Eternal Forest by Faith Naff

Author:Faith Naff [Naff, Faith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Moonwing Media
Published: 2016-02-04T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter XIII

Their encounter at the threshold of the blighted forest had been an eye-opening experience for all. Crossing into that world as a group had given them insight into just what they were up against as death slowly consumed their beloved forest. They had now all seen and fought the terrible shadow creatures that stalked the blight like haunting spirits. They had felt the changes the blight brought about within them. Crossing over into that world gave them overwhelming and unnatural feelings of dread, sorrow, hopeless, and isolation. Though they stood together as one, each felt like the only creature left upon the world to draw breath.

Some had even gathered much more personal information. Rosewood was alarmed to find that she could cast no spells once within the blighted forest. The power she possessed, the power of a priestess that had spent her entire life in full devotion and service to the Lady, was gone. This realization brought with it a helplessness that was not artificially implanted by the blight. Logically, she knew that one could survive without magic, those around her had done so every day of their lives, but she had not. She’d never had to. It was a new experience and one she didn’t think she’d ever have to face.

Since swearing her life to the path of a priestess when she was very young, Rosewood had been harnessing the tremendous power that came with it. She’d studied it, practiced it, and mastered it. It was ingrained into everything about her, down to the daily, mundane tasks she performed even without thought. Having it suddenly stripped away while within the blighted forest had robbed her of all her confidence at a time when she needed it more than ever.

Once the final enemy had been slain, Rosewood had turned and darted back to the living forest as fast as her legs could carry her. Once back across the line, she fell upon the rich soil with tears in her eyes and her skin trembling. Her breaths were quick and shallow as her fingers dug down into the wet mud, still fresh after the previous night’s storm.

“Rosewood,” Shimmer called out from within the dead world. “High priestess, we mush press onward.”

“I can’t,” Rosewood said softly in a shaky voice. The blight line inched closer to her feet, causing her to scramble away as if escaping from an attacking snake. “I can’t go back. She’s not there. She’s not there and I can’t feel her.”

Snowflake crossed over the line once again and knelt beside the trembling priestess. Her actions felt so strange to her. Never in all her life did she ever think she would be trying to comfort the high priestess of Moon-hollow. The blight had truly made the whole world quite different, and not just physically. “I know it’s scary,” she said as sweetly as she could. “I didn’t think I would even muster the courage to cross that line in the first place. But I did, and I know you have the strength to travel with us through the blight.

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