The morning comes like a bruise. It seems we managed to rest our eyes, even for just an hour or so. The group is silent, different from before. The kind of silence when you see something traumatising, something that haunts you so bad you fear speaking it. No one looked rested. Ellis Veyth sat by her tent, her knees to her chest and fingers dug into the damp earth as if it might float away without her. She refuses to stand and whispers that the ground breathes.
Thorne crouched with one hand pressed flat to the soil, as if feeling it would give him some answers. With his remaining hand he presses the heel of his palm to his ears, frowning. Sweat beading down his brow.
''It… It was calling to me, saying name. Over and over again. All night. It needs me.''
Things seem to be intensifying, people's minds are beginning to crumble, like the dirt under our feet. Lucien paces around the edges, his showmanship and confidence are gone. Swallowed by fear and the unknown. Every time a twig cracks, his head spins towards the sound.
Seras' cheeks are cherry red, her eyes bloodshot. From staying awake or… crying? If it's the latter I doubt she would admit it, she's too stubborn. She wraps bandages around her hands that look irritated.
''Broken. It knows I'm broken. It would not let me forget it. It kept repeating… In my fathers voice.'' Seras says painfully.
Everyone seems to have had an event of their own, a voice here or taunting there. For me there was only silence. Empty. Lonely. Silence. The Beasthold guards who set out yesterday to clear the way for us never returned. They are probably stuck the same as us. Maybe the forest got them. Perhaps it will get us too.
The arguing hasn't started yet, but it lingers. The tension. Everyone can feel it. I should have been feeling the same, worn out, hollow and exhausted. I don't, I see clearer than ever, the breath in my chest is steady and my mind will not yield to the manipulation of the forest. It does not feel like strength, more like being out of step with the world. While the world drowns, I float.
Lira stands apart from the others, muttering to herself like a madwoman. Hands pulling out strands of hair and eyes darting around like she's eaten too much of the wrong mushroom. Instructor Athea calls out to her but there is no response, what did she see? What did she hear? When the Instructor finally gets her attention, her eyes dart to her, like this whole mess is her fault. Lira speaks, her words sound like riddles.
''I-I-I Cant. See.Mirrors. Reflection is g-g-gone.''
After a few shakes from the Instructor and, if I do say so myself, unneeded. Slap.
Lira stops shaking, stares and begins to speak once more, making a little more sense.
''My eyes, I can record. See every detail. Remember everything. Look. I'll show you.''
In the next second, Lira holds out her hand when her eyes begin to change. The surface is a mirror. Her hands glow and before us out of thin air a mirror, the same size of Thorne the mountain materialises. The forest reflects but we do not, we cannot see ourselves.
Lira explains, her deceit ability is recording with her eyes and being able to remember every single detail. Her pride ability. Mirror conjuring. She is able to use the mirrors for defence or reflect her memories that were recorded.
''Look! It's the same path over and over again, on a loop. The recording is only of us walking. The entire time. We're just fucking looping around and around with no end. Why can I not see anything else? We need to leave, now or I fear we may never leave.'' Fretted Lira while on her knees, head down.
''I think Miss Kallos is right, we are not prepared for this. They are students. Our future. The Beasthold scouts have not returned. Captain Dane agrees this is becoming much too dangerous for the untrained.'' Orien booms while nodding with the captain with approval.
'' I, for one, would not like to be responsible for telling their parents of their end under our care. Especially the Crownlords and Ladies children, our heads will be on spikes, and especially my own child.'' Orien looks at me, fear in his eyes. A rare sight, this is the first time I have ever seen him like this.
''Orien is right. We move. We move fast and we get home. No stopping. No talking. Nothing. If you need to relieve yourself. If you need to eat. Do. It. Now. We move in 10 minutes.'' Athea orders, tone heavy and sharp. Tension seems to ease in the group knowing we return home. Happiness and relief reflected on their expressions.
Orien reaches for my shoulder and offers a sincere smile. ''I can see you are not affected my boy. Your mind remains sharp while the chosen's crumble. I'm glad you feel fine. But we need to leave. It is not safe and as your guardian I have chosen to keep you safe.''
''The forest speaks.'' He murmurs. ''To some louder than others, like yourself who remains unaffected. There are places where history does not fade. It sinks deep into the earth and waits for a familiar presence to walk over its soil once more.''
''I'm confused, how can I be a familiar presence? I have never been here.'' I reply.
''Have you not?'' Orien asks.
I ask more, into whatever riddle Orien spins but he will hear no more of it. We talk once we are back in our archives. My head lowers, dwelling on his words.
''Here, share some bread with me munchkin.'' Rell says, his hand holding bread towards my mouth like a parent would a toddler. I refuse.
''Not hungry, you eat it.'' I replied.
''I have not seen you eat once, I haven't said anything. I thought I would be that good friend that lets you deal with your problems. Even thought you fed by inciting fear around our companions.'' He winks.
''Seriously, how are you managing on the little sleep and fluids you've had, seriously man! Take this bread, or even this jerky. I love my meat and I'm willing to share it, so you know you're special.'' Rell insists.
