The Evergreen Forest had always been mysterious—alive in ways the immortals could never fully comprehend. The dense canopy overhead, the labyrinthine paths that seemed to change with each passing day, and the strange sounds that echoed through the trees at night—all of it felt ancient and foreboding. Though they had lived for centuries, none of them had ever encountered a place like this.
Tonight, however, the forest felt even stranger. The usual peaceful rustling of leaves seemed to carry an ominous tone, and the wind, which usually flowed gently through the trees, now blew in short, jagged bursts. Elara, ever restless, found herself wandering away from the group. Something was pulling her deeper into the woods, like an unseen force calling her toward it.
She walked past familiar trees, their bark rough under her fingers, until she reached an old oak—its trunk wide and gnarled with age. She paused, eyes narrowing as they caught something unusual. At first glance, it seemed like a scratch or a random crack in the bark, but as Elara examined it more closely, she realized it wasn't natural. It was deliberate—a symbol, carved with precision, though the edges were worn by time.
Her fingers grazed the ancient grooves, a chill running through her. She called out softly, her voice almost swallowed by the thick air. "Aurelia… come look at this."
Aurelia appeared silently from the shadows, drawn by the unusual tone in Elara's voice. "What is it?" she asked, stepping closer.
Elara pointed to the symbol. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"
Aurelia's sharp eyes studied the carving. It was circular, with jagged lines crossing through the middle, forming a chaotic yet purposeful design. The pattern felt… wrong, out of place, as if it didn't belong in the peaceful forest around them.
"No," Aurelia said, her voice low. "But it's old. Ancient, even. Look at how deep the cuts are—it was made with care."
Soon, the rest of the immortals gathered around the oak, drawn by Elara's and Aurelia's discovery. They stood in silence for a moment, each of them taking in the strange symbol.
Thalos, ever the scholar, crouched down, his fingers lightly tracing the lines. "It's unlike any rune I've seen," he muttered. "It's not magical, at least not in any way I recognize."
"It feels wrong," Cassian said bluntly, his arms crossed as he stared at the symbol. "I don't like it."
Kael glanced around the surrounding trees. "There could be more. This might be a marker of some kind."
"But marking what?" Isolde asked, her eyes flicking back and forth between the symbol and the shadowy forest beyond. "Why carve something like this into a tree in the middle of nowhere?"
Zahara, the most cautious of the group, frowned. "It doesn't feel like it was meant to be found. Like it's hidden, or forgotten."
Lucius, pragmatic as always, shook his head. "If it was forgotten, then why show itself now? We've been wandering these woods for how long? Why did we find it tonight?"
The wind stirred again, rustling the leaves overhead, but none of them spoke. The forest, so vast and seemingly endless, had always felt alive, as though it was watching them. Now, it felt as though the forest was revealing its secrets—reluctantly.
"This is a warning," Eirik said, breaking the silence. His deep voice carried an edge of frustration. "Look at it. This isn't just some ancient drawing. It's meant to ward something off."
"Or trap something," Nyssa added quietly, her eyes narrowing as she peered closer. "The lines here—they could represent binding. This whole area could be some kind of prison."
A tense murmur passed through the group. The forest had been strange, yes, but the idea that it could be a prison for something far older than them—something potentially dangerous—sent a shiver down their spines.
"We've been walking these paths for what feels like an eternity," Aurelia said. "If this place is a prison, it's been holding something for a very long time."
Elara stood up straight, her hands clenching into fists. "So what are we supposed to do now? Leave it? Pretend we didn't see it?"
"Of course not," Thalos said. "We need to investigate. There could be more symbols like this. If we find more, maybe we can piece together what they mean."
"And if we can't?" Cassian asked, his voice cold. "What if this is meant to be a barrier we shouldn't cross? What if we're not meant to understand?"
Lucius, ever the leader, stepped forward. "We don't have a choice. We've been trapped in this forest for too long. If this symbol is connected to whatever's keeping us here, we need to find out why."
Nyssa glanced around warily, her eyes searching the shadows between the trees. "It's possible that the forest itself is tied to this symbol—maybe it's even controlling the land around us. The shifting paths, the way time seems to bend here. This could all be part of the same force."
Kael nodded in agreement. "We need to treat this carefully. If this is connected to the forest's strange power, it might not want us to uncover whatever's hidden here."
Eirik, ever the warrior, stepped forward and unsheathed his blade. "If the forest doesn't want us to uncover its secrets, then maybe it's time we force its hand."
Before anyone could respond, Eirik swung his blade at the tree, slicing through the bark around the symbol. The air seemed to grow heavier, as if the forest itself was holding its breath. The symbol pulsed briefly with a faint, almost imperceptible glow before fading into nothingness.
"What did you do?" Elara hissed, her voice sharp with fear.
"I'm tired of this place playing games with us," Eirik growled. "If this symbol is part of some larger trap, I'm not going to stand here and let it control us."
But as the group stood in stunned silence, the ground beneath them rumbled—ever so slightly, but enough to make them all freeze. The trees groaned as if they were alive, bending toward the immortals, their branches creaking ominously in the wind.
A long, slow silence followed, broken only by the distant sound of rustling leaves. The forest had shifted, though none of them knew how or why. But one thing was certain—whatever power had been dormant within the Evergreen was now stirring.
"Congratulations," Nyssa said bitterly. "You may have just awakened something."
Eirik sheathed his sword, his expression unrepentant. "Good. It's time we found out what this place is hiding."