ShadowBound: The Need For Power

One or two hours had passed since Sheila and her group landed in Eldervale, though time already felt less trustworthy beneath the realm’s dark canopy.

They had not moved far enough for Sheila’s liking, but they had moved properly, and at the moment, that mattered more. The first stretch after arrival had been messy in all the ways Thion had warned them about. They had checked injuries while several students were still shaking from the teleportation drop. They had struggled to confirm their location using a map that seemed less comforting beneath real branches and strange stars than it had looked in Beacon Hall.

Their communication insignias worked, but poorly, flickering with distorted pulses and occasional crackles that made some students flinch each time the runes answered with more static than sense. They had marked their arrival point, marked the first turn they took, and kept repeating the new call-and-response Sheila established for the group until even the most frightened among them could say it without hesitation.

Eastern light.

Steady hands.

It was not perfect. Sheila knew that. It had been made after arrival, not before, and that alone felt like a mistake she should have anticipated. But it was something. Something was better than frightened students answering every voice that drifted through the trees.

Their pace remained slower than ideal because Yvette’s wrist was sprained and Jared’s shoulder was still stiff from the landing, but the real difficulty was Nima’s ankle.

The girl had insisted it was only sore at first, then nearly collapsed twenty minutes later when the uneven ground forced the injury to reveal itself. Sheila had stopped the group immediately, checked her properly, and ordered the ankle wrapped. Since then, Nima had moved with support from Toln and Dorin, her face tight with embarrassment she tried to hide more than pain.

The delay cost them time.

It also kept them from becoming careless.

Sheila had organized them into a basic formation as soon as they began moving. Dorin and Rolan watched the rear, not because they were the strongest, but because they were attentive enough to notice when the group’s marks began disappearing behind them. Kel and Sera scouted a short distance ahead, never farther than a soft whistle or hand signal could reach.

Toln helped Nima while Jared, despite his shoulder, kept to the right flank with his weapon ready. Marin watched the left, and Yvette stayed close enough to Sheila that if her injured wrist became a problem, Sheila could adjust quickly. It was not a full command structure. It was a moving patchwork built under pressure.

For now, it held.

The forest around them seemed determined to make every step feel watched. Thick roots broke through the damp soil in uneven ridges, some slick with moss, others exposed like old bones beneath the leaves. The trees rose high above, their branches twisted together so densely that only pieces of dark sky showed through.

Mist gathered low to the ground in thin, restless layers. At times, it shifted around their boots even when no wind touched it. The air smelled of wet bark, old leaves, and that strange mineral sharpness Sheila had noticed since arrival, like stone scraped open beneath the earth.

"Are we moving too slowly?" Jared asked from the right side, his voice low enough not to carry too far.

"We are moving at the pace the group can sustain," Sheila answered without looking away from the path ahead.

"That sounds like a nicer way to say slowly."

"It is a safer way to say alive."

That quieted him for a moment.

Toln glanced down at Nima, then toward Sheila. "I would rather move slow than have everyone scatter. When we first landed, I thought half of us were going to run in different directions."

Nima grimaced, leaning some of her weight on his shoulder. "I almost did."

"You did not," Sheila said.

"I wanted to."

"That is different."

Sera, a few paces ahead, looked back briefly. "Do you think the others are moving faster than us?"

"Some probably are," Sheila said.

Rolan muttered, "That is not comforting."

"It is not meant to be. It is only true."

A few students looked toward her at that, but Sheila kept her expression steady. She had learned quickly that false comfort had a short life in a place like Eldervale. If she told them everyone was fine, someone would ask how she knew. If she promised they were not behind, the forest itself might prove her wrong. Better to give truth in controlled amounts and follow it with direction.

"We do not know where the others landed," Sheila continued. "Some groups may be closer to Veyrhold. Some may be farther. Some may be moving quickly because they are uninjured. Some may be moving quickly because they are making poor choices. Until we confirm more, we do not judge our pace by imagining theirs."

Marin released a careful breath. "So we keep moving like this?"

"For now," Sheila said. "We preserve the group. We mark our route. We do not waste insignia signals. And we do not mistake speed for progress."

The words were simple, but speaking them settled something in the group.

Sheila felt it, and with it came the pressure again.

This was nothing like standing in the arena before Chris. In the arena, the danger had been words, pride, memory, and public doubt. It had been painful in its own way, but clean compared to this. There, she could listen, answer, and let the students judge. Here, every decision had weight beyond reputation.

If she moved too quickly, Nima might worsen her ankle or someone might miss a sign of danger. If she moved too slowly, another scattered group might be attacked before help could reach them. If she overused the insignia, they might attract something. If she underused it, they might miss a chance to regroup sooner.

Command had begun before she had walls, before Edith, before a proper count of the year.

She thought of Edith then, and the absence sat heavily in her chest. Edith should have been beside her, watching details Sheila missed, challenging decisions when needed, quietly steadying the structure without demanding attention. Instead, Sheila had ten students and no vice commander.

’I hope you landed with people who listen,’ Sheila thought.

Her mind moved next to Ariana, gentle but sharp-minded Ariana, who would likely be frightened at first but capable of understanding the realm’s Myst irregularities faster than almost anyone. Charlotte would probably be smiling somewhere she should not be smiling, already turning fear into amusement because that was how she survived discomfort.

Asher, if he had landed with a group, would either be a blessing or a headache depending on whether someone gave him enemies to face before people to argue with. Chris almost certainly would be trying to gather students, and if he had been lucky enough to land with a strong group, he would use it. She knew that. He would not waste an opportunity to turn arrival into proof.

Then, despite herself, she thought of Liam.

She imagined him somewhere alone in the dark forest, already reading the terrain with that cold, unsettling focus of his, probably more comfortable without people around him than any student had a right to be. He was likely handling himself better than most. That thought should have comforted her, but it brought his warning back instead.

You cannot rely on me to solve everything.

Sheila’s fingers tightened around the strap of her field bag.

’Then do not,’ she told herself. ’Focus on who is here.’

A soft whistle came from ahead.

Sheila stopped immediately and lifted one hand. The group halted behind her, a little unevenly but without speaking.

Sera emerged from between two trees moments later, moving quickly but quietly, her face tense. Kel was not with her.

Sheila’s stomach tightened, but her voice stayed controlled. "Report."

Sera swallowed once, then spoke in a low rush. "We found another group. And they are in trouble."

"How many?"

"I counted seven. Maybe eight. It was hard to see because they are in a hollow below an old collapsed road."

"Injuries?"

"At least two. One is pinned. I think by roots, but they were moving. Another was bleeding from the leg or side. I could not get closer without being seen by whatever is under the ground."

Sheila’s focus sharpened. "Creatures above ground or beneath?"

"Beneath. Mostly. Something was moving under the roots and soil. Long shapes. Like the ground was tightening around them. One came up enough for Kel to see it. He said it looked like a Vein Crawler from the guide."

That made several students behind Sheila stiffen.

"Are they still fighting?" Sheila asked.

"Yes, but badly. Some are blasting the ground. It looks like that makes the creatures worse. One boy keeps stomping around trying to pull the pinned student free, and every time he does, the roots move toward him."

"How far?"

"Less than five minutes if we move quickly. Kel stayed hidden near the ridge to watch."

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