Chapter 1

Very rough not edited at all

Chapter 1

He woke as first light was just beginning to pierce though the eastern forest canopy. The mornings were getting colder and it would soon be the start of the white season, the coldest time of the year. Being his second year of living in the forest, it would be much easier than when he first woke up here. Looking at his shoulder length, shaggy black hair he paused and thought about cutting some of it off, but decided against it, something to do later perhaps. Rising from his bed of deer skins and furs he stepped towards the canvass that covered the mouth of the cave to peel it back. He could look into the small clearing that he had made some time ago, the small stream gently bubbling a few yards in front of him. How big it could get when the rain and snow started to fall troubled him. Wandering out he drink took his morning wash. He looked unremarkable, average height, average build, maybe a little slimmer than most, so that his tattered shirt hung loose, but still healthy enough for a young man. Having no possessions save for what he could gather from the forest, and a single short sword, surviving here was comfortable and he was content.

His sword was plain, although in fairly good condition, there were no large nicks or dents and it was the length of his forearm. The only marking on it was on the leather handle, engraved into it was the name “Daniel”. He liked the name, and not being able to remember his, he took it as his own. There was very little he could remember, he mused as he picked up his sword and the rest of his clothing, preparing to check the traps for breakfast. Thinking back he conjured up vague memories of horses, that slowly paced down a long dusty road ahead of him. He was riding with... or maybe carried by them, and something more, something rattling... something heavy and metallic...

His memories shifted and changed to when he was here, where he stood, only his face was in the dirt, laid out by a cliff face. Darkness followed from there for a moment, till lastly the tall Oak Tree he remembered, a shining beacon it eclipsed all of his other memories growing brighter and brighter in the front of his mind until...

He let out a sharp cough from the crisp air and came back with a jolt to the thoughts of the day, breakfast time. He turned and ambled westward, sword in hand, towards the edge of the forest. The trees thinning a little more in this direction and from certain spots he was able to see out into the meadows that stretched all the way to the southern coast on the horizon. Crouching down into the brush he gently parted patches of dried leaves with a rustle, revealing a mixture of worn coiled ropes and sharpened sticks.. His traps here were empty. He looked up and out into the meadows, half way between him and the coast, to see a small band of men in silvery blue chain mail chopping at the few trees that escaped the clutch of the forest's edge. They looked like they had just arrived and appeared to be setting up camp in a hurry. He counted maybe twenty or so of them, a few covered carts that they were pulling equipment out of, and several crates marked with a large golden tower that were dotted around the area. The man, who looked like he was in charge, since he was the only one wearing a helm was shouting and pointing to the hill, the forest and to the horizon in turn. The few that were gathered around him snapped to attention and quickly hurried off to do as they were told.

Although Daniel didn't care what they were doing, he'd seen travellers passing via the long golden road before, breaking away from it for an hours short walk to the forest edge so as not to block the path. They usually set up tents and the like near this area as it was a quiet spot under the hill and the bounty of forest animals was generally ripe for anyone with a bow. Once or twice he had even ventured out to them trading meats and skins for clothing and essentials to help him survive here. He just hoped that these would move on as quickly as any others that bothered to camp here. Frowning, Daniel reshuffled the leaves, covering his makeshift snare, hoping for better luck with it tomorrow. Taking a breath, he casually stood and turned in one motion, aiming to continue on his breakfast route. "The travellers probably scared away everything from this area." he thought with a small hint of contempt, the left side of his face twitching sharply. He caught it with his right hand and stopped in his tracks.

Perhaps he should visit the Oak.

The idea appearing his head as if someone placed it there. After being away from it for an extended period of time, a week or two perhaps, he would get edgy. Twinges not unlike the one a moment ago, were a sign of absence for a little bit longer. He had never gone longer than this before without visiting there. Since the day was not yet in full swing he gathered that he had just enough time to make it to the opposite side of the grove before sundown, if he was quick. Warm feelings accompanied the aura that the Oak gave out and it brought a a smile to his face as he imagined getting there. With that he was decided, he would leave right away.

