Being in Koschei was disturbing to say the least. Especially for someone like himself. Half of the world’s soul had fallen due to people’s strong distaste of the tree that had once thrived here and the deities that both twins chose. Needless to say, he felt unwelcome. In this forest of darkness he was the only trace of natural light: a soft glow passing through the dark tree trunks with their hanging vines. From the corner of one’s eye it was hard to tell if they were foliage or rope…The whole place gave him a chill, and he reminded himself of the whole reason he was here.

The wisps were more scarce tonight, but perhaps it was because of who was walking through. You still couldn’t be sure if they were spirits of those that had died, or if they were something else. Either way it was wise not to follow them, but those flickering spheres of light were the entire purpose of him being in the forest. In time they would make an appearance, nothing stayed gone for too long be it from fear or anger. And while he believed the myth that there was some level of sentience to these…beings, they still seemed primal if nothing else. He was hoping for that at least.

As he went through a small clearing, he stopped awestruck. The entire circle of grass was outlined in charms and talismans: some hanging from bordering branches of trees like skeletal hands offering one last chance of protection; others deeply rooted into the coarse ground itself. Where his temple was filled with holy power, this was something else entirely. This was something filled with a passion he couldn’t quite properly describe. This passion, if that was what you could call it, held no positivity…At best there was cautious optimism and warning. At worst, there was hate and scorn.

A few of the runes he recognized, others were in languages he wasn’t even sure still existed. It did nothing to aid his unease, and he walked a slow circle around the border. Torinasu gathered up all of the negativity as he did so, and with his second pass that negativity was transmuted to positivity: leaving the offerings with their same purpose, only now their energy flowed with a much lighter essence.

It was less suffocating after he’d finished the blessing, but it in no way made him feel more welcome. This living graveyard of a forest was not a place for people like him, deities. Living in Parvpora had enough of its struggles without being reminded of war torn times like this. War involving man against man was one thing, but when it was man against nature…? He shook his head and walked through the middle of the clearing, ready to be gone from this particular spot.

Just as one of his feet touched down on the outside of the circle, he saw a quick blue dash at the edge of his vision. He froze instantly, every sense heightened as he listened. It was quiet, an unnatural quiet, and he slowly shifted his eyes to the side. That was the only movement he gave; any passerby might have though he was a softly glowing statue otherwise. Nothing. He continued, exiting the clearing completely, though now there was a raise of his heart’s pace. With luck that had been one of the wisps, and the sooner he found one, the sooner he’d be able to get back home.

Whispers in the dark, whispers that either no one acknowledged were there or were left unheard. Stepping onto the Korschei Isle had brought those whispers to her, echoing in the corners of her mind begging to be heard. For several nights she had stayed in the city of Kurayo, seeking out these whispers to no avail. What was it they were trying to say? The thought plagued her mind, even manifesting itself in her dreams. When all leads within the city's limits had been used, what was left was the Koschei forest. She had been warned not to enter the forest, that the souls of the dead would find her, lead her to her doom. The stories that were told about the place didn't seem to have the desired effect of scaring her off, in fact, they only peaked her interest in the place. For several days she had entered the forest, stopping once she reached what appeared to be a wall of talismans and charms to stop the spirits from crossing. She hadn't been able to pass these charms, something about them put her on edge, and the aura lingering there, engulfing the entirety of the forest beyond, it was unnerving. Never had she felt an aura so dark, cold, full of sorrow, hate, and pain. She had plenty of time to walk along the border of these charms, to observe what was beyond. The way the vines hung from the trees looking like the ropes those women hung themselves with in the stories, the whispering that she could hear around her, made her wish to take that step forward and explore the forest further, but no, she had the feeling it wasn't time yet. So every day she would stand there under the endless night, waiting, for what she did not know.

This day was just the same as the others as she made her way towards the wall of charms, she had followed it once and it was an unbroken chain from coast to coast, successfully walking off the city from the depths of this forest. The whispering had grown more intense as she made her way there, it fluttered through her mind like a group of old women having just found some new juicy gossip and were spreading it as fast as they could. Yes, something must be different, though at the moment she couldn't tell what. As she stopped at the line of charms she narrowed her eyes, looking closely along the line of trees she saw nothing out of the ordinary but something felt…off…different than it had the day before. There was a charge in the air, as if something was about to happen. 

