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The Forest of No Return - The Singing Trees… did they name themselves for this exact purpose?
Zack and I awaken at dawn and silently go about preparing for our day. Yes, dawn and not Dawn.
As I grab a few items off my bed, I look over at Zack. He's fiddling with one of his pistols, with the spherical crystal ejected and under inspection. Come to think of it, he seems to be using shadow crystals for the weapons. I didn't think too much on it when I first saw it, but now, knowing about the dark arts (cue thunderclap) I'm slightly concerned.
"Morning."
He glances up and nods.
Well, it isn't like every other weapon in human history isn't dangerous. Those don't look like Void's tainted spheres, so they're probably natural shadow crystals.
At the very least, I can respect the amount of care he takes in maintaining his weapons. I take out my sword and do the converse, polishing the keen edges to the best of my abilities. It is certainly fortunate that I don't need to worry about sharpening it, but keeping the weapon clean is a must.
Zack snaps the sphere back in place and looks over at me.
"I'm heading down. Meet me there when you're ready."
I nod affirmative, and Zack shoulders his pack to leave. As he does, I note the extravagant peace and quiet that reigns, a stark contrast to many of my other mornings on Terra. It is strange, but hardly unwelcome, as I continue to polish a piece of myself.
After that's over and done with, I pack up the last of my things and follow Zack's path downstairs where I find him waiting alone.
"Where are Leanna and Amelia?"
He shrugs.
"Still getting ready, I guess."
While her failure to rouse us first is somewhat strange, this crosses into potentially worrying. Did they sleep in? Zack and I collectively and wordlessly decide to wait, and a few minutes later our patience is rewarded. Amelia smiles widely at Forest, who grins back from his place in her arms. However, while those two appear to be in a good mood, Leanna looks as though she's exhausted.
I wave up at them.
"Good morning! How was your night?"
Leanna smiles, though she still looks tired.
"Morning. My night was loud."
She brushes her disheveled hair with her hands, trying to force it into some sort of order.
"Poi!"
Forest wobbles in Amelia's arms as they nod in greeting. Then, with pleasantries done, Zack motions towards the door.
"We should move on so we don't lose any more daylight."
He looks over at Amelia, who is rummaging through her bag. Eventually, she pulls out a map. My eyes trace the carefully detailed mountains and rivers. While it makes me miss GPS, I can see the care and effort that went into creating that.
"We will proceed eastward, through the forests adjacent to Bazada. From there, we will travel northward towards Qara'Fylphros and the Sinoan Mountains."
Her finger scrolls across the page.
"Assuming there are no divergences in course, we should arrive at Oraphros by midday. Any inquiries?"
She folds the map and glances at the rest of us. I raise my hand.
"Yes, Alasdair?"
"Did you draw that map?"
Amelia raises an eyebrow.
"I did."
"It's very detailed. Good job."
She nods slightly.
"Well, if there is nothing else, let us begin our journey."
As we leave the inn, I note the familiar sight of a crowded city early in the morning. The vendors looked to have only set up maybe thirty minutes before, but the market is already building to its standard of activity. We carefully traverse the streets and alleys, with the crowd slowly thinning as we reach the city's borders. Amelia consults her map, then continues out of the city.
Without the high cover of the stalls, I blink up at the sky, clear, blue, and beautiful. Off in the distance, I see a leafy blanket of trees covering the land, and with the sun slowly bringing itself to shine upon them they look absolutely regal. That must be where we're going.
Once we reach that forest, I'm surprised by the sheer quantity of shade that those trees provide. Despite their golden crowns, little light filters down except through places where one of the number has fallen down. Through these holes, light reaches hungrily through, eagerly lapped up by the smaller examples of plant life.
The woods seem little travelled: there are no clear trails, and Amelia keeps her map and compass handy, every so often correcting our direction. Aside from a few others, who might be exploring the shallow areas of their own reasons, the only sounds are the groans of trees and the skittering of woodland creatures. Music to my ears.
Still, with so much cover and so few people, this would be the perfect opportunity for an ambush or bandit camp.
I look towards Zack and Leanna. They seem alert, but unconcerned. I suppose being against a mountain range isn't the best place for a raiding camp.
