The next morning came and the sun had yet to peak out of the trees . The wind blew lightly, just barely caressing the trees . Scents of this forest were both sweet and musty, familiar and yet no longer home .

Kyera stood on the balcony looking out over the kingdom that she was about to compete to make her home . Her heart yearned for the snow and ice, far from the dangers of this wood . She could still feel the hidden power building in the forest .

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They were planning something . She could feel it deep in her soul just as she had felt the Ash Spirit's cries . This was going to come to a head and soon . Kyera turned around and looked at her husband and daughter who were both fast asleep on the bed, her spot open behind Raina . Would she be able to protect them when the time came? She had to . There wouldn't be anyone else who could .

This thought sent a dark s.h.i.+ver down Kyera's spine . Dangerous thoughts played through her mind . Almost without her notice, her body s.h.i.+fted like soft clay into her Tigress form . She looked back at her family one more time, before leaping off the balcony in an elegant arch . Kyera landed lightly and padded her way through the courtyard making eye contact with the guards, most of them were her own . Clovis had felt safer that way, because the s.h.i.+fter guard were unshakably loyal to The Forest Law, and Kyera was its keeper .

Her personal guard still stood outside her bedroom door, suspecting her to be asleep with Clovis and Raina . Her sent was strong enough in that room that they wouldn't suspect anything for a few hours as Kyera began to trot into the Palace gardens and toward the waterfall . She needed s.p.a.ce and air, a place to gather the things the forest begged to say . Her guard would protect her family while her heart searched the earth .

The familiar waterfall came into view and Kyera turned back to her human form . The shadows swirled readily to cloth her, but she did not bid them to do so . She dove into the water and let the coolness awaken her nerves . It was a sharp slap of sensation that made her mind slow and take in the world around her . The p.r.i.c.keling cold sent s.h.i.+vers down her spine, and made her pupils widen . Through a state of heightened sensitivity she looked at the world through open eyes .

Her energy field found the earth magic vein and seeped deep into the earth, seeking that connection . It was one she had not made in nearly a year and her soul was hungry for it . Her soul met that of the land and they danced together . In her mind's eye she could see the emerald home of the lander's spirit . It was as if one stepped into a tree . A irregular but rounded shaped room, large and filled with vines, gra.s.s, a river and all manner of flora and fauna that the spirit surrounded itself with . Seven doors lined the walls, most of them firmly locked, except the door Kyera entered through . Black wood with silver designs Dancing across the surface and the signature purple stone .

Kyera's focus turned to the spirit without much thought . The spirt was neither male nor female, it was elegant and beautiful with flowing hair and soft eyes, but a smooth angled body hidden beneath a robe . It was one color, emerald green like green fire Dancing in a human form . However, it should have been brighter… more lively and its eyes were deep and cold with mourning . The land was uneasy and weak, such a foreign sensation to Kyera . There was a tired beaten quality that was feeding from Kyera's energy rejuvenating the land . She willingly gave forth her energy as she searched for the source of weakness .

She found it then . The warm brown door with it's beautiful wood bark texture caught her eye . There were markings on the surface splintering out as though something crashed into this door with force . One crack was open, a blackened light trickled through and seemed to drag the energy from the room . It just needed to be sealed .

Kyera walked forward and reached out to touch it but the spirit blocked her hand . The slow shaking of the spirit's head warded Kyera off . She took a step back and frowned, tilting her head as if asking the question on her mind . The spirit raised its hand and touched the door, flinching as black fire drenched her hand . Kyera instantly used the shadows of her soul to smother the fire .