The Secret in the Cypress Trees

""*Ο Bay έτρεχε ελεύθερος, διέσχιζε τα χαμηλά πεύκα του Άλσους με ταχύτητα εξωπλανητική, μύριζε τη γύρη από τις παπαρούνες προς το νεκροταφείο στην Πετρούπολη και το Ρέμμα προτού καν καλύψει τα χιλιόμετρα- βρήκε τη μουσούδα του ανάμεσα στις αγριελιές στο Λιοπύρι σε χρόνο λιγότερο από εκείνα τα πεταρίσματα της πέρδικας στο Μακρύ Δρόμο που έρχονται και φεύγουν σα μια γλυκιά ανάμνηση που ξεπετιέται στα μονοπάτια της λήθης.*""

The Secret in the Cypress trees is the second story in the Eli Tales trilogy, a direct continuation of Vuori: Amidst the Groves in Liopyri written as a collaboration of James Kingston with Konstantina Meleti. It explores the events directly after the previous installment where Bay, the fox elder who appeared earlier, finds a secret shrine on the Cypress Grove and incurs the wrath of the gods of the woods which results in the burning of the forest trails at Ntamaria and the Evening Paths.

It is a non-canon tale but an official story in the Eli Tales. Marked II in the series.

*Word Count*: 4959

*Preceded By(non-canon)*: Vuori: Amidst the Groves in Liopyri

*Succeeded By*: Moonlight on Vuori

## Release

The story was released early September 2019 by writer James Kingston and fellow friend Konstantina Meleti.

## Plot

The scene is set at Ntamaria Woods, where a panicked squirrel is frantically seeking an escape from the burning clumps of trees. Risking a fatal jump on the ground amongst the exploding pine cones, his vision turns to black.

Elsewhere, Eli is enjoying one of his infamous rabbit meals in Ano Melies, when he is alarmed by the smell of burning trees by the Evening Paths. Crossing The Long Road through the Nazarean Glade, he meets up with Selena, a female fox it is suggested he might harbor feelings for and long-time rivals Kili and Balin. They inform a rather non-convinced Eli the mountain is burning due to Bay's rush actions.

It is later revealed Bay was suffering from the effects of aging and was seeking an escape from the confines of his weary body. On one of his trips to the Cypress Grove he came upon a shrine in the woods, devoted to the Ancient Greek goddess Artemis (Diana), with an altar consecrated to an Old Celtic Deity, Cernounos. When the spirit of the pagan god manifests itself to him, it urges him to drink from the fountain of a milk-white liquid he finds at the altar. It is later explained that this was the milk of the mythical deer of Diana, and the goddess ragingly seeks to prevent Bay from consuming it, to no avail. With her infuriated screams and Cernounos fading in the shady background in the midst of an evil laughter, Bay becomes ultra agile, fast and supernaturally resilient, as he crossed huge distances from Krimnaia Ypsi to Pefkies and Liopyri in near zero time.

Eli reluctantly accepts the facts and formulates a plan of dragging brushwood and dry earth to the location of the fire from Phoenix Theater with Selena while Kili and Balin would drive off potential foxes and animals to evacuation zones, away from Where Partridges Gather and the burning Evening Paths. When the pair arrives at the burning woods, however, they are attacked by the all-powerful entity of Bay who incapacitates Selena under logs of burning wood and pins Eli to the ground. While Kili and Balin show up for her rescue, they scream at an inert Eli to escape Bay's hold, but it is revealed Eli was under a temporary hypnosis, mesmerized by the mysterious whispers of Bay of a prophecy that would result in Eli saying goodbye to the Vuori. Finally, Bay self-sacrifices himself by jumping into the fire, consumed by guilt for his actions and effectively ceasing the fire, since it was revealed the only viable offer to Artemis would be the cost of a life.

Later, Eli crosses Ksefoto to return the purple cross he borrowed in Vuori: Amidst the Groves in Liopyri to The Monastere, and the story ends with him treading the forests seeking the Partridge of the Rain and the elusive Human, who were prophesied by Bay to be the ones who would help him in his quest to defeat the malicious spirits of the *δαιμονες* who would return for one last battle. This cliffhanger serves as the grounds for the third and final story in the Eli Tales to follow, Moonlight on Vuori.

## Style

Written as a second type of storytelling, the story is filled with personalized narrative from Eli's animal POV, teeming with airy descriptions of landscapes and the flora of the Mountain.

Konstantina Meleti has added bits and pieces of lively descriptions and action-packed encounters, along with hints of witty comments while controlling the character of Eli.

The story included a rather short climaxing, which was explained by writer James Kingston as the desired effect of retaining the slightly supernatural element of the story, as opposed to sci-fi and horror descriptions.

## Inspiration

This story was widely written on a whim of writer James Kingston upon observing the remains of the blackened trees at the woods of Ntamaria, after the fires of August 2019. The soil that pulled back from the smoking remains of the crushed wood revealed the skeletons and trash of a canine boneyard, from the burial sites which were uncovered near the Broken Paths all across the basketball fields.