A Kingdom of Wolves

Lila had always been a gentle soul, more at home amongst the wildflowers and babbling brooks of her quaint village than the raucous laughter of the taverns or the bustling market square.

Perhaps that was why her mother had always been so fiercely protective, warning her time and again of the dangers that lurked in the shadows of the enchanted forest, of the cursed beings that roamed the mist-shrouded mountains to the north.

"Never stray from the path," she would say, her weathered face grave as he tucked her into bed each night. "For if you do, the Beast King will snatch you up and spirit you away to his dark realm, never to be seen again."

Lila would always nod solemnly, promising to be careful, to heed her warnings. But surely the world couldn't be as terrifying as the stories made it out to be?

Oh, how naive she had been. How foolish and unprepared for the true horrors that awaited her in the wilds of Umbral.

It had started out innocently enough, a simple trip to gather herbs for her mother's healing poultices. Lila had ventured out hundreds of times before, always careful to keep to the well-worn trails and never stray too far into the dense foliage.