Far south of Azue, bypassing the city of Benna, there are the White Woods. A wooded area of trees as white as snow. On the outside, the White Woods seem normal, a quiet serene area. But Arns know not to enter. Long ago, the Gods warned them that the White Woods are a mirage and the nd on the inside is actually the Abyss where monstrous abominations and magical prisoners rest. The Forbidden Realm.

  At the edge, just on the outside, there is a bench. A little girl, no older than six, sat there. She whistled as loud as she could until an older woman reached her. The woman, blue eyes and golden hair, was carrying a rge sack on her back. Just short of her, she knelt and looked the girl in her eyes.

  “Are you lost?” The woman asked softly. “Where are your parents?”

  The little girl closed her eyes and kept whistling.

  The woman pced her heavy sack on the ground, next to the little girl’s feet. “What is your name, my child?”

  The little girl snapped her eyes open. “I have no name.”

  The towering trees behind them began to sway.

  “My name is Petaya.” The woman responded, concern evident in her voice. “I’m from Azue, the Bck City.”

  The little girl began to whistle again.

  Petaya frowned before joining the little girl on the bench. It wasn’t as sturdy as she hoped. The little girl jumped from the seat, spooking Petaya, and began to twirl in a circle.

  “Are you from Azue?” The woman asked loudly. “If so, I can take you where you rest, eat, and pray.”

  The little girl kept twirling. “My mother abandoned me here in the White Woods but now I am free.”

  “In the White Woods?’

  “Yes.” The little girl mumbled.

  Petaya quickly stood and took several steps back.

  The little girl stopped twirling. “Don’t be afraid.”

  Petaya’s eyes darted to her bag that rested at the little girl’s feet. Inside, there was a sharp knife, a knife she mainly used for cooking.

  The little girl giggled before picking up the bag. “Mother didn’t visit me before she left, did you know? She left me with my brothers and I still can’t fathom why.”

  “Why would a mother do such a thing?”

  The little girl shrugged her shoulders. “How would I know? She loved your kind more than she did ours.”

  Petaya eyes’ darted to her bag before back at the little girl. “I’m not following.”

  “May I ask you something, Petaya?” She said instead, a hint of disgust in her tone.

  Petaya nodded.

  “Is it the knife in the bag you seek?”

  Petaya’s body tensed.

  “You don’t have to lie.” The little girl added, followed by a smile. “Well, you can’t lie…. Not to me anyway.”

  Petaya’s heart began to hammer. She wanted to run, but she also couldn’t. Her feet were rooted.

  “You say that you are from Azue. Is that right?”

  “Yes.” Petaya croaked.

  “Do you worship Kaolin?”

  “Kaolin?”

  “Death.” The little girl answered, followed by an eye roll. “I knew Kaolin a long time ago. He was much nicer than my mother. He even visited me before he left.”

  Petaya looked behind her at the path she followed to the bench. A sudden realization dawned on her. That path wasn’t always there.

  “Syn Der Verasa. Arra Eu Mer.” The little girl shouted, causing the trees behind her to violently shake.

  Petaya slowly turned her head back towards the little girl who was wearing a wide grin across her face.

  “Do you know what that means?”

  Petaya shook her head.

  “Bless Thee Truth. Arra, My Mother.”

  A tear slipped from Petaya’s right eye. She tried to move her feet again, but failed.

  “Why can’t I move?” She choked.

  “I’ve heard Sonusa was destroyed.” The little girl responded instead. “Why would your God do such a thing?”

  “I don’t know.” Petaya cried out, trying so hard to move. “What is going on?”

  The little girl lowered her head.

  “I’m sorry that I lured you here.” The little girl said softly. “But I had to.”

  “Are you of Forbidden blood?” Petaya whispered, eyes gssy and face flushed.

  The little girl straightened her shoulders. “In Azue, your home, they call us Practitioners even though I still don’t know why. Are you familiar?”

  “Impossible.” Petaya gasped, shaking her head.

  The little girl gestured to herself. “In the flesh.”

  Petaya shook her head. “The Gods told us Practitioners were imprisoned in the Abyss.”

  The little girl raised a thumb over her shoulder. “Are you referring to the Abyss I just crossed over from?”

  Petaya tried to lift her left foot once more but to no avail.

  The little girl giggled to herself before walking towards Petaya. When she reached Petaya, she suddenly grew four inches taller. As she towered over the shaking woman, her skin began to transform into a viscous thick substance. The little girl was no longer a girl but a Giant with shimmering green eyes.

  “What do you want from me?” Petaya whispered.

  “My mother believed she could create the perfect soldier.” The woman said instead. “A soldier who could easily detect lies and punish those who dare so in her kingdom.”

  Petaya closed her eyes, prompting the woman to snatch Petaya chin’s.

  “Open.”

  Petaya’s eyes shot open.

  “She called us Elises. Eaters of Lies.” Suddenly, transparent, green wings emerge from behind the Giant.

  “Mother gave us a slice of her green magic and made us in her image.”

  The woman dropped Petaya’s chin.

  “But when it didn’t work out, she threw her children in the Abyss and left us there to rot…called us abominations.”

  “You were eating people.” Petaya retorted.

  The woman shook her head. “We were saving people.”

  “Saving?” Petaya ughed. “Ripping out the tongues of innocents is not saving anyone.”

  “They were not innocent.” The woman hissed. “They were harming people with their lies.”

  Petaya rolled her eyes.

  “You weren’t even alive when I walked your precious nd. How dare you judge me?”

  “What do you want?” Petaya spat, suddenly feeling bold. “Is it my body you want? If so, go ahead and kill me. I know your kind likes that. ”

  “I don’t need to kill you to assume you.” The woman responded. “And, I don’t want to.”

  Petaya’s breath hitched.

  “It always amazed me how easily Sandarian Witches, Makarian Witches, Shifters, and Nireans were accepted. Yet, we are called monsters.” The woman continued. “But I’m going to change that and recim my mother’s throne.”

  Petaya cocked her head. “How? Ar has changed. The Gods are no longer here, only their Incarnates.”

  “I’ve been told.”

  “By who?”

  “Well, that’s a secret.” The woman whispered, eyes sparkling.

  Petaya shrugged her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter. Stefan rules the Meadows including Sonusa.”

  “And?”

  “He’s Immortal.”

  The woman folded her long arms across her chest. “So am I….and so are my brothers out there.”

  “Brrr—others?” Petaya stuttered.

  The woman extended a hand towards Petaya, who carefully took it. She didn’t know why…as if some force compelled her to.

  “I am Awea. I am as old as the nd you walk on, Petaya. I sat with the Gods. I know the Gods’ truths and lies.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  Awea bent over to pce her mouth against Petaya’s right ear. “Because Fate commands it, Princess of Azue.”

  Petaya snatched her hands away and stumbled backwards. “I am no Princess.”

  “Darling, you are an Heir.”