If Sister Anvi had taught Rudra about the life that grew within the forests, Devi Aranyani would teach him about the life that moved through them. Plants were patient and silent. They remained rooted where they were born, responding to the changing seasons, the quality of the soil, the flow of water and the presence of other forms of life around them. Animals were different. They moved through the world with fear, instinct, hunger, affection and memory. They hunted and were hunted, protected their young, defended their territories and adapted to dangers that changed with every passing moment. To understand the forests, Rudra would have to understand both.
He found Devi Aranyani waiting for him near the edge of the Forest of the Forgotten. She stood beneath the shade of a great tree, surrounded by creatures that seemed entirely comfortable in her presence. A small deer grazed only a short distance away, while several birds rested upon the branches above her. Something small and furry was curled near her feet, sleeping peacefully despite Rudra's arrival. Devi Aranyani looked towards him and smiled as he approached.
"Finally."
Rudra looked at her. "I am not late."
"You are."
"No, I am not."
"Then I suppose the forest is early."
Rudra looked around him, then back towards her. "The entire forest?"
"Yes."
He sighed. "I am beginning to understand why you and Sister Anvi are so close."
Devi Aranyani's smile widened. "That is unfortunate for you."
Their lessons began with the ordinary creatures of the forest rather than the great divine beasts Rudra had expected. Devi Aranyani took him through quiet parts of the woodland where he could observe animals without disturbing them, teaching him first to watch before he attempted to understand. Rudra saw deer feeding within the grass, but as he looked more carefully, he noticed that they were never completely relaxed. One would lower its head to feed while another kept watch. Their ears constantly moved, responding to sounds Rudra could barely hear.
"What do you see?" Devi Aranyani asked.
Rudra looked around. "Animals."
She slowly turned towards him.
Rudra immediately sighed. "I knew that was not going to be enough."
She laughed. "Sister Anvi has been training you well."
"Apparently, both of you believe the simplest question should always have the most complicated answer."
"Not complicated," she said. "Observed."
Rudra looked again. This time, he watched the creatures more carefully. "They are feeding, but they are not entirely focused on eating. They are watching their surroundings. Listening. One of them keeps looking towards the trees while the others remain closer together."
"Good."
That became one of the foundations of his training with Devi Aranyani. Animals were constantly communicating, even when they made no sound. A sudden movement, a raised head, a change in posture or even the direction in which a creature looked could reveal what it was feeling. Some relied on scent, others on sound, vision or vibrations. Rudra began learning that fear did not always look the same, nor did aggression. A creature could attack because it was defending itself, protecting its young, guarding its territory or simply because it believed it had no other choice.
As they travelled deeper into the forest, Devi Aranyani taught him about the different strengths of different animals. A wolf did not hunt like an eagle, and an eagle did not survive like a deer. A snake sensed the world differently from a lion, while the smallest creatures often possessed abilities that larger and stronger animals lacked.
"Every creature has its own speciality," Devi Aranyani explained. "But its greatest strength is often understanding what it is."
Rudra looked towards her. "What does that mean?"
"It means an eagle does not wish to become a lion."
Rudra thought about it. "It would make a terrible lion."
"Exactly."
He smiled. "That is your lesson?"
"It is an excellent lesson."
Their training gradually moved beyond the ordinary creatures of the forest. Devi Aranyani began introducing Rudra to the beings whose existence lay between nature, myth and the spiritual worlds. The first of these was the Nine-Tailed Fox, though Rudra was not given the honour of actually seeing it at first.
Devi Aranyani brought him into a quiet clearing and told him to look carefully.
Rudra did.
There was nothing there.
"Are you sure it is here?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Exactly where you are looking."
Rudra frowned and focused upon the clearing again. The trees stood silently before him, their shadows stretching across the ground. Then, for the briefest moment, the air seemed to ripple. The shapes before him changed. One of the trees appeared closer than it should have been, while the grass moved in a direction opposite to the wind. Rudra instinctively stepped backwards, and at that moment, a fox appeared where there had seemingly been nothing.
It was beautiful.
Its fur carried an almost unnatural sheen, while behind its body moved nine magnificent tails. The creature looked directly at Rudra for a moment, its eyes carrying an intelligence that felt far too knowing to belong to an ordinary animal. Then it disappeared.
Rudra immediately turned.
It was behind him.
He turned again.
Gone.
Devi Aranyani was laughing.
"You could have warned me."
"I did."
"When?"
"When I told you to look carefully."
Rudra shook his head as the Nine-Tailed Fox disappeared into the forest, its presence fading once more into illusion. Devi Aranyani explained that their species possessed a remarkable connection with perception and the senses. They could manipulate what others saw and, more importantly, influence how their minds interpreted what was placed before them.
