When the typhoon of plumes finally disappeared, and they were released from their encasement, Jude and Iris found themselves high above the forest, on the limbs of the gigantic tree. Because of how tall the tree was, the rot hadn’t reached all the way up there yet. Some leaves were starting to redden and show red veins, but most of them were still green. The same, however, could not be said of the inhabitants of the tree.

When Iris and Jude looked around, they saw nests all over the branches of the tree, and after how they had reached the treetop, they realized that those were Fae houses. The Fae, however, were not bird-like people. There were birds around the tree, but they were used as flying mounts, builders and protectors. The birds varied in size, but all of them were at least as tall as Iris. There were small birds like finches and large raptor-like predators. All birds were indigenous to that forest, so Jude and Iris didn’t know their names. They resembled Earthly birds, but not entirely. Blotches of red could be seen growing from the edges of the birds’ wings, and the most afflicted of them could barely raise their heads.

“Where are the Fae,” Iris asked.

“I don’t know. I guess they weren’t expecting us, so maybe they are wary,” Jude replied.

“Let’s just call out to them. ‘Hello!’” Iris took a step forward as she continued, “Is anybody there?”

A singsong, high-pitched voice responded, “Visitors? Usurpers? How to know?”

The voice seemed to come from all around them, from every part of the treetop. Iris could not understand the voice, but Jude knew what it was saying, so he repeated the mantra found on the rock, “Of the wood I’m borne, and to the wood I return.”

At that moment, Iris turned to him in surprise. He wasn’t speaking English anymore. Instead, he had replied in the language of the Fae.

“You better tell me everything later…” She said in defeat.

Jude took note of that, and though he had had no chance to learn their language, he continued, “We are travelers into this land. Trapped and not by choice. But we learned of your plight and want to know more.”

“It speaks and We understand. Most unusual. And clothes of our make. Most unusual.”

“Please, we mean no harm,” he added. “My companion is a Healer. She may be able to help.”

“Too good? Too easy? A trap, perhaps. But, We are dying. We cannot remain. A chance?”

“I told them you might be able to help,” Jude told Iris.

“Me?! Fine… That was the whole plan anyway. I haven’t used my skills on living things yet, so hopefully it works.”

“I’m sure it will. You are so very overpowered.”

The leaves rustled in front of Iris, and suddenly, a tall, gaunt being appeared in front of her. The being hunched over, and bee-like eyes stared deeply into Iris. The eyes were as black as a starless night sky. The being wasn’t wearing anything, and they could see how the rot had affected its body, decaying parts of it almost to the bone. It had long silky wings on its back, but the tips of the wings had already cracked and broken off. Long red hair came down from its head to cover the beings body.

“Healer. Pure. Untainted,” the being said in the same soft, singsong voice. “Welcome to Our Kingdom.”

“We are being welcomed in,” Jude said.

Iris, who wasn’t paying attention to him, simply said, “She’s so hurt. It doesn’t look like she has long. We came at the right time. Any later…” She stopped there.

"Our people sleep. Stasis. We are awake. We are Millicent. Queen.”

By that point, Jude had gone completely into interpreter mode and was essentially relaying all of the information to Iris without delay.

They explained to Queen Millicent how they had arrived in her world and the difficulties they had faced the last few days. When they told her about the rock, the queen tilted her head and said, “A loss, like many. A chance, like none. A hero.”

She didn’t speak in the same form they did. The Fae language seemed to consist of ideas, and Queen Millicent only spoke when her ideas were formed.

The more they spoke with her, however, the more they noticed that her voice didn’t match her visage. She had the most beautiful melody to her voice, but Queen Millicent was nearly dead at this point.

“We need to help her fast. We can talk after,” Iris rushed, and Jude told the queen that they planned to help her then.

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“Almost dead. Possible? Impossible?”

“It’ll work!” Iris said more forcefully.

Queen Millicent then lay down in front of Iris and said, “We are vulnerable, but We choose to trust.”

Iris knelt in front of the queen and cast First-Aid. Her skill was so high that it allowed her to analyze the extent of the damage to the queen’s body and come up with a plan to both heal and cleanse it. First, Iris cast Purify on the open wounds. She had to do it multiple times because the infection seemed to be fighting against it, but after spending nearly all the extra mana that came with her new garb, Queen Millicent was cleansed of the rot.

“We are clean again,” she said weakly.

