None of them realised this, at first. Their initial guess was that it was a strange tree that had fallen. Ivy hung from it, brushing the ground, concealing it. But the farther they went along, they noticed some very… Non tree-like features. Namely, when it became suddenly much larger, and branched out with other massive “trees”. In places, they saw past the ivy, to the yellowed bone.

“Um… I don’t think this is a tree…” Jedd said quietly, staring at the other thick bones that fell around the hips. The hips themselves were wider than Decian was tall, and even taller than that.

“Well, it’s some strange type of—” Isgellian started to speak but was interrupted by Jedd.

“I think it’s a dragon.” The dwarf had stopped walking, and his eyes were wide.

“W-What?” Avaeon asked, stepping closer.

“The people, before the siren came… They killed one of the dragons here. I think… This is the skeleton…” Jedd said, taking another step closer to it.

Decian looked around, surveying their surroundings. “So, that means… We’re here… We’re almost to the lake.” The nocten frowned. Suddenly, the stillness of the forest began to press around all of them, their task becoming much, much clearer. Much more real. And much more dangerous.

“H-How c-can we be sure it-t’s the dragon?” Avaeon stammered, his trembling hand resting over the pouch with his ocarina.

Decian sighed softly and continued walking along the dragon’s body. He crossed over what looked like roots, but he supposed were the bones of the behemoth’s wings, headed toward the skull. However, before he made it there, something else caught his attention. A black mist. Thin, wisping toward him from the direction of the lake. He didn’t have time to register that magic was reaching for him before the sound seeped into his ears, and set its claws in his mind.

The others watched as the soldier’s step faltered. His determined stride slowed to wandering, and he walked straight past the skull of the dragon.

The others watched him, confused for a moment. “Where’s he going?” Ridley muttered.

“I… I dunno…” Jedd frowned, tilting his head at the nocten, who didn’t stop.

None of them had realised that they were close enough for the spell to work.

None of them realised that when they followed him… They would fall under it, too.

It took them a while, though, for most didn’t have ears as finely tuned as the nocten’s. They reached the point he had before he’d just… kept on going, watching him with concerned eyes. Prince Isgellian, descended from the same race, his senses just as sharp as the nocten’s, scowled. “The fool is going to go too close…” He muttered.

It was Avaeon who fell under, next. Avaeon, who had always been so timid, eyebrows always tilted up, eyes always wide… Relaxed. “Wait…” Jedd mumbled, seeing Avaeon’s demeanor change. He looked to Avaeon, then Isgellian with wide eyes.

“We’re already too close.” Isgellian’s face drained of colour, and he looked over to the nocten. He was so far, already. “Damn it.” He muttered angrily. “Grab Avaeon and Ridley!” He exclaimed, before running over to catch up to the nocten soldier. Jedd hadn’t even noticed Ridley’s eyes glossing over. He grabbed hold of the human and the satyr, suddenly thankful for the years spent around roaring forges, and clanging metal that had all but deafened him. Or at least, he decided that that was what he was going to tell the others. It wasn’t until he had pulled his charges to safety that he realised that Isgellian, the elf, had just ran closer. The elf, with ears just as acute. But by the time Jedd looked up, Isgellian was dragging Decian back. Isgellian, who should have fallen under the spell before Ridley or Avaeon.

“Should have just… Left you to drown yourself!” Isgellian growled as he struggled to pull the nocten back to where the others waited. Ridley blinked back into consciousness and watched. When Decian finally came out from under the spell, the elf immediately released him, going so far as to shove Decian to the ground.

“Agh…” Decian groaned, putting a hand to his chest. It felt heavy, and… Thick. As if his blood had been replaced with molasses, making every beat of his heart painfully slow. “What just… happened?” He looked up at Isgellian, who had walked a few steps away and crossed his arms. “The spell… The song. You pulled me back?”

Prince Isgellian didn’t have the time to respond, because Ridley had stood and walked over to him. The human looked furious. “You damned hypocrite!” Ridley yelled, shattering the silence around them. Seconds later, he’d punched the prince in the shoulder, hard.

Isgellian gasped, stumbling back. “Wh--?! What are you talking about?” His hand immediately flew to his sore shoulder, his chin lifting by reflex.

