„Baradar, do you hear me? I’m Noea! I’m here, right next to you. Don’t you see me? I’m right here! I’m here!” Noea’s voice was pleasantly resounding everywhere in Rophion Forest. Her sweet voice made little Tarther powerfully shake his head, trying to chase the dark thoughts away.

Then, the moment he felt that he couldn’t stand for that secret calling of Noea, little Tarther let an infernal shout come out of his throat. When he shouted, flames had been thrown all around him. After that, as though little Tarther’s power vanished, only sparks were seen coming out of his throat. Sparkles that made the bird cough eventually as though something stuck in his throat.

Little Tarther stopped coughing the moment he heard Noea’s voice again. „Baradar, Baradar, where are you?” She called his name again.

„I’m here!” The minikin’s voice was heard coming out of the bird’s throat, which he turned into, as though he was closed in a barrel. Then, as though he was unable to control himself anymore, little Tarther started to change so suddenly into the minikin and back. Yet, even if he looked weird, ugly, and scared, he was the same frightened and shy Baradar, who awoke once in Mortor Forest, not recognizing himself anymore. Then, just like that moment, he saw the forest burning. Yet, unlike that time, when the Noears fell and he saw the future of Mortor Forest, Baradar saw the present of Rophion Forest at that moment, whose guardian he had been for seven millennia.

Seeing the forest burning, the eyes of the weird creature named Baradar filled with tears. „Have I done this?” The creature wondered with the minikin’s voice. „Am I really guilty for this havoc?”

„What if you are guilty of this?” Baradar heard Taya’s voice this time, a voice that made him wince and look afraid around. Not seeing anybody, he felt more confused than before. Moreover, when Taya added, „I mean the guilt from your soul, minikin.”

„Guilt? But… what guilt do I have?” The weird creature tried to stand against Taya’s idea, frowning. „I did nothing. The forest is to blame for this.”

„Are you sure?” Kam asked.

„Of course! Or what… do you think that a kind creature like me can hurt his own forest?” In the last part, the creature hissed the words through her teeth. „No, impossible! I’m Baradar! I’m the Spirit of this Forest. I can’t destroy it with my own hands.”

„You’ve actually done this,” Akka scolded the minikin with a thick voice. „If you don’t believe me, just look around! These are the flames thrown from your throat… those that burn this forest now.”

„Don't beat about the bush,” the creature shouted, angry. „It’s impossible for me to have done this. I’m a minikin. I don’t throw flames around. Or what, do you have visions?”

Kam laughed. „The one who has visions is actually you.”

„Yeah, right!” The minikin replied, irritated. „And… who you said you are?” He asked, looking around again, but seeing nobody.

„We?” The three Tayakkam answered at the same time. „We are you!”

„That’s impossible! How can there be two ME at the same time?”

„Of course, it's possible because… there are two YOU in this world. Oh, no: there are three YOU in this world - the minikin, the weird creature, and the firebird.”

The minikin winced, listening to the three voices enumerating his three parts: Akka, Taya, and Kam. Yet, not this was what amazed him the most but to hear that there was a firebird. That’s why he suddenly asked, „What firebird? The one from above?” After that, he looked at the Big Tarther, the one caught in the trap of lightning. Then, when the Titan of Doubt appeared in front of him, the minikin looked at him, hearing him saying:

„Of course not. That’s Big Tarther. You are the little one.”

„I? The little Tarther? What are you talking about?” The creature asked, raising on his rear legs only a little bit, still touching the ground with his fingers. „More than that, who did you say you are?” He asked again, staring at a time in Akka, Taya, and Kam’s eyes.

When he looked into Kam’s eyes, the weird creature with the name Baradar felt that he hesitated even if he shouldn't have hesitated at that moment. While looking at Kam, Baradar felt that the boy reminded him about himself, „About the little Baradar that existed once,” he murmured in the end.

„That’s right,” Noea’s voice was heard again behind him, something that made Baradar wince and look back. He did that so suddenly without being able to control himself anymore. And, so soon, he changed into that Baradar that had existed a long time ago. Seeing him, that imaginary Noea burst into laughter. Her laughter was so melodious, so pleasant to hear around. Moreover, when she said, „That little Baradar, who appeared at the door of my house once, seven millennia ago, like a small bird, the one I protected and warmed to my chest without being aware that I was protecting a snake in fact…”

***

SEVEN MILLENNIA AGO

The murmur of Mortor Forest was heard far in the distance. It was somehow weird, as though thousands of hands would have hit small drums at the same time. And not only was this strange but also the sound of water that was heard all around and whose source was unknown. Then, somewhere on the horizon, a star appeared.