The deeper we travel into the woods, the thicker the canopy of leaves becomes, nearly blocking out all sunlight. As we walk, I feel a sort of pressure against my mind, but write it off. The other people are long gone, and even the rustle in the bushes has disappeared. Something seems… wrong with this place, but I'm not sure why.
"Poi…"
Forest seems equal parts excited and worried as he nestles deeper into Amelia's arms, while Leanna shivers and wraps her arms about her, eyes occasionally darting to random places in the forest.
I step closer to her.
"You okay?"
She seems startled and drops her arms, trying to act normal.
"I'm fine."
I look around. Zack seems more observant, eyes tracing the edges of shadows as though enemies could lurk in any one. Only Amelia seems unfazed, and that count includes myself.
"Really? 'Cause it isn't just you. Even Forest is worried."
I chuckle to myself.
"My home has a peculiar custom, where if someone is acting odd and says those two words, it means that they're not fine. Does this sound familiar?"
She blinks, then lets out a little laugh.
"It's nothing really… the shadows around here are getting deeper."
"You're afraid of the dark, then?"
Leanna quickly shakes her head.
"Nothing like that! It's just… I've heard some silly stories about a place near Bazada, and this is reminding me of them. You don't need to be concerned about anything."
I'm still not quite convinced, but I'll trust her.
"Don't worry about it. This light level is already making me wish for my normal equipment. Infrared would cut through this gloom like butter."
As we walk, the forest continues to block out more and more light. As the shadows deepen, I unsheathe my blade, and it adds its dim glow to the failing sunlight. Despite this, the darkness closes around us until the only clearly visible thing is my sword, with my own arms at the very edge of its range.
I try to will the weapon to be brighter, but it seems that nothing more can be done.
Zack breaks the silence, his voice stirring the wisps of black fog surrounding me.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?"
I hear a rustling, and then a torch bursts into flame, illuminating the area around Amelia and chasing away the streamers of shadow.
"Indeed. There is no need for alarm. The darkness merely indicates that we are at the boundary of the Forest of Sorrows."
She gazes about, as if looking for dangers.
"Remain alert for possible dangers and phenomena relevant to this location."
Leanna squeaks in response.
"Forest of Sorrows?"
I am surprised by her outburst, and her deathly pale face. Sure, this place is dark and gloomy, but it isn't that bad.
She wraps her arms around herself again.
"Do we have to go through here? There must be an alternate route!"
Amelia shakes her head.
"The Nixi created the Forest as a barrier between the world and their main rival's source of power. Unless you wish to go by the mountains, a multi-year journey at best, Embermyst can only be accessed through these woods."
Leanna groans.
"I had a feeling you'd say that…"
Then, she starts, as a formless mass of shadows crosses her vision.
"Ahh! Get it away get it away getitaway!"
I give them a confused look.
"What's the deal with this place? Where are the 'relevant phenomena' you mentioned?"
Amelia looks at me, equally confused.
"You do not see them?"
"I see little puffs of smoke sometimes. It's kind of creepy, but not really that bad."
She blinks.
"Is it common where you are from, then, to fear nothing?"
What kind of question is that?
"No. I fear all sorts of things. Just not slightly dark vapour clouds."
She cocks her head.
"Well, that is certainly interesting. What could cause that…"
She trails off, but then refocuses on me.
"In any case, the Forest of Sorrows is essentially a rather terrifying reality surrounded by an even more terrifying mythos. One of the most common of these is that the minds of those who die here are trapped forever, unable to properly die. A ghost story."
"They never come out? How accurate is that?"
She shrugs.
"I have found no evidence that this was the intention of its creators. The fact that you must bear in mind is that the Nixi discovered a shadow tap near the city of Oraphros, and with the guidance of their Patriarch they turned the area around what is now Embermyst into a living nightmare. The Forest of Sorrows has the power to reach into the mind of any being and discern what it is that they fear, and then project it into their perception of reality. To this day its vortex of hatred continues to spin, and it is because of it that Embermyst remains a hidden city."
She gestures about her.
"It has also been known to take the forms of desires, and other things, anything to prevent a targeted individual from leaving the forest. This all is encapsulated in the form of the most prevalent myth surrounding this place: those who enter never leave."
I can feel Leanna's unease from here.
