Eternity, Chapter I- The Forest

[StardoostLegend]

Long ago, there was once a forest that possessed mystical and magical secrets. The forest was said to have flowers of vibrant colors and beautiful plants so appealing to the eye, and herbs that were said to heal even mortal wounds. However, where there are riches, there are protectors. The forest was said to have guardians that have been created to protect it eternally, as the animals there are of mythical creatures; beings that can speak the tongue of any living creature.
One day however, the forest was brought to ruin by a great force. Not even the guardians could protect their land, and soon it was all gone. Everything they had worked for was destroyed. They were said to have banished all from what little land they had left, and their fate remains unknown today…

“Well… this is it.” I told myself. I looked around the vast land of dead trees, dirt and occasional piles of snow from winter storms. I was disappointed by the lack of… pretty much, anything around here. Several historic accounts and writings have led me to this location for the fabled magical forest. Legends say for it to have been a paradise, with magical animals and great mystical deities, it seems so unreal. But for several different people in history to speak of such a place, it was certainly worth investigating.

This was my first real investigation as a scientist, so I hoped to get something out of this. One thing was for certain: this place at some point was filled with life. And I intended to find out what happened here, for the sake of science and in hopes of preventing such a catastrophe from happening again. I came prepared with food, tools and supplies that would last me weeks, but I image I’d be here for much less time, probably 2 days even. I started walking around to find anything different, but it was all the same: Dead trees with a dark-black color, dirt as hard as stone, nothing seemed to change as I moved forward. I took a few photos as I kept moving, in a dim hope of finding something in this wasteland. However, as I continued walking, I found something interesting.

Imprinted onto the dirt were a trail of footprints. They were fresh, something had recently been here. Something that was alive. I was surprised. When I took a closer look they seemed to be wolf paw prints, but were much too large for a normal wolf. As I looked ahead the prints seemed to lead into a dense forest of trees. Something was somehow alive here, something I can’t explain. How could something be thriving in such a lifeless and barren environment? There perhaps was something hidden within, I needed to search further.

I took photos of the footprints before making my way through. Below the towering trees the branches loom above me, stacked on top of each other that only a few beams of light can penetrate through the cracks. I moved on into the maze of trees, there was certainly much more of an abundance of them as I went deeper in. Things seemed all the same, atleast I had thought. But after a while, I noticed something that I didn’t see before. On some of the trees, there were… scratches. Deep, large claw marks on the tree bark, maybe an inch deep. They were at my shoulder height. I couldn’t imagine what caused these, a wild beast of unimaginable size. I kept walking through, even through the thick cluster of trees I started to feel the wind howling. But, underneath the sound of the breeze, I heard the hushed sounds and whispers of… of a man. Of a voice calling to me. I started to get an eerie feeling growing inside me, but I wanted to press on. I was probably just hearing things.

I continued on and suddenly, from the corner of my eye I saw something. Something to my left side just moved behind the trees. It was large, and fast. I just kept thinking that I was seeing things, but it looked as if it was circling me. The whispers started to get louder, and that’s when it clicked in my head.

The footprints leading into the woods, the claw marks on the trees, the whispering; it was all from the same creature, and it was following me. Stalking me at this point. It was encircling me, I don’t know what to do.
“Why do you step foot on this forbidden land?” a scratchy, growly voice said to me. That froze me in place, every muscle in my body froze. How could this be happening, I asked myself, how could such a beast exist, and even be able to talk. I wanted to think this was in my mind, but it was too real not to.

“Your kind is not welcome here anymore,” the beast continued. “turn around, and NEVER return.” It commanded. Eventually the beast revealed itself with glowing, yellow eyes behind the shadow of the trees. It possessed a large silhouette. This had to be some sick, twisted joke. I wasn’t going to let this person trick me and force me to leave.

“N-no… I w-won’t leave.” I said defiantly. I could hear my voice tremble a bit, but I tried my best to keep cool and stand my ground. Its glowing eyes continued to stare through me, giving me an angry glare.

“Turn… AROUND.” The beast demanded. It lunged its head slightly out of the darkness, revealing a large white jaw with sharpened teeth, similar to a wolf. It also appeared to have a golden mane of hair that had a shine in it.

“I can’t, n-not until I’m done with my research.” I continued to defy the beast. I couldn’t even believe the words coming out of my mouth. Any other person would follow its orders but my curiosity seemed to get the better of me.

“Very well…” It said as he looked at me. “If you do not wish to leave, then fine…” His eyes and silhouette disappeared into the dark as he retracted back, later revealing himself as he stepped forward. He revealed a single large paw and leg, and on it was a red armor plate, crested with silver patterns. He revealed himself to be a large wolf-like being. The same red, silver-crested designed armor appeared all over him, with dagger-like blades attached to them. On his face was a large, golden hair mane, that extended down halfway to the ground. Should’ve ran while I had the chance, I said to myself.

“I will just make you leave.” He continued. He could tell that I was completely shocked and scared by this. Despite me trying to keep my cool there was no way I could fight him. I was at the point of fear where I no longer questioned my situation. There was no way this could be possible, but I didn’t think anything of it. Then, I started to think about it… the legends of the mythical forest. Could they really be true?

I had no time to collect my thoughts, he immediately lunged himself at me, about to pounce onto me with his paws. I immediately veered out of the way of his attack. His blade had stabbed through one of the trees, leaving it wedged inside. This was my chance to run, he was distracted and stuck. I took the opportunity to escape from the scene and flee. I didn’t look behind me, I just kept running through the dense forest of trees. I heard a faint howl and growl behind me, he was chasing me down. About a minute in I realized, I had been running in random directions! I had no clue now which direction I came from, and I’ve completely lost any sense of direction I had. It was too late to turn back, if I wanted to get out of here unscathed, I would have to keep running and hope that I can shake him of my trail. I tried running through different parts of trees, hoping that the difficult navigation would get him to lose my track, but no use. I could hear his panting and growls get louder, he was gaining on me! My heart was pounding out of my chest, scared for my life I used all my energy into running. There was no way any person would be able to take HIM on in a fight and survive, much less win. The chase continued. I could tell by the expression on his face and his fierce, menacing attitude that he was blood-bent on killing me. I was losing my breath, and the seemingly endless forest of towering trees didn’t seem to help my situation. Everything looked the same.

Eventually, I kept running and running. Running through the woods for my life, until suddenly, I saw something ahead. In the distance ahead, the trees seemed to stop, and there was a glimmer of light shining through. A smile emerged from my face, it must’ve been a clearing. Like the one I came through, it HAD to be the way out of this forest. I was filled with hope, with what little energy I had left, I used it all in a huge burst of running through the dead woods. However, the beast was still chasing me, and gaining momentum too. I was only a dozen feet away, I leaped through the exit, with the light shining in my eyes, however, when I looked down the ground seemed to come to an end. I stopped myself and almost ended up falling into a steep ledge. This wasn’t a clearing, this was a cliff. I had just cornered myself.