8
They left Allan three days after the news of Kanon’s downfall.
Following Deedlit’s plan, they set out on a route that would take them through the Forest of No Return. Other than Parn, none of them were happy with the plan—the sinister name was no mere legend, and no one who entered had returned in the past several hundred years. Many brave heroes took up the forest’s challenge, but their fate was always the same. The Dark Forest remained unchanged as it destroyed every life that entered it.
No one knew exactly what dangers the Dark Forest held—whether it was an Elvish curse or just some deadly flora or fauna. Nobody knew—except perhaps the victims.
By the third day, they could see the forest in the distance. But rather than entering as soon as they reached it, Deedlit kept them on the road, the forest to their right.
Two days further down the road, Deedlit stopped them with a cheerful shout.
“Here!” she proclaimed.
The others turned to her with skeptical, exhausted faces. Deedlit sighed, and wordlessly pointed toward the forest.
There, barely visible, was a narrow path, overgrown from disuse. Slayn couldn’t believe that this was a road that people actually used.
“The path I was talking about starts here. But no matter what happens, promise me: you must not rest in the forest. And try not to act too surprised—strong emotions have a bad effect on the trees.”
“That’s all we have to do?” Parn asked, unable to hide his unease.
“Yeah. Just follow me, and we’ll make it to Valis,” Deedlit said, looking straight into Parn’s eyes. “Let’s hurry.”
Despite the elf’s confidence, the rest of the team’s anxiety grew the more the forest loomed about them. They walked the path for an hour before they finally made it to an opening.
From close up, the forest looked normal—though there was an increasing tension and vague sense of evil all around them.
At the end of the path were two identical pine trees. Their height, thickness, and even the forks of their branches were exactly the same. The space between them looked almost like a gate.
“This is it. This is where we go through.” Deedlit could barely contain the joy in her voice. “Remember—keep your promises. Don’t leave my side, or the ‘Elvish curse’ will get you.”
“Fom alanis katoru!” she shouted in Elvish. The view between the trees shimmered and faded, and a golden glow took its place.
“Follow me, before the gate closes.” Deedlit said and jumped into the light. Parn steeled himself and did the same, followed by Etoh, Ghim, and Woodchuck. Slayn went last. He resigned himself to his fate, closed his eyes, and ran into the glow.
“Whoa!” He bumped into something and almost dropped his staff. His eyes snapped open to stare right into Woodchuck’s back.
“Don’t scare me like that. I almost had a heart attack,” Woodchuck complained.
“Where are we…?” Slayn asked, too fascinated to notice what his companions were saying.
It was a golden, shining forest, with low evergreens dotted throughout. The thorny shrubs and fern thickets they’d seen earlier were gone, and the ground had a layer of fallen leaves that cushioned their feet.
“This is the Forest of No Return?” Parn gulped. “It’s like a different world.”
A different world…! Slayn mused, then cried out, “This is a different world! Am I right, Deedlit?” He poked the ground with his staff and looked up at the sky. The sun wasn’t visible, but the entire firmament seemed to glow.
“What does that mean?” Parn looked back at Slayn.
The wizard glanced at Deedlit and chose his words carefully. “Not many people know this, but the world is made up of three domains. One is where we humans live. Wizards call it the material world. The second is where the spirits live—it is divided into sections, but the collective term is the spirit world. And then there is a middle world that connects the physical with the spirit world. That’s the world of fairies. That’s where we’re standing.”
“If I’d known you were familiar with the concept, I would’ve explained it to you. I just wasn’t sure if humans would understand,” Deedlit said guiltily. “But yes—like you said, this is the fairy world.”
“But Deedlit, didn’t the elves lose their home? I thought they were bound to the physical world and couldn’t return to the fairy world. How are you here?”
Before responding, Deedlit jumped up—so high that the others could barely believe it—and landed gently on the ground. “We’d better get going,” she said, and motioned for them to follow. She glided through the forest, floating on air. It was then that she answered Slayn’s question. “We never lost our home,” she said. “The fairy world is where I really live.”
