1 (01) The Nightmare
A brilliant full moon shines above the plains of Arbon, its white light peering past thin streaking clouds that slide across the starlit winter sky. The cackles and taps of cackletappers sound from the Huta'an, the southern forest which borders the frozen grasslands to the west and to the south. The stray howls of lone canigri weave through the air like separate threads of a beautiful tapestry.
Until..
One by one the howls halted,
One by one the melodies turned into grueling growls.
The harmony was no more,
The tapestry had been torn.
And then there was nothing left, not a sound could be heard. The south of the great forest lay still in quiet anticipation of the nightmare about to awaken.
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Warm embers crackled in a black soot stained fire-pit. Glowing sparks rose toward the moonlit sky like lost fireflies. Ursidaen sat comfortably in the fleece coated chair, to his left lay his wife and son, snuggled together in a big chair, not much different from the one he rested in. They slept peacefully, their minds swimming deep in the thick depths of slumber. His stormy blue eyes peered over the banister of the cabin veranda. He gazed towards the Huta'an, a gusty breeze rustled the leaves like they tussled his shoulder-length white hair.
Tonight was quiet, his thoughts remarked.
Too quiet, his mind agreed.
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Near the edge of the forest, obscured in the shadows of the trees stood a man. Braided black hair adorned his head, tied at the back with a leather string. His were brows furrowed in a tight concentrated frown. Dark eyes peered through the lenses of the scope in his hand.
All was going as expected, he thought to himself.
All was going as planned.
The black bear of a man turned around and walked further back into the forest, his dark figure becoming one with the shadows. After a few hundred paces Jahad arrived at a clearing in the forest. His four men had caught and restrained three growling and snapping canigri. White fur covered their strong sleek bodies, silvery-gray streaks ran downward from their spine. These mighty beasts that ruled the forest were shadows by day and terrors by night. As large and as fast as the fastest horses in the royal stables of Arbon, they feared none, or so it was said.
There was one thing all beasts feared.
Fire.
Jahad would know, for he was the Prime in the second order of Beast Hunters. His own accomplishments rivaled only by those of his father.
Jahad had his men set up a tight circle of blazing torches to keep the beasts in check. The four beasts growled and laughed in anger and fear, their conflicting sounds silencing the southern Huta'an. Their snarling lips revealed white gleaming teeth that shimmered in the flickering torchlight.
"Kilone, ready the darts." Jahad commanded in a voice that was neither loud nor soft, yet still firmly authoritative.
One of his men retrieved three pipes along with three short vials from his satchel. The translucent red liquid gave of a faint glow. He handed one of each to Jahad's remaining men. One by one they popped out the dart which had just served as a cork. Each man inserted the dart into their pipe and stood at attention.
"Korai." Jahad signaled to one of his men, the first dart was fired. The targeted canigri
"Jotan." The second dart was shot.
Jahad ordered, "Adeni." And the final dart was let loose.
Slowly but surely all three hounds fell into a shallow slumber. Of course, they did not come all this way just to put a few canigri to sleep.
No, not in the least.
The potion's anesthetic was merely to allow Jahad and his men time to clear away. No one would want to be near when they awakened with the liquid rage streaming through their veins. Jahad ordered his men to head back to the other side of the river and wait for him there. After he had doused all the torches, he retrieved a cloth from his bag and threw it between the slumbering canigri, a little something to point them in the right direction. He then made his was to the tree he had chosen beforehand. The one from where he would watch what would surely end in tragedy. After he perched himself on a thick solid branch he waited.
He waited patiently, for Jahad was patient man.
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Ursidaen noticed something glimmering at the edge of the forest. He peered closer, squinted his eyes, nothing. He focused his gaze again and tried hard not to blink. There, something rustled the dead bush at the edge of the forest. Two tiny pinpricks of light looked back at him. Eyes, Ursidaen thought. The twigs rustled and shivered towards the cabin's general direction, the eyes never ceasing their unwavering gaze. A few paces to the right a few more eyes appeared, Ursidaen counted two pairs. One by one the three figures rose to reveal big hulking canigri, the silver-gray hairs on their back bristled in rage. Their growling jaws twisted into mean menacing snarls.
Then, at once, one of the center canigri let out a short laugh-like sound, a menacing taunt straight from hell.
One by one the canigri bolted towards the cabin with murderous intent,
their gray eyes shimmered with thunderous violence,
???
