It had started with pain: sharp, agonizing, and crippling pain that pierced his forehead, surging through his brain before slamming painfully against the back of his skull. It felt as if he was going to die. And at that moment, Elijah wanted nothing else. Smacking his lips, his eyes shot as he gasped for air. Every movement he made, no matter how slight, sent a wave of agony roaring up his spine, blurring his vision and causing his throat to burn with a renewed sense of thirst. Dazed and confused, he stumbled to his feet, clumsily brushing off his overcoat before staggering forward. He wiped away the tears that streamed down his cheeks, stifling a cough as his gaze shifted skyward.
A tree.
It was a colossal, dead, white tree.
While impressed that a plant could grow to such heights, he found himself much more intrigued by what was on it. A lantern dangled off one of the many gnarled branches that jutted out from the tree, swaying gently in the breeze as it steadily pulsed an amethyst hue. And it was through this sight that ELijah found himself being overtaken with a sense of fear; inexplicable and foreboding terror that seemed to permeate his skin and seep into the very depths of his mortal soul.
This was short lived, however, when he noticed two figures moving in front of him.
"H-Hello?" He choked out, the pitch of his voice sounding more like a sob than a greeting.
Suddenly, a fire leaped up and roared throughout his belly, causing him to lurch forward and frantically clasp his hands around his knees. He hunched over in pain, groaning loudly as a stream of red bile came forth from his throat, splattering the ground and tainting the earth with its crimson hue.
"Oh God, what the fuck?" He mumbled, wiping his mouth as he struggled to regain his composure.
The forest was dim and damp, and the cool breeze danced lightly upon his skin and caressed his cheeks with kisses of ice.
He had to follow them.