The Spire’s light barely penetrated the thick forest canopy, yet it wasn’t dark under the trees. On the contrary, colourful lights danced in these woods. Some were small animals and insects, glowing brightly like a torch. Butterflies as large as a child’s head illuminated their surroundings, glowing in various vibrant colours.
Luminescent mushrooms growing along the tree barks served as steady light sources. Vines climbed the trees, and their beautiful, vibrant flowers hung from the branches. Orbs of light floated around them, created by the plants themselves from wild mana.
“Don’t touch things,” The mage warned them as they walked beneath the forest canopy. “Magic is everywhere, the Shimmering Woods are one of the most magically charged places in the Empire.” His voice was but a whisper, carried to their ears with a simple spell he cast. “Do not speak unless you must, we wouldn’t want to warn the beasts that we are coming for their mana hearts.”
The whispers that had begun spreading among the group ceased immediately.
Ash scoured his surroundings, trying to see beyond the wild mana everywhere. He could see an aura around every plant, every small animal or insect they came across.
Theresa gasped next to him, then ducked just in time as a large, vibrant pink wing passed over her head. A butterfly as large as her torso flew over the group, leaving behind a trail of fading mana. “That was close, I almost got smacked in the head.” Theresa whispered as she brushed a few leaves off her hair.
Ash nodded absentmindedly as he watched the trail of wild mana left behind by the butterfly linger in the air for a while before it even begun to fade. “Yeah, we should be careful.” He muttered in response to Theresa, then hastened his steps, overtaking the other students and rushing towards the older mage.
“Sir?” He called out to him, keeping his voice low.
The mage glanced at him with a slightly vexed expression. “Hm?” He raised an eyebrow, expecting Ash to explain himself.
“Do all magical creatures leave trails of mana like this?” He pointed above them. It had almost completely faded, but since it was so bright at first, there was no way the mage missed it, even if he couldn’t see it anymore.
The mage scowled. “No, not all.” He glanced up, then back at Ash. “Very few leave visible trails of mana, in fact. Did you see the butterfly’s trail?”
Ash nodded. It was so bright, only Maya would miss it he was sure.
The mage’s expression remained neutral. “Do you still see it?”
“It’s almost gone.” Ash looked around, beyond their immediate vicinity. “I can see more trails that way,” he pointed east, then glanced north. “Do you not see them, sir?”
The mage raised his gaze, looking east. “Let’s go after that trail then.” He quietly said with a grimace.
He couldn’t see it. Ash suddenly felt bad for speaking up.
The dark blue trail led them further into the Shimmering Woods. Minutes passed by, slowly as the foliage beneath the forest canopy grew thicker. What was a comfortable stroll turned into a struggle to get past all the various plants blocking their way.
The mage forbade them permanently harming any plant – they would all grow to gain sentience one day, he explained. Killing them off or harming their growth would only serve to hinder the future generations of the Empire’s youth. The Shimmering Woods were the prime place people hunter for mana hearts after all – harming the growth of the forest would do nothing but reduce the number and quality of mana hearts future hunters would acquire.
That, of course, left them with no choice but to follow the narrow paths they found through the foliage, or to seek ways to climb over these thorny plants that blocked their way.
Their struggle left them with various bruises and cuts as they crawled under branches or bushes, climbed over fallen tree logs, or squeezed through two different plants. Covered in dirt, leaves and mud, they finally emerged from the woods to a small, peaceful lakeshore.
The lake glimmered under the light of the Spire, shining through the leaves of the towering trees. The surface of the lake was flat like a mirror, not a single ripple broke it. The lake was large, and clearly very deep.
Feeling like he was being watched, Ash glanced around. There was no one but them here as far as he could see. Several animals wandered about, but this was their home, and none of them seemed particularly interested in this group of humans. Yet for some reason, he couldn’t shake that feeling.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Where does the trail lead?” The mage asked once the whole group passed through the foliage and arrived at the moss covered lakeshore.
Ash pointed at the lake. The dark blue mana he had been following so far lead straight to the shore, then into the water. Had they been following an aquatic creature?
“That’s interesting…” The mage muttered under his breath. He brushed past Ash and approached the lake, crouching a few steps away from the water. He touched the moss covered ground and scowled. “It’s a big creature,” He concluded a few moments later. “Look at this,” he called the group to his side. “This is a good moment to teach you some tracking skills.”
He chuckled softly as they approached. “The ground is crushed here,” He ran his hand over the soft moss surface. “About two meters wide, what do you make of that, Theresa?”
The girl pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side. “That can’t be footsteps.” She hesitantly suggested.
Ash couldn’t help but agree with her – anything that could leave two meter wide footsteps would tower above these trees when standing straight. It wouldn’t be able to move in the forest without destroying pretty much everything in its path.
