Morning sunlight pierced the canopy from the east, drying the dew from the forest floor. A man sat with his back to a titanic tree's trunk, his brown weather-worn cloak wrapped around his cotton robes, his boots sitting against a giant root nearby as his hand moved back and forth along a scroll, quill gripped lightly in his fingers. He was neither old nor young, and his journey had both begun and was yet just beginning. Plans and details filled his black scrolls, and the mage meticulously planned his next few weeks with a focus, such that he did not sense the presence of an intruder until his shadow fell across the man's face. 

Edune looked up and barked out a startled yelp, reflexively dodging to the side as a sword pierced the ground where his spine had been. His head and bare foot smacked against a huge root, and, dazed, the mage looked up at the creature who wielded the blade. It was an undead, a humanoid with tattered clothes and rotting flesh. The creature's eyes were soulless,  but burning. Hand fumbling within his robes, Edune rolled away from the trunk, dodging a surprisingly quick swing from the dead man. 

It took a step towards him, tugging at the sword that had sliced into tree root. The mage finally fumbled his wand out from his robes, pointing it at the undead and willing his magic through it. Flames burst forth from the wand's tip, growing into a fist-sized ball of flame before it shot towards the creature, hitting it square in the chest with enough impact to stagger it back mid-swing. The flames spread quickly across the walking corpse, its tattered clothing fueling the fire. However, it did not stop, so Edune aimed another fireball, shooting the corpse in the face. The impact hit with enough force to face in the skull, already aflame, and the creature let forth a surprising shriek as it expired, collapsing. 

The man stepped lightly over the smoldering corpse to retrieve his belongings, tying his boots on as he pondered where a walking undead had come from, here in the depths of Virens Forest. A path stretched, winding through the trees as it lead deeper into forest. Shadows ruled here, and so it was surprising to find such a path, apparently well-trod and big enough for two to walk abreast, in the forest's heart. Where had the corpse come from? Had it walked down the road from the forest's shadowy innards, hunting the living? The mage trod down the path, as he had for the past two days, wondering where all the occupants for such a well-maintained road might be.

His question did not remain unanswered much longer; a village came into sight abruptly, dozens of houses built seamlessly within the forest, made of lumber and stone. Wooden shingles and dried mud roofed the houses, and carved stone bricks formed the walls. Eerily, it remained quiet. No voices rang out from within the town. Actually, now that he thought about it, the forest was abnormally quiet. No birds, nor insects sang within the trees. The houses were shuttered shut, and the road wound its way between the houses and enormous oaks still. 

"You there!" A voice shouted from the shadowy entrance of a building. It was bigger than the others, towering over nearby shacks with windows on a second floor. The wooden door was ajar, and firelight danced within the doorway. "Traveler, come in! We have food and rooms for sale!" A man's voice, a human, probably fifty, stared at the Mage expectantly. Edune took another glance around, and his gut seemed to warn him against it, but his stomach sang another tune, rumbling loud enough that the stranger could hear. The man smiled, waving him inside, saying they had soup already on the fire, and bread coming out of the oven just now, for lunch. Indeed, Edune could smell the bread and soup as he entered, looking around to find a large commonroom, with several tables occupied by guests, some with a bowl of soup and bread. 

The mage took a seat at a table alone, paying a few silver coins for a bowl and a slice of bread himself. The noise from the room was in stark contrast to the silence around the village, as men and women ate and conversed cheerily among themselves. No children, Edune noted. Mostly it was adult men and women, and mostly humans appeared to be the village's occupants. As he spooned the hot soup into his mouth, tearing a fresh piece of bread with his teeth to follow it, he pondered why this settlement was here, in the middle of the forest. At least the soup was good, but the bread was quite stale. 

He finished his bowl, soaking the stale bread in the soup until none remained. The room had gone quiet, and the mage looked up to find its occupants were silently staring at him with an intensity. One woman met his gaze and smiled, fangs sliding out of her gaping mouth. Edune reached for his wand.

"Which way was the road again?" A girl with fiery hair wandered through the red-crowned trees. Every day was an endless search for the path back home, and she spared no effort to search even in the unlikeliest of places. "The path here is winding, and the trees bear the same marks. We should tread lightly, child. It would be wise to leave before the sun's blessed rays set." The warm glow from the phoenix gave both of them light as the forest became darker. The woodland grew quieter as well, and the lack of noise was strange. "It is so quiet here. Has evening come already?" Gale asked. "I know not; the trees hath covered the sky. I could perhaps burn them away, but there would be no end to such a fire." The dream-walker agreed, and wrapped her arms around her as a cold gust blew by.

