Young Sofia and the boy whose figure she still couldn’t see were playing together along the shoreline. They rolled in the sand, their mouths filled with laughter. Eventually they slowed to watch the waves break on the shore. The boy bumped his shoulder against hers, and although she couldn’t see his face, she could tell he was smiling. She smiled warmly in return.

Suddenly, the boy jumped to his feet. [“Bet you can’t keep up!!”] he said mischievously before dashing down the beach. 

[“Hey!”] Sofia laughed as she ran after him, [“That’s cheating!”] Not fully aware of her surroundings, she ended up tripping and fell to the sand on top of something.

Sofia awoke with a start when something jabbed her thigh. Roquewei, content that she was awake, moved back to his side of camp to pull his things together. “Time to go.”

Did he just kick me? 

Already cranky from a restless night, the elf’s rude behavior made Sofia even angrier. Grumbling to herself as she stuffed her sweater that she had used as a cover back into her pack, which had been her pillow. She grabbed the extra fruit from the night before to save for later, and rushed after Roquewei and his animal companion.

A dim and thin light peeked through the forest canopy. The early morning fog made it difficult to see far ahead, and gave the forest an eerie atmosphere.

How does he know where to go? she wondered. I haven’t seen him look at the map or anything…

Suddenly a warm red light bounced off the fog, surrounding the travelers. Roquewei’s necklace was glowing, casting a beam of light through the fog.

Sofia’s eyes widened. She reached into her pocket and carefully pulled out the pouch with the earrings to find they were also glowing. They are the same! 

Not wanting the blue-haired elf to discover that she had the earrings, she quickly put them away and hoped they wouldn’t cast a beam like they had on the beach. To her surprise, they seemed to comply.

“Porgi, can you go investigate?” asked Roquewei.

The bird nodded and took off into the forest. Sofia looked up sharply, hoping she didn’t seem suspicious, when Roquewei turned toward her and said, “Don’t get lost.”

As he moved in the direction of the beam, Sofia asked, “Where did your bird go?”

“The Aslavu,” Roquewei replied curtly, “went ahead to check out the gate.”

“S-so,” Sofia tried to catch her breath as she worked to keep up with the elf, “the stone in your necklace glows when there’s a gate nearby?”

Ignoring her question the elf simply said, “Keep moving. We don’t know how long the gate will stay open.”

The fog was slowly dissipating as they moved quickly and quietly, following the path of the light. Porgi returned, landing on Roquewei’s shoulder to inform them the gate was nearby.

“Only a few more paces.” The Aslavu spoke in a voice much deeper than Sofia would have expected for a creature his size. “It is at the edge of the forest.”

“The edge? I’ve never seen one at the edge before,” remarked Roquewei.

“Nor I,” replied Porgi. 

The underbrush, Sofia noticed, was becoming sparser and the space between the trees wider. She saw a clearing, or a meadow, beyond the next few trees and moved forward to investigate. 

Realizing she had drifted away from Roquewei, Sofia turned to see him facing a pair of trees. The light from his necklace was shining intensely, but seemed to stop midair. The warmth of the earrings in her pocket intensified, but thankfully still did not cast a beam.

Walking back to his side, Sofia peered at the trees but didn’t notice anything special.

“Sooooo, is this a gate?” she asked. “How can you tell?”

“Look closer,” Roquewei said, speaking to her for the first time in a tone other than indignation. He pointed to a space between the trees. “See the quivering?”

Sofia looked again. After a few moments, she finally saw it. The air seemed to be vibrating. As she looked harder, she noticed that the entire space between the two trees was visibly quivering, as Roquewei had put it, like cloth gently blowing in the wind.

A tear in the fabric, Sofia remembered. A sense of awe washed over her as she realized the wonder of this moment. This is amazing!

“Let’s put you back where you came from, shall we?” Roquewei broke into her thoughts gruffly. Sofia grumbled under her breath something about putting him back where he came from, but the elf pretended not to hear. Shifting his sword from his back to his side, Roquewei looked back at Sofia and said, “Come on.”

Then, with Porgi on his shoulder, Roquewei took a step forward and disappeared.

“Oook, what?” Sofia ran around to the other side of the trees. The elf was not there. 

He really just disappeared into thin air! 

She moved back in front of the gate. The quivering of the air seemed to intensify the longer she stared at it. Reaching out a hand, she touched the gate and felt a slight tug. Sofia pulled her hand back in surprise. 

“You have to step through,” she heard Roquewei’s voice faintly, as if he was far away. 

“You want me,” Sofia called out to him, “to step… through the quivering?”

“Hurry up, before it closes!”

