Watching back, only from the corner of her eye, Mayar frowned. What bothered her? A silhouette, which was seen somewhere to her right. That’s why she snarled eventually, telling Parca, „Someone is following us.”

Parca, amazed, looked in the same direction as Mayar. Yet, she saw nothing there. That’s why she also frowned while looking at Mayar. „Who is following us?” She asked. „I see nobody there.”

„It’s enough that I see it. Actually, I see that soul lurking on us, with vivid eyes.”

„Isn’t it because you have visions?” Asked Parca, laughing. Yet, she did that only to hide the fact that she was seeing only shadows there and nothing more. Something she couldn’t explain, just as she couldn’t remember when or why she started to see them. Was it the effect of someone’s magic? She didn’t know that. She only knew that her power was limited in the Rophion Forest. Nothing more. Therefore, remembering this, she hissed through her teeth, „You don’t even know how much I hate this forest.”

Parca’s answer amazed Mayar a lot. That’s why, while looking thunderstruck at the Titanide, she asked, „Why so? I thought that this place is dear to you. More than that, if I’m not mistaken, you have been born here, right?” Yet, even though she tried to ask those questions innocently, the cunningness in her voice could still be felt.

The Titanide, however, even though she felt the cunningness in the young girl’s voice, didn’t scold her. She only said, „You are right. I’ve been born here. Yet, this doesn’t matter that this is a place I am longing for.” Seeing Mayar preparing for asking something more, Parca snarled at her, „Don’t dare to ask „why” again or I swear I’ll lose my mind.”

„If you say so!” Said the young girl in a bored tone. Then, suddenly turning into a fox, she took a few steps in front, forcing Parca to follow her. Then, without watching the Titanide, she calmly said, „Yet, I meant something else when I said what I said before.”

„What exactly did you mean then?” Asked Parca, changing a little the tone of her voice. She did that when she felt a strange guilt in her soul because, losing her control, moreover in front of Mayar, was something she hated. Just as she hated to show her weakness in front of the others.

Mayar, however, at all impressed by Parca’s behavior, kept advancing. Then, considering that it was the right moment, she said, „I was talking about this forest, which should have been by your side in this war once it gave birth to you. Yet, Rophion Forest is your enemy now. Is it because of the magic wolves?”

„Not only because of them!” Replied Parca thoughtfully and sadly at the same time. Then, looking at the ground and not at the young fox, who stopped and was insistently looking at her, she said, „There are a lot of secrets in this world. One of them is related to this forest and the secrets it hides.”

„Secrets? Like?”

„Like the birth of this world and… the Legend of Rophion Forest. A legend that says to the entire world that no one knows its real story, that nobody ever will know how the Universe has appeared or how to control its huge power.”

„What about Fate? I thought it was Fate that controls everything in this Universe.”

The young fox’s words made Parca laugh. „Fate? Did someone ever see it?”

Mayar looked askance at her. „I thought you saw it. You are the Titanide of Fate, right?”

„Only by name!” Said Parca randomly, a reply that made Mayar frown. Parca, however, didn’t see that glance of „She has definitely lost her mind.” That’s why she added as if nothing happened, „Honestly, I’m also surprised that I’ve never seen Fate even though it’s supposed that I’m the one controlling it. The same happens to the Titans. They are strong. They control both Black and White Magic. Nevertheless, they don’t have total control over the world, something that makes them vulnerable too. At the same time, while they don’t control the Universe entirely, there are and have been wars for supremacy in this world.”

„Maybe you are right, Parca, but… still: if the Titans hadn’t existed, then the entire world wouldn’t have been a perfect Balance. More than that, we must accept that every soul in this world has its role, right?”

„What if it isn’t as you think it is?” Said Parca confidently. Then, looking into Mayar’s eyes, she said, „What if everything in this world can be replaced?”

„Do you mean that if a Titan dies another one appears in his place?”

„Exactly. It’s a Law of Nature: when someone dies, the Universe itself creates someone else in his place only to keep the Balance, Mayar. That’s why nobody ever will have absolute control over this world because… it’s the Balance who controls us in fact.”

„Themis!”

„Yes, you are right, just as it seems to me that Themis is Fate in fact. At least this is what I think.”

„I, for example, think differently about this,” said the fox thoughtfully.

„Why?”

„Because… just think about this: if Themis is really Fate, It could have killed Eris and Chaos when they fought in the Big War. Yet, Fate left them to exist and didn’t create anyone else in their place. More than that, in that Big War, Themis split into twelve Balances and hid. This is what confuses and concerns me.”

„I don’t understand why this should concern you.”

„Because I saw the thirteen empty places on the Gates of Purgatorium. Thirteen and not twelve as it’s said. That’s why I think that there isn’t any equality and Balance in this world anymore. Just as it isn’t found in Cosmos.”

