The glow of the moon shows her enough light to see the path in front of her. She struggles with the weight of her pack loaded with the supplies she’ll need for her journey. Her thoughts go to her injured legs; the journey ahead will be difficult and will take everything inside her to keep going and retrieve the Life Seed.

At the top of the hill standing under the Ancient Oak, she looks out at her village for the last time before leaving. Courage rushes into her as she places a hand on the tree. A small guardian pokes its head out of one of the holes in the trunk and stares at her. She reaches out to pet its head, and to her surprise, it reaches its head out to her hand. Fur softer than she’s ever felt runs across the palm of her hand. It looks deep into her eyes as if trying to tell her something important, like a warning. She shakes off the thought and says goodbye to the little guardian.

Behind the tree is the path leading outside the village, travelers move along the path between towns, but never at night. Walking the path at night is like asking for trouble, but it’s the only way to leave the village without someone seeing her. Solvi debates when she should light her torch. If she lights it too soon, someone in the village might see it and come to stop her. But if she doesn't light it soon, the spirits will come out and find her. She needs the protection of the Ancient Oak. Giving in, she lights her torch and sprinkles a few of the dried leaves in the flames. Immediately a pressure releases, like a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Moving forward, massive trees surround her, she's walked this path before, but rarely. Everything is new through the light of the torch though. She can feel eyes on her, but there’s no one anywhere around. The spirits have found her again. Hiding in the shadows, they wait for the right time to move in.

A bright beam races across the sky and a crack of thunder echoes through the silent night, rain following close after. The downpour makes walking difficult as it fills the uneven path with puddles, some as wide as the path itself. Walking around them isn't always possible, moving into the trees can be dangerous. The shadows have a life of their own, and the light won't always be enough to stay safe.

A larger puddle is in front of Solvi and she decides to try to jump over it instead of walking around into the trees. As she jumps, her foot slips in the mud and she falls into the water. Her torch gets wet and the flames dwindle to almost nothing. The night creeps in closer and closer, and so do the spirits in the shadows. She blows on the flame, encouraging it to return to its warm protective glow. Now drenched, she stands up and grumbles to herself about the stupid rain. The rain isn't stopping and the puddles are only getting bigger now. Her legs ache from the weight of her pack and the hard landing. Her body is heavy with exhaustion, and she wants to stop and rest. She might not be able to handle another fall like that.

In the forest, leaves rustle and twigs snap. She turns her head to try and spot what made those noises but sees nothing. The sounds continue to creep closer, and another flash of light illuminates the culprit. A large shadowy mound moves in the trees, and a low growl comes from the darkness. Panic rises in her chest, she props her torch up in the ground, and pulls her bow off her back, readying an arrow.

“Come out, I dare you!” She shouts toward the creature.

It doesn’t move, and neither does she. They both stand their ground waiting from the other to move on. Solvi tries taking a step back, the creature takes a step forward. She pulls back on the bowstring, aiming right at the creature's head. One breath in, and a slow breath out, she lets go. The arrow flies true. Disappearing into the night, it's swallowed whole. The darkness swirls and then dissipates as if the creature is only a shadow and nothing more. A dull thunk confirms that she hit a tree instead of her target.

Grabbing her torch again, she runs as quickly and carefully as she can, moving farther down the path. Glancing down, she only avoids rocks; puddles no longer matter to her as she runs through them. Up ahead, the path splits in two directions and she has to decide which way to go. Loud thumps are closing in behind her, and she goes left down the smaller of the two paths.

“Finally, I was wondering when I would find a safe place.” Relief swells up as she sees a cave along the path.

A place to stop and rest, and get out of the rain. It’s small enough to light up with a small torch and scare away the spirits. Moving some vines aside, she ducks inside, safe from the downpour. She takes a deep breath, puts her pack down, and rests her head on it, staring up at the stalactites hanging from the ceiling above her. The flames from the torch make shadows dance around on uneven surfaces, slowly lulling her to sleep.