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Jahad watched the beasts as they bolted towards their prey. He watched from the shadows that were as dark as grave that held his father.
Tonight the king would die, he thought.
Tomorrow his land would mourn.
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As the monsters trod startlingly fast across the frozen grassland, Ursidaen rushed to wake his sleeping wife and son. He shook his wife without much grace, there was no time for that now. When she awoke to the bewildered look on his face the shock in his eyes said enough. Wasting no time to wake up their son Ursidaen carried him through the house towards the back door. As they passed the fireplace Ursidaen snatched his rhunol horn off the chimney. They exited the back of the cabin and went straight towards the stables.
Once inside the scent of fresh straw greeted his nostrils. He rushed towards his horse and set his half sleeping son on its back. As Ursidaen hoisted himself atop the horse he saw his wife was already mounted. He gave the signal and they rushed out, he told her to head north-west, towards Arbon. She acknowledged with a quick nod. When they were a mere hundred paces away from the cabin the thick wooden back door erupted with a loud crack and a rain of splinters. Two canigri launched themselves out the doorway. His wife glanced behind her, what she saw told her why they fled. Her eyes widened with shock, but only for a second. Ursidaen watched as she refocused her mind and replaced the fear with determination, she grasped the horse's manes firmly in her hand and spurred its rump with her heel. Ursidaen did the same and they sped on through the winter night.
The frozen soil thumped under the horses' hooves as they ran for their lives. As they galloped Ursidaen's mind frantically sought for a way to survive. He dug through his brain for anything he knew that might save them, he found nothing. As the horse below him hobbled uncomfortably he felt something nudging his side. He turned his head to see his son gesturing towards the horn on his waist. After he grabbed the horn with one hand he used the other to grasp his son's in a quick comforting squeeze. Ursidaen drew a deep breath, put the horn to his lips and blew out a deep steady note. This was to signal the Royal Guards which was stationed a few thousand paces west of the cabin. Ursidaen did not know how they could protect them against what hunted them. But he knew that any help right now was good help.
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Obscured figures rushed away from the lone pinprick of light near the Huta'an's edge. Two bodies on galloping horses. Or was it three? The young guardsman took the scope that hung on one of the guard-tower's posts. He used it to focus more closely on the rushing figures. A thin mist hampered his view, though not completely. He thought he saw one of the riders wearing a pine green cloak. The other had whipping white hair. The white haired figure lifted something to his mouth. Not a second later a horn sounded, the king's horn. Zoraean made a quick decision and responded as he'd been trained. He put the horn to his mouth and blew a steady note in reply to the one he just heard. He dropped himself swiftly down the ladder and barged into the cabin to wake the other guards. As soon as he threw open the door he was greeted by his captain.
"Whoat's goin' on!?" The captain demanded in his coarse mountain man's voice.
"The king's horn has been sounded, captain!"
"WHOAAAT'S GOIN' ON!?" The captain now roared as all the guards hurried to their horses'. "Details, facts, specifics. NOW!"
"Aye captain!" Zoraean replied, slightly flustered. "Two horses sir, towards the east. I strongly believe them to be the king and queen, sir!"
"Strongly believing is no fact, sapling. Is it them or not!?"
Zoraean thought it through for just a moment. There was no mistaking the fact that the king's horn had sounded that blast. And there was no reason for anyone other than him to have sounded it. "It is them, captain!" Zoraean answered.
"And why might they have sounded the alarm, sapling!?"
"Canigri, sir. They were being chased by three canigri."
The captain glared at him for just a moment before shifting his piercing gaze to the other men. They sat quietly grinning while they waited atop their horses.
"WHOAAAT ARE YA WAITIN' FOR!?" The man yelled. "LINE UP OUTSIDE! STANDARD FORMATION, NOW!"
"Aye captain!" The guards exclaimed in unison whilst stowing away the smirks on their faces
Two by two they exited the stables, six guards, including Zoraean, lined up outside in a two column formation, with himself at the back. The captain completed the formation by filling in the lead position.
"Aaand off!" The captain ordered.
Led by their captain the Royal Guards now spurred their horses into a full speed gallop. They headed straight towards their charge and the monsters that hunted them.
"No fear, no ...(something inspirational)"? Zoraean whispered to himself as he pulled his scarf up over his nose.
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The horn that sounded in reply to his gave Ursidaen a small sense of relief. It was short lived though, as behind him sounded the taunting laughs and snarls of inevitable doom. The thumping paws sounding like the rumbling drums of death.
