Night fell over the forest. The small clearing would have been a beautiful place to marvel at the stars. Were it not for the dangers that came out at night. In the grove there was not a sound to be heard, everyone lay safe in their tents. Everyone but Aoda. The fierce snake goddess stood high on her tail, her eyes fixed on something in the distance. She had more important things to do than hiding in a tent. She waited for someone, someone who was lost.
The last days in the Grove had been fruitful. The elves she had brought here settled in fairly well. It did help that they knew nothing more than they needed to know. The orc was another story, they were the restless type, one that prefers not to sit still and talk, but instead run amok and bash heads in with their axe. It didn’t matter, soon Aoda would provide them with a new purpose to direct their warrior nature. The spawn that lived here were very cooperative. They enjoyed having a leader and it made Aoda smile to herself that she had found such useful people to help her take care of her broken elves. She was very lucky indeed.
Compared to elves, spawn were usually more quiet. A spawns main form of communication was through Stare, a very basic form of communication. Stare was spoken through stance, small movements and glances. It was not possible to tell a lie while speaking Stare. Masters of interpreting Stare could tell you that the language was not voluntary and in fact everyone spoke Stare all the time. Very different was the way orcs communicated. Their main form of speech was Grunt, a communication style that incorporated throaty shouts and elaborate gestures. To interpret Grunt, one needed not be a master. If you spoke Grunt well enough you could always get your point across, though it could take a lot longer. Now, elves had their own preferred form of communication as well, which is called Song. Song is an invisible language that is spoken from and into the mind. The words used for Song were Lingua, a universal language that all intelligent creatures were able to comprehend. Rather than spoken through the mouth, when using Song the words were thrown effortless into the listeners mind. Because of the lack of energy this form of communication provided, elves were usually very chatty among each other.
Today, one of the spawn had approached Aoda. This spawn was definitely the most talkative and mobile of the group, Aoda thought. The spawn introduced herself as Acantha and very politely thanked Aoda for taking them into her clan, the Truepath. Aoda was pleased with this one, she seemed to be a proper representative for the rest of the spawn. Then Acantha expressed her worries, using their common tongue, Lingua.
“Golden Eyes Aoda, I have noticed that the elves are working hard gathering food, whilst we need none. It seems unfair not to help them out.”
The plant spawn did not need food or water. During the night they would put their roots in the ground and drink and during the day they would feed on the sunlight thanks to their plantlike chlorophyll. The elves needed to gather food and water to be able to sustain themselves. Acantha looked past Aoda towards an elf who walked out of the forest with berries plucked from a nearby bush. She frowned at the thought of having to steal the fruit from those plants. She looked back at Aoda and continued.
“Some of the spawn think it is not fair that we have to perform labor that has no purpose for us…”
Acantha did not know how to proceed, what was it that she was asking exactly? She held one of her vines in her hand and plucked at a thorn. But Aoda bobbed her head in understanding, shifting her red hair. She grinned her wide grin and replied in her smooth melodious voice:
“Young sspawn I have alssso notissed the tenssion. You have to keep faith and be pashient. Sssoon this will be resolved.”
Then she raised an eyebrow, as to say, we are done now, yes?
“Yes. Of course I trust you, mother Aoda,” Acantha replied, blushing at the suggestion she was not faithful, then dared to suggest, “Perhaps we could help gather water?”
The Totem Aoda had indulged Acantha and her suggestions, it was good to have someone handle the spawn for her. Gathering necessities was currently the clans main focus, but soon they would all grow restless. People need a common goal so that they can work together instead of focus on their many differences. Aoda knew this, she did have a plan, obviously. Tomorrow she would be able to set it into motion, first she needed everything to be in place.
Aoda looked into the dark forest. Something shifted in the lower vegetation. A small rabbit hopped out of the undergrowth and then waited. Its nose moved quickly up and down and its ears were spread out upwards. From the distance, Aoda was barely able to make out its golden eyes. Then another figure emerged from the forest, a young female elf looking down at the rabbit with a glazed-over stare. When the elf stepped out of the dense vegetation, she looked upwards to Aoda, her eyes suddenly alert.
“Who are you?” the elf asked, looking around. Though her posture remained strong, her voice broke as if she was on the verge of tears, “Where am I?”
The lean body of Aoda slithered swiftly towards the confused elf, her red hair flowing wildly behind her. The Totem wrapped her tail around the lost creature as to cradle it and she petted the elves dark hair.
“Ssssshhh,” Aoda soothed her, “You’re safe. You’re home.”