“No, they’re not.” The mage nodded. “Anyone else?”
Ripples formed on the water’s surface as a few bubbles ascended from the depths, almost too small and too far away to notice. Birds nested on the branches hanging over the shore flew off, heading west and north.
The feeling of being watched intensified. Ash glanced around uncomfortably, then turned his gaze to the water. More bubbles surfaced, closer to the shore this time. The vibrant blue colours of the lake seemed to darken, like ink had been spread just beneath the surface.
No, that wasn’t ink. It was mana – dark blue mana they had been following until now.
“Look out!” He shouted as something broke the water’s surface.
A thin, black, scaly limb of the creature beneath the water hit the ground behind them. It looked like a snake’s tail, though it was about as wide as Ash was tall and moved too fast for something of that size. Surrounded with a dark blue aura, it shook the earth and threatened to throw them off balance.
Something else broke the surface of the water – a snake’s head, with three golden eyes, sharp fangs, and a long, split tongue. A hiss echoed in the woods as it reared its head, towering above them.
The hunt had begun. Ash just wasn’t sure who the prey was.
----------------------------------------
Under the dimmed light of the Spire of Kindling, two cloaked figures walked on a narrow path. Whispers filled their ears. It was as if this place had a mind of its own – as if it was able to find their weaknesses and use them.
Victor’s gaze lingered on the mountains on both sides. It was difficult to ignore these whispers, they tugged at his heart strings like they had never done before in the dozens of times he passed through the Howling Valley.
Dad!
A scream echoed in his mind, over and over again. Spirits lingered here, trapped. They couldn’t escape from the jaws of this cursed, dark place. Even the light of the Kindling was dim, barely able to penetrate the darkness covering this valley.
“Quite annoying.” Kira commented absentmindedly. “Even if the burial grounds are here, we won’t be able to reach them. Why are we even bothering with this?”
Victor let out a quiet sigh. While she wasn’t entirely wrong in her conclusions, she was, as always, missing an important point. “Because it will shut Maple and the Crown Prince up.” He replied, then pressed his hand against his left ear. Whose soul was it that screamed for their father? It sounded too much like Maya – a tragedy he didn’t even want to think about.
“Fair.” Kira nodded, satisfied. “But I see no such place here.” She then added. They were almost through the valley, and indeed had seen nothing to indicate the burial grounds were here.
“I didn’t think they would be.” Victor muttered. This place was cursed even before the war – if the old records were to be believed. Before the Duskborn and humanity began killing each other. And even the Duskborn feared this place. A trap for the soul they called it according to archived texts from several millennia ago.
“Unlikely indeed.” Kira pursed her lips. “What’s our next destination?”
Victor raised his head and looked ahead. They would be out of the Valley shortly before nightfall. “East, I believe. Then north.”
“Have you reported this to the Emperor?” Kira’s tone sounded judgemental.
“I have reported it to Prince Cedric.” Victor replied curtly. Getting an audience with his majesty the Emperor, may he be blessed, was a long and arduous process – he didn’t have time to do that. They’d have to wait for weeks to just have a chance to talk to him.
“Same difference.” Kira smirked. “The bloodthirsty prince is just a more efficient version of his father.”
Victor almost stopped in his tracks. “Say that in the presence of anyone else, and I’ll have your head, Kira.” He hissed. “And then the Emperor will have mine.”
His partner rolled her eyes. “Please, we both know I’m not that careless.” She didn’t even bat an eye at his threat, despite knowing he meant every word he said. They walked in silence the rest of the way, until they reached the veil separating the Howling Valley from the lands of the Empire.
“Stop.” Kira suddenly said sharply, her hand rested on the hilt of the glass dagger she carried around.
Victor turned his gaze from the mountains towards the veil as he stopped mid step.
Three figures, cloaked and masked, stood on the other side. They weren’t there a moment ago, but now their presence was quite… strong. How they had hidden themselves from Victor and Kira until now, he wasn’t sure.
“Greetings, Inquisitor.” A familiar voice rang from afar – a cloaked woman wearing a mask that covered most of her face sat upon a horse a little further away from the veil. “I was hoping we would not meet again until my Lord had awakened, but I suppose our fates are indeed intertwined.”
Victor felt sick to his stomach. She was disgusting, he could see the dark mana writhing around her even from so far away. Her mind was completely broken – shattered by the illusions of a long dead Lord.
“And I was hoping this would be a nice, calm stroll.” He hissed. “Kira.”
There was no point in waiting for her rather repulsive monologue to continue.
As soon as he uttered her name, Kira dashed forward, leaving a trail of dust in her wake. The sound of metal clashing against crystal echoed, marking the beginning of battle.