[ IP ] Into the depts of the Unknown

Large pointed growth spread in every direction as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of years of vegetation, allowed to run rampant and unchecked. Somewhere amongst it all an owl called out for its mate, a long low whooping. 
 
 Looking down from here, Markus could see everything, hear everything that went on here in the great forest. Standing atop the claw like branch of the Mephistopheles tree, ever reaching skyward, he felt like a king observing his domain. From here he could give demands, telling the beavers to'Dam that stream' or the squirrels to'Gather those nuts'. But alas, he was n't a king, and the animals were not his to command. 
 
 Not a king, only a protector. A guardian left long ago to watch, who did not age or die, would not interfere. But it had been so long now that he wondered. Did the chosen yet come? Had the world beyond the ever-growing forest given in, or even more importantly, did the one meant to free him from his bonds still live? 
 
 Until that one came, this forest was his home. And while he loved it, caring for the many plants and trees within it, he did not wish to be trapped here forever. 
 
 Looking upwards into the blue sky, he imagined for a moment what it might be like to fly. To soar among the clouds, taste the falling rain upon your tongue. To be free. 
 
 From behind him came a rustling, recognizable to him as that of apes through the tree boughs. The sound of rushing wings, as a flock of birds took flight. Crouching to touch the massive tree branch, he closed his eyes and forgot for a moment about freedom. Vanishing into the air, his body became a new thorny branch on the Mephistopheles tree.
