This is what happens when he decides to wander Umbra Forest. This is also what happens when he decides to wander after nightfall. Especially with only his wits, a half eaten banana, and a flashlight. He wonders to himself why he listened to that clairvoyant in the first place. In hind sight, this wasn't his best choice... or well... yeah. He doesn't ever make the best choices.

His last choice saw him running for his life from an angry, and hungry, kelpari. He happened to have wandered into a wooded lake, where it just so happened that the kelpari was trying to lure a bulbori in for... let's say dinner. He had also happened to scare said bulbori off, so the kelp was a tad bit upset about it. It decided that he would be dinner instead.

So yes, his decision to come to Umbra Forest, in the middle of the night, was a worst choice to make. Maybe... probably. It was said that part of the forest was cursed. That those who entered suffered an awful fate. Some said that zombies roamed the deeper parts, searching for the one who laid upon them the devastating curse they lived, but not really lived, with.

So why was he here? If it was such an dark and dreary, nightmarish place, then why come here. At night of all times? Well, the clairvoyant told him that fairies could be found here. That they danced and sang the nights away. If they could be found, and one proved their worth, then the fairies would give them a blessing. However, if one was unworthy, then they would endure the same as all the rest. No one knew what the unworthy were made to bear. But he was told that he would prevail, that he would have a blessing. One that would make all his worries and problems end.

Then finally, after wandering for what felt like forever, he came across the sounds of laughter and song. He had found the fairies. He stepped into the clearing with a smile upon his face. He stated his intentions and what had led him here. The fairies looked at each other, then at him. Their stares seemed to weigh his soul. Then eventually one came forward, a lovely girl with pale gold hair and starlight blue eyes. She tittered and smiled, but something seemed off. She placed her hand on his head and he suddenly felt a fever ensue. He looked weakly at the fairy, whose face now held a cruel grin. She and the other fairies laughed, then told him he got what he deserved. That he would hold the same plague as the rest and join the rest of the hoard. Through the trees came rustling, zombies moved into the clearing and carted him away. All he could think was how had this happened? It felt like his own personal apocalypse. His only hope now was to one day be free from what had been done to him.

Jack the Bulbori

Jack, a Bulbori, was running. As fast as he could. The zombies of Umbra Forest were after him! It wasn't his fault that he was a clairvoyant Bulbori. In fact, he didn't even want to be! He had been put under a curse when he was born. His family was gone too. But why and how, nobody knew. These zombies were only after him, so somebody must have planned this plague. Oh yeah, there was this plague going around that turned everyone into zombies by giving them a horrible fever, and he was lucky to even escape. So now, there were sylesti zombies chasing him! By now, it was nightfall. He stopped running and took a break. It seemed like an apocalypse was upon the world. When he sat down, he remembered something. No, he remembered someone! His friend Tasha, a Kelpari! She was a master of plague spreading. Not in a bad way, she was cursed like that, just like Jack was cursed to be a clairvoyant. But had she started this fever? No! She was his friend, right? And then he remembered something else. He had promised to visit her months ago! She must have been so worried! He might have been hallucinating at that moment, but he could've sworn he saw some fairies drop a banana next to him. He picked it up and was about to peel it when he saw a message. "Use this wisely." He recognized the writing! It was a message from Tasha! But what did it mean? "Raaar?" The zombies had caught up to him! It was a zombie Lighira. "Raaaaaaar!" A cub. "Stay away!" he shouted. But he looked in the zombie's eyes, and he didn't see anger, madness, or anything like that. What he saw in that little Lighira's eyes was pleading and sorrow. This zombie wasn't an evil creature. It was simply a small, frightened one. He picked up the cub. "It's alright, little guy. Here. Do you want some banana?" He offered it to the cub. It took one bite, and it started to change. The pale green hue was gone. The long claws. The tangled fur. In that little cub's place was Tasha, Jack's best friend. "T-Thank you." She stammered. But Jack wasn't listening. He threw his paws around her. "How did that happen?" He asked into her scales. "My spell backfired on me. I don't know what happened, but it turned me into that. Since I am now myself, I can go turn the spell around." She walked to a lake and dipped her hooves in and said a spell. The next thing he knew, Umbra Forest was busy with life again. Tasha galloped over to him. "I was practicing when that happened. I am so sorry." "That doesn't matter," Jack said, "we're together. That's what matters." Tasha was his family, and he was hers. As they watched the forest bustle with life, he had a vision of happiness and peace. Maybe being a clairvoyant wasn't that bad after all.

