Chapter 1 :

- Isaac! We're running out of meat!

Isaac slowly raised his head in the middle of the wheat field when he heard his name. He sighed:

- Okay, Auntie, I'll go hunting.

- Ahahah be careful and don't get killed by a rabbit," laughed his cousin Altair.

- Very funny.

Isaac picked up his tools and went to put them away in the barn. Returning to his room, he prepared his hunting bag: bow, quiver, knife, supplies, etc. His family had been poor since the death of their father.

His family had been poor since the death of his uncle a few years ago. Isaac was only 9 at the time.

This meant they couldn't buy meat from the village butcher, as all their money went into the crushing royal taxes imposed to finance the war against the northern rebels.

He arrived at the doorstep and paused for a few seconds:

- I'll come back when I've got something to eat.

- Take care, my child," said his aunt.

Isaac smiled and left, closing the door behind him. He waved to his cousin, still in the field, and headed for the forest.

It was called the forest of the suicides because long ago an entire garrison committed suicide in this forest for obscure and strange reasons. Since then, almost no one in the village has dared venture there for fear of dying.

- Children's stories," he scoffed.

As he went deeper into the forest, he noticed that the fading light bathed the forest in a warm atmosphere, gilding the leaves and accentuating the long shadows of the trees.

The air was infused with a soft freshness, a gentle breeze stirring the leaves and caressing Isaac's face.

But the deeper Isaac went into the forest, the bushier and darker it became. The light penetrated the leaves to a great extent, giving the forest a special atmosphere.

He'd been going into the forest since he was thirteen to provide food for his family.

Noticing that he had reached the part of the forest where game was less scarce, he took his bow in hand and nocked an arrow.

Stooping, he walked against the wind to avoid being sensed by potential prey, and headed deeper into the forest.

He walked like this for several hours, the sun beaming down on the forest.

-Already so late and still no prey in sight, he swore.

Either he was a poor hunter, which he'd never admit, or he was just unlucky, and it would appear that he really was.

He continued his fruitless hunt until it was pitch dark and decided to give up for today and set up camp.

But just as Isaac was about to turn back, he spotted a group of deer in the distance. Under the lunar halo, twenty or so silhouettes were grazing. 

- Now's my chance!

He slowly approached the group, taking care not to make any noise, and got within shooting distance.

He braced his bow with a sure hand. He was about to experience the culmination of an entire quest in just one day! He took one last deep breath... and an explosion pierced the night.

The herd fled. Isaac leapt forward into the grass, the wind whipping his face. He stopped and aimed his arrow at a fleeing doe. The doe swerved sharply, and the arrow missed its target by an inch before whistling away into the darkness. 

Isaac swore. Pivoted his whole body. Instinctively notched another arrow. Behind him, where the doe had stood a moment earlier, was a large charred circle. 

Most of the trees had lost their leaves. The surrounding grass was flattened. Wisps of smoke rose into the air, exhaling a burnt smell.

In the center, a polished stone, undulating between blue and violet as the moonlight reflected off it.

Isaac froze for a long moment at the sight of this strange stone appearing out of nowhere, his senses on the alert. But all around was motionless; only the mist moved heavily. The boy released his bow and approached cautiously. 

Under the moonlight, his pale shadow stopped in front of the stone. Ever cautious, he touched it with the tip of his arrow and immediately jumped back to see what would happen. Nothing happened.

Then, with a determined hand, he grabbed it.

The stone glowed faintly on contact.

Isaac dropped the stone in surprise, and it fell to the grass with a thud.

After a few moments, he approached it again and held out a trembling finger to the stone. 

His finger slowly approached until it met the cold surface of the egg. But this time the stone gave off no glow, remaining silent, while the blue and violet on its surface still undulated in its hypnotic dance. 

Isaac put the strange stone in his rucksack and looked for a place to bivouac. 

- No stone, however beautiful, will fill my belly. Perhaps I could sell it to the jeweler who should be arriving in the village in the next few days with the other merchants. he thought.

The young man finally found a clearing. He took out six stones from his rucksack and arranged them in a circle. Reaching back into his bag, he pulled out a flint, rubbed it against a stone and the sparks created by the friction set fire to the moss and wood at the center of his stone circle.

Once his campfire was built, Isaac took out his sleeping bag and lay down by the fire. 

It took him a long time to fall asleep, the sounds of the forest making him uncomfortable. He was used to it, but this time he felt the atmosphere was different, as if he were under the gaze of the whole forest.

- I hope to find some game tomorrow, I don't want to spend another night here. he swore.

Finally, after a few hours of cogitating, nothing happened and Isaac fell asleep from exhaustion.