Welcome back to Hiraeth, everyone! The Forest of Magi Oar is one of my favorite episodes largely due to the setting, so I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!
The Forest of Magi Oar was as beautiful and haunting as she remembered from her childhood. The trees that grew in the forest were massive and ancient, cared for by their guardian spirit, Viragor. Their canopy was so thick that very little light reached the forest floor, keeping it in a dim gloom that spirits of the forest playfully flitted to and fro.
...or, that was what Leopara wanted to say.
It became very obvious to her once they entered the forest properly that something was very wrong. The forest felt… injured. Almost sickly. Something was causing it harm, infesting it. The spirits she could sense watched not with curiosity but with wariness and distrust.
"Leopara?" Cheetara's voice startled her from her ruminations. "Is everything okay?"
Leopara blinked a couple times. "I don't know… the forest feels different. Something is disrupting the natural flow of its magics, and has been for some time… where is Viragor?" she wondered. "He would never allow this."
Could something, someone, have slain him?
"Viragor?" Lion-O asked.
Leopara nodded, trailing her fingers down the bark of a tree. "He's the guardian of this forest and has been since ancient times." She looked at Lion-O. "Lion-O, please, something's very wrong here. Let me go in search of Viragor and try to make this right. We're deep enough in the forest that the magic in the Sword of Omens will be amplified by the forest." Could it even be amplified if Viragor were dead? Surely the magic would begin to follow him.
Lion-O blinked at her, thinking.
"If something is as wrong here as you say, we should look for Viragor together," he said.
"Perhaps it's better to let her look for him alone?" Tygra suggested. "Don't forget why we came here, Lion-O."
Lion-O looked at his brother very unhappily. Then, he shook his head. "Okay. Stay safe, Leopara."
Leopara nodded. "I will. I'll have Snowmeow with me, after all." she said, smiling at the giant felyne beast.
Snowmeow looked at her uncomfortably, a silent plea in his eyes for them to leave this place. She gave him a comforting pet before climbing into his saddle. "If I'm not back by the morning, look for me at the oldest and tallest tree in the forest." she said.
By the time she and Snowmeow reached the Elder Tree, the home of Viragor, evening had settled over the forest. For generations, Thunderan sorcerers had traveled to this tree to pay their respects to the spirit before they took anything from the woods, and perhaps recieve his blessing.
Leopara had been no exception.
She recalled what the tree looked like when she was young- beautiful and wondrous, with fireflies ever present around its lowest brances. All around it had been a glen of beautiful forest flowers, including the rarest among the world.
Now, it was filled with Viragor, the fireflies chased away, and the trees surrounding the glen on ome side broken and fallen. He breathed weakly on the forest floor, every breath a burden. Blood stained his black feathers red and pooled in the dirt; from it sprang crimson blossoms she had never before seen in her life. Flecks of white flitted about him, flapping the air quite like paper and-
They were... paper? As tattered as they were, they were dripping blood and flitting about Viragor in sweeping motions- they were attacking him.
"Viragor!" she shouted. She let loose a burst of flames to engulf the shreds of paper, incinerating them. With a leap, she dashed towards the Great Owl and fell to her knees besides his giant body. "Oh, Viragor…"
He shifted his head a little. "Ah… the little one." he wheezed.
Leopara drew Jaga's staff. "Viragor, please stay still. I'm going to do my best to heal you, Great Spirit." The spirit said nothing to this, but she did not sense objection from him. She laid the staff atop his body and rested her hands upon it. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.
With a softer exhale, she began to pour her magic into the staff and into Viragor, a wave of healing energy.
Amplified not just by Jaga's staff, but by the very forest around her, magic rushed through with a blue glow so strong it nearly possessed her for a moment- a rush of power and exhilaration that threatened to sweep her consciousness with it.
It took all of her focus and discipline to stay in her body.
With so much magic feeding into Viragor, his wounds mended quickly, leaving only a few missing feathers and blood stains as evidence he had been harmed.
A few heartbeats, but it was probably minutes.