"I would speculate that it absorbs… snapshots of humans that die here, adding to its capacity to cause fear, as older legends do not describe its use of desire, anger, and other tools. As such, it may be somewhat apt to claim that the Forest of Sorrows is populated by a legion of undead creatures whose only goal is-"
Leanna's scream is as startling as it is abrupt.
"NO! Amelia, stop! We can travel through this stupid place if we have to, but no more of this story stuff that isn't true, and can't be true, so it's not true!"
Although Leanna tries to put on a brave front, her voice grows shriller the longer she talks. I then see Amelia's mouth curl into a smile.
"Very good. Although I would not recommend denial in many circumstances, failing to believe in The Forest's power will rob it of a considerable amount of said power."
I am starting to get creeped out.
"Err… right. So, why isn't it getting me?"
Amelia looks straight at me.
"I do not know. In any case, we should continue. I do not wish to remain in this place for any longer than any of you."
I turn to Zack.
"What do you think of all this?"
"It doesn't matter what I think. It's true."
Leanna whirls about in a rage.
"Zack!"
She pauses, as if trying to think of something to say.
"Stop!"
As she turns away, Zack cracks a fleeting smile before resuming his stony stare.
If I had to choose one word to describe the Forest of Sorrows, it would be 'ick'. The trees have lost their cozy feeling completely and look thick, old, and dead. The eerie silence is deafening and each crunch of leaves beneath our feet reminds me of the inevitability of death and decay. Despite all this, the area seems unpopulated, as if no animals would be insane enough to venture here, save us. Our only companion is the everpresent fog, taking various vague shapes that cause varying levels of fearful outburst from everyone except me.
Regardless of the fact that there is no mystical danger for me here, I instinctively pick up the pace, along with everyone else.
Leanna grows increasingly agitated.
"Are you sure we're going the right way? I swear I've seen that-"
Amelia gasps as a tidal wave of shadowy fog rises before us over us. In the fog, I think I can see the visages of… people, though what they're doing I have no idea. It moves forward slowly, and Amelia drops the torch into a pool of water! Despite my sword still casting as much light as it can, I can barely see it through the thick, almost viscous air.
"Kyaaaa!"
Suddenly, something latches onto my arm, and I start, trying desperately to shake whatever wants to eat me off, while also forgetting the sword in my other hand.
After a little while of this, though, I realize that, whatever it is, it isn't doing anything other than having an extremely tight grip, and being alternately biologically warm and… cold… like metal.
I bring my sword closer to the Whatever it is, and the thin glow lights up the face of someone I know. Leanna is latched onto my arm, using it as an anchor in the void surrounding us. Her eyes are squeezed shut as she buries her face against me. All through this I stand as still as a statue, not certain of what to do.
After a few moments, the wisps of smoke are chased away as Amelia relights the torch, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Is everyone alright? Without the flame the mirages can become quite real."
Zack pats himself in several places before smiling gratefully. Then, Leanna peeps an eye open and glances down at my arm… and a part of herself that was fortunately shielded from contact by a layer of plate armour.
Her cheeks burn bright and hot. I can tell not because I am looking, but because I can feel it. She then quickly drops my arm.
"I'm sorry… I…"
She trails off as nerves from being in this stupid forest and the compromising position she was in after gravitating towards the only light source around get the better of her, and her blush deepens.
I've been shielded from this the whole time, but I feel like that also isolates me. This forest… I want to see how it works, so I can at least understand.
"Leanna, could you hold onto my sword?"
She sputters.
"I- what?"
I push the weapon into her hands.
Could you hold this place off her instead for a bit?
Absolutely.
I let go, and then I was-
-laying down in a pool of mud. My helmet is cracked open, and a thin trickle of blood drips down my temple to mix with the water. My ears are ringing, but I can feel the rhythmic hum of sirens in my bones.
My rifle lies in my hands, broken by the blast that knocked me unconscious. I try to push myself up, the servos buried in each joint straining with force, and I rise from the pool of water. As I do so, I feel someone knocking on my helmet, trying desperately to get my attention.
"..."
He- she- whoever is shouting at me.
"...w"
"What?"
"...haw"
"WHAT?"
"SHAW!"
All at once, my hearing returns, nanotech jabbing into the foothold with relish.
"LT? What in… what's happening? What happened?"
"You got hit by a mortar blast! We thought you were dead!"
I look at the mangled mass of gun in my hands.
