We walked through the forest of Mattlefor, at this time it was decaying and swampy, dead trees littered the place yet the many branches and thick trees were dense enough to obstruct most light from reaching the forest floor. It felt aery and there was a faint smell of rotting wood everywhere. The guide and his two guards walked in front of us through the barely recognizable muddy forest paths. After a while Symania asked for us to rest. She was too exhausted and couldn't go on, lacking strength.

"We're almost there, just a few more hours, we can make it" I told her desperately.

"I can't go on anymore, I need to lay down" she said with a faint voice whilst breathing heavily. Then she placed herself on a fallen tree, almost stumbling in the process.

"You have to persist, we're almost there, after that you can rest all you want"

"I'm sorry Aymar, I just can't do it."

"How far away are we?" I asked the guide.

"We can make it before dark if we continue"

"Can she rest for a bit?"

"An hour or so shouldn't be a problem, we could forage for some food and eat early I suppose" the guide said, remaining upbeat.

I didn't want to leave her side so I remained close to her whilst I looked for berries and mushrooms, but I barely found anything in those woods, and neither did the guide and the guards.

When we made it back to her, not much later, Symania didn't respond to my talking.

"Symania?!" "Symania say something!" I shouted frantically.

I started shaking her and she felt cold.

Tears welled in my eyes as I began casting the healing spells I knew.

"Zafuria oinus galica!" Greater healing, but it had no effect.

"Onipur amalgafi maxytonum!" Revival of the dead, but it didn't do anything.

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I casted more and more spells and none seemed to do anything. I started crying at this point.

I looked at the guards and guide.

They had taken off their hats and placed them in front of their hearts.

"I'm sorry son, it's over, she's resting eternally now, in a better place" the guide spoke to me.

I couldn't accept it. I took my staff and casted the forbidden spell.

"Trazfera hagoni zezeskus!" and I transferred the guides lifeforce into her.

She was still unresponsive. I casted the spell once more on one of the guards as the other froze in terror.

Her eyes opened a little.

"Symania! You're back!" I was filled with joy.

"We can still make it!" I said.

She opened her mouth and spoke to me, as she breathed heavily.

"This isn't what I want Aymar, you have to accept it. "

"No Symania, we're going to go to that temple and you're going to be cured, it's going to be alright!" "We can still make it!"

"Not this way, Aymar. You're a good person deep down, I know that. "

She took my staff from my hand, and I didn't resist it.

She spoke once more.

"I'm sorry I can't be there with you. Thank you for the wonderful times we've had, thank you for everything". Then with her final breath she shouted:

"Trazfera hagoni zezeskus!" and brought the guide and guard back to life, at the cost of her own life.

Tears came into my eyes. I kept casting healing spells at her. Any spell I could think of. When my mana ran out I drank a potion and casted more spells. I casted every spell I knew, trying my hardest to cast good spells, each more powerful than the last. I kept casting and casting, but nothing seemed to have any effect. I got so frustrated that I eventually threw the staff to a nearby tree where it shattered, then I collapsed and fell to the floor from exhaustion. Nothing had seemed to work.

When I woke up the dead tree she had lain on the day before had grown into an extremely thick tree standing upwards, with many branches and thick green leaves. The area surrounding me was covered in thick green grass, with plants everywhere. I tried to look around for her body, but I couldn't find it and I assumed the tree had absorbed it during its growth. Birds had returned to this part of the forest and many flowers hid amongst the thick grasses. It was beautiful, but in the distance the forest had remained dead and swampy.

I made my way out of the forest, not knowing where to go. Eventually I decided to live in the forest and guard it from any wrong-doers, and made sure the paths would be clear so anyone else in need of the healing properties from the monks would be able to reach them safely. The tree that Symania died on grew into a mother-tree, and the entire forest was restored and grew many times its size. It's a beautiful place now, yet it pales in comparison to the beauty Symania once had.