Eternal Forest [Episode 11]
The 5th Compass | Book Two [1,985 words]
The Eternal Forest is the second book in The 5th Compass series. Daxton and his best friend, Barton, are looking for the other compasses while fending off an immortal foe. Nelle takes Adelaide under her wing, to help her develop her untapped power. Meanwhile, the most hated pirate in all of Stonehaven must decide whether to stand and fight or flee from the Paragon. This book delves into the life of the Paragon and the many lives it touches and destroys.
Without time to warn Aranaeia that he would be escaping with Woodvale, he hoped she witnessed them leaving from the window. He wanted to look back to catch a glimpse of her but knew it was too risky with Woodvale so close by his side.
Stephan did not want to go with him, but with so many questions left unanswered as to what exactly happened back at the Academy, he needed to know. He also felt guilt eating away at him for having left his sister behind and never giving her life a second thought when he had the opportunity to run on ahead and give warning. Now, according to Woodvale, she was killed along with everyone else. Then Stephan remembered someone, and it stopped his forward progress.
“Wait, my uncle. We can go to him for help. I am sure he would at least help you if you asked him. If we hurry, we can get there by the following sunrise.”
The darkness that surrounded them did little to hide the expression on Woodvale’s face. He averted his eyes away from Stephan’s before he spoke. “I am afraid he cannot help us now. He perished alongside the others.”
“That is impossible. He left before the fighting began. I know he did. His wagon was gone when I went to look for him.”
“Your uncle was a brave man, though he never showed it to you or your sister I am sure. He must have heard the screaming and came back to rescue us. That was the kind of man he was, your uncle. But he was no match for the villagers. Perhaps if we had been warned.”
Woodvale’s words cut deeply and Stephan felt his throat tighten. If he had only warned them, perhaps his sister and his uncle would still be alive. Instead, his uncle died doing the one thing Stephan was too stubborn to have even considered; fighting back.
“What could I have done? I am not yet a man. I might have died too if I had attempted to reach you before they did,” he blurted, squeezing his eyes as the burning tears flowed forth. Woodvale did not try to comfort him but remained stoic as he let Stephan cry until he finished.
“I don’t wish to seem cold and heartless, but these types of outbursts can slow us down and get us killed out here. I am exhausted from the battle and my defenses are down. If we are attacked now, I don’t believe I can save us both. We must keep moving and try to conserve what little energy we have. Staying in one place when it is this dark is not advised.”
“Where are we going?” Stephan asked, using his long legs to catch up to Woodvale as they walked side by side through the brush.
“The Eternal Forest.”
Stephan could hardly believe his ears. Why would they go there? It did not make any sense to him. “Sir, I do not mean to question your plan, but if it is dangerous here, surely the Eternal Forest will be even more dangerous?” He did his best to phrase his statement as a question so as not to anger or appear to contradict Woodvale.
“I know what I am doing. You must trust me now, more than ever. The Eternal Forest is the safest place for us right now and we must get there before sunrise. I fear we are being followed.”
Woodvale looked over his shoulder and Stephan did the same, but he only saw darkness behind them. If they were being followed, he could see no sign of it, nor could he be sure of who was following them.
They walked in silence for a long time. Stephan did not want to interrupt Woodvale, who oftentimes seemed unsure of which direction they should go. The moon was covered in dark clouds threatening to pour down on them at any moment and provided no light to guide their way. But Woodvale pressed onwards, trying not to look as lost as he truly was.
Then an orange light flashed in the distance. It was so faint and disappeared so quickly that Stephan thought his eyes were playing tricks on him until the light appeared again. He squinted but could not make out exactly what it was.
“Sir, do you see that?” He pointed into the distance and Woodvale followed the direction of his finger, but the light had gone again. “I think there is something out there.”
“What color did you see?” Woodvale asked.
“Orange, I think? But how did you know I had seen a color?”
Woodvale didn’t answer Stephan. Instead, he crouched down low and pulled the boy down with him. He placed a finger over his lips to silence him from asking any further questions and raised the hood of his cape over his head. If Stephan had not been standing beside him, Woodvale would have blended in nicely into the darkness and been unseen to anyone who may follow them. Stephan reached for his own hood, realizing that Woodvale was attempting to camouflage himself but realized he left it behind with Aranaeia.
“We are here,” was all Woodvale whispered, but it was enough to turn Stephan’s blood cold. He knew that meant they had reached the Eternal Forest. It was a place he had seen on multiple occasions from the mountain top and was the topic of many of Professor Engle’s history lessons, but he had never been this close before.