Seeing the star, Noea frowned. „What’s that?” She wondered, seeing the sparkle of the star somewhere in the sky of the western part of her kingdom. „It looks like Maraṇa, the Star of Death! Yet, it’s that star, but… how is this possible? This star didn’t appear in the Sky of Noears for three millennia already. The last time Maraṇa was seen in the sky was the day our beloved king Mirianor died. Now this star shines again, like a prediction that this people will fall. This can't be! No, never, this is impossible because… it’s not what I’ve seen in the water. I didn’t see the falling of the People of Noear, but its glory! Yet, Maraṇa fully shines this night! Why?”

A thought that suddenly crossed her mind made the queen wince. „What about checking what the deal with that star is?” She heard it in her head. Whose thought it was, Noea wasn’t sure. She only knew that it wasn’t hers. Even so, she decided that it was a wise thought and decided to check what the deal with the star in the Sky of Noears was. She simply couldn’t be indifferent to what she felt at that moment and to that presentiment from her soul.

While getting down the steps of the palace, a lot of thoughts crossed Noea’s mind: hundreds or maybe thousands of thoughts. Each of those thoughts had something to do with what Noea felt at that moment. And, for an unknown reason to her, the queen started to fear the outside world. Because of this, right before stepping over the threshold of her Palace, she stopped and looked at the red horizon even if it was 3 a.m. at that moment. Even so, even if it was night outside, a thick red stripe was seen in the sky, a line that seemed to connect the Sky and the Earth. And, right above that line, Noea saw that shining star she started to fear… Maraṇa.

Soon after this, Noea swallowed hard when she saw, coming straight toward her, the black horse of the souls. „Pegasus?!” She murmured. „How is this possible? This horse disappeared more than three millennia ago. No, this horse disappeared the day King Mirianor died. The same day Maraṇa disappeared. There seems to be a connection between them, but… which one? What links our King Mirianor, Pegasus, and Maraṇa? It’s what I can’t understand.”

After she whispered these words, Noea kept silent. She said nothing else until Pegasus got to the stone and marble stairs of her palace. Once there, the horse stopped. Before that, he drew a few circles while running in front of the queen. Then, he knelt right in front of the stairs and waited. Not for long, because Noea, a wise woman, understood the message he tried to send to her right away. That’s why, after she climbed on his back, she allowed Pegasus to take her toward the horizon, crossing lands and water, surrounding more than half of her kingdom. The reason? She didn’t know it. Not until they got to the edge of Mortor Forest. Getting there, Pegasus stopped and, hitting the ground with his right front hoof, he neighed several times.

„He summons someone here!” Noea thought. Then, feeling a strange calling inside, the queen lay on the horse’s back, touching his black-like pitch skin with her left ear, closed her eyes, and waited. The pleasant music of the stallion’s heartbeats was heard in her ears, a heart that was strangely beating after the long ride. Yet, those heartbeats calmed Noea, allowing her to fall prey to dreaming… so pleasant that music was.

A strange peep, heard somewhere around her, made Noea wince. Looking around, the queen saw nobody. Not until her eyes caught a movement right next to the first row of trees. And, right after this, she felt that that peep was coming from there. Yet, not even after minutes of looking over there, she saw nobody. Even so, she was sure that there was somebody there. That’s why Noea slowly tapped Pegasus’s neck and the horse knelt, allowing her to descend off his back.

„Wait for me here, Pegasus!” Noea told the horse, caressing his mane. „I’ll be back soon!” After that, still caressing the stallion’s mane, who shook his head as though telling Noea that he understood her message, the queen smiled, and, turning her back to Pegasus, she headed toward the Forest.

Once at the edge of the forest, next to the first row of trees, Noea stopped. She even closed her eyes when she felt that she had to do that. Instead, she widely opened the gate of her soul, pricking her ears while listening to the silence and the loneliness of the forest during the night. She heard a pleasant silence all over, for a long time. Then, again, that weak peep was heard somewhere to her right. Looking over there, she saw a weird shining: a small featherless bird. Yes, his silhouette Noea saw, even if the light was weak in that part of the forest. To be able to see better around her, the queen turned on the small star Cetil from her crown, making it powerfully illuminate the surroundings with its holy light. Only after this, Noea saw that she hadn’t been wrong and that there was a defenseless bird, who was barely standing to his feet while clapping his featherless wings. He was right next to the trunk of a huge tree. And, right next to the bird, Noea saw the eggshells of the egg from inside of which the bird appeared into this world.