"All right, let's start again.", she said as she and her pets prepared to venture into the Umbra Forest. They had been at this for a while, every day for a month to be specific. It takes time to get the result you want though. Mythic armor wouldn't be as good if it as common as the others would it? "Exactly..", Cass thought to herself. "We may haven't got anything in about a month but this time, this time for sure!". Her team of bulbori looked at her uncertainly. Banana is the grumpy butt and he wriggled his yellow nose. He followed up with a snort to get his point across. No point in sitting around might as well get it over with. "Alright fine, let's go, team! Let's get that mythic armor!" With that, they rushed into the dungeon.

As usual, they fought off many different mycanoids and vorkids. With how many zombies there were you would think the apocalypse had already happened. They eventually made it to the first puzzle, the sealed door. "Alright let's see what we have here today.", Cass said as she looked at the door. She noticed there wasn't anything on the door. However, above the door was a switch. Cass chuckled, "You got this Banana?". He nodded his head and waggled his bunny butt. He jumped up high. Banana pushed the switch in with one of his paws and came straight back down, landing right back on his feet. With that out of the way, they headed to their first mini-boss. it didn't matter which one it was. They were basically nightfall bandits at this point to them.

Going further into the dungeon, they found some crates. "To open or not to open..", Cass wondered. The squad came up close behind her. They looked at the box curiously. Cass opened the box, unfortunately, there was no gold inside. Bubbles the bulbori was struck by some poisoned arrows. "Oh no, Bubbles!", Cass yelled. She scooped her up in her arms, "We need to get somewhere safe!". They ran down through the dungeon, time was ticking. Where are those healing fairies when you need them? Bubble's was growing paler and her forehead was warm, she already had a fever. "Forget it, we will have to do it here!", Cass said urgently. Banana dusted off a patch of ground with his paws. Cass set Bubbles shivering body down. She dug in her bag looking for a potion to heal her good friend. Cass pulled out a restore potion. She hastily gave it to Bubbles, it took effect quickly. Banana handed Bass, the third bulb of the team some bandages. Together, Cass and the other bulbs cleaned and patched up Bubbles. Within no time, she bounced back like nothing even happened. Everyone let out a sigh a relief. Bass and Banana snuggled Bubbles affectionately. "Thank goodness, I'm so glad we packed those restore potions!", said Cass relived. Banana however was not pleased. He stomped over and headbutted Cass right in the face. No more crates for them.

They continued their trek through the dungeon, ignoring any covered places to avoid ambushes. They battled some more enemies, keeping Bubbles in the back, to her disappointment. The team stumbled up upon a group of wild kelpari floating around. They were very pretty, their manes seemed to flow in the wind, which was non-existent. They crept past them, the kelps were just minded their own business so there was no point in picking a fight. Ah, seeing those kelparis filled the team with determination. Onward to the next puzzle!

"Nope! We are skipping this one. I hate this door..", Cass said. Before she could walk away, Bass grabbed her right hand. He looked up at her with his big round green eyes. He wanted to do the puzzle. Cass tried to break his gaze but, oh he is so cute. Cass groaned and said, "Fine! But no more than ten minutes will be spent on it!". Bass clapped his paws together, this was his favorite puzzle in the whole dungeon. Everyone gathered around the door to solve the puzzle.

Unfortunately, they were not successful and they left with long faces. That door is a curse, that should never be trifled with.

"Finally a puzzle that's not a puzzle! Come on everyone, to battle!" The bulboris sprung into action, even Bass was raring to go. The Dark Elves trio was a strong group and most people feared them, but not Cass and her team. The Sorcerer struck Banana with dark magic, he took it like a champ with his Thorncoat ability. Bubbles let out a Razor Wind dealing a good chunk of damage back to them. Bass put his light abilities to use, healing the entire team with Fairy Light. Everyone was in sync and the battle raged.

