We sat there in the freezing river. I listened to the scraping of steel over the skin on my head. I was very aware of her wet skin nearly touching my naked back. Her fingers brushed the hairs of my head, while I watched them drift away in the current. It felt good. She had jumped into the river, clothes and all, without a care in the world. She was idly chatting while she cut my hair. I managed to eek out a couple of monosyllabic answers. I was buck-naked and raised a nobleman. This was just not done.

"If you are not a Wyldling, where do you come from then?" I finally brought out to busy the mind from wandering thoughts.

"I am a Nymph from the Everbright Forest far to the east. It is swallowed by the Wyld now, but for a little village. Not many nymphs left on this continent, I fear. We are very secluded people."

I shuddered as her fingers massaged the short-cropped hair she had left on the top of my head. How could so simple a thing feel so good?

"I heard that word before, but I didn't connect it with a group of people. I thought nymphs to by myths and legends."

"And we would like to keep it that way, I bet." She laughed her clear laugh that hit so deep. "I am different than the others, though. I love people. I love meeting people. I wanted to go out and see them. Then I came here. And I wanted nothing more than to get to know them, to help them heal."

"That is commendable."

"I can feel that pain, you know? Working here has given me a class. [Alienist]. I can see the darkness in you. It is different from the Wyldlings who are driven mad by their own senses. You were broken before you came to the Wyld."

I fell quiet.

"No, don't shut yourself in again. I hear your longing clear as day. The gentle touch of another being, in love, and not hate." She embraced me from behind, just a friendly hug. I felt every inch of her pressing against me. Her skin was rough like bark but so soft at the same time. I felt awkward.

"Please understand me, Hannibal. I just have to try to help you. Here, let me show you. Let me [Share the Burden]."

And that was that. The warm embrace of a woman, while I shivered in the cold of the river. Nothing more happened, but nothing less as well. It healed a wound I had forgotten about. The very human yearning for a friendly touch. We are social creatures, and I had been cast out, lost, and alone. I cannot say if tears merged with the bubbling river in the hour we spend there until she left light-footed and smiling. Leaving behind a heart that was mending and breaking at the same time.

At night, I turned in my bedroll in search of sleep quite often. I don‘t know if it was because of the gentle embrace I had received or the constant yelling, mumbling, and aimless walking around, the other Wyldlings spend their night with. I had seen but a glimpse of a hut at the edge of the hill, where a few people were bound in their beds, violently raging against their bindings and screaming nonsense.

I saw her again at first light when she organized breakfast for the rest. We talked briefly and exchanged a word in jest or two, but she kept her distance. I ate alone. Some kind of herbal pulp, which was very rich and quite tasty.

Tonja came to me later, to tell me that the Mad King wishes to speak to me. I went into the clearing and talked with him for an hour. He soaked up all the information about the world that he could. It had been centuries since he had received his latest news. I told him all I knew.

"A word of warning, young Hannibal.“ He said afterwards with a sad smile. "If you shatter your mind, to cut out the madness, you will sever your bond to your Demesne as well. And thus your gateway to your peers.“

"You were isolated, all these years?“

"They do not call me the Mad King for nothing. Isolated, yes. But never lonely. I have found my purpose. I am not the [Druid] I once was, but I am a protector and a teacher. I am strongly connected to the spirits of the lands, and I find meaning in raising generations of [Shamans] that are one with the land and its spirits.“

"Why not [Druids]?

"It is not the way of the Wyldlings. Nor is it the way of the Wyld. The volatile and everchanging energies of the Wyld are the opposite of what a [Druid] seeks. A plot of land to nurture and protect. I began to teach Tonja, but she is more interested in people and the madness the song of the Wyld causes than she is in being a shepherd to nature. Despite her heritage as a Nymph.“

"What has being a Nymph to do with it?"

"Nymphs are very connected with the forests they live in, often choosing a tree to bond with. The [Druid] class comes easy to them."

