• tab A storm was brewing over the forest. Dark clouds scudded across the sky, driven by a strong wind. The odd lighting flash illuminated the swaying trees while thunder gently rumbled. A few drops of rain caressed the leaves. Beyond the edge of the storm, a teenage girl looked up at the sound of thunder. She turned to face the wind and grinned, her greenish-grey eyes sparkling. Her waist length dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail and streamed out behind her, snapping in the wind. She took a long, slow breath, loving the cool, fresh scent of rain on the breeze. Still facing the wind, she called to someone in the house behind her, “I’m going to my tree.” Her mother opened the shutters on a window and looked out, saying in a slightly worried voice, “All right, Keyn. But do be careful, dear.” Keyn looked back at her mother and smiled laughingly. “Don’t worry, my lovely mother, I will. Aren’t I always?” Her mother laughed, remembering times when Keyn had come home with scrapes, bruises, and once a broken bone. Keyn laughed too, then became serious again. “Really though. I’m careful with storms.” She waved and ran into the shifting, creaking forest.
    tab Keyn’s tree was a massive specimen near the edge of a cliff. It was much taller than most of the trees around it and provided an amazing view of the forest. It was a perfect tree for climbing. It had many strong branches that were close together. There were also a number of good places to sit comfortably. One of these places was near the top and wasn’t blocked by very many leaves. This was where Keyn loved to sit and watch the forest. She loved all kinds of weather, but her favorite time to watch the forest was during a thunderstorm. She didn’t often get the chance to watch storms, though. She was careful and made sure the lightning wasn’t too close to her tree. If the squall moved too near, or if the wind was getting too rough, she would quickly climb down.
    tab It was to this tree that Keyn was headed now. She ran swiftly through the dark wood. The trees were creaking and rustling in the wind. Keyn imagined that they were talking to each other in a strange language that no mere human could understand. The faint rumbles of thunder and dripping sounds of rain added to the semblance of conversation. As she reached the bottom of her tree, she looked out over the forest. The wind was picking up and the trees were swaying like the ocean in a gale. Keyn smiled into the teeth of the wind and began climbing. She deftly moved from branch to branch, having had much practice. She soon reached the spot near the top she was aiming for and settled in to watch the glorious storm break over the forest. From where she was sitting, Keyn could see most of Coill spread before her. Coill was the forest region of Dídean. Dídean was divided into six regions: Fásach, the desert region; Sliabh, the mountain region; the forest region of Coill; Páirc, the field or plains region; the coastal region Aigéan; and Idir, the land in-between all of the other regions. Keyn lived near the northern edge of Coill. Keyn gazed out across Coill, watching the storm rage. She reveled in the wild ferocity of the tempest as it blew across the sky. She admired nature very much, and found joy in the peaceful aspects of it, but she loved the excitement of storms and raging rivers and majestic waterfalls. As the thunder rolled, she threw back her head, spread out her arms, and laughed into the wind.
    tab Lightning leapt among the clouds, flitting down perilously close to the tops of the trees. The trees rippled and swayed, locked in a wild, frenzied dance with the lightning while the thunder and rain provided an accompaniment. Keyn felt like she was in the middle of a glorious celebration of power and the joy of being alive. Nature reveled in her might through the storm as the dance of the forest exulted in life. The roiling clouds seemed to Keyn to show images from all of creation that added to the impression of an elemental rejoicing in strength and existence. Keyn shivered in happiness at being able to witness this primeval rite.
    tab Later, when the storm had moved on, Keyn shook some rain out of her eyes and began climbing down. She strolled back towards her home on the edge of the village Tiriul, humming to herself. She was lost in remembering the wonderful sights she had just seen from her tree when a strange sound broke into her reverie. She stopped and looked around warily. The sound didn’t sound like an animal. Nor did it sound like a twig breaking or another such foresty sound. It had sounded harder, like rocks being scraped together. Keyn slowly turned in a complete circle, staring into the dark trees. She stopped, confused. There seemed to be a pile of boulders out in the trees, but she had never seen them there before. She had explored the nearby woods extensively and had never seen boulders anywhere. She started to head towards it, but a sudden chill ran down her spine. She was not a coward, but the dark and the strangeness of the boulders combined with her being alone was very inviting to fear. She turned back towards Tiriul and began to walk quickly away, no longer humming. She would get someone to look at it with her in the morning.
    tab She soon saw the lights of Tiriul ahead of her, though not soon enough for her liking. She reached her house and gratefully stepped inside. She stood just inside the doorway for a moment, letting the warmth and familiarity wash over her and chase away her fear. Her mother, Sylvi, was cooking supper over the fire. Her father, Rhys, was whittling in his favorite chair while her younger brother, Caiden, watched. Caiden was ten; Keyn was seventeen. Her father looked up when she came in. “Storm gone, Keyn?” he asked in his deep, gentle voice. “Yes, Papa, the storm moved on,” she answered as Caiden launched himself at her. She laughed as Caiden hugged her enthusiastically around the waist. He glared up at her accusingly. “You know you make me worried when you watch storms!” he told her. Keyn tousled his ash brown hair and said, “I’m always careful, Caid. Don’t worry, I’ll always come back to terrorize you!” She mock growled at him and started tickling him. Caid laughed and pushed her away. “Not fair, you’re bigger than me!” he complained, still laughing. Keyn grinned. “Not for long,” she told him. “You’ll get bigger than me pretty soon.”
    tab “That can’t happen soon enough to suit me,” Caid muttered. “You’d better watch out, Keyn,” her father said. “He’s getting some muscle from working with me.” Rhys was a carpenter. He did a lot of domestic work, such as building houses and furniture. He also loved to use the rich resources of Coill to do more intricate woodworking. Caid had recently begun helping his father build furniture.
    tab “What are you working on now?” Keyn asked. “We’re making a chair for the inn,” Caid replied enthusiastically. “One has a broken leg, so Aylr came and asked for a new one.” Keyn grinned at her brother’s enthusiasm over a chair. “So,” she said, “the inn will have a chair you helped make. I’m sure it will be the most admired chair in all of Tiriul.” Caid narrowed his eyes, suspicious of teasing, but was cut off by his mother before he could react.
    tab “How was work, Keyn?” Sylvi asked. “You went to watch the storm before I could ask.” Keyn groaned. “We still haven’t figured out why all the animals are acting strangely. They seem…terrified. The small animals barely come out of their dens for food and the big predators are acting like they’re the prey! Even Gylon has never seen anything like this and he’s the oldest.”
    tab Rhys frowned. “Sounds like it could be something that’s dangerous to people. If whatever it is scares predators, Tiriul should be prepared. We are quite close to the border, and all sorts of strange things exist outside of Dídean.”
    tab “Dari told the mayor yesterday. Mayor Rindun didn’t want to cause panic. He warned some of the people with fighting experience, so if anything happens at least some people will be ready,” Keyn replied.
    tab “Well, at least that’s something,” Rhys said.
    tab Sylvi sat a pot down on the table with a loud bang. “Come, let’s eat,” she commanded. “And I don’t want to hear any more talk about mysterious dangers.”
    tab “Yes, dear,” Rhys chuckled. As Keyn sat at the table, she was amazed yet again that her father had built the house and all the furniture in it as a wedding present for her mother. She looked up and caught her parents smiling into each other’s eyes. She smiled too; glad she had such a loving family, and then joined in the laughing conversation.