Morning came slowly to the Temple of Xuanian with the rising sun beginning to crest over the peaks of the surrounding mountains. A thin veil of mist drifted through the trees and clung stubbornly to the slopes, curling through the temple grounds and lingering along the dirt pathways like a silent tide retreating from the light.
Orion stood overlooking the lagoon, breathing deeply as the cool mountain air filled his lungs. Compared to Zaun, each breath felt like a luxury. Faint sweetness of blossoms and damp soil, quiet and peaceful surroundings with the faint chittering of birds.
He looked down at his arms. They were starting to fill out and his skin was picking up a healthy tone instead of its usual pale and sickly look.
"Are you ready?"
Kennen's soft landing beside him barely made a sound, the small yordle settling onto a stone ledge with ease.
"I think so," Orion nodded, carefully stretching and eyeing the forest line.
"The locals used to say these woods were sacred," Kennen mused. "Before the war, travelers would leave offerings beneath the old trees. Spirits nested there like birds in spring."
"And now?"
"And now the spirits weep," Shen's voice comes as he round the bend. "The war changed us. People visit them less and now they feel bereft, and a longing for attention has begun to corrupt those that received the most love."
"The mist is a manifestation of their sadness. Last night an Azakana emerged and tried to lure a neophyte into the forest. If we hadn't stopped it the boy would've been lost."
Light filtered through the canopy in long golden rays that illuminated patches of moss and wildflowers scattered around them. Small birds flitted from branch to branch, their soft calls echoing faintly through the valley.
Yet the forest remained stubbornly dark with the thick trees, mist, and tangled undergrowth swallowing the light before it could reach the small stone path cutting through.
Orion hesitated and Shen spoke up.
"The corruption will continue to spread through the land. If we do nothing, more spirits will emerge. We must travel to the source and purify it."
"Where is Mayyam? She's the Fist of Shadow." Orion asked, looking around confused.
"Mayyam will stay behind to guard the temple while we are away," Kennen promptly answered with a little giggle. "And to keep the children from wandering."
Shen's serious voice rose, "It will be dangerous. And when we begin, the spirits will stir."
"Dangers and danger!" Kennen cooed, dancing between his steps as they began walking.
"Ignore Kennen," Shen sighed agitatedly. "He does not know how to be serious."
"Rude! I'm very serious!"
------
The forest grew steadily darker as they traversed the mountain path.
Towering trunks formed a natural wall that blocked much of the sunlight and the mist obscured sight ahead. Thick roots twisted across the path and the scent of damp earth grew stronger with every step.
Orion noticed the silence next. The previous birds disappeared and the wind stopped.
"How much farther?" he asked.
Shen slowed his pace slightly.
"We are close."
They rounded a cluster of moss-covered stones and the forest suddenly opened into a small clearing.
At the center stood an enormous tree towering over the rest.
Its trunk was easily three times wider than any tree Orion had seen before, the thick bark darkened by age and weather. Long branches twisted upward toward the sky like skeletal fingers, their leaves sparse and uneven, and outward reaching to the opening to the clearing.
"What are those?" Orion asked, eyeing dark fruit-looking shapes dangling off the branches closer to the trunk and high above them.
"You will see," Kennen responded darkly, carefully walking behind him while Shen guardedly led the way.
Orion's pace briefly slowed as he began to make out the details. Knots and ridges covered the trunk from root to branch, twisting into shapes that looked disturbingly human.
Faces. Dozens of them.
Some appeared peaceful, their mouths curved into faint smiles that might have seemed welcoming under different circumstances. Others sorrowful, others angry, and a few, especially those near the base of the trunk, were frozen in silent screams.
Orion felt his stomach turn.
"Please tell me someone carved those," he muttered.
"No one carved them," Shen answered quietly. "I can sense the souls of the deceased tied to the tree."
A light breeze passed through the clearing causing the branches above them to shift slightly.
Orion's gaze rose up and branches slowly began to lower around them. What he thought were simple fruits turned out to be a sore mistake. While they were fruits, they were also human faces with expressions.
"They're moving," Orion breathed, watching as the expressions twisted and showed subtle smiles with an eerie glee.
"Do not give them attention," Shen warned and Orion's gaze immediately returned to Shen's back.
"This is unsettling."
When they reached the base of the tree, Shen stepped forward and knelt beside the thick roots that spread outward like gnarled fingers.
"The corruption is strong here," he said grimly.
The soil around the roots had turned gray and brittle, the grass long dead and the fallen leaves curled.
Shen placed one hand against the trunk and closed his eyes, making a hand sign again.
The clearing remained silent outside of the creaking of bark and a faint, unhappy groan that seemed to emanate from the tree.
For several seconds nothing happened and then Orion felt it. A faint pulse and rumble beneath the ground. Something shifting deep within the base of the tree.
Shen's eyes opened slowly and Orion couldn't help but glance anxiously toward the hanging faces. Their mouths slowly opened and Shen's warning echoed with the unsheathing of his blade.
"Prepare yourself."