Chapter 1: The Falcon Hunter

Arkus and Kara are the last Grovens in existence. They go on a journey, guided by the Spirit, Alena, to find out what happened to the rest of their race.

Chapter 1: The Falcon Hunter

“Arkus,” said the man with a toothy grimace and snot running down his dark nose. “We need your help again.”

        “Can’t we ever just go a full week without you needing my help?” Arkus turned to face the man who was addressing him. “Billus, you’re fully capable of bringing your men with you to do that kind of thing aren’t you?”

        Arkus was a fit looking young man with curly brown hair like bark, eyes that were as green as leaves, and fair skin, with a scruffy-yet-handsome face. He did have fair skin, but there was an odd greenish tint to it. It wasn’t a sickly green, but it looked completely natural; nobody Arkus knew could explain it. Arkus had just been getting ready to hang the pelts of the rabbits that his falcon had killed earlier that day on the wall in his small house when Billus had interrupted him with his banging at the door.

        “And risk more lives in the process? Arkus we’ve been through this countless times, last time we did it without you, three men were lost!” This Billus was short, but had an incredible physique. His arms were as thick as one could possibly imagine, and you could tell by looking that he enjoyed his ale a little too much. His dirt brown eyes bulged as he pleaded with the young man.

        “But,” Arkus began, “but what if I get lost, too?” He was fully aware of how far his skills and abilities surpassed the others in his village. He only said it because he enjoyed seeing the veins pop in Billus’ head when he got annoyed, which they did. “Alright, what is it that you need from me in the forest tonight?”

        Billus walked towards Arkus in his hovel, in a determined strut. He had a short sword dangling at his waste, and a battered pair of boots that clearly hadn’t been polished in years. He was clean shaven, but only because his facial hair didn’t grow thick. He was clad in a thick brown garment to protect him from winter’s chill, as it typically got very cold here in Whilmphor.

        Outside it was dark, and the only source of light inside the hovel was a lantern set on the table in the midst of the one-roomed home. There wasn’t much inside other than a bed and a closet, four chairs around the table, a cabinet to keep the utensils, bowls, plates, and other necessities. Arkus’s hunting gear was stored in a chest at the foot of his bed, which he proceeded to unlock. It was special equipment with unique qualities he made sure to keep secret. If anybody found out, he’d never have his privacy again.

        “It’s not what we need,” said Billus, “but who. Jenker decided to take a night stroll of the Blacklake Forest with Casslyn to see if they could get some privacy. I dunno why those bloody kids are always itchin’ to get out into that cursed place, but they’ve gone and done it. You know how it gets in there at night. Not a place to relieve stress, you know.”

        Arkus had to think for a minute before making a proposal of what should be done. He’d practically grown up in those woods, and that brought about more scars than he cared to show. Despite that, he definitely was the only one who could be considered even remotely “safe” there at night.

        Knowing that Billus had definitely rounded up the town’s burliest men outside for the rescue, Arkus had already decided that this was a one-man job. “Tell the men outside that they can go home. I’ll take this one alone,” said Arkus confidently.

        “You’re mad!” shouted Billus unexpectedly. “You think you can just go out there by your lonesome, do ya?”

        Arkus slapped Billus’s flabby face with no intent to hold back. “Never call me mad, Billus. Those two aren’t going to have an easy time getting out with all of you bumbling along with us, attracting all of the spirits who sleep in there. That forest’s sacred for a reason. Don’t taint it with their stink.”

        He hooked his sword onto his belt and locked up his trunk. Billus looked at him with a hint of fear in his eyes, a red mark now shining on his cheek, but knew that Arkus never intended evil upon anyone who didn’t deserve it. He looked at the bow in Arkus’s hands. There was something that made this bow feel like it was part of Arkus, even though he found his skill in the blade, not in archery.

        “That bow’s made of Redoak, isn’t it?” Billus asked him. Redoak was a rare tree, only the best bows were made from its branches.

        “I’ll be back before midnight with those two,” said Arkus as he slung the bow with a quiver of arrows on his back. “Try not to worry about me too much, Billus.”

        Billus took another look at Arkus and walked out the door. Arkus was alone to his thoughts again, which time he always adored. Arkus had found his way to Whilmphor when he was just 12 years old, and had been there ever since. Now he was 19 and was already the most skilled hunter in the whole town. He had many reasons behind his success. He didn’t quite understand it himself, although he did have a different kind of connection to all things living within a forest, from the fungi to the birds, and this particular Blacklake forest was home to a number of supernatural spirits. Many of those who had departed (generally peaceful), but others of the more troubled Unborn. These spirits were quite familiar with Arkus, so they didn’t harm him. But, when it came to other humans, they weren’t too kind.

