Eudaimonia: Maya's Journey

Catsu Here We Come

Maya and her companions had left Sunu two days ago. They were escorted by ten Budokais and were heading towards the Catsu Wood. According to their plan, it would take them a further three days to get there. However, they didn't know how long it would take them to find the temple. The forest was immense, part of it was in foreign territory, and no one knew where the site was located within it.

They crossed valleys, plains, vast rice fields, walked along the Ryu River, and finally arrived at the Catsu Wood.

The Budokais knew the legends about this forest and they looked at each other with apprehension as they prepared to enter the woods. They observed the entrance for a while, trying to determine if there was any indication as to where the temple could be. There was no clear path. Maya perceived a weird feeling emanating from the trees.

They entered and started exploring and looking for signs. It was silent except for the wind blowing softly on the leaves making ghost-like noises, which made them more uneasy. Now deep inside, the trees' density increased and they had less space to move. The light filtering through was scarce and the atmosphere was sombre.

As night fell, they decided to give it a rest and set camp. Two men from their guard went to collect wood to start a fire.

The camp was almost ready, tents were up, and a space for the fire was being made when they heard a scream. Everyone fell silent and looked around them. Without making a noise they waited with a hand on the pommel of their swords.

Branches were moving and someone or something ran through them in a hurry. A man suddenly appeared from the darkness running as fast as he could. They saw that it was one of the Budokais, who had been collecting wood. He seemed terrified as he passed them.

"A monster, A monster!" He didn't stop, he didn't appear to notice them, and he crossed the camp with long strides in no time. The group stared hesitantly at the place where the fugitive had exited.

Another scream resonated from the runaway Budokais and they readied themselves to fight.

After a few tense minutes and with nothing happening, they began to get organised. They decided that they would stay close to one another, and two people would stay awake guarding the rest. They would take it in turns to guard every two hours so everyone could catch some sleep.

Utaka groaned and stayed vigilant all night. Maya felt her restlessness and she hardly slept.

At dawn, there were no more missing people, so they resumed their trek. The passages through the branches were narrow, forcing them to go in single file. North led the way, immediately tailed by Maya, Utaka, Beramute, and the eight remaining Budokais.

Hours had passed when they finally arrived at a swamp. North turned and noticed that there were only four Budokais still following. The other four had disappeared without a trace.

"This wood is evil," said a terrorised Budokais.

Maya felt more and more uneasy and she started to sweat.

North asked her if she was OK to continue. She told him she had the same feeling she had felt at the apothecary shop back in Mazake.

Utaka jumped over the swamp and North threw a rope to her. One by one, they held on to it and crossed the dangerous mud bath.

They walked for days and two more of their guards went missing. They knew that their food would soon run out, but they continued to march on towards the North East.

According to the two remaining apprentice soldiers, they should have been out of the forest by now. Uncertainty and doubts started to grow. Maya's headaches amplified and she started to distinguish a voice resonating in her mind. The voice whispered something she couldn't make sense of. Images started to superimpose in front of her eyes, alternating between this never-ending sea of trees, and a glade. The two visions came faster, it was dizzying, and the voice became clearer, almost audible. Subjected to this infernal dance of images, she thought she was about to faint, then the forest totally disappeared. Her head cleared and she was left only with the vision of a glade. She stopped, looked around her, and she screamed in horror.