The sound of movement with an unsteady gait was easy to hear in the silence. It appeared someone was ahead in between the spacing of the great trees. Wishing to ask for directions, the girl approached calling out to the figure. "Greetings, efendi! Do you know the path I should take to leave this forest?" The person addressed stopped, and it came to her attention that their posture was very poor. Slouched over, with their shoulders uneven while walking so unsteadily. Were they ill? Before she could inquire more, the figure turned around and lunged at her–with a face like a ghoul and death in their eyes. Alarmed, she quickly dodged out of the way and it stumbled. Asha had taken flight in that moment, and warned the girl: "Prepare yourself, child of man! This man's life has long left him–it is a husk of what it once was!" A restless spirit cursed to wander the earth…such a sight moved her heart with pity. "Poor soul, even in death you have no rest. I ask for your forgiveness, and I will return you to the earth."

With katars in hand, her hands were set ablaze. A ghoul, a cursed corpse possessed. The bite of such was deadly according to the book of pictures her teacher once had. Whether or not her assumption was accurate, the torrent of slashes and flames from Asha reduced it to cinders. The power holding that corpse was released, and vanished into the air. She knelt before the smoldering remains and said a prayer, before moving on.

They came upon a village tucked into the trees, and the copse of oaks grew closer. The trees were gnarled and twisted around each other, like snaking roots reaching towards the sky. It was quiet like the road here had been, but that silence was broken by the sounds of a struggle. The source was a large building with light coming from within. Was someone being hurt? What was going on? Gale was unsure, but with Asha by her side she went to the door. They were still lost, and the air was growing colder. The canopy made it hard to tell if it was nearing dusk or if it was noon. Knocking loudly, she then stood back a few paces should something come flying out the door.

Time seemed to move oddly in the heart of the Virens Forest. Edune himself thought it mid-afternoon, but in reality it was much closer to dusk in the shadowy forest. The interior of the building was taken up largely by the common room, which was inhabited by about twenty people, who had grown abruptly silent. More than a dozen pairs of eyes reflected oddly brightly in the dimming firelight, the cookpot no longer steaming. Each face, oddly pale now that he thought it, began to mirror the next with a soulless smile and a pair of fangs. There could be no doubt that he had stumbled into a den of vampires. 

Behind the large building sat a sturdy pair of oak cellar doors. These swung open with with enough force to crash into the ground, a shaft of dying sunlight revealing a stone staircase filled with walking corpses. They spilled out of the opening, dozens shambling their way out almost clumsily, some armed with an iron sword or axe in their bony grasp. The corpses ranged in decay from nearly skeletal to somewhat fresh, all with burning lifeless eyes. Most shambled along the sides of the building, between neighboring homes and towards the front, but many went into a back door of the building.

Inside, the while the vampires seemed to be enjoying eyeing their prey, Edune pulled his wands from beneath his robes, dragging it along the tabletop in one swift motion as he pushed his magical energy through it for a spell. At the same time, he leaned over and puked, the contents from his soup and bread spilling unto the stone floor. A meal would have to wait until another time. The wooden table caught flame, and the mage kicked it over as the flames spread across its surface. The vampires did not appear intimidated until a fire elemental pulled itself from the flaming tabletop, destroying the cheap wood in the process. It grew from the fire to a height of about four feet, a being of pure flame, eyes forged of a hotter fire glaring back at the vampires. The man poised himself to flee, his wand in one hand while the beginnings of a lightning spell danced between the fingertips of his other.

A knock came at the door. Distracted, most of the vampires gazes flickered from the flame elemental to the wooden door. Now, of all times! Edune cursed and uttered an arcane phrase beneath his breath as he pushed another spell from the wand at the vampires. Even as a burst of sunlight flew past the fire elemental into the crowd of undead predators, the mage was running for the door with all his might, closing his eyes to the blinding burst of light. Shoulder first, he pushed the door with all his strength, jumping out, wondering who was knocking and if he was heading into a trap.

