Then the Wood screamed —not in rage, but in relief. The trees bent toward her like worshippers. The silver sap turned to light. And from the deep dark, something stepped out: not a monster, but a woman. Tall, bark-skinned, with eyes like embers. A dryad. The first one seen in a thousand years.
“I am going east,” she said.
For a moment, nothing happened.
“The Howling Wood,” Kellus said, “does not attack because women are uncovered. It attacks because the Tithe weakens the veil. Every naked woman forced to stand before a clothed man tears a tiny hole in reality. The Order knows this. They feed on the chaos. They need the monsters to justify the law.” That night, Elara made a choice. cmnf fantasy
“Good. Honest. Now, what do you feel when you are alone in your room, naked, with no one watching?” Then the Wood screamed —not in rage, but in relief
Elara’s hands trembled as she took it. The fabric felt like sin against her bare skin. She pulled it over her head. The sensation of covering—of hiding —was so foreign it made her dizzy. And from the deep dark, something stepped out:
“Now,” Kellus said, standing. He removed his own robe. Underneath, he wore nothing but a thin cotton breechcloth. His arms were thin, his chest scarred from old burns. “Now we are both half-clothed. Equal. Look at me.”