It has been a day since we departed from Fort Marin, we are gonna be in Veron Valley soon.
When we left, Commander Orryn sent a few of his men alongside us, incase things got ugly.
Right now, we were passing through the Manjum Forest.
Manjum Forest was a thick and large forest, spanning over eighty kilometers.
It was a lush green forest, filled with tall Manjulen Trees, which would only grow here.
It was home to many animals and birds, aswell as deadly snakes.
The Manjulen Trees were tall and thick, the bark was soft and brown in color, it's leaves pointy and hard.
The leaves possessed a sweet scent, the ooze from the bark was used in perfumes, it possessed a strong scent.
Manjum Forest also had great mountains, it had two strange mountains, called the Twinlets, two giant tall boulders, they were tall, up straight.
It was quiet eerie actually, the quietness.
The forest was beautiful, no doubt about it, but the animals were mostly in hiding. The forest is quiet most of the times. It's accustomed to humans.
The animals know to hide, because when the humans come, and feel like hunting, they don't wanna be the ones to die.
Manjum Forest hosts many a plants and herbs, many houses have even been built inside the forest, a lot of people make their living off these herbs, aswell as hunting animals inside the forest.
I was looking out the window, into the Forest, I couldn't remember the last time I was here, it was a long time ago.
Mother placed her hand on my shoulder, getting closer, her golden fell over my face and shoulder, "We are gonna be stopping for supper soon."
I turned back at her and hummed, then I looked at Vaelira.
She was sitting there, looking at us.
I opened my mouth, "Did you bring the bow?" I asked.
Vaelira nodded.
I nodded, "Good, let's hunt some wild boars, if we find them."
----------------------------------------------------------
The carriage rolled to a stop near the base of the Twinlets, those towering stone sentinels that stood like silent guardians of the forest. The massive boulders loomed over us, their smooth surfaces catching the late afternoon light in an almost unnatural way.
Ser Daryn, the lead guardsman Orryn had assigned to us, appeared at the carriage window. "Your Grace, we'll make camp here for supper. The horses need rest, and the men could use a hot meal."
Mother nodded. "Very well. But keep the watches doubled. I don't like how quiet this forest is."
Vaelira was already out of the carriage before I could blink, stretching her arms above her head with a satisfied groan. "Finally. My legs were starting to go numb."
I followed, my boots sinking slightly into the soft earth. The air here was thick with the sweet scent of Manjulen sap, mixed with something earthier—damp soil and crushed leaves.
One of the guards was already gathering firewood, while another tended to the horses. The rest fanned out in pairs, scanning the treeline with hands on their sword hilts.
We walked towards where the camp was being set up and sat down on the rocks.
I had taken the bow, alongside a few arrows.
I looked at Ser Daryn, who had sat infront of us, "So, you been here before?" I asked.
Ser Daryn nodded, chuckling, "I don't know of a place I haven't been, I used to be a mercenary, worked for the Vornhalls."
I rose my eyebrows, "What made you become a knight then? I am sure being a mercenary pays better."
"Ay, it does." Ser Daryn replied, "But wealth stop mattering to me a long time ago. Twelve years ago, when the Holloweds hit, my family was killed, and I was gonna be killed too." He looked up at the Twinlets.
"Then, commander Orryn came and saved me. Struck by grief, I tried to take my own life, but he stopped me, he gave me a purpose. A responsibility, to stop what happened to my family from happening to others." Ser Daryn said, his voice holding a hint of reminiscence.
"Sounds like quite the character, commander Orryn." I said, switching my attention to Vaelira, who was sharpening the tip of a arrow with her dagger, "You've been here before, right? How was it before? When the walls weren't up?"
Vaelira hummed, "The inside isn't really different from when it was before the wall was created, Veron Valley didn't suffer much. It was the Caelyns and Norens that suffered the most."
"That so? Huh." I shifted my attention to the forest, looking for any signs of life, a boar, specifically. I couldn't bring my heart to kill a deer.
Then, I heard a rustle.
"Get ready dear," My mother said, who was sitting right beside me, "Strike it in its head, it won't be able to run."
I saw it, a dark figure behind the bushes, across the path.
I raised the bow and grabbed the arrow from Vaelira's hands, who rolled her eyes.
It moved, coming out of the bushes, walking.
I loaded the arrow, and pulled the string back.
I aimed the arrow at the boar's head.
I felt Vaelira hand on my back, and her breath on my hair, she was right behind me.
I let go of the arrow.
It zoomed to the boar, cutting through the air.
I aimed for the head.
The arrow got close to the head, and for the miliseconds, I thought it was gonna go through the boar's head.
It zoomed past the top of the boar's head, grazing it, drawing blood.
The boar roared, and took off.
Immediately, Vaelira took the bow from my hand.
She took a arrow out of the quiver on the ground, aiming it at the rapidly disappearing boar.
She drew the knock and let it go.
The arrow struck true, right in the boar's head.
The boar screamed before collapsing dead.
I looked down, feeling ashamed.
The son of King Aerdran can't even kill a bow, needs his big sister to rely on.
I followed her, to the boar's body.
The boar lay there, it's body still on the ground, the arrow protruding from its head.
"Take it." Vaelira said, "And skin it."
I knelt down and touched the boar, it was still warm.
The boar was a female, so it was gonna be less heavy. (For reference, a wild female boar is 70-80 KG. And this one is over 90 KG, upscaling.)
I went behind the boar, and grabbed it by its hind legs, and put all my strength into lifting it.
