Haunted Wood Tried to tell ya I was crazy

another I let go! We can fade this in a couple more rounds if you like <3

A story then!! Maia smiled, then closed her eyes and thought for a bit. Something about magic, and maybe even a little darker than usual. Perhaps an old favorite hero of hers. And the villain… oh! The idea came to her, just a quick flash of inspiration, and she decided to run with it. It was always fun to see where the story ended when even she didn’t know!

There was a warrior queen who ruled in the lands far north, where the snow never melts and the rivers are always frozen. Her name was Amina Ice-Eyes. She was a dangerous enemy, but her pack had known peace for so long that she grew bored with it. “I shouldn’t complain,” she thought, “but it’s been so quiet!” She was happy for their peace but she needed to find a way to hone her skills and keep her strength. Finally she decided to ask her trusted second to keep her throne for her, and set off on a grand quest! Looking for the place where she’d been born, a land full of revered warriors who could help her to train. She hoped to convince some to return with her.

Maia paused. She was starting to get caught up in the story, and the opening was giving her more ideas even as she spoke! But she always tried to remember she had an audience, and keep an eye on their interest.

She traveled long and hard over the paths she remembered, running across ice and snow. Nothing in this place could challenge or stop her, but when she arrived, she was shocked!! It looked nothing like the home she remembered when she was small.

There were no warriors in sight! All she could see, as far as the horizon, was a tangle of icy brush. She was not even sure how to press forward. She lifted her voice to call, but suddenly, a voice hissed from the shadows nearby. “Don’t. She’ll hear you.”

”Who’s there?” Amina could not see who had spoken. She looked all around, but when the voice came again, it was on the ground at her feet.

”Bear-spirit, is it really you? We’d hoped you would return to help us, but could not escape to send word so far. Are you Amina?” She was amazed to find a small snake speaking to her, let alone one who knew her name! She didn’t recall any from when she had been here before.

”I am. Who are you and how do you know me? What do you mean, help?” She wondered if this was a trick, and her suspicion grew. Maybe this snake was a distraction sent to keep her from her home.

”I am your aunt, Selene.” At first she did not believe it, but no strange snake would know her aunt’s name. She had never spoken of her family before. Amina had never heard of any magic like this! And was more surprised when the snake continued. ”We are all like this. One day we woke up transformed, before we even had the chance to fight the one who did this. She is an enchantress. She put up these brambles and lives at the center of them, forcing us to serve her and keeping us from leaving! We cannot fight back like this; you have to help us!”

She had a few good bits sorted on the rest of the story, but decided to let him help her sort out the aspect she hadn’t pinned down.

Amina had fought spirits before, but she’d never fought a sorceress. So she needed to look for answers in how she might defeat the magic. What do you think she found? He could participate if he wanted to! She began to think of things too, something she could choose at random to bring the story to its finish.