Chapter Text
It began with a subtle tremor in his hands. Han Jisung was peeling potatoes for cooking when he noticed colorful threads, fine as hair, winding through his fingers, coaxing him to abandon the domestic task. Then, a shiver ran from the nape of his neck down his spine. He glanced outside for a moment and saw nothing but the darkness of the night.
"Strange," he commented to himself, standing in the middle of the kitchen while the water bubbled in the pot.
Just to be safe, he slid his fingertips over the petals of the oxalis planted in a clay pot on the windowsill. He felt nothing abnormal upon touching them, but chuckled softly at hearing some protests. Hyunjin had once explained that every touch from Jisung was like an invisible hand brushing against the face, tickling them. The protest, however, always came in Minho's voice, who, although he loved his friend's concern, feigned indifference just to keep up appearances.
With his friends out of danger, Jisung turned back to the pot on the fire and sprinkled dried spices. He also whispered a song to make the meal tastier, but after tasting it, he realized his apprehension had influenced the magic: the potatoes had a slightly bitter taste.
He remained restless throughout dinner, as if someone were discreetly pricking him here and there. Even though he had checked everything, he couldn't discern the source of the discomfort. The only things that could make him feel this way were safe, so what could be out of place?
He peered through the window once more and tried to reach out to the surroundings with his mind. The wind, free from his influence, blew hard through the forest trees, shaking the leaves and dragging the undergrowth across the earth. It howled as it rushed past the cottage, and the mage narrowed his eyes to try to see into the distance, without success.
The stone bridge remained untouched while letting the stream flow lazily through the vegetation. With a snap of his fingers, the lamps lit up, scattering points of light all over the place. Nothing suspicious appeared before them, and Jisung began to grow impatient.
"Tell me what it is!" he snapped at the fireplace.
The fire danced from side to side, as if shrugging, showing that it knew as much as he did.
"Even you don't know?" he asked, astonished.
If even the fire didn't know, the worry was real. He straightened up immediately and fetched a cloak from the closet. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw lightning cut across the sky. Mundungus, his Korat cat, was perched on the sideboard, licking his paws distractedly, oblivious to his owner's agitation.
"Protect the house while I'm gone," he ordered the feline.
Jisung set off into the night through the forest, allowing his intuition to guide him to where the unknown premonition called him. The wind pushed him in random directions, confused and ceaseless, as if unable to control its own nervousness. This put him on alert; it was the first time so many energies of nature combined to call him.
As he rested his hand against a tree trunk, he heard a chorus of murmurs. A multitude of creatures were seeking solace, and Jisung couldn't conceive of what could cause such a commotion. It wasn't the first time he had seen the forest restless in the face of trouble, yet it was the first time he had seen it so terrified. It felt as though, all of a sudden, some beast had surged from the earth, threatening everyone with its fury. But that wasn't possible; even if a monster had escaped from another world, Minho would have done something about it. And he would have informed everyone, without exception.
As he approached what seemed to be his destination, he noticed the movement of horses and halted. He heard men shouting; from the little he could grasp, they were searching for someone. Shadows upon shadows loomed, and he had to wait. He wouldn't deal with a battalion like that even on his best day.
Foreseeing that those men wouldn't disappear quickly enough, Jisung conjured small illusions that obediently crept from their hiding places among the roots to distract whoever was nearby. They caught the group's attention, and the horses moved away, allowing the mage to proceed. The wind nudged him onward, and he followed the trail to an embankment, descending the slope with the support of the trees until he recognized the spot.
He found the source of nature's distress just a few meters away: a person lying on the ground, groaning in pain. Jisung was momentarily lost in the clamor of the forest, which was desperate for help, and had to take a deep breath to ask all those forces of nature to compose themselves.
Not far from the writhing body, a horse stomped its hooves on the ground, lashed by the branches of suspicious bushes. Jisung went to it first; he reached out and touched the animal's neck, murmuring words of calm.
