The forest was the birthplace of all forests. Magnificent trees towered hundreds of feet into the air, blotting out all but the thinnest threads of sunlight. Emerald moss carpeted the soft floor. Thick leafy vines curled around the trees, hanging from the twisted branches. Great arches vaulted upwards where the treeroots left the ground. This was no ordinary forest. A thousand years could pass and not touch this place. Magic buzzed through the air instead of insects. No bird sang and no animal called.
A knight trudged through this forbidding and ancient silence. He wore a battered, gray suit of armor that had seen better days. A great broadsword crossed his back. He was not old, but seemed so to himself. Weariness clung to him like a cloak. He did not appear to hurry, but looked over his shoulder blankly every few minutes, as if making sure that the past was not following.
"Does this forest never end?" The knight leaned against a tree. "Is it possible that these trees could be forcing me off my path, leading me in a circle?" A dim ray of orange light touched his shoulder. "Almost nightfall again. At least I have heard no wolves." He sighed. "Not yet."
The forest closed in as the pinpoints of sunlight disappeared. The knight discovered a tent of roots and settled in for the night. He was soon asleep, hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Hot breath on his face awoke him. He opened his eyes slightly, feigning half-sleep. A massive striped head loomed only inches from his face. Dagger-sharp teeth grinned at him. Monstrous cat eyes glowed amber in the morning light. The knight was unimpressed. If the beast had wanted him dead, it would have killed him in his sleep. But how to move without alarming it? Slowly, he reached a gloved hand up the furry nose. The cat did not move, but opened its maw, lolling the tongue out.
"I suggest you tell me who you are." A voice from behind the bulk of the tiger reached the knight. "Or my friend may not seem so friendly."
"I am only a wandering knight, fresh from the wars."
"We want no wars here."
"I bring none. I am done with that life."
"Are you on a pilgrimage?"
"Of sorts." The knight attempted to stand, but a nudge from the tiger prevented him. "Could you please tell your friend that I mean no harm and that I only want to stand and see you, since you seem to have me at a disadvantage."
"Of course." The voice said a word in a strange language and the tiger retreated. The knight stood and was greeted by the sight of a small figure in a tunic with a bow and quiver of arrows. The figure was thin and muscular, but the knight could not tell whether it was male or female.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"A hunter."
"What do you hunt? For I have seen or heard no living thing for many long days."
"The forest is full of animals. Perhaps you cannot see them." The hunter shrugged.
"Apparently not."
"I must take you to our queen now. All strangers to the forest must be announced."
"Who is your queen?"
The figure frowned. "You do not know where you are?"
"No. I only know that I sense great magic here."
"Of course." The hunter motioned for the knight to move ahead, down into a small valley. "You are in the home of the elves, the Realm of May."
***
The elfin city was formed by great root systems that seemed to weave into round houses. Scores of giant cats leaped from tree to tree, rumbling and calling in some strange language. Their colors flashed in the sunlight: black and white, silver and gold. In the center of the city was an immense building, if it could be called such, birthed from the trunks of forty red trees. The wood curved and swelled into a long hall that flowed into the ground. The hunters brought the knight through a wide arch with no door.
At the end of the hall, a dais was slightly raised from the forest floor. No throne or seats of any kind were anywhere to be seen. A majestic elf queen stood on the dais, singing to a small group. The knight could not understand the words, but the melody was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. The queen's voice was clear and crisp, but rich and full. The knight was dumbfounded and wondered if he could even talk to this musical vision. The hunter waited until the song was finished before bringing the visitor before the queen, who turned to greet them. The majestic elf was tall, taller than the other elves, but the knight was yet taller. As the hunter brought him onto the dais, the queen gazed up at him in wonder.
"Who are you? I have never seen your like before."
"I am but a knight traveling through your forest, your majesty."
"Should you not be serving your people? Is not that what knights are for?"
"I have finished that part of my life. My people are gone, dead or scattered across the land."
"I am sorry for that. What will you do now?"
"I know not, your majesty." The knight looked at his feet. "I know not."
The two paused in their exchange. The surrounding elves began muttering among themselves, discussing the peculiar appearance of the newcomer. The queen stared at the knight, seemingly fascinated. The knight glanced up and saw a look on her perfect face that he could not place. But whatever her expression signified, it filled him with a strange hope. That hope grew like a flower with her next words.
"Perhaps you could stay with us for a while and rest."
"I have fought in many wars, your majesty. I do not feel that I deserve to stay even one night in this beautiful place." The knight shook his head, feeling unworthy.
"Those battles are over."
"I have left the bodies of friends on those battlefields. I have betrayed and been betrayed."
"Stay here then, and forget those horrors. Find peace with us." The elf queen smiled a wide and glittering smile.
"Thank you." The knight bowed to the assembly, but his eyes were for the queen alone.
***
High on a platform on the queen's mighty tree, the knight peered over the treetops, scanning the valley. The queen sat nearby on a sort of chair formed from the branches. The trees were not empty, as the knight had previously perceived. They were now full of birds and squirrels and dozens of other animals that the knight had never seen before.
