The Witches’ Grove is a place of wonder. From the outside, it looks like a small square plot, but once entered, one could theoretically walk infinitely without reaching an edge. Few creatures harbor that sort of death wish, however, as the farther one gets from the World Tree, the harder life is to live. The bushery grows brown and dried, and the fauna are scrappy and starved.

The scenery nearest to Yggdrasil is more than enough for any number of species to survive. Biomes vary greatly every mile, and regardless of where any beast comes from, they will find a place to thrive. Physically, at least.

Mentally, there were more than a few that found this place to be mind-numbingly dull.

When a being chose to enter the witches protection, they gave up a few rights in the process. They lost the right to kill anything under the witches’ protection, and they were not allowed to leave. In return, they were promised safety and nourishment within the bounds of Yggdrasil.

While this was a perfectly fine turn of events for some of the... lower minded monsters, some of the higher creatures found themselves growing fat and lazy, lacking a goal in life.

The smarter monsters argued with the witches, demanding that they leave the Grove, having had their fill of peace. The threats that had come after them were no doubt long dead, and life had lost its luster in this place of permanent peace. The witches refused this, stating that a deal once made could never be broken. That said, they were amenable to the complaints, and offered a compromise.

Deep in the wastelands of the sanctuary, far from the Tree and the life it breathed, an area was set up for those that found themselves wanting more. The dead land offered no safe harbour, and the witches turned a blind eye to the wanton death and predation that went on there. Might made right, and strength was survival.

It is on the very edge of this lawless territory that a large, brown rock was sitting on the desert sand, surrounded by tiny specks of quartz and glittering pebbles. This was no ordinary rock, however. With a yawn, a small head poked out of the top, and the rock unfurled into a large bird with stony feathers.

Karla looked over her newest set of treasures greedily, taking stock of her hard day’s work. It had taken her over a week to collect them, after her last assortment was stolen from her by a snapping turtle. She huffed in pride as she sorted them by size, and then color, and then shininess. She could have sat there all day, organizing the rocks into different categories if she were in a safe place.

But the place she was in was far from safe. And to her greatest displeasure, an interruption was coming, in the form of a small shape in the sky that grew closer with each passing second.

Karla sweeped her collection beneath her wing, just in time. The larger stony bird landed in front of her with a flourish, holding its head up high and looking at her in disdain. His feathers held a smooth, marble polish and gave the bird a regal quality that he further exuded through his posture. His stone beak turned down in a frown, and he stared at Karla with contempt. “Sister. What are you doing here? Surely you know that the family is having a meeting right now.”

Karla glared right back at him. “Charles, those meetings are tedious and stupid, and you know it! Mother and Father just complain about the witches, and the other animals, and then they talk about how they want to get rid of all of the other species that live around here. They don’t even do anything!”

Charles gave a small pretentious huff. “Be that as it may, it is your responsibility as a family member to attend. While you’re off playing with your rocks,” he shot a glare underneath Karla’s wing, where a small rock sparkled, “I am negotiating with the other species. As a Kanmi of the Wastelands, you should hold yourself to a higher standard than those of the World Tree.” A disgusting sneer found its way onto his face.

Karla rolled her eyes. “You steal fish from other races. That’s hardly negotiating.”

“Whatever it is, I do it for the good of the family, and you would do well to learn from my example!” He snapped back at her. Karla took a step back, surprised by Charles’ ferocity. Her entire collection glittered in the sunlight, completely exposed. Charles eyed it with fury. “Perhaps if I take away your little playthings, you would learn to contribute to your loved ones.”

With a graceful swoop, he tucked the various rocks under one of his feathers and flapped his wings, about to take off. Karla jumped onto him. “Give it back, Charles!” She pecked him in the back fruitlessly, hurting her beak on the birds stony back. “Stop!”

Charles looked at her . “If you do well and provide for the family, maybe I’ll give it back to you.” With that, he took off the ground, and sped off into the air. Karla went after him, but he was larger and faster, and soon he was no more than a speck on the horizon.

