Prologue:
The men had come first, strange two-leggers covered in unknown skins. They spoke in strange voices and walked around, looking all day. They scratched twigs against rectangles that smelled of a strange tree she had never know. She had listened to her mother and hidden high up in her branches. The men had shook strange bottles and that hissed and made things colored. They made marks on the earth and Nadia was angry. They had no right to make claim on this land! Didn't they hear the birds telling them angrily that the land was already claimed? Didn't they see the way all the tree already bowed to her mother, the tree-woman of the woods? When the men left Nadia scrambled down and walked to the pink mark. She touched the tree's bark gently and felt him shudder beneath her touch.
Crying, Nadia tried to wipe it off to no avail. Her mother called to her sadly. "It will not come off." Nadia cried herself to sleep.
The men came back. The came inside of terrible monsters that roared and stank and smelled unlike anything she had ever smelled before. Again they spoke, and pointed, and scratched. Then monsters ate them again and the monsters went away. Her mother called to her fearfully. "Nadia you must leave. Go away from the monsters and wait until they leave. If they come towards you, move away and stay hidden. Do not hide in a tree." Nadia looked up at her fearfully.
"I'm scared mama. Why can't I hide in your branches?"
"Later I will tell you, but you much go now, they are coming." Indeed, the horrible roar of monsters was quickly approaching. On the verge of tears, Nadia ran off to hide many trees later in the shadows of the woods. Crouching in the shrubbery, a doe by her side, Nadia listened. The roar was even greater now. This new monster smelled of heat and fire and fear. There was a short silence that dragged into hours of suspense, Nadia longed to run back, but just as she rose, there came a horrible roar, a crunch and a scream. Nadia fell to the ground her hands covering her ears - fruitlessly trying to make it stop. The scream went on and on. Nadia cried out in terror and pain as she felt the tree die. The tortured screaming stopped with a heart-stopping finality. There was silence, then a sickening thud as he fell. But it was not over. The monster roared again and another scream sliced through the air. Even while the oak was dying another monster roared hungrily and a cedar cried out in pain. Oh the pain. Nadia could feel it as if the monster was eating her. On and on the screaming never stopped. Those creatures were heartless. Why were they hurting them? Why were they killing them? The doe at her side was shaking in terror as Nadia clutched the sturdy trunk of an oak for comfort. Her mother was there. Her mom was in danger. Would they hurt her? Would they kill her?
The screaming continued and another tree fell. There was the slightest of pauses between another friend's death and another monster's roar, and then there was a howl. Nadia knew it was her mother. No other scream could compare to the tortured screams of a tree-woman whose thick bark was slowly pierced by the jaws of a monster; it dragged its teeth back and forth as it slowly deepened the cut. She was a huge tree and it took so long… She screamed in pain, tears poured from Nadia's eyes as she screamed with her. How could those creatures do this? How could they not hear the pain, the terrible screaming? Did they enjoy it? Why were they hurting them?
The screaming seemed to go on forever. Even as she heard the gigantic crash she knew had to be her mother, falling to the ground, the screaming continued to ring inside her head. A few more trees died in agony before the roaring stopped and the uncaring voices of the two legged creatures drifted around on the wind. Then the smaller roars began again and soon faded into the distance. Nadia sat there, in shock. Beside her the doe slowly stood, still shaking slightly, and walked off. A cute bunny family hopped from their burrow and looked around. The oak tree beside her gave a sigh of relief, and of sorrow. Slowly Nadia pulled herself to her feet, and stumbled forward, back to her mom.
What met her was the most gruesome sight she had ever seen. Where once her friends and mother had stood, they lay like fallen twigs upon the ground. Bushes had been trampled and all around plants oozed sap. No creature sung or bustled about. All was quiet in respect for the dead. Nadia gently moved through the graveyard to her mother. The large oak tree suddenly seemed so cold. Where her mother's warm, gentle spirit had once filled the tree was a huge, empty hole. Brushing her fingers gently over her bark she knew her mother's spirit was already gone. She let out a sob as she saw just how cruelly she had been cut down. Large jagged lines made a disturbing puzzle where her trunk and stump had once connected. The wind cried as the plants moaned, and she sobbed. All night she lay there on her mother's body and did not stir until the doe returned and nuzzled her in the shoulder. She clung to her mother's body hopelessly until the gentle voice of a grandmother ash woke her from her thoughts.
"They will return," she told her. "You must leave." The ash fell silent once again in mourning, and Nadia knew that she was right. On shaking legs she stumbled from the clearing and took the familiar trail into the woods. As she walked she listened, but where she had once eagerly chatted and easily smiled at all the creatures she saw and knew, she now trudged slowly, head down and silent. The whole woods were quiet. Fearful whispering had filled the treetops, tearful mutterings rustled through the shrubbery. Nadia cried. It took her all day to walk through the forest where she once again turned to an ash for advice. The wise tree told her, "Keep going. No place in the woods is safe. I have heard, though, tales of other forests into which the monsters cannot venture. If what I know is true, then you must go completely strait through all of the Strange Lands where only one plant grows, and then turn towards the rising sun. From there the other trees will guide you for I have heard it is not very far. But do not go near any of the creatures that have hurt this wood, and do not let them see you. They will return here though, until all of us are gone. Go now." Nadia nodded.
