Alex follows Elowen through the forest.
Even though he’s been on plenty of hikes,
nature walks, and seen ethereal views, nothing
compares to this beauty. Walking into the forest,
the vines perform a duet, showcasing each of the
flowers lucky enough to be a part of it.
The trees, taller than he ever imagined,
had tiny lanterns, each with a slightly different
pattern. Each of the little lights was encased in
an intricate weaving of the leaves. The ground,
filled with bushes, each one different in one way or
another: some connected to the ground, protecting the crawlers that didn’t dare to surface; others
connected to the trees, nourishing the creatures
burrowed beneath them.
Still others weaved around the landscape,
overflowing the wilderness with vivid color: rare
fruits, magical flowers, and shimmering leaves,
each showcasing its natural beauty, each shimmering in ways Alex thought only a painter could do.

Day 001
This forest looks like a painting.

Alex looks out into the distance, journal
in hand. He walks down the ever-branching path,
trees taller than anything he’d seen back on earth.
A new entry forms, near the end.

Day 232
New tree type – Eon Elm
Eon Elm is a tree that grows pretty much
forever. It doesn’t rely on the soils nutrients
once it passes 300 years old. Once it is past
300 years, it is self sufficient, making its own
nutrients. Trees at full size wll dwarf mountains… It’s hard to capture the size of it

He knows that these trees are barely saplings, and he hopes one day he can come back to
see them at their full potential.
Alex arrives at the forest edge and meets
up with the Sylvarin he met when he found this
world, Elowen, leaning against an Eon Elm.
“Finally heading back huh?” Elowen halfsmiles, “I’m going to miss you”
“Yeah guess so… at least for now,” Alex
pauses and hands Elowen the journal. “Hey can
you hold this?” as he begins to fix his ponytail.
Elowen flips through the journal. Little
notes about Alex’s journey fill the pages. The
plants, the trees, the creatures, and most importantly, friends he made along the way. Elowen’s
expression hardens.
Alex finishes fixing his ponytail and reaches for his beloved journal. Elowen shakes his head.
“Elowen, I need it back.” Alex tries to grab it back,
Elowen steps back.
“I can’t.”
“Bullshit Elowen! Give it back! That’s my
notebook!” He lunges towards Elowen. Elowen
dodges, in shock at Alex’s behavior.. Over these
6 months, Alex has never been aggressive, rarely
raised his voice, and never swore at his friends.
“You don’t understand Alex!! You can’t
bring this back!”
“Yeah? Why not? You’ve seen this god
damn journal throughout and never had a problem? What’s the issue now huh?” Alex taunts. He
doesn’t want to fight Elowen, but his journal is his
sanctuary; a place where his ideas and findings are
found and kept. His own lost and found.
“I didn’t realize your journal had notes
about this world!” Elowen gestures around him.
“What’s so wrong? It’s not that big of a
deal!” Alex glares.
“You don’t understand Alex! This can’t go
back with you!”
Alex looks perplexed. He doesn’t see the
harm. He stops his efforts to get the journal back,
and sits down on the dock. Elowen follows suit,
sitting across from him.
“Look, I get that this journal is important.
But there’s a reason this world was hidden.”
“I mean I get that there are a few creatures
that are more powerful than whatever we could
pull off, but how bad could it be?”
“You were not the first of your kind to
think that Alex,” Elowen sighs, “but I cannot simply
tell you what happened. I might… just have to…”
Elowen snaps his fingers and suddenly
they are no longer in the forest. Instead, the pair is
on a cliffside.
“Where are we?” Alex asks softly
“The past” Elowen walks closer to the cliff and
points. “The reason why I can never let that journal go with
you.”
As Alex approaches the cliff, his face morphs into
horror. Piles of dismembered bodies are scattered among
the plains. It isn’t until he stands at the edge that he realizes
how human the bodies are.
“Are those…”
Elowen nods
“We cannot coexist. We might get along but that’s
only because my tribe is considered to be too passive.”
Alex can’t take his eyes off of the bodies. There
must be hundreds of thousands, maybe millions.
“The species you were fighting was just a Gravemaw. They are one of the weakest species here. And your
kind was going all out.”
Alex opens his journal,
This time near the beginning..

Day 004
New species – Gravemaw
The Gravemaw is a large, violent rocky creature
who will make sure that you won’t exist if you provoke
their kind. Will camouflage into the cliffside and wait
to strike. Have incredible memories and will remember what you have done. If you dont mess with them,
they won’t mess with you.

Alex closes his journal with a sigh.
“But this journal…. I wasn’t going to share it, I just
want to keep it. I don’t even live with anyone Elowen.” Elowen frowns at Alex defeated tone
“I know…I know.” Elowen places his hand on Alex’s
shoulder
“The only reason I got so pissed was because I don’t
want anyone getting hurt again. It wasn’t super damaging to
us, but the gravemaw did get more aggressive. And you guys
almost went extinct.”
“How did… this happen” Alex watches the scene in
front of him. Missiles flying into the gravemaws without a
scratch to show. Humans flying into the air by a simple flick
of the gravemaw’s finger.
We were going all out. And they look half asleep.
“To this day we aren’t exactly sure. All we know is
that humans randomly appeared one day, then the gravemaws took them out. And we made sure that the people
who knew the way perished with those answers.”
Elowen snaps his fingers, and the pair are back at
the edge of the forest. Alex sits on a stump, head in hands.
He’s at a loss of words. He doesn’t want that tragedy to
happen again, but he wasn’t going to share it with anyone.
He wouldn’t.
“I know you wouldnt do anything intentionally.
But someone could find that journal, and try to come here
again. And your world might not be as lucky.”
“I know. I know…” Alex clutches the journal. He
knows what he has to do, what’s right to do. But, he doesn’t
want to let go, terrified he’ll forget.
“You won’t forget this. I promise,” Elowen’s voice is
gentle.
“I’ll remember the big things but I won’t remember
the whole thing. I won’t remember the in-between. I might
not remember you.” Alex murmurs softly.
Alex ties the journal one last time. He hands Elowen the journal. Elowen puts the book in his satchel.
“Thank you,” Elowen whispers. He sits next to Alex
and wraps his arms around Alex. “You won’t be forgotten.”
Alex turns and walks into the forest and disappears
from sight. Elowen sits down on the ground, and opens the
journal.

Day 001
I don’t know where I am. Or how I got here. I was walking on that forest path..…