It was only last night that they stood in this same spot, looking into the forest, now they couldn’t stop looking out of it. They stood in silence, just as before, but the anticipation of the unknown, which only yesterday was exhilarating, was now gone, replaced with something gut wrenching. They still stood there, still confronting the unknown, but now they were filled only with dread.

Klavis was the first to break the silence. He started shaking his head. “No, no, that’s not right. I bet you I know what happened, we must have gotten mixed up and came out at a different spot. The view of the Beacon Trees must just be blocked from here.” He started moving forward waving the others on. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

Xecran shook his head, he knew they wouldn’t find the Beacon Trees, but he followed Klavis anyways, letting himself believe for a moment that Klavis was right and everything would be okay.

Kamilis stood there alone deep in his own thoughts. “Our home…it’s gone. What will we do? Where will we go?” He shook his head, trying to push those questions away and to focus on the moment. He caught up with them quickly enough. They had only walked for a few minutes before they were faced with the terrible truth. Their home was gone.

Where once there was a Beacon Tree there was now only an open large field and beyond that, more forest and in the distance mountains, who’s peaks disappeared high up into the clouds. Even if they had managed to get turned around, losing sight of the Beacon Trees, they knew their home was nowhere nearby. The mountain range off in the distance was one they had never seen before. There were no mountains like that near the Greenwood.

They had read about mountains before, they knew what they were of course, but they had never seen one in person before, not even from this great of a distance. It was a new and awe-inspiring sight, ruined by the knowledge they may never see home again.

Kamilis said something under his breath, too softly to make out. Klavis looked over at his brother. Kamilis was looking off into the distance. He shook his head, not willing to accept the situation, saying “No…no, I can fix this” as if he was talking quietly, to himself. He turned and started to walk back to the camp muttering unintelligibly.

Klavis moved to follow as he called after his brother. “Kamilis, wait up!”

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Xecran stood there alone, looking at the open field where there should have been a Beacon Tree. The meadow was full of tall grass laced with violet flowers and beyond that a carpet of green topped trees spanning out into the distance and ending halfway up the far-off mountains. Xecran couldn’t help but admire the natural beauty that was unfolding front of him.

The mountains, they were magnificent. He’d read about mountains, they were large rock formations that jutted out from the depths of the earth, but those words didn’t do them justice. He had no idea how far away they were, but they were huge. The largest thing he’d ever seen before today were the Beacon Trees, but these mountains…they made the Trees look like blades of grass.

A tear slowly fell down his cheek, but he wasn’t sure if it was for the loss of all he had ever known, or because of the majesty he saw before him, hinting at all of the new and wondrous things this world might contain.

Meanwhile Klavis silently followed his brother back to camp. He’d never seen him like this before. He seemed broken. He was worried that this shock had cracked his brother. If it had he wouldn’t blame him. This was a shock to himself as well.

He had known something could happen if he went into the forest, but he never really thought anything would really happen or if it did, what it would mean. Part of him assumed that if the legend about the Beacon Trees protecting them was true that it would prevent them from leaving, or worse, kill them if they attempted to leave. What he didn’t expect was that he would be exiled from all he knew. His brother’s reaction was understandable, what Klavis couldn’t figure out was why he wasn’t as shaken as his brother. They finally made it back to camp and Kamilis went straight to his bag and pulled out a vial of yellow liquid.

Curious, Klavis asked “Kamilis, what is that?”

Kamilis kept his eyes on the vial as he spoke. “I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t think it would happen. I was so sure…” Kamilis trailed off and looked at his brother “It’s a potion I made in case we got lost. It can show us how to get home.”

“Kamilis…I don’t think the potion was meant to overcome something like this. Why don’t you sit down and…”

“No!” Kamilis yelled “I can fix this! It will work.” He pulled off the stopper and downed the liquid in one quick gulp. He stood there waiting for it to take effect, but nothing happened. All he had to do was think about where he wanted to go and he would know which direction he would need to travel, but it wasn’t working. He closed his eyes and in his mind he pictured his home, wishing he could be there again, but nothing happened. It wasn’t working. “Maybe it was a bad batch?”

Eyes still closed, he thought of his brother, testing if the potion was working. He felt a tug letting him know which way he had to go. He turned into the tug and opened his eyes. He was looking right at Klavis. He ignored the look of worry on his brothers face and closed his eyes again. He thought of home, but again, nothing happened.

He opened his eyes, which were now filling with tears, still facing his brother. “Our home... it’s gone.” The sadness he saw in his brother’s eyes was reflected in his own sorrow. Without a word Klavis stepped forward and put his arms around his brother. Before he realized what was happening, kamilis buried his face in Klavis’s shoulder and wept.