Rampant Tree

"I truly didn't expect this—" Herpo's voice came from beneath his black robes. That face, always cold and detached, wore a rare human expression.

"You have an insect controller as well." He paused, his gaze profound. "It seems I am not walking this path alone."

Skylar could not help thinking of the blonde girl who always carried an ethereal, dreamlike air about her. An unmistakable trace of pride appeared at the corner of his lips. He raised his head, his gaze passing over the chaotic battlefield and the locusts falling from the sky, toward the Astronomy Tower, as though some gentle yet steadfast power was waiting for him there.

Behind the narrow window at the very top, a slender figure stood quietly.

Luna's golden hair was tossed wildly by the gale stirred up by the insect swarm, several strands plastered tightly against her pale, almost translucent cheeks. The hair kept lashing against her face in the wind, yet she seemed completely unaware. Her silver-gray eyes were as calm as a bottomless lake. Her gaze passed through the battling insects and fixed on the distance, as if she were watching another world entirely unrelated to this one.

She lowered her head slightly, listening intently to something. Her posture was like someone listening to the wind, to the whispers of stars, to a melody from another world that played for her alone. A faint smile rested on her lips, as though she had heard something beautiful.

But Skylar knew that she was focusing on the whispers of Wrackspurts, whispers only she could hear.

The magic Herpo had cast was an Insect Control Art, using immense magical power to forcibly enslave and command insects. Luna, however, possessed the inborn talent of a Child of Nature. It was not control, but listening; not taming,