Prologue The world was still young when the forests took their first breath. In those days, when light and shadow waged an eternal dance for balance, the first great forests arose-living entities whose roots delved deep into the earth and whose branches reached for the heavens. They were not silent observers but guardians, imbued with ancient magic to preserve life itself. Among them was Eryn L rion, the forest of the elves. Its trees whispered in a language few could comprehend, and its heart, the magical portal, connected the realm of humans with that of the elves. This portal was a gateway of hope but also carried the danger of being misused by dark forces. Over the centuries, many guardians were summoned by Eryn L rion-beings of strong will and pure heart. Yet the darkness did not remain idle. It sent its servants, orcs and shadow creatures, to disrupt the balance. Leading them was the treacherous sorcerer Maegnor, once an elf, now a servant of darkness. His eyes not only gazed upon the two worlds but also saw the potential to subjugate them. The forests sensed his return, and so they called for another guardian. But this time, it was neither a warrior from the elven realm nor a dwarf from the mountain depths-it was a human. A simple forester whose life was intertwined with the trees, though he did not realize it. "Leo Winter" was his name. His life was modest, his heart filled with curiosity. He knew nothing of the ancient magic slumbering in the roots of the forest or of the dangers lurking beyond the portal. Yet one night, when he saw a strange light deep within the forest, everything changed. The forest had called him. His fate no longer lay in the hands of the human world but in the magic that permeated the worlds of humans and elves. Whether he would triumph or fail, no one knew. But one thing was certain: within him lay the hope to halt the darkness once and for all-or to let the flame of the world be extinguished forever. "Tauron i-Gwathren en-Eldar"-the Forester of the Elven Forest. That is what he would later be called. But every legend begins with a single step. And his began in a place where the light faded, and the shadows whispered: deep in Eryn L rion.
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