Sanria walked through the woods of Haon Dor, listening to the crunch of dirt, sticks, and leaves her feet created with each step. Through her aging mind came flooding years of information and misinformation, good choices and bad. In her life after leaving the grove, she had several exceptional years of bliss and joy... those spent with Thasmudyan. After the seeming lifetime of misery after his death, and return, and "death" - she had found almost by accident someone she felt she could spend the rest of her life with. Now, her thoughts on this were much less steady than her feet passing along the ground. She sat down on a boulder that jutted from the base of a tree and put her head into her hand.
The trip to Paradise Island with Throm was now in the past. When she had risen to find herself alone, she automatically assumed he was perhaps on the island somewhere. After waiting the day, she realized he wasn't. She had gone home without a word from him, but it didn't cause any fear or doubts as it would have years before. Her assumption was that his duties had taken him and he would return soon. Soon she had spoken to Lithanus, a meeting that in her mind, didn't go as well as it could have. Then, she met with him again today.
The boy seemed nonchalant about his father being gone. A fact which irritated Sanria to no end. Lithanus had better things to do than find his father – this after finding out that he had "lost" him. Many other things came to the fore, making Sanria wish she had never left her home in the first place. She simply couldn't understand what deed she had committed to make the realms choose her for punishment again and again. Just when her grasp on life had seemed to solidify, life slipped away in a haze or doubt and teasing despair.
Her body slipped a bit from the boulder, jerking Sanria back to the present. Birds sang and around her could be heard the scampering of small animals. Here was here home and all she wished was at that instant to sink into it and not have to return, but thoughts such as these, she knew, did nothing to help her. She would have to locate this Paxian jail and speak to the Remus, Nathaniel man who apparently would lend a hand since it was for the benefit of Throm.
First, however, she would do something she'd not done in a long time. Licking her lips, she rolled up her sleeve and placed a hand on the trunk of the tree at her side. A warm conduit flowed from her palms and onto the bark, slowly seeping into the tree itself. Her mind flooded with images of densely packed wood as she spoke her question: "Is Throm safe?" The swirling warmth which held her consciousness gradually elevated through the trunk, out to the branches, and into the leaves. She was at this instant, one with the entire forest, and any other living tree that touched it. Her mind traveled from tree to tree, from leaf to leaf, joining with the ancient knowledge of the wood - the irritations ofbeing gnawed by squirrels, the sorrow of being half consumed by fire, even the loss of a dear friend to a woodsman's axe- all these joined with her question and swelled to seek more information. She had only a fleeting answer in the form of irritation at the disruption of the quiet of the forest by an airship heading north. She reached beyond the woods for a moment and by sheer connection of life to life, soul to soul, she knew it was he. Her mind raced back in a manner of seconds through all the leaves and branches of interconnected forests and she wrapped her arms suddenly about the trunk of the tree at her side. Tears coursed down her face as she offered a thanks and attempted to separate her own feelings from those she had acquired in the pursuit of knowledge.
For several minutes, she couldn't move, and Sanria found herself simply dwelling on how she would track Throm. She wanted to start right away, but knowing the ruthless nature of the northern lands, this Remus fellow might be very helpful indeed. From her pack, she took a small whistle, and pierced the air with its song. In response to the high trill, a falcon's call could be heard. Snow-white from tip to tail, Ferin perched above her and cocked his head. "Friend, you will find what you need to know in the thoughts I will send you. Go to him, and be certain you keep watch for my own benefit."
Sanria closed her eyes, linking with the falcon - speaking with him telepathically in a very slow manner, giving to him all she knew from the discourse with the trees. With a long call followed by a few sharp clicks, Ferin flew from his mistress and into the sky beyond. When she had rested fully, she would seek a companion. For now, she lay wondering what she would do when she would meet once more with Throm - the rest of her life hinged on a choice and she was deathly afraid to make it.
