Planet Zar: Nexus

So, this wasn't Tris'hath but it wasn't half bad either as long as Crianobia didn't interact too much with the local wildlife. She had no idea how or why Master Celadil would have sent her to a privately created Balefire dimension but clearly she had a higher purpose. Perhaps it was to rid the dimension of its corruption, weed out the balespawn from the inside out. Crianobia was no master of subterfuge but she would perform optimally. If only Celadil had given her a way to return to Tris'hath or communicate with them. With mysteries abound, Crianobia did what she did best; meditate on the issue until the answers came to her.

The first time she found the glade it had been pristine juniper green, deep and lovely with a bloom of opalescent vermilion flowers like little drops of blood. The clearing at its center was just large enough to let her stretch her wings while she sat criss-cross applesauce in the shade.

Now it was... different. The flowers retained splats of blood red but were warped to twisted chartreuse. The trees themselves became ugly, amalgamated things that throbbed unnaturally, like cancerous hearts.

It should have been unnerving but Crianobia didn't feel the unease she'd expected. It felt... powerful, despite the corruption. It called to her. Crianobia didn't want to analyze that.

"Do you like my changes?" Oleander's whisper-soft voice announced his presence.

Crianobia snapped her eyes open to glare at the balespawn as he slipped between the trees. His throat was white with moss and everywhere his flames licked warped and remolded itself in his... peculiar aesthetic. He smiled at her, soft as silk, then turned  his gaze to the corrupted flowers.

"I felt this place needed a touch of beauty."

"It's... lovely." Crianobia wished that was more of a lie but she was too self-aware to pretend otherwise.

Oleander's smile curled toward her. "I hope it helps your meditation."

"Being alone helps me meditate."

Oleander hummed noncommittally and traced jagged patterns into bark. "I thought you might need help with your perspective."

"What perspective is that?"

"Why you're here."

Did Oleander know? Crianobia hadn't breathed a word of her suspicions. She'd told that stoner Syn how she'd gotten here before she understood where 'here' was, but surely the balespawn couldn't draw the same conclusion. They didn't know Master Celadil. Her tenets were for selflessness, altruism, helping the greater good. How could any of these balespawn have an inkling of that?

"I know why I was sent here," Crianobia replied. Her lie was easy on the tongue. "To serve."

Oleander was suddenly very near, looming in her space. He was careful not to touch her but she felt the soft fuzz of his moss reaching out toward her. She kept very still and met his gaze.

"To learn power," Oleander hissed. He breathed a tiny lick of electric balefire.

Crianobia wanted to lean into it, to accept it. She remained mountain still.

She did want that. The power. The space to practice her magic without limitation or judgement from the masters. To wield mystic forces however she liked.

Maybe she wasn't here to betray the balespawn.

Oleander turned away from her, his expression soft as a mother's to her newborn. "I'll leave you to your solitude. I hope my garden helps you understand your potential."

I'm a good person. Crianoba clung to the shredded thought while the power of the balefire glade sang sweetly to her.