When the tapestry of the world sees a particularly strong colour in one area, it gives birth to Beings of great power, in our beautiful nation there is no stronger colour than that of life, and of this colour, one of the most powerful Beings that can be born is the Dryads.

Beware.

Preamble to the Dryads chapter, Creatures of the Forest, Volume II. Irvanon Library.

Jonah was happy with his day yesterday, in the end, he hadn't encountered anything insurmountable. Of course, he had to fight a couple of times with some aggressive flora, but compared to the previous day it was almost a bucolic walk. If he forgot that there were all sorts of dangerous things living in this forest it would be a beautiful place to visit.

Emerging from the hollow that served as his bed Jonah stretched, having already decided on his route for today he quickly climbed down from his tree. With an ease that he found pleasant.

Touching the forest floor between two roots, Jonah began his fourth day of travel, hoping to get closer to the Tua River. This day began immediately under good auspices, a deer was drinking in the small lake that was near the tree he had chosen as a stop the previous day. He hesitated between wasting some time making a hearty breakfast and leaving right away. Finally, his stomach reminded him that the food he had eaten yesterday was not enough for him.

Almost an hour later, with a full stomach, Jonah faced an unexpected dilemma. There was still enough meat for several meals, unfortunately, he had nothing to store it in. He could create a refrigeration system with a weave, but his attention would have to remain focused on his makeshift refrigerator. This would mean a lack of attention which could be fatal.

He could create a small bark bag and put the meat in it but the forest was so full of life that it was likely that mould would set in quickly.

He reluctantly left the remains of the deer, deciding not to even bury it, the scavengers in the forest would take care of it.

Leaving, his body filled with energy, he observed the forest. A few hours later, as he walked along a path, something jumped out at him and screamed. Jonah, expecting such an event, slashed the creature with his Svärdstav.

Jonah ran away, this kind of small creature never attacked alone, as he feared, the whole earth around him shook. Too many monsters to count jumped on him. The creatures reached his waist, they were bald, had sunken faces, no noses and were grey. On a mouth, without lips, dozens of pinpricks could be seen, and their small hands without thumbs had sharp claws.

With a circular movement, Jonah sliced through the little monsters. He continued to advance, trying to escape from the encirclement. Weaving in force he delivered a knee strike to the monster in front of him, its head broke from the force of the blow Jonah could feel the small teeth sinking into the leather of his armour, drawing some of his blood. Catching himself he continued to swing his weapon around to keep the little monsters from coming closer.

Unfortunately more and more were coming, a real little colony must have been living in the ground around him and Jonah had entered right into their territory. He should have backed off as soon as he attacked to get out as quickly as possible, he didn't expect their burrow to be so extensive.

Deciding not to hold anything back Jonah began to weave fire, first by coating his weapon with fire, which he hoped would scare the little monsters enough to make them hesitate to approach him and then throw little balls of fire around him to create a little more chaos. It took a great deal of concentration and effort to maintain so much external weave at once, in addition to the internal weave, but he had improved enough that it wasn't too much of a burden on his mind and prism.

His rampage creating chaos around him Jonah continued to move forward, pushing back the small monsters that were becoming more and more frantic. The creatures, although frightened by the fire and trying to avoid it, kept coming towards him. Jonah cut them mercilessly, his Svärdstav cutting them in half as if they were made of paper.

As he advanced Jonah saw that the ground around him was becoming more and more unstable, covered with small mounds of earth from which more and more of these monsters were coming out, unable to afford to go back the way he came, this one full of monsters chasing him, driven mad by the fire that was burning them Jonah released his external weaves.

He prepared a large fire weave in front of him, larger than he had ever done before. If the creatures chasing him were driven mad by the fire he threw at them, the fire was still very effective, many of the smaller monsters collapsed long before they could catch up with him.

Once his weave was ready Jonah threw it. A veritable sea of flame advanced before him, he felt his prism pulsating with pain but it was still acceptable. Keeping just one thread of weave to continue feeding the fire he created a weave of air to surround it. The heat was so great that it was beginning to burn his lungs, oxygen was also becoming scarce. If he did not weave a small area to cool around him he would be killed by his weave. Either burned or from lack of oxygen. Drawing in the air he created a small wind, which if it was still warm was bearable enough. He used this wind to push the fire in front of him even harder.

All around him the forest was ablaze, Jonah was walking on earth that crackled under his feet. Despite the force of the fire, he could hear the cries of agony of the little monsters, those that had come out of their burrows were swallowed by the flames, the others were cooking directly in their holes. Leaving only the small area of one metre around him free of flame Jonah advanced like a living forest fire.

- WHO DARES!