"It's okay, it's okay," he repeated while stroking it, and the horse huffed in understanding, grateful for the aid.
Once he had ensured there were no other threats nearby, the mage walked over to the agonizing body. What he saw was unlike anything he had expected to find there: a simple human. Why would nature be so moved by a human? And why would it call him here to see him?
The young man writhed ceaselessly, his groans becoming increasingly desperate. Had it not been for the strong wind muffling the sound, his cries would have echoed through the air and given away his location. He looked like he was on the brink of death, but Jisung couldn't see the source of the trouble.
"Light," he invoked, and a bright white sphere floated above them.
Jisung shuddered as he realized the amount of blood pouring from the man's side, soaking the fabric of his clothes and sticking it to his skin. The dark garments disguised the extent of the wound, but it was visibly deep. Maintaining a calm demeanor, the mage searched his memory for healing enchantments.
It's poison, the leaves whispered as they rustled around him. Jisung stared at the tree in front of him.
"What do you mean, poison?" he asked, astonished, turning back to the human, whose eyes were bloodshot and whose neck veins were bulging. "Poison from what animal? Or from what plant?"
Human poison, the leaves answered, twirling in the air.
Jisung brought his hand close to the wound without touching it and closed his eyes, tracking the energy. He knew how to extract venom from any animal and neutralize reactions to toxic plants, but he knew of no antidote for what he was facing now.
With his heightened senses, he realized the human's blood was completely tainted by an unknown mixture. He also noted that the organs were working in overdrive, fighting to expel the evil. A shiver ran down his spine as he became certain of the substance's purpose: to drain the victim’s energy and kill him through sheer exhaustion.
It was a potent, malignant magic. The forest had pleaded for his intervention, so he could not retreat. Perhaps he could save this life if he consulted his friends about human poisons, but he suspected he didn't have much time. He needed to hurry.
"Can you hear me?" he asked the young man, who was sweating uncontrollably, his skin hot as embers.
Gritting his teeth, the stranger merely growled in response.
"I can't do much for him here," he explained to the forest, which hummed impatiently at his hesitation. "I'm taking him to my house."
He snapped his fingers, catching the horse's attention. With effort, Jisung lifted the human and placed him in the saddle while casting a spell to temporarily staunch the bleeding.
"Take him. I will make sure those looking for him don't find him," he instructed the animal, which trotted obediently in the indicated direction.
Jisung raised his arms and recited cleansing incantations and others that altered the scent of the air. He made an illusion of a labyrinth float among the branches to confuse the mind of any tracker and ordered the summoned creatures to stand watch.
His work finished, he traveled swiftly back through the forest. Upon arriving home, the horse was waiting for him; Jisung removed the wounded man from the mount, draping him over his shoulders again to enter the cottage.
The entire cottage came to life to accommodate the visitor: a table cleared itself of its contents and lowered its height, while a large sheet, emerging from the cupboard, covered it with precision. Jisung deposited the body onto the makeshift bed, and the wooden legs rose again at his command. Basins with water at different temperatures took their stations, and a large spellbook floated open in the center of the room, awaiting orders.
"Go get Hyunjin or Minho, whoever you find first," he told Mundungus.
The cat, who had climbed onto the window, leaped from the sill and left; the door opened on its own for him and closed immediately after.
Jisung watched the young man thrash on the table and tried his best to curb his own fear. He needed to do something, but he didn't know how, nor what.
"Any ideas?" he asked the fire in the hearth, which had doubled in size. "I have no knowledge of cures of this kind. I treat animals and plants, I’ve never healed a human," he complained, questioning once again why the forest had insisted so much that he rescue this young man. He was no expert in saving human lives; if nature were smarter, it would have turned to Minho, who was older and certainly possessed more knowledge.
The fire rose and fell, and Jisung shed his cloak. He rolled up his sleeves and removed the young man's shirt, soaked in blood, to assess the situation. Upon seeing the large scar where the youth had been wounded, he felt indignant; even not being a specialist in humans, he was certain his initial spell should have restored the skin.