"Thank you, apprentice of Jaga."
Leopara bowed her head to him as he shifted and stood. "Great Spirit, who did this to you?"
Viragor blinked slowly at her and then he began to regale his tale…
It didn't sit right with Lion-O that Leopara had to do this alone. He knew they were here for a reason, but she was a Thundercat. A Thundercat should never have to go alone.
Besides… she was his friend. Even when he was reckless, she helped him.
She deserved the same courtesy.
He took a deep breath and hoisted the Sword of Omens. Focus on the bigger picture, he reminded himself. Leopara was a Thundercat; she could take care of herself. She knew more about spirits than he did and she had Snowmeow, too.
He would just hurry up with the Sword of Omens and figure where the stone was and how they could get to it. That way, when she returned to them, they would be ready to go.
"Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight."
The Eye of Thundera glowed- but the eye quickly shut.
I thought this place was supposed to amplify my sword and bring me closer to it.
What was he doing wrong?
Dejected from yet another failure, he sighed and sheathed the Sword of Omens.
Why was he so bad at this?
Everyone else seemed to know exactly what they were doing- Tygra, Cheetara, Panthro, even WilyKit and WilyKat, and Leopara too. How did she bend magic to her whim like that? He couldn't even get his stupid sword to work, and everytime he thought he finally did it, something else went wrong with it. Why couldn't they just find the stone?
He returned to the makeshift camp the others were preparing. Cheetara and the Wilytwins were using low, twisting branches- were they branches?- to prepare a tent together, while Panthro grumbled to himself as he got his own set up. He was still miffed that they left the Thundertank behind, outside the forest. But if what Leopara said was true, and that it would only damage the forest and provoke the spirits, it was for the best.
"Anything?" Tygra asked as Lion-O passed him by.
"I don't understand why the elephants sent us here. The Book says the stone is in their village. The Sword does too."
"We might not be able to see why yet, but coming here might be the key to locating the stone there."
"She's right." Tygra agreed, looking around. "You don't have to be a cleric to feel the forest's magic."
"But I'm not feeling it. It's not helping at all!" he exclaimed. Gloomily, he added, "Maybe Leopara's right and something is wrong. I should have gone with her."
Panthro shuddered. "This place gives me the willies."
Yeah, as it turned out, Panthro didn't care what they were called- spirits, ghosts, souls- he didn't like and he didn't want to be near them.
"You two, go get some firewood." the general commanded the Wilytwins.
They looked up indignantly. "Why do we have to?" WilyKat demanded.
"Because you're smaller than me, you're younger than me, and you're not good for much else." Panthro said. Lion-O thought it was a little harsh; they'd proven more than once they were good in a fight and for picking locks.
"Ugh. Fine!" WilyKit exclaimed. With more theatrics than he really thought was necessary, they walked off into the trees, stopping only so she could say, "Come on, Snarf. Maybe we'll see a ghost. Oooh, oooh, oooh~"
For some reason, despite being a scaredy pet, Snarf followed them.
Lion-O sighed, shaking his head.
"What's wrong with those two?" Panthro groused. "Wanting to see ghosts of all things." He started muttering to himself as he rolled out his bedroll. The general got comfortable in it, finally relaxing.
"Here." Tygra said, handing Lion-O a bedroll as well. "You'll have to set your tent up too."
Great.
He sighed again and took the bedroll, finding a nice spot to lay it out before beginning the struggle with his tent. Things were much nicer when they could just roll out the bedrolls in the Thundertank. No tent to fuss with, just a bedroll.
By the time he finished, the Wilytwins had returned from their trip collecting firewood and Tygra had started a fire since Panthro was fast asleep and snoring.
"So… what exactly is a spirit?" WilyKit asked, looking at Cheetara.
"Hm… it's difficult to explain. There are many types of spirits. There are… ghosts." she said with a sigh. "They are wandering souls of the living who are unable to pass on to the next world."
"What kinds of spirits live here?"
Cheetara skimmed her eyes across the surrounding wood. "I'm not sure…"
"Aw…" WilyKit complained.