The force that hit her senses was overwhelming, terrifying yet warm. The magnitude of the potential within this force, this approaching aura was something she had never felt before. Soon whatever it belonged to would be close enough to see her. She quickly dashed forward past the charms for the first time, feeling the depressive aura close in around her. It muffled the approach of that other aura with its eternal darkness, easing the almost suffocatingly strong feeling into something bearable.  She hadn't made it far into the forest before she hid behind a tree and did her best to extinguish her presence within the area. She held onto her long braided Silvery white hair, giving it a tug to help focus herself. She must remain quiet and unseen. She peeked out from behind the tree carefully and her eyes widened in surprise. There was a light in this eternal darkness. Not just any normal light but one emanating from within this person that now stood by those very charms she had crossed. She was stunned for a moment before quickly coming to her senses and hiding completely once again. She felt on edge as she couldn't tell what was going on, it was too dangerous to keep peeking out, she would probably be seen. Even though what she sensed from him was a bit terrifying, her deadly curiosity (it had almost gotten her killed several times) was peaked. Who was this person? What was he doing here? He seemed completely out of place, being the only light in this dark sorrowful landscape, so why… She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't seem to help herself, she would follow him, see what it was that he was up to and try not to get caught. 

She felt a shift in the feeling of the forest and peeked out at him one more time, thinking she was out of sight enough and while holding the skirts of her blue dress up to her knees as to not get caught on anything quickly darted forward to a new hiding spot with a better viewpoint. She glanced from her new point of view, and watched with her heart beating wildly, had he seen her? He looked like a statue from how still he was being. Then he started moving again. She let out a quiet sigh of relief, she hadn't been found. As silently as she could she climbed the tree, he was getting closer to the area she was hidden in and felt safer being off the ground. With the help of a short, small burst of wind magic she managed to jump from one tree to another without much sound, only the slight rustling of leaves in a wind that didn't seem to exist. She thought she was being quite stealthy as she did this, like she had pulled off some great feat, jumping form one tree to another and hiding without killing herself. Then, during one slightly farther jump, she landed and wrapped her arms round the tree as to not fall when she saw it, a face within the tree. No, more than a face, a whole person! She let go of the tree and let out a yelp of surprisestepping back only to find herself falling out of the tree. She landed flat on her back and got the wind knocked out of her but recovered quickly from embarrassment, there was no way that would go unnoticed. She sat up and looked around. She let out a nervous laugh and said the flashlight of a person, "um, hello."

The unnatural silence kept him on edge, and while it was disturbing to have such a blanket of quiet around him in a place that should have been filled with life, it was nothing compared to the rustle he heard overhead. Had it been a gentle breeze or even an uproarious gust it might have calmed him, but no. No, this was something animated moving overhead with a movement so feather light it might have otherwise been missed. Either something was trying to escape, someone was toying with him, or an animal had scurried through. Really there were thousands of possibilities more than that, and his head couldn’t figure out one to focus on.

There had been a flash of blue at the edge of his vision mere seconds ago, and he wondered if it had something to do with that. The wisps were known to be disorienting, but he hadn’t expected them to be so quick. He turned, looking back towards the edge of the clearing he had left, and slowly surveyed the stillness around him. It could have been broad daylight and you wouldn’t have known from the cold shield of the trees’ canopy. He gently closed his eyes and looked with his other sight: seeking out any nearby auras. Just as he saw one that appeared to be humanoid in shape, he heard a cry out soon followed by a heavy thump.

His eyes instantly opened and he flickered away in a silent flash of light only to reappear standing over a young woman. She was sprawled on the forest floor and truth be told she was lucky her back hadn’t landed against one of the knobby roots of the many trees. That would have caused more than an uncomfortable bruise. Luckily it appeared that she’d only lost her breath from the fall. She sat up, seemingly no worse for the wear, and he slowly, wordlessly, arched an eyebrow. What was she doing here…? Her skirts were blue and he pondered briefly on if it had been she that he’d seen darting about.

