By Dawn’s Light

Sirona opened her eyes to the soft gray light of dawn and rubbed her eyes. It was much brighter than she expected of dawn. She looked around, searching for the source of light, and gasped as her eyes fell on Druid.
He was seated on the other side of the dead hearth, cross-legged and seemingly relaxed. Brilliant blue light swirled around him like a soft breeze, moving the folds of his clothing around. From within his hood, she saw two points of blue light where his eyes should be.
“Druid?”
He didn’t answer and the light did not dim around him. She drew closer, curious, and found the air around him slightly warmer than usual, much like the air around the Tara River. He didn’t seem to hear her, so she tried to keep quiet, unsure if she would break his concentration.
She set about making a few potatoes and pulling out some preserved meat. The potatoes were ready to be pulled out of the embers when the light around him began to die down.
He sighed and seemed to shake himself, “Oh, Sirona, you’re awake. How did you sleep?”
“Fine,” Sirona said, poking the potatoes, “What was that?”
“What?”
“The swirling lights. You seemed to be concentrating. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“How thoughtful.” He chuckled, “You didn’t. Or rather, you couldn’t. It was a vision. I get them often.”
“A vision?” Sirona asked in awe as he waved his hand over the embers. “Like of the future?”
The potatoes wiggled out and dusted themselves out. Two large leaves wrapped around them as Sirona passed him a bit of preserved meat. He took a piece.
“Yes.”
She hummed thoughtfully. It would be useful to see the future. If she’d had such an ability, maybe she would have been able to save her father from Haron and his wife’s schemes. Maybe they could have escaped before Blodeu had married the king and avoided the years under their reign altogether.
“Well, what did you see? Was it good?”
Druid hummed, “I’m not sure. It was strangely unclear. That happens more often than not. Visions like that tend to become clearer as the time for them to come to fruition draws nearer.”
Sirona nodded in awe, “That’s quite amazing.”
Druid nodded, “It has saved me quite a bit of trouble throughout my life.”
She worried her lip and turned the potato in her hands, “Were you always in Berth?”
He hummed, “It would be easier to say that Dalan was not always Berth, but I was not born in Dalan either.”
“Where were you born?”
He shook his head, “I do not know. It was a very long time ago.”
Sirona wanted to ask how old he was, but she refrained. It would have been incredibly rude. He spoke as though he was much older than her, centuries older. She wondered if he actually was and his strong body was just a matter of the magic he wielded, or if he just gave off that feeling because of how wise he seemed.
“No family?”
He shook his head, “Not that I know of who still walk the earth.”
She frowned, “That must be rather lonely.”
He said nothing for a moment, taking a bite of his potato.
“Yes, it can be at times.”
“The villagers mentioned something about you having an assistant,” she said, “Should I be expecting someone to come back?”
He laughed, “I would much rather have a companion than an assistant.”
“Well, how about both?” she asked, “I have nowhere to go and I don’t wish to be a burden. I may not know much about magic, but I am a quick study.”
He chuckled, “I will teach you anything you wish. The joy is in the teaching, and that is payment enough.”
“How do you come about money to buy things if you never accept payment?”
“I do accept payment,” Druid said, “Just not when I have chosen to aid someone. I must still eat, Sirona, and I prefer not to kill if I can help it.”
Sirona hummed, “Well, could you tell me about the cult of Arawn?”
“What about it?”
“You said you respected the cult of Arawn,” Sirona said, “But what are your thoughts about it?”
He shrugged, “Arawn is one of many gods and serves the purpose that the people of Berth assigns. There isn’t much else to think about it.”
He chuckled to himself. Arawn was not someone who truly cared about the people who believed in his will. He didn’t care much one way or another and the tenants of his religion didn’t require him to. He could not align himself with an apathetic deity. If he had, he would still be just a blind babe stumbling around in a dark world alone and without knowing a drop of kindness.
She frowned, “One of many?”
“Yes,” he sighed. “When I was younger there were many such gods worshipped across the continent. The cult of Arawn has spread across the land with the spread of Fedelm’s influence. “
“But they aren’t pressuring people to join?”
“It is not the way of Arawn.”
She nodded, “Well, that’s good. A relief even.”
He chuckled, “I imagine that if there was any mode of religious persecution, I would not have a place to live.”
They ate quietly for a while before getting up and leaving their campsite. Rather than walking in silence, Druid pointed out various plants that were used for medicines or seasonings as they walked. He called random birds to introduce her to them as well as other animals.
The wildlife of Berth largely seemed to be magical, and sometimes more dangerous, versions of the wildlife of Conna. It was odd to encounter foxes with three eyes and giant spiders, but she did her best not to panic at the sight of the more monstrous creatures. It certainly helped that Druid didn’t seem offended every time she jumped and clung to him whenever a spider skittered nearby while they passed through a dark, rocky area of the forest.
He chuckled, “I don’t suppose you had any fondness for insects where you’re from.”
“Not at all,” she shuddered as another spider skittered by and ran up a tree. “I can handle normal-sized flies. That’s about it.”
Druid chuckled, “Noted.”
Druid led them through the rocky area quickly and slowly, Sirona started to relax once it was clear that they would only be encountering regular-sized insects from thereon. They walked on until Druid stopped and turned his head, seemingly staring beyond the trees at something.
She squinted in the direction he stared, but she saw nothing.
“What’s wrong?”
“A minor detour. Maybe a chance to teach too.”
He turned left and walked a few feet to stand beneath a large tree. A nest lay on the ground. The eggshells were scattered, but among them was a small, feebly twittering bird with rainbow-colored wings.
“How auspicious,” Druid said, crouching down and scooping the little bird into his hands.
The bird twittered, low and sad as he turned to her.
“Feren birds are good luck,” Druid said. “They say that if you befriend one, they will grant you goodwill for a thousand lifetimes.”
He deposited the little bird into her hands. It tweeted sadly and looked up at her with a glossy eye. She’d never thought that birds could cry, but she could almost feel its pain. Her arm started to ache in sympathy.
“Oh, it’s hurting so badly. What do I do?”
“You can feel it?” Druid asked.
She nodded, “It feels like my whole arm aches.”
“That means you have a bit of an affinity with the magic of the forest. With a bit of training, you would be able to heal its wing if you wanted.”
“Is that what it means to use magic?”
Druid hummed and crouched back down to grab the nest and fix it before floating it back into the tree.
“The most basic magic is wielded with pure intention. More complicated magic requires training and incantation sometimes.”
She frowned at the little bird and wished she had a bit of training to be able to heal its wing. She could see in her mind’s eye the way the wing should be and how the bird would fly. She pouted down at the bird. If only she could at least take away its pain so it could heal peacefully, she’d feel a little better, but she really wanted to heal the bird and see it fly with its pretty wings.
Blue light flickered along her fingertips like drops of the Tara River. She gasped as she felt warmth pooling in her hands. The bird twittered nervously. Sirona gasped as she watched the ripple blue light flutter over the little bird. Its wing twitched then snapped back into the proper shape. It lifted its wing and wiggled onto its feet before flapping its fixed wing and chirping up at her.
“It’s fixed!”
She looked at Druid who seemed to just be staring at her.
“So, it is…”