The Blue Lake

Everything seemed bright and serene. It was a beautiful morning.
Nothing betrayed that, only last night, such a battle had raged at the forest’s edge.

Fawks led the way along a narrow path, walking with the same jolly spring in his step as always, his tail wrapped around his waist. Elias followed behind, taking in the quiet beauty of the woods.
“So… where are we going? What is it you wanted to show me?”

“You’ll see soon enough. It’s not far…”

“Alright,” Elias replied.

“…by late afternoon we’ll be there,” Fawks finally admitted the words he had been avoiding.

“What? I thought we’d be turning back toward the road to the Common Ground in just a couple of hours!”

“Why?” Fawks blinked at him.

“Well… first of all… I’m still not sure why I’m even here at all. If I had the chance, I’d rather meet this Warden. Maybe he could help me…” Elias’s voice dropped lower, almost as though he was talking to himself. Then, louder: “Besides! You heard what Red said–it’s more dangerous around here.”

Fawks turned, and walked backward a few steps, staring wide-eyed at Elias with an expression that looked like he was trying to decipher his reasoning. Then, closing his eyes, he grinned, raised two fingers in a V, and said,
“Everything will be fine!”

“Besides… I’d say it's probably worth the risk.”

Elias didn’t respond right away.“Probably?” he finally muttered.

They walked on in silence for quite some time. Exotic birds called from the branches around them–though none sounded threatening, at least not under such a sunny sky. Still, the air grew thicker the deeper they went, the forest crowding in closer, though enough beams of light pierced the canopy to keep the path well lit. They could tell that no cloud hung in the sky.

Eventually, after walking a long distance beside a steep slope, they emerged into a clearing. From there, they could see far off–down to the salty river to the left, which they hadn’t seen since yesterday, though their path had always run roughly parallel to it. The sun was nearing its zenith.

“We’re close! Just behind that hill straight ahead–see the one with the trees so dark they almost look blue from here?”

“Yes.”

“They are blue. That’s where we’re going. Into that blue forest, just past the hill.”

The distance was still considerable, but nothing in the horizon seemed troubling.
“Let’s keep moving,” Elias said, glancing back over his shoulder.
Behind them, the spinning tower was no longer visible. The forest truly was vast–and, so far at least, harmless.

The road ahead looked fairly even, and they covered it quickly.

As they climbed the hill and reached its crest, Elias noticed movement on the slope below.
“Roe deer?”

Fawks turned to look as well.

“No–True deer!” Elias corrected himself. “Wow!”

A large herd of snow-white deers was racing away at great speed in the direction from which they themselves had come. One led the way, likely the leader.
“Look how fast they’re running!” Elias said.

“Yes,” Fawks agreed.

“As if something scared them… back in that forest.”

They exchanged a look.
“We’ll head down toward the opposite edge once we enter the woods,” Fawks said, trying to reassure Elias–though Elias himself seemed oddly calm.

This second forest was denser, more tangled than the first. The needles of its pine-like trees were a strange, natural blue, and they grew so thick that they filtered the sun, casting a dim, otherworldly glow on the forest floor, and the air felt twice as stifling.

“Just a little further,” Fawks said as he struggled through the branches of a tree that hadn’t found space to grow.

And soon, after a steep descent, they arrived at a cliff’s edge overlooking a perfectly round lake, its waters an impossibly vivid blue.
“Here we are!” Fawks exclaimed, his eyes reflecting the lake’s glow.
“Wow… it’s beautiful,” Elias breathed.

They stood in silence for a while, gazing.

“How do we get down?” Elias asked.
“Let’s go around this way–” he began, but Fawks cut him off with a shout.

“Geronimoooo!”
He leapt – A loud splash echoed through the valley.

Elias leaned over the edge in alarm. The drop looked far too high. For two long moments, nothing moved–then Fawks burst from the water with a gasp.

“Why did you do that?!” Elias called down.

“Come on! The water’s perfect!”

“You didn’t bring me here just to swim, did you?”

“Of course not… that’s just the fun part!”

“Wait, I’ll find a way down–”

“Oh, come on–just jump! You saw me, I didn’t float away or anything. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“What do you mean? I’ve been in one endless adventure since I arrived here!”

“Come oooon!” Fawks pleaded, like the boy he so clearly was, reminding Elias of his own children.
“Come ooon!”

“Fine, fine…” Elias surrendered.
“One… one-two… one-two-threEEEAAHH!”
And after a few seconds, the cold water engulfed him with a shock.

He surfaced quickly, throwing his arms up. “WOOHOO!”

“Hahaha, see?”

“That was—I feel so alive! Hahaha!”

They swam around, laughing, enjoying the icy water that felt strangely refreshing.

“They say cold water’s good after exercise… it feels like I didn’t even walk today!” Elias said.

“Yes… it’s the water… but–”

“But what?”

“Come out. You’ll see.”

They climbed onto the shore. As they stood catching their breath, the water’s surface grew so still it turned into glass. Elias gasped.

“What is all this?!”

The lake was so clear now he could see the bottom as if looking through crystal. Countless gemstones shimmered there.