Raven Chronicles: Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4: The Whispering Forest Sylv’s heart and mind raced as he descended from the pass. He was in the final stretch of a four year journey - this would likely be one of the biggest challenges yet. He wondered exactly what he would face. A test of strength, will, mind? Perhaps a combination of the three. Sylv slowed as he neared the stream. There was always the possibility it was cursed or something of the like. He carefully set one foot into it and drew it out, but nothing happened. It seemed this wouldn’t be a more obvious test. He continued on. What Sylv did notice was that his feet made very little sound as he crossed the stream. It was as if they gently slipped into the water as opposed to stepping upon it. As he neared the other side, he felt a slight chill, as if he had passed through some barrier or triggered some alarm, though after a couple minutes, he determined that nothing immediate was happening. Just outside of the stream came the forest. Somehow the silence seemed dense here, and Sylv couldn’t help but look back at the stream. Of course, it was gone, and all that sat behind him was more forest. He couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. Had the land shifted? Had he been teleported? Either way, he guessed navigating wouldn’t be easy. As it turned out, it wasn’t. In minutes Sylv was hopelessly lost, with no way to identify landmarks or where he had passed. So as he had been taught, Sylv took a moment to stop and reassess the situation. Maybe it relied on his unique abilities? That would certainly make sense, seeing as his training was seemingly all to prepare him for this. Catching on to an idea, he opened his senses to the plane of magic and souls, and immediately caught on to a drifting pathway of souls, leading him on. Soon, however, Sylv started to notice that the forest was no longer silent, and that he was no longer alone. Every minute or so he would hear a faint whisper, or feel a faint tug in his peripheral vision. Finally, after carefully getting his bearings and waiting patiently, he whirled around. Sure enough, in front of him was something totally alien - A humanoid shape made of a rigid black fog. The only irregular feature on it was it’s solid white eyes. With his attuned senses, Sylv found that it was even stranger than he had first thought. It was like it was formed of a skeleton of Null, drawing together a body of souls. The power required to make such a thing would be immense. Before Sylv could react, the monster screeched.