"That is why they are dangerous," she said.
"Because they can make you see something that isn't there?"
"No."
Rudra looked at her.
"Because they can make you believe something is there when you desperately want it to be."
The answer remained with him. The Nine-Tailed Fox was not merely powerful because it could create illusions. Its true danger lay in its understanding of perception. It could use a person's own expectations against them, making them trust what they wished to believe. Yet despite their abilities, they were also famously mischievous. Devi Aranyani herself admitted that they enjoyed confusing travellers, hiding objects and creating harmless illusions simply to watch the reactions of others.
"That sounds familiar," Rudra said.
Devi Aranyani slowly turned towards him.
"Careful."
Rudra immediately raised his hands. "I said nothing."
"Good."
The Lions of Ascalon were entirely different. Where the Nine-Tailed Foxes relied upon illusion and cunning, the Ascalon lions carried their strength openly. Rudra encountered them in a vast part of the forest where even the smaller creatures seemed to understand whose territory they had entered. The first lion he saw was enormous, far larger than an ordinary lion, with a powerful body and a mane that seemed to carry a faint golden brilliance beneath the light.
Yet what Rudra noticed most was not its physical strength.
It was its pride.
Not arrogance.
Something deeper.
A natural dignity rooted within the creature's very presence.
Devi Aranyani explained that the Lions of Ascalon were protectors of the forests and the creatures living within their territories. Their pride was not based upon domination but responsibility. They understood their place within the forest and defended the balance of the life around them. When one of the younger lions moved closer to Rudra, the larger male immediately stepped forward.
Rudra instinctively tensed.
"Don't," Devi Aranyani said quietly.
He remained still.
The lion stared at him.
Rudra stared back.
For several long moments, neither of them moved. Then the great lion slowly turned away and walked back towards the rest of its pride.
"That was it?" Rudra asked.
Devi Aranyani nodded. "He was deciding whether you were a threat."
"And?"
She smiled.
"He hasn't decided yet."
Rudra looked towards her. "Very reassuring."
"You're welcome."
As Rudra learned more about the creatures of the forests, he began understanding that not every extraordinary being belonged entirely to the physical world. The dragons, Devi Aranyani explained, were among the oldest and most spiritual forms of life. They were not simply beasts that could be found sleeping upon a mountain or hidden within a cave. Many existed in realms beyond the ordinary world, while some could move between places where the boundaries between different Lokas became thin. Their connection with the higher spiritual realms, including Siddha Loka, placed them among beings whose nature could not easily be described through a single word.
"They are not simply animals," Rudra said.
"No."
"Then what are they?"
Devi Aranyani smiled. "Alive."
Rudra stared at her. "That does not answer anything."
"It answers more than you think."
She explained that mortals often made the mistake of trying to place every creature into a single category. Something was either an animal, a spirit or a divine being. But the universe was far more complex than that. A dragon could possess a physical form, a spiritual nature and divine abilities while still remaining a living being. Rudra did not need to know every creature's exact category before understanding its existence. He needed to learn how to recognise and respect what stood before him.
The Phoenix carried a different kind of mystery. Devi Aranyani explained that the Phoenix had many forms, each connected with different elemental and spiritual forces. Certain forms guided and protected the spirits associated with their respective elements, while others served as guardians during moments of transformation between one state of existence and another.
"They protect spirits?" Rudra asked.
"Some protect them. Some guide them. Others lead them when their path takes them between worlds."
Rudra looked thoughtfully towards the sky. "And what happens when a Phoenix dies?"
Devi Aranyani smiled.
"Why do you assume it dies?"
Rudra looked at her for several moments before sighing. "I knew you were going to say something like that."
She laughed. The Phoenix, she explained, was not defined by death in the ordinary sense. It represented transformation. Fire did not always mean an ending. Sometimes, what was destroyed was merely making way for something new to emerge.
Rudra thought of Devi Jyoti's lessons.
Fire.
Destruction.
Transformation.
Once again, his training seemed to connect with itself.
The Kirin was a guardian of the creatures that walked upon the land. Its strength did not come merely from its power, but from its deep connection with harmony. Devi Aranyani explained that during times when the balance of the land was threatened, the Kirin could act as a guide and protector to the animals living beneath its care. It was not a ruler who commanded the forest but a guardian whose presence helped maintain its balance.
"And the creatures of the sky?" Rudra asked.
Devi Aranyani looked at him approvingly. "Now you are asking the right questions."
That was when she told him about the Griffin.
The Griffin watched over the creatures of the air, carrying both the strength of a great beast and the freedom of the skies. Its domain was vast, but so was its responsibility. The creatures of the air were not confined to one forest or one mountain, and the Griffin's protection extended across the spaces through which they travelled.
Rudra looked towards the sky. "That is an impossible amount of space to protect."