Finally, the Warlord fell. Banana was huffing, he had taken a lot of damage. Bass and Bubbles had a couple scratched but they were mostly untouched. Their leader was a fine tank. Cass gave everyone a potion. Cass chuckled and patted Banana's head. "You guys did good, real good.", said Cass. There is only one more big battle. With high spirits, they headed forward, to Vierna.

If you could smell a plague, it would smell like this. Bass shuddered and covered his nose. Bubbles started coughing and Banana looking like he was going to be sick. Cass focused her gaze on the middle of the room. There was Vierna, the clairvoyant herself. She wore a long dark cloak. It covered everything except her hands. Her skin was dark grey. It was wrinkled and looked like it was decaying. Vierna's face was hidden, not even her mouth could be seen Banana perked up his ears, he tapped Cass. Their eyes met, it was time. Everyone got in their places. Vierna slowly lifted her staff and pointed it toward them.

They were quickly surrounded by the undead, Vierna's minions. "Focus your attacks on Vierna only!", Cass ordered as the bulbs built up mana. Eventually, Bubbles struck the last blow, sending Vierna back into the hoard. With a thud, she landed against the wall. The zombies disappeared, turning into dust. In one moment everything went quiet. The dust in the room started to stir, it all gather into one place. The ground tremble and the dust storm howled. Cass started sneezing as the dust settled. The bulbori giggled until they heard breathing on the other side of the room. Quickly, they got to their feet. Vierna was back, and more ghostly than ever. Cass coughed a little, everyone was waiting for instruction. "Alright everyone, we've made it this far. Let's finish this!", Cass yelled.

Everyone was outside. They had won the battle. Banana looked pleased and Bass and Bubbles just smiled at him. Cass however, was not in the best of moods. She had a large frown on her face. Bubbled hoped up to her, giving her a nuzzle on her leg. Cass reached down to pick her up. She sighed, "I'm sorry, I was just...I really wanted that armor. You deserve, you all deserve it!" Cass said. Bass came over, Cass kneeled on the ground. He hugged her. She smiled and hugged him and Bubbles. She looked up, Banana was looking at all of them. Cass called him over. He came, bouncing as usual. They all held open their arms. Banana looked at them and then smiled cheekily. "Oh no, wait!" Cass said but too late. Banana already headbutted her onto the ground. Who needs better armor when you can just headbutt your way to victory.

A Bit Too High, or Why You Shouldn't Eat Random Glowing Mushrooms

Word Count: 993

Daylight illuminated the nearby leaves.

The yellow Bulbori curiously sniffed the faintly glowing green mushrooms.

They smelled delicious. Sure, they were growing in the middle of a graveyard, but no one was around, so it would be fine... right?

Taking a bite of the nearest fungus, Banana chewed, swallowed, and nodded. Delicious indeed.

She jumped at the sound of an enraged voice, turning to face several dark-skinned winged figures--fairies?!--in black robes.

Who dares consume our sacred food?!

A grey hand shot out, launching a curse at the startled bunny...

...and she knew no more.

__________________________________________________________________

"Hey! Wake up!"

Banana started, face-to-face with a concerned-looking Kelpari.

"Are you okay?" The pink merhorse fretted. "I tried splashing you with water. Your forehead was really hot."

"Ugh... where am I?" The Bulbori groaned, then clambered to her paws. "Thanks for the save."

"You're in Umbra Forest. But we need to get out of here--can you walk?"

"I think so?" Banana tested her strangely uncompliant feet.

"You can't, can you. Get on." Her savior knelt, allowing the Bulbori to scramble onto the Kelpari's back.

Once Banana was safely mounted, the Kelpari began to trot in circles. "Right, I think I can still run." She began to gallop north, all the while explaining.

"Anyways, my name's Claire, short for Clairvoyant, but if you call me that I will buck you to Ethernia. There's this plague that's been around since I was a little filly. How have you not heard of it?"

"I grew up..." her charge murmured sleepily, "...in the Lost Grove."