Hearing the word „Purgatorium,” Parca winced. Then, slowly-slowly, she felt that she was shuddering inside. Yet, even though she felt strange, she understood that it was absolutely necessary to control herself and not let Mayar understand that she was afraid. She even tried to get, by using her mind, at the Huge Gate of Purgatorium to see if what Mayar said was right. Nevertheless, even if she tried this hard, she didn’t manage to see that Gate. What she saw was a huge path, surrounded by fog and black smoke, and nothing more.

That’s why she suddenly hissed through her teeth, „Damn you, curse!” A murmur Mayar didn’t hear. Thus, she gave Parca the chance to hide an important thing from her: that she wasn’t capable of seeing the important places of the world as Purgatorium or Aeon. She wasn’t even able to control the eye of her mind. Why? She also didn’t know that, even though she tried to find the answer to that question.

Yet, even though she couldn’t see Aeon and Purgatorium, Parca wanted this. Yes, her big desire was to see Purgatorium first and then Aeon. She wasn’t sure why she wanted this, but she badly wanted it. It’s because of this she probably started to hate the question „Why?” It was because she asked herself this so many times in her desperate attempt to find the real reason for her inner torment or maybe because she couldn’t have what she always wanted.

Eventually, to calm herself down, she got to tell herself, „I probably wish to reach Purgatorium to wash my soul of sins and calm down. What about Aeon and why do I want to see it? Just because this is impossible I want it so badly.” Nevertheless, even though she was saying such words to her, she never felt happiness or that she fulfilled her goals.

Probably because of this, feeling that it was time, Parca opened her eyes. Looking in front, she saw the light when before closing her eyes she saw only the ghosts and thick darkness around her. Nevertheless, even though she was seeing the light, she still kept seeing that the forest, in some places, was darker and thicker than in others, just as she realized that the leaves of the trees were strangely shivering, making a weird clink all around, an unknown melody to her, but still pleasant.

That melody made Parca carefully look around. She even started to analyze each shaking of the leaves, each slow movement of the branches, or following by glance the flight of the insects or to prick up her ears to hear better what was happening around her. What seemed stranger than this to her was to see that right after looking at a certain thing, that one was „freezing” in the air. A weird situation that made her confused and started to doubt that what she was seeing there was real. Soon after this, however, Parca understood that it was a game of the forest in fact. One known by the creatures of the woods, but unknown to her. Even so, she understood that they did that to camouflage themselves in that darkness, allowing doubt and fear to sneak inside the soul of the strangers and make them fear.

A game of nature that couldn’t deceive her eventually. That’s why, carefully looking around, she’d been finally able to see the silhouette Mayar saw before. Seeing it, Parca frowned and murmured, „It’s someone here.”

„I told you this already,” replied Mayar proudly. She even felt irritation in her voice, understanding that Parca wasn’t attentive and didn’t hear anything of what she said before.

That superiority, however, felt in the young fox’s voice, made Parca snarl, upset, „You told me that you saw a shadow. I, however, wasn’t talking about the same shadow you saw.” Then, rotating on her heels, she kept carefully looking around because, besides the shadow seen by Mayar, Parca saw one more, a little bit further than the one the girl saw, hiding between the trees.

Mayar, seeing the concern on Parca’s face, decided to seem preoccupied, too. Yet, being on four legs, she needed more time to understand what shadow Parca was seeing. Yet, looking toward the place where Parca was looking, Mayar saw nobody there. She didn’t even see the first silhouette she’d seen. That’s why she frowned. Nevertheless, spotting Parca’s glance focused on that place again, she decided to focus too, maybe this way she would finally see something. She was right in thinking so because, narrowing her eyes, she could finally see Life’s silhouette. Something that confused and scared her at the same time because she wasn’t sure that Parca was seeing Life. Even so, she wondered eventually, „Is she really seeing the same thing as I do?”

Yet, not being convinced that Parca was definitely seeing the same as she was seeing, Mayar told herself that it would be a smart move to use her cunningness to find this out. That’s why she asked, „Do you see any prey on the horizon?”

„Yes,” replied Parca calmly. „A spy. One I can’t understand who he is.”

Mayar, listening to Parca’s words, pretended to be more surprised than before and asked again, „A spy? Who exactly? Then, to convince Parca, she started to jump, looking everywhere, but not at the place where Life was, who she was seeing, looking at them. A bad movement actually because doing this, she acted differently than she was generally acting. That’s why Parca stared at her, confused. The Titanide even took a step toward the girl, still staring at her.

Catching Parca’s intense glance and more when she saw her heading toward her, Mayar took a few steps back. Then, innocently, she asked, „What? What this time?”

„You clearly see who is there, don’t you?" Then Parca stopped and, bending a little while keeping her hands at her back, she stared into Mayar’s eyes.

The fox, as cunning as always, often blinked from her eyelashes. „Do I see it?” She asked, outlining the words. „What exactly should I see?” However, seeing Parca showing her fangs, a hint that she couldn’t fool her anymore, Mayar sweetened her voice and said, „It seems to me that you misunderstood me. I was just playing. More than that, how can I see something you don’t see? I don’t have your power.”

