When he opened his eyes, the last thing Evarius remembered from his dream was that his tears had dried after he had come out of the castle, yet upon waking he found his eyes soaked with tears, and his cheeks wet.
He seemed confused at first but as his sleep broke eventually he became aware of his surroundings. He was still in the forest and not back home.
He got up and rested his back on the trunk of the tree under which he had laid. He drank some water from his flask and ate a fruit he had found.
"Mother…I wonder how she's doing." He whispered to himself. Not knowing what to do, he was still resting on the trunk.
'Walk', a soft voice from inside his own head said to him. He didn't have any other choice, all he could do was get up and look around until he found a way to go back home. But he feared getting lost, the last thing he desired was to be stranded in the forest forever. It was only his second day in the forest, and he didn't remember the way he had come, he didn't remember where he had woken up, everything seemed very similar. On top of that, he felt as if his limb would fall off his body the moment he gets up, every part of his body was aching.
'Do you wish to die beneath this ugly tree, resting on its trunk?' he heard the voice again, but this time it was deeper, 'Walk, you must!' He somehow managed to gather the strength and stand up on his feet. He collected his things and decided to have a look around, in the hopes he'd encounter someone, or something for that case.
The day was colder than the day before and sunlight was scarce. He seemed to look at the forest better than he had looked at it the day before, as if his vision was clearer than what it had been.
The ground was covered entirely with fallen leaves, untrodden and moist. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and wildflowers that bloomed unseen beneath the undergrowth. The trees seemed ancient, yet stood tall and proud, their gnarled branches reaching upwards, entwined with lush vines and delicate mosses.
Shafts of sunlight broke through the thick foliage, filtering through the canopies, casting irregular beams on the forest floor. Mist swirled and weaved around the trees, catching the sunlight and creating illusions and weird patterns.
As Evarius made his way through the woods slowly, the mist grew thicker and the air took upon an unworldly chill. With each step he made, he got the feeling that he was being watched, as if the forest had eyes all over, creeping right behind him. The forest seemed alive, the trees murmuring and whispering to themselves.
Evarius lost track of time, he felt like he had been aimlessly walking around for hours, yet at the same time he felt as if it had only been minutes since he had started walking. The whispers grew louder and the mist thicker. He couldn't see much of what was in front of him, and so fear started taking over.
All of a sudden, he saw a mild flash of light amidst the misty woods and soon followed a loud thundering sound which startled Evarius. "Thump! Thump! Thump!" his heart raced loudly.
'Don't be afraid' he said to himself, countless times over, but his heartbeat didn't calm down at all. He gathered his courage and continued to walk along, never getting rid of the feeling that he was being followed.
He heard a sudden whimper, not sure if it was inside his head or outside, but he drew out his Dragon-head sword nonetheless. It wasn't like him to get scared easily but something about these woods absolutely terrified him. 'Don't let the fear grow! Don't let it take over you' he said to himself, trying to stay calm, but his heart-beat only grew louder and louder, "Thump-Thump! Thump-Thump! Thump-Thump!"
He walked on, extremely wary of everything that surrounded him. As his armor clanked, and the leaves beneath his feet rustled, with every step that he took, the rhythms reminded him of his presence in a place that seemed otherworldly. Evarius' breath was steady, his senses attuned to the rustling of unseen creatures in the underbrush and the distant whisper of wind through the trees. There was a tranquillity in the air, a deceptive calm that seemed to belie the foreboding atmosphere of the mist-clad woods.
Then, a sudden and chilling sound shattered the silence. A scream, raw and full of terror, pierced through the mist like a blade. Evarius felt a jolt of primal fear surge through him, his heart pounding as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. The scream echoed, reverberating through the forest and leaving an unsettling dissonance in its wake.
His grip on his sword tightened. He strained his senses trying to pinpoint the source of the scream amidst the misty labyrinth. The mist swirled around him with an almost malicious intent, obscuring his vision and heightening his unease. He gazed around with his eyes wide open, scanning for any movement. Another whisper, faint and haunting, joined the chorus of the already multiple whispers that ate up his mind. It was as if the shadows had been conspiring to play tricks on him.
The chilling echo of the scream lingered in the air, pulling him deeper and deeper into the woods, guiding his path almost like an invisible thread.
The trees became thicker and denser as he pushed forward, it felt as if they were closing in on him, trying to trap him. Upon walking a few minutes, a clearing opened up and he found an open area, with not much trees around, except a ginormous one right at the centre. He saw something lying at the foot of the tree trunk and squinted his eyes from a distance, in an attempt to make out what it was before he approached it. The figure lay still, possibly lifeless, sprawled across the forest floor.
He approached it cautiously, his senses oh the highest of alerts. The fallen figure was clad in crimson, carrying a red blade of 'Greymort'. The branches of the tree casted ominous shadows on the ground, dancing and swaying, mocking the dead.
"A 'Redblade'?" Evarius whispered to himself, terror and shock took over his face, he couldn't bring himself to believe his eyes. Of all the things he had expected, seeing a dead enemy in an otherworldly land was the last one of them. "What is a 'Redblade' doing here?" he thought to himself, as he bent down to inspect the dead body closely. The dead soldier's lifeless eyes stared blankly into the canopy above. Evarius noticed the tell-tale signs of a recent struggle – torn earth, broken branches, and a scattering of fallen leaves that bore witness to the grim encounter. There was blood everywhere, the Redblade had almost been torn apart from the back. Every instinct of his urged him to stay vigilant, as the weight of the moment heavily settled upon him.
As he examined his fallen enemy, he couldn't help but feel empathy for him. He couldn't help but feel the shred of humanity that they both shared, a life cut short, a story left untold. Then a sudden thought crossed his mind, 'Perhaps I am to suffer the same fate'. The thought scared him, but it wasn't far from possibility. If it could happen to someone else, it could very well happen to him, he thought. The dead soldier had some supplies on him, food and such, but Evarius was too honourable to loot a dead human. He gently pressed the man's eyes downwards, closing them, and rose up to his feet. There was grief behind his eyes, and a strange feeling of loss. He didn't even know the man, yet he felt sorry for him. He wished to cremate him, bid him a proper farewell, but he neither had the strength nor the time. He thought it was best to leave the area and look for more clues if he wanted to prevent such a fate.
"I apologise for leaving you like this. May your soul be guided." He said to the dead, as he bowed, and then started to walk away. The echoes and the whispers still lingered in the air, reminding him of the haunting road he must take.
Evarius' gaze shifted upward, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the surrounding trees. Thankfully for him, the mist had started to fade away and the paths had become clearer. With one last look at the fallen 'Redblade', Evarius set his jaw and continued his pursuit, his sword at the ready and his resolve unshaken.
To be continued...