"Ursidaen!" Called his wife, Amirae, from beside him. He turned his head.
"The guards are on their way." She said as she gestured towards guard-post ahead of them.
???(conversation)
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Jahad followed the chase from within the shadows of the forest. His black mare effortless trod over the thick roots and scattered bushes. He hadn't been surprised when earlier the two horns had sounded, he had expected this. He also knew precisely what would happen next as he watched one of the canigri bolt free of the pack at double speed.
The outcome was now inevitable.
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A snapping yap caught both Amirae and Ursidaen's attention. When they frantically twisted their heads in search of the taunt's origin they found it. A lone canigri ran a mere hundred paces to their left while slowly inching closer towards them. Another fifty paces behind the canigri ran a second. Ursidaen turned his head around and found behind him the final hunter.
"Amirae, faster!" Ursidaen half shouted, their current predicament now slightly fazing him. Ursidaen spurred his horse with his heel, Amirae followed suit.
"Ursidaen, look!" Amirae exclaimed as she gestured towards their pursuers.
"They're, no, it can't be..." Said Ursidaen.
The three still canigri held their quarter circular formation, and we're steadily moving closer towards their prey.
"We have to run Ursidaen!'" Amirae announced as she spurred the horse into its fastest speed.
Ursidaen glanced over towards the wolves and noticed one thing. They payed no attention to Amirae, their focused gazes were hungry for him alone. Testing his fear he slowed his horse slightly, and as if in perfect coordination the canigri slowed to a matching speed. His brow furrowed in worry, Ursidaen brought his horse to a faster run. Again the canigri followed suit. His fears were now justified, he was being herded, like livestock led to be butchered. Ursidaen saw Amirae was now a good twenty paces further ahead. She rode straight towards the guards who were nowhere near to be of help.
A dubious debate clamored in Ursidaen's head.
Vital seconds of time passed as love and survival wrestled for the upper hand.
Time wasted as courage and folly stood at a stuttering standoff.
At last he had chosen, Ursidaen had made up his mind.
"Amirae!" Ursidaen called out to his wife as he raced to meet her. She didn't respond so he called out louder, whilst keeping an eye on the shadowing canigri
"AMIRAE!!!" At last she turned her head, a surprised look showed on her face when she saw how far behind he had fallen.
"Why are you so far behind?" She questioned him worriedly, the look on his face distressing her even more.
"Ursidaen, what is going on?" She asked while slowing her horse for Ursidaen to catch up. Her eyes flashed back and forth between him and the tracking hounds.
"It is me they are after." Ursidaen replied.
"What are you saying?"
"They are hunting me, not you."
"What?" Said Amirae in reply while a heavy inkling slowly sank in.
"You-, you have to run Amirae, you will be safe." He said it so calmly it scared her even more.
"Wha-, wait, no, no!" She protested. "Whatever you are thinking to do, don't!"
"I have to and I will Amirae." He looked into her eyes. "I love you."
He tore apart the wordless conversation their eyes carried. He tore away before he saw the tears rimming in her eyes. He rushed off before her hurried protest changed his mind.
He yanked his horse's reigns sharply to the right, away from Amirae and back to the forest.
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The Royal Guards strode onward through the cold winter night. The icy breeze that battered their faces thawed only by their captain's heated thoughts.
"Whoat in the Ironbone King's name is he doin'!?" Yelled the captain aloud.
Zoraean strained his neck and straightened his body in an effort to see what had caused the captain's dismay. He could see nothing but the captain who unreservedly muttered on while he peered through a scope in his hand.
"Whoat does he think he's doing?" Exasperated the captain. "BY THE KING'S BONES! ARE THEY BOTH MAD!?'
"Ah yes, m'lady, why don't ya go ahead and hunt down the wolves while yer at it!"
"They better hand me a bag of gold after I save their hides!" The captain concluded before loudly growling an unintelligible array of grumps.
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The thump of padded paws followed the rumble of galloping hooves. A lonesome rider tailed by three hunters honed in on their prey. Three ambassadors of death who meant no delay.
Ursidaen's distraught mind dashed back and forth between heartbreak and steadfastness. How in this very moment he wished he had never loved Amirae. And how right now he wanted to do nothing but save her from this dark impending fate.
Ursidaen's mind switched back on to the horror at hand and cast his eyes westward where he saw the company of guards just two hundred paces away. Turning his body to see what was behind him not only showed him his wife in stubborn pursuit of the canigri, but also reminded him of something which brought him immediate dread.
