1 1 The Valley of the Wood-Nymphs

The breeze through the nearby leaves frightened the silver deer. There were many forests in the world, but no forest like the forest of the wood-nymphs and no valley like the valley of the wood-nymphs.

Endless meadows of bright yellow sunflowers outshining the sun itself merged with red swarms of scarlet poppies. Wood-nymphs danced day and night their ring dances. They were so quick that fire burned under their feet and the aroma of ruffled herbs wafted all through the valley...

Wood-nymphs were known for their beauty, so mesmerizing that their silhouettes seemed to blend with light. They were born of the golden fruit of special trees in the valley, hence they were said to be "unborn."

"Make way for Phyllada, future Princess of the Wood-Nymphs!" someone announced.

"Do you really have to do this, Bayan?" Phyllada whispered. "Now I am afraid to walk the streets... I was just going out to look for Elyre."

Anyway she didn't want to become Princess of the Wood-nymphs. Out of all golden trees, there was one named The Royal Tree. It was the tree that gave birth to all wood-nymph royalty, and unfortunately to Phyllada as well... "Unfortunately" because this meant she would have to become Princess of the Wood-Nymphs one day. Well, she was grateful, really grateful for the honor... but this was a very responsible position.

She was glad her annoying friend Bayan did not decide to follow her down the road, shouting here and there, "Make way...!" She would've felt really ashamed then. He just said it once before she left the Sun Manor.

Where could her sister Elyre be? The first place Phyllada decided to check was the Tree of Fairy-Tales. Elyre often told fairy-tales to a group of children there.

***

Phyllada looked around and then looked up. There she was, her sister Elyre, comfortably sleeping on a bough...

Wait. How could that be comfortable?!

"Elyre? How could you have fallen asleep... on a bough?!" Phyllada's chocolate voice woke her up.

"I was not asleep... I was just having a little nap," the firine murmured. After telling the children of Wild Wood some fairy-tales, she loved to climb up and swing her legs back and forth...

"Have you forgotten today we have to go to the castle?" Phyllada said. "And tomorrow is my coronation."

Elyre jumped off the tree.

"Of course I remember. How could I forget these things? I keep notes!"

"Great. You are very diligent! Are you sure you don't want to become a Princess of the Wood-Nymphs instead of me?" Phyllada added. She'd never wanted to become a Princess. She was a wild girl who loved nature. Give her open spaces and horses and freedom.

She preferred to be free, to gallop with horses and explore the forest. And not to write administrative reports...

"Don't worry, Phyllie, you're going to be a great Princess of the Wood-Nymphs! You don't have to be like your mother. Every princess is unique," Elyre tried to calm her down.

Phyllada's mother, Thyberia, was serious and strict, and very different in character from her daughter.

"Can you imagine, I will be responsible for the precious Sunstone," Phyllada shivered. "What if I lose it?"

"Firstly," Elyre smiled, "it's on your forehead. Not in your hand or on your finger. How can you lose it? Secondly, you've already kept it with you before, just it was not official."

"Elyre, you are brave and decisive. You're better fit for the position of a Princess... Are you sure...?"

"...Yes, I am sure!" Elyre sighed. Phyllada wouldn't manage to bribe her with compliments ha-ha. Moreover, she was not even a wood-nymph!! How could she become a Princess of the Wood-Nymphs?

She was not a real sister of Phyllada.

She was a firine.

Firines were beings that lived in the mountains, were born of real flames and could transform into little twinkles that moved with incredible speed. You should learn more about them if you want to feel comparatively safe near them and be able to at least partially predict their hot-tempered nature. Some firines could be truly wild and not-so-friendly (just like fire itself, which may give you warmth and light, but try coming too close and you risk getting burned!).

Elyre had been brought up by the wood-nymphs since she was a baby and was used to their traditions and manners; she dressed like them and even looked like them.

In the firine's crystal-clear look, one could almost see the reflection of the Proud Mountains. Or maybe of a fascinating mountain lake. Oh, now you remember. This is precisely the same lake – you've once read – the prince set out for in search of the Water of Life…

She knew next to nothing about her real lineage, but she didn't need to know. It had been a long time and she felt like a wood-nymph anyway.

