Astrael's view shifted the moment he crossed the boundary.
The morning sun filtered through a canopy into narrow beams, painting shifting patterns of gold across the mossy ground. The air grew more cooler, tinged with the damp scent of earth.
Towering trees rose on all sides, thick trunks wrapped in creeping vines, their crowns vanishing into the green haze above. The faint rustle of unseen creatures sounded through the undergrowth, mingling with the occasional drip of water from leaves.
As he pressed on, the sounds of other travellers faded until they were little more than distant echoes. The well-trodden path forked ahead, one side leading deeper along the marked route, the other vanishing into a wilder, shadowed section of the forest. Without hesitation, Astrael stepped off the other shadowy path.