We talked a bit more about being a Twice-Born, which he had not much to say about because he had been raving mad the whole time. But he mentioned that he never saw his patron god again or even remembered his name.

I was, aside from Tonja and a few other nymphs over the centuries, the first non-Wyldling to ever reach his sanctuary. And that made him curious, so he enjoyed our little talks quite a bit. I avoided talking about Barak Bloodbraid and his eldritch magics, in fear of agitating the old man again. I felt not only peace and comfort in the talks with him, he was a treasure trove of information as well, even if his memory was jumbled at times and non-existent at others. But how could I risk not being able to talk about dragons with a man who had seen them? Dragons! Every child of the Empire had dreams of becoming a [Knight] and challenge dragons to combat. I had not been different. I was neither a [Knight], though, nor had I challenged anything that was not slimy, ugly or disgusting, White Beast and Thousand Teeth not included. Those had been majestic. Terrifying but majestic.

When the sun stood highest, I left the tree and searched for Tonja once more. And I found her sitting at the river, talking to a female Wyldling my age, who sat there barefooted and splashed the water around with her toes. She was short and stout, had short white hair and little goat-horns jutting out of her forehead. And she wore the sturdy cured leather clothing the Wyldlings I had met liked to wear.

"The raven beats his wings and people die!“ The Wydling snickered. "Last one flying, first at the buffet, dead meat aplenty.“

"Kara!“ Tonja was shocked. "That is not very polite.“

"There are two paths to walk. The path of the future of darkness and the path of the past of darkness. Is it my choice or am I seeing the consequences of the decisions of others.“ The young woman stood up, absently ruffling her hair while she came over to me. Her eyes were huge, pools of dark blue speckled with white as she looked at me, but seemed to see through me, at something behind myself more interesting than my physical form.

"Why do I hear nothing but the sounds of dying birds?“ She reached out, but Tonja stood beside her, grabbing her arm.

"Oh no, you don‘t! You are close, but Dio has not given his blessing yet. You do not fiddle with the songs of others without his permission.“

Kara stared at me, just stared at me, with those big eyes. "I see you.“ She smiled. "Your song is not a song of the Wyld. But you are caught in it.“

I nodded. "That sounds about right.“ I did not really know what to say. But I could not leave either, not without having spoken to Tonja. "Can I talk to you?“ I asked her.

"Yes, why not. Kara, it was nice to talk to you again! Why don’t you stay until dinner this time? We can catch up later?“

"Oh, I will.“ Again she looked in my direction, but not at me. "I am suddenly very interested in Dinner.“ She smiled again and turned to return to the river, carefully placing her bare feet on the grass while she closed her eyes.

"I am sorry, she is not quite there yet. She still hears the song of the Wyld at all times, although she is good enough to control it.“

"And barely changed. That means she is level 20 at least, right?“

"Yes, she is kind of a prodigy. And requires little to no help from me. Nothing my Skills would pick up on.“ she turned to me, suddenly serious. "Speaking of which. How are you feeling?“

"I...erm...good!“ What to say to that? "Yes, about that. I wanted to talk to you.“

"Do you? What about?“

Yes. What about? How welcome her embrace had been? How I had thought about not much else than her cool and rough skin pressing against my back?

"Hannibal.“ She said sternly, as I stammered something stupid, looking for an answer. "I may be a Nymph, but I do not break the heart of those vulnerable and those under my care. Come back when you are mature enough to have fun without the inevitable existential crisis afterwards.“

Something hit me in the chest, but it had not been as bad as I had feared it to be. "Am I that easy to read?“

"Men are. Young men even more so. And it is my profession and calling. I am not an [Alienist] for nothing. You need a hug of a friend, not the company of a woman you can't handle.“

"Thank you for letting me down easy, then.“ I tried to smile.

"I have not let you down. I am just not taking advantage of you.“ There was that radiating grin again.

