Chapter 53: The Green Barrier

Rosewood looked like a town caught between two worlds.

Half of it was normal—sturdy stone buildings, neat gardens, a cobblestone town square. The other half seemed to be transforming into something else entirely—buildings wrapped in thick vines, streets cracked by massive roots, windows obscured by strange moss that glowed faintly in the shadows.

“This is…” Grace trailed off, not knowing how to describe it.

“Really messed up,” Diana finished for her, hand resting on her sword hilt.

Their guides led them into the town square, where villagers moved with weary purpose. Some carried buckets of water, others tended to the wounded laid out on makeshift pallets. The moment the villagers spotted the angels’ wings, a ripple of hope passed through the crowd.

“More angels!” someone shouted, and people began to gather.

Mara stepped forward, radiating calm authority.

“We’ve come from the Dominion to help. Where is your village elder?”

A stooped man with a gray beard hobbled forward, leaning on a walking stick that looked suspiciously like one of the twisted vines they’d encountered in the forest.

“I’m Elder Soonjum. Thank the goddess you’ve come. The corruption spreads daily.”

“We understand another angel arrived before us?” Mara asked.

The elder nodded vigorously.

“Yes, yes! Three days ago. Said her name was Ivy. Green hair, green wings. Very quiet, but incredibly helpful.”

“Green wings?” Mara’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s… unusual.”

“What did this ’Ivy’ do while she was here?” Diana asked, suspicion evident in her voice.

“Healing, mostly,” a young woman piped up. She had bandages wrapped around her arm, but they were clean and fresh. “She fixed my arm when one of those plant-monsters near dragged me into the woods.”

“She taught us how to make special poultices,” another villager added. “For the plant sickness.”

Grace felt a bit of relief. At least this mysterious angel had been helping, not harming.

“Where is she now?” Grace asked.

The elder’s face fell.

“That’s the problem. Two days ago, she said she’d found the source of the corruption and went to investigate. When she returned yesterday, she was… different.”

“Different how?” Mara pressed.

“Pale. Shaking. She wouldn’t talk to anyone, just went straight to the great tree at the center of town.” He pointed to an enormous tree that towered over the village, its trunk wider than three houses. “She’s been in there ever since.”

“In… the tree?” Grace blinked. “Like, inside it?”

“Yes,” the elder nodded. “The tree opened for her. Then she created some kind of barrier. Green light. No one can get through it.”

Diana and Mara exchanged glances.

“Show us,” Mara said.

—

The elder led them through the village to the massive tree. It was even more impressive up close—at least a hundred feet tall, with a trunk so wide twenty people holding hands couldn’t circle it. The bark was dark with swirling patterns that almost looked like faces.

And surrounding it was an unmistakable dome of shimmering green energy that pulsed with its own heartbeat.

“That’s not normal angel magic,” Diana muttered.

Petriel, who had been quiet since the forest incident, suddenly stepped forward. She knelt and touched the ground around the barrier, examining something.

“These markings,” she said, voice steady for once. “I recognize them.”

Everyone turned to look. Grace hadn’t noticed before, but there were symbols etched into the ground around the tree, glowing faintly with the same green energy as the barrier.

“What are they?” Grace asked.

“Earth-Tender runes,” Petriel explained. “This angel… she must be an Earth-Tender.”

“Earth-Tender?” Grace recalled brief mentions of them in her studies. “The angels who heal land instead of people?”

Petriel nodded.

“They’re specialists in purifying corrupted landscapes. They live in the forests, away from the main Dominion. That’s probably why she has green wings.”

“That would explain the plant magic,” Mara said thoughtfully. “But not why she’s locked herself in a tree.”

“Maybe she’s hurt?” Grace suggested. “Or infected with whatever’s affecting the village?”

“Or maybe she’s the source of it,” Diana said darkly.

“Diana!”

“What? It’s possible. We don’t know her. And this isn’t normal.”

The elder shook his head.

“No, no. The sickness started weeks before she arrived. Plants growing wrong, people getting strange rashes, the forest creatures turning hostile. She was helping—truly helping.”

Mara approached the barrier and placed her hand against it. The green energy rippled but didn’t give way.

“Hello?” she called. “Sister Ivy? I am Mara, leader of the Sisters of Compassion. We’ve come to help.”

No response came from within the tree.