The lonesome rider was not as lonesome as he first thought, for still riding quietly at his back was Tarilan. The young prince born five falls ago had fallen asleep during the chase's haze. His limp arms were loosely hooked around his father's waist while his weightless head rested against his back. The small black haired boy was fast asleep.
"No, no-no, no-no-no. NO!" Cried Ursidaen. His breathing quickened and his heartbeat raced.
"Wh-wha-what? No, no-no, th-this cannot be!" He thought aloud as panic threatened to wreck his resolve.
He turned his upper body to hoist his son and set him in front. "Tarilan." Ursidaen pleaded.
The young boy's autumn eyes looked at him in wonder. "Why?" His father asked, the question directed more at unseen forces than the unwitting child in his arms. An unwanted yet soothing sensation warmed his eyes...
Ursidaen fought to hold back the tears welling in his eyes. He fought to hold back what letting go would set free. He fought to show strength, hope. But fight hard as he did, the child he lived to love, to keep safe, to cherish, the child knew. The boy saw in his eyes what his father's tongue would not confess. He saw in his father's eyes something he did not fully understand. But what little the boy did see brought sadness to his tender heart. A heart that should have never had to feel what it did now. A heart that Ursidaen would have sheltered until the day ?it could fend for itself?.
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The thundering of hooves and the snapping of reigns accompanied the dashing guards. Their bellowing captain keeping alive their fiery determination while they rushed to their charge's aid.
They were a mere fifty paces behind the ravenous canigri.
"Drrraaawww yer swords and ready yer bows!!" Ordered the captain. "Prepare for battle!"
As ordered Zoraean and some of the guards unsheathed their swords while the others drew their bows. The moon's light illuminated the Guardian's Oath engraved in their blades. They were now twenty paces behind the canigri and half as close to their queen.
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???
And with that grim thought in mind Ursidaen plunged both of them into the darkness of the forest. As his eyes adjusted to the various shades of shifting shadows he deftly dodged whipping leaves and branches. Behind them Ursidaen recognized the sound of stampeding sound of canigri. A quick glance confirmed his fears. Guiding his horse between the tightly grown trees bought just mere paces of distance between them and the canigri. The broad bodied monsters on their tail carelessly crushed small trees and thick branches. Nothing would stand in their way, nothing would keep them from their prey.
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The guards intercepted their queen just as the king disappeared into the forest. Zoraean could see she was distraught.
"M'lady, if you would please ride behind us. That way we can ensure yer safety." Zoraean overheard the captain ask the queen.
"No-no-no, I have to get to my husband, and my son!" The queen frantically replied.
"M'lady, please, we will aid your husband and child." The captain said in an attempt to calm her.
"No, I cannot leave them, I must go after them!" She said as she wildly twisted her head to and fro.
"Arrr, I fear she's out of it." Stated the captain worriedly.
"Zoraean!" Called the captain as he took the queen's horse's reigns.
"Aye, captain!" Replied Zoraean from the back.
"Stay with the queen and keep her sound." Ordered the captain.
"Aye, captain!" Zoraean replied as he rode forward to do as he was instructed.
"Men!" The captain loudly exclaimed. "RIIIIIIIIDE ON!!!"
As one the guards followed their captain into a high speed gallop. Within seconds was Zoraean left with nothing but the distant sound of horses' hooves and a queen whose mind seemed lost.
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The world around him faded into a blur as Ursidaen realized there was no escape. He saw behind him two canigri.
"Where is the third..?" Said Ursidaen to himself.
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"I cannot stand idle while they die!" Screamed the queen as she yanked her horse's reigns out of Zoraean's hands.
"Wait, no!" Shouted Zoraean after the queen.
But before he could do anything else she was gone. He quickly whipped his horse's reigns and rode in pursuit of the queen. For the meagre head start she had she had gotten astonishingly far. Looking around Zoraean could find neither the king nor his assailants. Of his fellow guardsmen he only saw the last two enter the dark of the forest.
"Queen Amirae, please stop!" His shouting was of no use, the queen refused to listen. His eyes sought to penetrate the shadowed forest, he saw nothing but trees. But when he pierced with his eyes the darkness between the trees he saw rushing figures. Immediately he guessed them to be the other guards in pursuit of the canigri in pursuit of the king and prince. And by her actions Zoraean could tell the queen had seen them as well.