"This place is wonderful. I feel like I could stay here forever."
"You are welcome to. But I do not know if that is possible."
"But you are the queen of this realm. Can you not grant this?"
"No. Nothing can be promised. You see, we're not really sure what keeps any of us here."
"You don't control the magic?"
The elf queen laughed. "Control? Not at all. No one controls the magic."
"So the magic controls you?"
"Sometimes, I suppose. But really the magic is simply there, and sometimes I'm not even sure of that."
"What do you mean?"
"Magic is a little like love, intangible and hard to define. Sometimes I look around at the magic forest and think, is this magic? Why? By the same token, does love exist? Sometimes I wonder."
"Perhaps it merely escapes our definitions and rules."
"Perhaps. And perhaps it is a fantasy that keeps us from oblivion."
The knight shrugged. "Once, during my travels, I met a famous wizard. Once, he had used his magic for good, to heal people and defeat evil. But now he lived alone in a stone tower on top of a hill. He would not come down. So, one day I trudged up the stairs and found him sitting at a great stone table at the top of the tower. Books were piled around the room, heavy with dust. His staff leaned uselessly against the wall. I asked him what had happened, why he stayed here. And he answered. I will never forget his words. He told me that he had fallen in love with a wood nymph, with skin like solid thought. She was a spell within a spell, an enchanted living laugh. But he could not keep her. All his magic and he could not make her stay. He told me that he would never cast another spell. And with that he laid his head down on the table and fell into a deep sleep. I could not wake him. I believe he was waiting for love to return."
"A pretty story." The queen gazed at the knight, eyes shining. "But it is about loss, not love. The wizard lost something and was waiting for it to return. Was that something love? Does not the wood nymph have to feel the same way? Is it possible for two to feel as one?"
The knight was silent for a while. "Does love exist? I do not know. But you and I exist, and the moment we live in is ours to create. We can create love and our own definition of it. Our own particular magic."
"I get the feeling that we're no longer talking hypothetically, knight." The elf queen raised her eyebrows, giving him a small smile.
"I believe your feeling is correct, my queen." The corners of the knight's mouth twitched.
With that, the elf queen laughed, a musical May shower that washed the knight's thirsty ears.
***
While walking together one day on the edge of the city, the pair came upon a shining ivory tree, a tree that seemed the glow with an inner light. The branches of the tree curved and twirled an upward journey, worshipping the azure sky. The other trees seemed to bow in deference to this one. The knight had noticed this marvel before, and also noticed that the elves would not approach it. As they passed by, the queen looked at the ground and quickened her pace.
"What is that?" The knight stopped her and pointed to the twisted white miracle. "Why does everyone avoid that beautiful tree?"
"That is holy to my people. We call it the summer tree."
"Why?"
"Legend tells us that the tree was planted in the summer of the world, when things must be more beautiful and magical than they are now. But the same legend states that the summer of the world has not yet arrived, that we have not yet reached this idyllic time. Thus, the summer tree always lives just a little in the future."
"If the summer tree is holy, why does everyone avoid it? Even the tigers shun its branches."
"Why...no one can touch it. Holy things are meant to be respected."
"Avoiding the summer tree doesn't seem like respect to me." The knight shrugged. "It looks lonely. Why not show the tree how much you love it?"
The elf queen had obviously never considered such a thing. "But...I am afraid," she whispered softly, as if such an emotion was unheard of in the magic forest.
"Everyone fears the unknown. You simply cannot let that fear control you." The knight took his beloved's hand. "Come." He led her to the alabaster trunk. "Touch the future."
"But who knows what could happen?"
"No one." The knight let the queen touch the trunk. Nothing happened, except that the tree seemed to glow a little brighter. In a moment, the queen was climbing the tree, the knight following. Their hands grasped the branches surely, as they pulled themselves up and up. Finally, gasping for air, they rested on a bough near the top, grinning and laughing. The elf queen grabbed the knight's hand, and quickly kissed him on the cheek.
"I feel as though I've been searching for you all my life," the knight confessed.
"And someday, perhaps," she sighed, "I will be searching for you."
The knight was not sure how to answer this and simply linked his arm with hers, breathing in the piney forest air.
The queen turned her face to his. "No one has ever shown me so much," she said.
"And I thought no one could give me hope again."
They sat on the branch, arms entwined, and gazed at each other with a look of absolute love, but as if across a measureless chasm.
***
One day, after what might have been centuries, the knight noticed that parts of the forest were wilted, withered and dying. He thought little of this, until he noticed a sad look in the elf queen's eyes whenever they would pass a brown patch of woods.
"My queen, what is wrong? Why do the plants dry up?"
"Do not concern yourself, beloved. This is my burden."
"Please, tell me. Perhaps I can help. Perhaps there is hope."
"Perhaps there is no hope."
"Do not think such things."
"Well then, I may know the answer. Some here believe that a dragon has caused the damage. Some believe that he lives on the dark mountain at the center of the forest and that his foul magic has contaminated our realm."
"Some believe? Not all?"
"Others believe that this is a natural process, that nothing can stop the eventual destruction of our home, of all our hopes and dreams."
