________________________________________
The fading light painted the sky in hues of molten gold and deep violet as the sun dipped toward the horizon. Shadows stretched long over the uneven terrain, a quiet hush settling over the land as the distant murmur of the river faded behind them.
Kael reined in his stallion at the edge of the last open clearing, his gaze fixed on the towering mass of trees ahead. Brocéliande loomed before them—its presence not just physical, but something deeper, something that seemed to reach beyond mere sight.
The ancient forest was unlike anything he had encountered before. The trees stood unnaturally still, their thick, gnarled trunks twisting skyward, branches tangled together like an unbroken wall. No wind stirred their leaves, no birds flitted between their boughs. It was as if the forest held its breath, waiting.
Elara was the first to dismount. The leather of her boots barely made a sound against the ground, yet the silence around them seemed to swallow the movement whole. Without a word, she ran a hand down her horse's neck, her fingers pressing gently against the sleek coat.
"We leave them here," she murmured. "They won't step into Brocéliande willingly, and forcing them would be a mistake."
Kael swung down from his saddle, landing lightly before turning to Liora. She had yet to move, her fingers clutched around the reins, her eyes fixed on the treeline ahead. A flicker of uncertainty played across her face.
"You sense it too," Kael said quietly.
Liora exhaled, releasing the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "It's… wrong."
Elara finished securing her horse's reins to a low-hanging branch, then turned toward them. "It's more than that," she said. "This place doesn't follow the rules of the world beyond it."
Kael shot her a glance. "Meaning?"
Elara's gaze drifted toward the treetops, where the fading evening light barely touched the highest branches. "Meaning we're stepping into something older than kingdoms and wars. Older than even the stories that try to explain it."
Liora swallowed. "That's not exactly reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Kael adjusted the sword at his hip. "If the forest is as unpredictable as the stories say, we'll move carefully and mark our path." He cast one final look toward the darkening sky. "Let's go."
Without another word, they turned toward the threshold of the forest.
And stepped inside.
________________________________________
The moment they crossed into Brocéliande, the world changed.
The air was different here—thicker, heavier, charged with magic. The whispering breeze from the open land behind them died instantly, replaced by an almost suffocating stillness. The trees closed around them, towering like silent sentinels, their bark dark and slick as if perpetually damp.
Liora's first step into the undergrowth sent a tremor through her chest. It felt wrong. The ground beneath her boots was soft, yet the sensation was… unfamiliar, like she was walking on something that wasn't entirely solid.
The light, too, had shifted. Though the sun was still setting beyond the trees, its glow barely seemed to reach them. Shadows stretched unnaturally long across the forest floor, weaving between the roots like grasping fingers. What little light did filter through the canopy above had a strange, muted quality, as though it had been swallowed and spat back out—altered somehow.
Kael noticed it too. His eyes flicked upward, his brow furrowing. "It shouldn't be this dark yet."
Elara didn't respond immediately. Instead, she knelt, pressing her fingers into the damp earth.
"We should keep moving," she said after a pause, standing smoothly. "And whatever happens—don't stray."
There was something in her voice. Not just caution. Warning.
Liora cast her a wary glance. "Has anyone ever made it through?"
Elara's expression didn't change. "Some have entered and returned."
"And the others?"
A beat of silence.
"…They don't return."
Liora's stomach tightened, but she said nothing more.
________________________________________
They moved deeper. Each step forward felt strangely disconnected from the last, as if time itself was stretching in unseen ways. The quiet around them was almost unbearable, but it wasn't the silence of an ordinary forest—it was something crafted, something that pressed in from all sides.
Then, Kael noticed the first change.
At first, it was barely perceptible. A shift in the shadows. A flicker in his peripheral vision. He turned sharply, hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his blade—only to find nothing there.
Still, unease settled in his chest.
"The light is wrong," Elara murmured.
Liora looked up. Now that she focused on it, she saw what Elara meant. The patterns of light filtering through the leaves didn't stay consistent. They shifted subtly, bending in ways that didn't match the movement of their steps. A path that had seemed well-lit a moment ago was now dimmed, while another part of the forest—one they hadn't approached—suddenly gleamed with fractured twilight.
Liora shivered. "I don't like this."
Kael exhaled through his nose. "Stay aware."
They continued on, each step more careful than the last. The deeper they went, the stronger the sensation became—a subtle wrongness, something just out of reach.
Then, Liora felt it.
The moment was fleeting, but unmistakable—a shift beneath her feet.
It wasn't a full step, just the barest sensation of misalignment, as if the ground had tilted slightly beneath her without warning. Her balance faltered for half a second, her breath hitching in surprise.
Kael caught the movement instantly. "What is it?"
Liora shook her head, confused. "I… I don't know. It felt like the ground just—moved."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Are you certain?"
Liora hesitated. "No. But it felt like the path changed under me."
Elara's expression darkened. She glanced around, her fingers grazing the hilt of her dagger.