Edune swore loudly as he almost ran into a young girl in his escape, managing to dance around her without losing his balance, but losing all momentum of his escape. "We have to get out of here!" He said, even as he took in the fiery companion near her side.

Corpses came around the corners of the building's sides, spilling out between the buildings and into the path. Some were unarmed, others held a weapon aloft. Inside, the corpses spilled into the common room, which was now aflame. Fire spilled up the staircase, swept along the room's rafters. The fire elemental stood alone shooting fire, now focusing on the corpses as the vampires headed for the doorway, intent on not letting their meal escape.

It was a good thing she had chosen to stand back, as the door burst open as a robed man was stumbling out hastily. Inside the building was ablaze, and there were things coming after him. "We have to get out of here!" He shouted, and she turned to see more walking corpses and people pale and bloodthirsty like ghouls in hot pursuit. "Why are you being–" The words had just left her lips when one of the pale-skinned people lunged at her. Asha let out a screech as she threw herself between them, and the fanged man screamed. Recoiling as the phoenix's flames burnt his flesh, he hissed. It was then Gale realized the danger they were in, and grasped the katars in her hands tightly. "Asha, please lend me your strength!" Together the two charged forth at the incoming undead, both drawing power from the growing flames within the burning building.

A torrent of fire encircled the girl's arms, combined with wind she became a dancing maelstrom of blades and flame. Anything in her path was cut and seared with the fire of wrath. The first few vampires were not so lucky, and were reduced to cinders either by Gale or the enraged phoenix. Anything that attempted to grasp at Asha was turned to soot, and the plentiful carpet of dry leaves caught the falling sparks from her body to create more fires. The smell of smoke was filling the air with the smell of burning bodies and shrieks of agony. The phoenix had to thank the sorcerer once they were finished. The elemental he had created had given both her and her companion the means to overwhelm the enemy.

The raised dead were dwindling, and soon the vampires realized they were fighting a losing battle. Some fled into the darkness of the forest to escape the flames, others were taken down in their attempt to run. Meanwhile, the remains of the abandoned town was now a roaring fire as the dry materials were being consumed. Flames, flames everywhere. Now the only problem was containing a now-blazing inferno which could spread out of control.

Lightning danced between his fingers, the magic pulsing as the spell waited to be unleashed. Edune complied as a wave of shambling corpses stumbled forth in their singular purpose, his death written in their soulless eyes. The ball of lightning crashed into the lead ghoul, staggering him and those around him. The mage turned to see the girl protected by her phoenix, and then watched as she wielded flame as if she were born to it, slaying surprised vampires as the predators immediately became the prey. The man himself barely turned his attention back to his own situation in time to reflexively shoot off a concussive blast from his wand, loudly staggering the corpses that had been within an arm's reach. He followed it up with another ball of flame, and another, each fireball burning a hole into the corpse it hit, spreading as the battle raged on. Vampires and mindless corpses alike fell victim to the flames, and as the fight turned the fire grew. Flames leapt between rooftops, wooden shingles burning and collapsing the roofs. 

The fire elemental wove its way from the burning building as the fire consumed it. The elemental creature came to stand by Edune, wordlessly awaiting the mage's commands. The mage looked at the surrounding village, consumed now by fire that pushed back the growing shadows. The remaining vampires had fled, but now they were surrounded by a raging fire. The man turned to the girl, not noticing his own brown cloak was now singed and smoking gently. Looking behind her, in the distance he noticed an area not aflame: the large mouth of a cave, carved into a hillside beneath the massive roots of a huge oak, smoldering houses slowly collapsing nearby. Had that always been there? No, he could see the burnt remnants of a wooden frame that had been concealing the cave's entrance, now. "There! Let's go into the cave to get away from the fire." He gestured towards it as he sprinted forward. At that point, the Mage saw fire on all sides, massive branches falling from nearby trees to block the path that had so oddly woven itself through the heart of the forest. 

