Journey Through the Wetland

“Leaving already, Your Grace?” Nicely asked the north side gatekeeper, as Staas and Gytha walked past through the gate with their luggage (stolen spear and hammer, which both are carried by plant vines attached to Staas’ back).

It was such a calm and lovely morning. The birds chirping along with the sounds of faeries rebuilding their broken town walls, the air painted with soothing fog, and the breeze felt cool blowing in your skin.

Well if you ask, isn’t rebuilding a damaged building would be noisy? You’re not wrong, but that’s only if you use construction tools like a hammer. The fae use nature magic to heal their wall which is made out of living trees. The noises they made are pretty similar to sparkling water.

“Yup! We still have adventure waiting for us!” Staas enthusiastically answered.

“Adventure eh? Already have next destination in mind?” The gatekeeper got curious.

“Songmire. We wanna meet Riviera there, although my vision of her is a bit… unclear.” Staas replied, trying to remember the stream of memory shown by the [Nature Essence].

“Oh, the Naiad of Songmire herself! Well, if you both never went there, it’s located a couple of miles northwest from here, you’ll be there when the sun stood high.” The gatekeeper pointed out the direction.

“Got it.” Staas noded.

“Alright, we’re off then. Bye, sir gatekeeper!” Gytha took Staas away and waved her hand at the gatekeeper.

“Have a fun adventure, you two!” The gatekeeper waved back.

Following what he said, both of them moved their way to the northwest. Just like every outer part of the Plantation, the side of the road are filled with farm fields, with all short of fruits and vegetable planted on them.

“Have you ever met the Naiad before, Gytha?” Staas asked his companion during their walk.

“Lots of time already actually, she used to visit you every couple of years.” The girl answered, smiling at the reminiscent of that memory.

“Oh… yea, I remember seeing we have all kinds of visitors in the stream of memories,” Staas added.

“Staas, you said you’ve seen all of my memories, aren’t you supposed to have every bit of knowledge I owned?” Gytha confusedly asked.

“I’ve seen them, not absorbed them, it’s like having millions of books suddenly appear in front of me, and their pages turn at a very… fast speed.” The boy tried to explain.

“Can you just like… revisit it again?” Gytha suggested.

“I don’t know how.”

Both of them continued chatting on their way to Songmire. Beyond the Plantation is just another part of Fatherwood Forest, crowded by nothing but trees, grasses, and wild animals.

Until they finally reached the natural border of both provinces. Siren Marsh is the province of water, and as the name suggests, it is a wetland flooded with water and wet grasses. Some aquatic plants and trees also come lying on it.

“This looks… dirty.” The thought of drowning in a hot spring already clouded Staas’ mind. He just hoped he won't be as soiled as he was back then when fighting on the farm field.

“Hmm... well, the road is quite dry, maybe we can avoid getting wet,” Gytha said to relieve this neat freak.

“I hope so—” The boy stopped as he saw a glimpse of a woman sitting among the tall grasses near the edge of the road. "Hey Gytha, look! An eleionomae!" He then pointed at her who is now facing away from them.

"Elei what?" Gytha rendered confused.

"C'mon! Let's meet her!"

The boy ran excitedly towards that woman while Gytha followed him although not sure with what he just found. But the moment she saw her clearly, she quickly understood why Staas knew something that she didn't.

The woman's skin was as pale and greyish as swamp mud, but still smoother than a royalty. Her hair was wavy and long, healthy but dirty and wet, you could even see frogs hopping out of it. From the curve and beauty of her body, anyone can clearly tell that she's a nymph.

"Morning, Merylle!" 

But to know her name, only Staas can do that.

"Morning...? Eh—Nymfrik!?" 

The woman's sapphire eyes shrank into oblivion the moment she saw Staas. Her mouth went wide open, trembled alongside her entire body. Any nymph can easily recognize his aura, the marking of their king.

"Are you the nymph of this swamp, ma'am?" Gytha asked the shocked woman.

"Y-yes. Why? Are you a nymph too—" Merylle squinted her eyes when she realized Gytha's ears are round, something that doesn't apply to a nymph.

"Of course!"

"Hey, Merylle. We wanted to go to Songmire, do you know the way?" Staas then asked.

"Songmire? I don't think there's any way faster than using the main road. Just follow it, and you’ll be there when the sun stood high."

"Hmm... the gatekeeper also said the same thing..."

Both of them then continued their journey by following her advice. However, something seemed strange, unlike when they were in Fatherwood Forest, they didn’t encounter any wildlife living in this marsh. Staas’ powerful aura kept them at bay since they’re not used to having such a strong presence around them.

Although somewhat lonely, this helps ensure no animal will disturb their way to their destination. Both of them felt a bit disappointed at it, but at least for Gytha who noticed, she thought it was necessary at least for now.

*

After hours of walking, they finally arrived at the South Gate of Songmire.

“Look, Staas! It’s just like how they described it in the book! A castle!”

Beyond them is a line of stone walls, with a tall palace that can be seen even from the outside. Unlike how dirty every part of the marsh is, the Songmire is spotless. Their walls may be greyish but not a single dirt nor moss painted them.

Their gate, however, isn’t an end to a dry road, but an entrance for a waterway connected to the Great River of Atargatis, where most of the trading in Siren Marsh occurs.

“Do we need to swim to enter?” Staas nervously asked.

