She was lost. For three days she had travelled, making sure she stayed on the correct path that she'd laid out on the scrawny piece of paper some would call a map. She turned it, flipped it and shook her head in frustration. The landmarks were all wrong and the sky was too cloudy to navigate by the stars. Not even the moon could shine through that thick gray layer, and everything was close to pitch-black. She could barely see two meters in front of her and it was driving her mad.
As if that wasn't enough, she'd found herself on the outskirts of a forest. No matter how she tried to find a way around it, be it by map or alternate routes, she would always come back to the same place where she started. It was if some awful misfortune had found her during her journey and had only decided to pop up now, at this most inconvenient time. Everything had gone so well until now...
She sighed in anger. The only way to go was forward, through the forest, unless she wanted to backtrack to an earlier crossing. That was something she didn't have time for. She'd already lost time in a town the day before, where she'd spent some quality time with an old friend. She smiled thinly as she remembered that particular night, but she quickly returned to reality.
She looked at the map again. There was a forest drawn out on it with a name, although the positioning was all wrong. Still, it was the only forest within miles on the map. It was impossible for her to encounter another within a day or two. This had to be it.
Red Forest. She tasted the name, but no recognition catched on within her memories. Shrugging it off, she entered it, ignoring how malicious the red trees looked in the night.
*
For four hours she walked and the forest never seemed to end. She was tired and hungry. She needed to set up camp somewhere and rest. As if she could sleep in this forest.
She was used to owls at night. She could ignore the animals lumbering around in the darkness. But here, there was no sound. No critter scattering over the ground, trying to hide from predators. No wind to rustle the leaves of the trees. She could hear clearly the twigs breaking under her boots when she traversed the landscape. Her own breathing was deafening.
Old instincts had kicked in ever since she entered the forest. She was on constant alert for noise that didn't belong here. She searched the wall of darkness as she walked, trying to keep her eyes open for anything unusual, but nothing had emerged.
Her muscles began to ache. She had to find a spot soon before she became too tired to even prepare a camp. She needed somewhere relatively safe and easy to hide in, just in case bandits or hunters surprised her in her sleep. Although that itself would be surprising in this particular forest, she mused to herself.
A flap of wings made her freeze. Frost formed at her feet and icicles protruded ever so slightly from her palms in a battle-ready stance. She searched the branches of the trees for the noise. A few meters above her she could see something glinting, as gold would in the sunlight. It took off again with a rustle of feathers and a croak.
Without really knowing why she sprinted after it. It was an anomaly in this forest and in the back of her mind something told her that the bird belonged to someone. It had to.
Branches cut her cheeks, stones and roots nearly made her trip as she ran, all the while keeping an eye on the constant golden shimmer from the bird's eyes. It seemed to let her keep up. It didn't swerve away, nor did it take to the skies and disappear from her sight. At times it croaked, to announce its position and perhaps also to urge her on.
In the blind darkness and silence only broken by her feet stomping the ground, she could feel eyes watching her. While keeping an eye on the bird, she threw quick glances at the trees. Something white was obscured by some of them. A cloud of steam or fog perhaps. She shook her head and kept moving.
As she started to run out of breath, she saw a weak glow through the darkness. The closer she got the clearer she could see it. It had the familiar colors of fire and faint sparkles rose in the air, carried by the invisible winds.
The bird flew into the crevice where the light was, and Clara slowed down until she began to walk slowly. In front of her a cave began to take shape. The glow of fire became stronger and she could faintly hear the popping of burning wood. At least someone was here in this forgotten forest and it confirmed her earlier suspicion.
When she reached the edge of the opening, she peeked inside. In the odd shadows cast from a small campfire, she saw a human figure sit cross-legged, the bird, a raven as she could now confirm, pecking its wings on his shoulders. Despite the dark night and the light from within, the person noticed her and the raven croaked in confirmation.
"So you arrive at last. I was afraid you wouldn't follow my dear Martha. Please, take a seat." The man's voice was crude and deep, unfazed by her arrival.