Wand in hand, Edune aimed carefully as he ran towards the mouth of the cave. Frost began to accumulate at the tip of the wooden wand, the magic weaving until a ball of frost and ice had formed. He shot the frostball at the fire that had now risen to block his path to the cave, putting out the flames with a hiss while frost spread across the ground, steaming. The mage ran headlong into the cave, not noticing the dangers lurking both ahead and behind. The fire outside had grown so much that the shadows of the forest had retreated, leaving only the darkness of the cave ahead, until his fire elemental lead the way deeper within. The light from the fiery humanoid reflected off the stone walls of the cave, and the mage had only begun to venture deeper within when he heard hissing from further on in the cave's shadows. Vampires began to step into the pool of light his elemental provided, at least a dozen. The mage held his wand ahead, pointing it as sparks began to dance along its tip. From behind, around a curve in the cave, a light source came. Corpses, having followed into the cave, were aflame, and stumbling mindlessly towards their prey. A vampire sprang past Edune's elemental out front with incredible speed, coming right at the mage as he shot a ball of lightning at his undead opponent. It hit the floor with a powerful thunder, shaking the cave. The floor continued to shake, and then the man found he had no footing. For a moment, all was dark. 

As Edune came to, he noticed shuffling nearby. Coughing, he pushed some rocks off of himself. A cave-in. He would have bruises, no doubt, and may have bruised a rib, but survived. Looking around, the mage saw the source of light nearby, as his fire elemental pulled itself out of the rocks. Dimmer, but still whole, the flaming humanoid shot right at him. The Mage sidestepped, noticing now that a vampire had fallen in with him, as his elemental sprang forth in fiery attack. Nearby, another corpse shifted rocks off itself wearily, and the man took aim with his wand, fire forming at its tip. How deep had they fallen? Where underground where they, and how many enemies had fallen with them?

Just as Gale began to worry that the flames would consume the rest of the forest, the sorcerer conjured frost that snuffed out a portion. It was then she saw he was heading towards a cave which she didn't remember seeing before. Had it been concealed by some kind of magic that her flames had weakened? "Gale." Asha's voice brought her back from her wandering thoughts. "…Ah, yes the fire." Putting her katars away, she began to stir forth a mighty wind and swirled it into a vortex. The fire was drawn in by the motion of the air currents, and they surrounded her. Those which weren't pulled to her were snuffed out by the winds, halting what would have been an uncontrollable forest blaze. Taking the remaining fire in her hands, she used it to further purge any remaining structures which might grant the walking corpses or pale-skinned ghouls cover. Her last act was the send the fire upwards, scorching a clearing through the dense red-leaved canopy to allow the light of the moon and the sun to reach the ground once more.

When all this was done, the ground began to shake as a loud rumbling came from the newly-uncovered cavern. Keeping close to the ground, Gale and Asha waited until the tremors ceased. From where they stood, nothing seemed to have changed. However the phoenix turned her attention to the cave which the man and his elemental had entered. "Something has happened, I fear the worst for the robed wise man. Come, we must find him." Beckoning with a wing, Asha alighted and flew into the cavern's entrance. The dream-walker followed, enveloping herself in flame as a precaution. "This must be the blood-drinking ghouls' nest. They cannot stand the light of the sun." She said, walking forward. Asha flew around the open area, her flames casting light on the dim cavern walls. Then she stopped, hovering in the air as she soon realized the ground below had become an endless blackness. Gale herself realized this too, and stopped short of the edge.

"Hello?" She shouted, and her voice echoed back in reply. The pit was undoubtedly deep, but she had no way to climb down except to fall. "Asha…" Her companion flew over to her to listen. "I have no wings as you do, could you descend to see where he is?" The phoenix nodded, and flew down. A spark of fire was seen approaching from the bottom of the pit.

A line of blood ran down the mage's face, and nearly fell into his eye. A strand of his hair slick and wet across his forehead, his scalp bleeding. He was lucky, no doubt, and slightly less fortunate was one of the corpses who had fallen in with him, now trying to rise with a broken leg. Edune lowered his wand's tip to the eye socket of the undead, and unleashed his fireball into the rotting skull of the creature. With a hellish, voiceless scream it collapsed. Behind the mage, another vampire rose to confront his fiery elemental. The first had met a quick fate, now consumed by flames as it shrieked, dying a final death. The human mage took a moment to inspect his own damage. He probably had internal bleeding, and was actually scrapped up and bleeding outwardly more than he had initially noticed. Blood ran down both his arms and his right arm was numb around his elbow. The mage took his palm and crafted a spell of healing, pushing his palm into his own chest as he poured his magic into the spell. A light washed across his skin as the healing power took effect, and the mage assessed the situation, fit to fight.