"HHNNGHH!" I grunted, struggling to lift the heavy boar.
Vaelira laughed, "Aw... Look at the Prince! Struggling to lift a wild boar."
I narrowed my eyes at her, now it was about my pride.
I looked down at the boar, drawing in a sharp breath, bracing myself.
"HNGH!" I grunted loudly, tensing all the muscles in my arms, drawing all my strength, to lift the wild boar.
And I did lift it, but now I had to get it to the camp.
I grit my teeth and took a step, and then another.
At this point, it was the pride keeping me up.
And the fact that I was very weak.
And so, I walked.
Step by step, i reached the path.
Vaelira had already gone and sat down on the camp, sharpening more arrows.
My mother was looking at me with a smile.
The soldiers were looking at me, chuckling and laughing.
As I crossed the manmade path, I turned to my right, where a man was laughing.
I scowled at him, "The fuck you laughing at?"
The man stopped laughing, still grinning. Covering his mouth.
A few men who heard at me whistled.
I made sure to say it as quietly as I can so that mother wouldn't hear it.
And she didn't, she had already shifted her attention to the other boar that was being cooked.
While I was struggling getting this one boar, the others had gotten a plenty of them.
Regardless, I walked to the camp and once I was near the fire, I dropped the boar and sat down on a stone, gasping for air.
Mother chuckled, "Dear, I could lift a boar like that easily. It seems what Vaelira said was indeed true."
"Not too bad." Vaelira barked, "Now skin it."
I looked at her, "Skin it?"
Vaelira chuckled, "Yes, skin it, Prince." She tilted her head, "Or would you rather your sister-"
"Ok fine!" I said as knelt down beside the boar, looking up at Ser Daryn for guidance.
Ser Daryn knelt beside the carcass, his knife flashing in the firelight. "Watch close now, my prince," he said, his voice low and steady. "A clean kill deserves a clean butchering."
I moved closer, my nose wrinkling at the metallic tang of blood.
"First," he said, pressing the tip of his blade just below the boar's jaw, "you find the soft spot here. No sawing—one smooth cut down the belly." His knife parted flesh with disturbing ease, revealing glistening layers of fat and muscle beneath.
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to watch as he peeled back the hide.
"Your turn," he said, offering me the knife.
The hilt was warm from his grip. My first cut was clumsy, the blade catching on sinew. Daryn didn't laugh. Just guided my hand with his own, showing me the angle.
"Better," he murmured as my next stroke flowed cleaner. "Remember—respect the meat. Waste nothing."
By the time we'd finished, my hands were sticky with blood, but the boar was properly dressed—hindquarters separated from the ribs, organs carefully set aside for broth, hide scraped clean.
Mother nodded approvingly from across the fire. Vaelira just smirked, but there was something almost like pride in her eyes.
- - - -
After supper—roasted boar seasoned with forest herbs—Daryn and I walked the perimeter, checking the tree line. The forest was eerily still, the only sounds our boots crunching on fallen leaves and the distant call of a nightbird.
"Remember," Ser Daryn said, "Whenever you set up camp, always confirm your surroundings for any settlements or caves where predators might hide like bears or lions. This forest has Bears, Tigers, everything. I am showing this to you even though we are setting camp right now, because it's something you'd need in the future, if you are to pursue combat."
I nodded, "Well, nothing out of the ordinary-"
Then I saw it.
A flicker of gold between the trees.
At first I thought it was firelight reflecting off sap. Then it moved.
"Ser," I whispered, gripping his arm.
Daryn followed my gaze. His breath caught.
It was a stag.
The stag was unlike any I'd ever seen—its coat shimmered like molten sunlight, its antlers branching like gilded lightning. It watched us with eyes too knowing, too bright.
Daryn's bow was in his hands before I could blink. "A once-in-a-lifetime trophy," he breathed, nocking an arrow.
I opened my mouth to protest—
*Thwip.*
The arrow flew.
The stag screamed—a sound too human—as the shaft buried itself in its flank. It staggered, then bolted into the trees.
"After it!" Daryn shouted, already running.
We crashed through the underbrush, following the trail of golden blood that glittered strangely in the moonlight. We found the stag collapsed by a Manjulen tree, its sides heaving.
Up close, the wound was worse than I'd thought. The arrow had gone deep, the shaft snapping when the stag fell. Blood pulsed around it in rhythmic spurts.
Daryn reached for his knife.
"Wait," I said, surprising myself.
The stag's eyes met mine. There was no fear there. Just... recognition.
I knelt, ignoring Daryn's protests. My hands trembled as I grasped the broken arrow. "This will hurt," I whispered.
The stag didn't flinch as I pulled. The shaft came free with a sickening slurp. I tore a strip from my tunic, pressing it to the wound. The blood soaked through instantly, warm against my palms.
To my shock, the flow slowed almost immediately. The stag's breathing eased.
Daryn made the sign of the Three. "That's no ordinary beast."
As we watched, the stag struggled to its feet. It regarded me for a long moment, then bowed its head—just once—before vanishing into the trees.
The cloth in my hands was no longer bloody. Just... gold. Like thread spun from sunlight.
I showed the cloth to Ser Daryn, who just looked down at it.
He turned his eyes towards the direction the stag left in, "I believe we may have been very fortunate encountering that creature. In the tales such creatures usually bless you, coming to your aid when in need."
I looked down at the now golden cloth, "What a fascinating world we live in... Magic, Dragons, Golden Stags, and what not..."
---
Thoughts?