Stephan wanted to ask exactly how close they were, if they were inside of it or just outside, but he was too frightened to speak. He heard a tale once of a man who, upon entering the Eternal Forest, spoke exactly two words before he was devoured by the creatures who live within.
To villagers who brave living just outside of the Eternal Forest, they call these creatures the knonn. They are descendants of humans who have become diseased. With no hope of a cure they were all sent to the Eternal Forest where they were expected to die, taking whatever disease they had contracted, with them. But nature and whatever else happened to be in the forest at the time, had other plans entirely. Instead, they managed to adapt to their surroundings and survive. No one knows for sure how many are there or how they are still alive, but what they do know for sure, or at least what they believe, is that knonn eat human flesh.
“When you say, ‘we are here’ do you mean we are inside of the Eternal Forest?”
“Where you saw that light, that is where the Eternal Forest is. Just beyond it.”
“How are we going to get inside? Isn’t it heavily guarded?” Stephan imagined the only way anyone entering the Eternal Forest could be devoured so quickly, by all accounts, is if there were guards posted around its perimeter. This, to him, meant the knonn were smart and cunning.
“I am afraid this is where I leave you, Stephan. The journey within the Eternal Forest is one you must travel alone. I am simply here to make sure you do what must be done.”
“Leave me? You cannot leave me here, alone. The knonn will kill me before I even get close. I thought we were both going here to hide?” Stephan heard his voice crack and stopped himself from speaking. His emotions were still wearing heavy on his heart and his mind and it was showing all over his face.
“There are things I must do elsewhere, but you promised to help me didn’t you? Or will you desert me the way you did your family?” Woodvale wasted no time making Stephan feel guilty for abandoning his sister and uncle, waiting for his words to sink in.
“What exactly do I have to do in there? You need me to get something?”
“You must reach the center of the Forest and speak these words there. When you do, it will bestow upon you the powers and gifts of the Paragon. With them, you will be able to do what I cannot, find Tobias’ child and keep it safe until it is time to unite our kind with the others.” Woodvale handed Stephan a piece of parchment paper from a pocket within his robes. His hand shook slightly as he took it from Woodvale and stared at it, afraid to unfold it.
This was a huge responsibility Woodvale was asking him to undertake, and he did not feel ready for such a mission. After all, Stephan was only a boy of sixteen years and although he was top of his class when it came to mastering spells and incantations, he was sure whatever was written on this paper would be unlike any spell he had ever cast before.
“The sun will be rising soon. Go on, open it. I want to make sure you understand the words before I leave you.”
Stephan unfolded the paper as the sun rose slowly on his left side. He could feel the warm rays on his face, shining dark hue colors around them both. He glanced up for a moment and stood up abruptly when he saw what lay before him, just a few yards away.
His vantage point to the Eternal Forest was always from high atop a mountain, but this time he was on the same level as it and it frightened him. As bright as the sun was getting the higher it rose in the sky, it seemed to have no effect on the forest whatsoever. Darkness was as much a part of the Eternal Forest as the trees that grew tall and thick to keep the light out.
“How is that possible?”
The marvel of the sun’s ray’s inability to pierce the Eternal Forest at all seemed not to interest Woodvale very much who lowered his hood, waiting for Stephan to look at the paper he now had dangling at his side.
“Don’t concern yourself with what you cannot control. Worry more about the task at hand. Surely, the sun has risen and set all your life, do not tell me you have looked on in such wonder and amazement on every occasion?”
Stephan did not like his sarcasm but held his tongue as he remembered the paper in this hand and looked at it. The language he recognized straight away as it was a requirement for all upper-level students to learn. Stephan was not yet old enough to be taught how to read the secret code invented by Tobias, but he had borrowed a few books and notes from older students when they were not aware and taught himself.
Professor Engle had caught Stephan when he was in the middle of borrowing a book and instead of scolding him, he decided to take him under his wing and teach him even though he was still several years away from receiving such lessons. But Professor Engle could tell Stephan would be a fast learner, eager to know all he could about Woodvale Academy and the Tobias code. Now Stephan realized why Woodvale needed him and why Professor Engle recommended him.
None of the older students would’ve been able to read the text and those who could, wouldn’t have recited it properly. The Tobias code is a combination of both what you say and how you say it. Very few are skilled enough to do both. But Stephan knows he can do it.
“I know how to read this. But why must I do it in the middle of the Eternal Forest? Can’t I just say it here, now?”
Before Stephan could start to read the words, Woodvale covered the paper with his hands.
“Stop. Those words can kill me. I must be as far away from you and them as possible. Or I will die.”