The forest greeted her with silence.

The trees towered, their presence mighty and yet somehow also ghostly, with no wind or animal to disturb them, their world was quiet. These immense sentinels were sleeping and perhaps they would never wake up.

Aludra had arrived at her homeworld.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice low and yet still load in the unnatural quiet, “I’m sorry it took so long to come back.”

Her first visit had been with Zirconia. They hadn’t done much. Just stood and talked, and Aludra had eyed the path that snaked away into the darkness, some part of her itching to follow. But she hadn’t returned. Instead she’d visited Dio’s homeworld and become distracted by all the many wonderful and terrible things the in the real world.

Now she was back and it might have been peaceful, if not for this itch at the back of her spine. This unsettling desire to follow the path.

So that was what she did.

It was a dirt path, long and winding. It snaked away through the trees, around the massive trunks and leading somewhere she wasn’t sure. Deeper, the thought rose unbidden. She was going deeper into the forest.

Aludra walked and followed the path and with each step it felt right because this from where her magic was from. This was her power and everything she was began right here. Did wolves lurk in these forests once? She thought maybe they did.

She wasn’t surprised, though perhaps she should have been, to find that she was not alone. An old woman was there, just ahead... or was it beside? It was hard to tell.

As long as we leave something behind, it won’t be a waste.

The words echoed with no obvious source.

They were full of sorrow.

"Hello?" She said and then realized it was pointless. The old woman was a ghost, a memory. She was indistinct and hazy beyond it you could see the purposeful stride and creased lines in a face that had known both great sadness and joy.

The path split into two and Aludra didn’t hesitate to follow the vision to the left. The old woman faded away.

But to have come to this…

And then she arrived where she was always meant to be.

In the middle of this ancient sleeping forest was a cottage.

A small building made of wood, as if it stepped right out of a fairy tale. It’s almost embarrassingly appropriate. Would Grandma be waiting inside or has the wolf already gotten to her? A quiver ran up Aludra’s spine and stared up into the branches above, seeking some hint of sky. Nothing but a ceiling of dark leaves.

The door creaked open at the slightest push and Aludra entered a space that somehow felt even quieter than the forest. It was a quaint cottage and might have been comfortable in another life. There was a fireplace, three chairs and a small table. A small kitchen in the corner. Two doors stand a jar that she presumed would lead to a bedroom and bathroom.

It’s was almost too dark too see and the shadows so dense it felt like a physical presence.

"Hello," she called and automatically cringed at how much she sounded like a dumb girl in a horror story.

Aludra stepped further inside and wondered what had happened here. She closed her and when she opened them again, the room was bright. A vision settled over the real world there she saw a blurry truth of a roaring fire and candles. When she sniffed, she could smell rosemary and roses. The old woman sat by the fire, poker in her hand and despite it all there was still so much sorrow.

Of course the destination is important but it’s the journey that truly matters. The path that you take to get there, the twists and turns, every fork and roadblocks. It’s the strength you show to reach the end that defines you. Never falter, don’t turn back and don’t stop walking. The path is there for you as long as you believe.

The words hit her like a solid blow and she sunk to her knees. The vision scattered away, leaving only the darkness and the old musty cottage.

"I don’t know if I’m strong enough," she cried and she let everything out, the fear, the pain. All of it came out in a torrent of tears that streaked down her tears. She thought of the failed team, of fire, of losing Persephone, of hope and terror, of her friends, of holding Teide’s hand, of kissing Dio, of the youma attack, of her parents fear and worry, of her desire to save them all and yet somehow deep inside, knowing that wasn’t going to be possible. As she knelt in what remained of her Homeworld, she shed the soft innocence of childhood.

Show them the way.

The voice wrapped around her, soft and comforting.

"I will," she promised.