(First writing of my new baddie,
Nekumbra. Just wanted to try out a short story featuring her.)
The Grotto of Sorrow was a place tucked away into the deepest parts of the forest. It was a place where many elder deer knew not to venture, for it was aptly named and well avoided.
It was a place where those who were foolish enough to venture in would not be seen again. Many have claimed to hear screams come from the trees there, and that alone was enough to send them running away. Countless times, the does warned their young not to go anywhere near it, and fortunately most of them obeyed and stayed away.
There were many times, though, where the fawns disobeyed, and went into the Grotto. Those were days of mourning, the loss of a young was always a deep pain to bear.
The elders had never considered exploring the Grotto as a team - the fear of death there was much too terrible for them. Therefore, many myths were spoken as to what was in the Grotto. Some believed that there was a pit that those who ventured in would fall into, plummeting eternally into the center of the land. Others thought that perhaps it was the home of
Iugulare, the terrible stoat that fought against the Talux of the Endless Forest. There was not an answer, and none of them wanted to find out the truth.
On a particularly warm day, a fawn wandered around the forest, looking for his mother, calling out to her. He was tired, and walking into a clearing, he sat and rested his legs. Looking around, he did not really know where he was. This place was completely new to him.
"Hello there, little one.", a voice said nearby. The fawn looked to see a lovely doe standing there, standing out of the sunlight.
