Maarn, the last of the enchanted forests, was slowly dying. A sadness had gripped the forest’s green heart, poisoning the trees that had stood since time began. Whispers of ancient spells could be heard dancing in the wind as the forest tried to summon the last of its magic to protect the creatures it sheltered. But, Maarn was too weak, its power drained from the struggle, could only succumb to exhaustion. A cold, grey fog had encircled the forest, which was now starting to collapse in on itself. Great trees crumpled and twisted in the crippling sadness. Maarn, a forest once so rich in life, was now a sea of ghosts and charcoal dust.

Nearby, a woodland spirit, by the name of Olrinkya, was foraging for the root of the rare stonewort flower. Her journey had taken her just beyond the boundaries of Maarn, where very few creatures dare venture. Olrinkya was a strange, almost repulsive looking spirit. She stood upright like a human, but she was short and squat with a bird-like face that bore many wrinkles. 

Through her synergy to the forest, Olrinkya had also slowly become sick and she was seeking the healing powers of the precious root. She had felt the forest’s pain for some time and she knew the end was near for her. However, Olrinkya, being a woodland spirit, possessed terrific magical powers derived from the most ancient of tomes, the Book of Falwaar. A magic that is so pure that it would remain long after she had passed on.

Olrinkya could see in the dark grey distance that her home was decaying before her very eyes. She did not have long before she too would suffer the same fate. Once the forest had disappeared, sadly, so would she. Olrinkya, in her wisdom, had an ulterior reason for venturing this far beyond the boundary of Maarn, she was searching. The magic she held was on a journey to its next keeper, who Olrinkya was to find. It was written in the ancient texts that the sacred magic of Falwaar could only be passed on to an animal form. An animal form Olrinkya had to find quickly before it was too late.

Her search for a fellow creature had brought her to the edge of the forbidden Gartua territory, a land ruled by the dangerous two- leggeds. Maarn was protected from the savage Gartua who would often hunt the creatures that strayed too far away from the forest’s protective magic and it seemed that the forest creatures, desperately fleeing from the devastation that had struck Maarn, had travelled into this dangerous land too. Olrinkya had to be careful so not to be spotted, she silently slipped and shape shifted around the small huts used by the Gartua. Her strength was weakening by the second and she only had moments to find what she came in search of and before her eyes there it was. A basket of rabbits.