1 Prologue

The forest night was dark, the air humid with a putrid sent permeating the mist filled surroundings. Naked tree branches dancing and swaying to the beat of the winds, the shadows dark and mornful, bending with each movement of those dead, twisted branches like claws. The moon light obscured heavily by the light sucking darkness that forever surrounded the Tenebris Forest. The forbidden forever black forest.

The forest was enveloped in a tense stillness, too quite for a forest to give off any comfort of a wild beast not attacking, but the dead atmosphere and the blinding darkness was a normality in this forest. Those who step in here knew it wasn't what lived in the forest that they should be afraid of, but the shrouding darkness which was possessed by the evil dead that whispered ominous and dreadful guilt filled words inside the victim's mind, enough to turn them insane and drive them to commit suicide.

Fortunately, Floria has no problem venturing in this dark forest and navigating around swiftly. The baleful and gloomy whispering Madow Spirits didn't affect her state of mind, or that of the baby cradled protectively in her arms, in the slightest.

Leaves crunched and twigs snapped under her hurrying and scurrying feet as she threaded through the dark woods, she didn't have the time or heart to take caution and stay quiet.

She didn't have much time left before her last hour strikes.

She could already feel the poisonous spell coursing through her viens, the sinister and evil energy was eating away at her life force. She could feel the war waging on between her powers and that evil spell, her magic was struggling to push and oust the foreign and unwelcome power. She knew it was a losing battle, she was too weak and ill for her magic to fight off the evil powerful spell properly. But at least it bought her some time to do what she knew she must do. Even at the cost of her own life.

Tightening her hold on the sleeping baby, she hastened her steps, advanced through the darkness, not stopping even for a quick second.

Once she saw the barely noticeable gleam through the thick forest trees, she picked up her pace.

Finally reaching out of the forest and into a clearing, she stopped. This was the end of her journey, both literary and figuratively.

There was a big lake right a few steps ahead of her, the water was dark and clean, the moonlight reflecting over the waters beautifully.

There was no sign of any creatures living there, exactly why she chose to come here. The lake stretched out for miles, like it had no end to it. But she knew that this body of water lead to a nearby town. Where she'd let fate decide what will become of the child, currently under a sleeping spell, in her arms.

With determination burning in her eyes, she nodded in encouragement and turned her back on the lake and faced the tree line.

Shifting the baby carefully, so she held her with one arm, and raising her hand in front of her,  palm open and facing the forest. She took a deep breath, concentrating and gathering a small amount of magic particles in her hand, taking care in not using too much in case the evil spell seized its chance and killed her the moment it sensed the waver in power.

At her palm, a small ball of magic started to gather and glow a soft, light yellow hue.

Feeling that she gathered enough magic and the familiar warm sensation tingle at the palm of her hand, she opened her mouth;

"Texo: cartallum."

Just as those two words left her trembling mouth, the small ball of light shot out, the second it hit the leave covered ground, it created a small whirlwind of leaves, sticks, and yellow glitter.  Spinning them all in a synchronised frenzy. The whirlwind ascending high in the air. The small vortex wove and intertwined the leaves and sticks together deftly in a perfect dance of unity.

Once the object of her desire formed, it floated mid-air, before gently descending down to the ground.

She lowered her palm and took a deep breath, feeling pathetic that even a weak spell like that affected her body so badly. The sharp sting in her veins had her wincing in pain. That dark spell was rooting thorns and stabbing her in her arteries.

Walking towards the moses basket - that she crafted thanks to the little magic left within her - she immediately kneeled down beside it.

It was a beautiful basket, made with the soft leaves and twigs on the forest floor to assure the comfort of her baby, beautifully woven and bonded tightly to each other. It was a magical basket.

Putting her little bundle of joy in it, tears started to form in her beautiful forest green eyes, cascading down her pale cheeks in rivers of anguish at the thought not being able to see her beautiful baby grow up.

With a deep breath, she hardened her resolv. She had to do this.

Picking the basket up with her baby inside, she steped towards the lake.

Gently placing the basket in the water and kneeling in front of it, she looked at her beautiful child wrapped in a soft, baby pink blanket, one last time. Caressing her soft, rosy and chubby cheeks, with a shaking hand.  Moving her hand to the top of her head and running it through her hair and feeling the pretty golden tufts of soft hair for the last time.

With a deep inhale, she pressed her forehead on her baby's, and concentrated. Forcing every last drop of her powers in one point on her forehead, right where she made contact with her baby. Feeling the pressure build and grow on that point, she bigan chanting;

"ex causa ut caelum ore exíbit gládius acútus

 ut sidera testor mihi

ut, regina prima Floria

dona mihi dignitas et potestas

abortivo eodem sanguine super terram hanc."

As she began to enchant in a powerful and imposing voice, the wind  began to pick up, swirling around them in a circle and making the leaves fly and her light brown hair twirl in thick strands.

But the most breath taking sign was the glow that shone through her veins. As her beating heart and every single vein and blood vessel started radiating a brilliant yellow glow lined in white.

She quickly channelled the glowing liquid to her forehead, allowing it to gather in a circle of light. Though the moment the glowing light gathered on her forehead, dark purple ominous vines took its place in her veins. Starting from her heart, and quickly flowing to her upper body.

Extreme agony filled up Floria's insides, she clinched her eyes shut and pressed her forehead harder on her baby's.

Dear Lord, it felt like someone has poured acid and shards of glass into her blood, and her head was under so much pressure, it felt like it would explode.

And finally, the glow started to reach out to the infant's forehead, entering inside her delicate veins and shining through her soft baby flesh the same way it had Floria's.

Blood dripped down Floria's mouth, body shaking in tremors at the sudden loss of defence.

She was in extreme pain, but happy nonetheless she's saved the next child in line. Even though she was too young, Floria knew this had to be done.

But right as she focused her bleary eyes on the baby, they widened in shock, and her body started shaking even more.

The glow in the child's veins was a bright golden color, but what scared her, were the thin, black black strips running along the glowing gold. That wasn't supposed to happen.

With one final gasp, she collapsed into the icy water, lungs burning up as it filled with cold liquid. She stilled, muscles locked in place thanks to the ice cold water. Staring at the surface of the water in shock as she slowly sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss, before her world turned completely dark; just like the forst.

Meanwhile, the ripples caused by the fallen body moved the basket along the waters. The bottom of the basket glowed briefly, before moving through the water faster.

Making the baby's destiny take a completely different rote than it was meant to take.