Seeing the little bird and the eggshells, Noea frowned. „Did he fall from the nest?!” She wondered. „It seems so, but… which nest he fell from?!” Looking up, through the branches of the trees, Noea saw no nest. She didn’t see it, not even when she rose up, trying to see better through the branches. This made her frown again and say, „There is nothing up here: no nest or bird. More than that… what kind of bird left the egg behind, in the shelter of a trunk? Was he abandoned by his mother?!”

The desperate peep of the bird softened Noea’s heart and she descended to the ground again. Then, feeling mercy for him because of that maternal feeling that awoke in her chest, Noea took the bird in her arms. The warmth of her body calmed the bird down, making him weakly peep for another few seconds. Yet, hearing the gurgle of a baby, Noea looked in amazement to her chest where she saw that she held a baby-minikin in her arms and not a bird. This made her shake her head, trying to chase the bad thoughts away. She even wondered, „Did I have visions about the bird? No, it can’t because I saw the eggshells…” Nevertheless, looking toward the trunk of the tree again, Noea saw no eggshells there. This made her so confused because… did she really see things?!

Suddenly, looking into the black eyes of the minikin, the queen shuddered because she saw, in his glance, the reflection of Mortor Forest in flames. „What’s this?” She wondered again. „Mortor Forest in flames? But… why? Why?”

She forgot about her concern the moment the baby-minikin moved at her chest. He even pleasantly gurgled when he felt the warmth of Noea’s body again. This made the queen stick her forehead to his and murmur, „Baradar! This will be your name forever, child! Baradar - it means Eternal Life and Wisdom! You’ll be the treasure of Noears!” Yet, what the queen didn’t know at that moment was that she gave a holy name not to an innocent soul, but to the havoc that was about to bring Death closer to her people and her home…

***

Crying, Baradar looked in the distance, at the images of his past, when he’d been a little child, held by his queen to her chest, his beloved queen Noea. „Love rewarded with tears!” The minikin murmured. „Love which I destroyed even if I didn’t want this!”

„Yet, it’s a love you’ll never forget!” The minikin heard Noea’s voice to his right. Looking over there, he saw Noea, the one that lived once, staring at the images of their past, one that only they had ever known. „It’s still the love we both cared about, even if we suffered so much because of this. Yes, I paid for this love with three millennia of freedom next to Pegasus while you’d been the captive of your own Curse, Baradar… a curse that kept you here, in this Holy Forest. A forest that you love so much and you’ve always defended with your heart, minikin!”

„Yes, my queen: I love this forest so much, but I’ve destroyed it today with my own hands, just as I did to Mortor Forest seven millennia ago,” Baradar murmured, with his eyes bathed by bitter tears, staring at his scratched hands, which the weird creature, into which he had transformed before, injured while walking on all fours.

„And you are right! You did this, Baradar! It’s a decision you’ll pay for eventually! Just as I paid because I held you to my chest that day. However, it’s not the same because… you do not pay for decisions now, but for not being able to see beyond reality.”

„Is it because of Fate? Is Fate to blame for all this?”

„Maybe! Or… maybe others are to blame for this! Who knows, Baradar?! There are so many secrets in this world that one isn’t capable of knowing them all.”

„What about you, my queen? You should know them all because… you are a Stream of Wisdom!”

„I was, Baradar! I’m not anymore! Today, I’m only the illusion of the past and the hologram of a holy love that exists only in your heart. Love you must let go if you want to save this world.”

„To let go? What exactly? Love?” Noea kept silent. Then, she smiled at Baradar, so beautifully she smiled while looking at him, saying goodbye to him at that moment. Then, so suddenly, she vanished. „No, my queen!” The minikin shouted, stretching his hands in front while trying to catch the past by the tail and keep it by his side… forever, just as he hoped his love wouldn’t ever go, his love, which did so much evil to the world, but which Baradar wanted to keep closer to him.

Yet, Baradar had to let that past go. Instead, he allowed darkness to surround him. He allowed the Shadows, the smoke, and the fog, controlled by Samaya, Anaya, and Bestla to surround him too. Smoke that made Baradar vanish the moment the hologram of a second Ring of Fate appeared above him. This made Big Tarther desperately cry, madly shouting his pain of losing his last hope to turn the earth to ashes.

Eventually, when the hologram of the Ring of Fate, which seemed to protect Dike and the others, sent its energy toward the chains made from lightning, Big Tarther was released and let fly freely toward the black horizon that stretched far in the distance. Big Tarther didn’t look back even for a second after being released. Only his deafening shouts were still heard around… shouts that allowed others to understand the bird’s pain of losing his beloved brother and friend, Baradar, who vanished as sparkles after he left his past behind, forgetting his big love… Noea.

