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// Chapter 1 
// Story: Woodland Spirit of the Forest 
// by Corvo Storm 
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30 years had passed since I arrived in the forest and things have been quiet. I had constructed more totems around the forest and the wolf pack and their descendants became my closest friends. The ponies had left for a time but they came back with more of their kind. I was curious as to why they returned.

I sent out my crows and watched through their eyes. One of my crows landed in the camp and I was able to hear what was going on. At first all I heard was idle chatter but then I heard a pair of stallions talking about something related to the forest.

"You sure that's what they wanted to do?" one stallion asked.

"Yeah, somewhere in the forest they said. Said it was the perfect place to have a castle," the other said.

"What's the point of building a castle in a forest? How are they going to defend it? Are they expecting a very large building to be hidden by trees that's not a quarter of a towers height?"

"They said they already found a spot. It's a large flat area surrounded by a very deep gorge. Look all I care about is getting paid for this. We can worry about the specifics later."

"If you say so."

The stallions wandered off to a different part of the camp. My curiosity grew from their conversation. A castle here? In my forest? I clenched my claws. Not without my permission. I crossed my arms, surrounded myself in a black mist, and then I turned into a flock of crows that began flying to the forest's edge closest to the camp.

Once the crows arrived they flew into one spot of the ground, bursting into more black mist before I emerged from it. I looked at the camp for a few moments debating what I should do. Finally I stepped out of my forest and began to walk towards the camp. I'm not going to let them build that castle, destroy my forest, and get away with it.

Either the perimeter guard wasn't paying attention or had poor eyesight because by the time they finally did notice me I was almost at the camp. They clearly didn't know what to do and were scared stiff. I ignored them and proceeded to enter the camp.

Or rather tried to. The guards finally came to their senses at the last second moved in front of me with their weapons raised. I glanced at the metal that made their weapons. Steel if I'm not mistaken, not very effective against leshens. Maybe if they had weapons made of silver I would've taken them more seriously but back to where I left off.

I merely looked at them for a few seconds before I turned to black mist that went past them then reformed me behind them. They were back to being scared stiff. I left them there not caring if they tried to come after me or not.

As I walked through the camp looking for anyone who looked like they were in charge, the residents of the camp all looked at me in fear. Good, just meant they'd stay out of my way as I looked for their leader. For a few minutes I looked but couldn't find him or her. The camp was larger than I realized. Soon though, I reached the center of the camp and saw a group of ponies standing around a large table with what looked like plans for the castle on it.

As I got closer more guards appeared, blocking the way. They were braver I had to admit but they only got in my way. I plunged my hands into the ground and roots burst from the ground ensnaring everyone in front of me, leaving a clear path forward.

Finally I made to the center. The group looked towards me, all of them with fear except two. A black unicorn stallion with a dark blue mane and tail, and whose horn glowed a bright yellow as it held a sword in its aura in front of him in a defensive stance. The other was a pure white mare with a bright magenta mane and tail who stood by the stallion. They both had glares on their faces aimed at me.

For awhile we stared each other down, all was quiet. As the silence continued on, crows began gather around us. The two looked at the alarming amount of crows that were arriving until I let out a low howl. He prepared for me to attack but instead the crows began flying straight for his sword and attempted to grab and fly away with it. He tried to stop them but some of the birds began flying around him and the mare, breaking his concentration and allowing the flock of crows to fly away with his weapon.

I let out another low howl and the crows surrounding the two dispersed. They had looks of astonishment on their faces. I walked forward. They didn't back up but only watched me. I passed them and headed straight for the table. The ponies at it immediately backed away in fear.

I looked at the plans for a little bit before I gestured towards it, then pointed in the direction of the forest, and slowly shook my head. For a moment the two stood there trying to understand what I was trying to say. The stallion then spoke up. "You don't want us building the castle in the forest?"

Smart. He managed to figure out what I was trying to say quicker than anyone else could have, or maybe he got a lucky. Regardless, I nodded my head confirming his question. He glanced at the mare before he walked closer to me and spoke. "I'm sorry if we're intruding on your home but I can't simply tell everyone that we have to leave. We have supplies on the way so we can build the foundation to the castle."

I pointed at the ground. He looked at where I pointed with confusion before he understood. "We can't build here. It's not because the land isn't perfect. The spot we chose has something special there that the castle is going to protect in a sense."

I cocked my head to the side in confusion. Protect what? I've been all over the forest and didn't sense anything of great power anywhere in it. Maybe the spot is special to him? Maybe to the mare? No he said it was to protect something special. What could he mean by that? I don't even know where this spot is either.

He saw my confusion. "I can show you if don't believe me."

I nodded my head. I want to know what's so special that he can't have that castle build in the open plains. His horn glowed brightly before letting off a bright flash that transported me, him, and the mare. When it disappeared we were in a cave. Inside there was nothing except a bright glowing light coming from the deeper part of it. I knew it was a deeper part because it looked nothing like sunlight.

He beckoned for me to follow him and I did. He led me to the light and showed me something I never found during my exploration of the forest. It was a big crystal tree. I recognized it from somewhere but I draw a blank on the tree's name and where I remember it from.

For a few minutes I stared at. I could sense its immense power but it was somehow faint. Maybe its purposely hiding the power it contains. The stallion spoke making turn my attention back to him. "This is the tree of harmony. Me and my wife found it when we were exploring the forest a few years ago."

Ah, now that he mentions it I did see two ponies that looked like these two enter my forest a few years ago. I forgot about that. Should really start remembering all who enters my forest. It'd help.

He continued. "The tree contains a power capable of fighting any evil. If someone was able to find it and somehow corrupt it, it could be catastrophic. That's what we think anyway. That's probably impossible but we don't want to take that chance. That's why we want to build the castle above this place, to keep it safe."

A bit over the top but fine he's convinced me. If they want to protect this from evil then I'll let them, but without setting some ground rules first. While I'm sure the tree wouldn't have been found in the first place by someone with ill intent, I'll let them follow their illusions.

I pointed to the ceiling. He understood immediately and teleported us out of the cave and back at the camp. When arrived back at the camp, I immediately went to their planning table. The ponies around it backed away and some guards tried to block my way but I shoved past them. On the table was a map of the forest and the castle blueprints.

On the map the location they wanted to build at had been circled. I thought of how I could tell them not to tamper with the forest for a bit before I did my best to imitate my demands. For a few minutes I tried to get them to understand to no avail. The stallion tried giving me a quill and paper but I couldn't seem to write a single letter for some odd reason. I was about to give up but an idea struck me.

I glanced at my shoulder where a twig was growing and snapped it off. I then proceeded to snap off any other twigs on me that I could reach before going to the map and used the twigs to surround the circle on the map. Once done I pointed at the twigs before clenching my hand throwing to the side in an attempt to say the forest is off limits.

Thankfully the stallion understood. "Don't mess with the forest? Very well. We'll use any resources outside of the forest. However, any animal we will only be in self defense should they attack us." I nodded in understanding and gave them a slight bow. As I was about teleport back to the forest he stopped me. "I never gave you our names. I'm Midnight and this is my wife Solar Dawn." I nodded and teleported away.

When I returned to my den I thought back to their names. Why did I get the feeling that their more important than I realize?