Quiet rain fell through the forest. Drops tapped softly against faded leaves; some drifted down and became part of the russet-brown blanket slowly spreading across the cold, hardened ground. The trees rose like the grey pillars of an endless hall, fading into one another in the distance. Thick fog rolled over the fallen leaves, unhurried, as if time itself had slowed to a halt. It wound soundlessly around the roots of an ancient tree, cracked and gnarled, waiting for decay. Its balding branches offered scant shelter to a lone sparrow, while browning shrubs had taken root at its base. Time had hollowed the thick trunk, eating a dry, rotten cavity into its heart. Beneath the forest’s monotonous murmur, silence reigned. The undergrowth suddenly rustled. The sparrow shook the water from its feathers and vanished into the grey. From the rotted hollow stepped a man, a worn sack slung across his back, a sword resting sheathed at his side. Gripping his hood, he ducked his head, careful not to strike it against the tree’s heavy bark. His grey-brown clothes were stained with earth; his faded vest, shirt, and cloak were torn by branches and by years past, and his rough trousers were frayed and worn. He brushed muddy leaves from his cracked leather boots, straightened, threw back his hood, and surveyed his surroundings. Thoughtfully, he stroked his thick stubble. In one direction the forest looked exactly the same as in the other, and it lay in mute stillness. He ran his fingers through his tangled dark hair, scratched his head, and looked around once more. The rain continued to fall softly. Slipping the sack from one shoulder, he pulled it in front of him and ran his hands over its countless pockets and hidden seams, checking that each was fastened, tied, or knotted as it should be. Everything was in order. With a confirming pat, he swung it back onto his shoulders, adjusted the straps, and set off to the left. Dead leaves crackled loudly beneath his boots. In a few long strides he climbed a gentle slope, stepped over moss-covered stones, and disappeared among the trees, swallowed by the thinning mist. The forest settled back into silence.

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