A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing-Chapter 605 - Ebonhollow

Since every moment they stayed there increased the chances of discovery, they wasted no time. Morganae drew two regular heartfire sigils on the forest floor, and after sharing a kiss under the irritated mother fairy's gaze, activated their respective sigils.

Yet, unlike the modified sigils Elora would use in the future, these generic ones were far more straightforward. Rather than put them through elaborate scenarios, it simply put them in stressful situations and measured their feelings.

In Erik's case, the heartfire sigil made him forget about the trial, and simply put him in a desert, with an endless horde of monsters, aiming to kill him and Elora. Unfortunately, the latter was inexplicably unconscious, unable to merge with him, and tied to a kind of altar.

His only choices were to run, or fight to protect Elora, hoping the monsters would run out of bodies before he ran out of steam.

Meanwhile, Elora's trial surprisingly entailed the exact same thing she'd gone through recently: caring for Erik while he suffered on the brink of death.

Unsurprisingly, they were both undaunted in the face of their respective challenges. As the minutes passed and Morganae kept an eye on their progress, she became increasingly wry. She rubbed her forehead in exasperation, muttering helplessly, "Well, shit…"

In one trial, she could see a towering werewolf in shredded clothing, drenched in blood as it howled desperately into the sky. Standing on a mountain of beast corpses surrounding Elora's altar, he continued swinging his hammer defiantly as more and more wounds were inflicted on his tortured body.

In the other, she could see Elora foregoing all rest as she tirelessly and desperately nursed Erik back to health.

At this point, both trials already had more than enough information to make a determination, and Morganae didn't bother forcing them to continue any longer. With a wave of her hand, she disabled the sigils, pulling the two lovers out of their trials and restoring their memories.

At first, they didn't realize what happened, and their reactions were visceral. "Erik!" Elora cried as tears streamed down her cheeks. Beside her, Erik roared, "Fall upon my hammer, cretins!" and instantly turned to wolf form, snarling like a wild animal as his eyes scanned the area for danger.

Ignoring Erik, a worried Morganae instead crouched down by Elora and hugged her into her substantial breasts. "Shh, it's, okay, little Whisp. You're alright. It's over now…"

The lovers started to blink, and slowly, realization set in. Erik groaned and palmed his transformed snout. "Ugh… I feel like I was run over by a train…"

At the same time, Elora recovered much quicker, mostly because she'd already gone through this before. She crossed her arms and chuckled into her mother's bosom. "Hehehe, happy now, Mom?" She didn't even doubt Erik had passed just as she had.

Realizing her daughter was fine, Morganae let her go and stood back up with a sigh. "Yes, yes… I guess I should be happy about this…?" she grumbled, before glancing at Erik's werewolf form curiously. "At least you've found yourself someone interesting…"

Erik didn't like the look in her eyes, and quickly turned back to human form before she got any ideas. "You're not thinking about using me as a labrat again, are you…?" he growled at her with a hint of danger.

Morganae didn't seem to mind his tone, however. In fact, she chuckled charmingly and shook her head. Flying over to him, she put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "The moment you became my daughter's guardian you became extended family… but today, you'll become my true son-in-law."

Dangerous energy flashed through her eyes, but this time, not focused on Erik. "Not only will I not experiment on you, but anyone who tries will have to go through me and my hubby!"

Erik blinked. His body remained tensed, and slightly weirded out by Morganae's sudden reversal in attitude. "Elora…?" he muttered hesitantly through their bond, wondering what to make of this.

His partner's emerald eyes twinkled with joy as she flew to her feet. "No need to doubt her, my love," she assured him through the bond as feelings of love and happiness overflowed. "Just like me, my mother puts people in brackets, and you've just entered the family one…"

Elora flew over to him, shrunk herself, and landed on his shoulder while smiling at his mother. "So…. should we get going, Mom?"

***

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A few moments later, Erik had resumed stalking through the forest, now with two passengers sitting on his wide shoulders. At first, Erik had baulked a little at Morganae sitting there, but Elora calmed him down.

Apparently, this was a sign of trust and respect on her part… and while he still had his doubts, he decided to leave things be. He certainly didn't mind such a small thing if it made Elora happy.

Along the way forward, a shimmering barrier pulsed around him, maintained by Morganae, and meant to keep them hidden from traps and sigils around them. At the same time, she guided him on the path to take.

Soon, they stepped through an illusory barrier and were confronted by a view that Erik had seen only once before: Ebonhollow, the Obsidian Enclave's stronghold on Söl, one of many across the vast network of worlds.

It was a vast city of beautiful, vine-covered stone spires, and large homes carved into massive trees. It was night time, but dancing, blue fires floated throughout the city, illuminating its magnificent vistas.

The entire place so easily blended into the forest that, for a moment, Erik wondered if he'd truly stepped through a barrier, or the city had been there all along.

"Feels good to be back…" Elora muttered from his shoulder, a gentle smile on her lips.

"I'm sorry we can't stay," Erik sighed with regret. He knew the first year or so of their partnership had been particularly hard for her, even if she hadn't shown it outwardly at the time. It was the first time she'd lived outside of Ebonhollow for such a long period of time.

"You could always let her enslave you…" Morganae suggested helpfully, yet earning her no more than angry glares from Erik and Elora.

To Erik's surprise, Morganae pouted cutely. "Fine…. it's not like a little enslavement ever hurt anyone…."

Deciding to ignore that blatantly untrue statement, the trio moved deeper into the city. Fortunately, between the fact that it was night, and Morganae's being one of the most powerful fairies in Ebonhollow, they managed to escape detection until they arrived at a truly massive tree, located right in the middle of the city.

It was here Erik and Elora would become husband and wife…