Ingrid squinted harder. She’d seen those flowers before, but she couldn’t quite place where. One thing was for certain; she’d never seen this many in one place. But by the First One’s last breath, they were gorgeous. The cascading blue hues positively shimmered, blending together perfectly with the twilight. She was never the type to put much stock in pretty views, but this. This might have been the single most beautiful sight she’d ever seen, unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

  Yet, there was something about it that tugged at her, something utterly haunting.

  The Ferals lined up in much the same way Laurel’s Legions did. It's funny how similar they were in times like this. If only.

  Once the initial awe wore off Ingrid’s gaze finally fell on the soldiers that held the flowers. She looked at the boy closest to the bottom of the cliff. And boy was the right word; he couldn’t have been any older than eighteen. His slightly pointed ears told her he was a half-elf like herself but with scaled arms. Some reptilian gene.

  Then she looked harder; and saw that the scales not only sat on his arms, but his legs, his face. Too many. He’s morphing. And quite far along.

  Ingrid thought about Mrs. Guntha, the woman who cared for the twins back home. How she too struggled with the disease. And Aura was too disturbed to hold the monstrosity that came with the genes.

  She looked on, to the rest of the men and women lining the field. Faces completely covered in fur, limbs shifted into paws. Every person holding one of those flowers was morphing.

  Then it clicked.

  She remembered where she had seen the flower before, back in the Gloom. In Tin, the backstreet alchemist she bought medicine from, had one. It sat in a glass jar at the top of one of his shelves. Ingrid had gone to pick up simple herbs for an infection Kende got while playing in one of the alleyways. It was one of the few times they ever had a real conversation.

  Ingrid stepped through the door, holding her breath and holding her nostrils shut. Tin’s Shack always reeked. But she dropped her hand once she saw the bottled blossom. Its beautiful gentle light had caught her attention. It was dull, but striking all the same. Eventually Tin noticed her presence.

  “Yes, it's stunning, is it not?” He said, putting his current mixture down.

  She raised an eyebrow, not knowing how the blind alchemist knew what she was looking at.

  The old gnome laughed. A laugh that slowly turned into a painful sounding cough. He spoke once he recomposed himself. “I wasn’t always blind, you know. I could tell by your steps.”

  Ingrid nodded, then realized he wouldn’t see that. “What is it?”

  He grinned. “That, my young thief, is known as Inspiritus Gadenas. One of the most powerful herbs found in the Forest. They are rare, few have found patches.” A wicked grin grew on his face. “And even fewer survive to tell the tale.”

  Ingrid screwed up her face, that didn’t really make any sense. It’s just a flower.

  “It's more than just a flower. That right there gives the boost of a lifetime. The fabled Energized buff. Near unlimited stamina for a set time limit. That comes at a hefty price.”

  “What’s the price?”

  The gnome hobbled over to one of his shelves, grabbing a vial of the morph-dampening potion. He jingled it in the air.

  “The polar opposite of this. Even a single petal of Inspiritus can start the morphing process, even in the most Aura stable. Back when I worked in the lab, I was tasked with refining it down into something usable. But never could get it right. Hells, nobody could ever figure out how to even grow the damned plant. Made any meaningful experimenting nigh impossible.”

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “And you just have it out in the open?” Ingrid knew he was kooky, but something that valuable should be locked away in a safe buried under the shack.

  “Put your sticky fingers away. That one isn’t worth a damn. It's lost its spark, whatever element gives the plant its powers is gone. You can tell by the light. The shine that one gives off is a husk of what a trueblue Inspiritus.” Tin grew a small smile. “They are breathtaking. Oh, how we all in the labs pined to see a field of them. Would be like the sky itself came down to the ground.”

  He sighed, then scoffed. “At least until we all turned into animals.”

  Tin coughed. “They're called Energy Petals by the Ferals. But they have another name. One said to be given to them by Laurel herself. But it just didn’t sound scientific enough for those in the labs and we can’t have that,” he said with a grin.

  Ingrid remembered the phrase as she looked on at the very sight Tin yearned for.

  “The Cerulean Rage.”

  Lisse had joined Ingrid's side as the words left her lips.

  “That’s an old term for them. I’m shocked you know it. We just call them Energy Petals. We, I’d rather avoid calling them by such a poetic name. Keeps the young ones from looking for them if they sound boring and uninspired.”

  “This… isn't this what Mort was talking about? The venture he wanted you to join in. He said that his man had found—”

  Ingrid stopped. She realized something. She turned to her sister.

  Lisse nodded. “Yes, we already knew about them.” She raised her arms to the trees surrounding them. “This is our home. Something as grand as a whole garden of bright blue flowers is hard to miss. Part of the reason we had that meeting was to confirm our suspicions that he knew about it as well. But that is a discussion for another time. Now I must speak. To them.”

  As Lisse was about to turn to the blue mass of soldiers, Ingrid held her sister’s arm.

  “But why? They’re morphing from just holding the cursed things.”

  Lisse looked down at her sister, a sad smile on her face.

  “They were already turning. Each and every one of the people you see down there chose this. They knew their time was short and understood how important the task they had been given was. As much as it pains me to ask this of them, I must.”

  Ingrid looked down at the poor soldiers once again, this time seeing Glenna, the large red haired woman who stood next to a man. They embraced. Then she walked away, looking to the ground as she made for the other side of the cliff. Probably going to join Lisse soon.

  “But why are you letting them morph, just to fight for the city? For people that despise you and treat us, ahem, them so terribly.”

  Lisse slowly shook her head. “You misunderstand one thing. We aren’t fighting for them. Look over the cliff, to the right. It will be hard to see but you should be able to make out something. If nothing else, use your ears.”

  Ingrid followed her sister's directions. It was hard to see anything above the bright blue, but then, through the trees, she saw movement. Not the movement of warriors, but of beasts. Monsters. But so close to them. How?

  Ingrid focused her ears, trying to gather as much information on the monsters as she could. They ran forward, away from the Feral encampment. Then she heard a hiss. A slow but terrifying sound. One that had her jump on the spot.

  Lisse placed a hand on Ingrid’s shivering shoulder. “You probably heard the Boss. It’s okay, we have it restrained. They won’t attack us.”

  “What? How?” Ingrid asked.

  But Lisse only answered with a shake of her head. Then she finally turned to the soldiers at the bottom of the cliff, her face fierce and determined. She took a deep breath.

  “My Family! Thank You!” She bowed. “What I have asked you, what we need from you, I wish it didn’t have to be so. But alas, you all see it. Something has changed in our home this last year. The Forest is not what it once was. The rampant growth of both the flora and the fauna. The monsters grow stronger with every passing moon. Stronger than they ever have. And we must defend ourselves.” A cheer ran through the group.

  Once it died down, Lisse continued. “ And not only that, you have heard what the woodsmen found out there. We must find it, what was written on the walls of that strange cave. The change. The Catalyst. It sits in that vile city. And we must retrieve him at all costs.”

  Lisse held her arm up high, her fist raised to the now dark sky.

  “SO FIGHT! Family of the Forest, Children of Lostock! Fight until your last breath! Fight with everything you have until you turn into beasts that sleep within us all. FIGHT!”

  Just as the command shot forth, the sky ignited above the raid field.

  The company of morphed soldiers roared at her words. The orange light of the sky and the blue light of the flowers clashed with each other.

  Ingrid’s mind whirled, she didn’t understand any of what was happening. She could only watch on as every single one of the soldiers swallowed down the flowers whole.

  Now only the flames lit the night.

  Ingrid turned to her sister. “What Catalyst? What are you talking about?”

  “You already know him, Ingrid. Your friend Liam. He’s changed everything.”