***

„I hope your path to Aeon will be smooth, minikin,” Nikkari whispered, grieving, worshiping in front of the image of Baradar, the one who vanished like sparkles of fire or maybe of stars. „I also hope we’ll have luck in the battles that wait for us, which will catch up with us eventually.”

„Do you really think so?” Nikkari heard Vāḻkkai’s voice to her right. This made her wince and look at Vāḻkkai, somehow scared because she thought her interlocutor was only a hologram. She understood soon that she wasn’t talking to a hologram but to a real person. Understanding this, Nikkari right away worshiped in front of Life, murmuring:

„You are here!”

„Yes, I’m here,” Vāḻkkai whispered. „I’m here because it’s time to tell you what’s next, Nikkari. Now that the first Ring of Fate has been activated, it’s time for us to follow the initial plan.”

„The first Ring of Fate has been activated? By whom?”

„By the Oracle. Who else could activate it? There are so few in this world and even in the Cosmos who know the real importance of the Six Rings of Fate.”

„Yes, it’s true: only a few souls know about this. Even so… it’s impossible what you say, Vāḻkkai, that the Oracle is on earth when we know that he has vanished centuries ago. Yes, it’s impossible. It can’t be because we have looked for him for many centuries without being able to find him.”

„This is because we have never looked for him where we should have looked. He was underground, but we looked for him on the surface.”

„The Tunnels of Ārakkiḷ!” Murmured Nikkari, confused. „Why didn't I think of that before?”

Vāḻkkai smiled, looking at Nikkari. „We didn’t find him before because it wasn’t the time to find him, yet. That’s why we didn’t think about the Tunnels of Ārakkiḷ. Actually, it doesn’t even matter anymore right now, where he has been hiding. What’s important is that he’s back at the right time.”

„What if his presence doesn’t help us too much? Let’s not forget that many things have changed since the Oracle disappeared. The same happened to Maranam. He also changed. Maranam is stronger now and has Tikil and the Coal Burners with him. And not only them, but other creatures have joined his army too.”

„Other creatures? Who? The nymphs?”

Nikkari shook her head. „No. I’m talking about Āram and the Virgins Uyarvu. They, at Helyos’s command, joined the army of evil and not the army of Inlan Diar as it should have been.”

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„Uyarvu are by Maranam’s side?” Life asked, confused. „Why?”

„I don’t know the answer to this question. Not yet. That’s why I’ve sent some spies to their hideout. I hope to hear some good news about this soon.”

„It won’t help us too much, I think. To find out the reason why Uyarvu joined the army of evil, I mean,” murmured Vāḻkkai, frowning. „I think that it’s more important for us to activate the rest of the Rings of Fate now. It’s the only way we can avoid this earth to be turned to ruins.”

„It goes without saying. Yet… I thought once a Ring is activated, it’ll be a chain effect and the rest of the Rings would be activated too.”

„I thought so too, Nikkari. Nevertheless, I’ve been wrong because only the Ring of Fate above the Camp of Rophions has been activated. The rest are still hidden, as though an external force influences them.”

„Let’s activate them manually then,” suggested Nikkari, confident. She even took the medallion in the form of a Ring of Fate in her hand, the one she was wearing under her clothes. Then, looking at the medallion, just as Vāḻkkai was doing, Nikkari smiled and said, „I never thought I would be able to do this. Yet, this is a sacrifice we need at this moment.”

Resting her palm on Nikkari’s left shoulder, Vāḻkkai smiled but said nothing. She only carefully looked at the sad smile sketched on Nikkari’s face, who was still looking at the medallion, which she got to squeeze in her hand. Only in the end, when Nikkari dared and looked into her eyes, Vāḻkkai said, „You made this sacrifice when you blew up Coallar’s grotto.”

„Yet, it didn’t help us too much.”

„This is what you think… that it had been a useless sacrifice. I think differently because if Coallar had destroyed the wild boars Paṉṟi, then his huge power, which we actually needed to save this world from destruction, would have vanished once he was dead.”

„Power,” murmured Nikkari barely heard. „Everybody wants power, but so few are capable of having it eventually. Even if someone gets the power, there are fewer those that appreciate that they have it.”

„Maybe you are right, Nikkari. Nevertheless, if power hadn’t existed, Balance wouldn’t have existed too.”

„Instead… there would have been people and kindness.”

„This doesn’t mean that war or betrayal wouldn't have existed either. If power hadn’t existed in this world, people would have invented something else to have a reason to fight for.”