"Never heard of it." Claire strode on. "Either way, the plague warps its victims' minds, turning them into zombies... or worse."

Banana shuddered. "So, it's the zombie apocalypse."

"Basically." The Kelpari trotted to a stop in front of a tree, gently shouldering the Bulbori off her back. "You should be safe here. What's your name?"

"Banana."

"Is that a fruit or something?" Claire teased, then continued.

"I'm going to go get some food. Stay here."

"I'm coming with you." Her newfound friend struggled to her feet, then flopped back down with a sigh. "...Or maybe not."

"Look." The pink Sylesti crouched down so she was on eye level with Banana. "I promise to stay safe, okay? So you'd better too." Claire's blue eyes bored into the Bulbori.

"...alright." Banana watched as her friend got up, then galloped into the distance.

"Don't go anywhere!" The Kelpari called as a parting shot.

Where is she going? The Bulbori wondered. And will she come back?

__________________________________________________________________

Time passed.

It had been a while since Claire had left, and Banana was feeling rather drowsy.

Inside the back of her mind, something whispered that she probably shouldn't be so off her guard, especially in a place like Umbra Forest, home to hostiles, enemies, and now zombies.

She paid the little voice no mind. Banana felt a presence coming in on her gem, but she paid that no mind as well.

A sudden snap alerted her to an intruder, followed by a deep, rumbling growl. Immediately, Banana's heart spiked to a quick staccato, and her eyes flew open.

"Who are you?" She called. The yellow Sylesti cautiously got up, paws trembling. The clearing was empty.

However, two eyes, sickly green and filled with hate, opened like slits behind the elm tree opposite the Bulbori.

Banana gulped. Suddenly, she wished she was foraging for food with Claire, injuries or no.

"Food..." The source of the growl revealed itself. Another Bulbori, green fur peeling away in patches and matted with gore, shambled into the light. "Eat?" Its gems were... missing, as if they had been torn off.

Banana stifled bile, her instincts beginning to scream flight, as the zombified Sylesti stumbled closer. "Food... friend?"

...wait, what?

The alarm bells going in the alive Bulbori's head slowed down.

Orange, living eyes met those of milky, dead green. "Are you... okay?" Banana whispered.

Moaning was all she heard in response. "Help..." Rotten jaws heaved for breath, then clacked shut as the zombie's eyes rolled back in its head and its corpse slammed into the grassy floor.

Banana stared at the body for a moment, then shut her eyes and put her paws on her head. What had just happened? Did the zombie not attack her, because she was also a Bulbori?

Too many questions. Too little answers.

"I'm back--oh my Faerina, are you okay?!" She heard Claire's shrill voice, along with mushrooms and berries tumbling to the ground, forgotten while hoofsteps galloped to her side. "What's wrong? Did you kill that zombie?"

"I... I don't know... it didn't attack me, it asked for help..." Banana's ears folded to her head. "...then it just fell."

Claire stood there, speechless. "Do you think... it means they know what's going on? The mermare crashed to the ground on her belly. "That's scary... to know you've been corrupted, but can't do a thing about it..."

Her friend nodded, groaning. "Ow... my head hurts."

"Did you get bitten? Banana?" The Kelpari began to panic. "Banana?"

The Bulbori's world faded into black, along with Claire.

__________________________________________________________________

She woke up with a start, looking up at the sky. It was nightfall.

"Ow... was that a fever dream?" Banana sat up, looking around. She spotted the green mushroom she had tried, innocently sitting on the forest floor with one bite taken out of it. The Bulbori pointed a claw. "It's all your fault."

The mushroom did not respond. It was a mushroom, after all.

"I'm never going to try random fungi again... no matter how good they smell... no matter how delicious... argh, bad Banana!" She slapped herself.

"What was that dream about... zombie apocalypse, I think? Ugh... well, I'm hungry now."

The yellow Sylesti hopped to her feet, wandering into the distance, as the dream faded from her memory.
...

...

...

Meanwhile, a pair of sickly green eyes opened behind her, unnoticed. Watching.

Green smoke lifted from the orbs, revealing bright blue irises.

[/story]

So copypasting from Google Docs ate all the speech marks and and ellipses. I might have missed some.

