Yara groaned, blinking to clear her vision. Her body felt like it was weighed down by hundreds of stones, and her limbs felt stiff and sore. She couldn’t move anything if she tried, but was able to look up enough to see where she was. The taste of dirt was fresh in her mouth, because she had fallen flat on her face. There was a fae barrier around her, the exact tone of Dev’s. It extended about six feet from the base of the tree, forming a dome around her. 

Vague silhouettes were outside of the dome. They were smashing against the barrier with their weapons, hoping to break it. She couldn’t make out who they were, but then she remembered.

They were trying to kill her. Assassins sent by some unknown party in the Summer Court. The poisoning had failed, and their other attempts thus far. What the Elder Wyrd tree was trying to show her—she didn’t know. It must have been important if it couldn’t wait until after her enemies had been dealt with. 

There were four assailants, their wings visible as they drew in more arcana to empower their strikes against the barrier. The shield was holding steady, but she was unsure how long it would last. 

“You two,” a muffled voice barked. “Find the sixth prince and kill him. That should bring down this barrier.”

Yara’s eyes widened. Dev is still alive. I need to get out of here and find him before it’s too late. 

Before she could even think about moving, she felt her muscles fail her once again. The fatigue kicked in shortly after, and her eyelids grew heavy. Her body was struggling to maintain its connection to the Dreaming, considering she hadn’t been able to meditate with all the chaos that had been happening ever since they stepped foot into the Deep Woods. She knew she needed the rest—it was helping her rebuild her arcana reserves so that she would eventually have enough to stay conscious. 

She just wished the process would hurry. Dev needed her help, and fast. 

Here we go—

Like on cue, she found herself right where she had left off in her memories. They had just entered what was known as the Deep Woods. This was the first of many peculiar experiences from that time. Jolan and Lumi had gone off to gather berries and such, while Yara and Dev had taken a moment to rest at a scenic location they had come upon.

They had discovered a pristine oasis, which seemed almost out of place with its shimmering emerald waters. Silky purple flowers grew around the pond, popping out against the backdrop. Their petals had sparkles within them, similar to fae folk’s eyes. Yara froze, staring at the small grove that contained these beautiful plants.

“Is something wrong?” Dev glanced at her with concern.

“Not at all,” Yara said, then pulled out her pocketbook. “These look almost exactly like the sketches recorded by Algodón.”

“Huh?”

“The eccentric elf who was so obsessed with cotton he took the Spanish word for it as his name. He created a field guide on all the flora that can be found in the Deep Woods.” 

She crouched down by one of the flowers. “This one in particular is extremely rare. It blooms only every 150 years. Algodón was the last to consume this flower, over three centuries ago. He wrote down its effects.”

“What does it do?”

“He professed that the flower contained infinite wisdom. A connection to the gods themselves. He spoke of knowledge that could only be gained by eating this flower.” 

“Hm…”

“This area has been left untouched for at least 160 years, so that explains why these flowers are still here.” 

“Do you want to eat them?”

“I mean…” Yara studied the petals. “Yes. This is an opportunity that we cannot pass up.” 

“Whatever you say, boss. If you’re going to do it, I will too.” Dev knelt down next to her. “What do we do? Just chew on a couple?” 

“Yes. That should do.”

“Are you sure this is the right flower?” 

“I’m positive. Look at this sketch.” She held up the book, the worn pages showing off a flower with the same structure, petal arrangement, and color as the flowers in front of them. 

“Let’s get to it, then.” Dev plucked a flower and immediately tossed it into his mouth, chewing. 

Yara blinked, then took one of her own. After a few minutes, they had finished the whole bunch. They sat there for a while. 

They stayed that way for a half hour, but nothing changed. 

“Do you feel like you have more knowledge now, Yara?” 

“No…I feel the same.” She groaned in frustration. “We might’ve just eaten some lookalikes.” 

“Lookalikes? I have a lot of those,” Dev said, laughing uncontrollably afterward. Suddenly, three of his illusions appeared. 

