The Untold Forest

by Elisa Menz

  Now, the battle thundered inside his mind.

  Calm yourself, you idiot! You need to breathe and think! A handful of people would remember seeing him go down, so it was a matter of time before they found him.

  He tried to move his body. Come on! Just a hand, a finger! But it was useless. He kept struggling for hours before giving up and relaxing his mind. Patience now, I need help.

  Dröm took a deep breath and thanked this bit of luck. At least I can still breathe. A subtle presence near him made him flinch, and he wished he could talk. I hope they see me! He strained his ears to listen to their footsteps, but there was nothing—utter silence.

  And then, that voice.

  Dröm.

  It startled him since he heard it directly into his head. The voice was that of a child, sweet and musical, but completely devoid of emotion.

  I waited for you, Dröm. For far too long.

  Who are you? He would normally worry about finding a child in such an inhospitable place, but he could immediately tell this was no regular girl.

  It doesn’t matter who I am. I have been waiting, and now you will serve me.

  And he had been a dutiful servant. He fought against the will, holding him prisoner from the very beginning, failing miserably, while having to witness his friends and comrades kill and die. He feared their souls were as damaged as his—being forced to murder.

  They had lost any hope for redemption.

  Death was the only outcome he hoped for.

  No. The voice in his head was always aware of his thoughts. You are yet to live, Dröm. I still need you to fulfill my will. I still need you to give meaning to my existence.

  What meaning do you hope to achieve from all this cruelty? What else can you rip from me, cursed child? Take my life already and end this madness! Watching the burning trees, his body shivered in pure hate. He had no control ever since the day he had talked to Flyg back in the mountains. “Flyg...” Her name escaped his lips. That beautiful girl had held him when he needed her the most, and in return, he couldn’t spare her from this torture. He hadn’t seen her for days, but he was not allowed to look for her. His body tightened when the awful consciousness reasserted its control over him.

  The girl’s voice resounded in his mind. Forget about her. She left us.

  Did she? What did they mean? Was Flyg dead? He didn’t know he could still feel more sadness in his heart. A small part of him dared hope to meet with her once more, before this diabolical force or anyone else in the Forest killed him.

  If Flyg was dead, then she was spared. As he stood on the slope, quietly witnessing the burning trees in which the Quiet Folk’s village once stood, he said a prayer for the souls of those they had just slaughtered and silently asked for forgiveness from those survivors now forced to kill alongside them.

  CHAPTER XXXV

  BURY OUR PROBLEMS

  Maeve

  They stood restlessly in the all too familiar clearing, under the moonlight. Maeve waited next to a quite impatient Hua, and right behind them, both Warlocks shifted their attention between the god in front of them and the goddess slowly materializing from the roots of the Tree.

  For the last half-hour, those roots had been growing, twisting, and molding into the body of a woman. This incredible display had Maeve and the others astonished, but the stag could hardly contain his annoyance. “As ridiculous as ever, Paki! This is why I insisted you didn’t adopt the form of a plant!”

  A few thin branches lashed at him, but he effortlessly dodged them. Since it appeared like they were not done waiting, Finn moved next to Maeve, sweating and fidgeting with his hands. “Excuse me... err... Ancient... sir!” Not a simple task to address a god. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but... why did you adopt the form of...?” He vaguely gestured to the stag. “I mean, you look great! I just wonder...”

  “It’s all right, Warlock Finn. Your curiosity is understandable.” Hua gave one last frown to her sister and turned to answer Finn’s question. “We originally didn’t possess a physical form, since my siblings and I are pure energy creatures.

  “After the long eons it took us to complete our creation, many of us decided to reside here. Since our kind is formless, we adopted a body that allowed us to interact with our children, as best suited us,” he said, inspecting his hands. “My dearest sister Paki, a shy and quiet being, preferred to intervene from afar, indirectly but deeply.”

  “Her emotions are profound, I could glimpse her boundless love for all living things.” Maeve’s connection with the goddess was strong. In a way, she reminded her of her mother.