The elemental turned its attention towards the next vampire, but this one behaved differently than the others. It stood back from the elemental's fires, and wore a black robe that was crossed with arcane runes, glowing red. In its hand it held a dark wooden staff of ebony, glowing with black magic. The shadows of the tunnel grew behind it, swelling with the dark power of the vampire, and even as Edune turned his attention towards the undead mage, another walking corpse lunged at him from the shadows. Dodging clumsily, the mage shot a ball of flame at the creature, managing to score on its chest. Another ball of fire followed to hit it in the upper throat, causing it to expire in a soundless gasp. 

The fire elemental shrank as the vampire mage's shadowy power grew, and the tip of Edune's wand began to glow with flame as he pushed his magical force into it, concentrating to build the fireball up several times over its normal size. While the ball of flame grew the mage raised his left hand and crafted another spell. An orb of sunlight grew within his palm, and even as it did so, the man looked up. A source of light came from the distant blackness above, and soon he saw that the girl's companion, the phoenix, approached. 

The ball of light left his palm too late for the benefit of his elemental. The vampire– a necromancer, perhaps, Edune thought, rather than a mere sorcerer– raised his black staff and snuffed out the flame of the summoned creature, shadowy power writhing across the stone floor. The shadows retreated, however, as an orb of sunlight flew at the vampiric sorcerer, whose gaze had been raised towards the approaching phoenix. Shortly afterwards, the mage released the large fireball, which hit the stunned undead square in the chest. The fires burned away the black robes of the necromancer, but his flesh only scorched. With a cruel, fanged grin the vampire pointed his black staff at Edune, damaged but unphased. The pheonix creature that accompanied the girl had grown close enough now that Edune raised his voice. "Kill the vampire sorcerer!" He advised.

Even as his fireball hit, the man was preparing another attack. An uneasy feeling filled him at the sight of that dark staff, which in battle appeared to be a fearsome, potent weapon of black power. Lightning danced between his fingers and the mage changed his wand to his left hand deftly, focusing his magic. A bolt of lightning left the tip of his wand and crashed into the necromancer. The undead creature staggered, distracted by the arrival of a new foe and a sudden onslaught, but was not beaten still.

Another bolt of lightning shot towards the necromancer, but he blocked it with a shield of black energy, raising his staff almost lazily. Edune changed his attack, then, and shot a small ball of lightning with his free hand while he built up another large fireball with his wand. He released the ball of flame, even larger than before, hoping this spell would end the necromancer. Hoping that his only worry next would be a way out of this deep, dark hole.

Circling above, Asha saw the unfolding situation. The sorcerer was alive, but so was a powerful opponent. Another like him, but undead and with an appetite for blood proved to be gaining the upper hand. The man shouted for her to kill the other, but she refrained. Her strength alone would not be enough, she had to call the girl. In her time with the young dream-walker, she had learned that she held a far greater power within than her placid nature belied. A sleeping giant, who must be sufficiently roused before unleashing the full extent of her might. Rising higher, the fire-bird let out a shrill cry to her companion waiting above.

There was silence from the top of the pit, then the sound of something descending with quickening acceleration. The atmosphere changed, and an intense heat was starting to build in the air. Asha moved towards the side of the cave in, as what appeared to be a falling meteor smashed into the floor–sending searing flames and shock waves rippling. Amidst the fiery turbulence stood a crouched figure, rising to its feet. It was Gale, engulfed with fire and wind; with hands glowing red-hot with fury. Her katars were gone, and in their place her hands wore gauntlets of volcanic power and draconic might. Clenching her hands, she turned her burning gaze towards the blood-drinker and charged full speed–sending a flurry of punches his way. Should even one of them hit, it would incinerate the undead effortlessly in addition to the raw pugilistic force. With the wind at her back, her speed was enhanced further making her furious assault a deadly offensive maneuver.

From on high, the phoenix unleashed a plume of flame down upon all who were below to add to the girl's fire. Gale's strikes were not wild or unfocused, but driven with trained movement and willful intent. It was as if she had been half-asleep before, and was now fully awake. The temperature inside the bottom of the pit was now sweltering, but the girl appeared unaffected. And the longer she continued to fight, the higher the temperature rose.

