Reverse Chronicles

Tale of Araplene

     On top of the giant redwood, I realized that we still had a long way to go. From where we were, it seemed that we were still not to faraway from Aurebus. Knowing that we had to continue, we returned to the ground. As we landed, I noticed something moving from a distance. I tried to be quiet as possible, but Daniel jumped from the tree and scared it away. I saw it run away to the east. It looked like a doe that had green fur and was so quiet that I did not hear the sound of its footsteps as it ran away.

     Seeing that Daniel also noticed the creature, I ran in pursuit of it. Daniel followed me and the two of us were on its tail. It was too fast for us, but we noticed that it left tracks. Plants and vegetation grew on the spot where the creature landed its feet. The impossible happened, flowers and grasses grew under a place where only a very faint amount of sunshine can reach. We stopped our pursuit and opt to conserve our energy.

     “What was that thing?” I asked Daniel. “Plants grew on where it took a step. It is something beyond my comprehension.”

     “I don’t know what that thing was, but I have heard of legends that are associated with this forest,” Daniel answered looking up at the dense vegetation. He slowly walked following the trail left by the creature. “This forest was named Araplene because of a woman named Araplene,” Daniel started to narrate. I followed him listening attentively to his tale.

     “Legends say that Araplene was a woman of many graces. She was beautiful, kind, intelligent, and mysterious. She was an orphan that was left inside the forest. However, the forest spirits took pity on her and raised her as their own. She lived alone in this forest protecting the creatures that lived in it. One day, she found a wounded archer from Jyria. The man was attacked by a beast that he tried to hunt. Taking pity on the man, Araplene took him to her hut and healed him back to health. To repay Araplene for saving his life, the man helped her protect the forest. They would extinguish the wild fires on the northern parts of the forest and punish poachers who tried to disturb the peace. However, the man had to return to Jyria and so he left Araplene alone.”

     “What happened next?” We continued walking following the trail of flowers and grass.

     “Araplene felt that a part of her disappeared. She wept until she could no longer tear. She became depressed that she did not leave his home for days. Her isolation left the forest unattended and unprotected. Poachers began wreaking havoc to the south and forest fires began blazing to the north. The forest has lost its guardian and wept. The tries started dying and every single soul that inhabited it began to fade. Araplene took notice of this and forced to forget her sadness. She restored balance back to the forest extinguishing the northern forest fires and driving the poachers out.”

     “So, she recovered from her grief and was back to protecting the forest?” I asked as we continued walking.

     “Yes, Araplene recovered. However, the spirits of the forest was angered with her negligence. In their anger, they stripped her of all her graces. Araplene became hideous, her skin wrinkled and blistered, her sweet sounding voice became raspy and vile. She lost her magic and started to live her days tending to her basic necessities. One day, the archer from Jyria returned. When he saw Araplene, he was shocked. He thought that it was a witch stealing something from Araplene’s house.”

     “Araplene tried to tell the man that it was her, the woman who saved her, the woman who single-handedly protected the forest from all the harm until he came to his life, the woman who lost her graces because she was afflicted by grief. The man listened to Araplene and looked at her eyes intently. It was the same eyes that he saw in his savior, vibrant emerald eyes. The man then realized that it was Araplene. He wondered why her appearance and voice changed. Araplene told him everything, explaining her past.”

     “What did the man do?” I interrupted again with my questions. We were still following the path but there was something up ahead.

     “The man thought to help Araplene, so he proposed that she go to the city with him to seek help from mages and clerics. Araplene, however, stated that she cannot leave the forest and that it was a vow that she had taken. The man understood and so instead of taking Araplene to Jyria, he hired the help of mages and clerics and brought them to Araplene. They began performing rituals and cleansing spells to rid Araplene of something they thought to be a curse. However, the forest spirits were angered by this act. It was a defiance of their will. They turned Araplene into a creature that took on a lot of forms. The man was surprised with what happened. Angry of what the forest spirits did, he started to destroy parts of the forest, burning and cutting down trees. The forest spirits had to do something and so they sent Araplene to stop the man whom she grieved for.”

     “As the man ordered trees to be cut, Araplene appeared and stopped his men. Then, a battle ensued between them. Araplene assumed the form of a Cleatigris. The man shot Araplene with an arrow, but it did not scratch even Araplene. With her own claws, she killed those who harmed the forest, including the man she saved, the man she grieved, and the man she loved. Until now, they say that Araplene is in this forest protecting it. Helping those who are in need and punishing those who only seek to destroy the forest.”

     “That is such a tragic legend,” I remarked. When Daniel was finished telling the story, we stumbled upon a pond and from the other side of the pond, the deer that we were pursuing was drinking. I was in awe with its beauty. It had a green and brown fur like a tree. Its eyes were green and its hooves had flowers growing from them. It was drinking from the pond but its reflection was different. No vegetation covered the sunlight from the pond and so the waters shimmered and shined with brilliance.

     I turned to Daniel. He was in complete awe of the deer. He was trembling but his eyes shimmered as if he saw a treasure. When I turned to look back at the deer, it was completely gone. There was nothing there, except for a trail of grass and flowers that led somewhere.