"Thank you Wise-Tree. You have been good to me for all my life. I will not forget you and will keep you in my memory well." He bowed his leafy top. "Farewell."
"Farewell." And Nadia turned and walked away.
It took Nadia twelve sunrises to pass through all the Strange Lands. Indeed, she had never seen such things before. There was a land of all grass where only bugs and a few weeds gave it company, and a land of all wheat where not one flower could be found! One had strange things lying in it that shot water out over the plants. The creature was long and thin, like a gigantic snake with strange circles for legs. When she went to greet it though it was not alive. It puzzled her for it did not feel like plant either it seemed like something the bad creatures would have. Nadia hurried on.
When she came to the other side of a corn land, which was tall and very friendly, she was shocked to see an even stranger thing. At the edge of the strangely strait-edged land was the biggest deer trail she had ever seen. It was dry and dusty, and stretched out of sight in both directions. It was wide enough for her to lye across it twice! But, beyond this huge trail were huge shapes. They smelled slightly treeish but with the "off-ness" she had come to associate with the bad creatures. They had perfectly flat sides and were in unnatural colors. They sat out in the open with no protection or camoflouge and seemed decidedly non-animal. Nadia knew she had come to the end of the Strange Lands, and turned towards the sunrise. Slipping back between the corn so the bad creatures couldn't see her, she walked over to the nearest tree.
"Hello," she greeted. The Birch looked down at her,
"Hello."
"A wise-tree told me that there is a woods where the bad-creatures cannot enter. I am looking for this forest. Do you know where to find it?" The Birch seemed sad.
"Many others have come recently. The tree woman run quickly when the full moon gives them legs. Yes, halfling. Follow this wide-path until you see the beech with a sick branch and robin's nest. Ask him as you asked me and he will help you from there."
"Thank you, Kind-Birch. I will remember your kindness and keep it well in my memory. Farewell." And again she turned and walked on. Her feet were tired when she found the Beech tree.
"Hello, Beech tree." He looked down at her kindly. "I am looking for the safe woods where the bad creatures cannot enter. Do you know where I can find it?"
"Yes, Halfling. Walk strait past me until you see the bear tracks. Follow in his footsteps until you see the Strange Shape that smells of bad-creatures. Turn your back to it and walk. You will pass a deer trail and then you will be in that woods."
"Thank you," she told the kind Beech tree. "But may I rest amongst your branches awhile? My feet have tired greatly from travels."
"Yes, Halfling." Carefully she climbed up his trunk and rested upon his branches.
"Thank you," she murmured before she fell asleep.
The resident robin woke her kindly as dark began to set. "You should go now," the Good-Beech told her. "Night is falling and the woods you venture towards are a safer place to rest than amongst my branches."
She crawled down and turned to face him once more. "Thank you, Good-Birch for letting me sleep amongst your branches and guiding me on my way. I will keep you well in my memory."
"And you as well, Halfling," he smiled down at her. "Farewell." She walked past him, searching in the fading light for the tracks. The found them, just past a badgers den, and quickly the led her insight of the Strange Shape of the bad-creatures. Hiding in the bushes and shadows, she moved in front of it, turned her back to it, and left in search of the deer trail. The deer trail was much further in finding. The night bats were long out and she had seen many owls before she felt her feet upon the well-worn earth that had to be a deer-trail.
Quickly stepping across it she smiled, she had made it! And then she cried, because of why she'd had to come. She missed her mother. Not wanting to wake a slumbering tree, walked on to find a safe place to sleep.
Sunlight was very bright by the time Nadia opened her eyes. The peaceful rustling of branches and talking of the creatures made her feel at peace. She felt attention on her and looked up. The face of a bad-creature stared down at her. With a tree-shriek she cowered back in fright. The creature leaned back and she saw it was part horse. She tilted her head to the side. "Who are you?" she asked. The creature looked back at her, equally confused. She opened her mouth to repeat herself, when he spoke in a language she did not know. It sounded like bad-creature.
She backed away quickly. A nearby oak felt her fear and spoke to her. "Climb me, but do not be afraid. This is a halfling as well." From the branches of the oak she peered down at the bearded face curiously.
"What is it?" she asked the Understanding-Oak.
"It is a Halfling, part horse, part human."
"What is human?"
"It is commonly known as bad-creature." Nadia gasped. "But do not judge, for you are half bad-creature too." Nadia looked affronted.
"I am not. I am a tree-person."
"Who can walk when it is not the full moon? You know you are not all tree-person you just did not know you were part human."
Nadia pursed her lips. "Wait, if he is a Halfling also why can't I understand him?"
"He speaks in human, you speak in tree." Nadia nodded to herself. Good
"Then I am more tree-person than hundam."
"Human, and yes, I suppose you are." The other Halfling, with one last curious glance, walked away. Nadia leaned back against her trunk.
"Thank you, Understanding-Oak. You are very good and wise. I am new to these woods. May I stay a while in your branches and learn from you?" Nadia spent the entire first year in the Oaks good care, and told her much about her old forest and talked about the nightmares that plagued her. Soon though, she remembered all the good times from before, and pushed away that horrible day. Nadia came to know the forest well, and was soon acquainted with the many trees and tree-dwellers there were. The Tree-man of the woods often danced with her on the full-moon nights and he spent many afternoons with her teaching her how to care for and heal the many plants of the forest. It had been over four years since she came to the forest and she felt safe and content, until one humid summer day.
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