Ash quietly explained what the Starborn had to do with their numbers as low as they were. They weren't like the Star Ash, couldn't cleanse the whole world passively. They had to use major spellcasting in order to do it and the spells were meant to be cast by all of them. Their numbers had been enough for the burden before the grand hunt.
"And your condition?" Bris' crimson eyes held more than a small hint of worry.
Ash talked to him about how broken her magic was, the first time she'd openly admitted it to anyone besides Luna. After a deep shaky breath, she softly spoke the truth, "My magic is shattered into a million pieces being held together by willpower alone. The shock the amount of pain putting it back together causes does an extreme amount of damage to my body in turn. It was decided that it was far safer for me to sleep as deeply as possible for as long as possible."
She explained that her magical repairs usually happened when she was in the sleep stages closest to waking though the time between repairs depended on how bad her condition was. Almost sheepishly, she admitted that when she started living in Fantastoria it had been a scant six hours between the repairs.
When he asked after how she was doing currently, she started to explain only for pain to slice through her awareness. Doubled over, barely able to catch her breath after being caught by surprise, she only just barely heard Luna.
She managed to pull up her status screens, seeing an unread message from Luna, but was distracted by several spells flaring to life in the air. She forced a deep breath and covered both Bris and Luna in shielding spells as she stood, swaying slightly on her feet as the pain assaulted her strongly.
"What are you doing here?" Luna growled, "No one is supposed to be able to get into this place without Ash's permission and she doesn't even know you!"
Bris eyed the shield around him for a second before answering the priestess' concern, "We met at the auction this morning," he glanced towards Ash, concerned for her well being with how she was swaying and reached a hand out to catch her elbow, "You need to sit before you fall," he grumbled.
Luna looked to Ash, concern in her expression, "Has he hurt you Asha?"
Ash shook her head and pulled away from Bris, turning to walk towards the house, "Let's go inside and sit," she forced the words out during a brief break in the pain, "We can talk," she went silent as another sharp stab of pain slid through her, not even realizing she'd stumbled until Bris was at her side holding her up, his magic sliding through her in a soothing way that pushed the pain aside somewhat.
Despite her wanting them to talk, both were far more focused on her than talking until the pain finally passed. Bris refused to release her, which lead to her sitting sandwiched between the two of them on the couch.
Only once Luna was certain Ash's pain had passed did she turn her attention to the intruder, "What are you doing here?"
Bris explained everything that he'd told Ash over the course of the evening once again, though he kept it short so the explanation wouldn't take half the night.
"I would have just gone back to her grove after installing the unit there, but when I tried, I just ended up outside of the forest again," he grumbled, seeming upset that his abilities in navigating the forest had failed him entirely, "It truly lives up to its name as the Forest of Lost Souls."
That was entirely Ash's doing. She knew her way around plants and had cultivated the entire forest rather than just her own grove. The end result had been less magic being used to protect the grove, though Ash had her fair share of spells as well. Among them were some teleportation spells that were so seamless very few magic users even noticed they'd been moved elsewhere.
Bris continued his explanation, "I tried to speak with one of the temple heads in order to contact you, but they turned me away. They said the temple had everything to do with their guardian Starborn's health well under control."
Luna scowled a little at the reminder of how foolish the temple heads were, not even bothering to ask which one it had been as it would only give her a headache. Instead she asked another question, "Why were you looking to get back into Ash's grove?"
"Being in the grove, in her home, everything was steeped in her magic. It didn't take long for me to realize she was the one who could fix my failing magic…which meant I was the same for her," Bris said softly.
Luna nodded her acceptance before pulling Ash away from him and into the kitchen. Once there, the priestess spent several moments looking her over and checking her pulse and mana flow. Only once she was satisfied did she ask what exactly had happened from Ash's own point of view.
Satisfied with the answer, Luna gave a slight nod, "If you'll come with me, Bris, we can discuss meeting up and when would be a good time," she frowned slightly as she looked at Ashterra once again, "It'll have to be at least another week, preferably a bit longer in order to make sure the spells being used on her won't cause any negative effects."
Bris scowled a bit, not at the timeline he'd been given but at a message he'd gotten, "I fear we'll have to speak sometime tomorrow after the festival has begun to wind down. The people I have keeping an ear out for trouble have determined that I'm needed to help someone. They can't handle it without me or they wouldn't interrupt like this," he bowed slightly and teleported out of Ash's grove.
Luna glanced at her and spoke in a slightly joking exasperated tone, "I leave you alone for one day and you go off and drag a man into your house," she smiled slightly, "You should head into town for dinner," a bit of guilt touched her expression, "I'm sorry Asha."
Ash interrupted before she could speak anymore, "Go, Luri. Enjoy your own dinner with your family. I'm sure you've worked hard to earn it. Tell them all that I miss them, 'kay?"
Luna smiled, part of her hoping that Bris would be able to restore Ash enough that the unicorn would be able to join them again. Despite that, she had no intent of letting Ash be up and about and doubted Bris would be able to do enough for Ash to assure it could happen so swiftly. It would likely take months, if not years, to counteract all of the damage Ashterra had done to herself to keep the world's magic working properly. She just hoped that they'd be able to heal her dear friend faster than she could damage herself. With a last assurance that Ash was going to head into Redwood Stars and grab dinner at the temple or with Yarrow and Gardenia or Fel and Fi, Luna departed to her own dinner.