  “You could say that,” Hua shrugged. “I prefer a more intimate approach.” He spoke nonchalantly, but Maeve suspected the god’s pleasurable pastimes. “After we roughly shaped this earth, she oversaw the design and creation of every tree, plant, fruit, and vegetable around you. Fungus too, even though she received a little help from me.”

  Close to them, Ystävä’s eyes shone, amazed by the incredible opportunity to hear an Ancient describing the creation of the world.

  Hua carried on. “It was the work of millennia, finding the right balance for the ground composition, weather, growth, and reproduction of Paki’s vegetation. But so many things were still missing. Many of our siblings abandoned the task and returned to the stars. Only a handful of us remained rooted here. Then, I envisioned the first animals.” The story was mind-boggling, but Maeve held her breath, not wanting to lose a word. Hua closed his eyes, enjoying his reminiscence. “Simple creatures at first, but complex enough to bring the balance we needed.”

  Ystävä couldn’t resist anymore. “I read once, in the beginning, creatures were so basic they couldn’t comprehend their impact on the rest of the ecosystem, reproducing and eating away without restraint.”

  “That is true, Warlock Ystävä. Soon our solution became an additional problem, and the balance we hoped to achieve was once again threatened.” The Ancient’s eyes clouded, somehow lost in his unfathomable memories. “So we found another solution. A drastic one, but effective.”

  “Pouri...”

  The unknown raspy voice took them by surprise. Maeve glimpsed the immediate response of Hakken and Regn, sitting far from the rest of them. Both men tensed, ready to face any danger.

  But the voice belonged to someone who would never cause them any harm. The Tree goddess finished her transformation, detaching the last roots from her now feminine form. Her skin resembled clear bark, and her dark brown hair framed her delicate face, with greenish strands here and there. Her eyes, as her brother’s, were inscrutable and deep, but instead of a starry night, hers resembled bottomless pools of deep water, like a shifting lake at night. A thick layer of moss covered her body and swayed around her, shaped like a long, elegant dress. Maeve smiled. The goddess Paki might have spent thousands of years in the form of a magnificent tree, but she looked astonishing as a woman.

  “The ‘solution’ was our youngest sister, Pouri,” she said, the muscles around her mouth slightly cracking. Her profound voice resounded deeply from within her. The goddess stood high, staring at them with benevolent eyes, as dignified as a queen. But as soon as she stepped forward, she tripped with the hem of her mossy dress and fell flat on her face. Both Warlocks jumped to her help, while Maeve stared in shock at the unexpected scene. Hakken barely stifled a laugh, unlike Regn, who had lost the fight and cackled like an idiot.

  Hua didn’t seem to find the scene amusing. After struggling for a moment, Paki stood on her brand new legs once more, sporting a bashful smile. “Well, this is harder than it looks!” She walked on shaky knees, holding her hands to Maeve. “Some help, will you love? I never used legs before.”

  Maeve went to her aid, taking her hands and marveling at the softness of her skin.

  “As I was saying, the new solution was our youngest sister. Unlike us, she was not keen on creating life. It has always been an enigma why she joined us while we shaped this world and did nothing but watch. So when the time c
ame to take drastic measures to prevent the collapse of our living world, she proposed to take care of the balance.” The goddess let out a sigh, not used to conversation.

  “How did she manage that feat?” Finn asked, fascinated.

  “Population control. Volcanoes, wildfires, floods, deadly diseases.” Paki shook her head. “It was painful to allow our children to die by the thousands, but necessary to maintain harmony.”

  “I’ve read some records from previous Warlocks, documenting evidence of natural disasters and pandemics such as these.” Finn seemed to search for the details in his mind. “But I don’t recall any event of this magnitude for the last three thousand years.”

  “We learned from our mistakes.” Despite the imperativeness of the entire ordeal, Hua looked quite pleased with himself while telling them their story. “We allowed our children more freedom, more self-awareness. Over time, they learned on their own how to achieve balance.”