Mara tried again.

“If you’re injured, we can assist you. Please respond.”

Still nothing.

Petriel moved closer to the barrier, examining the runes more carefully.

“These are… complicated. Advanced Earth-Tender magic. She’s sealed herself inside completely.”

“Can we break through?” Diana asked.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Petriel said. “The spell is tied to the life force of the tree itself. Disturbing it could have… unpredictable consequences.”

“So she’s either trapped herself in there or is hiding from something,” Mara said. “Neither is good news.”

Grace thought back to her vision—an angel being consumed by plant-like corruption. Could it have been this Ivy person? Was she in danger, or was she the danger?

The elder cleared his throat.

“While you figure this out… we have many sick who need attention. The angel’s remedies helped, but more fall ill each day.”

Mara straightened, shifting immediately into healer mode.

“Of course. We’ll set up in the town hall. Petriel, you’ll assist me with the worst cases.” She turned to Diana. “Diana, I want you and Grace to secure the perimeter. Clear out any of those plant creatures to prevent further attacks.”

“Wait, what?” Grace squeaked. “You want us to go back into the forest? Where the plant zombies are?”

“It’s what we came here for,” Diana said, already checking her sword. “Besides, I want to find out where these things are coming from.”

“But—”

“Don’t worry,” Diana cut her off. “I’ve seen you fight now. You’re not completely useless.”

From Diana, that was practically a glowing recommendation.

“… Fine,” Grace sighed. “But if I get eaten by plants, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

“Noted.” Diana turned to Mara. “We’ll circle the village and eliminate any threats. Should take a couple hours.”

“Perfect,” Mara nodded. “Alia, Zephyr, you’ll help me organize the villagers and set up the healing station.”

“Seriously?” Alia pouted. “More work?”

“Unless you’d prefer to hunt plant monsters with Diana and Grace?”

Alia’s eyes widened.

“Organizing! My favorite!”

As the group began to disperse, Mara pulled Grace aside.

“Be careful out there. Diana is an excellent fighter, but those creatures are strange. Trust your instincts.”

“My instincts usually tell me to run away screaming,” Grace muttered.

Mara smiled.

“And yet, you never do.” She squeezed Grace’s shoulder. “That’s growth.”

[Is it growth, or just stupidity? Hard to tell the difference sometimes.]

Diana was already heading toward the village’s eastern edge, clearly expecting Grace to follow. With one last glance at the glowing tree barrier, Grace hurried after her.

“So,” Diana said once they were away from the others, “what’s the real reason you can spot corruption cores?”

Grace nearly tripped.

“What?”

“You heard me. Back in the forest, back at Oakridge, you knew exactly where to strike those plant-things. How?”

“I told you, I can just… sense it.”

Diana gave her a sidelong look.

“Right. And I can shoot rainbows from my ass.”

“Gross.”

“Point is,” Diana continued, “you’ve got some ability you’re not sharing. Which is fine—we all have secrets. But if it helps us stay alive out here, I’d like to know about it.”

Grace swallowed. She wasn’t exactly sure how to say it.

“It’s… something I developed at Oakridge,” she said instead. Not entirely a lie. “I can sort of… see corruption. Like an aura.”

Diana studied her face for a moment, then nodded.

“Well, at least it’s useful.”

They reached the edge of the village, where the neat houses gave way to tangled forest. The tree line looked darker and more forbidding than before.

“Ready for some solo plant-zombie hunting?” Diana asked, a grim smile on her face.

“Solo?” Grace’s voice cracked. “What happened to ’we’?”

“We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” Diana said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ll go north along the perimeter, you go south. We meet at the western edge.”

“But—”

“Relax. If you run into anything you can’t handle, just scream. I’ll probably hear you.” Diana patted her shoulder. “Besides, nothing builds confidence like fighting for your life alone in a monster-infested forest.”

And with that, Diana unsheathed her sword and strode away, leaving Grace standing at the forest’s edge with her jaw hanging open.

[She’s ditching me! That’s her plan? ’Just scream if you’re about to die’?]

Grace’s hand went instinctively to the medallion at her chest. It was cool now, showing no signs of the vision-inducing heat from earlier.

“Thanks for the help,” she muttered to the inactive medallion.

With a deep breath, Grace summoned her rapier and stepped into the forest alone.

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