the blue flowers sprouting up behind them, but none of them brought it up.

       “Travelers! I can’t be the only person who’s hungry,” Lance said, poking his head out of Kane’s bag. “Could we perhaps stop to rest?”

       Kane grumbled, “You haven’t even been doing anything. You’re the last person who should be asking for a break.”

       Despite the rebuttal, the group stopped at the next clearing they came upon to rest. Kane sighed as he sat down against a rock, opening his bag to let Lance out. Rain slumped against a large rock, turning his face toward the sunlight streaming through the sparse foliage, allowing his face to relax.

       “We shouldn’t stay long,” Rain said after a few moments. “Who knows what the Nether’s sent after us now?”

       Ciara eyed the newly grown blue flowers with distrust. “Maybe those. Has anyone else noticed those flowers following us?”

       “Yeah, which is exactly why we need to keep going,” Rain said. He kicked at one of the blue blooms. “I bet they’re carnivorous.”

       Stella sat up from where she had been lying on the grass, stretching her arms above her head. “I don’t think you should touch them; I’m pretty sure those flowers are wytchweed. They’re a symbol of Lady Cevender, the god of magic.” 

       “Whatever,” Rain said. “Gods don’t exist. If they do, why haven’t they ended this war?”

       “Rain, it’s not a good idea to insult the gods,” Stella warned nervously. “Whether they’re real or not, it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”

       Kane sighed. “Any idea how we’ll proceed from here? It feels like we haven’t made any progress at all, despite walking for hours.”

       “Yeah, my legs are starting to get real tired,” Ciara added.

       “Well, legend says that this forest is sacred to Lady Cevender. Maybe we can ask for her help!” Stella dug through her bag and cut a slice of bread, placing it on a nearby rock.

       Rain rolled his eyes but remained silent. The two Netherbane members exchanged looks. Kneeling in front of the rock, Stella closed her eyes and whispered a quiet prayer.

       “Hello, travelers.”

-

       The five travelers turned in alarm as plants parted for a woman entering the clearing. One of her eyes looked like a signature Ender eye, but the other was pitch black. A pair of blue horns protruded from her head. A pair of feathered wings were folded against her back and a tail slowly swayed through the wind. Those same blue flowers bloomed on her skin. Rain hadn’t known what to expect in a god, but he’d thought them to be much taller. She was a few inches shorter than he was, but still seemed to loom over them. Magic ebbed off her in waves, prickling at the edges of their minds like pins.

       The woman folded her hands, indifferently flicking her gaze over each of them. “Well met.” Her voice was that of several women speaking at once, which was even more unsettling than the voices of Enderkin.

       Kane tightened the grip on his crossbow. “Well met,” he repeated cautiously. “To what do we owe your presence?”

       “You requested my help, did you not?” She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, picking up the slice of bread.

       Stella looked at the others, who stared listlessly back at her, before addressing the woman. “Hello, Lady Cevender. Would you happen to be able to help us out of these woods?”

       Cevender studied the group of travellers as if making a silent judgement. After a minute of awkward silence, she sighed. “Why don’t you all come over for some tea? You certainly look like you could use it.”

       She paused at the edge of the clearing, and once the travellers had their things together, she set off as they followed her.

       Cevender’s house was a small wood and stone cottage somewhere in the middle of the Enchanted Forest. A table and chairs sat on the veranda, where a teapot was already whistling. Rain and Kane looked at each other, but the four humanoids took their seats while Lance was placed on the table.

       “Sugar?”

       “Yeah, thanks,” Rain said.

       The group sat in silence as they drank their tea. 

       “What brings you through this area?” Cevender asked. “Forgive my prying, but you don’t look like you’re from around here.”

       “Just passing through,” said Kane. “We’re trying to get to the Frostbourne. Important business.”

       “Really now? I hope your journey goes smoothly from here on out.”

       “Yeah, the quicker we get there, the better.”

       The group returned to its prior silence before Rain cut in.

       “ . . . So, uh . . . ” he started, “would you be willing to help with a little . . . mortal conflict we’ve been going through? Or would you perhaps know of anyone else who would?”

       Stella kicked him under the table, but Rain ignored her warning and continued. “I’m assuming that you care a lot about this place, and it’ll be razed to the ground if the Nether prevails in their invasion.”

       Cevender poured herself some more tea, taking a few sips before answering. Rain frowned at her hesitation. “I’m doing what I can, what with the wards I’ve placed around the nearby towns.”

       “But that’s not enough—”

       “I know it isn’t much,” Cevender continued, interrupting Rain, “but it’s all I can do, and sometimes that has to be enough.” She shook a bit of sugar into her tea, and it was all Rain could do to avoid wincing at the clink of the spoon against the cup.

       “But—” He cut himself off at a sharp glance from the goddess. Rain’s hands clenched around his cup and he looked down at the table for several seconds before levelling his gaze with her again. “I’m not apologizing.”

       “I don’t expect you to.” 

       Rain gritted his teeth at her dismissal. “It’s my home, and it’s falling apart, and if I have any chance to up the chances of its survival, I’m going to take it,” he pushed on, raising his voice. “You can do more, but you won’t. Does that make you any better than the Nether Horde? Does that make you any better than those who would betray their people for the sake of their own lives?”

       Cevender paused again, but her eyes didn’t stray from Rain’s. “Sorry, but I’m not the hero you’re looking for. A hero isn’t something I’m trying to be, and you don’t have to try at it either.” 

       “But I do. I lost my family, my friends, and I have to do something.”

       She looked out at the forest around her home. “No one’s forcing you to do all this. It’s all right not to give it everything you have sometimes, because you need to keep some of it for yourself.” She looked back at him, her gaze clear as ever.

       Rain stilled for a few moments before snapping. “I can’t believe you.” He stood up abruptly, the chair scraping on the wood to make room for him. “Come on, Stella. We’re leaving.”

       No one stood immediately. Ciara downed the rest of her tea before pushing herself away from the table, while Kane and Stella remained seated, considering their options before relenting and trailing after Rain. Cevender made no move to stop them and didn’t utter the slightest protest as the Endstone Crusaders walked away from her home. She watched them walking away for a few seconds, if even that, before turning back to her tea as if nothing had transpired. The only goodbye offered to her was a last second wave Stella had turned to give.

       The trek out of the woods was only fifteen minutes, and extremely straightforward. Stella, Ciara, Kane, and Lance exchanged glances at each other throughout the walk, none of them daring to disturb Rain from his brooding.

I do have to mention that this fic is not following canon geography; I'm writing based off of the geography of my original world.