I've lived a very long time, so my name is like a story

For once in his life, Raistlyn was unsure of his Path and where it intended to take him.  The time was more difficult to determine here than in Helovia, where the sun and stars maintained a regular rhythm, as sure as a strong heartbeat.  The stars rotated beautifully, there.  Here in the Rift, there seemed to be only an oppressive blackness and an endless night without stars.  It would take him a while to adjust once more. Blinking in the dim light, his feline pupils dilated and adjusted, allowing him to see near perfectly in the blackness.  He could hear something ahead.  He braced himself, drawing forth the shadows surrounding him to wrap and warp into black armor on his body.  If a monster had decided to ambush him, he would be ready.   Something crashed through the thick, tangled undergrowth of the old forest, snarling and yowling.  He whirled, bracing himself for an impact that never came.  Moments later, the creature’s cries faded and silence settled over the forest once more.  Something had spooked the Rift creature.   He did not release the shadows bound to his body, knowing the deeper he went into the forest, the more creatures would follow him, waiting for an easy dinner.  They would not find one in him. He approached cautiously, wondering what being had caused such a fierce beast to flee. There, in the hollow cradle of of a dark ravine, lay a magnificent sight. In all of his years as a ranger, he had never laid eyes up on a Living Tree before. He had heard their whispers and sighs in the forest, a haunting, soulful tune that lingered on the wind. He ventured closer, not wishing to disturb the ancient being, and yet, sensed something was wrong. Very, very wrong. The wrongness of the scene made his heart hurt. The legendary tree had been felled. But how? Was it witchcraft? Poison from the blackness that oozed from the Rift?  The Lignum Vitae lay very still, only the leaves shivering gently in the nighttime breeze. It seemed to beckon him closer still, its lilting voice a soft, mournful sigh.  It was dying, Raistlyn realized, but the tree already seemed to know. There was nothing Raistlyn could do, he was not a healer and did not possess nature powers, and he nearly said as much, but the Living Tree seemed to know that too. And still, the tree murmured to him, sadly, limbs creaking and groaning. “I’m here,” Raistlyn said, stepping closer. “I’ll stay.” And so he did, keeping a silent, unwavering vigil over the magnificent creature until the tree sighed one last breath, and a few silvery leaves floated away into the moonlight.

It was dark. So dark in fact, that Kiada had a horrible time attempting to not run into the trees in this Rainforest. It had taken her a few steps and a few clumsy footfalls of hovering her hoof in front of her and testing the ground and area before she moved forward, realizing that she had magic that could help her with this. Khairi had been hunting, the pale vulture had a much easier time seeing in the dark than she did. And yet, the vulture left his clumsy counterpart along the ground, hoping to find food elsewhere, where her loud steps wouldn’t scare away any prey. A few moments passed of her silently cursing herself before she heard something huge crash ahead of her. Immediately, she ignited the flame animals that adorned her spine, illuminating the trees around her and singing a few stray leaves that hung just above her back. The animals that roamed her spine were mice – a clear show that fear was dwelling deep within her heart. Yet if you didn’t know her, you wouldn’t know they changed shapes or which shapes determined what. Regardless, she was far less clumsy and loud now that she could see directly in front of her. And against her better judgement, she carefully toed toward the direction that she heard the sound. It didn’t take long, nor was the spotted young woman alone. She broke through the treeline, seeing a unicorn roughly about her height, slightly smaller than she is, hovering around a fallen tree. But this wasn’t any normal tree, as she inspected it closer from her range, she noticed that it must have been one of the creatures of the Rift. There was a strange pang of sorrow that reached her heart as she looked upon the scene, though Kiada kept her distance. “What happened to it?” She questioned quietly into the air, the flames flickering quietly along her spine – and where mice once ran rampant across the flames, they shifted into elephants on a quiet march. "Talk." Kiada she had a wild, wandering soul but when she loved, she loved with chaos and that made all the difference.

