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You walk through the pastel colored portal and arrive in a garden-like area. The ruby red trees are planted in perfect rows, perhaps a foot and a half apart. Dangling from the branches are hand-sized, orange fruit. At the base of these trees are bushes of purple berries, curious, you notice blueberry bushes grow below those. The trail you follow is a path between this forest about a five-feet in width and seems to go on a fair bit in length. The grass is emerald green; the sky is as blue as you've ever seen it with light, whispy clouds passing overhead yet the sun still shines brightly. A breeze passes you, it's an unearthly feeling and instinctively you turn around. Three-feet from where you stand the trees begin again and you swear something is hiding between them. The trunks of these red trees are far to narrow to hide anything threatening... but still, you feel suddenly uneasy. You shake it off and decide to walk ahead on the path. Again, the phantom draft passes by you and you catch the faint sound of hoofbeats. Again, no one is around. Getting a bit frustrated, masking your anxiety, you call out to whoever is stalking you. You are taken aback to hear a distant whinny that doesn't seem very far off at all. You've been around horses before and not once have you heard a call be so melodic. It's like a whole orchestrated piece in a single note. You close your eyes as the sound echoes in your mind and when you open them, you're surprised again to see a black and white figure standing between the trees. You can make out that it is, in fact, an equine but otherwise you can't distinguish much else. You wonder if you should approach it... "Don't bother, fair one, he dislikes strangers." A feminine voice chimes behind you. You turn around to come face to face with an anthro.  Though surprised by her sudden appearance, you realize this must be one of the Home World Guardians. She smiles brightly and bows to you in greeting. "I am Enigma DeRiddle, Guardian of the Orchards and Gardens appointed by Lady Reaper." She begins to walk and without a moment of hesitation, you follow. The path leads the both of you up hill and down into a flowery meadow, Enigma stops as you reach the top. The trees have dispersed to form this enormous clearing. You notice that there are flowers in so many colors, you're not sure if some of them even have names! You see your guide's smile broaden at the sight of your astonished face. You smile back sheepishly and Enigma walks down the hill. She stops before you as you finish your descent. "The entity you caught a glimpse of was Kuroshiro the resident Unicorn from a land far lost." Enigma moves aside and your mouth drops unvoluntarily at the creature laying before you. He grazes quietly on clover, only a few feet from you. You catch a glimpse of his emerald eyes and then he keeps them locked on his food.  The stallion stands and his ivory horn sparkles like a diamond. He allows Enigma to gently stroke his head. Lost in awe, you reach out to the Unicorn. Kuroshiro's eyes meet yours as your fingertips whisp the soft fur of his muzzle. As quickly as you touched him, he bolts passed you towards the trees. You hardly heard his hooves touch the ground and all that is left is a phantom breeze. You awaken from your trance and look back at Enigma. "From here you can reach several areas, this Realm supports gardens and orchards as well as pond. I'll take you some of the way, but most often I have things to tend to. Do not worry though, fair one, none will harm you here." She smiles, yet you see a devilish glint in her eyes.
The Talorian Gardens The Rabbit Burrow The Kaizay Orchard Another Orchard The Third Orchard Back Home Lady Reaper The base for the Enigma doll is from Pixel Punks and was modified with permission. The link I had to Kuroshiro's homeland doesn't seem to work, if anyone knows the new link to The World of N'Dare please let me know!
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