„No, you definitely see who is there. You are just acting. Just as you played the fool all this time, pretending to be submissive to me.”

„I? What did I do this time?”

„Nothing out of the ordinary,” said Parca ironically. „I just realized that you haven't been under my control since long ago. You have just fooled me all this time, don’t you?”

„Honestly… I have no idea what you are talking about,” murmured the fox. „That’s why, instead of saying stupid things, I say to hit the pike because, that shadow you saw before, isn’t around us anymore. It means we lost her. Thus, if you don’t want others to understand what’s our plan, we should go now and I say to head in that direction.”

Then, at all bothered by Parca’s sour face, Mayar turned her back on the Titanide and, at a slow step, she headed toward the thicket seen not that far from the small clearing where they stood by then. She did that not because she was afraid that the shadow she saw before would turn back or because she felt safer in the thicket, but because, in the thicket, Parca’s power was decreasing a lot, something that worked in her favor. Thus, being safe, Mayar could plan her next step.

How did Mayar find out this? Life told her this: to hit the pike if she didn’t want Parca to realize that she was playing a double game. Yet, even though she would have liked to play a little bit more with the Titanide’s nerves, she understood that it was risky. That’s why she just went away, waiting for another opportunity to realize her plan.

Her reaction made Parca attentive. That’s why, remaining by herself, Parca told herself, „This cunning fox hides something. What exactly? I don’t know, but I’ll definitely find out while following her, for… I’m sure that she’s planning something behind our backs.” Then, putting the hood on again, she headed toward that thicket where only the top of Mayar’s red tail was still seen while the fox stopped to wait for Parca.

Then, right after they vanished in that thicket, the forest turned back to life and even the leaves started to shiver again. A shiver of the leaves that was so pleasant to listen to, as though it was a sweet summoning to love. Nevertheless, even though that melody gave the feeling that the clearing was summoning someone there, no one appeared, not even after minutes of waiting. Only in the end, when he was already sure that Parca and Mayar wouldn’t come back, the wolf Dike appeared from the shelter of a big hollow and followed the two.

Yet, before entering that thicket too, he looked to his right where he saw Life’s silhouette. Then, unlike the fox that kept silent, Dike told Life, „Don’t worry! Even though they plan something, we’ll find out what it is. Then, we’ll definitely know what to do to ruin their plans.” After that, he entered the thicket, following his enemies in a slow step.

Thus, not looking back even for a second, he didn’t see the amazement on Vāḻkkai’s face, who was definitely surprised because she never thought that someone could see her if she hadn't wanted this. With Dike, however, it was different: he not only saw her but also talked to her. Something that made her understand that he also knew about Mayar’s double game, but he said nothing about this. Even so, Vāḻkkai was sure of something: that even Rophion Forest played a double game at that moment, even though she didn’t know the reason why the forest was doing that.

***

Hanging on lianas that were slowly moving through the forest, Bestla and Samaya were carefully looking around. Yet, no matter where they didn’t look, they couldn’t see Baradar. A weird situation in fact that made Bestla angry hiss through her teeth at a moment, „As though the earth cracked and swallowed him!” After that, getting next to another tree, she grabbed another liana with her right hand, leaving the other liana that brought her there to return to its place.

Samaya, who was two trees in front of Bestla, hearing her friend’s mumble, touched one branch of that secular tree next to which she was, stopping the movement of the liana. Then, grabbing that branch with her right hand, she put her foot onto the base of the branch too while she was still having the liana wrapped around her left palm, for she needed it to get to the next tree. Thus, even though she stopped to tell Bestla not to mumble so much because she looked like a broken record, hearing the weird shivering of the forest’s leaves, she forgot about her friend and focused on nature.

Namely, that weird tremor of the leaves that made Samaya murmur eventually, „This place seems unfamiliar.” Yet, even though it seemed that she was talking to herself, she was talking to Bestla in fact, who finally got next to her and stopped too. However, unlike Samaya that was half-climbed on that tree, Bestla kept hanging on her liana, looking in the same direction as her friend. Nevertheless, that place didn’t seem unusual to her.

Then, understanding that otherwise she won’t make Samaya talk, she said, „Maybe you forgot about this, huh? I mean that it’s possible to have forgotten this place while you have lived for so long far from here.”

„No, Bestla, it’s not about that I forgot it. This place is different. I’m sure about this because this is the Glade of the Minikin in fact. It only… looks different now. At the same time, I feel a strange aura around me. I don’t know to explain what’s strange, but… I don’t like it.”

„What exactly?” Bestla asked in amazement, looking at her friend’s worried face.

Samaya, who was definitely preoccupied, murmured barely heard, „The tremor of the herbs. As though the wind swings them. Yet, there is no wind around us now. Not even a light breeze. The same happens to the flowers: they are also weird, for… they have their heads bowed and the petals closed as though they are sleeping.”

„Hello, it’s night!” Said Bestla in mockery. „It’s logical that the flowers sleep at this time.”

