Act I – The Cursed Forest

Arc: Blood and Roots

Alice opened her eyes.

Her body felt strange. Numb. But it wasn’t the cold that had woken her. It was the sounds. The whisper of the wind. The voices.

"…Get them! They went that way!"

She expected the sterile smell of a hospital and the steady beeping of a heart monitor. After all, she had just been hit by a car on her way home from work. But no. Thin but high trees surrounded her. She could smell the distinct odor of sap and freshly fallen rain. She didn't remember there being a forest near the city she worked in, nor any rain in recent days. The forest was bordering a bottomless cliff, engulfed in a dark myst. She looked up at the sky. Two moons hovered above her, casting a soft, unreal glow. 

"That car... did I survive? And what is this place?"

A warmth was surrounding her. Something soft. Arms. She was curled up against a trembling body. A warm breath brushed her neck. She lifted her head, still groggy. The face of a woman—wounded, unnaturally beautiful. Blonde strands stuck to her cheek, blood trickling down her temple.

"It’s alright, I’m here, my darling…"

The woman kissed her forehead, then gently laid her down on a patch of grass behind a moss-covered rock. She stood up, a fierce light in her eyes.

My darling…?

A strange feeling coursed through Alice. Her body was… different. She looked down. Small, pale hands and short legs. She stepped toward a nearby puddle. The reflection of a delicate little girl stared back at her. Porcelain skin, almost translucent. Silky snow-pale hair fell over round cheeks. But what struck her most were the eyes. One vivid green, the other a deep blue. A strange, ethereal beauty. How was this possible? She was twenty-seven. And she certainly didn’t look like the child in the reflection.

The woman’s voice pulled her from her daze.

"Take our lives, but spare our daughter. She’s only six!"

Alice turned around. A group of soldiers in black armor surrounded the woman and a man. Tall, striking, fair-haired—they looked like a charismatic couple. The woman’s gaze, once gentle, now panicked, landed on Alice.

"What is going on? I don't understand !"

A soldier with a breastplate marked by a dragon wrapped around a flaming heart scoffed:

"We won't have mercy! It's the emperor's decree. All vampires of noble bloodlines have been found guilty of treason for murdering the empress."

The man, Alice’s supposed father, stepped forward, holding a scroll, furious:

"You know that’s a lie! Our family has always been loyal! I have proof here that the Prime Minister is conspiring against the crown. He assassinated the empress and is eliminating us to weaken the emperor!"

Some soldiers exchanged glances, hesitant. One of them, a young man in his mid-twenties with brown hair, spoke up:

"C-Captain, maybe we should hear them out. The Vanbergs have always been close to His Majesty."

"Lucas, unless you want to join these traitors, follow your orders! This comes directly from His Majesty himself."

Her father pressed on:

"Ha! It’s clear His Majesty is surrounded by liars and traitors. But not the ones you're being led to believe, right Trent?"

"Enough of your lies, traitor! I'll end you and your whole family for the glory of the great Draknar Empire! Soldiers, kill them!"

Some still hesitated, but ultimately raised their weapons. The man and the woman exchanged a knowing glance. They embraced, sinking hidden fangs into each other’s necks. Then they turned to face their enemies, eyes blazing.

"Alice, get to safety!"

The battle began.

It wasn’t an execution. It was a supernatural duel, like in fantasy novels Alice used to read. Her father rushed forward in a blur of shadows. His slender, cruel blade pierced through a soldier’s breastplate, dropping him without a sound. Her mother conjured a glowing magic circle with her delicate hands. A wall of fire burst forth, incinerating two soldiers who dropped their weapons, screaming.

Alice covered her nose and mouth, the smell of burning flesh and the horrendous scene made her want to throw up. 

The woman had a quick glance at her partner. He nodded and positioned himself on her back. The two vampires covered each other flawlessly, moving like dancers through chaos. Their speed defied logic. Their bodies sliced through the air in a deadly waltz, leaving fire and shadow in their wake.

An archer drew his bow. The woman caught the motion and hurled a pure sphere of ice that exploded on his skull. The ground froze in a wide circle, hiting the legs of surrounding ennemies.

Alice’s father whispered an incantation. Shadow tentacles burst from the ground, snaring two soldiers’ legs. They screamed as they were dragged into the ground. But there were too many.

A war cry rang out: the captain himself entered the fight, wielding a warhammer as tall as he was. He swung with monstrous strength. The ground cracked. Kael dodged, but flying rock pierced his side. He fell to his knees, dark blood staining the grass.

"KAEL!"

The woman screamed. A magic circle flared beneath her feet. She raised her arms, and with a clear voice:

"ZEPHYRA!"

A violent gust exploded from her. Three soldiers were flung backward. The grass bowed, trees bent. The storm followed her. But a javelin struck her shoulder. She stumbled.

"Fall back, Irina… Take our daughter and run…"

"Where? We’re surrounded!"