It didn't take long for the next scene to leave him in shock: the cut opened delicately, undoing itself like the stitches of a loose seam.
"That's not possible," he murmured, shuddering.
It wasn't common for his spells to unravel, even the simplest and most rushed ones. What kind of human poison would be capable of this? Even a potent chemical solution wouldn't reopen a healed wound in such a way. It then occurred to Jisung that perhaps the forest had called him precisely because this was no ordinary poisoning.
"Magic? Was he poisoned with a potion or an enchantment?"
The fire crackled in agreement. Jisung saw the blood gush again, red and black, along a line running from the navel to the waist. A towel flew in his direction and a bucket slid under the table.
"I need to stop this blood," he said, noticing the young man's lips losing color.
Heavens, how he wished Hyunjin were there.
With no experience whatsoever, Jisung stepped closer and placed his hands on the bare chest, feeling a shiver run down the entire length of his back upon touching that hot, damp skin. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine he could replicate on this human the same process used to save a sick animal.
Hearing the ceaseless flow of blood, he ordered the toxin to displace itself and gather in the flesh beneath his palms.
With great effort and patience, he tried to guide the poison through the body to the cut to physically expel it. However, upon getting too close to the wound, the evil stiffened and escaped the mage's control, flowing into the bloodstream once more.
Jisung exhaled sharply and tried the same maneuver, to no avail. Apparently, the substance followed some instruction not to leave without proper permission. With another plan in mind, he closed his eyes and gathered the poison in one place again, but this time, he didn't try to lead it out. Instead, closing his hand into a fist, he ordered the toxin to freeze. He murmured an incantation and, with his other hand open, mimicked the gesture of tying, trapping that intruder inside an imaginary box.
This wouldn't annul the poison's action, but it would delay its effect long enough for his friends to arrive. Unfortunately, the maneuver didn't prevent the human from feeling pain, which was hard to watch. The young man still gasped tirelessly, his mouth dry, trying to beg for help that wouldn't come. Jisung tried to conjure anesthesia spells, but none of them worked to alleviate that affliction.
"I can't extract the poison, but I can paralyze it for a while," Jisung tried to explain, though the human was far from comprehending him. "However, I can't stop the pain. Whoever did this really wanted you to suffer before dying."
With these words, Jisung performed one more enchantment, creating a protective barrier to prevent the vital organs from being severely damaged.
When a young animal was bitten by a venomous snake, Jisung would stimulate its own blood flow to purify the dangerous substance, but that seemed impossible in this situation. The poison—or whatever that was running through the human's blood—had spread like a plague, traveling murky paths. The mage thought about trying to remove it manually with more vigor, as he was beginning to perceive a pattern in the inflicted magic, but he feared that by insisting, he might further jeopardize the integrity of the already fragile body.
The mage behind such evil certainly possessed vast knowledge on how to impede healing.
After what seemed like an eternity, Mundungus returned with Jisung's friend in his wake. Hyunjin, curious and equally distressed by the summons, looked at the body sprawled and weeping in the middle of the room.
"What is that thing?" he asked, with a tone of repulsion.
"A human. The forest told me to save him," Jisung answered, ignoring the aversion his friend displayed.
Hyunjin closed the distance and wrinkled his nose when the sick man screamed in pain.
"And what is wrong with him?"
"I think they poisoned him. But I don't know what to do. I hoped you or Minho had a solution."
Hyunjin, not at all happy to find someone clearly outside the magical world, crossed his arms. He wasn't angry at Jisung, but irritated by the fact that he had to provide aid to a creature that had no affinity with them.
"After all, what is so special about him that the forest stepped forward?"
"I don't know. Can we look for that answer as soon as he regains consciousness?" Jisung pleaded.
Hyunjin exhaled heavily, giving in on his pride. He moved closer to the young man and placed a hand on his forehead.
"There is a mage's hand here," he declared immediately, confirming Jisung's suspicions. "It's as if he were possessed... Maybe..." he pondered, observing the body, and stopped as soon as he saw the cut. "What happened there?" he indicated the flank.