„Even for the Lights of the Night?” She heard Boor’s voice behind her, something that made Bestla wince and look back. Thus, she saw Boor slowly tapping his hips to raise in the air. Then, when he got to the same height as the girls, he climbed in the same tree Samaya supported her leg. After that, climbing a few branches higher, he carefully looked around.

Boor frowned eventually, listening to Bestla’s dumb answer, „Why not?! If the flowers are asleep, it’s normal to close the petals and go to sleep. Like any normal living creature, and not like us, who are wandering the world at this late hour in the night.”

Hearing her friend’s mumbling, Samaya reproachfully shook her head. Then, instead of scolding her friend, she looked at the flowers. At the yellow flowers that were known as the Lights of the Night. Thus, she saw that each of them had the petals closed as though an invisible elastic band was wrapped around them, forcing them to stay like that. Actually, not only the Lights of the Night looked weird as though they were asleep. The same happened to the white flowers of the Queen of the Night, which were also in that glade. Who saw them was Boor to whom those flowers looked like old women bent to the ground. That’s why, slowly tapping on Samaya’s shoulder, he made her a sign to look to her right.

Staring at the white flowers of the Queen of the Night, which were also closed even though they had to be fully opened at night, Samaya murmured, „It’s really weird. Don’t you also think so, God Boor?”

„Yes, I also think so,” said Boor after he sighed. „All the flowers of the night sleep even if they shouldn’t do that: the Lights and the Queen of the Night, the Cereus, Pitaya, even the Flower of the Moon. Yet, even though it’s strange, I don’t feel someone’s magic around. Of the one who forced them to sleep now.”

„Then? Do you think they messed up the night with the day?” Asked Bestla, ironically.

Her question made her father look askance at her. Then he said, „You know, Bestla, even if you tried to mock me by saying such words, you said the truth in fact. I’m not joking while saying this. I really feel that the forest is confused. As though neither the tree nor any other creature or plant in this forest knows by whose side it should be.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Samaya winced, „Maranam’s clouds?”

„No. Someone’s command! Whose exactly… I don’t know.” Then, feeling strange and confused, Boor shook his head, trying to chase the black thoughts away.

Suddenly, looking down, he became attentive. It happened because of a red squirrel, which was a few branches below, which jumped on another branch until she got to the ground to run toward another tree later when she realized that Boor spotted her. Yet, this hadn’t been the weirdest thing there. Looking to his left, he saw an owl, an Athene Noctua, flapping her wings while pretending to do this just to chase the sleep away. Yet, while doing this, the owl looked at them. Like the butterflies and other insects that were flying in the air at that moment or through the leaves. Even the rabbits stuck their heads out of their den, lurking in the surroundings when they should have been asleep.

Seeing all this, Boor jumped on another branch, below the one on which he had stood by then. Thus, he could see the badgers, which were the neighbors of the rabbits, having their heads also stuck out of their den and lurking on them. Only their black nose was seen there and the sparkling of their black round eyes. Spotting them, Boor smiled, „Spies! They keep an eye on us.” Then, not telling the girls about his plan, he took a dagger out of his left boot and threw it against a tree from his right. Thus, when the dagger stuck into one crack seen on the trunk of that tree, a big black owl, which he didn’t see spying on them, raised in the air, quickly flapping her wings.

That decision, of throwing the dagger, had definitely been a bad one because, throwing that dagger, he made the forest think that he was attacking it. That’s why the tree, in which he and Samaya were at that moment, suddenly started to shake. Thus, because Boor wasn’t supporting himself on anything at that moment, he had been thrown off that branch in seconds only without being able to grab something while falling. Not the same happened to Samaya. She, right after feeling the first thrill of the tree, withdrew her leg and kept hanging on the liana only.

Boor, however, didn't get to kiss the ground eventually because of a liana that suddenly wrapped around him. Then, when he was well secured in the air, the liana left him hanging upside down for a while. He even couldn't move his hands or legs, something that made him nervous because never in his long life Boor had been a captive. At that time, however, he was one… the captive of a liana, something that made him definitely angry. That's why he eventually shouted to the girls, „Do something!"

The girls, even though they wanted to help him, preferred to stay quiet. Moreover, they decided not to do anything because of another liana, which suddenly wrapped around Bestla’s body, immobilizing her. A weird thing that made Bestla cook her nose eventually and ask, „May I know what kind of devilish thing this is?” She was definitely confused, seeing that while she and Boor were kept captives by those lianas, Samaya was still free.

„What do I know?!” Replied Samaya, also confused. Yet, seeing the handle of Lifid Ibloma suddenly illuminating blue, somehow sparkling, she realized that it was a signal in fact. Because of this, she looked around and saw the lianas, which were around them, slowly undulating in the air as though summoning the girls to follow them. That’s why the young she-wolf told her friend eventually, „I think that’s a signal to follow them!”