        After collecting his thoughts, Arkus made his way into the dark of the town. It was always quiet at night, and the cold was biting.  Snow was gathered in heaps where people had shoveled it so their winter crops could make it through. Whilmphor had probably a thousand people living there, albeit after sunset it felt more like 50. The population was primarily built up of farmers, with the occasional shop owner and smithy.

        He walked the quiet route to the outskirts of town and trekked along the path that led to the Blacklake Forest. It was about two miles away from town, so he had a lot of ground to cover, and he didn’t want it to take long. He started to jog, although the chill from the wind was bitter on his face, so he put the cloak on his hood up to at least cover his ears. He passed by trees and small fences which surrounded small potato patches along his path. Soon the fences stopped appearing and the wood got thicker.

Minutes passed, and he found himself staring into the entrance of Blacklake. There was an unnaturally straight line of trees that edged the forest and the undergrowth covered nearly every inch of ground. He looked around, seeing his breath in the air, trying to spot if there were any hints to Jenker and Casslyn’s whereabouts. He paused and took a deep breath. Whenever he did this, he felt a fresh amount of energy flow through his body like sunlight. Even though he was completely covered by clothing, the cold still seeped in through every crack.

He stepped towards the trees and found a small gem. Picking it up, he saw that it was purple, but also distinctly fake. No one in this town could afford a real gemstone of that color. Still, it probably had sentimental value. Most likely it belonged to Casslyn, as she had lost her father to a strange and sudden illness. This was probably some kind of trinket he’d given to her.

Arkus let out a long whistle, and then he waited. He was overcome with a feeling of calmness that made him feel at ease with the situation. Seconds passed, and out of the air, an enormous falcon swooped from the trees and perched itself atop Arkus’s gloved arm. This falcon was particularly majestic, with a beautiful coat of spotted feathers, with three red streaks flowing from the top of his head to the edges of his wings and tail feathers. Arkus had a bond with this animal, one that he’d had for as long as he could remember. He didn’t even remember giving him the name Skye.

Skye eyed Arkus expectantly, waiting for his master to present him with a treat. Arkus took a small mouse from his pouch and fed it to the bird, as he had done countless times before. This falcon was one of Arkus’s secrets to surviving the woods. How he could so easily catch anything. How he could find where everything was without much effort. Nobody save himself knew of Skye, and he liked to keep it that way.

Arkus looked at the underbrush, which was covered in patches of snow, to see if he could find where the two had likely entered. He scanned the area, until he saw a pair of tracks left from a person with rather lanky feet with large boots and another who had very small, modest looking shoes. The trail was a very simple trail, left by people who clearly didn’t care if someone was looking for them.

Arkus listened for a moment. He wanted to be sure that thing wouldn’t be near when he entered. He couldn’t hear anything that would have been dangerous, but wasn’t convinced entirely. As if sensing his master’s intent, Skye took into the air to be Arkus’s eyes above, specifically to warn him if things got dicey. Arkus didn’t hear anything from within the forest, nor could he see if there was anything to worry about, so he entered the forest, knowing that Skye would return to him if anything was awry.

He passed by countless trees of all kinds. There was snow scattered across the ground in fragmented patterns, as the canopy overhead provided a nice cover from the snowfall. The imprints of little critters and animals were all over the snow, looking so delicate next to those of the two teenagers within the forest.

What are you looking for? an icy whisper entered his mind. It came from one of the spirits who had long since departed this world at peace.

I’m looking for two juveniles. Please allow me to continue, he thought as an answer to the inquiry. The only way to communicate with these spirits was by thought, so one had to be extremely careful with their own thoughts in here.

No reply from the spirit came, as was usual. If they were upset, they would usually begin to threaten one to leave or be cursed, but Arkus was almost always allowed by the Departed. It was the Unborn to beware of. That thing was working for them.

He continued to follow the tracks for about an hour. Arkus started to hear the voices of the two in the night, meaning that they were almost in his vicinity. Arkus looked around the area to see if his superior eyes would be able to spot them out in the moonlight. There they are, he thought as he looked towards a small grove of thick trees. Arkus could see a tiny clearing in the trees where sat the two, Jenker and Casslyn, as casual as two teens could be. He looked to the canopy and saw Skye casually perched on a branch overseeing the conversation that was taking place.

“It made me think of you that night, Cass,” Arkus heard Jenker say. Even from this distance, Arkus could distinctly hear them speak. Jenker was a lanky boy of about seventeen, with freckles all around, whereas Casslyn was sixteen with very long hair and a nicely shaped body. They were sitting on a log in the clearing, foolishly talking their hearts out as if no one could hear them. They were wrong.

“Jenk, you know how to make a girl smile,” said Casslyn as she leaned towards him expectantly. She wasn’t exactly one to make the move. She liked playing games.

