Direwood Forest

For the next two days, the company travelled without any more issues on the road. They fell into a routine, waking up before sunrise and leaving to travel soon after breakfast and having breaks throughout the day. In the evening, Evanna took on the role of setting the campfire up as well as tending to the horses; while Cilv would go out hunting, Ronan and Ger pitched the tents, and Axel would be starting dinner. When they were ready for bed, the men stuck to keeping watch, taking shifts throughout the night, and Nesrin helped Evanna fall asleep with her humming and fairy dances. 

In the late afternoon on the second day, Axel, leading the way, signalled for them to slow down, making the rest command their horses to trot down to a walk. The hill they were slowly ascending started to slope back down, revealing a vast forest ahead of them. Evanna's eyes widened in awe at the magnificent trees before them; the woods back home in Reigh was nothing in comparison to what was in front of them now. The trees alone stood proud and tall, some wide enough to fit a small house in. 

The nearer they came to the forest, the smaller she felt. She could only imagine how Nesrin always felt among them. They stopped at a fair distance from the entrance, Evanna craned her neck back like the others, looking to see where the top of the trees was, but she could not tell where the trees ended, and the sky began. 

"Well, let's not sit around staring at it. It's not going anywhere," Axel said before lightly kicking his horse with the stirrup, commanding it to continue. The others stopped gawking and followed suit. 

The road they were on led to the opening in the trees. However, as they started to approach the trees, a gust of wind flew towards them, sweeping their hair back. The trees almost seemed to curl inwards, completing a circular shape as a sound much like a roar snarled at them loudly. Daring them to enter. The horses were spooked, their ears flickering as their heads elevated back abruptly, shuffling on their hooves, scared at what lies before them.

Evanna tsked at Midknight. Compared to the other horses, he stood his ground proudly before taking a few steps forward. As quickly as the wind came, it died down instantly, the tall trees were back to normal, and the sounds depleted, making the group wonder if they imagined it all. Evanna and Midknight continued forwards with the others quickly following behind; Axel forced his own horse forwards, taking the lead once again. He wanted to be the first in line if there was an attack. He felt better with the princess behind him; he was, after all, twice the size of her- a shield in front of her slender but dangerous form. 

He turned his head, smiling back at Evanna, "Looks like I should have your horse. He is a brave little thing."

"I think you forgot what happened to the last man who wanted my horse.." Evanna smirked back. Axel burst out laughing, his voice booming loudly before returning his vigilant gaze to the forest in front of him. Evanna patted Midknight fondly, who made a snorting sound in return.

The looming trees started to form a shade over the group. The sunlight beamed through the tiny gaps of the leaves, causing bits of light to fall in patches across the forest floor. The temperature started to drop and the air leaving their mouths left in clouds of smoke. Evanna pulled her hood over her head to keep as much warmth on her head as possible; she saw the others do the same. They looked around warily as the horses walked them at a slow pace. 

The deeper they went into the forest, the less they saw of the entrance where they began. Bright sunshine, green grass and the path that led them into the woods were the last of what they saw from the world outside of Direwood Forest. It already felt like a distant, fond memory as the darkness slowly consumed them.

The trees began to get closer as the tangling roots lifted from the ragged mossy earth. This made it that much harder for their horses to go at a regular pace, occasionally stopping or leaping to get further into the primeval woodland. 

Evanna took note that either side of the trail they were following looked almost impenetrable to get through. Escape routes from any imposing threats seemed dire by that fact. When she looked forwards again, she felt her heart sink as her eyes gazed into the shadowy depths of the forest. She became worried about the duration it would take to get to the Flori's palace, although her apprehension was immediately squished after remembering they had a map.

Axel suddenly stopped his horse, looking down and across the blended trees for a brief moment, causing the others to approach his spot slowly. Evanna was the first to make it by his side, and her body stiffened slightly by the sight she saw in front of them. 

There were human skeletons scattered across the path. The closest leaned up against a tree with three arrows sticking out of the ribcage and lodged into the bark behind it. Evanna could tell that they had been there a while, for there were mushrooms growing out of the right eye and embedded across the top right side of the skull onto the tree. Weeds and other flowers were growing out from gaps between the bones.

She removed her eyes from the first skeleton against the tree to the ones further ahead that lay face down, scattered about. Each had one or a few arrows sticking out from them.

"Keep your wits about you," Axel spoke to everyone in the group, his eyes trained ahead of them.

Following behind Axel, Evanna could not help but feel chilled by what was around them, not only from the skeletons on the ground they passed by, but her senses were on a high alert, the hair on the nape of her neck stood on end as she felt goosebumps spread across her skin. Every snap of a twig or leaves crinkling made Evanna jump, and her heart pound profusely against her chest.

Her eyes began to feel heavy, and any form of light would hurt them. She looked behind her to see how the others were fairing and saw they too looked tired; their eyes were slightly red. Looking to her left shoulder, she saw Nesrin assessing their surroundings; she appeared fine, with a fierce expression on her cute little face.

~ I can be fierce when I want to be princess ~

Nesrin mind linked her while still surveying ahead of them. Evanna chuckled but did not respond; she was confident the fairy would just read any of her other thoughts if she wished. Nesrin then flew ahead and stood on Axel's shoulder; he suddenly stopped his horse, causing the line of the others to nearly bump into each other. Nesrin then flew above Axel's head, making sure that everyone could see her.

~ Before we continue, I need to caution you, I do not think I will be with you much longer, and this is important. ~

Nesrin mind linked her. There was a slight echo behind her voice; as she glanced around the group, she could tell that the others could also hear what the fairy said.

Evanna guessed she would not be staying for much longer, she had been flying very well the last few days, and her magical endurance was strengthening. But that did not mean she would not miss her. For someone so small and has only been with them for such a little time, she significantly impacted the group. The little ball of light was precisely that, a light when they were in darkness. Nesrin always uplifted the group, especially herself. 

~ When you come across the river, make sure to stay on the right side of it. The other side is treacherous. Anyone who has entered has never returned alive. There is a spell of some kind that keeps the creatures on that side at bay. They cannot get across. ~

The right side of the river..

Evanna frowned at the new information that was given. Why did that sound so familiar? She could not recall, her mind and thoughts started to fog over, but she shrugged it off.

Nesrin then flew back to Evanna's shoulder, the announcement over. They continued forwards as the trail curved; neither horse nor man wanted to rush through. A steady pace was needed for this part of the journey, as they were in unknown territory and unaware of what they would be coming across.

Evanna kept her gaze ahead of her, but her eyelids kept feeling heavy, blinking, she forced herself to stay awake. What was wrong with her? She glanced up to see the canopy of trees were all that she could see with the occassional glimpse of the sky beyond. She suddenly felt smothered, as though the trees were closing in on her, the space around her seemed unbearable, the air felt thinner, was the air thinner? 

"Does the air seem-" Evanna took a deep inhalation.

"Thinner?" Ger finished.

She swivelled back to look at him. Ger also seemed to be taking deep breaths. What was happening?

"It will take a few days to get used to," He continued, making Evanna frown in confusion, "This happened last time we were here. The forest, we don't know what it is, but it plays with your mind."