„Only if they let me free!” Bestla hissed through her teeth, struggling to escape from the liana’s captivity. Yet, what she managed to do by struggling was to make that liana wrap more and more around her waist, something that hurt a lot. That’s why she decided to stay quiet and wait for what was coming. Thus, she saw how the lianas passed the three from one to another as though they had sent something from one hand to another. Then, when the second liana was wrapping around the „prisoner’s” body, the first one was turning back to its place. Something damn weird in Bestla’s opinion and something she disliked. That’s why she kept mumbling to herself, „They could have only kindly asked to follow them and we had done this. Why use this „kindness” with us?”

„It’s because they don’t know you,” Samaya told her. Nevertheless, even though she thought that Boor and Bestla were kept captives because the forest didn’t know them, she understood soon that she was wrong because, at a moment, she suddenly saw Boor flying from one liana to the second one. She had even been forced to jump aside not to be hit by that flying God. An involuntary „flight” in fact that made Boor feel dizzy because of the lianas that were so suddenly wrapping around his body, turning him into a happy but dizzy dreidel.

Seeing this, Samaya understood that it was definitely a kind of conspiracy theory of nature. Yet, it was at the same time something she couldn’t understand because… how could be nature that rude with Boor when he only tried to defend himself? Nevertheless, even if she was confused, Samaya didn’t dare to ask anything, afraid that things could get worse if she asked something. That’s why she decided to keep her mouth shut. At least for a while, until they got to the final destination and she’d be able to talk to the one that „demanded” the lianas to bring them there by force. Samaya even decided to make that one explain to her his reasons for acting like that with such valued guests.

Despite the fact that she was confused, while slowly moving through the forest, Samaya could admire the beauty and the silence of those places. Specifically, she could see how proudly the flowers, which until that moment had their petals closed and their heads bent, suddenly bloomed right in front of her eyes. At the same time, the same flowers filled the air with a pleasant aroma, something that made Samaya think that she got to Aeon and that’s why she was so happy. Yet, even though all she was seeing was so beautiful, what impressed her the most was seeing the flowers of the Moon or the Ipomoea „illuminating” from inside as though they were an electric lamp covered with white petals. More than that, what was also impressive, was to see, between those petals, big spiders that seemed to be more a „lid” on a big jar than insects.

Seeing all this, Samaya murmured, charmed, „The Guardians of the Night!” What made her murmur this? A big white butterfly, which suddenly raised from the middle of one Ipomoea. A weird event in fact, for the young she-wolf didn’t see it there as though he stood hidden. Thus, raising in the air, the butterfly widely opened his wings, and the young she-wolf so clearly saw, on his wings, four black circles: two big on the upper side and two small on the bottom, left and right.

„The Guardians? What kind of Guardians?” Murmured Bestla, after she cleared her mind because, being suddenly thrown on a big distance, from one liana to another, she felt dizzy.

Samaya smiled, „You will see! Very soon actually: another Wonder of the World!”

***

The Glade of Baradar was really impressive. Surrounded by secular trees, thick bushes, and different kinds of hanging plants, it made that place seem like a „green fortress.” Yet, even though that place looked like a fortress, not nature was its Guardian, but the trees, those led by Blue Beard and Gray Bark, which were standing at the border of that glade that was forming a kind of strange star.

That strange form of the glade wasn’t the product of nature for sure, but of a magic force, far superior to the natural one because, usually, the glades are rectangular or round. This glade, however, was forming a kind of star and was covered by a carpet from thick and soft grass, by white flowers of Cereus and the Queen of the Night in different colors: yellow, red, pink, purple, and white.

Nevertheless, even though the flowers were beautiful, the wonder of that glade was definitely the butterflies or the Guardians of the Night: many white butterflies with four black circles on their wings, one on each wing in fact. Thus, looking around, not only Samaya and the rest saw the butterflies, but also the trees: in the air, on petals, through the grass or above it, on the trees’trunk and even between branches. Therefore, those four black circles were outlining the perfection of those snowflakes… the butterflies.

Thus, completely charmed by their beauty, Blue Beard suddenly murmured, „Ah, it feels so well watching them!” Then, closing his eyes, he started to dangle slowly while the melancholy took over his soul. Then, as though sending those feelings to the butterflies, they surrounded him from everywhere, suddenly turning him into a white old man with a few black stains on him.

Suddenly, he cooked his nose when someone’s shout disturbed the silence. That’s why he opened his eyes, frowning. Yet, carefully looking around, he saw nobody. Only at first because, soon after this, a „sack” rolled till next to its trunk. The „sack” even hardly hit the tree because that throw had been a hard one. After that, when he finally stopped shaking, Blue Beard slowly bent, looking askance at that big „caterpillar” thrown by the lianas toward him.

Thus, he saw Boor, whose body the lianas wrapped, and who had been thrown by them from far distance toward Blue Beard for his boldness. The reason? Well, nothing out of the ordinary: he simply had the genius idea of using a knife, which he was wearing in his boot, to release himself. Yet, he did not take into account that the liana, which he intended to cut to release himself, wasn’t stupid. Thus, feeling the sharp blade of the knife on its green body, it got angry and threw Boor toward the trunk. Thus, hitting that trunk, Boor got to see multicolored birds flying in front of his eyes while the whole world was spinning with him. A deserved punishment in fact.

