At the heart of the High Elf forest, Merslin and his companions stood watch as the ancient seal slowly dissipated. The High Elves were beginning to awaken from their long slumber—but not all at once. The first to open their eyes were the elders and the queen.
It was then that Idanna sensed it—an inexplicable unease. Though the High Elves appeared to return to their former selves, something was undeniably off. A strange, dissonant energy wrapped around the forest, as if time itself had been reversed or fractured.
Merslin and the others noticed the shadow flickering across Idanna's face, and a similar feeling of wrongness began to take hold. Idanna looked around. Her eyes scanned the serene homeland of the High Elves, cloaked in shimmering leaves and starlight, seemingly unchanged.
But the moment she met the eyes of the awakening elves, the illusion began to crack. Their eyes—once luminous, radiant with clarity and wisdom—now appeared dull and clouded. The distinct gleam that had always defined High Elves, Blood Elves, and their kin was gone.
It was as though the forest had awakened from an ancient sleep, only to remain half-dreaming. The once-vibrant green of the leaves now seemed tinged with darkness. Magical creatures still roamed the woods, but their movements were sluggish, lacking vitality. Everything was familiar, yet subtly, chillingly wrong.
Idanna exhaled a long, quiet breath. "Is this truly the High Elf forest I once knew…? It all seems so perfect, and yet—it feels like something is broken. Their eyes… have never looked like this."
Lydia stepped beside her, surveying the surroundings. "This isn't the forest we remember. Either the sleep lasted too long… or something went wrong during the awakening."
Merslin studied Idanna closely. "Could it be that we awakened more than just the elves? The forest itself feels... altered."
Lisa, ever vigilant, kept her hand on her sword. "There's still magic here, but it's different. There's a shadow nestled deep in this place. If we don't uncover it, the forest could fall again."
Idanna nodded with resolve. "We've awakened them. Now we must understand what's changed. If something went wrong… we must uncover it."
At that moment, Queen Elisar approached with the elders. Her gaze was cloudy, uncertainty lurking behind her regal expression. She looked at Idanna with quiet disbelief, like she hadn't yet accepted her own awakening.
When she spoke, her voice retained its authority, but a deep confusion trembled beneath it. "Who has disturbed our slumber?"
Idanna stepped forward, hesitant but firm. "I have, Your Majesty. The time to awaken has come."
The queen studied her face, as if searching for a memory. "You… Idanna. I remember you. But tell me—why now? Why must we awaken? The forest still feels… shrouded in darkness."
Idanna kept her tone calm. "Because too much time has passed, and the forest has begun to change. We awoke you to stop it. Now is the time for our people to rise again."
The queen looked around, her eyes still veiled in a mist of doubt. "Then it must be done… But Idanna, do you not feel it? This forest—it's no longer the one we knew. Is it the sleep that changed us… or something else?"
"I feel it too," Idanna replied. "That's why we're here. If something is wrong, we must find its source and set it right."
Though Elisar's eyes remained dim, Idanna's words seemed to spark a faint light within them. "Then let us face it together. We must journey to the heart of the forest. There, we will uncover what has become of our fate."
With that, Merslin, Idanna, and their companions followed the queen deeper into the forest. Though its beauty lingered, a silent dread accompanied them with every step. The forest had changed—its harmony undone. And somewhere in that transformation, a threat was waiting.
More High Elves continued to awaken, but the lifelessness in their eyes told a silent truth—they had already sensed it. The world they once knew no longer existed. Now, they would have to face what lay beneath the dream they had just left behind.
***
Episode: The Rejection of Idanna and Hidden Unease
After the seal on the High Elf forest was lifted, Idanna finally returned to her homeland. But her homecoming was not met with open arms. The High Elves, awakened from the darkness of slumber, responded with cold stares and scornful words, pushing her away with bitterness.
Sensing their hostility, Idanna was overwhelmed by guilt and inner turmoil. She had long accepted that her past choices were wrong, but the severity of their rejection stung deeper than she had anticipated. In their eyes, there was more than betrayal—there was fear and anxiety etched into their very souls.
"Idanna has returned? Are we supposed to just accept her?" one Elf muttered coldly.
"Have you forgotten what happened after she left? She led us to ruin. We're still paying the price," another added with a bitter nod.
Their words pierced her like blades. She lowered her head, questioning whether she should have come back at all—but reminded herself why she was here: to protect the forest she once left behind. Yet beneath the harsh judgment, she sensed something else—something deeper than resentment. Something… unnatural.
Then came Malion.
A long-standing rival and vocal critic of Idanna, Malion stepped forward. His gaze was as sharp as ever, and his voice carried suppressed fury.
"Did you think we'd welcome you back just because you returned?" Malion said icily. "Do you even remember the power you meddled with? It corrupted us. And the price is still being paid."
Idanna stood firm under his accusation, replying steadily.
"Malion, I know what I did. I accept that it was a mistake. But now is not the time to divide ourselves. If we're to survive the darkness looming over this forest, we must work together."
But Malion wasn't done.
"Still full of excuses, I see. The power you used led us to this corruption. And this darkness… it may be the very residue of what you awakened."
At that moment, Idanna felt a strange shift in Malion's presence. His anger was disproportionate, almost… unnatural. Like something was distorting him. Could he be influenced by the corruption of the Old Gods?
Watching the confrontation, Merslin and Lydia exchanged uneasy glances.
"Lydia, this isn't just about the past," Merslin whispered. "Their reactions are too extreme. Something else is at play here."
Lydia nodded slowly.
"You're right. Their eyes hold more than hate. There's something hiding beneath it. We need to uncover what it is."
Hearing their quiet exchange, Idanna stood in silence. She wrestled with the weight of her mistakes and the rising urgency of the present. How could she bridge the gap between her past sins and the unity they now needed?
Drawing strength from Merslin and Lydia's support, she finally raised her voice.
"We can't forget why we're here. We came to save this forest, to protect our people's fate. That must come first."
Merslin placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"We're with you, Idanna. This time, we face it together."
With renewed determination, Idanna lifted her head. She understood that the Elves' fear and confusion weren't merely emotional scars—they were symptoms of something deeper, more dangerous. And if a corrupted force was truly taking root in the forest… she would fight it with everything she had.