  “And thus rendering Pouri’s assistance unnecessary,” Paki concluded. “We were too busy indulging in our success to notice the sudden change in plans was not of our little Pouri’s liking.”

  Hua shared a meaningful glance with his sister. “We took for granted that after thousands of years of depending on her to fix our mistakes, leaving her behind would be of no consequence.”

  “Pouri left. One day we realized she disappeared, and even though we searched for her for centuries, our little sister vanished from the surface of the world.” Paki held a hand over her mouth, holding back her sadness. A reverent silence fell on the clearing. They were listening to the story of the creation of their world, told by the gods.

  Maeve wondered if they would have the chance of this remarkable honor if their situation wouldn’t have been so dire. It was a complicated feeling, knowing she could experience such wonders at such a terrible cost. Life had a strange way to find balance. If she hadn’t lost her family, she would never have entered the Forest, nor met all her new, wonderful friends. She wouldn’t have Hakken. If there was no war, she might have never seen Finn again, nor gained her magic.

  Finn interrupted her trail of thoughts when he let out an exasperated yelp. “Oh, wonderful!” He grabbed his head. “Now it all makes sense!” He turned to look at the others, hands raised, visibly excited, and clearly expecting everyone else had the same realization. But he only met blank stares.

  “Oh, for the love of—!” He rolled his eyes. “We know the origin of this dust is deep underground, and its influence is so strong, no known creature might conjure and control it!”

  “Are you saying the goddess Pouri is responsible for this?” Ystävä frowned and shook his head. At this point, he had probably reached the same conclusion but hoped someone would tell him wrong.

  “Yes, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one who thinks this way?” Finn raised an eyebrow to the gods.

  “You are once again quite right, young Finn.” Paki’s eyes reflected her sadness. “I wasn’t able to perceive her until you brought the dust close enough. She had been avoiding my roots all over the Forest.”

  “But why would a goddess hate us so much? What did we do to make her want to kill us?” Hakken asked, walking to stand next to Maeve.

  “This is not about hate, rage, or revenge. She is incapable of experiencing emotions.” Hua gently took Maeve’s hand. “When you touch me, or Paki, you can feel how intertwined our lives are with this world and why we stayed here. Our love for you is far too great to leave you behind. But if you touched Pouri, there would be nothing. She is not evil or cruel. Her actions are the consequence of our unforgivable neglect. We pushed her away, using her and then casting her aside.”

  Maeve watched the deep pool of his eyes, and a pang of foreign regret made her cower. The god knew he was somehow guilty of this massacre. Hua frowned. “Our little sister never gave life. She roamed this world as a destructive yet useful force. She doesn’t know how to feel, and she doesn’t comprehend the pain she is causing to those she controls and those she kills.”

  Paki seemed to be on the brink of tears. “We left her alone, without purpose. The crime is ours.”

  The mood grew somber as both gods fell down a spiral of guilt and regret. They reached some clarity at last, but no solutions.

  Hakken was having none of that. “Well, stop her now! Go apologize, take her on a long trip, go back to the stars!” The half-breed did not hide his anger. “Hundreds are dead! Should we wait until she exterminates our entire race for you to act?”

  “I’m afraid it’s become much worse than that.” Hua gave him a stern look. “I came here today to warn you, this is no longer a danger exclusive to the half-breed people. Last night, the horde attacked a Quiet Folk village, killing many and adding a small force to the red dust prisoners.”

  The Quiet Folk. A peaceful race related to the Fae. Non-related to the half-breeds.

  “This is horrible!” Finn couldn’t help to pull his hair once more. “There is no logical explanation for this development. The dust is spreading without control!”

  “Can’t you reach her? Speak to her?” Regn joined them, as frantic as Finn, pleading with Paki.

  “She has effectively avoided us for centuries. She won’t let us come close, but—” she turned to Maeve with hopeful eyes— “you might be able to reach her.”

