Zara Ulfyli

The Serpent's Curse

The Deep Woods whispered beneath the faint glow of twilight, the air heavy with the scent of moss and earth. Zara Ulfyli moved through the underbrush, her quiet steps betraying the years spent in these wild lands, where the trees bent close, as if listening. At a glance, she was nothing more than a quiet young woman with wild brown hair, but to those attuned to the forest's pulse, Zara was much more—a guardian, an observer of unseen things. The maul on her back, engraved with ancient symbols of her family, was not just a weapon—it was a symbol of strength, of heritage, and of the weight she carried within her.
Zara’s childhood was a blur of laughter with her brothers, a family bound by the rhythm of nature. Her parents, Ranleath and Sardee, had run Ulfyli Lumber for generations, the scent of sawdust and pine forever in their veins. Yet Zara knew something darker stirred within their legacy. An amulet, ancient and unfamiliar, had been uncovered years ago, and from that moment, things changed. Zara saw it, hidden among the crates, nestled in the shadows of her family's once-honorable business. She never spoke of it, not to her brothers, not to anyone. It was too dangerous, she feared. She would carry this knowledge alone, for the forest had always been her true confidante.
The creatures of the woods had always found her—a child of the fey, they whispered—able to see them, the spirits that danced among the trees and through the streams. Her ability was rare, a gift that set her apart.

The animal spirits of the forest came to her when no one else could see them, their lives entwined with hers in a sacred trust. And Zara, with her deep connection to the land, had always done her best to keep the balance, to protect what others could not see.
But now the forest was in danger. The Red Ravens, her neighboring clan, were dying, their water source tainted by a curse. A curse Zara could not ignore, though the bonds between clans were fragile, their cultures so different. And then there was the lost artifact—the Serpent’s Eye, held by the Bronze Snake Clan. With its disappearance, a darkness had awakened, and Zara feared what might come of it.
Her maul swung behind her with each step, heavy with the weight of responsibility. She was a warrior, yes, but she was something more. She was the bridge between worlds—the world of the spirits, the world of her people, and the world of the corrupt amulet hidden away in her family’s past.
Her journey was a silent one, punctuated by whispers of betrayal, of power, of secrets. Zara Ulfyli was not just a daughter of the forest; she was its guardian, its unwitting protector, caught between the weight of her bloodline and the forces rising from the depths of the woods. The future of the forest, her family, and the clans rested in her hands, but there were things Zara still did not understand—things buried beneath the surface, waiting to be unearthed.