Elarien stood in the middle of the circle, the cool breeze brushing gently against her arms. The silver wolf had moved to the edge of the clearing, watching in silence. Around her, the guardians of the forest stood tall and still, like trees rooted in time. None of them spoke yet. They were waiting for something.
Then the moonlight woman raised her hand.
"The first test is not one of magic," she said, her voice calm and clear. "It is one of truth."
A soft hum filled the air. The stones around the fire pit began to glow, not with fire, but with light from beneath the earth. Elarien felt the ground shift under her feet, as if the forest were breathing.
"You must enter the Hollow Path," the woman continued. "There, the forest will show you what you carry inside. Your fears. Your memories. Your doubts."
Elarien felt her stomach twist.
"What if I fail?" she asked.
The antlered one spoke, his voice low and steady.
"To feel fear is not failure. But to run from it is."
The path opened beside the circle, a narrow tunnel of branches woven tightly together. It looked like a cave made of living trees, glowing softly with green light.
The silver wolf stepped beside her again.
I cannot go with you. This is a step you must take alone.
Elarien nodded slowly. Her fingers curled around the ring on her necklace. It pulsed gently, warm against her skin.
She walked forward.
The tunnel swallowed her in quiet. It wasn't dark, but it was different. The air felt thick and full of memory. With each step, the light around her shifted. Shapes moved in the corner of her vision. Voices whispered her name from far away.
Then, suddenly, she was standing in the kitchen of Nana's cottage.
The fire crackled in the hearth. The wooden table was set for two. But Nana wasn't there.
Elarien turned. She saw herself as a little girl, curled up on a chair, hugging her knees.
"No one wants a girl who can't speak right," the younger Elarien whispered. "No one wants someone who's always quiet."
Elarien stepped closer. Her heart ached.
"That's not true," she said softly.
Her younger self looked up, eyes wide and sad.
"You don't believe that anymore," she added. "You have a voice now. And it's strong."
The girl stood, then slowly disappeared into light.
The kitchen faded.
Now Elarien was standing in the forest again. Only it was different. Darker. Colder.
And in front of her stood a figure wrapped in shadow.
"You're not enough," the shadow hissed. "You'll never be like her. Never strong. Never brave."
Elarien's heart pounded. The voice sounded like her own, twisted and mean.
But she remembered the Memory Tree. The stone. The circle. Her mother's voice.
"I don't have to be like her," she said firmly. "I only have to be me."
The shadow lunged, but before it could reach her, it burst into ash and vanished.
The tunnel grew brighter.
The trees opened around her.
And Elarien stepped out into the moonlight once more.
The guardians were waiting.
The silver wolf gave a quiet nod.
You listened. You faced what hid in your heart.
The moonlight woman smiled.
"You have passed."
Elarien didn't speak. She didn't need to.
She just stood tall, heart steady, her voice quiet but alive inside her.