Chapter 43: The Rings of Silvara

  When Darek heard the first sound of the guards’ voices, he braced himself for the worst.

  The Silvarian bears rose onto their hind legs and also turned toward the group. Their massive bodies looked even more imposing once they stood upright. Their masters spoke, and their voices sounded calm, almost ceremonial.

  “Greetings, visitors Darek, Seraphis, Iris, and Pow-Pow. We welcome you to Silvara and wish you a pleasant stay.”

  As they spoke, the guards stepped aside in perfect synchrony and cleared the path into the city.

  Darek had expected many things, but not that.

  He turned toward Votaria. “Aria, what’s going on here? How do they know us? What is all this?”

  Not only Votaria, but Iris as well looked at him almost reproachfully.

  “The Oracle must have announced us.”

  She really is aware of everything. I thought she could only predict a few things. Impressive.

  “Well then,” Darek finally said.

  He and the rest of his group walked calmly toward the friendly-looking guards and passed directly through the enormous gate.

  Only Votaria and Ursula hesitated for a moment.

  The gate, already opening, revealed the first glimpses of the city, and even before it had swung fully open, Darek could see rooftops between the heavy wooden wings, tall conifer trees, and warm light spreading across the streets. His curiosity was stronger than any caution, so he could not help but move forward immediately.

  The group had almost completely passed the gate when Darek turned around once more and called out, “Aria, what are you waiting for? Are you coming?”

  Votaria still hesitated. Her gaze drifted toward Ursula as if seeking reassurance from him, and only after a breath that lasted slightly too long did she decide to try again.

  But the moment she took even a single step closer to the gate, something changed.

  The dream began to stir.

  Not abruptly, but like a body reacting to a wrong movement. A barely noticeable tremor ran through the surroundings, as if the world itself were holding its breath before resisting the action. It reminded him of the mutation of the grotto salamander, of that sense of overload, as if the structure of the dream had reached its limits. Even the edges of the world flickered unsteadily, as though they could no longer hold their shape.

  The guards turned and stepped directly into Votaria’s path, and in that moment it felt as though the dream itself had corrected her decision immediately, even before she could fully carry it out.

  Their faces were expressionless and empty, their movements precise, as though they followed no will of their own. Even the Silvarian bears growled, yet there was nothing alive in their rumbling, only the same rigid presence.

  “You see, Darek, this is exactly how it happened last time,” Votaria said with disappointment.

  Her gaze remained fixed on the guards, but there was a fatigue in her voice that ran deeper than mere frustration.

  “They would even let Ursula enter. As a citizen of Silvara, not just as a guest. Only me they seem to have a problem with. And without me, Ursula doesn’t want to go in either.”

  She sounded discouraged, almost resigned.

  Darek looked at the guards and said in a slightly sharper tone, “Just let her through. What’s your problem?”

  The guards did not react. They ignored him, just as they ignored everything connected to Votaria. Their eyes remained empty, their posture unchanged, as though she simply did not exist for them.

  “Darek, leave it,” Votaria finally murmured. “I’ll just wait here. Or I’ll go back to the dwelling cave.”

  Darek clenched his teeth.

  They really won’t let her in. Damn it. I thought this would be the easiest part of the plan. This won’t work. Not with the dream, and not with keeping a simple promise.

  Darek struggled internally. It was not in his nature to simply leave her standing outside, especially not after he himself had suggested coming here together. Even if she was not truly real and all of this might only be a dream, he still gave weight to his words.

  “Let it go, Darek,” Votaria said quietly. “It won’t work. I can tell. Just do me a favor and greet the Oracle for me, alright?”

  Darek still resisted accepting it so easily.

  Iris spoke inside his mind.

  Darek, the guards are no longer behaving normally. The dream is acting strangely, and it happened exactly when Aria became involved. She is one hundred percent the one to whom this dream belongs. No one else could influence it so strongly just by their presence. I suggest we gather information in the city and visit the Oracle. Then we’ll see what’s really behind all of this.

  Darek fell silent for a moment and quietly considered every possibility until he finally came to the conclusion that Iris was right.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Once more he looked at the guards, his expression tense and defiant, but eventually he turned his gaze away reluctantly.

  “Aria,” he said quietly, “I’m sorry. But I’ll do my best. You will meet the Oracle.”

  Votaria’s gaze drifted away from him. She still looked discouraged, as if she had long expected this outcome.

  “Don’t worry about it, Darek,” she murmured calmly. “Everything is happening the same way it always has.”

  Darek’s teeth ground even harder. Anger rose inside him, raw and unpleasant, yet at the same time he knew he could do nothing.

  What he wanted most was simply to promise her something, just to lift her spirits, to suppress that feeling of helplessness. But making an empty promise just to make the moment hurt less was not an option for him.

  Failing despite having honestly tried was one thing.

  But promising someone something you did not know whether you could keep was worse than lying to their face.

  He could not say a single word. Helplessness spread through him, heavy and suffocating, until he finally turned away and began walking into the city with Iris, Seraphis, and Pow-Pow.

  Votaria visibly straightened herself, as if shaking off her disappointment, and called after them, “Don’t forget to greet her for me, alright?”

  Ursula also straightened up and waved after the group.

  “See you later, Darek, Seraphis, Powi, and Big-Eyes.”

  “Don’t call me—” Iris began, but fell silent mid-sentence.

  The gate closed behind them, and for a moment Darek simply stood there.