Ok, Sofia. Y-you just have to do it. This is the only way to get home.

Stepping back, Sofia took a deep breath and before allowing herself another thought, ran into the quivering air. She felt her body being pulled forward, and for a brief moment Sofia panicked as she remembered the whirlpool.

The next thing she knew, she was rolling on a forest floor. But this forest was different from where she had been. This forest felt… wet.

“Probably should have warned you about the thrust. Oops.” Roquewei was clearly taking pleasure in Sofia’s situation.

Why I oughta… Sofia thought to herself as she wiped mud off of her face. Bird calls high in the trees above her led her to inspect their surroundings.

The air was thick with humidity. Sounds from all sorts of creatures filling her ears, and spots of sun peeking through the dense canopy revealed a beautiful array of verdant, tropical-looking foliage. 

“Where…are we?” she finally asked, redonning her hat.

“Somewhere on Talamh,” said Roquewei. Sofia noticed that his bird friend was no longer on his shoulder. “Looks like a rainforest. Now all I have to do is find someone to hand you off to and we’ll never have to see each other again.”

“Now wait a minute!” Sofia jumped to her feet. “You can’t seriously be planning on just leaving me in a rainforest! This is absolutely not ‘putting me back where I came from.’”

“You are back on Talamh,” Roquewei replied in an uninterested manner. “That’s all that matters. I’m sure you’ll find your way home eventually.”

Furious, Sofia lunged forward and grabbed Roquewei by the collar. “Oh no, you don’t! We could be anywhere! Literally anywhere. You are not about to abandon me in the middle of some random jungle with no food, no money, and no way of knowing how the heck I’m going to get out of here!”

For a brief moment as Roquewei looked down in surprise, Sofia realized just how much of a height difference there was between the two of them. He was easily a head taller than her, forcing her to crane her neck back to look him in the face. Undeterred, she held her position until Roquewei grabbed her wrists in one hand, pulled them off his collar, and pinned her up against a tree.

With his face mere inches from hers, the elf snarled, “I highly recommend you never do that again.”

“Roquewei, you have to come see this!” Porgi’s anxious voice broke through the intense moment. Releasing Sofia, Roquewei trudged off in the direction of the Aslavu.

Sofia shook in anger, frustration, and fear as she rubbed her wrists. What am I going to do? 

Without any other clear options, she decided to also head in Porgi’s direction. After a few moments, she discovered the cause of the Aslavu’s distress.

The rainforest came to an abrupt end. Before Sofia was a vast desolated landscape. What should have been green and lush was withered, brown, and dead. The trees had been hacked and the ground looked burned. The sun, without the barrier of the trees and other vegetation, was aggressive and unforgiving. In the wind, Sofia could smell smoke, burning wood, and oil. 

Sofia stood in shock at the scene before her. Oh no… 

“This is bad,” she heard Roquewei’s voice beside her. 

Startled, she put some space between them before asking, “Wh-what happened here?”

Roquewei’s face was dark, his green eyes seething. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Utter destruction.. Arrogant disregard for nature! Rainforest ecosystems are extremely fragile. It is nearly impossible for them to heal after experiencing such devastation.”

The elf moved into the clearing to kneel beside a stump. He seemed to be in pain and walked with a limp.

Why is he limping? Sofia asked herself. Wasn’t he fine a moment ago? 

Roquewei reached out to gently touch the stump of what had clearly once been an enormous tree. “Hundreds of years cut off in a matter of minutes…”

He pulled the thin golden chain over his head and cupped the pendant near his mouth. The elf’s lips moved soundlessly for a moment before he placed his hand at the stump’s base. The pendant of his necklace began to glow again, but this time it emitted a warm, verdant light. When the light faded, she noticed a faint ring of green around the stump.

Roquewei rose and limped back toward Sofia, his face filled with agony. Sofia, surprised by the sudden change, stood speechless. Roquewei looked up at her, tears in his eyes, “Can’t you feel the pain?”

“The pain?” she repeated.

Suddenly, Sofia felt the air around her become unnaturally cold in an eerily familiar way.

“Roquewei, we have company!” Porgi screeched from above.

From across the clearing, a dark, gaseous form was moving rapidly in their direction. Sofia noticed that the earrings in her pocket had drastically cooled and that the blue-haired elf’s pendant had turned a pale yellow.

Ymplerim! Sofia panicked, clutching the pouch in her pocket. “We have to get back to the gate, now!”

“If we go back through the forest, they will only cause more destruction,” replied Roquewei. Tears continued to fill his eyes, no longer ones of grief but of rage. “I will make them pay!”