"Do you think the sky belongs to fewer creatures simply because it is large?"
He followed her gaze.
No.
The sky belonged to everything that could fly through it.
She also told him that the creatures of the water had guardians of their own. The rivers, lakes and oceans were living worlds, each carrying forms of life that could not survive elsewhere. Some ancient guardians watched over the seas, while others were connected with rivers, sacred springs and hidden waters. Their forms and responsibilities differed, but the principle remained the same.
Nature was not without protectors.
Rudra simply had not known how many forms protection could take.
Yet Devi Aranyani's most important lessons did not come from the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Lions of Ascalon, dragons or any of the other extraordinary beings she introduced him to. They came from the ordinary animals that lived quietly around them.
One day, while travelling through the forest, they found an injured creature hiding beneath the roots of a fallen tree. It was small, frightened and badly wounded. When Rudra moved closer, it immediately tried to escape despite its injury.
He reached forward.
"Stop."
Rudra immediately paused.
"It is hurt."
"Yes."
"I am trying to help it."
Devi Aranyani crouched beside him. "Does it know that?"
Rudra looked at the creature.
It had no reason to trust him.
It did not know who he was.
It did not know what he intended to do.
All it knew was that something larger and more powerful was moving towards it.
Rudra slowly moved back. He remained where he was and allowed the creature to observe him. He kept his body relaxed and his movements slow. Devi Aranyani watched silently beside him as the frightened animal gradually stopped struggling.
"Now?" Rudra whispered.
"Slowly."
Rudra moved closer again.
His lessons with Sister Anvi immediately became useful. He recognised the nature of the wound and knew which plants could be used in preparing a suitable treatment. But knowledge alone was not enough. Devi Aranyani guided his hands, reminding him to move gently and to understand the creature's fear.
"Careful."
Rudra adjusted his hand.
"Not there."
He moved again.
"Better."
The creature remained tense throughout the treatment, but eventually, it stopped fighting him. It did not suddenly become his friend, nor did it understand why he was helping it.
But it allowed him to help.
And that was enough.
Rudra understood something important that day.
Protecting a creature did not mean controlling it.
Caring for it did not mean making it obey.
And trust was not something one could demand.
It had to be given.
As his training continued, Rudra learned how to recognise fear, aggression, illness and distress among different animals. He learned when to approach and when to remain at a distance. Some creatures could be calmed by a gentle presence, while others required space before they would allow anyone near them. Some trusted quickly. Others remembered fear for years.
Devi Aranyani taught him to respect all of them.
"One day, Rudra," she told him as they stood together within the forest, "your destiny will be connected with these lands."
"The forests."
"Yes."
She looked around them.
"But not only the trees."
Her gaze moved towards the birds resting among the branches, the animals travelling through the grass and the countless lives hidden within the forest.
"The forests are not places, Rudra."
He listened.
"They are worlds."
At that moment, everything he had learned began to fit together.
The plants Sister Anvi had taught him about.
The animals Devi Aranyani was showing him.
The water that sustained them.
The earth that carried them.
The creatures born from elemental and spiritual forces.
The endless balance between all living things.
Rudra's destiny was not simply to stand before danger and fight it.
A true guardian had to understand the world he protected. He had to recognise the smallest creature as readily as the greatest one. He had to guide without dominating, protect without controlling and understand when to fight and when simply being present was enough.
Devi Aranyani looked towards him with a small smile. "So?"
Rudra raised an eyebrow. "So what?"
"What did you learn?"
He smiled. "You are worse than Sister Anvi."
Devi Aranyani placed a hand over her chest. "How cruel."
"I mean it as a compliment."
"Then I accept."
Rudra laughed before turning his gaze towards the forest again. "I learned that every creature has its own nature, and its strength is not always in how powerful it is."
Devi Aranyani nodded.
"And?"
"That protecting something does not mean controlling it."
Her expression softened.
"And?"
Rudra looked around the forest one more time. "That if I am going to become the guardian of these forests and the realms connected to them, I cannot only protect the creatures that are beautiful, powerful or useful."
Devi Aranyani remained silent.
"I have to protect all of them."
A warm smile appeared upon her face.
"Now you understand."
Rudra looked towards the forest as life continued moving around him. Birds travelled through the sky above the trees, animals moved silently through the undergrowth and a distant roar echoed somewhere beyond the mountains. The wind passed through the branches, carrying countless sounds with it.
For the first time, Rudra did not simply see a forest.
He saw a living world.
A world with its own laws, its own rhythm and its own voices.
And one day...
It would become his responsibility.
Rudra's training had taught him how to become stronger. But Sister Anvi and Devi Aranyani were teaching him why that strength would be needed.
And perhaps...
That was the lesson he would need most.