Four weeks have passed since my first hunt.
Pride fills me as I observe how the sanctuary of Aio, Reika, and Keira has almost doubled in size. The border of the forest has reached the trail I discovered on the first day. It is pure magic—the trees change their scent and color the moment they absorb new territory. Even the Heart-Tree has transformed under the influence of the offerings. The bark has taken on a crimson hue, and the leaves shimmer with a metallic, bloody gleam.
Since I actively seek food for the forest, intruders appear more and more often, and their squads become more numerous.
The more of them arrive, the stronger the forest will become.
My bond with the dryad and the Rusalkas has also changed. Although initially they hid behind a mask of coldness, I am now certain they return my devotion. On quiet days, when the trail is silent, my beloved ones do not leave my side for a single step.
Sometimes nightmares still torment me, which I cannot grasp upon waking. Then they watch over me, soothing the fear with a tender touch. I have come to love them boundlessly, and they have opened their hearts to me.
A week ago, the spear gained a new power. Every time a foreign foot breaches the borders of the forest, the wood in my hands falls into a violent tremor. Thanks to this, we have avoided great doom multiple times.
Aio was right. Now the forest itself warns of danger.
I was just lost in thought about this transformation when the weapon came to life again. The vibration was massive, almost painful. A clear signal.
Enemies.
I am calm. Composed. I am now able to loose two arrows at once, and each finds its mark. Aside from the gifts from Aio, I now wield two wooden needles—long, hard blades, each the size of a short sword.
I remember the day of their birth. The Heart-Tree creaked ominously, and two knotty shoots emerged from the trunk. This time the companions did not sing. For the first time, I saw the dryad so terrified and lost. She did not understand what was happening.
It was I who had to calm her down then.
I felt that the forest had fully accepted me. The animals as well. The initial distrust evaporated, giving way to a bloody cooperation. My forest brothers accepted me into the pack. I tracked with wolves, I lurked with owls. I charged shoulder to shoulder with deer. With ravens and badgers, I sneaked into human camps to execute our sole objective: to feed the forest.
I hear voices. Strangers curse, tearing through the thicket.
The forest served them to me on a silver platter. Small animals run around the attackers' legs, clouding their vigilance. When the intruders begin to panic, I strike. I lunge from the shadows, gripping my new needles in my hands.
Two opponents freeze with gaping mouths. They did not manage to scream. The wooden blades sink into their faces simultaneously. At the same moment, rodents throw themselves at the rest, slashing the tendons on their calves with their teeth.
Chaos. Screams. Three warriors frantically fend off the mice. I close the distance. Two quick thrusts into the throats. Two more charge at me with a furious roar. I dodge. The trees serve as my shields. The steel of a sword grates against the bark of the trunk behind which I disappeared. I leap out with a half-turn. The needle pierces the attacker's eye socket. The second takes a swing, but trips over a swarm of rats.
I do not give him a chance. I pierce his jaw from below, impaling the skull on the wooden spike.
The last two throw themselves into a retreat. I let out a long, drawn-out whistle. A sounder of boars bursts from the thicket. They strike like a battering ram. Humans have no chance against this mass of muscle and tusks. They are trampled. I hear the crunch of breaking bones. I finish them off without a word.
I begin to gather the corpses to cleanse them of the cursed metal.
This is strange. I was certain that I saw ten...
Nine bodies lie on the sand.
An illusion?
I close my eyes. I listen. The rustle of leaves. The squeaking of rodents. The grunting of boars.
Clear.
I return to work on the offerings.
I must have been distracted. I miscounted them.
The forest is safe.