The Forest Of The Forgotten

Morning arrived and gentle rays of light illuminated the forest area around the campsite with a warm glow, Elise opened her eyes slowly and a sleepy yawn escaped her mouth as she slowly got up. She stretched out her arm to wake up Ashley but was surprised to find no one next to her.

In panic, she stood up and scanned the entire length of the carriage but could not find her daughter. Her marks sensing her troubled mood and began to violently shift across the length of her body. She then heard cheerful laughter from outside the carriage and quickly went to take a look.

"Sister elf throw me higher and higher!" Ashley cheerfully yelled.

The peaceful scene before Elise warmed her heart and her marks began to slowly quiet down. Ashley was playing happily with the dark elf twins Servia and Luxia. Servia was tossing her carefully in the air while Luxia would run around them in a circle singing a song in the elven tongue to set the mood.

" Teria nos jyeans cullear soiy lenase"

" Xeyanse jos kinerhas des naya"

" Parasd ahsaj!"

Her clear voice rang throughout the campsite and the remaining Valkyries watched the trio with happy grins on their faces. No trace of the strong iron women of the north could be seen as no one wanted to scare the little daughter of their lady.

Ashley was not scared of the dark race members among them and while Elise was asleep during the morning, she was cheerfully introducing herself to them. Each Valkyrie fell in love with the obviously nervous girl who was trying to reach out to them.

"Alright we need to set off immediately if we want to reach Arcadia by nightfall!" Elise was reluctant to break up the happy scene, but it would be too dangerous to travel through the forest at night. Most of the magic beasts were nocturnal and the hunting would begin as the sun fell and the shadows crept beneath the trees.

Elise nodded at Floira who quickly turned and began to bark out orders to the rest of the camp. Servia put down Ashley gently and patted her small head before turning towards the tents to help pack up. Ashley ran towards her mom who quickly scooped her up and placed her in her arms, she was flushed red with excitement and began to eagerly explain to Elise how she was now best friends with the scary knight ladies.

Elise smiled at her and said," So which knight would you like as a personal guard?" She was still undecided on who to choose to protect Ashley, with the constant monster attacks there was a need to have an extra layer of protection for her daughter. Ashley frowned for a moment and glanced at the twins Servia and Luxia but then her eyes focused on Elena who was helping to feed the horses.

"I want sister Elena to be my personal guard!" Ashley declared

Elise saw no problem with her choice, Elena was quite a powerful fighter in her own right and her land- form was indistinguishable from that of a normal human. She nodded and said," Okay if that's what you want, I'll make sister Elena your personal servant."

Walking back to the carriage, she failed to notice the small glint of mischief that flashed across Ashley's face.

"This is all I can do to help you sister Elena," Ashley muttered quietly to herself.

The Valkyries were very efficient, and the campsite was fully packed within fifteen minutes and they immediately set off into the forest. The entrance to the forest was strange, although it was daytime as the light hit the forest canopy, the trees seems to absorb most of the sunlight. The floor was dim with long shadows hanging on the roots of the trees.

There were strange laughing sounds heard occasionally as the group wandered deeper into the woods. The most unnerving aspect was the rotten smell that clung to the vines circling around the trees. Servia and Luxia were more affected by the scent due to their elven heritage and had both tied pieces of cloth around their noses.

It was a good idea and the rest of the group quickly followed suit. Elise was riding on a muscular horse that was attached to the carriage with Ashley on her lap shrinking into her chest. Despite the apparent sanctuary of the carriage, it was far safer to be on horseback when travelling through the forest. In the event of a beast attack being trapped in the carriage spelt certain death.

It was one of the reasons merchant caravans eventually stopped all trips through the forest to reach Arcadia, the profits were not worth the loss of life and cargo. The group trudged forward in a west in a cautious manner, Floira was the vanguard and scouted ahead, constantly looking for any suspicious sounds or tracks.

The trip seemed incredibly lucky so far as not one single magic beast could be seen, this however put the entire group on edge as a new top predator might have taken over this area as its hunting grounds. The ground began to change into a mushy underfoot that slowed the horses down, strange plants appeared at the edges of the trail that seemed to blink as the horses trudged on. Floira raised her hand and the party immediately halted.

There was something watching them.

Up ahead was a small lake with waters that were murky and brown so one could not see the depths. This would not be a problem except for the orange eyes that peered at them as they approached. The eyes were the size of dinner plates, blood red in colour and had small spines attached to the base.

The rest of the creature could not be seen as it had hidden itself under the water. The rotten smell had gotten worse and worse as the horses approached the monster and poor Servia was now gagging in disgust.

Elise frowned, there was no way around the lake without taking a detour that would delay them for a precious few hours. Usually they would simply charge headfirst at the animal, but she had to consider Ashley's safety. She thought carefully and then gave a series of orders in a sharp tone.

"Mary and Sophie stay in the back and cast spells once you see an opening form"

"Elena watch the flanks for any other monsters that try to join in"

"Floira you and I shall engage directly while the twins protect Ashley in the back"

Years of training meant her orders were immediately carried out, Luxia picked up Ashley and carried her towards the back of the group where Mary and Sophie stood ready with their wands out, preparing for battle. Elena sang a song in a low voice trying to scout any living creatures in the area, sirens could use echolocation with their voices but they were typically used to locate and drown passing ships.

Floira removed her hood and unstrapped the great sword attached to her back, all the traits of a demonic warrior could be seen in her image. Her red horns stood proudly on her head and the great sword was massive almost six feet in length carved with images of bloodshed and carnage.

Elise walked gracefully next to her and withdrew her own sword, 'Frostbite'. It was a delicate slender sword that seemed very tiny compared to the great sword and looked like it would snap in two at the first contact with another weapon. It was modelled after a rapier and the thin design was perfect for Elise who flitted around the battlefield like a phantom, few who had seen the sword in action had lived once she drew her blade.

They steadily approached the small lake and a huge mass of body flung out of the water to greet them. It was an enormous viperion, a large magic beast with the body of a serpent and the head of a crocodile. The serpent tongue flicked in and out of the air from the jaws of a crocodile head, the body coiled menacingly as the creature rushed at the foolish prey that wandered into its home.

No trace of panic could be seen on either Elise nor Floira's faces as they quickly split up left and right, dodging the first lunge by the viperion. Elise's blade quickly engulfed itself in black flames as her marks began to sing with happiness from the feeling of being in a battle.

She slashed forward as a thin layer of flesh was sliced off from the midsection of the creature who stood still momentarily in shock. It had never once received an injury with the protection of its diamond- like scales but yet this little ant dared to make it bleed. While it was distracted, Floira quickly raised her great sword and swung it at the creature's head.

Meanwhile the fight was intensifying no one noticed Ashley who was staring at a floating ball of white light that was beckoning slowly to her.

She began to move towards the light in an almost trance- like state.