The large fireball hit the necromancer, but only staggered him slightly, another shielding spell absorbing most of the blow. Even as he recovered, Edune could hear something falling. It could only be the girl, and as he looked him he quickly jumped backwards, stumbling slightly. Confused, his opponent also gazed upwards, as if wondering why his opponent's attention had shifted. The vampire was clearly surprised when a girl smashed into the ground with a force that brought him to his knees.  The girl overwhelmed her opponent quickly with a barrage of blows, searing the vampire sorcerer even through his magical shielding. After several blows, the vampire screamed, evaporating in a burst of flame so hot that it made Edune wince from several meters away. The necromancer died, the shadows retreating from the pit to reveal the fullness of the tunnel. The ebony staff clattered to the floor, a strange shadowy substance leaking away like smoke from the enchanted weapon.

At the bottom of this pit was a large tunnel that they now stood in, the massiveness revealed by how dark it was even with the summoned shadows absent. However, around a tunnel bend, a dull light promised a less deep darkness, and intrigue. Edune, however, only had eyes for the weapon of the slain vampire. The ebony color was fading to pale white, and shadows continued to leak away, revealing a softly glowing crystalline staff head. It was a weapon fit for a master mage, and it had been corrupted by the necromancer to perform his black magic. Perhaps if he had wielded a weapon truly meant for such dark works, he would have been a more fearsome opponent.

"Thank you." The man said to the girl, now that they were finally not in a situation of chaos. It was almost strange, how quiet it was down here, almost calming. "My name is Edune" he offered, realizing that he may owe his life to this young girl and her companion. Yet he did not even know who they were. "Your power and fighting skill is incredible, especially for your age."

The mage walked over and picked up the staff in his hand, noticing that along its shaft two runes were carved. As he gripped the arcane weapon, the runes glowed softly blue. He felt a rush of power, and felt his mana surging. It felt right, like a weapon he could trust. As he felt his power pulse through the staff, he knew it was not a weapon of darkness, but of arcane power alone. Yes, it felt right.

On one hand, he was injured, and at the bottom of a pit, far away from civilization. On the other, he was in parts unknown- a deep pit that revealed a cavernous tunnel, with a strange light beckoning from around the bend. But, it was probably just more vampires or undead. Maybe. His eyes on the distant light in the tunnel, Edune turned to the girl. "Do you want to check out that light? It could be more danger, but I wonder if we might be wrong to let walking undead to roam the earth. So many have fallen victim to these vampires already."

As the vampire crumbled into burning ash, Gale's anger cooled and so did the heat. Eventually the flames flickered out of existence, and the young dream-walker returned to her initial serenity. The gauntlets vanished, and were sent elsewhere. Circling slowly above their heads, Asha came to inspect the necromancer's remains. "The light of life has finally left him. By the sun and moon's light may he be judged." Kneeling down, the girl seemed confused as to why the dark-robed ghoul had no bones to leave behind. Did all of the dead brought to life fall away in such a manner? 

She gave the man whose life she had saved a bow, in response to his thanks. "There is no need to thank me, efendi. The ghoul lies in the dust, from whence it came. I was taught by a great sage, and it was he who taught me that the greatest power comes from within." Looking to the staff left behind, she eyed it curiously. "A diviner's staff? It draws upon power." As her mind wondered that the strange symbols on it meant, the man who called himself 'Edune' spoke to her again. "Do you want to check out that light? It could be more danger, but I wonder if we might be wrong to let walking undead to roam the earth. So many have fallen victim to these vampires already."

"…A light?" She turned her head to look about until she saw what he was referring to. It appeared there was a light coming from the end of a tunnel by the pit they were in. She then raised her gaze to the cavern up above. "Asha will not be able to carry us to the top…it is likely that we may find a passage that will bring us out. Is that right, Asha?" Settling onto the girl's shoulder, the phoenix's voice echoed. "It is a possibility. And if so, we should see to it that those who fled are returned to the earth. The people already have beasts to worry about, they need not another danger to prey on them in the night." Pleased with her companion's answer, Gale said to Edune: "I ask for your forgiveness, efendi. I am Gale and this is Asha. We will go with you, and she will help light the way. She and I will offer what assistance we have to give until it is time for us to part."

Whenever Edune was ready, they would follow him down the tunnel. Asha would fly behind Gale, who would then walk behind the sorcerer. As the phoenix was entirely made of flame, she could protect from behind the girl giving her time to react. The fire-bird's position also allowed for more light to linger on the walls while they progressed forward.