Magic has Consequences

9) White Woods

Ray had been wandering through the woods for hours by now. She looked at her map and came to the conclusion that she must have gotten lost.
It wasn't her first time wandering through the woods and it wasn't her first time getting lost either.

She was born a witch, but that certainly didn't mean that she could get along with nature's orders well.
However, as she was told, these woods weren't as natural as anyone would've expected.

They were, once.

Just about two centuries ago.

Legend says, long ago humans and angels lived along with each other in peace. But just as humans are -selfish and cruel- they killed every angel there was.

What they didn't think about were the consequences that would come with such monstrous action. Because even when every last one of these sacred creatures died, they still found a way to curse those selfish beings that dared to call themselves humans.

They had punished them with a white plague that wouldn't allow anyone to get in or out. A border that would keep those people from taking what did not belong to them.

One night the people of the country went to sleep and when they woke up in the morning, they were surrounded by white trees everywhere they could look.

Travelers, who wanted to go to the next village, didn't think anything of it and entered the woods.
Barely a few seconds in, one of the travelers got closer to one of the mysterious trees to investigate its change.

Its bark had changed from a deep brown to a faded gray - almost silver. Its leaves had turned from a bright green to a colourless white, almost as if the cold winter snow was planted onto it.

One of the travelers plucked a leaf from its branch only to find it had little spikes on the side facing away from the sun.
He wanted to present his latest finding to his friends, but once he'd turned around, one of the tree roots torn itself loose from the ground and impaled the man's upper half within a second.

The silver root had pushed its way through the man's back reaching all the way through to his chest erupting from it with a shrieking sound.

It then went on and reached for his neck and decapitated the man in an instant. His head dropped on the dirty ground with the body following soon after.

The root withdrew itself from the dead body and hovered over the remaining two men like an animal laying still before going after their pray.

They tried to run but realized in their last moments of life that they were no match against those inhuman creatures.
They were faster, stronger and seemingly had a consciousness that allowed them to trick their victims by always knowing their next move.

Shortly after, two armed guards - who were supposed to secure Lyssa's streets that day - were called from a few civilians living near the forest.

They explained that they had heard brutal screams coming from the woods but not far away from the small village. The two guards had found the travelers, or what was remaining of them, and immediately told their superiors.

They, on the other hand, went to the Lestons. A noble family with a long history who's sworn to protect the village. A quick decision was made and they forbid everyone to leave the village until further notice.

They sent a raven with a message to both the Vonnetts in Renia and the Ravans in Bricks who were the other two noble families taking care of the country.

None of them knew what to do with the sudden appearance of a white plague that had spread itself across the entire country. The only solution they had come up with, was to keep everyone in their village and forbid them to go any near the new forest for their own safety.