Chrysiridia's Den

cradle

You are... lost. Entirely, utterly lost. You aren't quite sure how you found yourself in this unfamiliar jungle, but each time you attempt to retrace your steps to leave, you end up travelling deeper into the forest that you are beginning to suspect might stretch to the ends of the earth. You are disoriented, tired, hungry, and ready to pass out in the comfort of your own den, far from this cursed place.

It feels as if you have been lost in this jungle for hours - days, even - but the hints of sunny sky you're able to catch between the dense foliage far above your head proves that time is a construct which is inapplicable here.

The sense that you do not belong, that you have strayed too far from home, is overwhelming in the loneliness of the woodland.

Singing birds of every shape and color imaginable dance around you as they court one another. Perhaps they help to ease the sense of dread beginning to bubble up deep within you, cheery in their rituals and oblivious to the looming threat you can feel rising your hackles instinctively. Beyond the near-deafening whistles and whoops, you can make out the familiar sound of crickets, the only noise you recognize in this land.

A stick snaps to your left, but when you whip your head around to find the source, all you see are large ferns blocking your view. You begin to push through them, desperate for any sign of life that might be able to lead you out of here, but nothing is there. There is not even a single pawprint to indicate anyone ever passed through, at least not any creature of notable size.

It feels wrong, like a higher power playing a twisted joke to appease a sadistic mind, to feel so uncomfortable and out of place while surrounded by more life than you have ever seen at once in your life. You want to go home. You have never wanted anything more in your life.

Perhaps you will trudge forward, determined to find your way out of this labyrinth of trees, and you will be met with welcoming paws by the members of the pride that resides here. If you choose to continue on your trek, Chrysiridia will be the first you encounter, the patient Monarch of Cradle. After introducing yourselves, you will be free to meet the other pride members if you so desire.

Or, perhaps you will turn around, determined to find your way home. The gods of this land, unforgiving as they are, will punish you for rejecting their home. You will walk until your paws can no longer carry you, and when you collapse days later from exhaustion, hunger, and dehydration, your half-lidded eyes will just barely catch glimpses of colorful fur and massive wings as you feel your body being dragged across the dirt. The residents of the pride you turned away from will drag and carry your dying body far from their home, so that you will never find your way back to the wretched jungle, and they will place a single root in your mouth before they leave. Hours later, once your saliva has partially digested the outer layer of the root, you will receive an energy boost - just enough for you to shakily rise to your paws and return home.

As the years pass, you may forget the jungle, but neither its residents nor its gods will ever forget you.