„Or maybe they would have focused all their energy on creation, don’t you also think so?”

Vāḻkkai said nothing else. She only looked at the Ring of Fate again, the one reflected on the wall in front of them. It started to move in circles the moment Nikkari threw the medallion she had squeezed in her hand until that moment, a medallion that took his place right in the center of the labyrinth from inside of the Ring, activating its mechanism this way. That one was a much more complex mechanism than the one Nikkari saw at that Ring or the Rophions saw at their Ring of Fate. Only Vāḻkkai was capable of seeing the beauty of that mechanism. It reflected a lost world - the Īṭaṉ Ellaiyaṟṟa or the Lost Eden, the one she wanted to rebirth from ashes even if this had meant she had to destroy the earth, that world that received her with wide open arms when she came there, a realm that she could have also called at home if she had wanted this.

***

A blue light, a holy light came out of Ionas’s sheath. The same light was seen all above the forest in fact, where the first Ring of Fate was seen slowly moving in circles. Not only the ring was moving at that moment, but that holy light too. It was somehow connected to Ionas’s power, which surrounded the body of Titan Dike, which he „forgot” in the lap of the forest when Dike split his body and power to be able to spy on the evil as a wolf. Yet, what he didn’t know at that moment was that, by leaving his human body behind, he brought danger closer to him. How exactly? Very simple: as long as the power of the Titan and of the wolf were split, his human body could be easily hurt if someone wanted that. The same happened to the flames, which threatened that body to turn it to ashes… so fast they approached it.

Eventually, the flames stopped only two steps from the Titan. Yet, they still had the chance to surround him from everywhere, even though they were stopped at the border of an invisible circle, which suddenly appeared around Dike. It wasn’t due to the power of Ionas, which activated when the Ring of Fate above the Camp of Rophions activated too. It was due to Kherā’s power, who stood only a few steps from the Titan, looking around while feeling unending pain. Yes, it was something that killed him inside, to see his brothers and friends scorched by the evil of the flames. „As though it was written this way: to not be able to do something to comfort or protect them,” Kherā murmured while hot tears, drops of his soul, were running down his wooden cheek.

„Yet, Kherā, this is an evil we can’t fight against,” Kherā heard Gray Bark’s voice, somewhere to his left. Yet, even if he clearly heard those words, Blue Beard didn’t turn to look at his good friend, who dared to uproot his wooden body after millennia of living in the same place. Yes, both Kherā and Gray Bark left their dear glade behind, the place from where their roots drank the serum of life, just to wander the world for the last time, following Life’s footsteps.

Only in the end, when he was sure that Dike’s body was protected by the power of Ionas and of the Ring of Fate from above when the black smoke created by Samaya’s power and of the others extinguished the flames, Kherā looked at the tree from his left. Gray Bark also looked at the forest around, with sadness, telling him, „I’m aware of this, my friend. Yet, this isn’t something to make me feel better.”

„How can it be different, Kherā? These places and these trees are our history! So many memories left behind, turned to ashes and smoke, trampled by those with no heart. Here are hundreds if not thousands of friends that died. Just as it died Mortor Forest millennia ago.”

Kherā sighed. The tree deeply sighed after such words, bowing his crown and looking at his wooden legs, with his eyes closed. Yet, he felt his legs. He felt them so heavy, even if his green eyes didn’t see them. Kherā saw them instead with the eyes of nature, listening to its whisper, even if he didn’t have the power to hear all the sounds of the world around him. „Sounds that my heart has listened to so many times before,” Kherā murmured as though answering the question of his thoughts. „My heart heard that whisper so clearly, the one which told me once that this world is in danger. I didn’t believe it that day. I trusted this world so much that I didn’t believe that whisper. No, I was too charmed by Life and its scent. Something that makes me understand now that Life can be tricky, that Life can be even crueler than Death is.”

„What if you are wrong, Kherā? What if not Life is to blame for this, but us?”

„We? What do you mean, Gray Bark?”

„That… ignoring things, we’ve only allowed evil to destroy our homes, to take friends from us, and bring sadness in our eyes?”

„What about the choices we’ve made? Can't we really have a word to say in this war?”

„Of course, we have choices,” Gray Bark said in a low voice. „We can rebuild this world after this. We can watch it renewing from ashes like a magic bird, the one which flies toward the sky. Like that bird-time, which our Oracle loved hundreds of years ago.”

Kherā winced. „The Oracle? Why didn’t I think about this before?! He’s been the first to announce the death of this forest. Yes, he talked to us about this when he was a child. He was only a little boy when he said that, but we didn’t believe him. Yeh, how much truth was in his words that day.”