He got back to his shelter in half of the time it normally would have taken as he moved with purpose. Quickly gathering enough of his stored food to last a night, he keenly folded it up in a pack to travel with. Lastly he picked up a couple of the larger skins he had for bedding and rolled these around his parcel turning it into a cylinder. He secured this on his back with a cross of rope over his chest which he loosely tied, giving him room to breathe. Thankful that it was mostly downhill, he set off from the stream outside his home travelling east, through the bulk of the forest. There was no set pathway through the grove, and as nobody ever travelled inside the forest he carefully picked his way left and right taking a route he could feel. The rough undulating ground was an ordeal to cross and made progress slow for quite some time. Daniel didn't come this far into the grove often, mainly it was to visit the Oak that he had found at the start of his stay, it was one of his clearest early memories. Sitting between the gnarled roots with his back brushing against the soft bark.

A feeling of peace came with sitting there. The trees thinned on that side of the forest like they did near the road where he had made his camp. That's why he chose to stay there, it felt like his home away from home. He needed to be close to the road for trade but being on the other side of the forest made him miss the Oak sometimes. Staying in the forest for so long had made time slippery and lose most of it's meaning, as the days tended to all blend into one another. Missing the Oak made him think of the first scene he remembered seeing there. It was the grassland valleys ahead, stretching for a hundred miles or more, only interrupted by the sweeping River of Tears that cut a swathe across the land. It was all topped in the far reaching distance by the firey Mizeret Mountains. They added an extra tint of red to the skyline at sunset as some of them were still active volcanoes. Letting out everything from flashes of light, to sometimes columns of smoke on a rainy day.

Lost in his thoughts he snapped back to reality as a branch broke nearby. It was close, he could tell, but from not which side. Dropping almost to the floor he tried to stay quiet and unseen, tensing in anticipation. If it was a bear he would not be in a good spot to defend himself. Here around the middle of the forest they grew to at least three or four times his size. He held his breath and strained his ears in every direction. The sound of movement, bushes rustling, and the faint padding of feet. The dry leaves rustled as a gust of wind kicked them away. There, he spotted a flash of brown to his left, low to the ground. Green flashes too, higher though, at chest level. Gazing around his eyes gave him a clearer picture of humanoid shapes running almost unseen between the trees. More Elves than he had ever seen, and there were none living in this forest that he knew of. The soft patter of many light footsteps echoed around him quietly. They didn't see him, or they ignored him as they flitted westward in the direction of his home and, he thought, in the direction of that camp he saw this morning. They travelled at speed and after a moment, they had passed, disappearing as quietly as they came. Daniel waited for his heart to rest before cautiously standing and pressing on, into the bushes eastward once more.

"Not much farther to go." he thought,

for he had been travelling almost the whole of the day so far making it at least three quarters of the way there, and should reach the Oak before sundown. Carried on his back, tied with the last of his spare worn rope were his away skins. The bounty of the west forest allowed him to trade enough with passing caravanners to own a set of gear that he could use when he wished to sleep in other places of the forest, namely the Oak, but occasionally further up the stream that lay outside his home or anywhere he could choose. Since he was alone in the forest as far as he knew, it was all his space. He never saw anyone else around and nobody claimed ownership of it, even so there was more than plenty of forest to go around.

The warm orange evening light struggled to peek through this side of the grove. The trees here grew thicker than the ones in the west, and they were older too.

"They must be older." Daniel thought, "To get to this size"

as they were big enough to fit him inside shoulder to shoulder, panting slightly as he climbed up and over yet another bank ascending the last big hill.