Also, should I be worried about grammar?

.

The Spooky Dream

Caer was, by all outward appearances, a normal bulbori. He had a cute little snoot, a cute little tail, and some cute shiny gems that he was very proud of. But unlike most of the bulbs in his owner's stables, he'd been found in the Lost Grove, and had come home with her. He very much liked his new home - it was much warmer and cozier than the dark grove, and there were a lot less unsavory types around. But the trip through the portal had weakened him. He'd been a rather fierce bulbori before being tamed, and sometimes he missed being strong. Something happened to pets coming from the Grove that made them weak. Though, with training and experience, they could certainly learn to be strong again. Caer hoped one day, he'd be strong again too, but even for a creature of the Grove, he was a little strange.

Caer, despite having lost much of his strength, still possessed an odd ability: he was clairvoyant. Though such an ability might, at first, seem like a useful thing, it wasn't. For Caer only ever saw bad things happening, making his ability more like a curse than a gift. He'd been to see the elves of Saerielle and the fairies of Umbra Forest, but all they'd been able to tell him was that it was just a special type of magic he'd been born with - there was no cure. He'd just have to accept his ability, and make the best of it if he could. It was a lot easier than it sounded. Mainly because of one particular dream he kept having.

In the dream, he saw a terrible apocalypse, where both people and sylestis were falling victim to an incurable plague. They would be too exhausted to get out of bed, with a dangerously high fever that would miraculously disappear by nightfall. But once the fever had broken, it got much worse, for they would change, their skin becoming grey and their eyes red. They'd march blindly like zombies, biting and scratching at anyone who came near. And in the morning, the fever would return, and they're look normal again. Caer was convinced it had to be some sort of awful magic, but he had no clue where it could have originated. Sometimes, he saw a bright yellow kelpari, who looked just like an overripe banana, tending to the sick. Caer hoped that maybe this might be a key to a cure, or at least to some answers, but no yellow kelpari lived in his owner's stables.

He set out often to search across the land, hoping to find a kelpari that looked like a banana. His search was made harder by the fact that most people didn't take him seriously - who would? And that he was describing a bright yellow kelpari as a banana didn't help, either. But he couldn't give up. He didn't know when it would happen, but he was sure the dream would happen someday. So he kept searching. And lived his days filled with worry.

The Hutch of Dust and Ashes


The apocalypse is coming! The apocalypse is coming! the town crier yelled as he raucously rang his bell. Murmurs soon spread throughout the little town of Fellvore on the southern edge of Umbra Forest.

When nightfall came, inside one hutch a little bulbori snuggled closer to his Dad as he asked, "What is the aPoopolipse? Is it scary?"

Dad pinched the little one's cheek and gently pawed the little one's ears back as he chuckled, "The aPoopolipse huh. That would be one's downfall if one ate too many bananas"

"Then! I won't eat any bananas" the little bulbori said excitedly as he perked up onto his hind legs.

Dad strictly replied, "Not in this hutchhold. You must eat your fruits and vegetables."

The little bulbori pouted. His posture deflated and his ears drooped low.

"okay Dad..."

...

7 years later

...


"HOLD THE LEFT FLANK"

"Huff.huff..There's too many of them...I..."

"When are the reinforcements coming??!!?"

"Curses!!! I don't want to DIE!!"

The yelling could barely be heard over the roars and moans of the zombies crashing into the wooden baracade. Again..and again hammers struck down at these creatures that never seemed to end. ...how many hours had it been? How many times had I struck with this hammer? My arm had long since grown numb as gruesome matter flew left and right. The stench caused even the bravest of soldiers to wince but I could no longer smell.

I swung my hammer.
(Who could know what the next day would bring?)

"Help..someone...I...I can't hold on"

"Arrehghgh, my leg..my leg..oh gods"

I swung my hammer.
(Would my friends still be here for another day?)

"..save..me.."

I swung my hammer.
(Will I lose another comrade today?...)

The stamping of hooves sounded behind me

I swung my hammer
(Are we surrounded..is this the end?)

The stamping of hooves grew louder and cut through the buzzing of the battlefield that had almost suffocated my ears.