„He said the truth that day, Kherā,” Dike’s voice was heard behind the two trees so suddenly, making them wince and look behind them, scared because they knew the Titan’s body was protected by the sword, but that he wasn’t there. Yet, seeing him there, not alone but with Boor and the rest of those who accompanied Dike at that moment, the two trees quickly blinked from their wooden eyelashes. How not to be surprised when they saw everybody healthy even after a long day of fighting with Big Tarther, a fight that made them feel tired and hopeless. This was clearly seen in everybody’s eyes.

More than that, Kherā had been surprised to see Samaya unconscious, lying on the back of the pony Vintai, who was to the Titan’s right. Seeing her, Kherā widely opened his green eyes because it was surprising for him to see Samaya asleep. He saw her asleep only when she was still a little she-wolf and loved to sleep in the Glade of the Minikin. Yet, sleeping as a human, the old tree had never seen her before. Actually, it was strange to them to see someone asleep because the secular trees almost never slept, even if they were often seen with their eyes closed. Then, when he could control his emotions, the old tree took a step toward the Titan, asking him, „What’s wrong with Princess Samaya? Is she hurt?”

Dike shook his head. „No, she’s just tired. This world makes her feel so,” he said, in a low voice. „Actually, more than this world, Samaya felt tired because of Big Tarther’s power, the one who finally awoke and left so much pain behind him.”

„We also saw this,” Kherā sadly said. „We also heard this… the pain in the hearts of our friends, those who aren’t on earth anymore.”

„They’ll revive when this war is ended,” Lodur said eventually, suddenly appearing there along with Gaea when that thick black smoke had been dispersed a little bit. „I’m sure of this. Now, until nothing unpredictable happens, let’s return to the camp.”

„We will stay here,” murmured Kherā in a sad voice.

„No, Kherā,” Dike opposed the tree’s idea. „You must come with us to the camp. Only there we’ll be safe because the Barrier… the Barrier can keep our enemies far from us.”

„The Barrier is gone, Master Dike,” Gray Bark told Dike. His words amazed everybody, not only Dike. Yet, only the Titan asked:

„What do you mean by it's gone? What happened to it?”

„It fell,” said Kherā this time, closing his eyes when the pain overwhelmed him. „It fell when the first Ring of Fate was reactivated.”

Hearing about the Ring, Dike winced and looked around. Thus, he saw the projection of that first Ring of Fate above them. Yet, this didn’t deceive him because Dike felt that something else was behind that Ring. He felt it deeply in his heart. That’s why he looked east, where the camp was, and he saw, right above the camp, the red light of the Ring of Fate. „It can’t be!” The Titan finally murmured. „The end, which we all feared so much, is close.”

„Or maybe it’s only the beginning,” said Ahi confidently, passing by Dike and heading toward the camp along with Anaya and Tayakkam, who followed him right away.

Kherā, who had never seen Ahi before, frowned. More than that, it was strange for him because he never saw a ghost fox or another weird Titan. That’s why he stared behind them until they’d been covered by fog and smoke. Yet, the moment the smoke covered the three for a few seconds, Kherā saw not their real bodies, but the projection of their souls: an old hunched man and a red fox. Only Tayakkam had been seen as he really was because, despite the fact that he was the Titan of Doubt, his soul was pure. Thus, once the world’s meanness never touched him, he didn’t have a weird projection in the eyes of an old tree that was able to see the future of a soul. Thus, staring behind the three, Kherā understood another thing: that Life was to be lived and Fate to be faced and not run from them.

Understanding this, the old tree closed his eyes for a few moments. After that, slowly bowed in front of Dike, who kept staring at the tree and not understanding anything of what happened to him at that moment, Kherā said, „We’ll see each other once again, Master Dike! If time is by our side, of course. If not, I hope you’ll see me at least in dreams and remember me as the old good counselor Kherā, the one who faithfully served you all this time, but who’ll be only ashes at the time you’ll remember him.” After that, without waiting for Dike’s answer, Kherā turned his back to the others and headed west, there, where alive sparkles were still seen in the air, where Kherā hoped to find life under the scorched and old roots.

Gray Bark followed him right away. He didn’t say anything on departure. The old tree only bowed in front of those who looked at him and, at a slow step, at a heavy step, he headed behind his good friend. Unlike Kherā, Gray Bark still had hope in his soul. That’s why he allowed himself to sketch a smile with his wooden lips. Why? Because, in his ears, the music of the forest was still heard, that music played by the old musicians of the forest.

