An old, run-down shack stood deep within the Gurkhaha Forest. The most feared forest in the entire Furata Empire. Renart, a grizzled man in his fifties, swung his axe with measured strength, splitting wood to feed the fire.
A gust of cold wind rushed past, followed by a violent crack of thunder somewhere in the distance.
He paused and glanced toward the forest.
"I should hurry before the rain starts."
He raised the axe again, but this time, something stopped him.
A sensation. A surge of energy -- dark, twisted, and ancient. It prickled at his skin, sent a shiver crawling down his spine.
"That energy... it feels familiar... but how?"
Renart's instincts kicked in. Without hesitation, he gripped his axe tighter and sprinted toward the source, weaving between gnarled trees and dense underbrush. He wasn't the kind of man who scared easily -- not after decades of living in this cursed forest -- but even he avoided the place he was now heading into.
The thunder had struck here. A clearing, hidden deep in the forest. The soil was scorched, still smoldering.
Renart crouched behind a bush. His eyes widened.
A pack of Blood Hounds -- hulking, demonic beasts with matted black fur and glowing red eyes -- circled something on the ground, snarling viciously. Seven of them.
"What are they surrounding?"
Renart tried to get a better look at what they were surrounding while hiding in the bush. After finding out what they were surrounding.
Without hesitation, he threw his axe. It spun through the air and buried itself into the skull of one of the beasts with a sickening crunch. The creature collapsed instantly.
The remaining six turned in unison, letting out bone-rattling howls as they charged.
Renart dove forward, grabbing a stone from the ground and smashing it into the nearest hound's snout, crushing it under the weight of his rage.
"Five remaining," he murmured.
They didn't wait. This time, the hounds attacked together. One clamped its massive jaws onto Renart's shoulder, tearing through flesh and muscle. Blood gushed from the wound.
Roaring in pain, Renart broke free and dove for his axe. He spun and cleaved through the neck of the next hound, then another, and another. In a blur of motion, he killed four more.
But he was slowing down. The blood loss was getting to him.
His vision blurred.
The final hound lunged.
Renart stumbled back, reached out blindly, and grabbed the severed head of one of the beasts. With a desperate cry, he jammed its jagged, spike-like teeth into the throat of the last hound as it collided with him.
Both man and beast fell together. The weight crushed his chest. But the hound was dead. It would take a party of six Paladin Rankers to kill a single Blood Hound. But Renart was alone able to kill Seven of them.
Renart's breathing slowed. His vision darkened.
"I can't pass out. Not yet…"
The world went black.
" ---------------------------------------------"
He woke an hour later, cold and drenched in sweat. His body screamed in pain. He pushed himself up with a groan.
"How could I lose consciousness... I need to save that child."
The Blood Hounds had been circling something. Someone.
Renart limped over, stumbling through the blood-soaked clearing until he saw it — a child. A boy, seemed to have been around 10-11months old.
"He's still alive? No way… Was he traveling with someone? They must be close..."
But there was no one else.
Then he felt it again. The dark energy. Stronger this time, almost suffocating.
Renart's gaze snapped to the child. His hand tightened around his axe.
This energy… is it coming from him?
Hatred flared in his eyes for a moment. But he hesitated. Something didn't add up.
The child wasn't the source not directly. Renart activated his innate ability: Precision. His vision sharpened, focusing in on the boy's body, reading the subtle signs of life, blood flow… and poison.
His expression hardened.
"This isn't a random accident... Someone poisoned this child and left him here to die."
And not just anywhere -- in the depths of Gurkhaha. A place so cursed, only a handful in the empire could enter and return alive.
Someone had wanted this boy gone. Badly.
Renart looked down at the child's tiny form -- pale, barely alive, but still breathing. Somehow enduring a poison that would kill a grown man in minutes.
"Who are you, boy? And what kind of monster feared you enough to throw you into this hell?"
He sheathed his axe and gently lifted the child into his arms.
"You survived this long... I'll make sure you survive this."
Renart turned and ran towards his shack........
Renart reached his shack with the child in his hand. it started pouring heavily. Renart placed the child in a mattress. and for the first time in 10years Renart stepped outside the Gurkhaha forest. Renart knew that no medicine could cure that poision only his friend archmage Sofiana could help the boy. As he steps out of the forest he feels a heaviness in his body. The reason he had secluded himself from the world those memories started flooding his mind. Renart shook his head aggrisively and gave a strong slap to himself and ran towards Sofiana house.He tore and piece of his cloth and tied it around his shoulder to stop the bleeding.
"Sofiana I need your help. please help me."
Sofiana in utter shock as if she has seen a ghost.
"Renart...where have you been all this time, what happened to you?"
"I dont have time to explain to you Sofiana just come with me."
Renart held Sofiana hand and asks her to teleport them outside the Gurkhaha forest. Sofiana gets a bit flustered as Renart holds her hand but getting back to her senses she realizes it's something very important, for Renart to be this panicked and in this condition, she teleports them to outside the forest. Renart picked Sofiana and started running towards the house. While running, Sofiana asked
"Why are going in the Gurkhaha forest it's dangerous. what is going on Renart and where were you all this time."