  “If your sister is underground, you better have a good idea.” Hakken was beyond rude, but Maeve knew he worried about her.

  It was Finn who offered a solution. “Taking into account everything we have learned about these attacks and the war eleven years ago, both are strongly related. The method changed, the way she controlled their actions, but there is no doubt it all started with the mountain half-breeds.” He looked around, finding no disagreement. “This time, thanks to what we learned from Flyg, we know the first one to be infected was Dröm. So now, we began to gamble... and hope that if Maeve can tap into Dröm’s emotions, she can find the connection between him and Pouri.”

  “That is a long shot,” Ystävä muttered.

  Finn stared gravely at her. “And our only hope.”

  A sense of weariness fell on the clearing. Finn presented a feasible solution, but it felt painfully distant. The burden of responsibility weighed heavier on Maeve’s shoulders. “I will need to be close enough to touch him. Sensing him from afar will not be good.”

  “And how do you suggest approaching a ridiculously strong war commander while keeping your head attached to your neck long enough to reach a burrowing goddess?” Considering how scared Hakken felt, his question came out almost measured.

  It was past midnight, and Maeve stifled a yawn. “We need help, of course.” She turned to the stag. “Ancient Hua, do you know where Astika lives?”

  CHAPTER XXXVI

  THE MISTAKE

  Maeve

  Thanks to the Ancient’s directions, it took them less than a week to reach Astika’s home. The warm summer weather refused to dwindle, and the nights became a pleasant reprieve from the relentless heat of the day. Hakken carried Maeve most of the time, but after some arguing, he allowed Regn to take her on his back when he grew too tired.

  Maeve didn’t know what to do about the intense jealousy coming from them each time the other carried her.

  She was quite aware of their rivalry, but since it was the first time in her life any man had shown that kind of interest in her, suddenly finding herself with two quarreling suitors had her head spinning.

  Better to act oblivious, at least for the time being.

  Finding out Regn was attracted to her came out as a surprise. When she first met him in the village, she thought him handsome. Back in those days, his distant attitude didn’t bother her since half the tribe wasn’t all that friendly to begin with. She was impressed and deeply grateful for all those times he rescued her, but didn’t think his actions had any meaning other than his kind nature.

  Funny thing, she hadn’t needed her new skills to figure out Regn’s feelings.

  Ev
er since their reunion after Astika’s kidnapping, he and Hakken had continuously and noticeably competing for her company and attention. A part of her was flattered. She had never allowed herself to feel beautiful and desirable before. But the other part felt very much annoyed. This was not the time to be concerned about male interest.

  “We should camp for the night. It’s getting dark.” Hakken ran behind them while she clung to Regn’s back after switching for a breather. Hakken paraded a very meaningful scowl.

  Regn didn’t even turn to look at him. The smile in his voice came out irritating enough. “We still have at least an hour of sunlight, but if you can’t go on, I guess we will have to—”

  “I can go on for the entire night if I wanted to! I’m worried about Maeve!” Hakken growled back.

  These men were exasperating, and the heat wasn’t helping to ease their moods. Maeve groaned. “I’m all right, and I’m certain you two can still run for a while. Hua said we would get there tomorrow afternoon, we should stop for today. Anything could happen on Astika’s palace, so we will need to arrive rested and focused.”

  They set up for the night, lighting a small fire and roasting the meat they caught while traveling. Finn told her about edible berries in the area, and Maeve got a handful to accompany her dinner that night. She missed her little orchard.

  As they ate in silence, the weight of what might happen tomorrow plagued her thoughts. “Will this work?” Maeve asked.

  “Do you mean, will that snake agree to help us, or will we be able to make the horde fall asleep?” Regn replied.

  “Both.”

  The young half-breed wiped his lips. “Well... he will most likely agree. Ending this conflict is good for everyone in the Forest. We can’t tell how far this will spread if we don’t act now.” He took a moment to stretch. “I guess Astika is the only one who can tell us how reliable this sleeping magic is.”