"He was wounded when I found him. I tried to close the cut, but none of my spells held the tissues in place."
"Maybe that's it," Hyunjin concluded. "He was struck with an enchanted weapon."
"So what do we have to do?"
"Let's try to remove the spell with banishment enchantments. I don't know which one will work; I don't recognize this magic from anywhere. Where could he have come from? How did he get here?"
Jisung then related to his friend all the details of what had happened up to that moment.
"Go call Minho," Hyunjin requested of Mundungus, who had barely finished curling up comfortably on the upholstery. "He must understand something about enchanted weapons."
Jisung concentrated his energy, scouring the spellbook for something that could help them. Meanwhile, Hyunjin held the stranger's head, muttering keywords to reveal the nature of the hidden magic. A conjured pencil scribbled answers frantically on a blank sheet, keeping pace with the Seeker mage.
"The idea to paralyze the poison was quite smart," Hyunjin commented, distracted. He kept his gaze fixed on the wall ahead, as if the interior of the human body were projected onto it like a large screen. "It was the best measure. The poison isn't spreading, and the shadows are cornered."
"I’ve done this with a sick animal before. I paralyzed a tumor until I could recover the surrounding flesh and remove what was rotten without compromising the rest. I repeated the process several times with trees and soils, but working on humans is new to me," Jisung said, furrowing his brows as his lips followed the reading of the paragraphs on the execution of the enchantments.
"Closed. Lines. Open. Strong," Hyunjin cited the keys, and the pencil transcribed them. "Dense and porous. Flaw. Water? No. Jisung, find magic with fire."
"I found one. Are you sure it will work?"
"Water would cause the blood to lose its fundamental structure. We would need to revive the human several times due to weakness, and I'm not sure his heart would withstand it. We are not in a position to risk it. Even if fire is a dangerous alternative, it is our best option. We can repair the damage, if there is any, after extracting the poison."
"Let's try with fire, then," Jisung agreed, heading to the fireplace.
"A lightning bolt cutting across the sky doesn't seem like such a common sign to me..." Hyunjin commented, remembering his friend's account. "Do you think he might be someone important? Of the really important kind?"
"We'll only know after all this is over."
Jisung summoned fire to his hands. The element leaped from the firewood to his fingers, circling in the air as it was carried toward the wounded man. The mage deposited the flame onto the cut and watched as dark smoke began to detach.
"I will protect him," Hyunjin assured, noticing Jisung's hesitation.
The mage then read from the spellbook, which had floated to his side, and guided the fire through the body, trying to maintain steadiness even as he watched the young man thrash, the roars of pain scraping against his ears.
The black smoke was expelled gradually, traveling through the air until it was sucked into a glass bottle destined for sealing energies.
The stranger writhed as he was burned from the inside, and Jisung felt his stomach turn. He hated this part; if it weren't for Hyunjin keeping him focused and serving as support, perhaps he wouldn't have had the courage needed to proceed.
When not a single trace of shadow remained, the blood cleared and the cut healed, leaving the skin smooth as if the wound had never existed. The human stopped moaning and let out a deep sigh, ending his lament. The magic bottle was corked, and Jisung returned the fire to its place of origin in the fireplace.
Hyunjin relaxed his shoulders, exhausted. At that same instant, the door opened. The cat leaped inside, and Minho appeared in the living room.
"What happened?" he asked, astounded, searching his friends' faces for the explanation of that heavy atmosphere.
"Late," Hyunjin pointed out, wiping sweat from his forehead. "We just saved a human."
"Minho, could you take a look at him, please?" Jisung asked, approaching the newcomer.
Minho, the Mage of Worlds, widened his eyes at Jisung's plea. It wasn't common to see him this way, much less when it concerned something unrelated to plants or animals. Therefore, he became serious and determined to grant the request, certain that his friend was not there for games.