"The Kelpari brigade"

"They're here!"

"WE'RE SAVED!"

"Holy fairies. I thought I was going to die."

"Let's turn the tides!! Everyone together!!"

...

I survived another night.

Yet I was not in the mood to celebrate. The cheering and music grew distant as I carried my heavy body over to the long since abandon hutch. I lowered my back against the creaking floorboard causing a thick layer of dust to embrace me.

I looked around in the long since abandoned hutch and my eyes grew warm. How many years had it been since I fled this town of Fellvore that's now turned into a temporary fortress? I glanced over at the row of dust-laden jars of ashes and the warmth faded. My paw tightened on the dust-free jar next to me. How laughable is it that I couldn't save one person even now? Because of the zombie plague, not even a proper burial can be held.

My head grew hot as the fever I had been staving off took control of my body and drifted me off to sleep before my teardrop could reach the floor. But when it fell, the dust cleared.

That night I dreamt that I was clairvoyant. That I saved my father and he was next to me even now, gently stroking my full-grown ears back. That each friend I made was standing strong beside me.

It was a happy dream. And not the last.

I cannot give up here. I must protect those I can. I will fight another day.

An elderly Bulbori was seated in her home, her young grandchildren bouncing around causing a ruckus. "Calm down young ones, come over here. I'm going to tell you a story."

Immediately the young sylestis raced over and sat down in front of their grandma. The youngest bulbori stopped munching on his banana before asking;
"What story are you going to tell us tonight Nana?"
"Children, I'm going to tell you about the beginning of the apocalypse. The fall of the Sanctuary of Sarielle."

The Sanctuary of Sarielle in Umbra Forest used to be a bustling town, full of life and inhabited by the fairies. This little town was known for getting visitors regularly claiming they could defeat the evil Vierna who was still at large in the Dungeon of the Forsaken. Many had claimed they were able to defeat this evil but had fallen at her hands.

There was a Ny'vene who'd battled out in the arena all his life in Ethernia and decided he was up to the task. He had his two teammates in tow, a Vulnyx experienced with hexes and a Morkko with a flaming temper. The Ny'vene had taken some precautions before making his way to Sarielle. Hed visited a Kelpari in Astryl Vale, she was the local clairvoyant in the area. She'd given them a stern warning."Don't be naive, beware the curse that brings the plague at nightfall". He nodded and thanked the Kelpari for her time before heading to Sarielle.

Upon arrival the trio spoke with the Queen of the fairies who'd provided the directions to the dungeon of the forsaken. They fought their way through the treacherous dungeon to reach Vierna at the end. She sat high and mighty on her throne. "You think you pitiful sylestis can defeat me?" She exclaimed mightily. The Ny'vene looked at his teammates and said "Watch us! Lets go!"

The Ny'vene launched at Vierna, slashing her with the Morkko shooting fireballs throughout the room and the Vulnyx shouting curses. After several rounds of this Vierna was dying on the floor. She mumbled some words under her breath in a language the trio did not understand. Once she took her final breath the trio turned and emerged the dungeon victorious.

They made their way back to Sarielle to recover before they begin their journey back to Ethernia. Upon the way back to Sarielle the Morkko began to feel ill. The Vulynx being the most trained in medical studies checked his temperate noting he had a fever and they should get back quickly to rest up. They made it back to the outskirts of Sarielle and had set up camp.

The Ny'vene woke up to the Vulnyx screeching, his eyes darting over to the noise. The Morkko has bitten the Vulnyx and he was frothing at the mouth, not reacting to his teammates yells. The Ny'vene attacked the Morkko and he released the Vulnyx before fleeing. The Nyvene collected the Vulnyx and darted into the Sanctuary attempting to get urgent assistance. The fairies were doing their best but none of their healing magic was working. The Vulnyx started frothing at the mouth as well. Their usually level headed mage started attacking all the fairies and sylestis in sight, biting into them. The Ny'vene stared on in horror at his teammate, he couldn't believe what had become of them. It was like they'd both become mindless zombies.

