I walked into the clearing where we had set up camp for the season. You see, I was a part of a people called the Guardians. Guardians are people who have been touched by spirits. These spirits were tree spirits, which is why there are so little of us. There is only one Guardian named Fir, because when she was a child, she was toughed by the Fir spirit. There is only one Elm, because when he was a child, he was touched by the Elm spirit, and so on. You see, we move with the seasons, much like leaves. We move south in the winter, north in the summer, east in the spring, and west in the fall.
As I entered the camp, the magical buildings that awaited us wherever we ended up shined in the evening light. The biggest building, what we campers called the Court, was where Elm resided. As Fir dragged me along, my best friend Dogwood rushed up.
"Hazel!" He called. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere! Where are you--?"
He was cut off as the Court doors slammed behind us.