As the blood and horror faded, Tania felt herself drifting somewhere surprisingly peaceful. There was warm water all around her and an island emerging from dark mist. She thought she might like to go there and, suddenly, she was standing on the bank. She checked to ensure her arms and legs were intact, surprised when she realized she was wearing a thin cotton dress that was common in the village she’d been born to in Shenai.

Carefully, she walked over the sandy beach and looked up to behold the most beautiful forest she’d ever seen. There were swirling, transient lights drifting through the trees in all the colors she knew… and some she had never imagined. From the center of the forest, she felt something drawing her toward its depths. She wanted to sprint into the trees, but she hesitated....

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