Jedd had leapt back to his feet and pushed Ridley back. “Ridley what the fuck!”

“He’s been on his gods-damned high horse this entire time, ranting about morals and how disgusting it is to--!” Ridley huffed, gesturing wildly toward the prince. “Don’t you get it! He didn’t hear the damned song!”

Everyone went silent, staring confused at Ridley. But then it started to click. One by one, their wide-eyed stares turned to the elf, who already had outrage sewn across his features. “Wh—I--!” He began to stammer, but was interrupted.

“Yer gay.” Jedd mumbled, frowning. “After all tha shit ye’ve said, you are gay?!”

“I am not!” Isgellian exclaimed. He took a step back, right into Decian, who had stood.

The nocten stepped around him to address the others. “Hey, just because he didn’t hear the song doesn’t mean he’s gay. I like both, perhaps he likes neither…” The nocten glanced back, fixing the prince in his reddish-orange gaze as he continued, “I wouldn’t be surprised… I mean, we’ve all met him. I can’t imagine he’s even capable of love.” He spoke softly, but the words fell heavily on the ears around him. Even though the forest was completely silent, the others barely heard the soft gasp that escaped Isgellian before he scowled.

“Excuse you?” He ground out between clenched teeth. Decian turned to him.

“It makes sense. You’re so self absorbed. And we haven’t seen you be anything but cruel. I don’t think you even can be nice, I mean… Genuinely nice, let alone love someone other than yourself. And… Even if you did, could anyone truly love you back, with all the… contempt you hold? How pompous and self-important you are?” Decian shrugged. To him, they were observations. Educated guesses. He hadn’t meant for them to hurt, though he certainly considered that a bonus. After all, the prince’s words about the way he loved had cut deeper than he would ever admit.

Prince Isgellian’s face screwed up in rage, though his eyes filled with tears. “How dare you assume such things! You know nothing about me!” He exclaimed, “The only contempt I hold is for barbarians like you! An-And what—What do you even know about love?! I-I can be nice! And I am certainly capable of love!” He was yelling now, angry tears rolling down his cheeks. “I have loved! More than you could ever imagine! And he—” Isgellian went quiet. He sniffled. His chin trembled, “H-He loved me, too.” He whimpered, the anger washing away into sadness, before it was replaced with a glittering mask. His face became calm, expressionless, his voice level. “If you’ll excuse me…” He muttered, before turning to walk off into the trees.

“Did anyone else hear him just say he?” Decian turned to the others.

“Too far, Decian…” Jedd scowled. “That was… That was too far.”

Decian swallowed thickly, shrinking back from the disappointed look on his face.

“The asshole deserved it.” Ridley scoffed.

“No, Jedd's right... He didn’t…” Decian sighed, looking back to where Isgellian had disappeared. Of course, the prince hadn’t deserved that… Though he hadn’t expected his words to pull so accurately at whatever wounds Isgellian clearly carried… He’d just wanted to hurt him, the way he’d been hurting all of them for the past three days. “I... Didn’t think before I spoke. I shouldn’t have gone off like that…” Decian admitted aloud. “No one deserves to have their heartbreak dragged up by those they hate.” His hand rested on his side, where Endric had cut him during their duel. “Whether on purpose, or by accident...”

“Yeah, but he’s been attacking all of us. Especially you. Especially about the fact that you like both men and women.” Ridley shook his head. “I think he deserved to get a taste of his own medicine. But… whatever, okay? He’s not here right now, I want to enjoy that for a while. Let’s set up camp for the night, maybe Jedd can tell us another one of his favourite legends.”

None of them said a word until their fire was built, and they’d all settled around it. The sky was dark then, bathing the forest in indigo. Decian sat against a tree, holding his father’s cloak in his hands. He fiddled with the fabric, rubbing it between his fingers. He could just see his father, now. Making that same disappointed face that Jedd had. “Just because they’re mean to you, doesn’t mean that you have to be mean back to them.” Decian’s father was probably the most level-headed man that Decian had ever known. Not only that, but he always seemed to face confrontation with a smile. A skill Decian himself had never seemed to master. What happened to not letting this affect me? Decian berated himself. What happened to your professionalism? He sighed, wrapping the cloak around his shoulders. Jedd was talking excitedly, regaling Ridley and Avaeon with tales of Volen’s, the god of trickery and lust, shenanigans. But Decian didn’t listen. He’d failed to do his duty as he should, again. And now Prince Isgellian was out there somewhere. Alone, in the silent forest, too close to the lake where a fearsome creature resided for comfort.