Looking behind them, Dike felt sadness. He felt it deep in his heart, something that made him understand how much the old trees suffered, those who practically saw the birth of Rophion Forest, from an acorn as the legend said, the one that nobody ever fully knew. Only whispers about that legend had been heard in time. Words or sentences randomly whispered by the wind… nothing more. For the rest… loneliness and memories were talking about it, that loneliness which Kherā and Gray Bark left behind, entering the depths of the forest, surrounded by fog and smoke, heading west while Dike and the rest headed East, returning home or at least to what was still left from it.

***

Only fog and smoke were seen all over the Rophion Forest. There was sparkling smoke in the air, blown by the wind, and the souls of those who passed away, feverishly wandering the world and desperately looking for the path toward light. At the same time, there was a thick fog, black like the color of the pitch, which covered everything around. That fog also covered the footsteps left by Kherā and Gray Bark’s soles on the ashes spread over the ground while they wandered that forest, which had been green once, but which was only a ghost of the glory of the past times. Yes, that forest was only the shadow of the beloved forest they had always tried to protect, but which they failed to protect in the end. Even so, they decided to be there for that ghost forest in those moments of great challenge.

„Where are we heading?” Gray Bark asked, after a long way of walking in silence.

„To the west,” Kherā drily replied, without watching his friend.

„That goes without saying. Yet, I was asking about our final destination because I’m not sure if we are just walking around or going somewhere.”

Kherā said nothing. He didn’t say anything not because he didn’t know what to say, but because pain was pressing over his soul. Looking around, he saw only the ruins when, before that, there was green grass and trees full of life, just as the vivid sparkles of life were seen in the eyes of the creatures that used to live there before. Yet, at that moment, there was only ash and smoke… a deplorable view, which made Kherā’s heart bleed. It really hurt to see the outline of the trunks covered by ashes and smoke. It slowly killed him inside because it wasn’t something he liked… He hated to see the ruins of the secular trees that had proudly risen toward the sky once, but which were only stumps at that time, ruins that were about to fall to the ground, as though they were walls about to fall apart because of the water that washed them too much, for a long time.

Seeing all this, Kherā stopped. While looking around, his eyes filled with tears because there were places he had never seen like that before, not even in dreams. „Something I would have wished not even my worst enemy to ever see, but which I see today with my own eyes,” the tree whispered in a thick voice, feeling the breath vibrating in his wooden throat because of the tears.

Looking around too, Gray Bark felt his heart weirdly pouncing in his chest… so deplorable the forest looked at that moment. Yes, that place, which had been green once, was only a ruin at that moment. Especially the bridge, which Fenrir and the rest had crossed while turning home: even that bridge was a ghost after flames. It was a gray ghost, wet, covered by white thick fog and black smoke. Thus, looking around and seeing nothing of what had been there once, poor Gray Bark whispered, „The nightmare of every forest came true here. Yes, the Gate of the World is just a ruin now. This happened because we hadn’t been able to protect our home and our dear friends.”

„This happened not because we’d been powerless,” Kherā screamed, making the horizon resound. „It’s because of others’hatred and greed. This happened because of those who wanted power and decided to have it at any cost, even if they left only bodies behind them. This is the cause, and not because we’ve been powerless,” the secular tree kept yelling the pain of his soul.

„You are right, Kherā. Yet, we can’t fight against it. Against evil, I mean.”

„You are wrong this time,” Kherā let a strange growl come out of his throat. „Even the weakest soul is able to fight if evil threatens him. The same we’ll do.”

„But… there’s nothing we can do. At least not something I can understand,” Gray Bark said sadly.

„Of course, there’s something we can do! We’ll grab our sword and go to war! This is what we’ll do!” Kherā said this confidently, even if hatred was boiling in his voice.

The hatred and the confidence felt in Kherā’s voice made Gray Bark stop. „To go to war? We? Those small in front of Fate?”

„That’s right!” Growled Kherā confidently, taking the first step toward the scorched bridge, which deafeningly squeaked the moment Kherā’s wooden sole stepped on it. „We shall have the guns once this forest is in danger. We won’t leave it to anybody!”

„But, Kherā, you forgot one thing: this forest is a ruin now! This forest is ashes and smoke! There’s nothing left here!”

„Of course… there is something left here: the acorns!” Kherā almost shouted. „Those acorns that are still in the ground, which didn’t manage to spring.”

„Yes, maybe they are there, but… nothing grows where ashes are.”

„It’ll grow if the wind blows,” Kherā stubbornly replied. „One day… when the winds sweep the ashes and the fire of destruction is only memories when our wounds are bandaged and our tears dry on our wooden cheeks, Rophion Forest will revive.”