Karla felt hot tears make their way to her her eyes, oily and disgusting. She rubbed them off on her wing, and in a fit of rage performed an act of rebellion that neither she nor her family ever thought that she would do. She flew as fast as she could in the direction of the World Tree, in the direction of plenty and peace.

Fury clouded her judgement, and with a vengeance she swore, “I’ll show that pompous chicken what I can do for the family. I’ll steal something from the witches themselves!”

###

It took Karla thirty minutes to get to the more flourishing part of the Grove. It took her another two minutes to regret going there in the first place.

As the trunk of the World Tree came in sight, Karla felt no small amount of shock at the wildlife that surrounded it. She had lived her whole life in the Wastelands, as had her parents, and their parents. The sheer amount of trees and creatures that flooded the area overwhelmed her, and caused her to stall in mid air.

She fluttered to a halt, and took in the scenery that encompassed the nearby radius of the Tree. It was truly a sight to behold, especially from the sky. There seemed to be a parcel of land devoted to each biome, creating a crosshatch pattern of variety that mesmerized Karla. Whether it be swamp, lakes, or desert, it seemed as though each area was just as lively as the next, full of creatures that lived in harmony.

Karla couldn’t believe her eyes. This was what her parents had demeaned and diminished for their entire lives? Why on earth would anybody want to leave this place? The only thing that could possibly improve was the lack of shiny things.

Indeed, for all the beasts and biomes that the Grove had, most of the animals that were both flashy and hunted for parts tended to go extinct before they could be saved. Few of the animals had body parts that glittered, and the ground was dark and fertile, with only small, dull minerals beneath the surface.

Karla gave a brief exhaled and shook her head. This was important. She came here with a mission, and there was absolutely no way that she was going to get distracted. She sharpened her focus, and looked directly at the tree. With a burst of determination that she had never felt before, she flew forwards, wind at her back and mind resolved.

She was distracted almost immediately. A large sparkle on the ground caught her eye, and she swooped down, more out of instinct than desire. As she approached the object, she gasped in astonishment. What she saw was nothing less than the most beautiful item in the world. It had a blood red fabric that shivered in the wind and, more importantly, it sparkled like nothing else she had seen before. The cape had golden sparkles embedded on it, which shined beautifully in the sunlight.

Karla wanted it. Karla needed it. All thoughts of stealing from the witches escaped her mind; this was the most important object that existed in the world at this moment. She dived down and grasped it with her talons gently, making sure that she wouldn’t damage the fabric. Flapping her wings with vigor, she returned to the air with more difficulty than she expected.

Looking down, Karla realized that there was also a tree stuck to the cape, and it didn’t appear to be letting go. In a soft, calm voice, it yelled, “Please let go of the cape. My friend is in there.”

This statement did not make any sense to Karla, so she ignored it. With a huff, she squawked, “I saw it first! You let go.” She started flying irregularly, attempting to shake the tree off. But this tree had experience in standing still and refusing to budge, so it simply hung on for dear life.

Karla, annoyed that there was an inconvenience on her bounty, brought herself, the tree and the cape higher, with the hope that the tree would get scared and slip. The tree simply grasped the cape tighter. She crowed with frustration, yelling, “Let go!” She shook her talon wildly, causing the cape to flutter even more. It was at that moment that she noticed that the cape was actually folded in half, making a makeshift bag. A small crack had opened, and the insides revealed themselves.

An arm of darkness reached out of the cape. It grabbed her arm, unbalancing her. With a yelp, the trio quickly began to lose altitude. Karla let out a ear-piercing howl, the darkness grabbed her wing tighter, and the tree stayed perfectly still.

Looking down, Karla, for the first time realized how quickly they were falling. She attempted to bring them back in the air, but there was simply too much weight for her to fly with one wing. She took one last look at the beautiful cape before they plummeted into the murky depths of the swamp.