"Help me! It killed them. The evil my father promised would show has arrived."

The gates to Unn Thalor opened their arms to him. He stumbled into its warm embrace and collapsed.

Covered in Chiyan's blood, he screamed, "The beast fought in the shadows. None of our attacks could reach through the darkness." Elwin raised his hand and pleaded, "Please help me."

"Liar!"

"Murderer!"

"Traitor!"

"Exile him!"

The crowd gathering at the entrance shouted in rage.

Beluar, Chiyan's only son, tackled Elwin and started pummeling his face. "You killed my father! You killed them only to justify your father's wild imaginations!" Soldiers pealed Beluar off Elwin and dragged him back to his mother who pulled him in for a hug.

Elwin pushed up on his knees, now with a broken nose, split lip, and a swollen eye. He found Fraeya in the crowd and reached out.

"Please, believe me."

Faced with the loss of her mentor, Trivana, Fraeya wiped away her tears, shook her head, and walked away.

Elwin's heart began to break.

The high Elder Ciyradyl walked in front of Elwin, turned her back to him, and raised her hand to quiet the crowd.

When the courtyard had become silent, she turned to him and said, "Elwin, we have tolerated your father's wild notions from you for your mother’s sake, but to murder two of our best. You will gain no more sympathy from us."

Confused, Elwin started to stand, only to have the guard kick him in the back of the leg knocking him back down. Forcing himself back on his knees, Elwin begged, "Please you have to believe me. Why can't you look for yourself?"

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She turned back to the people ignoring him and announced, "From this day forth, Elwin is no longer a member of the Wataki tribe and is banished from Unn Thalor."

Face to face with Elwin again, Ciyradyl said, "May you find peace in the forest's embrace."

His heart continued to splinter.

Two men picked him up to escort him out of the gate. When he looked up he saw his mother, Alma, quietly crying in the background. She met his gaze, shook her head, and turned away.

Her rejection slammed into his chest smashing his heart into a million pieces. Elwin let them drag him out, strip his armor and weapons, and kick him to the dirt.

Elwin stood up and started walking across the open field towards the forest, barely conscious of the gates that slammed shut behind him.

Moving forward, he cared little whether he lived or died after losing everything. The sun followed him across the sky. Its presence was his only companion.

Eventually, its warmth left him as the night took over. Elwin stumbled through the darkness until he fell to his knees before the remains of his patrol. Only scraps of leather and two blades remained.

He waited for the beast to claim its prize, and it didn't fail to do so. It roared into the night.

Elwin had second thoughts about letting the creature who destroyed his life kill him without a fight. He howled back in defiance picked up the two fallen blades and charged.

"I will not go quietly into the night!"

He lunged forward swinging both blades in a downward arc towards the black swirling mass in front of him. The creature passed through him sending icy tendrils of pain into his body.

Elwin lost his balance and fell to the ground. He shrieked when claws dug into his back and ripped.

Before the killing blow could come, a blazing white light blinded him and sent the creature back, whining in protest.

When sight returned to his eyes, Elwin looked up at the stag bathed in white. It spoke into his mind.

I will offer you the same choice that I gave your father, Erume. Will you become my champion against the darkness?

Coughing up blood, Elwin managed to ask, "What happened to my father?"

He fought bravely, but he chose to fight alone and failed. Will you take up the mantle and succeed where he did not?

Elwin could feel his life draining away and knew this would be his only chance. "What must I do, god of the forest?"

You may call me Silvertree and you must be born again new in order to join the forest.

He whispered one simple word and changed his life forever.

"Yes."

The pain he felt as his bones broke and reshaped caused him to pass out.

When he woke up, he stood on four paws. He felt another presence inside of his head. It shoved him aside and howled.

Silvertree spoke one last time.

You have been given a chance to save this forest, your home. Do not fail me, Elwin.