"Next best thing, looks like!"
With a forlorn glance, I toss the weapon aside. This gun carried me through thick and thin against the Word. I took it apart and put it back together more times than I can count. I knew every component that goes into it, what each does, and how they work, and now it's gone, best left for scrappers after the battle is over. Lt. Anderson holds up three fingers.
"How many am I holding up?"
"Three, sir!"
"Good man! Get out your sidearm and get up here! We need you."
I withdraw my pistol from its holster and look at it. In the reflection off the polished surface, I see one eye poking out from behind the damaged faceplate. 3 cm adamantine plating, all cut through by… what? That looks like plasma scoring…
What am I doing here? How did I get here? Was all that just a shock-induced dream?
Something tears through the sky over my head, and I look up in time to see a CASP flying through the air, followed by-
My pupils shrink to the size of pinpricks, I take a shaking gasp of polluted air, and watch in horror as a fusion explosion causes the comforting sight of a human fightercraft to evaporate. Travelling through the other side of the fireball is- is-
A small child is watching an age-geared propo. The droning sound of Their aircraft, the danger they pose, all of it is present. Even from that age, the little boy knew the menace that one of these brought. In their day, they tore through entire aircraft wings before being brought down by sheer weight of missiles.
And now one is here, now. THEY'RE here. THEY'RE the enemy I'm here to fight, and suddenly all doubts and memories are washed away. All that remains is a burning need to defend my people, my home, my nation.
I rush forward, finding the rest of my platoon.
"Where's my partner? My HUD got busted, I don't know which one of you is her."
One of them shouts back.
"Alice took the brunt of that mortar shot that got you! She's dead!"
Alice? Dead? No, no, no, no, nonononononono.
Coalition doctrine matches soldiers into close knit pairs. They killed us when we defended at 1-1, so the idea was to make each 1 on our side be twice as large and capable. Bonds of camaraderie, even romance, were encouraged to an extent, as implicit, mutual trust was invaluable on the battlefield. But that all comes at a cost. It means that, at times like this when the 0.5 should be fully mission capable, I just want to lay down and die.
Alice and I… the Coalition knows its stuff. She held me together for years during the last war. We were good friends even after the military separated us for being too valuable to put in the same place.
I shake off the confusion and stare at the rest of the platoon in anger.
"Which way to Their fucking position."
One of them pointed.
"Anyone got a spare rifle for the 2Lt?"
One of them hands me a weapon they found on the ground. I give it a onceover. Sigilpattern custom, I can tell from the balance and the copious amounts of redesign that it is a torchblade. I sigh. This'll do, I suppose.
"Standing orders, Lt?"
"Hold the line and push forward. Don't overextend."
"And how far away is that building of theirs?"
A private pokes his head over the barricade, ducking under the hail of bullets and plasma that arrives to greet him.
"'Bout twenty metres! Give or take."
I resynched the weapon and checked the charge. Almost full.
"Let's gut ourselves some lizards, then."
I hear an autocannon whine to life and scatter a hail of bullets near Their position, with others adding their rounds to the pile. I tune them out, listening only to the sound of my feet striking the broken road beneath me.
That reminds me of something.
Focus. A few poorly-aimed snaps of plasma twinge the air, making me smell ozone and the burnt flesh of dead soldiers. I see it ahead, and wind up the breaching torch, length adjusted for five metres.
Much of me is screaming, wanting everything to just stop, but there is a calm centre to my mind. The soldier in me holds his blade aloft (or maybe he is the blade itself), urging me onwards. Justice, retribution, and the untamable will of man surges in my veins, and I round the corner, igniting the cannon in my hands.
While it doesn't have nearly the same range as one of Their plasma weapons, the breaching torch hits just as hard, and I rip through the apothiem plate as easily as they do humans. Finally, there are none of them left.
"Clear! Get over here and set up!"
Silence. My comm is spitting out only unhelpful static, but that's normal by this point. I move quickly back to our position, and-
-they're all gone. I see the little traces, bits of blood, adamantine residue, giblets. Other than that, there is only one of Their plasma rifles to tell me what happened.
I got them killed. Every last one was focusing on that damn building I wanted taken in a petty quest for revenge, and were distracted from the killsquad sneaking up behind them.
