486 The Pyre (1/2)
The forest began to change around the Princess and her guard. The white and grey swirled tree trunks were darkening as if they had been coated in hot smoke many times. As they got closer to the center there were thin gray layers of ash on the tops of leaves. There was a chilly air that rushed past Kyera.
”Kyera…” Kan's voice was soft and uncertain as he tensed. His senses were lost in the smells and warnings in the air. What was striking him the most was the lack of a certain smell.
”I don't smell smoke.” Kyera replied as she slipped off his back. Kan changed to his human form as the earth wove into a pair of pants on his hips. He came to stand behind her, claws extended. His eyes were wary.
”I don't know if you should be here.” He added looking around. She was not paying attention to him though. The sound was louder now.
It was a sound coming from every tree as she walked closer. There was a sensation of pain and anguish pouring from the bark. The two, tall guardian trees seemed darker somehow. There were signs of disrespect at the gates themselves. The enchanted wooden holders were still lit with their single candles, but the tree below was gashed by claws. Kyera touched the mutilation as she passed into the ash forest itself.
Within the natural walls of Ash Forest Gate, the forest was just like that outside. The only difference was the trees were more luxurious and alive than the surrounding wood. Kan looked around in surprise, the forest had been seedlings last he had been here. The tall trees looked much older and more ancient than they had any right to look. Kyera took her shoes off and tossed them aside before entering the forest. He reached for her hand but she walked forward, listening as the cries grew louder and directed her steps.
”Who's there?” Kyera called. She could sense it long before she saw anything. There was someone… something perhaps… there in the dark just out of site. It didn't respond or take a step, but there was no sense of danger so Kyera turned away. ”I hope you find peace one day, Fallen.” Kyera whispered before leading Kan deeper into the heart of the forest.
”How did these trees grow so much?” Kan demanded and Kyera reached out laying her palm to the tree nearest her. It hummed with life.
”I forgot how long you had been gone. The fallen shifters from the Final Massacre, as well as the fallen guardsmen had been tossed into a mass grave by the humans. Almost three hundred bodies.” Kyera explained as she walked slowly and carefully through the dark earth. ”At the center of this forest is a pyre where we burned their bodies? And scattered their ash within the clearing here. Their ashes were poured at the edges, and the trees that grew there grew to be the walls of the Ash Forest.” Kyera explained and he nodded.
”We didn't stop. We found every shifter body we could that was fallen by the War and brought them here. Their ashes joined their brothers and sisters in the garden. They nourished these trees, and this land. The trees grew faster, and stronger creating the Ash Forest far beyond the time we expected to see it.” Kyera replied and he looked out at the trees and realized the sadness building in his own heart.
”I thought the forest was just to rebuild after the burning… I didn't know we had turned it into a burial ground.” Kan replied and Kyera smiled softly.