"Including ours?"
"Including ours."
The knight was silent. He fingered the handle of his broadsword. Finally, he sighed. "I have fought dragons before. I will rid us of this evil."
"If this dragon exists, beloved, it will be the largest, most powerful dragon that ever lived. No other could withstand the elfin magic that protects this land."
"I will prevail." The knight drew his sword slowly. "Love conquers all."
The elf queen gazed at him sadly with her ancient, emerald eyes. "I will show you the place."
The two walked out of the elfin city, through the magic forest, down dark paths that they had never trod before. Finally, the trees thinned out and a bare peak sloped up into the sunlight. No words were exchanged as the knight kissed his love. The elf queen held on to him for a brief moment, and then pointed at the distant summit.
As the knight walked up the mountainside, he glanced back once and saw tears on the elf queen's face. He smiled and waved, trying to appear confident in his victory. But if he had known why and for whom she cried, he would have surely been lost.
***
The cave was actually a deep bowl cut into the side of the peak. The dragon slumped in his nest, his tail lazing around the entrance of the cave like a scaly rampart. The dragon's body was red and huge, gorged with unknown prey. A monstrous head rested in a small nook in the back of the grotto. The knight peered in. That small nook was the size of several of the queen's tigers.
So, the dragon did exist, and it was indeed the largest he had ever seen. Should he attack the monster in its sleep? That would certainly not be the noble thing to do. He had never been so full of indecision before. Somehow, he knew that this battle was different. That more was at stake than just some foul beast's life.
Finally, he spoke, declaring in a loud voice. "Dragon, awake! Your doom has come upon you!"
The monster stirred, yawning a cloud of black soot. "Is that you, knight? I have been waiting for you."
The knight started, baffled. "How do you know me?"
"You have brought me here. I am the sum of your lies." The dragon hissed. "I am selfishness and greed. I am doubt and fear. I am everything you have left undone."
The knight shook his head. "I do not believe you."
"No? Perhaps you will believe me when I tell you that the city of dreams will disappear regardless of my fate, or yours."
"You shall not dissuade me from my holy task."
"A noble sentiment, knight. But noble sentiments cannot stop me."
"Sentiments are not my only weapon."
"Yes. I can see that love brought you here. How pathetic."
"Love will make short work of you."
"Love fades, knight, and I am immortal."
The knight sighed. "Perhaps. But enough of this. Let us finish."
The dragon opened his mouth as if to answer, but instead let forth a blast of volcanic fire. The knight stumbled back against a boulder, armor blackening with the heat. A scream escaped his lips as he felt his flesh cooking. The dragon laughed in response, shaking with unholy glee. The knight took this opportunity to scramble over to the curled tail and chop at the very end. A small piece the size of the knight's arm broke off, sending a spout of purple blood into the air. The dragon roared in pain.
"You shall suffer for that, knight."
"I have suffered before, dragon. Your threat is empty."
"You have never fought an enemy like me before."
"This is my last battle, dragon. Win or lose."
"You lose either way, knight." The dragon laughed. "Either way."
The dragon swung his massive head far into the air, bringing it down with jaws wide. The knight fell back, bracing his broadsword against the rock. Teeth scraped against his armor, peeling it away as if it were paper. The jaws clamped shut, and as they closed around the knight, he thrust his weapon with all his strength into the roof of the dragon's mouth. The point pierced through the dripping sinew, and the force of the dragon's charge embedded the steely length deep in his brain. Amethyst liquid drenched the knight, who struggled out of the convulsing mass, skin burning.
As he collapsed on the ground, the dragon twitched a few last times, steam escaping from his bulbous eyes. Long minutes passed as the knight waited for any sign of movement. Then he stood shakily and dragged himself to the corpse, trying to pull his sword from the wreck. But he realized that this was useless. He could see the sharp edges blackening and dissolving in the purple blood. And so the broadsword the knight had carried for countless years was left behind on the stony peak. His last battle had been fought.
The knight limped down the mountain, shedding the remains of his broken armor. The journey back seemed to take ages, since every footstep ached with dragon poison. Finally, the dark paths led him to the fantastic summer tree that he and his beloved had climbed. He leaned against the trunk, peering through the long shadows. Something was very wrong. He gasped, and knew that the dragon had spoken the truth.
The mystical city was gone. Only trees remained, the boundless and empty forest. The calls of the elves and the cries of the happy tigers had disappeared. The only sound that broke the silence was a sweet elfin voice, whispering through the leaves. Does love exist...
The knight sat down slowly on the mossy forest floor, taking off his last piece of armor. The ground was cold, the magic gone from the air. He looked through the ocean of trees towards some new destination, but knew that he would always come back to this place. He knew that he would search for the elf queen in every face he met and every tree he touched. And he felt deep in his bones that the music of her song would echo through all his life.
Eric D. Lehman is a professor at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He has published travel and adventure essays throughout the web, but occasionally dabbles in fantasy and science fiction. He is currently working on five books in completely different genres: travel, mystery, academic, fantasy, and memoir. He is perhaps a little too ambitious.
© Eric Lehman
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