The answer came not as a voice, but as a vibration that ran through the soles of her feet, up her spine , and settled in her chest. It was a deep, resonant hum that seemed to originate from the very air around her, from the gnarled roots beneath the damp earth, and from the ancient branches high above. the shadows, once merely a lack of light, now seemed to twist and writhe with a life of their own, coalescing into indistinct shapes at the periphery of her vision.
"You are late," the forest boomed, a thousand voices speaking as one, the sound deafening in the confined space of the path she now found herself on. Their was no door behind her, only a wall of solid, darkwood, as if she had stepped into a different realm entirely.
Elara stumbled back, her hand flying to her mouth, the glowing bracelet pulsing violently in response to the forest's emmense power. "Late for what?" she whispered, her voice trembling, barely audible against the forest's roar.
The air grew colder still, and the shapes in the shadows moved closer, their forms becoming clearer. They were not trees , nor animals, but something else entirely—sentinels of the Elder Wood, their eyes glowing with a faint, eerie light.
"The gathering," the forest replied, it's voice softening slightly, though the underlying power remained emmense."The time of choosing is upon us, and you are the key."