The cobblestone path wound down the hill, surrounded by forests. Treetops blossomed in every hue, and the pleasant aroma of spring saturated the air. The roads cracked as plants took up residence. I kept glancing behind me, expecting a chase as my heart pounded in time with the clopping of hooves.

Soon, trees turned to buildings. Homes and store fronts made with crumbling brick and rotting wood. Glass shattered and nature overtook what little remained. Everything was abandoned. My brows pinched in confusion. I slowed. Where was everyone? What happened here? As I peered into shattered windows and open doors, I noticed the statues everywhere. Men, women and children. In suspended animation and fear etched on every face. Was this a stage?

A chill swept through the air and I shivered. It was like a ghost town, except there were no ghosts, only statues. I recalled the woman who took me captive. Never had I seen anyone like her. Her cold silver eyes surrounded by inky sclera flashed across my mind and I clenched the reins. I needed someone who could explain the situation and assist me in returning to my world. Back to my sister. But then what of father? I didn't know how big this world was. He could be anywhere... and what was his role here?

I shook my head and continued on, passing dilapidated buildings and more creepy statues. Another gate appeared, and I noticed the buildings on the opposite side were just as, if not more, damaged. They were more homely, less elegant. A city divided by class, perhaps? I halted in front of what appeared to be a bookstore. Before I leave, I should search for a map. Getting lost was the last thing I needed.

"Hello?" I called as I stepped over fallen beams and broken glass. Like the library, books here were faded and cracked, some too fragile to touch. The store was completely empty save for the statues huddled in the back. A man and woman crouched in a corner, embracing their small crying children. The scene made my heart ache. These couldn't be real people, could they? I became frozen in an instant, suspended in ice for who knew how long. I suppose anything was possible here.

Pushing the chilling thought aside, I continued my search for a map and found one tucked away in a box. I was so very careful as I unrolled the fraying paper and blew off the dust. Just barely legible, but it would do. I quickly recognized the symbol for the castle and elegantly scrawled in the corner the name Spring. I was in a town called—my eyes widened. Freywood! The same name and spelling of my manor. What did this mean? What were the odds? My mind reeled. Was this a trick of the mind? Some kind of weird magic like I had witnessed before? 

I shook my head, trying to dispel the creeping sense of dread that gnawed at me. Coincidence, I thought, though deep down, I knew better. On the map, I saw that the nearest town, named Ishel, was marked with a temple and a giant tree. The tree was visible from the storefront. The dark clouds that swirled and swallowed the top of it made my stomach churn. Nope! checking the map again, the next closest town was a small unnamed town to the east. I folded the map, slid it into the saddlebag, and mounted my horse. 

The wind howled through the empty streets, carrying a coldness that made my skin prickle. As I spurred my horse into a gallop, something else drifted on the wind.

A whisper.

At first, it was barely audible, blending with the wind's icy howl. I strained my ears trying to catch the voice.

"Amelia..." I froze, my heart skipping a beat. I glanced around, but there was no one. Only silent statues passed us by. Once again, the insistent whisper tugged me towards an unseen path. Ahead, past the frozen figures and broken buildings, the trees at the edge of the town swayed as if reaching for the giant. Fear gripped me, and I wrenched my gaze from its barren branches. Tightening my hands around the reins, I fixed my sights forward on the path.

The last gate came into view. The arched brick and iron bars reminded me of the gate to the manor. Though this was much larger, wider, and complete with two bell towers on either side. There were no walls, though. The city sat on a rapid incline before leveling to a plateau where its castle sat. The cliffs acted as a natural wall. I glanced back. From here, only the gorgeous castle towers were visible. I wonder if those two were searching for me. There was no doubt that my escape would make the woman furious. Were they running through the castle now? Were they racing on the same streets? I couldn't dwell on the thought. Passing under the archway, the massive dead tree rose high into the sky. Thunder clapped above and a lump formed in my throat. There was nothing to block my view of it now.

The pull from earlier gripped me, wrapping around my heart like a snake, squeezing. Whispers howled in the wind, louder than before. More insistent. The urge to touch the trunk returned, threatening to overtake my mind. I had to go past the tree on my way to the town. There were no other roads marked on the map. I had a sense that the more I approached, the more intense this sensation would become.

Everything changed. From sunlit green grass, rolling hills and warm sunlight to cold howling wind, thick fog, and dark dilapidated ruins. I had entered Ishel, as marked on the map. The tree, larger than anything I had ever seen, taller than even Mount Everest, stood at the center. Its bark rotted and decayed, a sickly dark gray. My stomach knotted and my knuckles turned white as I gazed up at its imposing trunk. My mare whinnied, pulling against the reins, clearly as disturbed as I.

There was no avoiding it. As soon as I neared the twisted, jagged iron entrance, my hands moved on their own. Guiding the reins as if by instinct. Like the town before, statues scattered the road and throughout crumbling buildings. But these were different. These statues were posed for war. Swords clashed in a frozen battle. Men and women armored and guided screaming citizens to safety. The fear and chaos etched in painstaking silence. A battle, immortalized in stone, as if time itself had stopped. I couldn't help but wonder: who were they fighting? And why?

A large, crumbling structure sat at the end of the road. From the scorch marks on the stone, the various people carrying empty buckets and the faint smell of damp ash, it was clear a fire had broken out. A broken stained glass window depicting what looked to be a cherry blossom tree and various streams of golden light. Tall, crumbling statues built into the sides of the temple reached toward the giant tree as if in worship. The barebones structure looked like a temple.

A peculiar thought crossed my mind. What if these statues were once alive? My heart pounded in my ears and the hairs on the back of my neck rose at the thought. The eerie stillness of the place, the way the figures stood frozen in positions of panic and pain, felt too lifelike to be mere art. Something had gone terribly wrong here. How would I find help if the next town was in the same state? I knew nothing of this world except that some form of magic existed and that some people here weren't exactly friendly.

"Amelia..." The whispering of my name still lingered in the air, soft but persistent. Calling to me like an old friend. A shiver ran down my spine and I slid off my horse, who shifted uneasily and dug her hoof into the damp dirt. The smell of decay, amplified by the growing chill in the air, sent gooseflesh down my arms and back.

"Amelia!..." My feet shuffled forward mere steps away from the trunk. Each step closer made the air feel thicker, like wading through deep water. My fingers twitched, desperate to feel the bark beneath them. A magnetic force, drawing me in. Something—or someone—wanted me to touch that tree, and despite the logical voice in my head screaming at me to stop, to run away, I couldn't. 

My hand lifted on its own, fingers trembling as they stretched toward the rough bark. Multiple layered voices continuously repeated my name. Heart racing, I wanted to pull away, to fight the urge as I had in the castle. But it was too late—

The moment my hand met the bark, the world around me shattered.