He shed his coat and rolled up his sleeves, revealing rows of drawings on the skin of his forearms that extended over his entire body. They were tattoos of various magical symbols, whose meanings belonged only to his type of magic. As someone who guided spirits between worlds, he needed to keep an apparatus of amulets on himself so as not to get lost or trapped between dimensions.
With a whisper, transparent chains descended from Minho's hands and swept over the unconscious body.
"We believe an enchanted weapon was used to strike him. Which is quite surprising, as it has been a long time since I heard of anyone practicing war magic. Didn't we have an agreement that this kind of magic would no longer exist?" Hyunjin asked.
"Perhaps the Kingdom's mages still practice it. Even if it is forbidden."
"Do you think he might be from the Kingdom?" Jisung asked, astonished.
"That would explain the forest's intervention. But it also makes everything more confusing... After all, why would the forest help someone from there?" Hyunjin questioned suspiciously.
"The forest wouldn't let anyone from the Kingdom die," Jisung argued.
"Perhaps it is more appropriate to ask: what would someone from the Kingdom be doing so far from home?" Minho intervened. "But that is beside the point now. If the forest called us, it is our duty as mages to intervene."
Hyunjin crossed his arms as he stood up, looking not at all satisfied with the situation.
"The human is safe," Minho sentenced after his analysis. "You managed to expel the evil that infiltrated the flesh. If he didn't die from the cut, he would certainly have sought to kill himself to get rid of the madness," he completed darkly, retracting the ethereal chains.
"Who would do something like this?" Jisung whispered.
"Someone who wanted him dead," Hyunjin replied acidly. "And it will fall on the 'nice mages' if this human turns out to be a traitor to the King."
"If he were a traitor, he wouldn't be judged by a sword. He would be beheaded in the public square, in front of everyone," Minho pondered.
"And how can we know if he wasn't fleeing his sentence? The King's mage must have struck him to stop him from getting far. They were after him in the forest; Jisung heard the cavalry."
"But the forest..."
"The forest doesn't measure the consequences of its demands," Hyunjin cut in. "Even if his heart is humble and full of good intentions, he couldn't escape human law. And you know that very well."
Minho sighed and looked at Jisung. Hyunjin, seeing his friends' expressions, turned to them more firmly.
"We can't keep him here. He could be dangerous!"
"And what do you suggest?" Minho asked, while Jisung merely lowered his head, staring at his own feet as if they were the most interesting thing in the world.
"We can't hide him from the King. Let's leave him in the forest. We've already done our part."
"We can't simply throw his body out there. He isn't even conscious. He could be killed in his sleep."
"And you want to give the benefit of the doubt to a total stranger with high chances of being a fugitive?"
"But what if he isn't? What if he was set up? What if the forest helped him because it knows he is innocent?"
"Hyunjin..." Jisung called out, his voice low.
The Seeker exchanged glances with the Forest Mage and, in that instant, was struck by Jisung's silent plea. He tried to dodge it, but it was hard to escape someone who had so much influence of nature flowing in his magic. Jisung was like the air one breathed, like the fire that warmed, and the rain that drenched. And, in that moment, he emanated all his power to bend the resistance of his contrarian friend.
"You two have hearts that are too soft!" Hyunjin exclaimed. "Good thing I exist in this equation, or we'd have our heads cut off in less than a week," he said as he stepped away.
After a short silence, cornered by friends who valued the human's life, Hyunjin grew exasperated and gave in.
"We will wait for him to wake up. And when that happens, he needs to leave. Understood?"
Jisung smiled with relief, and Minho squeezed Hyunjin's shoulder in a gesture of solidarity.
"We know you are totally against harboring outsiders because of everything that has happened to us... but I'm glad that, despite everything, you are still willing to reconsider your decisions."
"I can't do anything when he gets like that," muttered the Seeker, indicating Jisung, who was now cleaning the wounds on the human's body and sorting out clean clothes to dress him.
"Ji, if you still need help, send your messenger," Minho said as he opened the door, dissolving into thin air immediately after.
