A Colourless Blight (Open)

[CyclicalCycal]

Deep, deep within the forest, a horrible change had taken place. What was once a lush, glorious and beautiful heart of nature, lay wilted and empty, and colourless. Some rotten force pulsed, creeping from a singular point, stripping the land of life. Trees would wilt, animals would experience fatigue, and tiredness, and then death. The animals swiftly learnt how to avoid this, as the blight would steal the colour of all things within it, turning them grey and white and black.

At the border of this blight, sat a small, young child. Surrounding her was grey, dying grass, and the coat that bundled up behind her was slowly losing its brown colour, turning paler by the moment. She was focused on something, that much was evident, but it was something that could not be discerned. The blight, however, seemed to falter around her, shimmering, twisting. Flashes of colour appeared, but they were quickly snuffed out.

Cara remained focused on her task, single minded in her focus. She knew this was a bad idea, that it would hurt her, but she couldn't let the Colourless Blight continue to steal the colour and life of the land.

[Kalak8538]

The elderly man moved briskly through the underbrush. He was not really racing, but he did manage to maintain a quick and steady pace. He sensed something... evil in this forest. He knew not what, but it felt like a sickness... Something was off, and he had to go investigate.

"You're doing it again..." an annoyed voice growled in his subconscious.

"This doesn't concern us."

The man ignored the voice, continuing deeper and deeper into the forest. The scent of evil magic was strong now.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw it. An unnatural colorlessness lay ahead, and it only seemed to be spreading. It was a blight... of that he was sure. The elder had seen this many times in his long life. However, as was the nature of blights, this one was unique from the others. There was nothing more he could do, but at least he knew what was happening. He could go alert the locals.

There was one more thing he noticed as he scanned the edge of the blight.

"Is that..."

It was. A lone child was standing in the middle of blighted foliage. The sight worried the old man at first. He moved in closer, almost calling out to them before he realized: the blight was not touching them.

Maybe, was this the source? An evil being disguised as or possessing a child?
No... color was making a push from where the child stood. Whoever it was, they were somehow fighting it. The old man moved in as close as the light would allow, watching what was unfolding before him with both concern and intrigue.

[Tacocat86]

The elderly spirit had been sneaking around, placing little acorn hats on the heads of the wildlife. He had been one of the first to sense the corruption, and had begun to take precautionary measures. Though it may look insane to anyone watching, the acorn hads held and enchantment that would hold off the blight for just long enough for the animal to flee.

He passed by an area where the blight had run through and he pulled out his violin and began to play while concentrated on the colorless, dead flora infront of him. As the melody cut through the unusual silence of the forest, the corrupted ground began to heal. Satisfied, the spirit stopped playing. Immediately, the flora wilted and became colorless once more. The elder spirit turned to leave, then realized that his song had attracted a few minor forest spirits. He motioned for them to follow him and went towards the source of the blight.

The scene he arrived to was not an ordinary one; there was what appeared to be an old man, and.. was that a little girl? It looked as if she was inside the blight,  and was somehow repelling it. This was a huge surprise to not only the spirit, but even the dozens of lost souls walking with him.

[CyclicalCycal]

Indeed, it was, a single child fighting against some rotten and ravenous force. Cara paused, for a good long while, before suddenly a pulse of magic burst from her body. It stripped the grey blight from the area, giving the plants back their life and their colours, however it was only for a few dozen feet. After a brief pause, Cara rose to her feet and stumbled off towards the next part of the blight, her coat dragging behind her. She fell down, in the next chunk of it, staring at the ground and beginning to place her hands on the dead grass. She seemed to be repeating her process, but even as she did you could see the affliction moving to overtake the area she had just cleansed, bit by bit.

[Kalak8538]

"Amazing."

The seemingly elderly man was astounded by the power this child possessed. However, they could only do so much. He looked on with a heavy heart as the child collapsed. Too much power had been used. It was a surprise that one so young was still conscious after the first surge, let alone walking.

Seeing the child's work becoming slowly undone only broke his heart further.

"It's not enough..." he muttered in disappointment.

The time had come for him to act. He moved in, rushing to where the child was. Stepping on blighted soil did begin to drain him, but it was not very effective. The being had too much energy for the blight to really affect him right away. He attempted to scoop the child off the forest floor, with the intention of carrying them to safety. 

[CyclicalCycal]

Cara was swiftly picked up, gasping and moving to turn to look at the creature that had lifted her up. As she was moved, one could see that she herself had become tainted by the blight, the colours fading out of her skin, and eyes. She groggily gazed back to the blight, reaching out to the patch she was healing moments ago. "No...n-n-need...to heal it..."

She was evidently in no state to do just that.

As the girl was taken out of the blight, the colours began to return to her body and she began to visibly heal. "W-wha' are...you...d-doing...?" Is all Cara could mumble, tiredly.

[Kalak8538]

Once he was out of the blight, the man felt what little energy he lost return to him. Even brief exposure was enough to be felt. That was concerning, but at least it was behind them now. Fortunately, it spread too slowly to catch up to the pair, even at the reduced speed.