A terrible scream echoed through the forest, but Jonah, whose effort to maintain his weaves was combined with a lack of oxygen that was becoming more and more worrying, did not realise it. While he had stopped running because of the effort he had to maintain he had not deviated from the route he had set himself. He walked forward.

A power crushed Jonah, knocking him down. Feeling his back burn against the ground Jonah used his Svärdstav to get up, not daring to touch the ground with his bare hands. Confused, he wondered what had happened.

Something lifted him, Jonah crashed into a tree, his mind already overloaded from the impact causing him to release the last bits of oxygen from his lungs. Yet with an animal instinct, he had acquired from the last few days in the forest he would be strong in his hand, refusing to let go his weapon.

Landing heavily on the forest floor Jonah looked up with blurred eyes, damp from the smoke that was everywhere. Feeling himself sinking into unconsciousness Jonah weaved, increasing his blood flow seeking to reoxygenate his brain, risking serious injury for that.

Something was approaching as if floating in the air.

- YOU MISERABLE LITTLE ELDAR, YOU DARE SET FIRE TO MY FOREST?!

Unable to bear the excesses he had just made, Jonah was losing the battle with his mind, the edges of his eyes darkening. As he saw the thing sliding towards him Jonah was overcome by unconsciousness. The last thing he heard was the thing mumble.

- What? Another human...

*

Jonah woke up with a start. Putting his hands on his aching head, his eyes still full of tears of pain, Jonah surveyed his surroundings for a threat.

He was in an alcove, on a bed made of branches and leaves. Rising cautiously he looked around, his Svärdstav was nowhere in sight, worried Jonah searched for wounds. He still had his leather armour, and if it was even more damaged now, scorched in places, scratched in others, it had protected him enough to avoid serious burns.

If his captor had left him his armour, it was because he was not so hostile, although he had taken his Svärdstav. Unless he considered him sufficiently unthreatening that his leather protection was not an obstacle.

From the wood all around him, Jonah assumed he was in the same type of alcove he had created for himself, only much better.

Sunlight was visible at the entrance opposite his bed, and as Jonah approached it he stepped out.

He was in a clearing, green grass, vibrant with life, covered everything. Looking up, Jonah could see the sky, the foliage here had let the sunlight reach the ground, it was early morning, which meant he had been unconscious a whole night. Already five days. In the middle of the clearing, there was a large lake, with water so pure that it glistened in the sun, and right in front of the lake...

Jonah strode forward, swallowing the distance, as he approached the person in front of him turned around.

- Hello Jonah.

Jonah stopped, staring at her, then took a step and hugged her, lifting her off the ground.

- There, there, everything's fine. he heard.

Gently putting her down, Jonah stared at her.

- How did...?

Marie smiled gently at him.

- First of all, you should wash up a bit. You smell of smoke and sweat.

Jonah looked at her in amazement and Marie turned and pointed to the lake.

- Don't worry, the lake is safe.

Uncertain, Jonah did not move, Marie moved closer to the lake, before sitting down.

Jonah followed her, glancing at the lake he noticed her reflection. He frowned, he was covered in ash and dirt. Glancing at Marie, he asked, pointing to himself.

- Do you mind if I...

Marie merely smiled at him.

Jonah was still not sure what was going on, but tired of being on the alert, and thought that if he had been wanted dead, he would already be dead.

Getting closer to the lake, he took off the top of his armour, bare-chested for a while now, he enjoyed the softness of the air on his skin. Not daring to remove the rest of his armour, Jonah simply took off his boots and socks before stepping into the water.

The water was icy cold, much colder than he had expected for the temperature of the forest. Observing the various wounds he had gained recently, he was pleased to see that they were healing well. Diving into the water, the coldness woke him up from the numbness he had felt since waking up in this valley.

Pulling his head out of the water he glanced at Marie, who was humming a song as if lost in thought. Deciding that he had already gone too far Jonah set about washing away the dirt of his last few days.

About ten minutes later, emerging from the water with a shiver, letting the sun dry him off, he sat down next to Marie.

- So...?

Stopping humming, Marie turned to him, still smiling.

- So?

- How did you get here? The last time ...?

Picking up a blade of grass next to her, Marie began to play with it.

- The monster let me go, I fell, and then... I was here. Almaeris promised to bring me back to our friends.

- Almaeris?

Marie turned gently to him and said in an innocent tone.

- The owner of this estate, you will soon meet her.

Uneasily Jonah watched her friend. There was something about her, a serenity that had been absent before. What had she gone through to get there?

Marie glanced at him before adding.

- You should get dressed. Now that you're awake she'll want to see you.

