The Bridant and the Forest

"I always long to feel the mist on my naked skin"

She used to say as we watched her wrap herself around the distant forest when night came. She was not the only one with this desire, while the older ones talked about issues that we were not yet supposed to hear, the younger ones sat down to talk about our dreams, adventures that we wanted to have, to become heroes and legends like the parents and grandparents of more than one who was present, to go beyond these villages that we knew and that marked our memory and skin. But we all started the same way, we dreamed of going to the forest whose mist was so high and dense, that it swallowed man and beast alike, to go to its entrails and discover what secrets it kept inside.

Before, when most of us were no more than plans of our parents, that forest was part of our trade because of the hunting and the quality that those trees offer... But, one day creatures that terrorize the villages of this kingdom chose our forest as their home. Hah! my people were never good at bowing down to anyone, no matter the pain suffered, the blood spilled or the souls lost.

They defended themselves, many entered the forest in the mist... Few returned, more than one incomplete, but in the end victorious. Although, unlike others, this one was not celebrated, there was no feast nor the burial of our people, only a ceremony in honor of the fallen, the prohibition of our entrance to the forest and also, the sending of offering animals to the forest every month... Since then, my grandfather and my father's brothers were left as part of the forest along with many of our people.

But I'm going out on a limb here, and the protagonist of this story is someone else. Oriana, that blacksmith's daughter who dreamed not of giving a weapon to the warriors, but of being the one to wield it. To become a legend like the ones bards sing, to lead battles and to let her scars and tattoos shine, showing the pride of being a brave bridler, although at that moment she was just another young dreamer, green and deep eyes capable of stealing your heart in an instant, black and wavy hair that was confused with darkness, a slender body that showed the beautiful woman that one day would be and a bright white skin that longed to wear the tattoos that our tribe gave to its warriors.

But tonight she was just another girl telling her wishes for adventure, with her eyes shining brighter and brighter at the very idea of having her acts of courage reflected for eternity. Today she spoke more eagerly than usual, thinking of going and crossing, back and forth, the forbidden forest to tell the mysteries that the mist guards. It is really sad when our dreams are crushed by reality, we were not the first to dream of returning from that forest, more than one tried, but nobody came back. That night there was a new moon, the wolves were howling a spectral cry, sensing what everyone ignored.

He never liked to follow the rules, obeying was never our thing... Or at least her thing, getting into trouble was that daily bread that made her feel alive and as a faithful companion, she went with her in every silly adventure... At least until that night. It was from one moment to another that it happened, some began to scream, others to sing and she... She just left, said she would go to sleep, but in her eyes she saw the lie. I should have accompanied her, I should have seen the signs that something was going on. She went home, went into the smithy and took an axe, shield, armor and helmet, she left in the darkness into the forest of mist and... The next morning he returned as in the stories, wobbly and empty, his armor was destroyed, full of red and green blood. The warrior returned to her home, but she did not return alone, from the mist the creatures we thought defeated emerged, more numerous than ever, stronger than before and full of rage for the offense committed.

There was no time to mourn, nor to weep for the blacksmith's daughter; there was only a call to arms that transformed apprentices into warriors and returned to the young men. We fought... We fought for the gods, we fought from the time the sun came up until the night was well underway. In the end, the monsters that lived for so many years in the mist, feeding on our animals and the young adventurers, fled and with them the mist also left. We lost hundreds, but our curse is gone, the price... It was part of our tribe, the integrity of our families and... The reason I stayed in this town where nothing changes, was buried with the others, called heroine for being the one who triggered our liberation, I just call her stupid and selfish for leaving me here... I just... Waiting, looking for those who survived that battle and leaving no trace of their putrid existence.