In the days when people were owned by the land, two young girls found their power by becoming ghosts, then spirit guides.
This is their origin-story...
Their Dad had to raise them by himself, as Mother died shortly after birthing them. But as a spirit, she remained on Earth to watch over them. Sal and Jude could see her, and knew their Dad could feel her presence. Father and Mother taught them all they knew.
Efforts to enter the forest, to exploit its abundant wild game, have all been turned away by supernatural events. Unexplained by locals except that it's "haunted."
One day a mysterious stranger comes to the nearby village, asking for a guide to the Forest, knowing that if a person admitted to trespassing on the King's land, they could be put to death on the spot.
But he came to learn what he didn't know, and found out more than he asked for...