The Oak was in a flat clearing about the same size of the one near his home, except it resided on top a small plateau that rose above the rest of the forest. He half strode, half climbed up the steepest part of the ridge lunging to cover the difficult ridges. The air here was different to the musky smell of the rest of the forest, more crisp, so much so that it cut through the mist that gathered around the very base of the mount. His skin tingled the closer he got and the hairs on his arms stood on end, the sense of anticipation grew as he climbed to the top. One last big pull, reaching both his arms up to the tip of the ledge that jutted out above him he hoisted himself up, landing his chest on the edge of what was a soft flat stretch of open grassland.

Kicking his legs in the air and giving a last push, he was over. Panting he rested, face-down in the fresh grass, dusted with the last of the evening sun. He was there finally, at the Oak. A single large tree rose out of the centre of the meadow. It was free from any smaller trees or bushes, sitting above the rest of the forest, regally. While parts of the forest had turned from orange to brown this late in the year, the Oak always stayed fully green no matter what, making it look even more pronounced against the skyline which was now visible from this high up. Reaching over his back to check everything was with him, he felt the rope give it's last stretch as it snapped with a twang. Everything that he carried was spilt over and around him on the ground. A ping sounded from his right as his sword clashed with a stone as it was rolling towards the drop. Quick as a flash his closest hand shot out clutching at air, more air, then blade. His hand closed around the tip of the sword piercing his palm, but saving the sword from the fall. It wasn't deep, but still it stung fiercely. He breathed a sigh of relief mixed with weariness. The light was fading and he should make shelter, the closer to the Oak the better. Gathering up his belongings in both arms he shuffled towards a corner in the tree, formed by two large roots that split from each other, leaving a sheltered patch to rest in. The grass here was a little worn, as if it had been walked over, or layed upon a lot in the past. Around the other side of the tree and a few feet away a pool spring bubbled gently, the source of the stream that ran through the grove and back to where Daniel began his trek this morning. It ran straight across the center towards the edge, passing under one of the Oak's roots and down the edge to continue it's journey through the forest. The rest of the plateau stretched for maybe thirty paces in each direction from the Oak and was only remarkable in that it was clear. This was the Oaks place and the rest of the grove gracefully gave it more room than it needed.

After rinsing his palm on the edge of the cool spring Daniel rustled his two furs around him as he lay down in his sheltered patch. Even though the season was late in the year and getting colder, it was always pleasantly warm on the plateau so he needed little covering. The sun was just about set now as he rested his head on the hard leather pack of food. Looking up into the lush green leaves he noticed that he never remembered seeing any animals around here either. Thinking nothing of it he reached his right arm out and gently tapped the trunk with his fingertips as if to say goodnight, the prints on his fingers faintly tinting green as he pressed them on the bark. The tree felt warm to the touch, safe and comforting. He never felt alone when he was at the Oak, it was like his best friend, parent and sibling all wrapped up in one blanket of support. The light from the Mizzeret Mountains still gave off a faint glow in the distance, coupled with a similar glow from the west near the edge of the forest. Fowning again, thinking back to the caravaning soldiers that had set up a camp there, and now probably a fire with those trees they felled, he rolled over to face the tree.

Being restless was an unusual feeling up here but Daniel felt something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Normally after laying down here, more than anywhere he would be drifting off to a deep sleep, but tonight it was not to be. He felt like he had too much energy left to spend. As he shifted onto his back he heard a faint hum that was not there before. It was hard to place but it sounded like it came from the Oak, or below it in the ground at the least. Raising his head from the pack he leaned on his elbows and placed his ear closer to the trunk. It was no longer the humming that concerned him. There was a breeze up on the plateau, which was out of place. There was never any wind here and the sharp breeze made him uneasy, he waited and held his breath. Both the tree and the wind were faint and he needed to hear as much of both as he could. The new air carried to him two unmistakeable sounds, a scratch in the bark and a single soft footfall on the grass.

There was someone on the other side of the Oak.

Reviews

[Addi]

This is intriguing. It's very well-written- I love the description. And the plot is very original. Nice work! :)