To defy the future cast

The forest might have called to Deimos, but he didn’t call to it. Or perhaps, not in the way he would’ve hoped. The beast he called himself was no match for the powers that drifted silently through the branches and spread like the roots of the trees of this forest. The woodlands were not without their share of mysteries, @felka was right about that. The woodlands might not know who this Machiavelli fellow was or this Hades person, since they was from another world and another time entirely, not suited to this land, but they knew intruders when they felt them treading the forest floor. Even harmless ones like Felka were noticed and noted. Maybe that life that Felka sensed under these eaves had a life of its own, or maybe this was just an old land with quirks and ghosts just like any other. She was right about one thing however, namely that the trees and the woods were in large part and in many ways unknowable. And right now they were not feeling particularly charitable. A wind sprang up, this one not warm, but cold, and carrying the stench of rot with it. It picked up speed as it rushed towards the two figures. It also picked up leaves, until it surrounded them in a maelstrom of color. The force kept building until the trees themselves started to bend. Or maybe they were moving of their own volition, lashing out with long branches to batter at the people in their midst. It wasn’t hard enough to do serious damage, just enough to bruise, but it was clear they were being driven, herded, to the outer edge of the forest.