The Ny'vene couldn't handle this, they'd defeated Vierna. Everything should've been ok! Suddenly reminded by the Kelparis words, he realised. Vierna had placed a hex in her moments of death on the Morkko. No-one recognised the language so they weren't able to pin point a cure. The Ny'vene fled Sarielle, leaving behind his zombified teammates. He fled further into a forest far from Sarielle. There encountering a young female bulbori.

She looked up to him eyes gleaming. "Mister, can you help protect our family? We're having trouble with feral bandits."

The Ny'vene looking back down at the young bulbori, agreed to help. Upon seeing the bandits he realised the curse had spread this far and agreed to protect them telling the bulboris what it actually was. The bulboris fled further underground and the Ny'vene remained on the surface protecting them.

The elderly bulbori glanced over at the young sylestis noting they had fallen asleep before looking over to the tunnel leading up to the top of their burrow. "I hope youre ok my old friend." Before heading off to sleep.

Later, it would forever be known as the Day of the Banana Apocalypse!
Overnight, Umbra Forest was suffering from a plague of Nightfall Zombies, lurching all over the land, moaning and drooling. The curse started with a fever, and an odd yellow sheen to the skin, followed immediately by an insatiable craving for bananas. In their unstoppable search for the fruits, the zombies rampaged all through the Umbra Forest, much to the dismay of the fairies living there. Not only were the gluttonous zombies ferocious and merciless, they also left banana peels everywhere. Anyone who still dared to go outside kept slipping in best slapstick fashion, and cleaning away the browning, slowly fermenting refuse was a Sisyphean task. It was pure chaos, mayhem, high potassium carnage.

Umbra's only chance was Clara, the clairvoyant kelpari and Bernard, her bulbori butler. When the fairies came to her, clamoring for help, for anything to stop this madness, she immediately went into a trance. In it, she had a vision, a vision of a swarm, and with it came the words, repeating over and over: "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana. Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana. Time flies..."
"Fruit flies!" Clara gasped as she came to.
"Fruit... flies?" Bernard blinked at her.
"Get the strongest spell casters. They need to summon a swarm of fruit flies to fight the zombies!"
No one questioned her, desperate as they were, but worked immediately on the strongest summoning spell the land had ever seen.
It was a truly grisly scene. As the swarm descended upon the zombies, their moaning screams could be heard even over the horrendous buzzing of clouds of flies, but not for very long.

"I can't believe that actually worked," Bernard said, surveying the scene after the summoning spell had dissipated.
"I believe - though this is mere conjecture - that the zombies were starting to resemble bananas enough for the flies to wish to consume them," a fairy scientist said, looking at the ghastly remnants throughout the streets of Saerielle, before carefully scooping up a small amount in a potion flask. "I shall have to conduct further research," they said, a sudden flash of light reflecting on their glasses.
Bernard hopped a step back.
"Great. I'm sure nothing bad can come of that! Good bye!"
He hopped back home, all the while wondering how to convince Clara to move to the Lost Grove. Or the desert to the south. Maybe far into the mountains? Any place but this.
Clara was waiting at the door, smiling at him.
"Anything with enough water will do. You can take care of that, dear, I trust you," she said, in lieu of a greeting.
Clairvoyance, Bernard thought, as he smiled back. What a magnificent gift.

Apocalypse
Banana
Bulbori
Clairvoyant
Curse
Fairies
Fever
Kelpari
Nightfall
Plague
Umbra Forest
Zombies


The Umbra Forest. A beautiful yet dangerous place. My home. There is a reason the Sanctuary of Saerielle exists. So fairies and elves, and creatures alike can live peacefully in a safe environment without the constant threat of the eventual apocalypse. Let the tale begin

Its Hallows Eve, just hours away from my favorite time of year! Mother and I were finishing up Halloween orders for the little cottage bakery we own. All the spooky looking cookies were all packaged and picked up. All except one. They had to be delivered to a small town on the other side of the forest, just outside of the Garden of the Magnates. And they had to be delivered before sundown.

Me, always up for an adventure, piped up and down excitedly. Ill take them, Mama!!! I can do it for you!!!

Mothers face turned pale, white with concern. You would never make it home before nightfall! Its too risky.

