Beneath the stars and moon, the great tree at the heart of the forest shone more brilliantly than either.
All who witnessed it in person could not help but imagine, or even believe, that its sprawling branches held up the very dome of the sky.
And what was there to doubt? Its trunk was so tall, its canopy so vast. An endless stream of blue light surged from the earth, rising through its boughs and up to the tips of its branches. Finally, with a windless sway, the light would leave the Divine Wood, transforming into shattered fireflies that melted into the forest.
The brilliant, colorful light scattered across the sky, more numerous than the stars.
Within the domain it overshadowed, where its kin stood tall, the mana and the very rhythm of life in the Black Forest began and ended with it. It was the heart of this land, the mortal shell of a god, the Guardian that bestowed its Blessing upon all living things.