The soldier was about to stand to go looking for the prince, when he came back on his own. The story halted, silence falling over the five as Prince Isgellian sat down near the fire, farther away from the others. He pulled his knees up, resting his arms across them, and stared into the flames. Decian stared at the side of his head a while. He needed to apologise. Again.

“Isgellian, I… I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m so—”

“Don’t.” Isgellian growled, not even turning his head to look at the soldier. “Stop apologising to someone who does not, nor will ever, apologise to you.” Prince Isgellian finally turned to fix Decian in his cold green gaze. “I do not forgive you. I do not care enough about you to do so. I do not like you, and I never will. I am an asshole to you, and I am not going to stop. Am I going to apologise? Am I going to try to patch a relationship that does not exist? No. I know you hate me, too, so stop. Don’t bother.” He finished, huffed, and turned back to the fire. Decian ground his teeth together, but the prince turned to the others before he could respond. “Oh, and yes, I said he. Congratulations, I am gay. I will stop making rude comments about the subject. However, I will repeat myself. I do not care about any of you enough to apologise or explain my behaviour. It is none of your business. Tomorrow, since I am the only one who won’t try to drown himself if I go toward the lake, I will go get the damned Heart of Algabor, and we can go get the rest of this… Stupid quest over with.”

Everyone but Avaeon glared at the elf. Avaeon, of course, looked like he was going to cry. But Jedd especially looked furious. “Why do ya hate us so much? Huh? Maybe this stupid quest wouldn’ be so awful if ya tried gettin’ along with us.”

Prince Isgellian rolled his eyes at that. “Do I really need to say it?”

“Yes.” Ridley growled.

“Fine.” The prince heaved a sigh. “Why would I want to be friendly with people like you? We are not at Stelloise, you are not my guests, I do not have to be polite to you. You,” He said, looking at Ridley, “Have magic. None of us know how, but you do, and it is your only redeeming quality. Without it, you would just be an averagely skilled soldier with an extraordinarily thick skull, like any other human.” Avaeon was next, “You are a coward, who—Oh my gods, stop. Seriously.” The satyr’s eyes were filling with tears. “I have no idea what your wife sees in you. You have no control over your emotions, and act more like a scared child than a man.” The elf’s glare turned to Decian next, “I think we all know why I hate you by now, but I will remind us all anyway. You’re a nocten. A foul brute. You look more like a monster than a person, I mean… Look at those fangs,” Isgellian scoffed, and then it was finally Jedd’s turn, “Last, and tied for least, you. You are strong, sure, and you know lots of… fairytales. But I do not associate with such uneducated people who say things like ‘who’d’ve’. Plus, you are not even a soldier, so I do not understand what your use is, here.” Isgellian finished with another sigh.

“So, basically, you’re a racist prick who is incapable of being nice?” Ridley’s voice was… Surprisingly calm.

“No, I am basically the only see the members of this group as what they are. Which is, truly, useless. My father should have sent five of our soldiers. At least then, they would have had a better chance than we do, with a blunt human soldier, a tiny smith, and sniffles over here.” Isgellian scowled.

“So, a racist prick?” Jedd huffed.

Isgellian scoffed. “Sure. Well, this racist prick is going to sleep, seeing as he is the only one who is able to face that beast, tomorrow.” No one said anything else as he stood, going away to lie down and sleep.

Decian stared after him, the only one whose eyes weren’t narrowed ferociously at the elf. He had realized something, in the middle of the elven prince’s speech. He realized how… Sad it was, for someone to be that inconsiderate. That man isn’t even worth my anger.

It was with that thought, with that bitterness lifted from Decian’s heart, that he went to sleep shortly after. His epiphany had freed him from his fury toward the elf. He hoped it would last.

It didn’t, but that comes later.