Nonetheless, he knelt down next to her, giving her a quick once over again before speaking softly, “Yes, hello…” What an odd greeting to have in such a place, but then again it couldn’t really be helped. His eyes moved above her head, seeking out anything that might be lurking nearby. There was nothing. He looked back down to her, “Was that you rustling about? Do you realize how dangerous this forest can be?” She had been maneuvering with almost perfect stealth, so what had caused her to take such a drastic spill from otherwise nimble feet?

“What is your name?” He pushed up from his knelt spot and offered her a hand to help her stand. “You’ve taken quite a fall, what caused it?” So far he hadn’t inspected the tree she’d fallen from, hadn’t so much as given it more than a quick once over, or he may have seen the agonized expression hidden in its bark. It wouldn’t have been the first he’d seen in Koschei Forest, but that wouldn’t have made it any less foreboding.

A flash of light filled her vision as the flashlight was suddenly standing over her. Blinking several times she looked from where he had been to where he was now. She hadn't been expecting that. He knelt down next to her and she leaned away from him slightly and kept her silence as his eyes looked passed her, searching for something. Not wanting to interrupt this glow torch as he did…whatever it was he was doing. It had only been for a few moments but it felt like an eternity before he spoke to her again. She nodded and let out a slightly embarrassed laugh as a response before speaking, "Yeah, I apologise for that. You're just so…" She paused for a moment trying to find the right word for both his glow and the almost unbearable suffocating feeling she got while near him "um, unique that I kind of lost all common sense and thought it might be fun to follow you around for a bit. You're quite…bright… compared to everything else here." A look of concern then washed over her featured, "Wait, dangerous? How's it dangerous? Oooo is there like some dangerous wild animals here! Oh that'd be fun I want to meet them where are they?" She asked with a sudden growing excitement as she came up with her own explanations for what might be dangerous.

A name, he was asking for a name, tearing her away from her own thoughts about what possibly could be lurking in this forest. A sigh of disappointment escaped her as she accepted his hand to help her up. Upon the moment of contact it was as if someone was choking the life out of her. She broke contact and took a few steps back from him coughing a few times. waving a hand in his direction she said in between coughs, "Sorry for the rudeness, you're a bit suffocating." coughing a few more times she finally was able to take some deep breaths before turning curious mercury eyes upon him, "I really don't understand why, but it's quite fascinating. I've never been so overwhelmed with someone's potential like that. You are a strange one." She paused giving her hand a wave, "Anyways, you can call me Lily if you like, it's what everyone else does." She flashed a friendly smile as she dusted off the skirts of her dress. I really should look into maybe getting some pants like most people wear now days. Much more convenient. Dust and dirt fell from her skirts and she gave a satisfied nod as she examined her dress, satisfied with her work. Almost as if it had been forgotten she asked, "Oh, what should I call you? Or should I just make something up?"

Hesitation filled her when she thought of the reason for her fall. Did she really want to look back upon that terrifying face and contorted figure within the tree? Not really, but she wasn't sure if he knew about them and it would best be seen not as a surprise when it's right up in your face. She looked over to the tree she had fallen from, only to have her eyes drawn to its neighbor, another figure was there. One tree after another her eyes looked over them all. Countless bodies with horrifying expressions. "The trees…" She whispered, glancing back at him, "they ate people! Look at them, they all have it!" She rushed up to one of the trees, suddenly remembering why she wanted to enter this forest in the first place, the whispers. She put her ear against the tree and looked to be concentrating pretty hard before stepping back and shaking her head. In a serious yet slightly disappointed tone she said, "Hm, no, it's not them." Each new thought seemed to change her mood drastically but finally she seemed to settle down a bit. She spun away from the tree turning an intense gaze upon the flashlight and asked with a serious look, "Do you hear them? The voices whispering? Sorry if I sound crazy but ever since I came to this island there have been whispers coming from this forest. Either I've gone quite mad or something's up. Usually they are quite calm, sad but calm, but then today they seem whipped up into a frenzy. The only thing that's changed is….you. Do you have some kind of connection to this place? I mean it's quite suspicious ya know. Everything seems cool then you come waltzing in looking like a torch and things are getting noisy on the airwaves. I'd prefer to think I'm sane….for the most part, so it has to be something else." She sighed and looked around, not really expecting an answer. If someone was walking around all glowy like that and able to get a forest whipped into a frenzy, it's probably something personal. "Anyways, if the forest is so dangerous, what are you doing here? Aren't you in just as much danger as I am?" She asked looking at him with a slightly rebellious look.