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Ursidaen looked around, with his eyes he desperately scoured the forest. He heart thumped twice as fast now. The questions that were raised in light of the missing harbinger made his blood run cold. He could feel the ice creep up his spine, he sense the cold tingle of dread leak to his bare feet.
"Where is it?" He asked himself. Trees and bushes became one with the darkness of the forest as the overhead branches clustered into a impenetrable canopy. Dark colours twisted into blackness, perceptible figures melted into an indistinguishable mass. The world around him became a blur of shadows.
But then, then he saw a flicker of white. An unheralded shift in the deep darkness brought about in him a familiar feeling....
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Zoraean raced on his horse trying hard to catch up with the queen. Pledging to still do all he could to protect his charge Zoraean sheathed his sword and retrieved the bow from his back. Holding both his bow and the reigns in his left hand Zoraean rummaged in his saddlebag and pulled out three arrows. Come what may he would do all in his power to keep safe the queen. The queen who had just now, unknown to Zoraean, plunged herself into the shadows of the Huta'an. Having retrieved his arrows Zoraean set his eyes to look for the queen,
She was gone.
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Panic.
It threatened to seize control of his emotions, freeze his thoughts and paralyze his body. To his far left, obscured behind the trees and bushes it ran. The phantom of the forest. Two cold shimmering specks occasionally glanced his way, death had found its prey. When Ursidaen felt certain all was lost and the beast was tired of toying, the canigri disappeared. Where once had been the pale herald of death only darkness remained.
A cold shiver crept up Ursidaen's spine...
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Zoraean worriedly looked into the forest for any signs. Anything that would advise him on what to do. A flash of silver caught his eye further ahead. Drawing his bow in precaution Zoraean nudged his horse to go faster. There it was again, now a more prominent blur, white in colour. Zoraean's heart started racing and his breathing quickened. He gasped and held his breath anticipation.
Out of the forest leaped the phantom. It landed with a roll and sprang back into a sprint with fluid efficiency. Zoraean thought about shooting it with an arrow but decided that it would be of no use from this distance. The canigri was too far away. He had to get closer.
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Only now did Ursidaen realize that they had reached Tahir, the part of the forest which was situated high on a cliff. When he listened closely Ursidaen could hear the crisp sound of the rushing river below. It was a hundred paces straight down from the cliff's edge. Aggravated shouts sounded behind him. The yapping canigri were closely on his tail. But what really chilled his skin and brought shivers to his spine was the one he could not find.
The one canigri that had disappeared like a thin mist unnerved him the most, but now...
Now he could sense it,
It was coming.
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The man clad with a black fur mantle rode upon his horse black as a moonless night sky. His dark appearance made him one with the shadows. He was a hidden witness unseen in the darkness. And from within that darkness he trailed behind his victims.
Silently watching.
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Ahead of him ran the canigri, its eyes focused only on the forest. There in the thick of the forest Zoraean saw a faint figure. The rushing rider with whipping white hair. The canigri glanced into the forest and sniffed the air, it growled. It was a deep, bone-trembling growl, the kind you would expect from a hot-blooded mosntersds
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The last raged canigri charged straight for Ursidaen. The powerful beast dodged tree-trunks and trampled frozen saplings on the way to its prey.
Twenty paces.
Ursidaen combed his mind, frantically searching for a way out, though he knew deep inside nothing could stop what was coming.
Death, now only ten paces away.
Death was inevitable, he thought to himself in those few seconds that seemed to stretch on like a million.
He let go of the reigns and held his son tightly in his arms.
"Tukaean, E nekurae." Whispered Ursidaen to his child.
Five paces.
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Zoraean let the arrow fly. He watched how it traveled the path he saw in his mind and envisioned it arriving at the destination he planned. But he missed, though not entirely. In stead of hitting it straight in its eye, the arrow struck the canigri in the its left rear leg, just as it was about to jump on its prey. With its leg in pain the pounce succeeded only half. Instead of launching itself to crush the king under his claws, the beast flew into a tumble. A tumble that would end just as bad.
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The monster rolled through the air like a crushing boulder. Its huge body slammed into Ursidaen's horse. His leg got caught between the two bodies, it snapped like a crusty old branch. The pain seemed distant compared to the cold rushing waters that awaited them below. The agony a mere side-thought compared to the blackness that awaited him. Ursidaen held his son close and stroked his head as they fell to the heartless grave that welcomed them both.