Renart gives a short answer
"Please save the child"
When they reached the shack, Sofiana immediately felt the dark, oppressive energy seeping through the air. Renart pushed the door open. Her eyes fell on the infant lying on the mattress pale, unconscious, but very much alive.
Her breath caught.
"How is he still breathing...?"
"Please," Renart rasped, stumbling. "Help him."
She turned to protest, but saw the blood-soaked cloth on his shoulder.
"Renart, your wound--it's serious. You need treatment too--"
"FOCUS ON THE KID!" he roared.
Startled, she nodded and rushed to the boy. Hours passed as she worked, carefully drawing the poison from his veins. Her hands glowed with magic, lips murmuring incantations. Sweat beaded her brow.
Finally, she slumped back, exhausted.
"It's done. The poison's gone from his body, but..." she whispered, turning toward Renart.
He was unconscious. Blood had pooled beneath him.
"Damn it, Renart!"
She crawled to him, pressed both palms to his chest, and began healing.
Four days later...
Renart awoke with a groan. At first, he thought it had all been a dream -- until he heard a soft giggle.
He turned his head. The boy lay beside him, staring up at the ceiling with wide, curious eyes.
Sofiana entered the room, carrying a small towel. Her eyes welled with tears the moment she saw him awake.
Without thinking, she dropped the towel and rushed to him, wrapping him in a hug.
"I'm glad you're finally awake," she whispered.
Later, sitting beside the fire, Sofiana finally asked the question that had weighed on her heart for years.
"Why, Renart? Why were you in the Gurkhaha Forest? Why did you leave… without a word?"
Renart lowered his gaze. His voice was barely audible.
"I couldn't handle the guilt."
Her tone sharpened.
"But it wasn't your fault. What could you have done? You barely survived that day."
"Yes, I survived…" he said bitterly. "And they didn't."
Sofiana opened her mouth, but no words came. The child giggled again, cutting through the tension.
Renart stood. "I'll go chop some firewood."
She watched him go, then murmured softly, "It was hard for me too..." Tears silently fell from her eyes.
Outside, Renart tried to balance a log with his injured shoulder, but pain shot through his arm. He gritted his teeth, lifted the axe with one hand, and split the wood in one swing.
The sun dipped low, casting a golden glow over the forest edge.
From the house, Sofiana called out, "The food is ready, Renart!"
He washed his face in a bucket outside and glanced at his wound in the reflection.
That shack… it no longer felt like a prison. For the first time in ten years, it felt like a home.
Over dinner, Sofiana asked, "So… who is this kid? And what in the world happened to you?"
Renart explained, "I found him in the forest. Surrounded by a pack of Blood Hounds."
Her eyes widened. "You fought Blood Hounds?! Alone?! You idiot, you could've died!"
"What would you have me do?" he said quietly. "Leave him there to be eaten?"
"No, of course not," she muttered.
Renart leaned back. "Honestly, it's a good thing he was poisoned."
Sofiana blinked. "You're insane. How is that a good thing?"
"Think about it. If he hadn't been poisoned, the Hounds would've devoured him. But the dark energy in his body, they sensed it. They feared it. That poison saved his life."
She nodded slowly. "You're… right. In a twisted way, it did."
She paused. "So… what are you going to do with him?"
Renart got close to the child and waved a finger over his face. The boy immediately grabbed it -- and didn't let go.
Renart tugged, but the infant's grip was like stone.
"What monstrous strength… Am I just weak from blood loss? No… this kid... this isn't normal".
Sofiana fed the boy warm cow's milk while Renart laid back, deep in thought. He couldn't risk giving the child to the empire--someone powerful wanted him dead. He laid awake the whole night, watching the boy breathe.
At sunrise, he splashed water on his face, took a breath, and turned to Sofiana.
"I'm going to raise him."
She stared at him. "Are you insane? You know nothing about children."
"I'll learn. While you're here, you can teach me."
He paused, then added gently, "You probably have a family to return to. I'm sorry for keeping you so long--"
Sofiana's eyes welled up. She slapped him hard across the face.
He stared, stunned.
"How dare you," she whispered through tears. "You think you were the only one suffering? You knew how I felt about you… and now you tell me to go back to a family that never existed?"
Her voice broke. "I never married. After you disappeared, I searched for years. Everyone said you were dead -- but I waited. I believed. And now you say this?"
Renart broke. His walls crumbled.
"I'm sorry, Sofiana. I was a coward. I ran because I didn't know how to face it all."
He embraced her tightly. Both of them wept into each other's arms. And then, in that silence, he kissed her--not a goodbye, not out of guilt--but a kiss full of everything unsaid for a decade.
That evening, while sitting by the fire, Sofiana whispered, "What should we call him?"
Renart smiled. "I've already thought of a name."
"Oh? What is it?"
He knelt by the child and gently brushed his hair aside.
"I don't know who birthed you, or what name they gave you. But today, I'll name you Ashar."
He looked into the boy's eyes.
"Because you rose from the ashes."
The child giggled, eyes gleaming.
And the new story began.