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Despite the feeling that crept up my spine, I could not turn back. Something compelled me to continue, to press on through the endless trees and the darkness. It was a pull, a tug that seemed to come from deep within me. Even though I couldn't place my finger on why I was doing this, why it was so important to reach the castle, I knew that I had to keep moving forward. It didn't matter what the Goblin King had taken from me; I was determined to get it back.
I knew deep down that this was all part of my fate, and strangely enough the Goblin King felt part of it too. Our paths intertwined and destined to cross. He was lethal predator, but he was familiar to me, and I could not place why. There was a something between us that I couldn't explain, as if he had always been a part of me. It was like the connection of an old friend who had gone their separate way, but never lost touch. Whatever it was, whatever he was, whatever he had meant.
I would find out.
His words from the garden echoed in my head, the memory unlocked. The confusion lingered but the truth a bit clearer.
‘I have been watching you for a long while. Do you think that your wishes went unanswered? That I did not hear them?’
What did he mean by it?
My mind raced with questions and doubts as I stepped over the fallen tree. Had every wish I ever made been granted? Had every dream I had, given to me? But I couldn't dwell on those thoughts for too long. Something was wrong. This place didn't seem right. It wasn't what I had expected, not what I had asked for. I had dreamed of a knight, but got Kaston. I had dreamed of the Goblin King, but this wasn't what I had in mind.
But maybe it had been.
Something told me that it was true. Something told me that indeed my wishes had been heard. ThatIhad been heard. He’d been biding his time, he said, but for what? What was he waiting for? Why did he appear to me now? For decades I had dreamed about him, wished for him, and now he shows? What game was he truly playing at?What were his true motivations?
Whatever they were, I would find out. My mind raced with determination, fueled by the burning desire to uncover the truth. I had to find out what he took from me and why. As I trudged through the forest, stepping over fallen trees, the anger in my chest grew with every step.
My life had never been easy, but it was mine. Nona was my only companion, the only person I had ever truly relied on. We kept to ourselves, barely interacting with anyone outside of our small circle. Bern was one of the few people Nona knew well, but there was something about her that didn't sit right with me.
Memories of Nona flooded my mind, and I couldn't help but dwell on them. I remembered how she would watch me play as a child, her eyes always lingering on me with a hint of concern. I recalled her hushed whispers to herself, and the cautious way she went about her business in Rothnia. But most of all, I remembered her fear of the Fae and the Goblin King, and the stories she would tell me of the missing children.
As I thought back on these things, I couldn't help but feel that something was still missing. The answers I sought were not yet within my grasp. The stories of the missing children didn't make sense to me. They went missing, yes, but as I grew older, so did the children that were taken. There was a piece missing from this puzzle, and I was determined to find it.
“Oh Nona, what have you not told me?”
Silence was the only response to my question as I continued to push my way through the thick foliage. The mist that had enveloped me dissipated as I clambered over fallen logs and crawled under low-hanging branches. I weaved my way around stubborn bushes, tugging at my dress when it caught on their thorns. With every step, the cool air of the night seeped into my bones, and my weariness became more and more palpable.
Yet, despite my exhaustion, I refused to stop. I trudged on, determined to press forward through the mysterious and eerie Ebony Wood. The moon's glowing orb rose higher and higher into the sky as the night wore on, a constant companion on my journey. I knew that eventually, the night would give way to the dawn, and the sky would transform. The colors of morning staining the night sky in pinks, oranges, and blues.
I didn’t mind the day, but it was the night that I looked forward to. Sunset was my favorite time of day. Watching as the sun would go down, painting the sky in its evening colors. The stars started their twinkling dance in the dark. Night was when the world called to me. And I never knew why. Only that it felt like it was an old friend and would embrace me in a hug that felt familiar.
But I could not go out at night, thanks to Nona.
I knew I wasn't supposed to be out there, but the urge was too strong to ignore. Carefully, I would drape a blanket over my shoulders, wincing at the sound of the rustling fabric and tiptoe past her sleeping form; trying to make myself as small and quiet as possible. Finally, slipping out and into the night air, the cool breeze brushing against my skin.
The weight of her superstitions lifted off my shoulders as I laid under the stars in the grass. The twinkling lights above me seemed to dance in the sky, and I felt at peace. Sometimes, I’d meet Kaston and we would sneak off into the night together. The nights were comforting- calm and relaxing. The moon was our companion, casting a soft glow over everything, and the stars were my true friends.
Just as the sun would start its dance across the sky, the trees around me started to thin. The world opened up again as I continued forward before finally giving way. The edge of the Ebony Wood yielded to a world far larger than the one I was accustomed to. Aeris was bigger than the place I had been raised. The walls stretched, opening up to show me all that it was. My breath caught as I stepped out of the tree line the world dropped away. Perched on the edge of a cliff, I spied the land laid out before me.
The Fae Realms.
While stories of the Fae changed over time, coming and going with the mercenaries, sailors, and storytellers, one thing never changed. The tales of the Lost Fae. Even Nona had dappled in the story once or twice. Remembering now, that they had disappeared. The Fae of this continent disappeared into fairytales and myths, told to children at night before bed with all the other lore of our world. But no one knows why. No one knows what happened to them or where they went.
We had shared this world with them. Mortals and Fae had once been friendly, but for decades we occupied the landmass alone. I had my suspicions, based on Nona’s story of the Goblin King. And before me now, I knew what it was that everyone was talking about. The land was far from thriving.
The world before me was as dry as the desert of Elliner. The trees had lost more than half of their leaves. Rivers and lake beds had dried up and were caked in mud. The hills and prairies dried and dusty, tumbleweeds rolled across them as the wind blew. The Fae Realm was indeed dying. Anything past this part of the Ebony Wood was barren. The colors muted as the world struggled.
As I surveyed the desolate landscape before me, my heart ached with a deep sense of sadness. It was as if life had been drained from the land, leaving only a shadow of what it once was. My mind wandered, conjuring up images of what the land had once looked like. In my mind's eye, flashes of greens and blues fluttered around, each one a poignant reminder of what had been lost.
I glimpsed fields of flowers in all colors, taking up hillside after hillside, their petals dancing in the gentle breeze. Warm lakes and flowing rivers that fed the land and its inhabitants, providing sustenance for all. Miles and miles of tall prairie grass stretched across the ground, creating a carpet of green as far as the eye could see. And beyond the prairie, forests sprung up from the fertile land below, teeming with life.
But now, as I gazed out at the barren wasteland that lay before me, I felt a deep sense of sorrow. The once-lush landscape had been stripped of its vitality, leaving behind a lifeless expanse of dirt and dust. The animals that once roamed the land had disappeared, their homes destroyed by the destruction of the natural world. The circle of life had been broken, and I felt helpless to mend it.
A thriving land.
This had once been a land rich in color and life. A single tear fell down my cheek as I looked out over the horizon. The pull in my chest told me to keep going, that I had to. My eyes grazed over the barren landscape. Just there to the southeast- barely on the horizon far off in the distance- I saw the outline of a castle. So small one would have missed it. But the land held on there, the dull shades of green stood out against the vast land before it.