I collapse into a neat little ball, sobbing gently. I think I'm done for… ever, I guess.
I feel it. A presence, looming over me like an oppressive shroud. I don't know its shape, or what it's doing, but I'm certain that it's one of Theirs.
One more. I can rest after I try one more time.
As the shadow rises over me, I reach for the alien assault weapon, grasping-
-the hilt of my sword. I look around and scramble backwards until I'm leaning against a tree trunk. The weapon in my hand glows, banishing the nightmares from my mind. I breathe rapidly, hyperventilating and sweating as I look up at Leanna. She seems worried, an expression of concern and shock upon her face.
"Are you okay?"
I take a deep breath. Then another, reminding myself of where I am. I'm on a world called Terra, in a kingdom called Havengarde. I'm sitting under a tree in The Forest of Sorrows, whose shadows tricked me into believing that I was back on Earth, fighting the war everyone dreaded.
My chest unwinds as I come to terms with everything, and I tip my head backwards, sword shaking in its grip. She isn't dead. Everyone back home is still safe.
Leanna's shock shifts into fear as she shakes me violently.
"Alasdair! Are you okay?"
I look at her.
"I don't think so."
I then turn sideways and vomit, all of today's breakfast exiting rapidly. As I wipe my mouth, Amelia walks up to us.
"Interesting. I don't think I've ever heard of such a severe reaction to The Forest's abilities. May I ask what you saw?"
"I was at war. The great enemy had returned, and we… they were many more, and they had grown stronger. We were losing. The wreckage I was fighting through… I'm pretty sure it was my hometown."
Leanna smiles softly, the fear in her eyes dying down as she puts a hand on my shoulder.
"It never happened. Everything is alright."
She lifts the hand holding my sword into my lap.
"Hold onto this. You need it more than I do."
I blink.
"So the blade protected you?"
She nods.
"Amazing. I was absolutely correct then! It wasn't the special bond I had with it, then!"
Leanna looks a bit shocked.
"You gave up what you thought was your only defense against-"
She squeaks as a bit of shadowstuff floats by her face. I focus on her, though it takes some effort. Despite the fact that very little actually happened, I feel exhausted.
"This place was clearly having a significant effect on you. I wanted to know whether I could pass my resistance off to others, and whether I could handle the consequences. Evidently, the answers are yes and no respectively."
I push myself off the ground, standing unsteadily. My hands are still shaking, and the thoughts of what happened in that dream burn in the back of my mind. I look around at the others. Maybe proximity to one of them would help?
I weigh my options. In the end, there is only one clear choice. Amelia and Zack are too cold in their own ways to provide significant comfort, and Leanna could simultaneously benefit from me as well. While certainly an awkward idea, I warm quickly to its obvious benefits, and as we begin walking again, I close distance and take her hand in mine. The shaking dies rapidly as my subconscious mind registers the support of a real, tangible person.
"I hope you don't mind. We could both use someone to lean on, I think."
Even though she appears somewhat surprised, she doesn't stop me, swallowing whatever response she was considering in favour of a simple nod and slight blush. This forest must really be getting to her.
As we start moving again, I look over at Leanna, and for the first time since we entered this place she is smiling.
"Thank you."
I direct my best, warmest smile at her.
"Thank you. I'm not the brave one in this equation."
Even without the illusory nature of The Forest of Sorrows plaguing my every step, this place still feels endless, and vile. Leanna tightens her grip on my arm at seemingly random intervals, though they often coincide with a puff of that shadowy smoke making it close to her face. One floats lazily around Amelia, occasionally obscuring the flame from her eyes, and she hides her face in my shoulder whenever this happens.
I make sure to carefully guide her steps at these times, thanking the warding power of my weapon for shielding me from this place's influence. After what seems like an eternity, though, we leave one forest behind, and enter another, kinder place.
A/N: Back when I first saw this scene, something didn't sit right with me for some reason. Later readings and the help of outside perspectives had me realize that what seemed wrong with it was that Leanna was acting out of character, or at least out of my interpretation of her character. The solution, therefore, would be to create a scenario where she would be afraid - and I figured that the best way to do that was this. If I made the Forest really terrifying in a mystical way, that would justify everything. I'd just need to sell it properly... and boom!
Also, the added space for lore is fun too. The Patriarch is fun to play around with, and [REDACTED].