''Honestly Rell, I'm fine. You need it more than I.''
''Well fuck me then i guess, not literally. I know you're thinking about it now though.'' Giggles Rell, while… Stroking the bread?
Just to make Rell happy I drink the rest of my waterskin, keeping dehydrated for our journey back. One problem. My bladder demands my attention and wont take no for an answer.
''I'm just heading to… you know. Relieve myself.'' I say, blushing.
''Sure thing, I'll wait her for you.'' Seras says, smiling while Thorne smacks the back of Rell's head for asking him to piggy back him the whole way back.
''Don't wander too far son, keep to the treelines and use a bush. Shout if you need us.'' Says Dane, the Captain of the Beasthold. A broad man with short blonde hair. A war wound down his nose and permanently squinted eyes. Seems like a nice man.
As I walk to do my business, the sound of Marrek and Kaelin arguing fills my ears. What is it about them two? They claim to be friends but clash all of the time. After a few seconds they seem to quiet. I can't see them but I know the Instructor or someone else must have put them in their place. I finish and shake my hands. I trip and notice a root over my right foot. Did I step under it, or did that move? Twigs snap as I expect Rell to jump out at me, no doubt trying to catch me relieving myself. He does not appear.
Nothing, silence. Nothing else since the snap. So I continue walking back the 30 seconds to camp. It's. Gone… The clearing is gone. Have they left without me? Did I walk too far? My heart beats out of my chest, my breath growing heavier and quicker.
There were no tents, no fire. No circle of torches or people. Only trees.
''Orien!?, Rell!?. Seras!? Anyone. Please. Don't leave me here. Nothing.
Did I take the wrong turn? Is the forest playing tricks with us?
Did it move me… or them?
I walk aimlessly, trying to find any sign of life. Any signs of my friends. All I found was more of the same. Trees. Leaves and undergrowth. My own breathing obstructed my hearing search frantically. The further I walk the thicker the foliage becomes, ducking and side stepping to move through. A loud sound bounced around the encircling trees, or what was in my head? A howl. Like a… Wolf?
''You are near, little wolf.'' A voice, low and deep. Ancient. It was not in my ears, but my bones, and the space behind my ribs in the hollow organ that belonged to me. I heard it there. Vibrating my very soul.
For the first time since I left Crownspire, I wish I was back behind those walls. I was unseen but I was safe. I feel drawn to the voice, needing answers but at what cost? What awaits me in these woods.
The roots and moss create a path, through trees and hedges until my nose burns. A smell in the air that doesn't match the surroundings, burning. It clings to my nostrils until I can taste it, ash and devastation.
The recognition came slowly at first. A ridge rising at a gentle angle to my left. A fallen trunk split down the middle by a past strike of lightning. A depression in the ground where water pooled in my dream, the soil now dry. Familiar shapes clicked into place like bones realigning. I brushed my fingers over a twisted root and felt a shiver of something like déjà vu.
This place was not similar to the one in my nightmare. It was the same.
The same clearing where the woman knelt under moonlight and bled black tears. The same cluster of trees where bodies burned. The same ridge that the masked man descended, black armour and polished helmet reflecting fire like a polished blade. Even the air held the same weight, thick with smoke that no longer existed.
My stomach hollowed, not from hunger, but from memory I had no right to have. Why would I dream of this exact place before stepping foot in it? Why did this forest feel like it already knew me?
I pushed those thoughts back. They tried to wedge themselves deeper, to dig claws into the soft parts of my mind where fear lived. The forest tightened again, the trunks narrowing until I had to press sideways through them. The claustrophobic squeeze made my breath catch, even if my body refused to show the panic the way it should. My ribs ached. My throat felt too small.
I tried to picture the group. Rell with his smart remarks hiding worry. Seras watching the trees with clenched hands. Athea unflinching, blade steady. Orien's eyes sharp behind spectacles that always seemed one blink from slipping.
Were they still together? Had the forest swallowed them the way it swallowed me? Were they calling for me, thinking I wandered too far? Or were they following the same paths, repeating the same steps, trapped in the same maze? The quiet answered none of it.
I come across ruins, burnt out and ancient. They look like homes from long ago. Did the woman from my dream live here? Is this where the rest of her people lived? The scene is saddening. Ash still lines the broken ruins of homes and the smell still remains. I find myself outside the largest of the buildings. Easier to access and had a bit more cover than the rest. Enough in case I need to spend the night here. Alone.
The last room on the left had the most cover, I feel rude. Wondering about in someone else's home, even if they have left this realm long ago. May you find peace. I'm sorry this happened to you, if you believe in an after life, I hope you found your family. I finish my moment of silence for the long dead when I look down at the rubble by the window. Something that doesn't belong here. Looks newer than the ruins and in better condition. I remove the debris and lift it.
The book, the one from the archives. How? How is it here? It vanished. My mind spins, confused and can't think of any feasible answer that would explain this. My feelings were right. I have to open it.