Every now and then Icefall and Nalyr ran into the occasional dark solar mage, but it didn’t bother them much. The mages they encountered were usually alone or in small groups, most heading in a western direction away from where the Great Solar Split had occurred.
        Icefall had crossed into the Molyshard kingdom a few days ago, still following the guidance of the stars. Ever since she had crossed into this land, Icefall felt the pull of the stars grow tenfold. The once subtle this way was now a constant buzz in her mind day and night. It was almost impossible for her to sleep at night as the stars continued to try and push her onward.
        For the most part, of what the pair had seen of the Molyshard kingdom had just been stretch after stretch of gently rolling hills. Fields of wild flowers, mostly dyssians, and tall grasses that went up past Icefall’s waist covered the scenery. The overgrown land looked like it hadn’t been touched in ages and Icefall had yet to see a single soul out in the countryside.
        Although the land was beautiful, Icefall couldn’t pay it much attention, as her body moved continually against her will now, the buzzing in her mind now a dull roar. The mage felt physically and mentally exhausted, but she couldn’t do anything about it other than hope it would end soon. Nalyr had taken to flying low and close to Icefall, knowing of her internal struggles and worried about his friend.
        It had been about three days since the star mage and snow owl had entered the apparently abandoned kingdom. Icefall recalled a number of stories stating that the lands had been cursed, but she had never paid that much thought to it, figuring it to be an exaggeration or an old wife’s tale. The lack of civilization unnerved her as she moved through the lands however. Even animals were fairly scarce except a lone bird now and then.
        It was about noon when Icefall could start to make out something other than hills in the distance. From her current position however, all she could tell was that it was a tall something. As the pair got closer, shapes and color were beginning to be defined. Varying shades of green and brown in the distance revealed itself as a very large forest up close a few hours later.
        Tall, looming trees reached towards the sky, their branches filled with rich, full leaves. The leaves were a beautiful green except that up close Icefall found that a few scattered leaves were a deep red, yellow, orange, or brown, as if the trees though it to be autumn in the spring.
        While admiring the trees, the mage suddenly noticed that she had stopped moving and that the stars had become eerily silent. The lack of sound was crushing and unsettling to the mage who had had to contend with the constant call of the stars for the past three days. So is this it? The stars wanted me to see this forest?
        A call from Nalyr brought Icefall back to reality as she looked over at the sun. Judging from its position, the female mage determined that it was about an hour until sunset. She returned her gaze to the thick forest before her. Like everything else in the old kingdom, it was silent and overgrown.
        "Well, it looks like this is it." Icefall spoke aloud although she really didn’t have to. Just the sound of something helped make her feel more relaxed. "We should have enough daylight to begin our way into the forest." The star mage shifted a pack that was on her shoulder and double-checked that her sword was still at her hip before looking over at Nalyr.
        "Ready to go?" Nalyr gave a confident set of hoots that he was.
        With that, the pair set off into the thick forest. Icefall could find no visible trail although she didn’t expect to find one. She just picked each step carefully, doing her best not to disturb the forest floor. The thick mesh of bushes and vines threatened to trip her at every step, but never did. Low, drooping branches brushed at the star mage but somehow never managed to scratch her.
        Once they were far enough into the forest that they couldn’t see the hills behind them, Icefall began to notice a faint hum to the woodland. An overlay of something was mixed in the air and land, almost a resonance. Icefall put her hand to the thick bark of a tree and closed her eyes to listen. She could almost feel the tree moving with energy beneath her hand.
        This feels so familiar...
        The star adept turned back her mind to try and recall anything similar that she might have encountered in her long, long journeys. Suddenly a memory hit her full on and she recognized the energy as similar, if not the same, as that of the Aldea forests. The feeling of ancient and old lingered in the air and surrounded the mage and owl.
        There are guards up to only let certain people in, just like the Aldea forests, but these seem a little less restrictive than that other forest. The Aldea forest is very violent in protecting itself, but this one appears to be a bit more peaceful. What is it that makes this place so important?
        Icefall removed her hand from the tree and continued on through the forest, now fully aware of the energies that the land was giving off. Nalyr flew up above from tree to tree while the star mage moved by land. She now knew why the branches hadn’t touched her or the vines tripped her, if the forest hadn’t accepted her, it would have blocked her way and kept her from moving deeper into it.
        The dark forest was quickly losing light as the sun began to set behind the horizon, making it harder for Icefall to make her way through. Her silver grey eyes could still pick out most of the forest details thankfully though. The dense forest was slowly beginning to thin out as fewer bushes and low vines crept along the floor. After an hour or two of moving through the mysterious forest, Icefall noticed what looked to be a clearing between the trees, not to far away. She picked up her pace and Nalyr did too as they reached the forest’s end.
        The forest cut away cleanly to reveal a long expanse of more hills, these ones almost plateau-like in how low and flat they were. The grasses here were much shorter, as if someone had come through and cut it all by hand. By the light of the full moon above, Icefall saw patches of dyssian flowers that were scattered throughout the land, tinting the hills in shades of purple, maroon, royal blue, and scarlet.
        The most prominent feature of this patch of land was a large hill that rose gracefully in the center of all the others. This hill too, was covered in short grass, but absent were the gentle flowers. At the top of the hill stood what looked to be a tall tower.
        What is this place? Icefall could feel the energies of the forest still in this area and she almost swore that they felt stronger than in the woodlands they had just left.
        "We’ve come this far, we might as well go check out that tower." Although exhausted and hungry, Icefall and Nalyr began to head towards the tower on the center hill.
        As they climbed up, Icefall noticed that the forest looked to surround the clearing in all directions, creating a ring. Someone wanted this place protected. Is it because of the tower? Icefall quickened her pace as the tall tower grew in height the closer they came to it. Soon they were on the hill top, looking out at the lands around them, the ring of forest quite obvious now.
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