The sun still wasn't out when Nego woke up. Tagu opened one eye and gave a look of pleading to go into passive state. 'You never wanted to go in, yet, you want to go in all the time just about.' Tagu lifted his head up and pointed to one direction. In the distance of the forest, there was the unmistakable outline of Hazel. Matrika was perched on her shoulder.

It was very early in the morning, and the sky was still dark. Tagu disappeared in a flash of soft light. The blue and white forest glowed warningly, but Nego tried not to pay too much attention to it. He followed her, the black earth was smooth and rough against the soles of his feet. She disappeared out of sight, and Nego made haste to try and catch up.

He didn't know why he thought he should follow her. He walked deeper into the forest, and there was still no sight of her. 'Why are you following me?' said a breezy voice.

Nego tilted his head towards the trees. Hazel was there, she wasn't wearing her white cloak but her shirt had changed to a dark blue that seemed to illuminate the light of the forest. She wasn't smiling, but her eyes seemed to look sadly at him.

'Umm, you see … you know … uh …' he wanted to kick himself. He wasn't tongue-tied, he was sure he could speak normally. With the look of effortlessness, she jumped down from the canopy and gave him an amused look.

Every time Nego looked in her eyes, a tremor would go down his spine. They had fire, pain, war and chaos in them, which looked similar to Kovo's. Yet, the image of the large, monstrous silverback gorilla that might or might not be good didn't seem to fit her.

Matrika pulled on Hazel's trouser leg. Her Euran military pants were faded, and it looked like it had a story to tell, a story of war. 'Did you have any dreams?' she asked. Nego was startled by the question, but he shook his head.

Hazel looked at the point of her javelin as it retracted into its shaft. Nego looked at on wordlessly as she drew swirling patterns in the dark earth. 'I saw the Meridious's army, thousands and thousands, maybe even millions. I saw death, the people I can't save. My family, Nego, their lost. I don't know where they are. Their alive, and I saw them, somewhere in the other territories of Erdas. Somewhere … I don't know.'

Her voice cracked a little at the last sentence. Nego really wondered if it was worse to have your family somewhere you didn't know than to never know your parents at all. The feeling of your family somewhere you couldn't find them. That was harsh.

Her javelin moved through the earth as she continued talking, 'my bonding sickness ... When I got it, I searched every book I could get my hands on.' Hazel rubbed the back of her hand with old and new bite marks. All probably from Matrika.

'I suffer on the inside. How would you live, Nego, knowing that your family is somewhere on the face of Erdas, but you might never see them, that your whole family might die, longing for a daughter who will never come?' She stopped drawing, and looked at the patterns of swirls and symbols that blended with each other perfectly, like it was effortless.

'The dark forest, the trees have been watered by the blood of the countless of soldiers that have fallen there. War rages there, and it is where the Meridious stay. That place is so evil, it only believes in war. War is its life, and dark wood is my weakness.' Matrika chittered and hugged her leg.

'A dark black sword with a leather grip hilt is Dious's signature weapon. Dark wood isn't normal. It can be forged into a weapon, that weapon was forged with evil minds and dark souls who died for the sake of a sword of pure war and fire humanity had seen on Erdas. It was forged with the blood of Gerethon after the second war, they called it out of the earth and cooled it with hatred itself. The only sword of its kind, I nearly died.'

Hazel lifted up the sleeve of her shirt and revealed the mark of a sword. It was black with white mingled together. The scar wasn't like anything Nego had seen before. 'My point is, no matter what I do, I can't fight in the Dark Forest. I can't do anything when the Meridious get stronger. I don't dare to send any Shadows, because I want to be with my army when we fight for a better cause. I will try to make peace in the end,' she said sadly.

Nego knew that peace would never work with the Meridious, and Hazel knew that too. 'I can tell you many things, Silver Warrior.' Nego was surprised. The shadows knew he was a warrior, but he had never told anyone what the symbols of the arrow meant.

Hazel stared into the fading stars. 'You're so quiet,' she said softly. Nego looked into her brown eyes. A shiver travelled down his spine again, he was still scared of her. 'Why can't you, I don't know, maybe get the forest to help you?' Nego asked (squeaked was more like it).

'The hardest power most warriors fail to master, is the power of yielding. I already have great power, but I do not dare to use it. I do not dare to use my true strength.' Blue light circled around her, and Nego felt something strong, power so raw that it would burst with one touch.

The light died as soon as it came. Hazel looked at him, than she turned her gaze to the heart of the stones. 'Come, the food will be ready soon,' she said as the first light of the day shone gently on the white, thin branches of the trees with blue leaves.