Under guard, we were led away from the clearing along a narrow path. Wolves trotted alongside, noses low to the ground. The trees here were older than any I had seen on Earth. Some trunks were so wide that a dozen people could not encircle them. Strange fruit dangled from high branches, glowing faintly. Insects the size of my hand buzzed past, their wings leaving trails of light. Small animals watched from tree hollows—creatures with too many eyes and too many legs.

We walked for hours. The path climbed and wound, crossing small streams of clear water and passing through patches of glowing mushrooms taller than a man. Every sound was amplified—the crunch of leaves, the rustle of brush, the distant calls of unseen animals. The air felt thick with power. I could almost taste it.

Eventually, we reached a village built into the trees themselves. Platforms and walkways spiraled around trunks, connecting huts made of woven branches and leaves. Ropes and vines formed bridges between higher levels. Dwarfs and reptilian beings worked at forges set into the roots. Elves moved with effortless grace along the walkways. They all stopped and stared as we entered. Their eyes were wary.

We were herded into a large open area beneath the biggest tree. The elves spoke among themselves while a group of older dwarfs looked us over like inspecting livestock. One approached with a stone tablet covered in the same runes we had seen around the portal. He held it up. It glowed faintly. He frowned. He said something. The boy with the translation ability furrowed his brow.

“He says we have… residue on us,” he translated. “Portal energy. He calls it… ‘Nadir essence’? He says it’s dangerous to their forest.”

“We didn’t choose to carry it,” a woman said angrily. “We didn’t choose any of this!”

The dwarf grunted. He spoke again. The boy continued, “They will not kill us. But we cannot stay here. They will guide us to a place at the edge of their lands. A… barren valley where no spirit dwells. We may settle there if we can survive.”

The soldier leader nodded. “Tell him we’ll take it,” he said. “We’re not here to fight for their homes. We just need a chance.”

As night fell, they gave us food—some kind of bread made from ground roots and a stew of vegetables and meat. It tasted earthy but filling. They posted guards around us, more for our protection than our imprisonment, I suspected. The elves kept the wolves close. Dwarfs sharpened their axes.

I lay on the ground under a canopy of leaves, my brother curled against me. My muscles ached. My mind buzzed with the events of the day. I closed my eyes and let my awareness drift.

The forest pulsed. Streams of shimmering energy flowed through the roots and branches, through the very air. It was the same as the lines I had seen during the fights but more abundant, more alive. My consciousness followed one stream into the ground. It branched and joined others, forming a network of currents. My heart beat in time with it. I felt small and huge at once. I reached out to touch the current. It resisted, then slowly yielded. Warmth flooded my body. My skin prickled. My muscles tightened. I gasped and sat up. Light faded from my vision.

“You okay?” my brother murmured.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice shaky. “Just… felt something.”

In the morning, we set out again. The elves guided us west. The ground gradually grew rockier. Trees thinned. The air dried. After a day’s hike, we reached a valley surrounded by jagged cliffs. Black stone jutted like broken teeth. No trees grew here; only scrub and patches of hardy grass. A river wound through the center, its water dark and cold.

“This is your place,” the elf leader said through the translator. “Here you will not taint our forest. Here nothing lives but what you bring. Survive if you can.”

They left us with a few tools—a hatchet, some rope, a pot. Then they melted back into the trees, the wolves following. We were alone.

The soldiers looked around. “First things first,” one said. “We build shelter. Then we find food and water. No one goes off alone.”

“Are we safe here?” a woman asked.

I looked at the cliffs. Shadows moved on the ridges. Eyes glinted in caves. The air hummed with the same energy I had felt in the forest, but wilder, less controlled.

“No,” I said. “We’re not safe anywhere.”