16 Chapter 16 - The spirit of The Forest

At the moment that the eagle noticed the shadow or maybe heard or sensed it, it let out a screech and tried to change its direction but the giant shadow clawed at its wings and took hold of them.

Ango was able to see the giant bird for a moment, he gasped and exclaimed in his mind

'That's a Roc, one of the kings on mount crown' living so close to the great forest, meant that he had seen some of the beasts that lived in it. Rocs could be said to be one of the beasts on the top of the food chain.

The eagle couldn't get away. The Roc was over 3 times its size and was strong enough to crush the eagle in its claws. Adult Rocs were strong enough to contend with phoenixes in raw strength, or so he had heard from the elves.

As the eagle was struggling it opened its claws and let go of Ango. H let out a silent scream as he was falling; he was free-falling at a frightening speed but fortunately, he was heading toward the river and It took him nearly 15 seconds to reach the river's surface.

*BOOOM

Ango could be considered lucky since Immediately after the impact, he lost consciousness. His already burnt and ruined body was mangled and his bones broken. Facing the sun, he was floating on the water like a piece of juicy meat for the savage beasts but none of them entered the water.

This river was considered sacred, filled with energy and was the life force of the forest, its life line. The kings of the forest would kill all members of any beast's race who would dare taint the waters of the main river. For this reason, none of the beasts made any attempt on Ango's life and the cool, refreshing, and full of life force water of the river began to slowly heal his wounds and burn marks.

Any healer would have been astonished at the sight since healing didn't work in such a way. Healing spells would need nutrition to heal the body and if the body didn't have enough, it would be forcefully taken from the body; healing potions consisted of those nutritions in addition to the magical ingredients. But the river's water was healing and at the same time nourishing Ango's body, restoring him to his prime condition, remaking him even better than the way he was two years ago. Many didn't know but the river's water contained unimaginable amounts of life force and not just natural energy, the same life force that had nourished the great forest throughout its existence.

Hours passed and all of Ango's wounds had been healed, his body could be said to be in perfect condition but he was still fast asleep and the beasts were still following his floating body

As he was floating on the surface of the river, he suddenly got stuck. He was trapped inside some tree roots that were in the water and his body was now half inside the water while his upper body lay outside of it. The beasts on the side that had been following Ango, began to grin and show their fangs. They started to move to grab him but suddenly a green light illuminated the night.

There was something comforting about this light, soothing even. Along with the appearance of the light, soft sounds of footsteps could be heard. When the beasts saw the light and heard the footsteps, all of them stopped in their tracks and bowed their head in the direction of the sound. There was no fear in their eyes, only respect, and reverence.

The source of light was getting closer and the place was brimming with life force. The grasses grew taller, the flowers began to bloom and the old injuries of the beasts began to heal rapidly and their bodies were being nourished.

The source of light stopped walking when it reached the river's side. The light began to fade and the figure inside was now visible. It was a woman with green hair long enough to reach her waist. She had 2 small antlers on her head. Her hair was covering her chest and she was wearing a skirt made of leaves of all colors. The mere sight of her would make people forget about the pain. The higher races referred to her as the spirit of the forest, the avatar of nature. the roots holding unto Ango pushed him toward her and then retracted.

She lowered her head and looked at Ango and mumbled to herself "Another pitiful human"

Her eyes went blank for a moment and she seemed to be lost in her memories, they didn't seem like joyous ones. A few moments later she came back to herself and she looked at him again and said in a low voice

"Your life has been a curse. Endless suffering, getting your hopes and dreams crushed over and over … and it will remain like that" her face seemed pained, regretful even and a moist line had at some point appeared on her face.

"…. I… started this" guilt and sadness were oozing from her face. No one except the beasts and the unconscious Ango was present, so no one heard, and even if there was, no one would have understood, except the gods and a few old existences.

She waved her hands toward Ango causing him to be enveloped by a green light and he was easily turned over, his back toward the sky; his neck was slowly getting opened, skin and muscles getting pushed aside and his spine was slowly being revealed. The spirit of the forest held out her hand and a clear crystal the size of her small palm appeared. A bluish mist seemed to be beating inside it, and with each of its beatings veins would rhythmically appear all over the crystal. She held the crystal gently without applying pressure, like she was holding her baby.

She bent down and placed the crystal on his nape and then looked away, teardrops visible on her cheeks, and began to walk away. As she was walking away, she whispered "but I can not end it … only one of you can" and the grass beneath him turned him over, his back on the ground again.

The crystal melted into Ango's body, it morphed into liquid form and seeped into his nerves, bones, muscles, tendons, skins and every piece of flesh in his body, dying them in a bluish luster everywhere it passed and his body absorbed the strange liquified crystal like a sponge. The opening on his chest began to close and bluish luster disappeared within him.

Ango was still lying there but his body was now in perfect condition, except for his now nonexistent hair. if not for his burned and tattered clothes no one would think he was on the brink of death a few hours ago. The beasts were no longer hostile toward him because of the spirit of the forest's blessing and after the spirit was gone, they left quietly.

It took Ango a few hours to wake up. But after opening his eyes the first thing that he saw was a star-filled night sky. The stars were like tiny jewels, bringing out the beauty of the sky. He was mesmerized by the sight and muttered "Beautiful" unconsciously; It had been too long since the last time he had seen the night sky.

After a few moments of star gazing, Ango suddenly remembered how he got there and panicked. He stood up and checked his surroundings to make sure that there was no one there.

A thought suddenly struck him and he looked at himself and voiced out" Why am I fine!? What happened to my wounds?!? What's happening to me???"

His mind was a mess and the only thing that he could remember was falling into the river. It took him a few minutes to calm down. He began to think of a way to get out of the forest and stay away from its dangers but he could find out general directions. He knew that the elven and dwarven kingdoms were to the south of the great forest and knew that to the west existed a mountain range. So based on the moon he picked the west direction and started to move.

Silently in his mind, he started to pray "oh gods let me-"

"NO" a sudden rage filled his mind and heart. He couldn't allow himself to ask for assistance from the lofty existences that had never helped in his life.

"Never again, fuck them all those bastards"

…