Chapter 15: The Eldertree Forest
Every step was careful, for the roots rose and fell like the ridges of forgotten rivers, their edges softened with moss.
(I’ve created an Eldertree soundscape for you while you read this new chapter - Chaiga T Cheska)
The four boys pressed forward, stepping over the threshold where sunlight gave way to the bright cathedral world of the Eldertree Forest. Oren paused first, head tipped back, breath escaping in a soft whistle as he tried to take in the full height of the nearest tree. Its trunk, pale as milk-stone, was mottled with lichen and age, roots webbed across the forest floor like the knuckles of ancient hands. Above, the canopy soared, so impossibly high it threatened to swallow their voices, their very thoughts, leaving only wonder in its wake.
Tavik craned his neck until it hurt, a grin spreading across his face. “Could see the sea from up there if I climbed all the way up!”
Bran snorted, picking his way over the tangle of roots, but his eyes stayed skyward, wide as a child beneath the stars. “You’d turn into a bird halfway up. Or break your leg falling.”
“Worth it,” Tavik muttered.