“I see…” he replied, his brain feeling like it had broken down. “You’re a high elf. I had no idea—I thought they were gone.”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. High elves were legends. Just as the people of the ancient kingdoms supposedly had a highly advanced culture, elves had their own superior ancient race. But to meet one, face to face…
“We’ll die out eventually,” Deedlit said. “But that’s in the future, when the souls of the gods die out and the dragons decay into the earth.”
Parn frowned, confused. He didn’t fully understand what was being said, but it seemed that Deedlit was special, even for an elf.
“We dwarves also used to live in the fairy world, or so they say,” Ghim said. “But we left long ago, because we discovered the gifts of the land. Not fool’s gold, but real gold.” He raised his battle axe—but the blade was missing. “Fairies don’t like iron,” he grumbled. “It doesn’t exist here.”
Hearing that, Parn checked himself over—but found his armor gone. Only his padded under-armor remained.
“But I can feel its weight,” he protested. He hadn’t even noticed its absence.
“It’s fine,” Deedlit reassured him. “Iron can’t exist here, but all that really means is that, if you did bring some in, you simply can’t see it—just like how you can’t see most of the spirits in the physical world.” Deedlit nodded ahead. “But we’d better hurry. I told you—we can’t rest here.” With that, the elf rushed onward.
Parn picked up speed to keep pace with her. “Why’s she in such a hurry?” Parn asked Slayn beside him.
“Simple,” the wizard said. “Time passes more slowly here than in our world. If we lose our way, hundreds of years could pass back home.”
“That’s awful!” Parn cried, the color draining from his face. “Deedlit, get us out of here!”
“Huh? I don’t want to get even older!” Woodchuck shouted, clearly misunderstanding what Slayn had said.
“I told you to hurry,” Deedlit replied. This whole situation was annoying, but she couldn’t help but laugh at Parn’s desperate expression.
Deedlit led them through the forest at a jog for a while longer, then stopped and chanted some words. The same identical trees appeared, and they passed through them to exit the fairy world.
It was night outside. “But it was midday when we left…” Parn said, his voice full of surprise and wonder. He gripped at his chestplate to make sure it had come back, and relief swept through him.
He sank to the ground breathing heavily, their run catching up to him. There was a sudden flash beside him, and a pallid magic light illuminated Slayn’s blue robe.
“How many days has it been?” Slayn took off his hood and looked around. In the faint light, he could see that they were surrounded by hills, the Forest of No Return rearing behind them. In the darkness, it seemed even more threatening and enchanted, as if it could reach out and snag them in its tentacles.
“At that distance, probably three days. We could’ve gotten out sooner if you hadn’t taken so long.”
“I’m just glad I got a chance to see it—frightening and strange though it was,” Slayn said. “Many humans may have entered the fairy realm, but few have managed to safely return.” He stood and brushed the dirt off his robe.
“Where are we?” Etoh asked anxiously, looking back at the forest.
“About three days east of Valis,” Deedlit said. “We can cross the southwest hills to reach the northern road between Kanon and Valis—but it’d be better to travel through the western mountains. We’re less likely to get caught up in the war with Marmo that way.” She looked up at the stars to orient herself properly.
“Let’s get going,” Woodchuck said with a nervous glance back at the forest.
“Yeah,” Parn agreed. “It’s night, but I’m not sleepy.” He shouldered his pack. “We should keep on until we’re tired. Hope you’re all ready for a mountain hike!”
No one objected, so they quickly gathered their things and started off along the gently sloping road.
“Skipping all that time will be tough on us,” Etoh said, looking reproachfully at the night sky, wondering how many morning and evening prayers he’d missed.
“Definitely,” the thief said with a chuckle. “The moon is so high, but I’m not tired at all. I am hungry, though.”
“I feel like I haven’t eaten in three days,” Ghim said, and everyone finally laughed.