As I floated out of the tree that I had called my home for the past year, I was greeted by the beautiful sight of the Elarion forest.

The forest held towering trees that would dwarf the forests of my previous world. I couldn’t see the end of the forest either, for it stretched far past what my eyes could see.

My attention was instantly drawn to several creatures that were flying a few miles away from me.

The creatures were flying in a pack, and when I looked closer I noticed that they were some type of large feathered beast. Judging by their size from this distance, they had to have been the size of a small car.

I had learned from Celeste that this forest was dangerous. When I looked at the strange beasts flying off in the distance, that idea became more real.

Luckily, they were flying away from me. I didn’t intend to get their attention either.

I couldn’t see past the treeline below me, as the thick foliage blocked off the view of the ground from above. However, I liked my odds of survival better in the sky.

If I was on the ground, my field of view would be severely limited by the trees. I would likely not see any danger until it was too late and already upon me. If I was in the sky though, I could see danger approaching from miles away.

Those giant feathered creatures were an excellent example, and since I was able to see them in the distance I knew to steer far away.

My most immediate concern at the moment though was getting as far away from Picea as I could.

Picea’s residence held a vast array of books ranging from natural geography to magical artifacts, and I had read many of them during the past year. I remembered one book I had read about the different kingdoms of Amaranthine.

Apparently, there was a kingdom of beast-folk right on the western border of the Elarion forest. If the maps I had seen were to be believed, the nearest town was just under two hundred miles away.

Picea had said that the closest elven settlement was double the distance in the same direction, so it made sense to stop at the beast-folk kingdom anyways. The book had called it the Kingdom of Caudis, but there were apparently several other kingdoms of beast-folk scattered throughout the continent.

Caudis was the closest one to me though, so that’s where I would be headed.

Now, I just needed to figure out which direction to go.

I remembered the old mantra of my previous world. ‘The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.’ Now, I had no clue if that still applied to this world, but it was still the best I had to go on.

I looked up at the sky and saw the direction the morning sun was moving, and I came to the conclusion that the west was to my right side. With this in mind, I promptly began to fly away from Picea’s tree with the sun behind me.

My Aether had developed greatly in the past year, and the speed I could now move in far surpassed what I could manage previously. It took some intense effort, but I estimated I could move at least twenty miles an hour at my fastest speed.

This was a speed that most normal humans could only reach for a short time during a sprint. I knew I couldn’t keep this pace forever, but I didn’t intend to slow down until the towering tree behind me was long out of view.

As I soared through the air I took in the scenery below me. It was a sea of green that seemed to never end, and I wondered how long it would take me to find a hint of civilization.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I did some quick mental math, and I estimated that at my current pace it would probably take me at least ten hours of continual travel. I knew that this wasn’t too feasible though, for I wouldn’t be able to maintain this speed for too much longer.

‘It will probably be days before I see even a glimpse of a city or town.’ I thought, realizing I would have to stop several times before I reached my destination.

Sighing, I thought back to the time I had spent with Picea.

Even after what they did, I couldn’t bring myself to hate them. After all, they had taken care of me for an entire year. They had taught me about this world, let me practice my powers, and they had even nourished my very body.

Judging by my current size, I figured that my body was now around three years old. This was pretty incredible considering that I had only been on this world for a little over a year and a half.

Their essence had been jam-packed with celestial energy, and that energy had been the sole thing feeding me for this past year.

When I stretched in the air, I remarked that my little limbs felt stronger. I didn’t know how strong a three year old was supposed to be, but I could tell that I had strength I shouldn’t yet have for many more years.

I spent the next hour lost in thought as I travelled above the forest. At this point Picea’s tree had shrunk until it was little more than a dark blip in the distance.

I slowed down, but I didn’t want to stop completely until I knew they were far, far away.

‘There’s no way I can rest in peace while still in this forest. Picea is literally a magical forest spirit, I’d bet money she has some way of tracking me while I'm within the trees.’ I thought, not intending to so much as touch the ground under any circumstances.

