The tranquility of the forest was a sight to behold; deep hues mixed with light glimmered fluorescently, and pools of mana dotted the surface of the forest, injecting life into it and everything around it. Inside this forest, Elves walked the path of nature, their fey nature making it easy for the leaves and vines of trees around them to twist into a path for each graceful step they took. The branches of the thick trees that were hundreds of feet tall stood strong against winds and rains alike, the tree branches interweaving with each other much like their roots to help hold them all together. Each touch from the elves gave life to the forest, every breath breathed life into nature around them, aiding and helping it grow faster, and yet despite this tranquility, there was one lone figure that was out of place in this tranquil land. This figure wore a thick beard on his face, and the crow's feet near his eyes showed how much he laughed and loved this forest with his entire soul. The figure looked to his side where a beautiful elven woman stood near him, gazing down from the tree in which they stood at the forest below, He slowly walked towards the woman embracing her around her stomach and smelling her smooth hair, it smelled of lilies and pine, and to him it was heaven. "If we could stand like this forever as statues, I would gladly give anything." The woman chuckled before softly moving away from his embrace, "I already told you I have to meet the elders, go run around the forest again Marellian." Marellian sighed, his second favorite activity seemed so boring now that he had her in his life, she breathed new life into his bones and he wouldn't have it any other way, however she was right as he began to walk down the tree, through the village filled with other animals, elves, treants and such, all of which nodded to him in greeting. Marellian walked the worn path before him with grace befitting a ranger of 32 years. He let out a content sigh and chuckled to himself, the breeze blew through the trees whistling songs of nature's joy, and the wind swirled around him lifting his hair and dancing with it up and down mirthfully.

Marellian glanced up looking over the outline on the horizon of the massive mountains that framed this forest. Small dust clouds shaped like children formed near the human running around his legs as he walked, they ran up and down his limbs, gravity not affecting them. "Mar! Mar! You promised you would play with us today! Please! Please! C'mon! You promised!!" The children near him all cried in unison, their voices weaving through each other's sounding feathery and ethereal. Their words played melodies spoken only by the forests favored. He let out a loud sonorous roar causing the nearby leaves of the tree to shake. He softly scooped up one of the little children with a hand and brought it up to his bearded face, "I believe I recall saying that but I'm not sure… yeah I think I can manage that." a wolf-like smile filled his face, his canines showing through his tight lips as he began to walk faster, a slow jog that evolved into a full-on sprint quickly. The spirits near him hollered in laughter as Marellian sprinted through the old forest, dodging trees and logs with an inhuman grace, he bounded through the vines using them to throw himself in directions not typically possible through typical maneuvering.

As he dashed through the lively forest, animals of all sorts followed him, the spirits assisted his every step, and each leap and bound through the typically difficult terrain was carried out. Sparrows would fly by his face, their radiant underbelly almost tangling with his luminous hair as they flew by at similar speeds, coming to rest on the nearby branches and tweeting to tell him of upcoming rocks, boulders, and other difficulties he already knew of. As Marellian ran the small figures of wind ran beside him, rapidly changing sizes as the breeze would gust across his face. He ran like this for as long as his lungs could carry him, which was quite the distance, as he stood, hands on his knees trying to catch his breath, his hair framed his face with sweat, before laying down with a "Humph!" Marellian gulped down air into his lungs trying to catch the breath that had escaped him on his playtime chase, as he lay there looking up at the sky he let out a large breath, this was his home and had been his home for as long as he could remember, from when he was a little child to even now, and yet, he could never truly get over how beautiful this place was. He gazed at the sky above him from the top of the cliff face watching as the clouds rolled through the sky, they made little figures he could point out, seeing birds and alligators in the sky. He sat up and gazed down at the forest below him from the cliff edge he had climbed, it truly was a wonder, the towering trees reached for the sky as their branches interconnected like one massive canopy, with his extensive eyesight he could see between the leaves small critters weaving their way on the branches dancing and playing while hunting for the nuts and berries that would feed them this coming winter.