Unsheathing his sword, Roquewei rushed forward with a fierce shout. He met the Ymplerim in the middle of the clearing and was soon surrounded. The pale yellow eyes and mouths of the Ymplerim gaped at the warrior of Lyfay in evil delight, and reached for him with grotesque, spindly limbs. 

Roquewei’s sword kept the creatures at bay, sparks of light flashing from the blade whenever he made contact with the numerous, conjoined gaseous beings. Porgi, coming to Roquewei’s aid, dive bombed the Ymplerim from above. With the Ymplerim distracted, Roquewei was able to split its gaseous form, the stone embedded in the hilt of his sword glowing a brilliant, angry red.

The Ymplerim released a furious, blood curdling scream, and one of the faces dove towards Roquewei with its mouth open wide, ready to suck the warrior’s life force. Instead, it met Roquewei’s sword - run clear through its gaping orifice. Roquewei shouted again as a bolt of lightning burst forth from his weapon. The creature fell to the ground, and the dark gas dissipated. Where it had fallen, a patch of bright green vegetation appeared.

Adrenaline still racing through his body, Roquewei kneeled down to investigate while catching his breath. So this is what happens?

A scream from behind startled him back into reality. Roquewei turned to see the part of the creature that had been split by his blade barreling across the clearing towards Sofia. Terrified, Sofia ran back into the forest, the Ymplerim following close behind.

“Porgi!” Roquewei called out. “Don’t let them get to the gate!”

The Aslavu dove into the dense canopy, his small body and short wings ideal for weaving through the thick trees. He soon caught up to the Ymplerim and began attacking it.

Annoyed, the Ymplerim swatted at the Aslavu. A skillful flyer, Porgi was able to dodge the attacks and shifted the creature’s focus from Sofia.

Too scared to think, Sofia continued running through the forest. Suddenly, she heard Roquewei, who was running to catch up. “Stop! Don’t lead it back to the gate!”

But her feet kept running. 

“Porgi, go after her!” The Aslavu, in an attempt to obey the order, made a miscalculation. With a single blow, the Ymplerim knocked him to the ground, stunned.

“Porgi, no!” Roquewei cried out.

The Ymplerim picked up the limp Aslavu by a foot, dangling him over its gaseous head. Its pale eyes narrowed as it said, “What a nuisance you have been, and to be only a mere morsel.” 

Opening its gaping mouth, the Ymplerim slowly lowered the Aslavu and began draining his energy.

Roquewei, too far to make contact with the creature, ran with all his might through the underbrush. Just as the colors on Porgi began to fade, a rock struck the Aslavu out of the Ymplerim’s hands. Turning furiously, it noticed Sofia ready with another rock. 

“Ah, yes. You are worth the trouble.” The Ymplerim billowed and lunged forward. 

Her momentary bravery gone, Sofia turned on her heel and ran as quickly as she could. An overground root caught her foot, causing her to tumble to the ground. The Ymplerim was soon upon her and, despite her eyes being tightly shut, Sofia could clearly envision the nightmarish visage as she felt the terrifyingly familiar sensation of the creature’s cold, oily fingers pressing into her face.

“Do you think avoiding my gaze will protect you?” Sofia could feel the creature’s tongue on her face as it laughed maniacally. “How mistaken you are!”

Sofia could feel the creature absorbing her life force as it lifted her off the ground. Her body began to weaken, her will to fight disappeared. In the desperate moments as she felt her breath slipping away, she realized that no one back home would know what had happened to her. 

A tear ran down her cheek even as her consciousness waned. I didn’t get to say goodbye…

Suddenly, a rush of wind blew past her face, followed by a bright flash. Sofia felt herself falling. After a hard landing, she sensed something wet, warm, and soft. 

“Sofia? Sofia! Stay with me. Sofia, can you hear me?” 

Harton was desperately licking Sofia’s face, speaking in frantic tones. 

“Harton?” Sofia barely breathed out. “You’re all right,” she managed a smile and tried to reach for his face. 

“Y-yeah,” Harton replied, leaning into her palm. Worry filled his bright yellow eyes. “I’m all right.”

Another bright flash.

Painfully, Sofia turned to see a group of elves and their compánaigh fighting off the Ymplerim. Erae was on his steed, driving the dark creature back with his staff. One final arrow from Lyna struck the creature’s core and it dissipated, leaving another patch of green among the destruction it had caused during the fight. 

Harton, standing over Sofia protectively, called to the blonde captain. “Erae, over here!”

Rushing to Sofia’s side, the elf jumped from his mount and carefully propped her up. His face was filled with worry. 

“Erae?” Sofia whispered. “How did you find…?” 

He shushd her and carefully picked her up. “Let’s take you back to camp.”