He was glad to have Devika by his side. There was a great comfort to having her with him, and he felt no ill will towards the fact that she is a wordless one. He wished he could know more about her, of course, like how she got here and what her old home was like…but perhaps he can ask her another day and they can figure out a way to share it. He contemplated how to share such information, and as he did so at times of deep thought while they walked, he would hum deeply without even realizing it. The sound at times was like that of a river deep in a cave, a low sound that carried with a natural boom.

When he came up to the forest where he met Devika, he had come around a mountain and along a lake on the west side. Since he was trying his best to map out the area in his head, he decided to go along more on the east side to better understand the area. The only thing though…he remembered seeing the east from the distance and there was something being off about it.

Well, he was right about that. As the horizon changed before them, he noticed the trees seemed dead ahead of them. Sure, this was a colder area, but the forest they just left was not dead trees. He slowed for a moment, looking to Devika, and then pointing back towards the forest ahead. He had only planned to stay along the edge on the way back down to the meadow, so carefully moved forward.

It was becoming more and more apparent that something was different there. Molten eyes observed the trees and the ground. He had never seen anything like it before. He slows a bit, and turns to Devika now. ”The land before us lies as if dead… Has your gaze ever fallen upon such a thing?”