"What about the one Leopara is going to see? Vira-whatsit?" WilyKat asked.
Cheetara shrugged. "I don't know. I have never heard of him, but I think he is a spirit of nature."
"What's that mean?"
"It means he was born of the forest and is a part of it as much as it is a part of him." Cheetara explained coolly. "We should get some rest." she told the Wilytwins.
"Aw." they both complained. "But you were just getting to the good part!"
Cheetara gave them an amused smile. "You can ask me in the morning. Now head to bed." She stood, taking her own advice and crawling into her own tent. "Good night, Lion-O." her voice sent warmth to his cheeks. "Good night, Tygra."
"Good night." Lion-O said, smiling ear to ear.
"Good night." Tygra said more quietly.
She closed her eyes, facing the fire. The warm glow of the firelight danced across her features, a beautiful display of shadows. She looked so… peaceful.
WilyKit and WilyKat both yawned as they curled up on the other side of Cheetara's tent, next to a log. Within moments, they were fast asleep.
They waited several minutes, just watching the trio.
Lion-O would admit he mostly watched Cheetara.
Tygra broke the silence first, looking over at Panthro. "He sounds like the Thundertank."
"Hmm!" Lion-O agreed. "Father used to snore like that, remember?"
"How could I forget? It's the one thing you inherited from him."
And here Lion-O thought they were going to have a nice, brotherly conversation. It was too much to hope for.
"You still don't think I should be king, do you?"
Tygra gestured with his hands helplessly. "Does it natter what I think?" Yes. "The Sword picked you."
Did it choose him? Or did their father choose him?
Lion-O looked away.
"Maybe it chose wrong." He wanted to tell someone what he truly felt. Cheetara and Leopara were kind trying to help him, but… maybe he was just a lost cause. Panthro wouldn't accept it, and the Wily Twins wouldn't believe it either. But Tygra would understand. He hoped Tygra understood. "No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to master Sight Beyond Sight."
Tygra surprised him.
"You just have to believe in yourself." He glanced at Cheetara's sleeping form. "She seems to."
So that was it? He had Tygra's faith because Cheetara believed in him? He wanted to laugh bitterly.
Instead, he pivoted to watch her as well, listen to the soft puffs of her breath as she exhaled.
"You know we're going to have to settle this eventually." Lion-O told him. "May the best cat win."
Tygra just stared flatly at him. Lion-O immediately regretted his words.
"May the best cat win"? What, like she was a prize to be fought over? Stupid.
But it was going to have to be resolved sooner or later.
The silence stretched on. Unable to bear it, Lion-O picked up a stick and tossed it on the campfire.
The fire exploded loudly into the color blue, with pale smoke rising up above it. As the smoke began to thin, three silvery trails of- dust?- began to circle the extinguished fire in a spiral, growing taller and wider, passing through Lion-O and Tygra as they circled more and more, until they towered over them.
Lion-O glanced at the wood in his hand.
Oh no.
Something wrong with the forest… spirits of nature.
The spirits shrieked at them, startling Panthro, Cheetara, and the Wilytwins awake.
"Huh?"
One of the spirits settled between Lion-O and Tygra, hovering above the scorched wood. It was blue, almost blazing like flames- cold flames. Its silhouette was vaguely byrd like, white a white face like a skull with a short. It framed its eerie green eyes, making it even more unsettling as it faced Lion-O.
He dropped the stick and drew the Sword of Omens.
"Ghosts!" WilyKit and WilyKat exclaimed, holding Snarf close.
Cheetara ran up beside him. "And they're coming from the wood."
Yes, yes they were. That was his bad, he was pretty sure.
If the spirit had been a real beast, that was the moment it would have unhinged its jaw unleashing an unholy screech at them.
Tygra fired his blaster at it, but all three of his shots just went through it. It turned towards him, slowly fading from view just to reappear immediately behind him. He stumbled away from the spirit, towards the rest of them.
More spirits began to manifest from the darkness.
Cheetara vaulted high in the air. Spinning her staff, she came down through the middle of them.