This was not to mention that the forest floor didn’t seem to be the most welcoming place. Although I couldn’t see below the treeline, I could hear the vast array of life below me.

Birds chirped illusive songs, and subtle animals barked strangely. There was the occasional boom from the roars of more powerful beasts as well, and those sent shivers down my spine.

After I had flown for another half an hour, my pace had slowed to a jog.

I was starting to get a throbbing headache that made my vision shake. This was likely due to me over-exerting my powers for such a prolonged period of time.

I definitely had to stop soon, but I couldn’t find anywhere that looked suitable.

Since I couldn’t see below the treeline, I had no way of knowing which spot would be the best to land on. It made the most sense to look for the tallest tree I could and rest there.

With this in mind, it only took me around ten more minutes to spot a suitable landing place. The tree I found wasn’t too much taller than the rest surrounding it, but it still perched several meters higher.

My pace slowed to a halt, and I floated towards the upper branches of the tree. The wooden exterior seemed to be a dull purple, and when I stared at it the very bark seemed to shift and move beneath my gaze.

Just looking at it made my skin crawl.

‘Yea, maybe not this one.’ I thought, turning away from the tree to find another that looked less.. sinister.

As I did this though, my attention was drawn to a number of light colored figures jumping around in the distance. These figures looked like white blurs, but when I focused my eyes I saw that they were jumping in and out of the treeline.

Some of them were even colliding with each other. They must’ve been a good half a mile away, but I still heard their strange hollers and screams.

‘Are they fighting each other? What kind of creatures are those?’ I wondered, not willing to stick around to find out.

I immediately floated as high as I could, even as my ever-increasing headache was hindering my abilities.

When I tried to spot the earlier figures though, I realized that I had lost track of them.

‘They probably disappeared back under the trees.’ I thought, looking around at the tree tops below me. I quickly put the creatures out of my mind as I continued my search.

After another ten minutes of flying I was beginning to feel queasy. My stomach felt like it was twisting around itself, and I knew that I had to stop to rest very soon. I had never tested the effects of over-exerting my powers, but I didn’t want to end up killing myself.

Luckily, there seemed to be a rather large tree off in the distance.

It wasn’t nearly as large as Picea’s, but it still sat at least a score of meters above the rest. I estimated it was around two miles away, but it was getting hard to tell with my vision swimming.

I set course towards the tree, and drifted over to its direction while my speed fell even further.

However, my attention was drawn to a few white figures that had jumped up from the treeline below me.

These white figures screamed as they threw furious fists in the air, attempting to claw eyes out as they threw each other across the trees.

At this distance, I could see that the creatures appeared to be monkeys!

They had pure, white hair covering every inch of their bodies, and their frames were slim but sturdy. They also had strange tails, I noticed that one of the monkeys had just one tail, when others had two or even three.

These monkeys were evidently fighting, and the ones that had more tails were clearly winning.

A monkey with three tails grabbed the leg of a retreating monkey and roughly bit into one of its tails, tearing its fur as it stained it with blood.

The monkey that was grabbed howled in pain, turning to claw at its attacker with sharp talons.

It tore a series of jagged cuts into the other monkey’s chest that elicited another pained howl.

The three-tailed monkey let go of the other one, and they took this chance to dash down past the treeline, out of my sight.

There were two remaining monkeys now, one with three tails and another with only one. They began to violently hoot and holler as they screamed into the air, likely proclaiming their victory to the rest of the forest.

I wanted no part in their celebration though, so I continued my flight towards the tree off in the distance. I was around a dozen meters in the air still, far out of reach of any violent creatures. I still hoped they wouldn’t see me though.

Unfortunately, the monkey with one tail had keen vision.

This monkey began to hoot and scream as it pointed in my direction, jumping up and down as it stared at me.

I couldn’t speak monkey, but it was obviously saying something like, “Look, a flying baby!”

Their commotion drew the attention of the other monkey, and he stopped what he was doing to stare at me in bewilderment.