Riah and the Brave Forest

Long ago, deep in an endless valley, sat the decaying fragments of a luxuriant forest. On the eve of Darkness’ rise to power, the great sorceress Elise, whose magical abilities rivaled that of Darkness, laid her body at the heart of a dying forest. In the moments before her death, she cast her voice to the edges of the valley. She fell to her knees and proclaimed to the sky that another would emerge to oppose Darkness again.

The legions of Darkness that rallied in the valley scoffed and laughed at the proclamation. They thought Elise only spoke of hopes for another that would restore the light that had been flushed from the lands of Arrah. Unknown to the armies of Dark, Elise was gifted the foresight to see the new hope of Arrah and the wisdom to see it manifest. While they laughed and celebrated her death, Elise offered herself to the forest.

Her flesh and magic nourished the land. The roots, grasses, plants, and trees grew back to life right before the watchful gazes of those of Darkness that remained in the valley. It was assumed to be the work of Elise, that they thought still breathed life. So, they marched deeper into the valley to the forest to ensure her death.

As they surrounded the edges of the forest, armed to the teeth and ready to set fire to it, they heard a thundering wail, a burst of green light, and a shockwave of pure magical energy that drove them off in every direction from the valley. The valley would remain protected by her magic until the woman of prophecy emerged.

By the end of the first century, the forest spread wide across the valley. Darkness, with the lands of Arrah still under its influence, raged on, uncontested and all-powerful.

By that time the forest had become something more. The trees didn’t just grow in their spots, they raised themselves from the ground, their roots whipped and cracked from the soil, and they moved across the valley in all directions. They let out low grumbles when they replanted themselves. It gave more space for grasses, plants, and flowers to grow and thrive. The flowers transformed into magical fairy folk that flew throughout the forest playing in the grass and living in the trees.

The trees and plants willingly offered themselves to the animals that remained. In time, they two transformed. They developed speech and a sophisticated way of life, like humans and other magical creatures of the Arrah. Soon enough a leader would emerge before them and ready the forest for their inevitable battle against Darkness.

At the turn of the second century, a young woman named Riah wandered into the winding valley where the forest stretched close to the edges. As she entered the forest, she affected all life there.

The trees shifted behind to block her path out and opened their canopy to light her path forward. The plants and grass bent as if by a strong wind, out of her way to ease her trek. The flower fairies flew out of sight in the cover of the leaves, shaking their petals so that they fell before her. They whispered word of her, and it spread across the valley like wildfire.

Riah reached the center and was met by the brave stoat, donned battle armor and a sheathed sword, the leader of the woods, Saxon. He and the other small animals, creatures, plants, and trees bowed to her. He told her of the prophecy and the path she was destined for. Riah, consumed by fear of darkness denounced the prophecy and raced from the presence of Saxon and the other creatures that gathered.

The forest, however, did not relent, for they believed in the prophecy, and Elise even more. They all banded together and made several attempts to persuade her as she started her trek back out of the valley. She was met with pleads from the delicate and kind-hearted flower fairies swooping passed her head. The walking trees spoke in low soothing tones, urging her to reconsider. The animals walked at quickened paces around her, offering their swords in allegiance to her. Some brought foodstuffs, clothes, and other wares to present to her as gifts. Riah denied them still.

Darkness had consumed the lands of Arrah and its people too. Fear loomed in their hearts and plagued their thoughts. They were powerless to save themselves. They watched as she fled from the forest to the valley edge. She ascended the final hilltops that would lead her from back home.

Before she could cross the threshold that kept the darkness at bay, the spirit of Elise revealed itself to her. A small gust of wind plucked the leaves from the tees and whirled them around in a vortex in front of Riah, stopping her in her tracks. As the leaves slowed their whirling a ghostly apparition of Elise appeared before her and spoke.

‘Despite your fears, you owe a duty to Arrah. You are the woman of prophecy, who was revealed to me centuries ago. It was for you that I bound myself to the valley. If you leave the boundaries as my protection wanes, the barrier will fall. All that you know will cease to exist as the final stronghold for good in Arrah will fall and Darkness will go unchecked. The forest has pledged to you, its allegiance. To turn away from it is to give over your home to the Darkness and these lands will never know true peace again.’

Riah heeded Elise’s warning and hastened back to the heart of the forest where Saxon stood waiting for her return. She asked what was to be expected of her and he presented her with The Stone of All Knowing. A magical artifact that would fill her with the wisdom, magic, strength, and spirit of Elise that existed in all life that was contained in the forest. When she touched the stone green light radiated from the spot and transformed her into a sorceress of rivaling power. The time that remained before the barrier broke was used to prepare for battle.

As the time to fight drew near she doubted their ability to claim victory over the Darkness. She desperately sought a vision for the outcome of the battle. The gift of prophecy only revealed the one that would next oppose Darkness, but their victory was unforetold. It took Saxon, who had noticed the shift in her, to ease her emotions and focus her mind as the remnants of magic that formed the barrier faded away and darkness flooded the valley.

Riah, with Saxon The Brave, and all of the forest at her side fought for five days against Darkness. Victory seemed secured in the early stages, but as waves of Dark legions marched into the valley they burned, slashed, and pushed the forest back. The trees that sent the men of Darkness flying in every direction groaned as they were cut down and the life left them. They shriveled up and fell like branches on the ground. All across the valley, many more creatures and warrior animals suffered the same fate. The fairies were targeted with arrows that ripped life from them and their petals floated to the forest floor. The animals, armed with swords, hammers, and axes fought tirelessly at Riah’s and Saxon’s side but were cut down. The forest shrunk in size along with their collective courage to fight and the will to win. Fear began to creep back into Riah’s heart and encompass the spirit of the forest.

She meditated on the wisdom of Elise and retreated with the last of the forest back to The Stone of All Knowing. She placed her palm firmly against it and commanded the other others to join hands with her. They focused their magic and energy on the stone as the legions of the dark still burned, slashed, and cut their way through the forest, leaving death in the trail they blazed.

Darkness was brought to its knees by a sudden wave of magical energy that emanated from the stone across the valley. A dazzling burst of green light followed, and all the living creatures and plants of the forest filled with life once more. The trees grew back to full form, the animal's wounds healed, and the plants shook the ash from themselves.

Darkness’ legions were filled with terror as the forest jolted back to life around them and drove out the life in them. The forest took no prisoners and spared no one on the side of Darkness. Vines whipped and cracked through the air and dragged the fleeing few back into the forest where death awaited them.

They were victorious and celebrated the night.

Arrah was able to return to its former glory, a place of peace and harmony. Darkness now crept into the far-off corners of the land.

Yet, Riah, still in possession of the wisdom imparted to her from Elise, knew that the fight between good and evil was never-ending, and Darkness would one day regain its strength and rear its head again. So, she retreated to the deepest point of the valley to await its return.

++++++++++++++REMARKS+++++++++++++++

This story is the first official story of The Forty Weeks challenge that I set for myself.

Inspiration for this story came from The Whispering Woods challenge. I decided to enter the challenge and was able to knock out two birds with one stone by submitting it on 3/31/2024.

++++++++NEXT STORY+++++++++

++++++PREVIOUS STORY+++++++