The whirring wind didn't even budge them.
Like Tygra, she lept back towards their huddle.
A chorus of new screeches joined the spirits as even more began to appear.
"I always say, the problem with ghosts is you can't punch them in the face."
"Really wish we had Leopara with us right now." Tygra remarked.
Another reason they should have gone with her. She could have protected them from this; calmed the spirits or used magic against them.
No, he could handle it.
He raised Omens. "Don't worry, I have something that never fails." He stepped forward, grasping the hilt with both hands. He wound up for an upwards thrust. "Thundercats… ho!" Held above his head, pointed at the canopy… the Sword of Omens did nothing. "...until now."
They watched helplessly as the spirits began to swoop and circle around them, a threatening display.
They had been in a lot of tough positions, but he didn't know how they were going to get out of this one unless Leopara somehow appeared out of nowhere and chased the spirits away. He wasn't even able to signal with Omens- would she have been able to see it anyways?
Suddenly, a voice spoke out from behind them.
"Begone, evil spirits, or face the wrath of the Wood Forgers."
The spirits screeched at the newcomer. All together, they began to hurtle through the air at him. Lion-O spun around to watch.
"Snips, scatter these spirits to the wind." The first one said. A second one, more portly in manner and dressed in blue, outstretched his arms. Little… paper stars?
They spun and spun, creating such a gust of wind that it blew the spirits back, and forced some of them to lose their form. Not for long, unfortunately. They were relentless!
"Gami, fold them a nightmare so they can see what fear really is."
A woman of their people held a piece of paper in her hand and crushed it, fiddled with it, and then tossed it. In a small explosion, it burst in a… a paper dragon?
The spirits dove at it.
It opened its mouth and roared, a sonic scream that disintegrated the spirits.
The first one jumped down from their vantage view. "And with a mere stroke of my brush, your frenzy is put to rest." He tossed a sheet of paper into the air. As it fell, he quickly stroked his paintbrush across it.
A bottle glowed to life. With a flick of his wrist, it began to pull the remaining spirits in. With shrieks they struggled, but were unable to escape the magic. Into the bottle they were sealed.
The 'Wood Forger' flicked his wrist again, and the bottled settled again on his piece of parchment as ink, now colored gray where the blue essence of the spirits had swirled in the bottle. At least, he thought it would be called essence.
"Did they just defeat them with paper?" Tygra asked.
"Nunchucks are weapon. Swords are a weapon. Paper isn't any kind of weapon."
Disregarding Panthro's disbelief, Lion-O approached their saviors to greet them. WilyKit and WilyKat ran up ahead of him. "That. Was. Amazing!" WilyKit exclaimed.
"And just in time." Lion-O said. "I am Lion-O, Lord of the Thundercats."
"Welcome to the Magi Oar Forest, Lion-O. We are the Wood Forgers." He tossed up a piece of paper. It stopped mid air, hovering in place as it lit up a soft, golden glow. A trail of literal paper lanterns appeared, leading the way through the forest. "Quickly now, it's not safe here."
Lion-O glanced at the others.
They had no Thundertank, their campfire was out and Lion-O was scared to light another, and they had no way to defend themselves against the spirits if they were attacked again, not until Leopara rejoined them. Not that the Wood Forger was twisting his arm about it, but it seemed they had no choice but to follow them through the woods.
The forest was dark on all sides, eventually opening up to grand building with yellow lights aglow inside.
"This is the school of paper arts, and I am its headmaster." the first Wood Forger told them, glancing back over his shoulder. He led the way forward and continued to speak. "Tasked with training our students in the various disciplines of wood forging in order to carry out our mission to protect all in need."
The headmaster led them through a paper maché archway into a walled courtyard.
"Magi Oar is an enchanted forest whose power we harness through paper in order to protect it."
"Doesn't the forest have a guardian?" Cheetara asked. Lion-O recognised the tone of her voice immediately and looked at her with surprise. She was suspicious of the Wood Forgers?
