Tiziana

Tiziana knew by now that she was not really in a magical forest, but she still couldn't help frequently forgetting that fact, because the forest was very good at pretending to be a forest, and even better at pretending to be magical. She would find herself frolicking with a swarm of fairies one moment, then overcome by mysterious existential despair the next: a pervasive feeling of vast emptiness surrounding and compressing her, as if absolutely everyone else had deserted the universe and left her more alone than she'd thought anyone could possibly be. It was at these moments she heard her inner voice automatically calling to the black ring for help. But she'd lost the ring, and any memory of the details of this loss, including how long ago it had happened. She only remembered that it was her subsequent search for it which had brought her here, to a place that felt alive, and somehow also seemed to be searching for the ring. At first, this gave her hope, feeling that the forest might act as her ally and help her find it again. Now, her consciousness tender and raw, battered by daily delusions for God knows how long, she knew that the forest wanted the ring only for itself, and it would consume her whole being if necessary in order to get even one step closer to it.