Jonah stood up slowly, still watching Marie, who ignored his examination and looked up at the sky again, humming. As Jonah reached for the rest of his shirt, which had often served as a makeshift bandage, he could smell how bad it smelled. Deciding not to go to Almaeris, stinking like a pig, he picked up the rest of his clothes and armour before approaching the lake once more.

Taking a few minutes to scrub his clothes vigorously, he realized only too late that a monster was approaching. Quickly approaching, he shouted to Marie.

- Careful!

Marie turned to the monster and smiled at him, before turning back to Jonah.

- Don't worry, it's just one of the knights of Almaeris.

Stopping worriedly, Jonah questioned her.

- Knight?

Jonah recognized the monster, it was a satyr, a man-beast and he was naked, those manly attributes pretty damn impressive.

The man-beast bowed to Marie, before pointing to him.

- The Lady wants to see him.

His voice was gravelly as if the earth spoke.

- Yes, he'll come.

Marie turned to him.

- You should get dressed, Jonah, you're expected.

Jonah quickly put his torn shirt and armour back on, barely taking the time to drain them. Water began to drip on him but he didn't let it bother him.

Once he was dressed, he approached the monster cautiously. Realizing that Marie had not followed him he turned to her, keeping the satyr visible in the corner of his eyes.

- Aren't you coming with me?

Marie, who had turned away from them, answered him gently.

- No, I'll wait for you here. See you later Jonah.

Hesitating to leave her there alone the monster decided for him.

- Now. He growled.

Jonah could distinctly hear the slight threat underneath that one word. Jonah motioned for her to come forward.

Following the satyr across the clearing, the monster led him between the trees. Jonah could still feel the sun at his back. However, the sunlight became less and less present, until the forest took over and brought back the twilight he was used to.

After walking for a few minutes, the monster and Jonah reached another clearing. Jonah stopped, fearing for his life.

Ahead of him stood the most monstrous court he could think of. All around him stood many monsters, some of which he had seen before in his travels through the forest, but many more that were unknown to him. And although he recognised some of them from the bestiaries he had read in the libraries of Irvanon, many were unknown to him.

Some he recognised from his knowledge of Terran mythology, but other monsters were unique to this world.

Knowing that a first impression was essential, Jonah hid his fear. The satyr, the... knight had gone to join a group of satyrs sitting in a corner of the clearing.

A throne made of roots was leaning against a tree almost as tall as any in the eastern part of the Emerald Kingdom.

On this throne was what Jonah assumed to be the Lady, Almaeris.

As he approached he saw that an alley, empty of monsters, existed between him and the root throne. He almost stopped when he noticed a huge beast lying next to the throne, it had three horns on its head, a black head, which was a cross between a crocodile and a horse, the rest of its coat was dark green, perfect for hiding in the twilight of the forest. When the monster noticed his presence it growled, it was a low, low growl that Jonah recognised immediately.

It was the beast that had saved him a few days before, and as Jonah looked at it again he noticed that the creature was in bad shape. It was breathing heavily and had numerous wounds all over its body, some infected. Jonah didn't know if he should feel sorry or grateful for its condition.

On the one hand, this monster had saved his life, on the other hand, if things went wrong here it was better than the monster being injured.

As Jonah reached the bottom of the throne he looked once more at the mistress of this monstrous court. She was a dryad, there was no doubt about it, Jonah recognised the shape of the creature from the bestiaries he had read. It was made of wood, leaves and grass, and even though Jonah was considered tall, the top of its forehead reached the middle of his face. Yet the huge antlers that covered her head made her taller, they were almost half the size of her body and formed an impressive crown.

The size of her antlers told Jonah that she was an old dryad or one with great power. If he was unlucky, both.

It was usual for a dryad to create a court as this one had, yet rarely did dryads allow members of their species into their court, usually a fierce war for territory and their occupant went on between them. Jonah had seen several dryads present in the Lady's court, which meant that the Lady was secure enough in her power to allow potential competitors to be present. Above all, it meant that the Lady would be in a position of absolute power, which was not good for Jonah.

The whole time he was walking the Lady was watching him, and Jonah had immediately noticed the presence of his Svärdstav in its hands. Almaeris was playing with Jonah's weapon absent-mindedly, and he had to stop the first impulse he had to lunge for it.

Before the throne, Jonah knelt as he had done before the throne of the broken empire. He heard the Lady laugh, and in a sensual voice, she said to him.

- What an honour you do me, human, to greet me as if I were the Emerald Throne itself. Stand up.

As Jonah rose to his feet, pleased that his bow had earned him some of her favour. However, he had to quickly revise his judgement when he met her gaze, where two emerald green eyes filled with ice shone.

Slowly Almaeris the Lady of the Forest, moved Jonah's Svärdstav, pointing the tip of her blade straight at his heart.

- So tell me, little human, what price will you give me for burning my forest?