"Then we might already be inside it," she said softly.
Kael's jaw clenched. "Inside what?"
Elara exhaled slowly. "The deception."
Liora's heart pounded. "You mean—"
"This forest doesn't just lead people astray by making them walk in circles." Elara's voice was calm, but there was a weight to it. "It makes them believe they're walking forward when they're not. It alters their senses, bends the rules of the space around them."
Kael felt the weight of her words settle in his chest. If she was right, they might not even realize if they had already lost their way.
A quiet fell between them.
Then—somewhere deep within the trees—a sound.
Faint. Distant. Almost human.
A voice.
Whispering.
The whisper was barely more than a breath against the stillness, carried by no wind, spoken by no visible lips.
Yet it was there.
Soft. Too soft. The kind of sound that crept into the mind rather than the ears, coiling around the edges of thought like a phantom memory.
Kael froze, his hand tightening around the hilt of his sword. The tension in his body was immediate, instinctive—the kind that only came when something unnatural was near.
Liora's fingers trembled as they hovered near her pendant. "Did you hear that?"
Elara's gaze swept across the trees. "Yes."
Kael turned toward the direction of the sound—or what he thought was the direction. The moment he tried to pinpoint its source, the whisper shifted, curling around them from another side.
The words were indistinct, just on the edge of comprehension.
Come…
Stay…
A cold dread settled in his stomach. "Move."
Elara didn't argue. She took a step forward—but the moment her foot pressed into the ground, the whispering stopped.
The silence that followed was even worse.
It was absolute.
No wind. No rustling leaves. Not even the sound of their own breathing.
Liora clutched her arms. "This isn't right. We're being—"
Then, just as suddenly as it had vanished, the forest exhaled.
A rush of noise flooded back—leaves shifting, distant night insects, the subtle creak of old wood. But something was different.
The forest was not the same.
Kael's grip tightened on his sword. The trees had not moved. The path beneath them had not visibly changed. And yet—he knew.
Something had shifted.
He turned to Elara, but she was already scanning the area, her expression unreadable.
Liora's breath came uneven. "Kael…"
He followed her gaze.
A tree stood before them, gnarled and ancient, its bark peeling in curling strips of silver and black.
Kael had seen that tree before.
Moments ago.
They had passed it.
Twice.
________________________________________
Kael inhaled through his nose, willing his pulse to steady.
"We're being led in a loop."
Liora's fingers curled into fists. "But we walked straight."
"That's the trick," Elara murmured. She stepped closer to the tree, running her hand lightly across its surface. "The forest bends perception, not reality. We think we're moving forward, but we're not."
Kael turned, scanning their surroundings. The air was thick with something unseen, the kind of presence that made his skin prickle. He had been in cursed places before, had walked through the remnants of forgotten battlefields, but this was different.
This place was alive.
And it was watching.
Elara exhaled slowly. "We need to break the cycle before it tightens."
Liora swallowed. "How do we do that?"
Elara didn't answer immediately. Instead, she reached into the pouch at her hip, fingers brushing over something before she withdrew a small vial.
Kael's eyes flicked toward it. "That's…"
"A flame-root tincture," Elara confirmed. "A last resort."
Liora's brow furrowed. "What does it do?"
Elara held the vial up to the dim light filtering through the canopy. The liquid inside was deep amber, shifting sluggishly like honey—but the moment she pulled the cork free, a scent like burnt metal and wildflowers filled the air.
"It forces clarity," she said. "A sharp enough sensory shock to override illusions."
Kael nodded. "Then do it."
Elara hesitated. "There's a risk."
Liora's stomach twisted. "What kind of risk?"
Elara looked at her. "That whatever is watching us might see us more clearly too."
A beat of silence.
Kael's voice was calm, unwavering. "Do it."
Elara exhaled through her nose, then pressed the vial to her lips, taking a measured sip before tossing it to Kael. He did the same—and immediately, the world lurched.
________________________________________
The first thing Kael noticed was the colors.
Everything sharpened into unnatural clarity. The trees no longer simply stood—they twisted, their bark curling like writhing limbs. The leaves above were not green but a deep, glistening indigo, shifting as if breathing.
The second thing was the faces.
Dozens of them.
Not carved into the trees. Not emerging from the shadows. They were the trees.
Stretched. Distorted. Pressed just beneath the surface of the bark, as if swallowed whole.
Eyes, hollow and unseeing. Mouths, frozen in silent cries.
Liora gasped, stumbling back, her hands flying to her pendant. "Gods…"
Elara remained still, her expression unreadable. "Now you understand."
Kael's hand twitched toward his blade, but he did not draw it. There was nothing to fight. No enemy to cut down.
Only the realization of where they truly stood.
Liora's breath came shallow. "This place isn't just cursed, is it?"
Elara's voice was quiet. "No."
Kael exhaled. "It's a graveyard."
The whispering returned.
But this time, it was not faint.
It was everywhere.
Louder.
Hungrier.
And closer.