Slightly hesitant, she entered the cave and sat down opposite him, putting the sparkling fire between them. There she could make out more details. It was an old man, his facial structure gaunt, almost like a skeleton, a large gray beard obscuring most of his face. He was wrapped in a dark fur coat, although she couldn't recognize it as anything that would be sold in normal stores. A man of the wilds, she concluded. She'd heard stories about them in other places around the nation, but had disregarded them as myths.
"You don't need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you." A shaky hand was withdrawn from his pocket and he gave Martha a seed. It picked it up with its beak gently and pecked it against the man's shoulder.
"I'm not afraid. Just... alert."
"Alert. That's good. Especially in these areas." He nodded, more to himself than her. "Are you lost?"
"You could say that."
"Exhausted?"
Clara tilted her head. "Yes. How can you tell?"
"Aside from obviously being short of breath and the sweat under your clothes so very visible by the fire, I can see a lot of things you wouldn't be able to understand."
Ignoring the first remark, Clara said; "Try me."
The old man chuckled. "Eager to learn or perhaps knowledge to be used?"
Clara shrugged.
"Do you know why this forest is called the Red Forest?" he continued.
"No idea. Although the colors of the trees caught my eye."
"Yes, that's an obvious sign. But that isn't it." He picked up a stick next to him and poked the fire. More sparkles flew, popping in short bursts. "A long time ago, there was a magical incident a few miles from here. An experiment to test new energy sources or some sort of military device. Project Sunlight they called it.
"I was just a young boy back then, in a time far before yours. I lived in a village just on the outskirts of this forest. It was much greener back then, I remember. I used to hunt with my father, too. There used to be a lot of animals around here."
He stared into the fire, suddenly falling quiet. Clara thought she sensed some longing in his eyes for a moment, but he quickly returned.
"Where was I... Ah, yes. The device, or experiment if you want, failed. As had many experiments before it, but this time it was special. I was in my bed at the time, trying to get some sleep after a long day. When I was lying there, looking out through the window, I saw a short flash in the distance. Wondering what it was I got up and looked outside."
He swiped his hand above his head, staring at the cave's roof. "The sky was as red as my blood. I could see rainbows among the stars. The light played tricks with my eyes. For a quiet moment I just stood there by myself, amazed at it all. My skin was tingling, although I couldn't understand why. Even now I don't really know what it was. I remember my head felt heavy and I went back to bed after a while.
"It wasn't until morning that I found out what had happened. When I woke up it was eerily quiet. I couldn't hear the rooster nor any other animals. I got up and went down the stairs. My parents were gone. I went out into the street. Empty. Everyone had disappeared. I searched and searched, but there was no trace. That's when I noticed the trees had turned red, and the village itself, too. Everything as far as I could see was bleeding."
He fell quiet and closed his eyes. Martha still sat on his shoulder, but had her beak tucked under her right wing, her eyes closed too. Clara was half-lying, her head supported on her elbow. She felt an inclination to listen, even though her body had started to recover. She sipped some water from her canteen.
"What happened then?" she asked.
The old man rustled as if awakened from slumber. "I lived as I had learned, of course. I hunted for food and stayed in the village, alone. It was only until recently I decided to move to the forest itself and live within it, not beside it. Thanks to that I've learned things..." He stopped there and something flashed in his eyes. "Girl, the Red Forest holds a lot of secrets, but none of them as great as what I have. The eyes you felt, that ghastly feeling of something being amiss... It wasn't without reason."
"Eh?"
"I've seen so many travel through this forest and never return. Either it's hunger they succumb to or the ghosts take them to their home between heaven and hell. But not you." From within his coat he retrieved a book, one of the largest Clara had ever seen. He held it out next to the fire and nodded at her. "This book has chosen you to be its next master."
She accepted it, taking it with both hands and couldn't help but feel frost tingle on her back. The front was ornamented with golden arrowheads pointing in four directions, held together by a circle. Despite its size it was remarkably light.
"Project Sunlight, while I still don't know what it was, created a destiny for me; to be the master of this book. I've carried it for years, seeing its true powers in action. The knowledge it carries goes beyond what you can possibly imagine."
Clara sighed, starting to grow a bit bored with the old man. "Listen, it's been very interesting to hear all this, but I really need to rest." She held the book out to him. "I don't have a need for it on my journey."