Jenker planted his lips on hers and the two seemed to forget the world around them. Bad idea. One thing the Unborn hated was human emotion, which they had no privilege of feeling. Arkus didn’t care if he would spoil their moment, he was simply here to save their skins from certain death. Even the bravest of warriors could barely make it out of this forest alive during the night.

He approached the two kissing quietly so as not to startle them into screaming. He wondered how he could get their attention without making them jump or scream, as it seemed their minds were a bit preoccupied. It was creepy enough in there already.

Skye’s eyes were now fixed upon some point in the distance, a fact which disturbed Arkus. The fact that Skye was here and not elsewhere meant that it was close by. Arkus then started to throw small stones at Casslyn’s head in order to distract her. To her it would only feel as if something was falling from the trees above. Much to the boy’s dismay, she did break away to take a look into the sky, and looking around she spotted Arkus just a few feet away.

“Don’t say anything!” said Arkus in a hushed voice. “I’m here to get you out alive.”

Now Jenker noticed Arkus there and had a questioning look on his face. “What’re you doin’ here?” he said stupidly, and very loudly.

Arkus was astonished by the boy’s stupidity, even more so of this girl’s infatuation with him at this point. A faint roar was sounded in the distance, probably two hundred yards away, but too close for comfort in Arkus’s book.

“You hear that?” Arkus asked bluntly, this time not bothering to hush his voice. “That’s the sound of the Unborn’s carvax. You’ve just let it know that we’re here.”

“The what?” asked Jenker, his lean face starting to show fear.

“You know, the reason we never go here at night? The nocturnal beast that does the bidding of the unborn. The same Unborn who despise human emotion, which you’ve done so well at showing them. That carvax.” Arkus stated and he immediately withdrew his sword from its sheath “Now’s the part where we run.”

The roaring was coming from the direction they came from. Why’d it have to go that way? Arkus thought.

He looked at Casslyn. She was shaking in fear, and her fine apparel clearly wasn’t made for this temperature. She was missing a cloak somewhere, or she was expecting heat from a different source. “Can you run in that?” Arkus asked her.

“Not very fast,” she admitted, looking down at her feet.

“Do you know how to use a sword?”

“I do,” said Jenker, trying to sound more impressive.

Arkus didn’t acknowledge the statement and continued to look at Casslyn with his emerald eyes.

“Daddy taught me how,” she said.

“Right,” Arkus started, “so here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to run towards that thing going to the left. I’m going to leave you here, but you should be okay if you have my sword. When you hear that the carvax is going a different direction, you head back the way you came. That sword is meant to protect you, should any wolves or bears decide to have a feast. I didn’t come across any on my way here, and I didn’t see any tracks, but just be careful. Keep the blade unsheathed.”

He gave the sword to Casslyn, thinking that she was the more intelligent and coordinated of the two. She looked very nervous with the cremlic blade in her hands, as it shone brightly in the moonlight. Cremlic blades were excellent for hunting, but for little else, unless you knew how to use it right.

“I’ll go,” said Jenker. “Let me distract it while you two get out of here.” He was standing by Casslyn’s side, looking a bit braver than he had moments before. Most likely because he wanted to continue to impress the girl.

“Right,” stated Arkus authoritatively. “I’m sure Casslyn is very impressed at your bravery and everything. Just get out of here and try not to do anything stupid.” And with that, Arkus left them to get the carvax off of their tracks.

As Arkus left the clearing into the shadowed trees, stepping through the shallow snow that made it through the canopy, he let out a clear whistle for Skye to come to him again. The bird found him quickly enough and flew at a low altitude near his master. Arkus continued to sprint as fast as he could, trying to make as much noise as possible to distract the carvax.

Once they got far enough away through the trees, they stopped in an area next to a frozen river, and Skye found himself a nice branch to perch on. During the summertime, this river was always a fantastic place to fish for salmon. Also a dangerous attraction for bears. But now, it was as lonesome a place as any, with none but the spirits to accompany it.

“Alright,” said Arkus to the falcon, “this should be enough.” Skye then let out a screech that pierced the sky, certainly loud enough to attract the attention of the carvax…. And possibly other unwanted attention. One could never be sure of what to find here.

A deafening roar let them know that the carvax was fast approaching their location, and Arkus said a silent prayer to the Spirits that Jenker and Casslyn would get on the move. This was where it got difficult for Arkus, and a bit easier for them.

He looked into the trees and listened hard. He could distinctly hear branches and leaves cracking underneath a source that was fast approaching.

Author's Note

This is simply the first chapter in potentially a 4 book series. I'd love to have comments on the dialogue, writing style, and descriptions. I've edited it pretty well, but there may still be some grammar issues.