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@Raistlyn hope you don't mind <3

The silence after the ancient’s soul departed was hollow and empty and left a lingering heaviness in his heart. Raistlyn felt oddly numb, not quite believing what he had witnessed—the death of something he had thought could not die. But then again, he had thought the gods couldn’t die, and that had been proven wrong, hadn't it? He watched the silver leaves drift away into the moonlight, his forehead creased in deep thought, pondering what dark force had caused this, what thing had been tainted so black to tarnish something as pure as a Living Tree? The question disturbed Raistlyn more than he cared to admit. The forces in the Rift were not the same as they had been. Even when the gods roamed, there had been an order to things—a chaotic order—but order all the same. Now it seemed only chaos reigned. Raistlyn worried he was not prepared for whatever force he would face in the future…he needed to be stronger, his shadow magic needed to be stronger…. He looked at the fallen tree with a new light in his indigo eyes, wondering…he had heard rumors before, rumors of what the organs of a Living Tree could provide for those that roamed beneath their sprawling limbs. Magic. But the mere thought of harvesting the tree’s organs sickened him. To harbor such thoughts; well, he was no better than whatever had felled the ancient tree. He recalled experimental serums fashioned from poisons and unusual herbal ingredients. His Order had used such potions before, it would not surprise him if the life blood of such a tree had supplied his brothers with their mutations.  He wondered why he had never considered it before and decided that he had just been naive back then. Naive and foolhardy. He recalled the Trials…the testing, the ingestion of new and dangerous things, ever pursuing the perfect fighting specimen to protect Riftians from the darkness that lurked in every shadow. It would be for a good cause, and yet… He was torn between his own selfish desires and the immense respect he held for the Ancient being. Despite his intensive brooding, he heard her quiet, careful hoof steps. His ears flickered, his nostrils flared. Identified her as female, and alone. She remained a distance away, hesitant in her approach. Wise, he thought, knowing how the scene must look, with his dark, shadow-swathed figure standing over the slain tree, his feline eyes flashing bright and neon in the darkness. “I don’t know,” he said, meeting her questioning gaze. Light eyes, azure like the sea. Intrigued by her unusual markings, he noted the flames dancing along her spine, the tongues of fire shaping from mice into mammoth beasts moving in rhythm. The flames’ beauty mesmerized him. He blinked and the spell was broken. He glanced away, unwilling to be lulled into a false sense of security. Never trust anyone. That was the first rule of the Rift and following such a creed had kept him alive this long. Bitterness laced his voice when he replied. “Something dark. The Rift is unpredictable these days.”  More unpredictable than usual, anyway. If he was ever going to face a force such as the one that had brought the Ancient down, he needed to be ready, needed to level the playing field. Or at least attempt. “I’ve never seen a Living Tree before…” his voice trailed off sadly as he considered what he was about to do.

She had trouble looking between the felled tree and the unicorn before her. The more she looked at him, the more she noticed subtle things – the way he was built was similar to her own. Muscular yet lean, draft-like but not. There was an elegance to him that reminded her of her still youthful clumsiness. And when she looked down, she noticed the cloven hooves at his feet, the scars that seemed to litter his skin. But when she drifted her gaze from him to the Tree, she couldn’t understand what had done it. It was obvious to the Harpy that it wasn’t the male before her – no, he simply was the one that had found it. There was no blood or signs of an attack in this place, perhaps he was as unlucky as she was to have stumbled across whatever had fallen it. So she met his gaze, those seemingly unflinching eyes of violet with a cat-like pupil set within their hues. He answered her as honestly as she thought he could, and she bobbed her head slightly as if understanding. She, too, didn’t know what had attacked this tree, and as the flames across her spine licked in uncertainty, she remained, her eyes dancing between the two unfamiliar creatures before her. Yet, the creature spoke again – his voice weaving through the air to her as her perked her ivory rimmed ears to listen. “The Rift is unpredictable these days.” He announces, and she felt as though she could laugh at that. Of course it was, what in the Rift was predictable? “It feels as though it always has been.” It was a naïve thing to say, but Kiada had no way of knowing that Raistlyn was from here – she had simply fallen through the Portal as Kisamoa herded them into it. She had been here awhile, but not as long as the man before her. Nevertheless, he spoke again – acknowledging the creature as a Living Tree. She nodded quietly, her lips tightening in a small flat line before she stepped closer to get a better look at this Tree. “I’ve never heard of them before.” She offered, her glacial blue gaze lifting to search for Raistlyn. “I’m Kiada by the way.” She added as a way of hoping they could be at least somewhat friendly toward one another. "Have you been here long?" She asked, unable to recognize him from any of the events she had been to, but then again the Harpy hadn't entirely been looking for others during those times. "Talk." Kiada she had a wild, wandering soul but when she loved, she loved with chaos and that made all the difference.

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@Raistlyn <3