The Birth of the Forest Horror
Long before Zlovoria became an empire feared across Podaria…
…it was a sanctuary.
A quiet forest realm where witches practiced ancient nature magic and faeries sang beneath moonlit trees. The forests were old—older than most empires—and the spirits of the land guarded them fiercely.
No armies marched there.
No kings ruled there.
Only magic lived there.
Until Rua Venus arrived.
The witches of Zlovoria believed she was a wounded traveler when they found her wandering near the forest’s edge. Pale. Silent. Cloaked in dark robes that smelled faintly of ash and lightning.
They welcomed her.
Fed her.
Allowed her to rest in their sacred groves.
They did not know who she truly was.
They did not know what she had done during the Cataclysmic War.
They did not know that the Banshee Sorceress had already begun to change after devouring the essence of Jormungandr.
For weeks, Rua observed quietly.
She watched the witches commune with spirits.
Watched faeries dance among glowing flowers.
Watched the forest beasts roam freely beneath ancient trees.
Her eyes studied everything.
Catalogued everything.
One night, the moon rose blood-red over the forest.
That was the night the first creature disappeared.
A faerie.
The witches assumed a predator had taken it.
But the next night another vanished.
Then a stag.
Then an elf.
Soon whispers spread through the forest.
Something was hunting.
But it was not a wolf.
And it was not a bear.
Deep beneath the forest floor, hidden inside a cavern carved by forgotten roots and ancient stone…
Rua Venus worked.
Green flames flickered across the walls.
Crystal vessels glowed with arcane fluid.
Ancient Valhallan machines hummed softly beside stone altars covered in runes.
The chamber smelled of alchemy.
And blood.
At the center of the room lay a massive stone slab.
Bound to it were three beings.
A faerie.
A forest stag.
And an Icenarian elf.
Their eyes were wide with terror.
Rua stepped toward them calmly, her three serpentine tails sliding across the stone floor behind her.
“You should feel honored,” she said softly.
“No one has ever attempted this before.”
The elf struggled against the restraints.
“You’re insane.”
Rua tilted her head slightly.
“Possibly.”
She placed one hand against the elf’s chest.
Green energy pulsed through the chamber.
“You see,” she continued calmly, “nature is inefficient.”
Her other hand rested on the stag.
“Too many separate forms.”
Then she touched the trembling faerie.
“Too many limitations.”
The runes around the altar ignited.
The chamber trembled.
“Tonight,” Rua whispered…
“…we improve the design.”
Lightning surged through the stone circle.
The bodies on the slab convulsed violently.
Bones twisted.
Muscles stretched.
Wings tore free from shoulders that had never borne them before.
The elf screamed.
The faerie shrieked.
The stag thrashed violently as its antlers began to grow far beyond their natural size.
The chamber filled with the sound of tearing flesh.
Rua watched with fascination.
“Magnificent…”
The magic intensified.
Energy surged through the cavern like a storm.
Then—
Silence.
Smoke drifted across the chamber.
The restraints snapped.
Something slowly rose from the stone slab.
It stood nearly nine feet tall.
Its body was a horrifying fusion of forms.
The muscular frame of the elf.
The massive antlers of the stag.
Translucent wings that glowed faintly like a faerie’s—but torn and enormous.
Its eyes burned with unnatural green light.
The creature inhaled slowly.
Then it roared.
The sound shook the cavern.
Rua smiled.
“The first.”
The creature turned toward her, confused and enraged.
For a moment it looked like it might attack.
Rua raised one finger.
A glowing rune appeared in the air.
The monster froze instantly.
Bound.
Obedient.
Its rage became stillness.
Rua walked slowly toward it, studying every detail.
“Yes…”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“Zlovoria will need many of you.”
Far above the cavern, the witches of the forest felt something change in the land.
The animals had gone silent.
The wind had stopped moving.
The forest spirits began to retreat deeper into the ancient woods.
Because somewhere beneath the roots of their sacred forest…
Nature itself had just been broken.
And the first Monster of Zlovoria had been born.