  Before him the city opened like a living panorama.

  Straight ahead, a broad road led deep into the heart of Silvara. It was wider than all the other paths, hard-packed and smooth, as if countless footsteps over generations had followed the same route. This road was more than just a street.

  It was an axis.

  A lifeline.

  The Bear Path.

  It ran straight through the city, so that even from here one could sense how it continued toward the center. On both sides stood buildings that looked far older than anything Darek had seen before. Their walls were made of thick, interwoven trunks that had not been cut down but grown.

  The natural curves of the wood were still visible, the grain, the knots. It looked as if the forest itself had decided to become architecture here.

  The roofs were steep and high, many of them covered with thick moss that shimmered in a rich green. On some houses it even hung slightly over the edges, as if nature were slowly reclaiming what had been built.

  The age of these buildings was visible, not through decay, but through dignity.

  They had stood here for a very long time. You could feel it.

  Along the Bear Path there was lively activity. To the right and left of the broad road, a market had been set up that stretched across nearly the entire visible section.

  Stalls made from woven branches and curved wood lined the path, covered with cloths in earthy colors. Merchants offered goods that smelled of forest, resin, and fresh soil.

  Baskets full of berries, dried mushrooms, carved tools, finely crafted spearheads, and fabrics made from woven plant fibers lay displayed on massive wooden tables.

  Humans and Silvarian bears moved naturally between the stalls. Conversations filled the air, deep bear laughter mixing with lighter voices, and again and again one could hear the rhythmic knocking of wood on wood or the rustling of leaves in the wind that drifted through the open main street.

  Wow. I already suspected that the humans of Silvara lived together with the bears, but that there are so many of them here even inside the city and that they coexist so harmoniously far exceeds my expectations.

  Away from this lively center, smaller paths branched off from both sides of the Bear Path. These led into residential districts that looked noticeably newer.

  The houses there were also shaped from grown wood, but their surfaces were smoother and their roofs barely covered in moss, if at all. The lines looked more precise, almost modern, as if they had been built here with more control and less patience.

  To the right and left along the inner city wall stood more forest houses, firmly rooted in the ground. Their foundations seemed connected with the roots of the surrounding trees, so that it was impossible to say where the tree ended and the house began.

  Branches formed arches above doorways, thick trunks rose upward like supporting pillars, and window openings were embedded into the wood as if they had been intended there from the very beginning.

  Darek inhaled deeply.

  The city did not feel like a place separated from nature, but rather like a deliberate decision of the forest itself to welcome humans and bears.

  The Bear Path continued straight ahead, deep into the heart of this grown metropolis, and everything in Darek urged him to follow it.

  The gate was guarded from the inside as well. Two members of the Scout Order stood slightly to the side of the massive wooden doors and observed the stream of arrivals with alert but relaxed expressions. As Darek’s group passed them, they gave them a friendly nod accompanied by an open, almost warm smile.

  Darek stopped briefly and let his gaze wander straight down the broad Bear Path.

  Theoretically I should only need to walk straight ahead to reach the Tree Palace. But why can’t I even see it from here?

  Between the older, moss-covered houses there was no central structure towering above everything else. Instead the road seemed to disappear into a maze of market stalls, grown facades, and the constant movement of the inhabitants.

  The city seems to be divided into several areas. You can’t even properly see the Tree Castle from here.

  He turned to one of the guards.

  “Excuse me, what’s the fastest way to reach the Oracle?”

  The guard continued to look at him with the same friendly expression and laughed softly.

  “Wouldn’t we all like to go there? Our Oracle is truly worthy of reverence.”

  He placed his hands casually behind his back and continued speaking as if patiently explaining something obvious to a child.

  “As a guest, you probably don’t yet know all the structures of our city. Silvara is divided into several rings. There is the outer ring, the middle ring, and at the center the Tree Castle.”

  As he spoke, he indicated the direction with a short gesture.

  “The outer area is freely accessible to guests. The middle ring, however, may only be entered by adult citizens of Silvara. And the Tree Palace itself is not simply a place one visits. Either the Great Palace allows you entry, or access is denied.”

  Darek frowned and thought for a moment.

  “And how can I, as a guest, get close to the palace? Or how does one become a citizen of Silvara… or an adult citizen?”

  The guard nodded slowly, as if he had expected that question.

  “One can only become a citizen of Silvara as someone not born here by creating a mature house. That means letting a house grow with the help of the forest and caring for it until it fully matures. Usually that takes around seventy-five years and can be recognized by a roof completely covered in moss.”

  “If a guest comes here, plants a house, and cares for it over decades, it is likely that his children or grandchildren will be considered official citizens. But even then, you yourself are far from being an adult citizen.”

  “As a citizen of Silvara you may merely attempt to gain a Silvarian bear as a companion. But in the end the bear decides, not the city. For those of us born here in Silvara, a bear is practically placed in our cradle.”

  He smiled slightly.

  “But a true adult citizen, one who receives access to the middle ring, can only become one by passing the Trial of Courage.”

  The guard pointed down the Bear Path, which stretched like a straight line through the outer ring.

  “Follow the Bear Path until you reach the gate that separates the outer ring from the middle ring. There hangs a bell. If you ring it, you request a chance to attempt the trial.”

  The Trial of Courage?

  Darek felt a quiet impulse stir within him.

  Sounds exactly like the kind of path a typical main