Siv felt his hunger surge as he identified the fruit. Weird. He had not gotten that sensation with the other fruits Eiranhal had brought back.
Then again, it looked as if this one was growing from the stag's tree. Siv didn't know willow trees could grow fruit.
The stag was still, now, and looking back, Siv could see that he was looking at the boy from behind the canopy.
'Does he want me to... eat this?' Siv thought to himself. It wasn't impossible. The stag had stirred in him the strange hunger. He turned back to the pulsating fruit. He gulped, then placed a hand on it.
The hunger surged, nearly overwhelming him. He wanted to rip into the fruit with his bare hands and teeth. He wanted to greedily consume every last bit of juice and flesh.
He held himself back with effort. Looking back, the stag was still staring at him and the fruit steadily.
'Alright, you big oaf... I'll eat the damn thing.'
As he grasped it with both hands, the eerie glow in the cracks of the tree seemed to surge towards the fruit's stem, entering it. The fruit glowed redder and redder, with a black heart growing at its center.
Siv felt a mounting unease, but quickly forgot it as he was overcome by the desire to rip and tear into it.
He gave in to his desire, feeling a wave of relief as his instincts took control. He ripped it off the stem, and enraged by the pulsating black heart he could see the outline of at the center, tore chunks off with his teeth. He hardly bothered to swallow.
The thing was large, about the size of Siv's head.
He greedily tore into it. It felt as if it was trying to escape his grasp, and he could almost hear a pitiful whine coming from it. He felt disgusted by how pathetic it was. But that only fed into his bottomless and ravenous desire to consume.
Minutes passed as he tore into it, frenzied. He could smell blood now, too, but that too fell into his maw.
Finally, he laid on his back. His stomach bulged from the fruit, and he felt deeply relieved, his innermost desire fulfilled.
It was strange though... it felt as if his flesh was writhing, as if something was thrashing around in his stomach. He propped himself up on his elbows and lifted his shirt.
His face twisted in horror.
Under his skin, it looked as if dozens of faces and clawed hands were desperately trying to break free. It didn't hurt, however. Even as he watched, his stomach shrunk back to its normal size and the faces, in grimaces of pain, receded.
'What the fuck?'
Siv was deeply disturbed. He wanted to run away from the horrible sight, but unfortunately its origin was his own stomach.
But strangely, he felt good. Better than good. He felt as if vitality was roaring through his veins. He felt he could cut off an arm and have it regrow instantly. He felt he could run, faster than even the great stag he was sitting on.
Realizing that he was still on Eiranhal's back, he turned around quickly to see the stag looking at him, in the same position as before.
He looked back to the tree, and saw that it was still black and cracked, but the eerie light was gone. The tree looked healthier, its leaves less red than before. They now were fully pink, instead of the light crimson they had been before.
Siv stood, thoroughly creeped out. Had he just eaten some kind of evil spawn?
He shivered, thinking about the faces and hands that had desperately tried to escape from his body.
He walked out of the canopy, towards where Eiranhal's great head was waiting. He stood on the stag's neck, looking at his eye. The stag lowered himself further, and Siv jumped to the ground.
He didn't even stagger. The drop had been a good 6 meters, and yet his legs didn't even feel a thing.
The great stag brought its head to Siv, and opened his mouth. A giant tongue came out, and licked Siv from toe to head.
"Ah, shit! You bastard stag!" Siv said, shaking off the spit.
A melodic laugh came from nearby. Siv turned to see Yvenna walking closer, laughing at the spit covered boy.
She smiled at him, then stopped out of spit flinging range.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Gods, let me wash off first." Siv said, biting back more curses.
After washing himself and his clothes in the river, Siv sat in his drenched trousers across from Yvenna. He was wringing out his shirt.
"And then, I don't know. I ate it, I guess." Yvenna's mouth hung open.
"You ate a red, pulsating fruit that looked evil?"
Siv grimaced. "I was really hungry. Plus, I think Eiranhal wanted me to."
"Then what happened?" Yvenna asked him.
"It was like... there was dozens of things in my stomach, trying to claw their way out. I could see their faces, in pain, and their hands trying to tear themselves out." He shivered again.
Yvenna looked disturbed. She looked at the great stag, who rested a ways away. "You... ate the corrupted fruit from Eiranhal..." Siv looked at her quizzically. "Great stags, and great beasts in general have vastly different physiologies, but one from Eiranhal's line should have a light blue willow tree, with a grey trunk." She gestured at the huge willow tree in the cavern. "Instead, he is light crimson, with a pure black trunk. He, and whatever his lineage was, have powers related to purity and growth, similar to the elves. Perhaps... he trapped corruption inside his willow tree, to prevent it from destroying him. And you... ate it."
"What happens when somebody eats something like that?" Siv asked, knowing what the answer would be.
"They turn into it, or something like it's offspring." She looked disturbed. "Something powerful enough to have corrupted Eiranhal must be beyond our imagination. Perhaps that is why he sought you out, and turned the corruption into a... fruit."
Siv thought about it. Why was he not some disgusting profane abomination? Maybe Eiranhal had sensed something special about him. Which had to have been the fact that he had the Death Mark.
"So, does that mean Marked by Death makes me uncorruptable?" Siv asked in wonder.
Yvenna looked at him. "Profanity is the antithesis to life... A state that isn't dead, but is in direct opposition to life. Death is the end of life... so It would make sense that its also the end to the Profane."
Siv thought it was quite disgusting that he had to eat something profane in order to end it. Maybe that would change in the future. He did not relish the idea of another creature trying to break its way out of his stomach.
"So how long has Eiranhal been affected by corruption?" Siv asked the elf.
"He was observed by elves, but not often. He is considered to be a protector of the forest, and sometimes blessed elves that crossed paths with him. I have never heard of him being corrupted, though. I thought the color of his leaves was strange, but did not once think it could have been... that."
"So it was recent, then. Maybe it has to do with the Wendigo." Yvenna swiveled her gaze onto him, as did the great stag in the distance.
"Never say that name within it's hunting grounds. It knows." Her eyes were sharp. The silence hadn't descended onto them, so this place must offer some protection.
"Sorry. I wasn't thinking." Siv swallowed. After a moment, he continued. "After I ate it, and now, I feel filled with strength. Like I could lift a big rock or something." He scratched his head.
She looked at him strangely. "Maybe you inherit some of the power of the creatures. Or maybe it just bolsters your own. I have never heard of such a thing."
Siv shrugged. "Guess I'll have to eat more to find out." He grinned half-heartedly.
Yvenna looked troubled. Her emerald green eyes gazed into his own.
"Be careful, Siv. No matter what your mark does, each time you consume something like that it might... change you. Not just your strength or your body, but your mind too."
Siv's grin faded. He thought back to the overwhelming hunger. He thought back to the faces and hands trying to claw their way out of his body.
Though he didn't want to admit it, a part of him liked that feeling. The hunger, the frenzy. It had felt right. Natural, even. To put down something that should never have existed in the first place.
Thinking back, though, he could only feel a creeping revulsion.
"I'll be more careful, Yven." He let out a mirthless laugh. "Besides, not like there's more of those fruits around, anyway."
He looked at the pink canopy growing from Eiranhal's back. It looked serene and peaceful now.
He couldn't help but wonder, would he have to do something like that again?
And would his body be enough to contain it?