After he came back to his senses, Boor sat and shook his head to chase the dizziness away. Yet, even though he felt that he needed to stand up, he preferred not to do that because he was listening to his bones cracking and his brain was still dizzy. At the same time, he told himself that sitting was better because of those birds that kept flying around him, even though they were only in his head. Eventually, telling himself that it was enough feeling weird, he shook his head again, several times.

Eventually, when he could see normally again, Boor decided to stand up. However, he didn’t get to do that because of a hand that grabbed him from behind and lifted him up. Something that Boor didn’t expect and, at the same time, something that made him frown. Then, when he felt the bird named Anger flapping in his chest because the boldness, of that someone to attack him, was something he disliked, Boor turned his head and furiously looked at the enemy. Yet, seeing a big wooden nose in front of him, he widely opened his eyes and quickly blinked, looking straight into those green eyes that were trying to pierce him. However, even though seeing Blue Beard was surprising, Boor decided not to let the enemy know that just not to allow the tree to feel himself a winner. Boor even frowned to let the tree know that he wasn't afraid of him. The same did Blue Beard eventually, hissing through his teeth:

„Who are you and what are you doing here, disturbing my silence?”

Boor, listening to the tree’s question, frowned again. Then, feistily, he said, „I didn't come here willingly if something. I’ve been „brought” here.” After that, crossing his arms over his chest, God looked askance at the tree. „Thus, if you have additional questions about why I am here, ask the lianas because they have been so „kind” to invite me to this place.”

„As though the lianas talk!” Blue Beard mumbled, grouchy. Then, looking to his left, where Grey Bark was, he asked, „Do you know something about this?”

Gray Bark, listening to his friend’s question, shrugged a hint that he had no idea about this. Yet, understanding that only shrugging wasn’t enough, he looked around, asking the other trees for an answer. One that he didn’t receive eventually because the other trees also didn’t know it.

„Weird! Damn weird!” Murmured Kherā. After that, throwing Boor for a few seconds up, caught him in his right palm right after that. Then, approaching the palm to his eyes, he carefully analyzed the „intruder.”

Boor, even though hated to be the aim of someone's research, decided to stay calm. Yet, he decided this only after he understood that it was a damn bad idea to fall foul of the forest. It was a bad idea to fall foul of the old trees as Blue Beard or Gray Bark. Why? Because he found out this from Dike, who told him once, „If you ever start an argument with the secular trees of Rophion Forest then, for sure, you end up badly. This won’t happen because they are mean, but because they are stubborn. A stubbornness they achieved after centuries and centuries of living on earth. That’s why, if you want to make him friends, it’s better to stay calm and wait for them to understand that they need you too as a friend and not as an enemy.”

The minutes passed, but nothing changed eventually. Nothing except the fact that Boor was turned to the left and to the right by Blue Beard in his attempt to see what kind of devilish being he was keeping in his palm. Thus, seeing himself as the object of the tree’s research, Boor hissed through his teeth eventually, „Will we continue this for long? I mean… sniffing the other just to see who he is?”

„Well, maybe you are right,” murmured Kherā grouchy. „Yet, you can’t deny the fact that it’s weird. Specifically you, for… I have never seen someone like you by now.”

„As though I’m something out of the ordinary,” murmured Boor. „I'm a simple living creature!”

„No, no, no, you aren’t that simple!” Said Kherā feisty. Namely, the tone of his voice made Boor understand that the tree was ready for a fight. That’s why he reproachfully shook his head again, understanding that arguing wasn’t good. Yet, it seemed to be something inevitable.

Nevertheless, even if Boor thought that it would be a very long argument, Kherā left him alone when he saw Bestla and Samaya appearing not that far from him. He even widely opened his eyes when he heard Bestla telling him, feisty. „If you are in the mood of arguing with someone, then argue with me, old freaky, and leave my father alone!”

„What?” Murmured Kherā, amazed, for he definitely didn’t expect a girl like Bestla to be against him. Thus, being focused on her, he „dropped” Boor from his palm, and God went head over heels right away. Something that amazed the tree even more. Then, feeling a little bit ashamed, Kherā said, „Ups! Sorry, with no mean intention!” He even started to blink quickly from his wooden eyelashes when he saw his „toy” dizzy. „I just went too excited!”

Kherā’s words made Samaya burst into laughing eventually, for she thought that the tree did a very good joke by saying what he said. Well, not the same thought had Boor. He, after chasing the dizziness away by shaking his head, looked askance at Samaya, hissing her through his teeth, „Who do you care about now? About him or about me?” Yet, even if she saw him „furious,” Samaya couldn’t stop laughing. A burst of laughter that got to Bestla too, who smiled eventually.

The trees, not understanding what made the girls laugh, looked at them, confused. Kherā even asked while scratching the back of his head, „Did I say something funny?”