And then he thought about it for a moment. "We have a friend who's been here before." he said, looking forward just in time to notice the headmaster had stopped dead in her tracks. "She said Viragor was the guardian spirit of the forest."
The headmaster turned towards them, silent. "Viragor once was." He withdrew his book and stroked his brush against the page a few times. "But he has become an evil monster." The painting flew off the page, flying around them and steadily growing in detail.
Evil?
Oh no. If what the Wood Forgers said was true, Leopara was in danger. Lion-O had let her walk right into it by herself.
"He doesn't look so tough." Lion-O reassured himself. Leopara would be okay.
"I don't think he's been drawn to scale." Tygra murmured.
Right. He was probably huge.
Still, Leopara was an amazing sorceress. He had to believe she would be okay. If she wasn't… then it was his fault as king for not having stood his ground and gone together.
"He seeks to drive us out of the forest so he might use its power for his own evil intent." Cheetara rested a hand on her hip, not buying it one bit it seemed. The headmaster gestured to the school. "Not long ago, it looked like he might just do that, until we built this paper mill."
"Or perhaps," Cheetara said in the sweetest voice she could for her next words, "-you've overstayed your welcome in his home."
The headmaster narrowed his eyes dangerously. Before Lion-O could think of what to say to diffuse the situation before it turned hairy, Tygra beat him to it.
"What she means is it's difficult to believe the spirit would have changed so suddenly. Thunderan sorcerers have been making pilgrimages to the Magi Oar for generations, including our friend. Why would Viragor change now?"
"Unless he was provoked?" Cheetara prodded.
Tygra shot her a look and shook his head.
"Where is this friend of yours?" the headmaster asked, arching his brow.
There was a pause. No matter what they believed the Wood Forgers' intentions were, they were all equally hesitant to tell them.
"She went to find Viragor." Lion-O answered. "She said there was something wrong with the forest and that he would never allow it."
The headmaster frowned. "I'm afraid she's correct, or she would have been. Viragor as he was before would never have allowed anything to beleaguer this beautiful wood, but now he is the one causing it harm. I am sorry," he followed up solemnly, "but if your friend succeeds in finding Viragor, it is too late for her. Viragor will enthrall her to do his dark bidding."
"Enthrall?"
"Yes. Exert his will over her magically and compel her to do things she otherwise wouldn't. She may not even realise she is under the effects of magic. I assure you," he said, bringing a hand up to his heart, "-we will do our best to save her."
Lion-O's heart sunk.
He just couldn't do anything right, could he? Couldn't master Sight Beyond Sight or make his sword work, and he couldn't make the right choices for his friends.
"That's very kind of you," Cheetara interjected, "but Thunderan sorcerers cannot be compelled by magic."
They couldn't? He furrowed his brows at her and Cheetara glanced at him from the corner of her eyes with the faintest shake of her head. "Don't say anything." Is what her expression told him.
The headmaster blinked at her. "Ah. Nonetheless, she believes Viragor to be a benevolent spirit. He will use her faith to manipulate and turn her against all of you."
Cheetara smiled for a moment with a knowing look. "I'm sure we'll be able to convince her of the truth." She gestured vaguely.
"Then there is still hope yet." the headmaster smiled as well. "Come, let me give you a tour of the mill."
"Please, lead on." Cheetara invited him.
The headmaster did, walking across the courtyard towards the paper maché mill. It had tall smoke stacks, from which black plumes of smoke billowed like an ugly sore amidst the eerie beauty of the Magi Oar. Two water mills, on one either side of the mill, turned.
Inside, a stream of water carried logs onto a belt of somesort, which then conveyed them through the mill. With a whirring buzz, saws sliced them neatly in half.
"Once, it took an entire day for a wood forger to produce a single sheet by hand." Pressed between two giant cylinders, sheet after sheet of perfectly formed paper were carried along another conveyor belt. Above this belt was a string with papers pinned to it, moving in unison. "This mill can produce thousands in the same time."
"Can the forest sustain such loss?" Cheetara asked.