“Let’s just go there first, maybe the gatekeeper could help us!”

Gytha then pulled Staas’ hand with excitement. The girl read lots of books throughout more than a thousand years that she had lived. Yet not once she ever left the forest.

Since the entrance of the city is a waterway, which can only be entered through swimming or water transportation, both of them went to the side of the gate. There a mer stood guard with his scaly full plated armor painted in the shade of deep blue sea.

On his hand is a huge mace, with its handle as tall as his shoulder, and head bigger than his own. The mer himself isn’t tiny, if two Staas stood above each other, the mer would still be taller.

“H-hold it right there!” Shouted the mer. His whole face is hidden under his helmet, not even a piece of skin shown by his attire. But anyone can tell that he’s shaken by the terrifying aura around Staas.

“Evening sir.” Gytha greeted the mer gatekeeper with the most polite tone she could pull.

“Identify yourself!” He demanded. Staas realized it was the clue for his cool introduction.

*Ahem!* “My name is Staas, the Druid of Spirit Grove. And she is my aide, Gytha.” The boy stood proud as he said it.

“Kid, if you wanted to lie, do your homework better.” The mer almost laughs, and it would be a burst of nervous laughter.

“Lie? Does that count as a lie, Gytha?” Staas asked the girl beside him. He himself is unsure because he just followed what the elders told him to.

“No, Staas. Every word you said is correct.” Gytha knew why the mer accused him of lying, and it’s nothing to do with his divinity.

“It was a title given to me by the elders themselves! It was also them who named me.” The boy explained to the gatekeeper.

“Don’t take me for a fool kid! If you won’t tell the truth, let me educate you!” The mer then began to state all things wrong with Staas and Gytha.

“First of all, the title of the Druid is only given to the most respected faerie in the Fatherwood Forest, and you clearly have a pair of ROUND ears, so you are NOT a FAERIE.”

“Second, the Spirit Grove is the village of Nymph, let alone your ears, you are a MALE. All nymph is a FEMALE.”

“Third, you brought not just one but two HUMAN weapons.”

“Lastly, what you wear is a HUMAN attire, just because you dyed it green, doesn’t make it a part of Fae’s attire!” The gatekeeper went out of breath as he finished pointing out his point. Meanwhile, Gytha just sighs at how accurate he is, yet not a single saying about aura being made.

“Well, I’m not a faerie or a nymph, I stole both of these weapons from human knights, and this outfit is given by Elder Isergia herself.”

“You Stol—” The mer was shocked hearing it, but seeing his aura, he can imagine that happened. “Then, if you’re neither of those, what are you!?”

“That’s… a good question.” Staas went silent for a while, thinking deeply about it. “What am I, Gytha?”

“I don’t know, didn’t the Goddess tell you?” Gytha herself is also curious.

“I have no memory of her…”

“Enough! Just state who you really are, or leave!” The gatekeeper yelled, he’s frustrated by how nonchalant both of them act while he's on his edge.

“Is it ok to do that, Gytha?” The boy seeking her wisdom.

“Go for it.”

*Huft…* The boy took a deep breath.

“Alright. My real name is Nymfrik, the Champion of Nature, the King of Nymph, the All-father of all things on earth.” He said it with a menacing strong tone.

“Ha! Now you’re just mad! It’s an insult to the All-father even if it’s just a joke! Don’t you dare think your sin will be forgi—”

*Tremble!*

Before the mer could finish his words, the earth shaken, nine giant pointy roots grown themselves from the ground, with all their drill-like edge pointed right beside his neck. Moving even an inch could puncture his throat.

Cowered in fear, the gatekeeper took a glimpse at Staas, and behind him, he saw a dense forest already stood tall. Each of the leaves there glows sharply, showing the immense magical energy it possesses.

And Staas’ eyes glow even brighter, with the shade of light green continuously waving like the twilight sun.

“You asked me to tell you who I really am, then you said I am joking? Just let me enter or I break whatever it is behind that armor.” Anyone can hear the anger in Staas’ voice. Although he’s just annoyed having to explain everything yet still being accused.

The gatekeeper lost his voice. He just nodded slightly since moving excessively can endanger his neck. Staas then slowly took away all the trees and roots after seeing his agreement.

The mer quickly ran closer to the waterway, and along with the motion of his mace, he called upon a bulge of water and sent it flying to his comrades up on the wall, giving them a message to open the gate and send back a boat for Gytha and Staas.

His comrades who also saw Staas power from before agreed to his request with no question asked. From above the wall then emerge a boat, fit for two people, which brought by a wave of water, carrying it as if it slides down from upstream. On the boat are also a pair of paddles for both of them to row.

“Whoa… this looks fun, Staas!” Gytha shouted excitedly.

“Uh… yea… at least the water looks clean and clear.” Staas doesn’t quite like water that isn’t meant to be used for bathing.

“C’mon!” The girl once again pull him, and now guided him to ride the boat. He didn't seem to care with her dragging him around.

“Oh, by the way, sir, we’re here to visit the Naiad, do you know where she is?” Gytha asked the mer nicely.

“Her Highness is on her palace, just follow the stream and you’ll see it.”

Usually, the gatekeeper will ask for a letter of appointment before someone went to visit the Naiad. But he doesn’t think anyone could stop Staas if he didn’t agree to the term.

“Oh, it's a palace, not a castle... alright! Thank you for your help, sir!”