His eyebrows raised, and he had to pull his lips in to keep from smiling, not something he would have expected in a place that was so lacking in smiles. She was an odd one, but it was refreshing in an otherwise depressing place such as this. Bright, yes, a good word to describe him in more ways than one. However, when she recoiled from his touch so soon after being helped up, he looked down at his hand. What was that…? Had he hurt her in some way? She wasn’t one of the undead so it was more than a little strange to see such a reaction. Either way it told him enough: no touching. At least not until he could sort it out as nothing more than a fluke which he very much hoped it was.

“Apologies, I’m not sure what happened…Though as I said, yes: there are many dangerous things here. Creatures, other people, vengeful spirits.” His eyes slowly surveyed the area as he spoke, listening to her now as she continued on. Just what had brought her here in the first place? Even if he had been a distraction, something had caught her attention well enough to have her wander through in the first place. “They’re all around us actually.” His eyes landed on her again, perplexed yet innocently amused by her demeanor. Hopefully she wasn’t mad and he wasn’t mistaking it for enthusiasm. Many people here were driven mad after all, especially if they got lost.

“Lily.” His eyes softened as he tested the name on his tongue, it suited her somehow. He winced silently, “I apologize about that, I’m still not sure what’s causing it. I get a similar reaction to those of the undead, but you don’t appear to be…” His eyes gave her a quick sweep as if some wound would suddenly appear, “In any case, I’m called Naota.” That was all he’d say on that. Often times he didn’t speak of his deityhood to those that did not already recognize him, but being in a place such as this…well, needless to say he was much more cautious with giving away that information.

She went from tree to tree, suddenly spooked again but then quickly calming. She really was an odd one and he gently chuckled as he walked to one of the many trees. His fingers rested on the bark, all traces of a smile gone from his face now, “They didn’t eat them, not exactly.” This person, like everyone else, was forever frozen with an expression of agony and terror. He got mixed feelings when he looked at them, but he looked towards her now, his fingers not leaving the bark, “Have you never been told about the history of this forest?” His eyebrows rose, surprised by that if it were the case.

Again his eyes lifted, only now they went distant as he thought about what she’d said. He heard many things when he was here, and usually tried not to focus on it for too long. It was too personal, even if it had been before his own time, “Whispers…yes.” He nodded, “Not exactly of the dead, more so of the past.” He sighed, pulling his hand back from the tree now.

His eyes moved away from her, trying to think of a way to dodge that question but he knew there was none. Well, aside from lying, which he would not do. Instead he leaned back against the tree and looked down at his hand again. Small spheres of light faded into being and hovered above his fingertips. He moved them about with a lazy movement of his fingers: light meditation, literally. As he spoke he was sure to keep his eyes on them, feeling guilty when he knew he shouldn’t have, “I suppose it makes sense. One of The World Trees was murdered here by those that blamed it and the deities. In response, it released one final curse upon its death and took their lives and made them into trees themselves. There’s much more to it than that but…” His fingers flexed, bringing the spheres together to form an orb at the palm of his hand the size of an apple but perfectly rounded and smooth,

He hesitated, but only for a half second as in truth he was in no way ashamed of what he was, “Being a deity myself, I’m sure the forest is feeling a confliction of emotion. It’s upsetting the energy.” The orb flickered away, pronouncing the darkness around them more now save for the glow from his markings and eyes.

“Your whispers probably have much to do with that, though I’m sure that isn’t all. If anything I think it’s as you’ve said, they’ve just been amplified. I’d like to do what I’ve set out to do and be on my way, but in the meantime there could very well be lingering unrest until I’m gone.” Which could spell out more danger for her or anyone else here if he stayed still for too long and let the energy surge and build, “We should keep moving. I’m actually in search of one of the many will ‘o the wisps that reside here.”

Creatures, people, spirits. That's what she could look forward to here. She smiled slightly and commented, "Ah the creatures I'm sure I could handle fine but people and spirits those not so much. People and spirits, they always want something. All around us though, like right here?" She waved her arms about as if she'd be able to suddenly feel one next to her. 