"Jump over the cliff, the cursed forest... at least you have a chance to survive there."

The captain stepped forward, triumphant.

"Let’s end this. Dogs like you don’t deserve a final word."

"Now go, Irina!"

Kael charged toward the captain and blocked his first attack with difficulty. He struck again. This time, the hammer smashed through his guard. The vampire fell, eyes still burning with pride and fury. 

Irina screamed, a raw, inhuman sound. Her entire body shimmered with energy. Fire and ice combining, creating a dense fog. She then ran toward Alice. But as soon as she reached her, a soldier struck from behind, clean and swift. She collapsed, her eyes locking with Alice’s, her bloodied hand on her cheek.

"Run… my daughter… the cliff"

Silence.

Alice stood frozen, unable to obey. Her mind was blank from the shock, refusing to understand what was going on. She was a scientist, used to the security of modern times. She was not supposed to witness such a barbary. And her heart was strangely aching for these two strangers. She felt on her laps, throwing up. The middle-aged soldier turned toward her.

"Captain Trent? What about the girl?"

"Kill her, no exceptions"

"But… she’s just a child, sir. I’m sure His Majesty—"

"Enough, Lucas! Obey, or your wife will become a widow. You wouldn’t want your son to be raised fatherless, would you?"

The man hesitated, then turned back to Alice, resigned.

"I’m sorry, little one. Close your eyes. It won’t hurt, I promise."

Alice, still frozen, watched as the man prepared to strike. Maybe it wasn't that bad to quickly end this nightmare.  Suddenly, an ice arrow struck the soldier's hand and in a scream he let go of his sword. Alice's mother just used the last of her life to launch a simple spell.

A single word resonated in her mind: Survive!

Watching that woman fighting for her, even at death’s door, shook Alice out of her lethargie. She felt that her sacrifice for a daughter she didn’t know wasn’t hers mustn't go to waste. With her mind cleared, she knew she had to run, escape from this deathly place. But where? In front, the soldiers were coming towards her while Lucas was still holding his hand. Behind her, the cliff, dark, misty. Her ‘father’ said earlier that this was her only chance of survival. 

With a newfound vigor, she got up and started running towards the edge. Behind her, she could hear Captain Trent screaming “Kill her!”. She didn’t dare look back, knowing the soldiers could catch up at any moment. Just as she jumped, she felt a blade brush her back. Then the abyss swallowed her. The cliffside raced past her in a blur as she was falling into a pit of black mist.

“Now what ?! I escaped from these maniacs, but I'm still going to die at this rate!

Desperate, she reached for a branch jutting from the cliff—but only managed to scrape her hand raw. Then, suddenly, a bluish glow appeared before her: a floating window.

“W-What?! A quest?! You’ve got to be kidding me! This has to be a dream… or is it a simulation of some sorts?”

But the wind whipping her face felt very real. And the ground, though hidden in mist, had to be approaching fast. Alice didn’t have time to hesitate. The quest window clearly said to use wind magic to slow her fall. But she’d never used magic. It only existed in fiction, in her world.

“Focus, Alice. You’ve always been a good gamer. No quest is supposed to be impossible…”

Through the haze, the ground was starting to come into view.

“Okay, okay, think like it’s a game… wind magic… activate wind magic!”

She tried a few hand signs.

Ten meters lower.

“This is impossiblllle!”

She could now see the treetops rushing up to meet her. Maybe thirty seconds left.

“Come on… Wingardium Leviosa? Abracadabra? O mighty wind god, lend me your powers!”

She shouted, half joking, half desperate. But nothing. The wind god didn’t care.

“Great. Not even a tutorial.”

Twenty seconds.

She thought of the couple again, their gestures, their incantations, the energy in the air. Her “mother” had tossed soldiers with one word. And she’d shouted… What was it again?

Ten seconds.

Alice closed her eyes, arms outstretched, focusing everything on one thought: slow down. Survive.

“Zephyra!”

At first, nothing. Then, a swirling warmth rose in her stomach. Was that… magic? Time seemed to freeze. A surreal moment suspended midair. What was she supposed to do with this power? Release it? Channel it?  She instinctively directed it to her hands. A tingling spread through her fingers, becoming a fierce vibration across her palms. Alice opened her eyes, wind howling around her, and screamed again:

“Zephyra!”

The air twisted, whirled, the mist cleared. A sudden gust lifted her like a feather in a gale… but it wasn’t enough. She crashed through the canopy with a sharp crack. Branches whipped her face, tore at her skin, yanked strands of hair. Her body slammed into tree trunks, spinning, before impaling on a thick branch that broke under her weight. She hit the ground hard, a dull thud among dead leaves and gnarled roots.

Silence.

The impact knocked the air from her lungs. Every breath was agony. Her ribs burned. Her left hip throbbed. Her arms trembled. She lay there for a while, staring at the swaying canopy above, trying desperately to form a coherent thought.

Well. She wasn’t dead. That was something.

Ding!