“Zak, it isn’t a question of strength.” Clarice said. “There are strange forces in the wilderness. When you enter it, you never return. The wilderness attracts you in with illusions, and then, before you realise it, it
ensnares you in a terrible darkness full of suffering. You know this – the Map Readers and we the Storytellers have been telling you since the day you were born.”

Zak shuddered. He knew the stories of the wilderness that were told to the children from the youngest age. But Clarice was a storyteller, and she could make the stories come to life. Clarice’s eyes glazed over as she started to tell the story, as she naturally entered a storyteller’s trance. Her voice changed. Zak suddenly felt as though someone else was speaking with her voice. He flinched away slightly.

She continued.