She shook her head as he apologized for a second time after helping her up, "No need to apologize, it's not often but some people have just too much potential and it messes with my kind in strange ways. I can assure you I'm not undead, I think. Unless being asleep for a very long time makes you such, but I still have a working heart so I don't think so."  She waved her hand about as if dismissing the thought, "Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you Naota." Normally this would be where she would offer up a hand shake, bit seeing as she had an adverse reaction to contact with him she gave a small bow with a smile.

The history of the forest? She had heard a few things but not much when investigating the whispers while in town. "Well, the history of the forest they were a bit vague on the story. What i was told is that the forest is doom to all who enter. That a large group of people had died here, a lot of women hung themselves, and that i should never enter unless I wanted to share their fate." She fell silent after answering watching him closely to try and find the answers. She held back her slight surprise as the orbs of light appeared, it wasn't that she was surprised he could use magic, that was a given from her reaction to him, it was that he seemed to do it out of no where with what seemed to be no real purpose. She still wasn't used to the way people used magic these days, as if it came without a price. She pushed away her feelings on the topic and listened carefully as he spoke. A gasp escaped her as he finished speaking and she let the information sink in. "They killed the…. what!? No! Why? How could they be so stupid!" She then cut herself off suddenly and looked at him curiously before continuing, "Wait, you're one of the ones chosen?" She then nodded to herself as if it all made perfect sense now, "Ah, yes that's it then." 

She clapped her hands together and nodded at his suggestion they move on. With a determined look she said, "Alright, I'll help you if I can. Maybe two people looking will make it go faster. I'd hate to see the wildlife disturbed too much and if it's as you say then the best option is to help you get out of here as fast as possible. So, how is this whisp to be identified from the others?"

She then started off deeper into the forest, acting confident like she knew where they were going even though she had no idea. It wasn't long before a mind numbingly loud screaming could be heard. She clasped her hands over her ears as pain shot through her mind from the voice. Not far off and quickly approaching, well more like floating, was what appeared to be a woman, but slightly transparent. Long flowing hair streamed out behind the creature as it quickly approached. Lily was confused, what was this thing. Cold, angry eyes locked onto hers and seemed to pierce straight through her. The intensity of the stare made her breath catch and her eyes widen, then the forest disappeared from around her. The noise was gone so she slowly lowered her hands, she was caught in its trap.

From the outside it looked as if she was just standing there, staring at the banshee, but within her mind a horror was unfolding that she had not been prepared for. Her deepest fears, her darkest memories were all playing out before her eyes. She started shaking he eye twitched a few times. A low growl escaped from her throat. In her mind it felt as if hours had passed before she came enough to her senses in her ongoing horror to realize the banshee was the cause of all this. It must be some spell or something. Her anger at the creature was growing with each passing moment. She didn't know if it would work on the outside of her mind but she had to do something about this.

In reality and in her mind she raised her hand in front of her and quickly let drew a symbol in the air comprised of shimmering electricity, it hung there for a moment before her hand extended and muttered something as her hand came in contact with her creation. Electricity sparked and ran across her body. Her eyes became clear as she returned to reality and her rage came with her. The things she had seen, they were best to remain burried, and yet this creature had drawn them forth into her minds eye for her to relive over and over. Her eyes stared back at the banshee with a burning rage. With a flick of her wrist her sword was summoned to her. Her blade hummed with energy and she darted forth, electricity still running across her skin. She slashed at the Banshee her sword sparking as an arc of lightning radiated from it, but it simply passed through the banshee. It howled at her with an ungodly voice that made het head ring.