"You don't want help to rid this world of the Dark King?" the old man said in response.
Clara froze and slowly redrew the book back. "How do you know?"
"As I said... I can see a lot of things you wouldn't understand. This book, this tome, will help you defeat the darkness that has reigned over our world for so long. Trust it with your life and it will give you its powers."
She opened it and glanced through a few pages. Symbols and texts. Rituals and spells. Everything she could think of was written within, but in a language she could barely understand.
"How is this supposed to help me against the Dark King? I can't even understand what it says!"
The old man made a laugh that sounded like a cough. "When you wake up in the morning, seeing the daylight illuminating this cave, you shall place your hand upon it and repeat this phrase..."
What the old man said next turned into a whisper and echoed in her head until it became a storm of words. The book felt heavy in her arms and she let it fall onto her lap, her whole body soon following to touch the cold stone floor.
Her eyelids began to shut. A powerful sleep haunted her senses, her mind unable to resist. She could feel the souls of the Red Forest talk in distant murmurs, mentioning a name time and time again. A name destined to fall into the cold hands of corruption and travel through history as a diabolical device.
The Tome of the Night Sky.
*
When she woke up, the old man was gone. So was Martha. His fur coat laid on the dirty floor of cold rock and the fire had burnt out several hours ago. From the cave's opening, sunlight streamed in and touched her face. It was warm and comforting after the strange night.
She rubbed her eyes and tried to sit up. A vague sense of vertigo was present in her head and she had to steady herself. Looking down, she saw the book lying on the ground, its open pages taunting her to do something with it. What that something would be she didn't know, as she still couldn't understand the lang-
She drew a short breath of air when she read the symbols. They made perfect sense to her, their underlying importance standing out as a bright light. The context in which they had been written, the strange ornamental style fitting together with the explanation of spells and rituals. Everything made sense.
A feeling of dread washed over her body, when she realized it hadn't been a dream. The story the old man had told could actually be true. She shuddered and eyed the book with a cautious mind. What was it the old man had said...
She placed her hand on the book and took a deep breath. She had no idea if anything would even happen, but if there was the slightest chance of getting powerful help against the Dark King... It would be worth a try.
She repeated the phrase the old man had told her to use; "Start Up".
Light shone forth from the tome. Even though the light inside the cave was already bright, the light radiating from the book was even stronger. It left the floor, floating in the air and opened its pages. They fluttered as if a strong wind had caught them in its wake, and accompanying the howling of air were magic circles that began to materialize around it.
Clara held up an arm in front of her eyes to shield them and backed away from it. She felt her skin tingle and the mana inside her body surging in her veins, reacting to the powers of the Tome. It was disorientating, horrifying and so interesting that her mind was frozen into place.
Shapes began to form. Blue shards flew in a deafening storm and began to latch together, forming a human body, then two, then five of them. Slowly the color shifted to that of ordinary skin and they were all on their knees, bowing before her. Each of them was wearing some kind of black clothing. She was still standing far back against a wall, observing them. The ice circulating in her blood moved to her fingertips and a thin layer of frost began to form around her feet. Just in case.
The character closest to her, a young woman with long silver hair, got up from her kneeling position and spoke; "Greetings, Clara Statfield. I am the Administrator of the Tome of the Night Sky." She waved a hand to each of the characters behind her. "These are my companions: Signum, Vita, Shamal and Zafira, each a Guardian Knight in the service of the Tome and under my command."
Clara regained some of her posture and took a step forward, cutting off the hesitation inside her.
"It seems you know who I am so an introduction seems unnecessary."
"You have already been authenticated, Master. However, we do not have any current orders." She bent her head in a slight bow. "Master, what would you have us do?"
Clara gave the Administrator a wicked grin when she finally understood that these Guardians, and the Tome to which they belonged, would obey her every word. A warm torrent of satisfaction washed over her mind and an odd peace found her nerves.
"I want you to follow me, Adminstrator," she said in a cold voice, echoing her now regained confidence. She almost flinched at herself in surprise. "Follow me into the darkness."