The child fidgeted in the man's arms. This was expected. She had lost so much strength, and lacked the ability to struggle in earnest. The elderly man did not even need to use much strength to keep his hold.

"Your power is great, young one... And perhaps your will is even greater. However, this is beyond your skill to heal..." the man replied.

"Rest. I will bring you somewhere safe."

In truth, he did not know where he was going. It did not matter, as long as the blight was behind them. There was more forest to traverse, it seemed. The elder scanned his surroundings for any sign of civilization: downed trees, a road, perhaps even buildings...

[CyclicalCycal]

"N-no-I must...I must heal...the...the..."

Cara didn't bother finish her sentence, blinking as she glanced about the area. She paused, before pointing something out.

"...b-but we're...d-d-deep...in forest..."

Yes, the two were deep in the forest. It would take a while to reach any civilisation. "W-we can't...we can't leave. Th-the blight...it's...evil..." She mumbles, wearily protesting even though she was far too fatigued to actually struggle. "I-It will h-h-hurt...th-the trees."

[Kalak8538]

The man gave a sigh. What she said was true, and he knew it.
However, as much as it pained him, there was nothing either of them could do in this situation. There was no way he would let a child sacrifice herself in vain.

"There is nothing we can do child..."

[CyclicalCycal]

"N-no! No...no...I need...to...I need to stop it...please...pl...ease?"

Cara protested, but she grew more tired by the second, and it showed. She paused, for a long while, before mumbling. "...c-can...we...least...return...later...m-mister...?" She asked, finally.

[Kalak8538]

The man chuckled as the struggling slowed. He looked back, seeing the blight still creeping in the distance.

"When we learn more about it... Yes." he replied, continuing to march forward.

[CyclicalCycal]

Cara pauses, for a little while, before mumbling.

"O...okay...I can...I can live...with that..."

[Kalak8538]

The man offered a smile before pausing his stride. Now that the child saw things his way, she could be trusted to walk. That is, if she had the strength...

He bent his knee and lowered himself down, letting the young girl down on the forest floor.

[CyclicalCycal]

Cara was set onto the ground, blinking and glancing about the area blearily. She seemed to be able to stand, but walking may prove difficult. She seemed quite drained. "Where...are...we go...going?" She asked, staring up to the man.

[Kalak8538]

"There is a road in this direction..." the old man responded.

"It leads to a little town. Perhaps there we can find answers."

The man took notice of the girl's fatigue. It seemed she was hardly able to even stand, let alone make the trip to town. It was also beginning to grow late. Perhaps stopping was a better idea?

"Although... Perhaps it is best to rest here for now..."

The man had walked a considerable distance. Judging by how slowly the blight was creeping, they would be safe at least until dawn.

"What do you say?" he asked with a smile. This was also a chance to learn more about this interesting youth.

[CyclicalCycal]

"Y-yes...y-yes...r-rest. Please rest." Cara muttered, glancing up. She was exceptionally tired indeed, nearly collapsing as she spoke. "E-evil...c-can't reach us. Too slow...j-just let...me rest..."

Cara was correct. The blight was slow, very very slow. But it was inevitable. It did not accelerate nor decelerate as it moved. It just kept advancing, no matter what stood in its way, sapping the light from all it touched.

[Kalak8538]

The old man smiled and got to work.

He found a good place to rest, a tiny clearing that lacked a lot of the annoying saplings and brush. The makeshift campsite would not take much time to construct, which was good because of how low the sun was getting now.

The man dared not ask for assistance. The child behind him was in no condition to help.

He did not need it anyway. A few yards away, a long log was resting on the forest floor. It was new, not yet touched by rot or insects. Walking over, he lifted one edge and began to drag it over to the site. He did not need to use his full strength for this, but what strength he did use somewhat betrayed the appearance of a frail and elderly man he made for himself.

"There we are!" he said aloud, placing the end of the log back down in the clearing.
He looked to the child and patted the surface of the log, inviting the child to sit.

Next, she would need a fire...

[CyclicalCycal]

Cara idly glanced about, as the man wandered around. She didn't seem to recognise his inordinate strength, being far too fatigued to notice, or perhaps even care. After a brief moment, she wandered over to the log, hopping up to take a seat.

"S-so...tired...s-so tired..." Cara repeated, wearily, as she glanced about the clearing. It seemed rather nice, she thought. The child rubbed at the log, blinking rapidly, before staring down at it in utter shock and surprise. She glanced about, again, rather panicked, before slowly calming. "Oh...o-okay...okay. I-I...get it."

[Kalak8538]

"Pardon?" The man questioned as he knelt down in the center of the clearing.

He began to clear away leaves and other natural debris with his hands, making a neat spot to start the fire. As he did this, the elder was listening for a response. He could not see the child, for his back was to her.

[CyclicalCycal]

"I-I...I don't know..." Cara replies, vaguely. She either doesn't have an answer or doesn't want to answer. It is hard to discern either. Regardless, she seems not to notice what was going on.