However, Iris wasn’t done. Queen Millicent still had open wounds all over her, some down to the bone, and some where her organs were visible. Iris cast Heal on the most egregious ones and sutured the superficial ones.

She had found out upon using her First-Aid skill that it would also allow her to create medicinal tools at will. The act of doing so used a lot of mana in comparison to her other skill, so she stopped healing the queen when she found herself with 20 mana left and used all of it to create sterile needle and thread for the sutures.

“This will hurt,” she had warned the queen.

“The real pain is gone,” Queen Millicent replied.

Night fell during the procedure, but the queen summoned a swarm of fireflies to stand above them, and the birds, who would disappear into their nest every night, surrounded them expectantly.

When it was finally over, the birds, who had never once sang past nightfall, burst into cacophonous, excited chirping. Eventually, the dissonance turned harmonious, and the most beautiful song was heard through the night sky. Even those birds that had barely been able to raise themselves sang in elation.

Iris collapsed to the ground as soon as she finished, all strength drained from her.

“She has depleted herself. And saved us,” Queen Millicent said. “All will be well.”

Queen Millicent stood tall then, and although she was still weak, her stature decried her regal nature. She was actually taller than both of them.

“Can we take her somewhere to rest?” Jude asked.

“We will show you,” the queen said and turned around.

Jude took Iris into his arms, and she said, “I’m sorry. I’m just so tired.”

“Don’t worry. You did great! I told you you were overpowered. Just rest now, and I’ll take care of anything else.”

As soon as Jude said that, Iris closed her eyes and slept.

The queen took them to a nest high above the others, which was covered in feathers. After Jude laid Iris to rest there, he walked back out into the night with the queen. They had more to discuss.

By now, it was getting late into the night, so the queen sent the birds that had sung so enthusiastically when she rose to rest. She knew that soon the howling would start, and there was no need to taint their celebration with the sound of incoming death.

It was just Jude and the queen sitting on the branch just above the nest in which Iris was resting. She had asked him not too long ago to always keep an eye on her in that place, so even now, he didn’t want to be away from her.

“We are indebted to you,” the queen started.

“It was all her,” Jude replied, looking down at Iris, who was deep asleep.

“A powerful Healer.”

“She is.”

There was a pause before the queen said, “Our story is sad and violent. Still, should We share?”

“Please,” Jude said.

“Accept Our touch,” the queen said and raised her hand to touch Jude’s head.

Jude, in turn, lowered his head and closed his eyes. He had understood the meaning of the queen’s words. Much like their writing, the words of the Fae carried more meaning than they spoke. So that there would be no confusion, the queen had wanted to impart her knowledge directly.

As soon as her hand fell on Jude’s head, Jude saw the forest from above, beautiful and green. There were animals that were much larger than any he had ever seen. His vision seemed to fly everywhere, and he noticed that even the fish were much bigger than the ones they had been catching the last few days. There were birds everywhere and perpetual song.

Then, his vision changed, and he noticed at the edge of the forest, which was larger by magnitudes than the one they were in now, a pulse of red light. It was similar but weaker than the pulsating red he saw from the tower in his dreams.

After that, he saw the rot taking root at the edge of the forest, and the Fae announced a campaign with the other beings of the forest to find out what was there. The land, however beautiful, hadn’t been entirely one of peace. On the ground, in the caves, there existed something that the Fae had titled Devourer. It was only active at night, and only a few nights of a season, but when it was active, it consumed everything in its path.

Preoccupied by the campaign, and worried about the rot, their minds forsook thoughts of the Devourer for what they viewed as more pressing issues. The Devourer had not been seen in a long while, and some even hoped that it had perished, but that was not the case. The red pulse had awakened it, and even before the Fae had left to find the reason for the rot, the Devourer had already consumed it. Whatever it was, it mutated the Devourer. It made the Devourer stronger. The thing consumed everyone that went on the campaign: soldiers, carriers, mounts, and finally, the king.

Queen Millicent had lost her partner to the Devourer, and seeing the continuous destruction, she closed the realm. The creatures of the ground were left to die. Fish fed on the rot, and as such, started diminishing in size. The birds, having long allied themselves with the Fae, became the watchers of the forest. With the realm closed, they were the ones to bear news of the outside.

The rot took most of the forest, which became the Red Wood. And that lasted many seasons, until the Fae tree also started to rot. Afraid of what would happen, scouts left the realm in search of help, but no word had come from them until that day, the day Jude and Iris showed up in Fae garb and healed the queen.