„Absolutely!” Replied Samaya cheerfully. Then, with the help of the liana, she climbed on his left shoulder. After that, comfortable sitting on the tree’s shoulder, she looked at Bestla and Boor, who were already sitting one next to the other, dead serious, staring at the tree that seemed to be a witty one. Well, Bestla was doing the same as her father because she understood that it was right in such moments… for a girl to be by her father’s side and not because she didn’t consider the joke funny.

Seeing the father and the daughter so serious and ready for a fight, Kherā turned his head toward Samaya and whispered, „It seems that I have been out of line earlier with that joke!” Yet, what he said, was an open secret because everyone heard what he whispered because of his powerful voice. That’s why he frowned while looking at the other trees when he heard them chortling.

Samaya, however, understanding what the tree was confused about, whispered into his ear, „I also think so. That’s why I say to leave that lady free now. If not, if she gets crazy, then she definitely turns us into icicles.”

„Actually, I hear you!” Hissed Bestla through her teeth. Samaya… only shrugged, smiling.

Only Kherā looked at Bestla, confused. Then, thoughtful, as though trying to remember if he knew her from somewhere, he whispered, „Is she the Princess of Ice?”

„Aga, and the other one, who got his bell rung because of you, is no other than the God of the Winds, Boor.” Then, winking, she smiled again.

Kherā, listening to her words, widely opened his eyes. „I think I’m dead after this.” Then, looking at Boor, he sketched a weird smile with his wooden lips, „No offense! We were just playing!”

„As though this is something one can play with,” growled Boor, for he really disliked the tree’s joke. Then, helping Bestla to unwrap the liana, he kept mumbling. Yet, he helped the girl because he was afraid that liana would throw Bestla too, just as it did to him.

Kherā, at all bothered by Boor’s upset, smiled. Then, crossing the arms on his wooden chest, he told Boor confidently, „If you had told us who you are, I wouldn’t have been so mean to you. More than that, we would have played your game. Yet, how you didn’t say a word to me, I received the guests as I considered that it’s right.”

Boor reproachfully shook his head. Then, he snarled through his teeth, „It’s definitely useless to argue with you. You are as stubborn as a donkey.”

„A donkey? What’s this?” Kherā asked Samaya in amazement.

His question made the girl smile. Then, not to offend Kherā, she told him, „Aaaa… a magical animal. Very sweet actually.” Then, looking at Boor and Bestla, who were already with their backs to her and looking at the flowers and at the butterflies seen in that glade, she said, „Beautiful, isn’t it?”

„Yep, and you haven’t been definitely wrong. This is a New Wonder of the World,” murmured Boor.

Gray Bark, listening to that answer, felt upset. Moreover, he got angry, feeling no enthusiasm in God’s voice. That’s why he told Boor, proudly, „Wonder is a too little word to describe this place. This is a celestial Blessing, for, nowhere else in Rophion Forest, you can find such a place.” A remark that made Boor look askance at the tree, as though he was asking, „Aren’t you over exaggerating right now?”

However, the wrong one was Boor because Gray Bark wasn’t exaggerating. Actually, he couldn’t be wrong as far as he saw only that glade and no other one. The reason? Unlike Kherā, who could wander the forest whenever he wanted, Gray Bark was a captive of the place where he grew up. That’s why that place was Heaven for him.

Thus, listening to Bestla mumbling, „We have seen better places than this one,” he frowned. Nevertheless, even though he wanted to say something sweet to the girl for her boldness, he kept quiet when he spotted Kherā’s sign to keep his mouth shut. The reason? Well, Kherā was thinking that it was definitely a bad idea to argue with the Princess of Ice. More than that, when none of them knew what a Princess of Ice could invent to punish them. So, as they didn’t want to be turned into icicles and not be able to protect the forest anymore, they decided that it was a wiser decision to keep quiet.

Definitely, it had been a wise thought because, soon after this, he saw Bestla surrounding that place with mirrors. Thus, when the image of that place had been reflected on each mirror, outlining the perfection and beauty of that glade, Kherā murmured, charmed, „A real splendor. I didn’t know that a place can look like this in others’eyes.”

„It’s only magic, Kherā. Nothing more,” whispered Samaya. This was so for her, the one used to Bestla’s tricks and to see the image reflected in the mirrors from a different angle. For the trees, however, seeing that glade differently, was something magic. That’s why all of them looked like charmed while looking at that image in the mirrors.

Eventually, Kherā happily shouted, „Yet, this is something magic for us, those who live here for millennia. Something new and magic.”

„Maybe you are right, Kherā. Yet, let’s get back to business! Why did you summon us here?”

„Did I summon you? I?” Asked Kherā in amazement. „No, I didn’t summon anyone here.”

„I think you did that. Do you know why? Because, on our way here, we saw the Guardians of the Night. Just as you used to summon my father, Fenrir, and me when you wanted to talk to us, while I was still a child.”

