The Fall of Ferenian

Chapter Five

Renwil didn't enjoy walking all day. His only joy came from the glow of the trees in the autumn sunlight; fiery red and incandescent orange and shimmering gold, and he longed to stop and admire them, but Renpfie never allowed him more than a few minutes rest throughout the day, and by dusk, when they stopped for the night, their brilliance was dulled in the low light. Often he awoke to find freshly fallen leaves scattered about them, and he would spend a few moments examining the green and spidery veins that divided it before Renpfie urged him to get up.

Both their feet were covered in blisters, their backs ached and their stomachs rumbled. They had managed to gather enough food to reach Ellbendorr, but barely. They argued often about it. Renwil felt they should eat as much as they needed; they could hunt and forage for food if they ran out. They had already done so for the last few days. Renpfie, ever more practical, argued that Renwil was the worst hunter and she didn't want to waste time and energy on searching for food when it wasn't absolutely necessary.

It was on the fifth day when Renwil woke up to the first rays of dawn, the sun starting to filter through the trunks of the surrounding trees. He blinked his eyes a few times, disoriented and sleepy. He didn't know what had woken him. The air around him was fresh and warm and he pushed his blanket to the side, relieved to be away from the scratchy material. An earthy aroma surrounded him, one he associated with mushrooms. It was so strong he could almost taste it on his tongue.

He looked at his sister. She was still sleeping, her face creased in worry – an expression that graced her face more and more often. With as little sound as possible, he pushed himself off the leaf-covered ground and got to his feet, enjoying stretching his limbs out and getting the blood flowing back around his body.

He didn't intend to go far. Perhaps just get his water skin from his pack, a few berries, and climb up a nearby tree. The forest was alive with the dawn chorus and he longed to be amongst the birds. However, as soon as his mind was rid completely of the cloudiness of sleep, he heard the trees calling to him. Their emotions were mixed, and he could not comprehend what they were trying to tell him, but he understood they meant for him to follow them. With one last look at the sleeping form of Renpfie, he crept away from their camp, further into the forest.

The trees became more insistent the further he travelled, the undergrowth getting thicker, brambles scratching at his legs through his thin trousers.

"Where are you leading me?" He asked. He looked back over his shoulder, wondering how far he'd walked. It seemed like he'd been walking for some minutes, and he hoped that Renpfie didn't wake up. What if she realised he was missing and called for him and he didn't hear her? At this thought, he almost turned back, but the trees heard his thoughts and an insistent wind pushed at him.

"Okay, okay," he grumbled, "I'm going, but I wish you would tell me what for."

He didn't expect a reply; though the trees could always hear him, it took him a lot of effort to hear them back, unless they were truly desperate to tell him something, as they had been that last night in Dillen Wuarf.

After many more minutes of trampling through thick forest, the breeze finally stilled and Renwil came to a stop. He was standing in a small glade, sunlight bearing down upon him and warming his cheeks. Grass was just managing to grow through the rotting leaves that tried to smother it, and for a moment, he wondered whether the trees had simply led him there because it was beautiful. He gazed all around him, taking in the intricate leaves that looked as if they had been painted and splattered with all different colours; taking in the way the sunlight illuminated the tiny insects hovering in the temperate air; taking in the two brown butterflies that flew in circles around each other like some mad dance, until they disappeared into the trees. Then he finally looked down at his feet and saw the real cause for his being there. His heart sank.