That was that. And that was ok, I was surprised to find out.

"This is awkward now. Can I maybe take advantage of you for a moment? I have evidence that a Wyldling clan is searching the area. Are you familiar with the Snake Clan?“

I filled her in with the rough details, as she shook her head.

"Anyway, I am certain that there is a body of one of their scouts in the forest. I want to look for him and could need your help guiding me around.“

"Hm, it is true that I can navigate the forest quite well. Do you know where to look for him?“

"Zero do you know?“ I turned towards the chain that had held suspiciously still all day long. His head bobbed in affirmation.

"I will come.“ She said. "After dinner. I have to prepare the food for the others. And I want Kara to come as well.“

"Why?“ I asked.

"Because she is a [Shaman] and the company will be good for her. Because she is close to a breakthrough and she saw something in you, just now. And because the Wyld is dangerous and I can get away, but I can not protect you.“

"I can protect myself, do not worry.“

"As evident in the fact that I had to carry your broken and unconscious body to the hill of the Mad King just yesterday?“

"That is not fair.“

"Why? What has changed?“

"I am free of the visions, for one.“

"For one day longer. What if you get lost?“

I nodded begrudgingly. She was right. The Mad King had taken the visions from me for just two days. And why not? Nothing was hurt but what little pride I had left.

And thus we left the hill after eating herbal pulp, but warm this time. The sun would be up for nothing more than a few hours, but both women seemed to be entirely comfortable with that situation.

"The song grows louder the farther we go from the hill.“ Kara observed as we left the hill and entered the forest.

"Of course it does.“ Tonja nodded, studying the trees around her, obviously pleased to be in the forest again. "The Mad King rules over this forest, but he is strongest in his grove. Even here, so close to him, the Wyld is dangerous. Can you feel it? The forest is hurting. The impulse to change fights against the order to grow and prosper.“

I just shook my head, but I was surprised to find Kara shaking hers as well.

"The song is the song. It is not different here, just louder than it has been. I would have to talk to the spirits of the forest to know if something is amiss in the woods. I am surprised you can feel something.“

"It is a Nymph thing, then. We are very close to our forests. I seem to have adapted to this one.“

The moment of lucidity Kara seemed to have gone away, as her eyes fluttered around, following things no one could see but her. Sometimes she strayed from the path, in which case she would be gently guided back by Tonja, always smiling.

Both women were phenomenal in navigating the woods. We came across plenty of creatures, but Tonja avoided most of them, without me even seeing anything. One time Kara stopped us and listened to the wind for a long time, then insisted on turning around and trying another way. We would never know if her instinct had been right or not, but finally, we came to the place were Tonja had found me yesterday and we retraced my steps with Zeros help from there.

When nightfall came, Kara carried a little light on her palm for us to see.

"What about Nightmares?“ I asked.

"No Nightmares dare to enter the forest of the Mad King.“ Tonja just said, and that was that.

We found the body of the Wyldling I had killed, hacked to bits, and smeared about a fallen tree. The body was a gruesome sight, especially what little light we had and the darkness of the forest around us, but I felt nothing else. I felt no guilt for killing him or mauling him like that. Nothing. As if another man had done the deed. Which was somewhat true.

"Snake Clan, all typical.“ Kara said as he looked at the tattoos, not bothered by the dead body or the grueling scene at all. "That is new. The song is screaming.“ She pointed to a little yellow gem, not unlike amber, that the Wyldling had hanging around his neck on a leather string. "The song is getting louder.“ She suddenly fell to the ground, pressing her hands on her ears. "Death!“ She screamed. "So much death!“

Tonja gripped Kara on the shoulder, trying to pull her back, but the small, burly woman was quicker. She suddenly shot forward and took the stone for herself.

"Gone.“ She gasped relieved, holding the stone to her light to see it better. "The song is gone.“ Her wide eyes looked around in confusion. "I hear nothing.“