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A pillar of darkness appears atop the waterfall, heralding my arrival to the Foothills. But it is less than graceful as I leap from the boughs of shadow, clearly distraught and fighting to get ahold of myself. With feet back on solid, grassy ground, I danced to the side and look back with wide eyes as though something had been chasing me. Something had been, I knew I wasn't crazy, and though I doubted the entity could follow me through my shadows, I had to make certain.

Only when the all-consuming feeling of dread seemed to lift from me, lingering only in the far corners of my mind but nevertheless there, did I take a deep breath in a meek attempt to calm and recollect myself. If I didn't remain calm, then I had no reason to believe that anybody else would, either. Redirecting my gaze to the outstretched land before me and lifting my head up, I called out for them. "Foothills!!" I cried, not with the intent to take the form or power of a leader, but to simply gather the others and inform them of the possible danger that had come to Helovia once again. We'd already suffered before, just seasons ago -- I could only hope that all would take me seriously.

When they did come, if they did come, I flashed an uncomfortable smile to them. I had never been one to want to be the center of attention, and honestly felt incredibly awkward whenever there were too many eyes on me. But they needed to know, and now was no time to let my discomfort get in the way of that. "Thank you for answering," I spoke up then, my tone calm but still hinting to the fear pent up in the back of my conscious. My eyes fell upon the painted and spotted leaders then, if they had come, and I noticeably dropped my head to them for a brief moment in a sort of apology. I hoped I hadn't stepped on any toes with what I'd done.

Now, I cut to the chase. "I've just come home from the southwestern parts of Helovia, near the marsh," I began to explain, sweeping my gaze across that of the rest to gauge their reactions before going on. "I saw two others fleeing from there; they looked as though they had seen a ghost, or something. I... I've never seen anyone more terrified before. Perhaps it wasn't wise of me, but I went into the marsh to see what could have spooked them so. I didn't think it was anything, but, oh..." A brief shake of my head, and a shuttering sigh. In my mind's eye, the image of the shadows and the water shifting and moving towards me replayed. "I've never been so overcome with a feeling of pure malice. Something came at me from beneath the water, but I didn't stay long enough to find out what it was. Whether this was just me imagining things, or a sign that something's coming, I... I don't know. It isn't my place to say it, but maybe we should all work together to place more night watches for a while."

What else was I to say? Those who didn't know me probably thought of me as nothing more than a boy whose imagination was getting the best of him. But I knew what I had seen, knew what I had felt... and I shuttered again at the sheer memory of it all.

"talk talk talk"