„But, Princess Samaya, I definitely didn’t summon anyone here,” Kherā murmured, more confused than before. „Maybe the other trees summoned you here, huh?” Samaya shrugged. That’s why Kherā suddenly shouted, „Hei, did any of you summon these three friends here?” The trees, however, shook their crowns in denial. Thus, seeing that the other trees were also confused, Blue Beard touched his wooden beard with his palm and thoughtfully said, „Hm, weird! It’s definitely weird.”

„What if this is a message sent by someone else?” Said Gray Bark suddenly. Because of this, the others looked at him in amazement. „Let’s not forget that the Guardians of the Night aren’t controlled only by the trees of Baradar’s Glade, but also by Baradar himself.”

„Ah, yes!” Said Samaya, as though she remembered that just what. „I forgot about the minikin. Actually… we came here to meet him. Did any of you know where he is?”

„Hm, if I’m not mistaken, last time I spoke to him, he said that he and Shiver Sun would go to the Glade of Shadows. They said something about an evil bird that was about to awaken,” replied Kherā.

„Then, they talked about Tarther for sure. And… yes, Tarther is about to awaken,” murmured Samaya thoughtfully.

„And, if there is no secret related to that, how can we get to that famous Glade of Shadows?” Asked Bestla suddenly.

„We can’t. Actually, none of us knows how to get there,” Gray Bark replied.

Listening to the tree’s answer, Boor puffed through his nostrils, „Huh, you don’t know something that simple like this, but you keep calling yourselves the Guardians of the Rophion Forest. How is this possible not to know that?”

„It’s because we are only the Guardians of this Glade, not of the whole forest,” murmured Gray Bark sadly because God’s words reminded him about their limited power. „Actually, many of us haven’t ever left this place.”

„Maybe it’s as you say, but… I still think you can communicate with the other trees, right?” Insisted Bestla.

„Well, we are able to communicate with them,” replied Kherā, winded. „In most cases, yes. Now, however, we can’t because the trees from the other part of the forest don’t answer our questions anymore. They ignore us, but we don’t know why they do that or why they hate us.”

„The Glade!” Said Samaya, suddenly standing up. „It’s because the Glade of Shadows is in the other part of the forest.”

„It can be only an illusion, Samaya. Let’s not forget that Rophion Forest, just like any other forest, can be tricky.”

„God Boor is right, Princess. We don’t know what it’s hidden there,” insisted Gray Bark. „It can be dangerous going there, in an unknown place. I say that’s better to wait because, for sure, we’ll receive an answer to our questions.”

„It can be too late, Gray Bark. Thus, as I simply don’t like to do things randomly, I say to head toward there and find out what’s hidden there. So, Kherā, put me on the ground! There is no time to waste.”

„Oh, maybe you are right!” Murmured Kherā, winded as he generally used to talk. After that, bending a little, he put Samaya on the ground. „Princess, what do you hope to find there? That bird, Tarther?”

„No, Kherā!” Replied Samaya confidently. „I need to find the minikin.”

„To find Baradar? Why?”

„It’s… necessary! Actually, this is a long story. I’ll tell it later when better times come. Now, take care of yourself, Kherā!” After that, bending in front of the trees, Samaya turned her back to Boor and Bestla, who she told, „Let’s check there! I’m sure we can find him there.”

„If you say so?!” Murmured Bestla, bored. Then, touching the ground with her palm, she pushed herself up to stand up because she formed the mirrors while sitting. Yet, even though she was already on her feet, ready to go, those mirrors didn’t vanish. This happened because of Samaya, who suddenly grabbed Bestla’s arm.

„What’s wrong?” Asked Bestla in amazement. She even thought that Samaya’s behavior was weird because she saw her friend staring at one of the mirrors.

Yet, not receiving an answer from the she-wolf, Bestla looked at her father. Boor, however, who seemed to understand what was wrong with Samaya, told his daughter telepathically, „It seems to me that Samaya has a vision. Let’s give her some minutes to see what Fate wants to tell her this time.”

Bestla, even though didn’t understand great things from what her father said or what could see Samaya reflected in that mirror, kept silent. Anyway, she didn’t have anything else to do at that moment. Yet, keeping silent, she gave Samaya some time to understand what was going on with that Glade.

In that mirror, Samaya saw Baradar crossing that Glade in front of which they were at that moment. He wasn’t with Shiver Sun in that vision, but alone, surrounded by white butterflies with those black circles on their wings. More than that, what surprised her the most was to see, on the right wing of a big white butterfly, which was standing on a red flower that could be found to the left of the minikin, a mini-golden key. Actually, not only this was surprising at the butterfly, but also the fact that it seemed to talk to Baradar. That’s why Samaya wondered, confused, „Is it Baradar the Lock of Destiny?” Then, right after saying those words, she saw the golden key, hanging on a thin bracelet at the left hand of the minikin. „Yes, it seems so.” That’s why, understanding that she wasn’t wrong, she closed her eyes and sighed. Then, only seconds after this, Samaya, in her wolf body, followed by Boor and Bestla, crossed that glade running, heading toward the famous Glade of Shadows.