Ill be fine, Mama! I insisted, gathering my lantern and my basket. I promise Ill make it back okay.

Mother hesitated for a bit but after a second of tactful persuasion, she finally said I could go. I eagerly dashed to the door and swung it open before racing out to the forest.

The journey there was nothing special. A simple hop, skip, and a jump away. I got there just before sunset and delivered the sweets to their rightful owner. He thanked me dearly and payed me in the form of few gold coins and a banana for the road. The journey back home, however, is what gave me a real spook. I set back through the Garden of the Magnates, gazing around the spooky, yet beautiful grave yard. It was getting dark now and feeling a little lost and hungry, I found a giant stone by one of the graves to sit on to eat my banana and regather my thoughts. As I was rethinking my way back home, I had a horrible feeling welling up in my core. Being an adept clairvoyant, I could see something terrible was approaching the Sanctuary of Saerielle, however, what that was, I dont know. I jumped at the sound of rustling leaves behind me, fearing what ever terrible thing was approaching was coming for me. To my relief, it was just a fluffy little Bulbori hatchling. It was so adorable, yet I couldnt help but noticed it was limping. Concerned, I carefully and gently walked up to the poor Sylesti, noticing what looked like a bite mark on its leg. The Bulbori, scared and distressed, tried to escape, though I managed to calm it down enough take a good look at the bite. At first, it seemed to be a Kelpari bite, yet upon further examination, it was an elf bite.

Thats strange? I thought to myself as a scooped up the Bulb into my arms. The creature had calmed significantly at this point, upping my concern as it had now gotten warm with a fever Upon walking a few feet, I saw someone coming towards me in the distance. Perfect! Maybe its the Bulboris owner? Whoever it was, surely it could provide some help for the Bulbori and maybe help me on my way home as it was dark out now aside from a few lanterns lighting the path.

Excuse me? I called out to them. Do you think you could help me out?

A got a soft groan in response, sending chills up my spine. Gooseflesh broke out on my skin and I could feel the hair on my neck stand. That didnt sound right. I froze for a second before cautiously tip-toeing closer to the mysterious figure. They reached the light of one of the lanterns, giving me a clear view of their face. They were an elf like me, though they looked very sick as if they came down with the Plague. The skin was in terrible condition, covered in gangrene and stank of rotten flesh. Their clothing were all torn and battered, and dirty, looking quite similar to the burial garbs we would bury our dead then. The scariest part was their eyes. Those soulless, lifeless eyes that started hungrily at me. Creeped out, I dashed quickly in the other direction, clutching the Bulbori to my chest. A heard a huge growl in front of me, stopping me in my tracks. More of them. More ghastly looking elves heading in my direction, reaching out and trying to grab me. I screeched loudly and started to run. One of these things grabbed my leg and yanked me back, causing me to drop the Bulbori. I almost passed out as I realized the elves hand was ice cold. Guys, these elves were already dead. All of them. Panicked, I thrashed about, trying to grab anything within reaching distance. I picked up what felt like a stick and based the undead being over the head and it let me go. I snatched the Bulbori back up and ran. No idea where, I just ran, the elves chasing close behind me. Soon enough, the growling and moaning softened to nothing as I escaped to a clearing. I lost them, though I was hopelessly lost myself for sure. Being stranded with the unknown possibly following me, I crept silently around, looking for something or someone to help. I wandered aimlessly for awhile, until I finally saw lights in the distance. Home. I raced towards it, running faster than I ever had before.

Help!!! I cried, entering the town. Zombies are coming!!!! I must have sounded like a crazy person. Atlas, I heard nothing. No response. It was dead silent. I trembled terribly, squeezing the Bulbori close to my chest. It had become restless now too, likely sensing the tense energy around. I stepped shakily through the plaza, calling out for literally anybody to help nothing.

Is anyone there?

What I got back in return, was a long, guttural groan. It was too late. The town was under the apocalyptic curse. The zombies had taken over the down.

Here I am today, still fighting back against the undead with the help of my trust Bulbori I had nursed back to health. Protecting the Sanctuary of Saerielle with my life and hoping one day, I can rid the Umbra Forest of the zombies for good.