Phyllada was not a Princess yet, but she already had some political responsibilities, for example, the visit she had to pay to the Queen -- and that was not her mother, Thyberia, who was sometimes referred to as "The Queen of the Wood-Nymphs." It was the Queen of the realm, the Queen of Allyria, the all-powerful sovereign who took all crucial decisions and to whom the Queen of Wood-Nymphs paled in comparison for she was just a provincial governor.

Phyllada had been preparing herself for that meeting for a long time. Not only because it was of political importance but also because it was her first time leaving Wild Wood and she was afraid she might do something wrong.

She and the rest of Wild Wood's inhabitants rarely left their forest and time away from it seemed to them veritable hell. They were deeply connected to the forest.

Wood-nymphs would give personal names to all trees and they treated them like people, greeting them whenever they passed by.

Indeed, in case you got lost there, you'd better not ask a wood-nymph for the way... they had named absolutely every plant with its own personal full name and would find it extremely hard to help you without using names. And trees did not like it when their appearance was the subject of conversation.

"It is good that you understand how important my mission to visit the Queen is," Phyllada said.

"How could I not understand!" Elyre exclaimed.

"That's why you... are going to come with me!" Phyllada said. "Come with me to the castle!"

Elyre was taken aback and a little bit skeptical,

"But outsiders are not allowed into the castle. Everybody knows that. Well, sure, I am your sister... but I am also not your real sister. I don't think I can come."

"You're going to disguise yourself!" Phyllada waved her hand in the air. "You are going to be with me, nobody will suspect the Princess of the Wood-Nymph's bodyguard! ...I need emotional support!"

"...Seems you already have it all planned," Elyre smiled.

But they both knew Phyllada's task was far more serious than it seemed. People rarely visited the Queen of Allyria. The reason for Phyllada's visit was very important for the whole forest. She had spent a lot of time the previous few days thinking about what she was going to say to the Queen. She was painfully acquainted with the situation and the obvious facts.

It was all related to a magical herb known as digeniche.

Digeniche was one of the symbols of Wild Wood and it had incredible healing properties. However, it was threatened with extinction because the Queen's minions kept gathering it in order to supply the army with the precious cure, which could be used in many ways.

Digeniche was not simply a medicine. It was very important for the well-being of the forest.

It had great magical properties but without it the forest was literally dying. Even its pace of growth was important -- the faster it grew, the more the other plants were flourishing. It was difficult to explain to the Queen how important digeniche was.

The consequences of the relentless gathering were clear... Many plants were dying. Many wood-nymphs were now pale and somewhat ill. As if they were out of their minds, they would spend all time in their houses and cottages. A person could only wonder whether these were real wood-nymphs at all! Another forest race – that of the elves – used their ability to merge with trees and their existence had literally turned into a legend. And if a firine occasionally traveled around here, he or she would transform into a tiny twinkle, which people devoid of a sense of realism would often liken to a firefly. Unthinkable but a fact: they mistook mountain firines for mere fireflies!

Elyre had to admit with grief and anger that the forest had changed a lot compared to what she remembered from her youth. In the past, it seemed fresh and felt alive; now it looked low-spirited.

"Dryads, help me!" Phyllada thought. Wood-nymphs referred to the spirits of trees as "dryads." This meeting with the queen would decide the fate of the forest, so she did need the dryads' help indeed.

If the queen did not put an end to all of this, the situation would get out of control. Without digeniche, everybody and everything suffered from maginopia (lack of magic) – a dangerous illness that made its victims melancholic, weak and pale, and the consequences for all plants were fatal. Normally cheerful, Phyllada knew she had to be serious and persuasive today...

But still she felt insecure. That's why she'd asked Elyre to come with her. When she was with Elyre, she felt much more confident. Her mother, Thyberia, had already had conversations with the Queen on the subject, but with no results.

Perhaps Phyllada would speak in a different way, perhaps she would find the right words to convince the queen...

The journey to the castle was neither hard, nor dangerous. But there was a slight problem - only the Queen's minions such as mages and generals could go there; and some noble guests such as Phyllada, the future Princess of the Wood-Nymphs. Elyre? She couldn't leave her sister alone, especially after Phyllada's insistence to accompany her and many reassurances that nobody would recognize her if she got disguised as a mage...

The castle was very big indeed. So, Elyre thought, perhaps nobody would pay much attention to a single companion coming along with the noble princess, so the two could go together. At worst, Elyre would be asked to wait outside and forbidden from entering.