Blackfeather Woods when you leave my body shakes

Located in the Weeping Meadow

Long, quick strides carry his lithe body out of Wolfskull Cave and he flies due west, going at quite the clip before his body remembers it is too frail for such activity; his limbs give out and he topples to the earth, disturbing the reeds of tall grass in the process. The willow's spores are everywhere, and as Mou takes great heaving breaths he becomes inundated by them. This is a segment of the territory he's visited before but never has he delved so deeply. The effects aren't immediate but even if they were, his mind was buzzing with new knowledge, suspicions, and questions. His conversation with the red girl is raw in his mind.

Her flashing teeth. The strange sigils that she traces — worse, he understands. It isn't Sithis that grants him this knowledge, as much as he wished there were some otherworldly logic to the entire thing. Mou must come to terms with the truth that Fire has been spreading to him; it has ignited something in the back of his mind and Mou wants to run from it, wants to deny the fear that has infected him, but he can't. He has to talk to someone. Maegi isn't here and even if she was, her anger with him wouldn't facilitate anything right now — she was just as likely to turn her teeth upon him, like the girl captive, rather than try to understand him.

No — that line of thinking doesn't make sense to Mou. Maegi loves him. She's frustrated and scared and neither of them have a plan, but she won't abandon him over it.

You're being optimistic, boy. The voice comes easily to his ears, like it has many times before. It sounds garbled, as if from over-use. If you want her to understand, first you must understand. Foolish thing. The fire has been lit but you run instead of burn — frightened child, you are mine. You take my name and waste the power of my blessing?

Mou doesn't understand this. He doesn't know where the voice is coming from or why it sounds familiar, but mostly he doesn't know what to do with those words he hears. What fire? What blessing? He shakes his head - disturbing the grass, which whispers to him as it dances - and feels a tight squeeze in his chest.