“He’s losing control.“ This version of Dev was dressed in an embroidered blue jacket, with his hair slicked back in waves. Yara recognized him as the bard illusion. 

“Am I seeing things or are there three of you, Dev, heh.” She let out a giggle that was uncharacteristic of her. 

“Four. There’s four of us. Three illusions, one Dev,” his other illusion corrected. This one was more serious and wore a monocle. 

“Oh shut it, Scholar Dev. You’re always stating the obvious,” Dev said, holding back a laugh at every word. “Why is everything so…funny?”

“At the risk of stating the obvious again, I believe you are under the effects of a plant that contains high levels of hallucinogens.” Scholar Dev shook his head in disbelief. 

“Hallu-say-what?” 

“They alter your mind so that you may act differently. You might even see or hear things that aren’t there.” 

“That sounds terrible, Scholar Dev. Truly and terribly terrible,” Dev said, rocking back and forth for a bit. “Is this the knowledge part?”

“What do you mean?”

“The part where we gain insane amounts of knowledge. Like al cotton said.” 

“It’s Algodón, Dev,” Yara said. “If what Scholar Dev says is true, then we may have found the wrong plant after all.”

“Let me see your pocketbook, princess,” Scholar Dev. 

She nodded, reaching for the book. As she was about to hand it over, it just dropped out of her hands. “Oops.” 

The illusion picked up the book, flipping through the pages until he found the relevant chapter. “No. This plant is indeed the same as the one mentioned in the book.” 

“Then what happened?” 

“The forest has changed in the last two hundred or so years since the man wrote this book. I have personally noticed several irregularities in the wilderness. I fear we may yet face many strange monstrosities the further we travel into the woods.” 

“Monstrosities?” 

“The flow of arcana is altered here. Something is wrong. Perhaps to do with the Elder Wyrd tree, or something else. The effects of this disturbed flow are seen physically in the flora, altering the chemicals present in their nectar.” He closed the book. “My hypothesis—the fauna will also be affected by this phenomena, so we may run into creatures that we have never seen before.” 

“That does not sound reassuring,” Yara said. “Um.”

“This feeling of euphoria will last some time as well. Keep your wits about you, if you can.” Scholar Dev sighed, then dematerialized. 

“Well, that was a buzzkill,” the final Dev clone said. He had a bottle of imaginary wine in his hands. “Cheers to you folks. I will be drinking myself to death here shortly. Good luck.”

Dev and Yara both broke out into a fit of laughter. 

She looked at Dev, smiling something silly. “Say, have you ever made an illusion of someone else? I only see you doing it with yourself.” 

“I would never make an illusion of someone else without asking. It would be weird,” he said. “The thought hadn’t crossed my mind before, to be honest.”

“Would you be willing to make one of me?”

Dev’s eyes went wide. “N-no.”

“Why not?” She pouted.

“I couldn’t do you justice.” 

Yara scowled. “Are you saying my illusion is going to be ugly?” 

“No…it just wouldn’t be right. I don’t want to disappoint you with a poor rendition of yourself.”

“Whatever. Have it your way.” 

“Later, okay? When I’m more comfortable with the idea of making someone else.” 

“Sure. Take your time.” She sighed, staring at the canopy above them. The leaves themselves had prismatic colors to them, which they did not possess before. “Were you always good with illusions? I don’t see many fae able to do what you do.”

“No, not at all. I started off like everyone else, making mostly transparent copies that were more flat in nature. Not having much form to them, not much weight or depth.” Dev smirked a bit. “I ended up practicing a lot.”

“Why’s that? Do other fae not put much time into their illusions?” 

“Most do not. Since we have been at war for so long, most glamor training goes into creating weapons and shooting bullets—not the art of making illusions.”

They had been at war for so long—since even before Yara had been born—that it seemed like the only thing that wouldn’t change. Now, they had a real possibility of reaching a conclusion. Peace between realms, in her lifetime. Her sisters had not lived to see the day, but she made a promise to herself that she would see it through, for their sakes.