The headmaster glanced back at them. "The forest is big and only through its lumber can we protect it from Viragor."
Cheetara's expression darkened at him.
The headmaster gestured ahead. "Come, there is more to see." He led him into the school proper and began explaining the different sections and the layout.
Lion-O could not care less about what the headmaster had to say. He wanted to hear Cheetara's thoughts. He slowed down to walk beside her. She glanced at the headmaster's back and slowed even further, letting Panthro and the much more curious Wilytwins take the lead.
Not one to be left out, Tygra slowed down as well.
"What are you thinking?" his brother asked.
"The headmaster is an awful liar." Cheetara murmured darkly. "Leopara can sense and feel the emotions of all living creatures. She would never fall for lies and manipulation."
Lion-O jolted in surprise. "What do you mean?" Cheetara blinked at him without understanding. "About Leopara sensing… you know."
He had never questioned how Leopara always seemed to know what he was feeling. He thought she was just observant and thoughtful.
"You didn't know?"
"No." said Tygra, shaking his head.
"What about spirits?" Lion-O asked. "Can she sense those too?"
Cheetara nodded. "Many spirits are living creatures, they just experience life differently from us. But… I believe she would be able to sense the emotions of a ghostly spirit, yes. As long as there is a soul."
"Huh." Tygra summarised. He shook his head. "What should we do, if the headmaster is lying?"
Cheetara frowned, troubled. "We should wait and be ready to help Leopara. Until then, we'll play nice with the Wood Forgers."
"Good idea." Lion-O said.
"If I'm right, they're unwelcome guests." Cheetara continued. "It'll only be a matter of time before Viragor and Leopara come here. She won't be expecting us here, so she might not use the caution she otherwise would. We'll have to be careful."
He and Tygra nodded.
She was right, Leopara had no idea where they were right now- she likely thought they were still in that clearing or made their way back to the Thundertank for the night.
"What if the Wood Forgers are right, though?"
Her expression clouded again. "Then… I hope Leopara escapes safely. We won't know until we see her."
Lion-O nodded. "She'll be okay. She knows how to take care of herself."
If either Cheetara or Tygra had something to say about that, neither of them did in that moment.
Feeling confident in their plan and with the information Cheetara had gleamed, he quickly caught up to the headmaster to listen to the tour.
"-and using my wards, I can protect the surrounding forest from flames. But you'll have to give me time to prepare them, Viragor." Leopara explained to the Great Spirit, drawing a circle in the dirt. "Once the wards are ready, I'll try to signal you. While you have the Wood Forgers' attention, I can burn down the mill until it's nothing but ashes."
A bold claim, but with the amplifying power of Jaga's staff and the Forest of Magi Oar, Leopara knew she could do it.
Viragor cocked his head almost a full one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. "It is a sound plan, little one."
"Okay. Snowmeow and I will ride ahead so we're not seen. Stay hidden until the second moon eclipses the first." Third Earth's second moon actually never could properly eclipse the larger moon, as it was too small, but that mattered little. She set the twig she had used to draw down and stood, grabbing onto Snowmeow's saddle. "Do you think they'll be surprised to see you, Great Spirit?"
"They have tried many times to kill me." Viragor shrugged with his owl shoulders. "This is not the first time they have failed, nor will it be the last."
"I hope it'll be the last." Leopara replied. "I'm helping you drive them out tonight."
She just hoped the others were okay. The spirits were more volatile and upset than she originally believed.
If they were smart, they returned to the Thundertank for the night and wouldn't get caught up in any of this.
"Let's go, Snowmeow." she patted Snowmeow's shoulder.
He let out a roar and spun around. In his race through the forsst, he kicked up dirt and leaves- the only sign of their passage.
Thank you everyone for reading! A special thanks to The Night Whisperer, Heart of the Demons, and Frankannestein! I originally intended to hold onto that Lion-O POV for Trials of Lion-O, but there was much about this chapter I wasn't going to be able to show without him. A lot of the dialogue this whole episode had to be modified and tweaked, and the one I'm most proud of is Cheetara.