"Of course, a ghost." She said with a bitter tone. Her sword vanished and darkness seemed to gather by her hand as a new weapon was summoned she spoke again, "Then I guess I'll have to try this out." From the darkness a scythe formed. It seemed to already be dripping blood though it had not been used. The aura that accompanied the scythe was cold and unfeeling, it was an aura of death. She had received this scythe not long before when the plague if the reaper's blood had ravaged the world and those who were willing traversed the circles of Dalanesca's hell in search of a cure. As a reaper's scythe it was able to harm and even kill those already dead that normal means couldn't touch, ghosts. The weight of it was more than she was used to, so with an extra surge of magic she empowered herself, giving herself the strength the wield the weapon. For a moment she didn't move but then in the blink of an eye she had vanished. A moment later she came falling from above wielding the scythe a bit clumsily as she brought it down upon the banshees head with the full force of her fall, slicing through the ghostly form from the top of it's head down to the ground where the blade burried itself in the dirt. For a moment it seemed like maybe it had no effect the banshee just stared, but then a split formed and almost like a fog curled away at the edges as it was split in half and dissipated into the air.

Her rage still lingered even as the banshee faded. She pulled at the scythe but couldn't seem to get it unstuck from the ground. "You stupid piece of…" She muttered as she pulled losing her grip and falling. She got back up and kicked the scythe, it still didn't move, "Fine stay there then!" She said angrily at the weapon as if it could hear her. She turned her back to the scythe and leaned against it with her arms folding and an irritated look upon her face. She seemed to have completely forgotten that the god was there during her little tantrum with the banshee.

He chuckled as she seemingly bounced from emotion to emotion and rose his eyebrows when she asked about the wisps. She started to walk and he kept alongside her with no real direction since so far he had no leads as to where the little blue lights could be darting, “They hover above the ground and they’re a soft blue. Often times they seem to be sentient and it’s very possible that they are. Very rarely do people catch up to them and sometimes they can lead you to dangerous places, so very little is known about them.” Which was why it was so imperative that he find at least one to learn about.

After a short time there was an earsplitting scream through the trees, so powerful that he had to press his hands to his ears and close his eyes to brace himself. What in the world? When his eyes opened he saw a woman in the distance, but right away he could tell she wasn’t merely a woman, even if the translucence of her makeup hadn’t been a factor. It was the eyes and expression. His fingers slowly moved to Torinasu at his hip and his voice was a soft whisper as he spoke to Lily, “Move as carefully as you can…” There was no response.

He turned his head to look at her, lips parting from the frozen expression on her face. Something was holding her, and his eyes moved accusingly back to the stranger. Not trusting his eyes to close, he looked into the auras around him which was quite strange since normally this was done with closed eyes. Lily’s aura was flickering and growing darker, but what bothered him most was the black tendril that was coming out of her chest, leading straight to the woman as if the two were connected. He looked down at himself and there was a similar blackness reaching towards him, but it wasn’t able to penetrate through the holiness that naturally radiated off of him. This wasn’t good.

“Lily.” His tone was firmer and he looked back towards her, only now she’d come back around. Her eye twitched, her body began to shake, and the fear was replaced with unadulterated rage before a growl emanated from her. She was going to attack, but he wasn’t sure that was the best course of action. Before he could say anything more, her hand rose into the air and traced something of her own in lingering electric trails in the air. The attack started.

“Wait!” Interfering too much with the inhabitants of this forest could be dangerous, but he recognized that level of focus. It would have been easy for him to stop her and stop the banshee, but he was unsure of the repercussions mentally, emotionally, and metaphysically. So instead he cast a blessing upon her so that at the very least she wouldn’t be killed if the foe managed to get the upper hand. Though really, he knew that if it came to that he’d end it one way or another. He watched her, keeping his attention to her movements and following along with the fray so that he could keep an eye. It was intriguing to watch her fight, to wonder what she might do next, and he only felt a little guilty for not stepping in more.

Having children meant he wanted to try and fix everything easily to take away their hardships, but he knew well that doing everything for them wouldn’t help them when they entered the real world. Which is exactly why he wasn’t interfering now: he couldn’t always protect everyone, and honestly, some people didn’t need protecting. Lily so far was taking good care of herself on her own. That being said, he still would have cast the blessing. No one deserved death for such a seemingly trivial fight.

Her scythe was dug deeply into the ground from her ending blow and he watched as she struggled to pull it free. He smirked a little, the look laced in both amusement and pride as he walked towards her. When he was at her side he gripped the scythe and pulled it from the ground with ease before offering it to her, “A commendable fight, though I’m a bit worried about the rage. What exactly was she feeding into your head?” The upset with which she had attacked seemed personal.