A Kingdom of Lost Secrets

Her bones rattled against the craggy bark of the Iron Tree while the wind pricked across her skin, its constant gusts ripping at her exposed flesh. She gulped down a shaky breath of frozen air trying to soothe the dread that burned in her belly.

Dawn was approaching and the cloak of darkness was her only savior. Shivers that echoed through her brittle body were causing her grip on the high-reaching branch to loosen. Every drop of hope she once held, had fallen to the forest floor.

Sending a silent prayer to whoever would listen, she crept higher on the branch. The world was quiet, while the only noise in close proximity was the Iron Wood creaking under her weight. She could feel the tree seeping it's ghostly hands into the soles of her feet, feeling out the intruder that dare disrupt its hibernation.

She had moments before the Guard would be upon her, already aware of her presence within their most sacred grounds, but the chill that came from this connection to the tree was inescapable and all consuming. Legends spoke of its ability to "feel", but experiencing it for herself was something out of a nightmare. Her body became not of her own, bending only to the tree's will. Blinking, she tried to clear the spots clouding her vision, while Life's Breath slowly seeped from her body and into the ancient oak. Time was fluid and moving slowly as sticky maple in the winter air. She was trapped. Frantic and pleading she fell to the mercy of the Iron Tree. Tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, the tree spoke.

Slayer of man? I know what you seek and you will not be rewarded my kindness. You have no place in the Valley of the Sacred. You will burn with the evil that has poisoned you.

As if the tree had been suspending her death, something cracked within her and she knew this shaky breath would be her last. Despair covered her in a blanket of frigid pain while she slipped into the Deep.