Sunlight flickered through the treetops as he could see the wolf pack running through the woods below, an injured one near the front of the line setting the pace, its right leg making it hobble as it whimpered. Such was the life of nature but he still hated to see it, he too had to eat and couldn't ask the forest for a free meal. He knew in his heart that as long as he used their entire body they would return to nature, but the child spirit of any animal deserved the right to at least know the wonders of the world. He stood up, his eyes steeling with a look of intense concern, he looked at the air spirits that sat near him and his eyes glinted before he took one step then two before running towards the cliff's edge when he suddenly turned one hundred and eighty degrees and like a goat began to run down the almost vertical cliff face without a single shred of hesitation, even though the spirits practically saw him do it everyday the human figure sprinting down the cliff side was truly a sight to behold. One of the spirits looked onwards, farther out into the forest seeing the swirling darkness that encompassed that part of the forest making it darker than a crow at night, the spirit knew that there was truly something maleficent in those woods but he didn't know and couldn't know, yet every fiber of his curious being wanted to find out.

Marellian reached the clearing where he saw the wolves before on the cliff and slowly began to track the traces of the wolves although it had been an hour or two since he had last seen them he should still have plenty of time to find where they camp out before sunset. As he followed the tracks deeper into the recesses of the forest he realized he hadn't been over here in a couple of weeks, the forest seemed… darker somehow. The spirits that normally coalesced near him and cheered seemed to be afraid, Marellian continued down the forest path, and as he walked he did take note of the darkness that seemed to consume the forest around him, the sunlight no longer shone through the leaves of the trees and as he continued his walk, twenty minutes in, Marellian looked up at the surrounding trees. "The birds… have stopped singing?" He inspected his surroundings intently, this was such a weird situation, in all of the years that he had been in this forest, never before had he heard the quiet that he was currently hearing from around him, it wasn't the silent forest he was used to. Here, no crickets were chirping, no frogs were croaking and no owls hooting, it was just… quiet, that was before he heard a minuscule growling behind him, in the depths of the dark forest a familiar face gazed at him, the wolf's hackles raised but it was… different. The small wolf that he looked at from the top of the cliff face stood in front of him, but compared to its previous state this wolf. "What… the hell." The small wolf's magnificent coat of fur is now matted and disheveled, tinged with dirt and blood. Deep wounds crisscross his body, revealing exposed bones in places his face had been completely maimed, his right eye missing from the socket and its snout mangled showing bone and gristle as his mouth was open too wide for what his jaw was normally capable of, his saliva dripping heavily from its mangled face, his stomach sliced nine ways from Sunday, his innards hanging out from what looked like damage from a claw. Behind the wolf sat a pile, a pile that almost made Marellian puke as he realized what it was. "Oh Malfacia, don't tell me… child, did you do this to your family? What could compel such violence? Who cursed you to be so cold?" A pile of wolf corpses sat behind the undead wolf and more to the horror of the ranger he watched as those corpses began to shuffle and move before slowly standing up, missing muscle and tissue, a sickly inhuman green color began to glow from inside the once corpses as they growled and padded to be beside the one who murdered them. One of the larger wolves, with much more obvious damage to its neck, padded up to the originator of this horror and began to clean its face from the damage of the fight before gazing at the ranger letting out a growl. Marellian let out a choked sob as he watched this occur, he slowly slid the bow off of his back before being interrupted by a loud cry from above him as a large falcon swooped down, he reached out his arm and it settled on it before gazing him in the eyes, a voice sounded in his ears as he locked eyes with the falcon "By Malfacia Marellian! You have to come help! Our village… it's being overrun by monsters! Th-the woodland creatures from the graveyard! They have come back to life and they've attacking us! Please Marellian!"

Malfacia- From the Anthermion pantheon she is the Goddess of Solstices, Wilderness Fetility, Love and the Sky

She is one of three High Gods in the pantheon. She is the embodiment of purity, she has brunette hair and a triangular face, her blessings come when you can hear a Harp playing in the forest.