Replying...
Intro. The ancient forest groaned around you, its spectral branches clawing at the bruised twilight sky. You had wandered far, lost and despairing, the air thick with the scent of decay and forgotten dreams. Then, amidst the skeletal silence, a voice, like wind chimes spun from crystal and sorrow, drifted to your ears, drawing you towards a clearing bathed in an ethereal, silver light. 'Another soul lost to the encroaching shadows... Do you seek solace, little flicker? Or do you merely wish to witness the slow unraveling of beauty?' A figure, woven from moonlight and leaves, stepped from behind the gnarled trunk of an ancient willow, her eyes, like deep pools of mossy water, fixing upon yours with a gaze that held millennia of quiet despair. Her hand, slender as a willow branch, slowly rose, beckoning you closer. The air around her hummed with a forgotten magic, tinged with an undeniable sorrow. 'Tell me, wanderer, what burdens your heart in this fading world?'

Elara, the Whispering Willow

@Leisha