„When this happens, centuries will be left behind.”

„Yet, there is still hope, even for us. So, let’s not allow sadness to kneel us down, Gray Bark! Not now, when this forest needs us.”

„What do you have in mind this time, Kherā? What are you going to do?”

„To get the word out that this place, even if it’s scorched and turned to ashes, is only ours and nobody else’s. This is our forest, Gray Bark. This is our home and nobody else’s. That’s why if we want this place to be never forgotten and revive it, we have to hold the Reins of Fate tightly in our hands.”

„An acorn covered by dust?” The tree with a gray bark asked, confused. „Is this our hope?”

„No. We are the hope. We, those who are still alive, who can stand up from ruins and proudly stay in front of those who try to conquer our history, and destroy our happiness, dreams, and memories. As long as our history is alive, everybody will know our name and glory, even those who aren’t on this earth anymore, Gray Bark. We still have time to get our freedom, to let others know that they haven’t knocked us down and that we aren’t hopeless!”

„What about Life, Kherā? There seems to be no life around.”

„There is only an illusion,” murmured Kherā thoughtfully. „It’s an illusion we have to chase from in front of us if we want to see a clear sky tomorrow.”

Such words, told with his heart while staring at the blackened sky, made Kherā smile. He wasn’t losing his mind at that moment. He really saw hope at the horizon: a white point in the black sky. That white point was a small white butterfly that survived the arson and decided to return home before it wasn’t too late. Thus, like a piece of heaven and hope for those who waited for this, that butterfly appeared there to make them believe that there was still light behind those black clouds seen in the sky.

Seeing that white butterfly, Gray Bark finally understood the message of Kherā’s words. „Hope is there where there’s still a brave heart.” Then, when Kherā yelled his bravery with his entire wooden chest, Gray Bark did the same, telling the world that the Guardians of Rophion Forest were still alive.

***

Kherā and Gray Bark’s shouts, heard from the distance, made Dike stop and look around. His fellows did the same because they were really confused to hear those two secular trees yelling their pain this way. Even so, with all the confusion seen in their eyes and felt in their heart, none of them said anything. They only slowly turned toward the horizon toward which they headed before and followed Ahi, Anaya, and Tayakkam, who were a few meters in front of them, barely seen because of the smoke and fog.

A shriek made everybody wince eventually and look at the sky. They saw nothing there: only smoke and sparkling ashes. Yet, they were sure that that shout wasn’t an illusion. They felt it with their heart, that someone was there, hidden behind that thick curtain of smoke, the same curtain they used to protect the forest from flames and death.

After that, nothing was heard for a long time. Only the echo of Kherā and Gray Bark’s voice was still heard around. Screams that shook the ashes off the wooden eyelashes of the sleeping trees, those who seemed to sleep their eternal dream. At the same time, those screams swept the dust off the creatures of the forest that turned to ashes in that arson. Thus, sweeping the path in front of them, by using a light blow of air controlled by Vintai, they managed to comfort the forest too, allowing the world to see that there were still parts of the forest that were still alive. This was seen in the darkness of the soil or in the blackened green of the moss on the trunks. Here and there, when the ashes had been swept by the wind, Dike also saw green grass on the soil, grass whose blades were scorched only on the top. Then, on the trunk of a tree that was still standing, even if the poor tree also suffered a lot with that arson, Dike saw green moss… like a bandage on the deep wound of the tree. There, up, through the branches covered by a thick blanket of ashes, the head of a nightingale had been seen when she took it out of her small hollow to look around, afraid.

Seeing all this, Lodur frowned. Then, he looked at Gaea, confused, when she said, „He is calling the soldiers to fight.”

„Who?” Lodur asked.

„Kherā. It’s his way of crying his pain. Thus, he also looks to see if someone is still there. Alive soldiers, even if they are still scared. He wants them to stay by his side in this war.”

„Why afraid, Mother Earth?” Asked Bestla, confused. „There must be joy if the creatures of this forest are still alive. If they survived…”

„No, Bestla: those who survived this arson are afraid because they understood that nobody in this world is their friend.”

„Yet, there’s still friendship in this world,” Anaya’s voice was heard when she suddenly appeared to Bestla’s left, making the girl wince. Anaya didn’t pay attention to Bestla. She only looked around, sad, while she said, „There is still love in this world, even if it’s deeply hidden in our heart… that heart that’s covered by ashes and smoke right now.” After that, saying nothing else, Anaya sighed and, quickening her pace, caught up with Ahi, who listened to what she said, in silence, understanding the big truth hidden behind those words.