(A beautiful picture of the Life Goddess)
The Forest of Life lay on the outskirts of the Divine Realm.
It was where the Life Goddess lived, and one of the few pristine regions in the Divine Realm that had not been overdeveloped.
The forest rose gently from its outer edges toward its center. Ancient trees towered into the sky, their trunks so thick that it would take more than a dozen people joining hands to encircle them. Their overlapping crowns sifted the daylight overhead into tiny patches of light.
A thin mist hung among the trees, mingling with the fresh scent of vegetation and damp earth. The layer of fallen leaves felt soft yet firm underfoot.
The deeper one ventured into the forest, the denser the trees and the thicker the mist became, until the view suddenly opened up at its center.
The Lake of Life nestled at the very heart of the forest. It was not large, but its water was so clear that it seemed to well straight up from underground.
A fine layer of pale blue-white pebbles covered the lake bed, gleaming softly in the refracted sunlight.
A wooden house stood over the lake. Its construction was simple, with unnamed vines covering its railings and eaves.
Tiny white flowers bloomed on the vines, their fallen petals drifting on the water and swaying gently with the ripples.
A short boardwalk extended from the house, ending at a swing made from ten-thousand-year-old vines and suspended from the branches of an ancient tree.
Time had worn the vines smooth and mellow. Shallow water lay beneath the swing seat, and whenever the wind blew, rings of fine ripples spread across its surface.
The Life Goddess sat on the swing, her blue-green gown falling down either side of the seat. Its hem