"The same goes for me. I'll be keeping watch nearby in case he wakes up and you don't know what to do. Leave the lights outside on," Hyunjin instructed, pointing to the lamps.
"Thank you, Jinnie."
After his friends' departure, the Forest Mage dedicated himself to preparing the guest room. With the utmost gentleness he could muster, he settled the human onto a large, comfortable bed, lighting more lamps with floating bubbles of light. Outside, nature had quieted down, finally at peace after its duty was done.
For a moment, Jisung also remained motionless, just watching and listening to the soft breathing of someone who had just escaped death. Without the torment of pain, the human slept like an exhausted child after a busy day. Jisung could barely resist the impulse to brush the sweat-dampened bangs from his forehead, exposing a little more of that unknown face.
Now, without the agony and stress of the rescue, he could see the young man's features clearly. He was young and had dark blonde hair, the color of sand, with strands falling in soft waves to the front. His face was harmonious, and his lips, regaining color, looked drawn by an artist.
Beautiful, was the first word that crossed Jisung's mind. The human was like a magnolia in bud, about to bloom on a spring morning. He had the bearing of a noble, but also a sweetness difficult to put into words. He looked like a prince, straight out of the stories Jisung told the forest creatures.
Curious as he was, he brought a finger to the human's lip to touch it lightly, but when the man moved his mouth in his sleep, the mage retracted his hand, laughing softly at his own boldness.
"We finally managed to save you," he whispered, relieved. "I hope you can wake up in the morning. That way, I'll be able to know your name and who you are."
The mage rose and went to wash up. With a few commands, he tidied the house and went to lie down in his own chambers. Mundungus, who had remained in the living room, followed him and leaped onto the bed, curling up at his feet.
"Who do you think he might be?" he asked the messenger, but the feline made no sound other than a steady purr.
Without the wind blowing through the trees and with the forest silent, only the soothing crackle of the fireplace remained. Jisung listened to the wood snap as he let his thoughts wander aimlessly. He wanted to fall asleep to rest after that unexpected commotion, but he couldn't, no matter how much his body pleaded.
After an hour, he knew he couldn't stay there, aware that a stranger lay in the next room who might wake up at any moment. What if the human woke up disoriented and frightened by the strange surroundings? What if he tried to flee in the middle of the night? It was better to be cautious.
He rose and tiptoed to the room where the guest lay. He remained in the same position, fast asleep, oblivious to his savior's apprehension. The mage approached and, with a subtle gesture, conjured a comfortable armchair beside the bed. He settled into it, keeping a respectful distance, ready to watch over the young man's sleep.
Before long, and exactly as he had predicted, Jisung's eyelids began to grow heavy. Sleep came to him as if it had been waiting for that specific decision to finally embrace him. It was a strange sensation; he couldn't recall ever feeling this way before.
Of course, he had lost sleep worrying about natural incidents, devising solutions for environmental problems, but those events followed the natural course of the Great Life, something he knew he couldn't fully control. This occasion, however, seemed to depend entirely on him and his efforts.
Beyond the responsibility, there was a persistent feeling of having seen that young man somewhere, though he couldn't recall where or when. If he really were from the Kingdom, how could that be possible? They were from such distinct worlds, and Jisung never left the forest. Was it a figment of his fertile imagination? But how could he invent such specific familiarity?
The sound of a sharp gasp interrupted his train of thought. Jisung snapped out of his trance and widened his eyes, searching for the cause. He watched the human shift restlessly and clench his fists in tension. His eyes were still closed.
Jisung sat up in the armchair, concerned. Was the young man still in pain? But he remembered checking the body thoroughly and healing every injury. Was the poison still lingering? Minho had guaranteed it wasn't. So, what could it be?
When the young man turned his face to the side and whimpered softly in distress, Jisung understood. It was the memory of pain.
The mage leaned back again, but reached out and rested his hand gently on the human's face, letting his calming magic flow through his touch.
"Sleep well," he murmured, dispelling the nightmares.