Chapter 2: Into Duskreach
The forest swallowed him whole.
As soon as Kavin stepped beyond the last lantern of Thornhollow, the light dimmed. The air inside the Duskreach Forest was cool and dense, filled with the scent of damp earth and flowers that didn't exist anywhere else. Mist curled around the roots of trees that stretched toward the sky like ancient guardians.
He had expected silence—but the forest wasn't quiet.
It breathed.
Leaves whispered like voices in a language he couldn't understand. A faint glow shimmered from mushrooms along the bark. Eyes blinked open in the shadows, watching him with cautious curiosity.
Kavin moved slowly, hand on the hilt of his father's sword, unsure what was real and what was illusion. He had always heard stories of this place—that it played tricks on the mind, twisted your memories, and showed you visions to lure you deeper.
But he felt something different.
Like the forest was waiting for him.
Hours passed—or maybe only minutes. Time was strange here.
Kavin stopped at a small clearing where a fallen tree had broken open a shaft of moonlight. He sat down, pulling out a piece of bread and dried meat from his satchel. As he chewed, he looked at his hand again.
The sigil—that star-shaped mark—still faintly shimmered under the moonlight.
"What are you?" he whispered, brushing a finger over it.
Suddenly, a soft sound broke the stillness.
Rustling.
Then—a voice.
"You're not supposed to be here, human."
Kavin jumped to his feet, drawing his blade. "Who's there?"
From the shadows stepped a figure cloaked in silver-blue. Her skin shimmered like moonlight, and her eyes were slanted and glowing. An elf. Tall and graceful, she moved without a sound, a longbow slung across her back.
"You crossed into sacred land," she said calmly. "And you carry a cursed mark."
Kavin lowered his sword slightly. "I didn't come to fight. I'm looking for answers."
"You won't find them here," she replied. "Only danger."
Before he could speak again, a growl tore through the trees behind them. The elf turned sharply, eyes narrowing. Kavin spun around just as a massive black shape lunged from the trees—a shadow beast with glowing red eyes.
The creature roared, and Kavin barely raised his sword in time.
The elf moved like wind—arrow nocked, bow drawn, and released in a blink. The arrow struck the beast's shoulder, but it kept coming.
Kavin dodged, rolled, and swung his sword toward the beast's flank. The blade sparked as it struck the thick hide. The sigil on his hand flared with sudden light—and the beast shrieked.
A blast of magic erupted from Kavin's palm, knocking the creature back.
He stumbled, shocked. "What was that?"
The elf stared at him with new eyes. "You're not just a boy with a sword."
"No," Kavin said, breathless. "I think I'm something else."
After the battle, they sat near the glowing stump of a fallen tree. The elf introduced herself as Lyra, guardian of the forest's outer rim.
"You carry the Starborn mark," she said. "It hasn't been seen in a hundred years."
"What does it mean?" Kavin asked.
Lyra hesitated, then said quietly, "It means you are bound to a destiny greater than you can understand. And if you stay in this forest, it will begin to awaken."
"To awaken what?" he asked.
She looked up at the stars. "Magic. Power. And enemies you are not ready to face."