Whispers in the Velvet Shadows

The Velvet Woods stood still, as if it was holding its breath. Ilyana rested against the trunk of one of the ancient trees, still quivering inside with the residues of battle. Her hands barely had a smoky glow with remnants of her red energy, so it was something so warm with this icy chilla that persisted in the air.

Zarvian stood there, his eyes scanning the shadows for any other threats that lingered. His dark cloak flowed in the light breeze, but his stance remained tense, prepared. Ilyana saw his knuckles were pale from gripping the hilt of his blade, as if bracing for another attack.

"Do they always pop out of nowhere?" Ilyana asked, her voice a rasp.

Zarvian looked at her, his features easing a fraction. "No. This was different. The forest is waking up, responding to your presence. Those shadows-they were drawn to your power."

Her stomach sank. "You mean this is my fault?

"It's not about blame," Zarvian said, taking a step closer. His voice was strong, but not vicious. "The forest has waited centuries for someone like you. But it's not just watching-it's testing you. And the creatures within it…" He paused, his eyes cold. "They're drawn to imbalance. To weakness. You can't let them sense either."

Ilyana laughed. "That's a little hard to do when you're thrown into something you don't even understand."

Zarvian's lips curled into a ghost of a smile. "You did okay for someone who's so new at this."

She was surprised by the praise. She didn't know whether he was trying to comfort her or whether he meant it, but it steeled her nerves either way.

However, the forest was not so kind. The air felt thick, charged with some otherworldly energy that seemed to prickle across her skin as it thickened with every pace. She could see that the portal into the Starfall Realm, which had been a glowing spot in the distance, was much closer now, casting shallow reflections from its shimmering light upon the surrounding trees.

"I have wanted to ask," Ilyana started the silence. "This portal… what is on the other side?"

Zarvian looked at her. "Starfall Realm is a land of extremes. Beauty and danger lie side by side. It is not a place to step into lightly, even should the portal grant you passage."

"If it grants me passage?" she asked.

"The portal has its own will," Zarvian said. "It is not merely a doorway-it is alive, in a manner of speaking. It chooses who can go in and who cannot."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all," Ilyana muttered, looking at the glowing portal in the distance.

They stopped about a few steps from the edge of the portal. In close-up it was breathtaking: a swirling vortex of silver and blue, the surface rippling like water under the moon. It awakened something at her core, a gentle tug, as if it recognized her.

"Have you been through it?" she asked.

Zarvian nodded. "Once. A long time ago."

"What's it like?"

He stopped, eyes distant. "It's… overpowering. Nothing in this world is like it in the Starfall Realm. It's alive with things you'd never dream up. The stars in the sky burn with moving constellations. The very earth vibrates with power. But it is deadly. Things there.

He shrugged. "You have to know what you are getting into. And you don't yet."

Ilyana's hackles rose at the way he was speaking to her. "And who decides how ready I'm supposed to be? You?"

"The portal," Zarvian said flatly.

She rolled her eyes but didn't argue. There was something unnerving about the portal's existence. It wasn't just that it was drawing to her- it was like it was watching her, as if it expected her to make some kind of move.

She gazed into its depths and, in the flicker of a moment, vision flared across her mind. She stood in the Starfall Realm; the ground was glowing with runes under her feet, the sky was endless black but streaks of silver light cut the darkness and she could see something huge whose eyes glowed like lanterns in the dark.

The vision vanished as abruptly as it had begun, leaving her gasping.

"Ilyana?" Zarvian's voice brought her back to the present.

"I'm fine," she said too quickly, though her hands were shaking.

He looked at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. "The portal showed you something, didn't it?"

She hesitated. "How did you know?"

"It does that sometimes. It's testing you again. Showing you possibilities."

"Possibilities? You mean that might actually happen?"

Zarvian's jaw set. "It all depends on what you do."

It got her blood to a boil in frustration. "Why must you people always say so much yet tell me nothing? This forest, the portal, even you. why won't you come out in simple terms about what's going on? How in blazes' name am I to think myself clear of this if I have not even one word about it?

Zarvian let out a deep sigh and trudged through his dark hair, standing there looking almost. human. Vulnerable.

Ilyana, he whispered softly, I know it's all very overwhelming. I know you need your answers. But some things cannot be explained, they have to be felt. You're stronger than you think. Trust yourself. Trust what you feel within the connection you feel to this place.

She wanted to argue, but something inside of her told her he was right.

Neither did she have time to think nor respond. Light intensity caused the portal explosion. Both turned toward it, then their bodies tautened. The rippling surface began shaking, and for that moment, Ilyana felt something was crossing the portal.

A ripple of power, cast from the gateway in lieu of a person, is launched into the air. Ilyana reels back, arm raised before her breast, butting at the blow as though the wave crash might roll down to shore. She begins seeing snapshots of all of it, glimpses of Starfall Realm and bits of war and fire flashing out beneath spattered stars in bright shining waves; visions of bizarre and wondrous, disgusting things.

She gasped for air as the pulse faded. Zarvian steadied her, his hands firm on her shoulders.

"What was that?" she managed to say.

"The portal's warning," he said grimly. "It knows you're not ready. And it's not going to let you through until you are."

Her frustration returned, but this time it was laced with determination. "Then I'll get ready," she said, meeting his gaze. "Whatever it takes, I'll prove myself."

Zarvian's expression softened, and for the first time, she thought she saw a flicker of pride in his eyes. "Good. Because the forest and the portal aren't the only things watching you, Ilyana. There are forces in this world and beyond that are waiting to see what you'll do next. You'll need to be ready for them, too."

She nodded, burdened by the weight of his words. The future was uncertain there ahead, and she was not going to leave.

With her aim now being the decision to step back from the portal once more, this strange feeling quenched the whispers that shrouded the forest once again. She was to glance over one last time as they dissipated in the distance behind her as she forgot the brightness of Starfall's portal stuck inside her brain.

The Eclipsian mysteries are old and long, but she's barely opened them up.