"Hah, Hoo!!! I'm ready now!" There was a young boy, went into the forest. His ears filled with a collective chip of the birds.
Caw!!!! Caw!!!
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
Trr! Trr! Trr!
"I'm Xerxez Herzthroven, a twelve-year-old prince born in Thallerion, at the Betelgeuse District." Today, he's going to march beneath the green, turdy oak trees like knights standing along his path. His mother's name was Xurien Wrez Herzthroven, she loves poetry, and singing was her hobby. And his father, Cerceux Herzthroven, king of Thallerion. Sometimes, he accompany him on his training lesson for archery.
"Yeak!" The boy stop as he heard a different chirp. "What's that chirp?
The young boy believed the Earth was spinning continuously. In every spin—a week, a month, or a year—a bird's nest would be destroyed and then rebuilt again in a glimpse. Every branch, every bustling blade of grass, and every fallen dried leaf, perhaps there were two, three, or even four shiny eggs.
What truly captivated him were the vibrant eggshells—vivid red, pure white, deep blue, and a playful mix of speckles. Each one had a unique size and gentle weight. Some were smooth, others delightfully rough. Each one was perfectly familiar in the cup of his hands.
Tweeet!!! Tweet!!!
As he moved through the earthly woods beneath the verdant canopy, each step was muffled by the moss-coated earth. Above his head, the cherished chorus of chirping robins, their bright chests orange against their blue feathers, echoed from the high branches of a thick, lustrous oak.
The boy's tough leather shoes, made for traversing any obstacle as he walked in the roots of a giant tree, it crunched faintly on the fallen leaves, carrying him deeper into the woods. A simple bow made of bamboo and strong nylon was slung diagonally across his back, and the quiver of arrows at his hip hinted at his purpose, though the reason for his solitary journey remained hidden beneath his royal blue jacket and simple white t-shirt.
Glob! Gloob! The boy heard a sound of water movement .
He traced each tree branch as if following the crooked lines of a map. There, he spotted a blue shimmer—a robin's nest, hidden high up in an old oak tree. His heart swelled with excitement. In the meantime, eyes watched him from under the water. Sometimes, a creature moved closer to him, but it would hide in the thick mud if he noticed it. "Hmm...maybe it was just a tiny creature, toying at me."
With swift movements, he began to climb the tree, his feet gripping the rough bark tightly. Branches scratched him and brittle twigs broke as he climbed carefully. Soon, the forest lay beneath him like a green ocean. When he reached the nest, he carefully peered inside, his head rising like a sun.
"hehe..." He laughed as he saw the three shiny blue eggs lying there. "Got ya!!"
A wide smile spread across his face as he collected two of the eggs, leaving the smaller one to hatch. He whispered a sound of triumph. This was pure happiness, a feeling better than any royal decree. He stood in the tree, sightseeing the paradise below and then he breathed.
Grahh-grahh-grahh!"
"Hehe..." He saw more pale red feathers over there! "Hmm... that's a piece of cake!"
Hraahnk! Hrrrooonk! Hrrrahh!
Hrrrnkkk, hrrrnnkk!!!
The flamingo parents were unaware of his presence. "I'm sure I could snatch their eggs as many as possible. Because I am a child of Thallerion!" The flamingoes squeaked joyfully, but the young boy was now in the thick bushes, waiting for an opportunity.
The young boy knew that being a citizen of Thallerion, he belonged to a famous line of hunters. "Grandpa told me...we were famous hunters back then."
But he also believed that everything had changed because the protector of Thallerion had disappeared. But, His grandpa had advised him, "With or without a protector, true warrior's strength will come from the heart."
Hraahnk! Hrrrooonk! Hrrrahh!
Grahh-grahh-grahh!
Hrrrnkkk, hrrrnnkkk
"And that's why...I am here grabbing the eggs of flamingoes in the mud mound." The flamingoes' nest was not made of dried leaves, but indeed of mud. The boy again noticed the moving things beneath the water...something big like a fish, and then the movement suddenly disappeared.
Glob! Gloob! The water moved
"What are those moving things beneath the swamp?" He noticed it but was still unaware of the unknown creature's true form. At the same time, there was an object not far away in the flamingoes' bathing place, then, it creates bubbles with a low pitch, something calling at him. "Psst!" Gloop!
Hrrrnkkk, hrrrnnkkk!!!
"Anyway, those aggressive flamingoes almost pecked my butt!" He snatched the flamingo eggs from the mud mound in the swamp. The flamingoes saw him as an enemy. "Ouch!" He was still lucky even though the female flamingoes were really aggressive, chasing him, was still able to get their eggs. He put the light beige eggshells into his pouch basket. "Of course, one would be left to hatch."
SQUAWK!!!! SWAAAAWK!!!!
"Oh...that sound," his ears gripped an adorable squawk, different from any earthly birds. "If I am not mistaken...that sound was...The Crane!" Then he headed towards the big trees, searching for the source of the squawk. "If I could snatch one, it would be the most victorious hunt in my youthful life. But I still haven't gotten one. I wish I could trace their nest."
He had waited for so long, promising his grandpa that one day, if he could snatch one, he would give it to him. But...his grandpa had died a year ago. He sighed.
"Hmm...Don't worry, Grandpa, wherever you are in heaven, I promise to bring eggs from that mysterious bird to your tomb."
Gloob! Glob!
He wondered what the color of that Crane was. "Maybe it is also big?" This hunting season would be challenging for him. Concurrently, the creature moved in the mangroves, but the young prince just ignored it, thinking it was only a fish.
"Pssst!" The boy heard the whistle at him, but this time it was clear, and audible, as he waded through the knee-deep water, something glimmered at his feet, encrusted with sand and half-submerged. "Yeak!"
"Woah, what is this?"
At his first glance, he thought it was a stone, but upon closer inspection, he saw jewels embedded in its design.
"Oh, it's a dagger! Look, it's beautiful! Like...like a treasure. Who is the owner of this dagger?"
He looked around. From the thick mangroves, the water moved as if a giant fish was aggressively swimming towards him, however, before the creature do an ill intention, the dagger trembled on his palm as if it give him a warning. "Yow, the dagger was shaking?!"
Suddenly the dagger utter a manly voice, like a goblin pitch. "Yeak! Look out! "
"Whoa...what that sound!?" His skin hairs goosebumps, as he heard a guttural voice of a dagger, like a short man, with high pitch tone. "You're talking?"
"GRAWRR!!!!" The unknown creature suddenly jumped toward his hand where the dagger was located. "That treasure is mine!!!" it sounded, but in Xerxez's ear, he couldn't understand what it was mumbling about.
"Yeak! Monster!"
"Whaaaaaaa!!!!!! Monster!!!!?" The boy was shocked upon seeing the creature jumping towards him. It was a swamp lizard, with sharp claws like a sloth's. It was as big as a wild boar. He stepped back in astonishment, but its tail suddenly coiled around Xerxez's foot. "Wheeeere ya goin'!!!! Groock!" The lizard mumbled, but the young prince still didn't understand it. It sounded like a frog... "Crokcrokklock!"
"The monster said...well don't ever try to hand me over him!"
"That's what he said?" The creature trying to reach the dagger but the boy lifted it higher. "Hey...Let me go!!!!"
"You talking-dagger, help me!!!! —Ouch!!!" His foot was bleeding. "Hoo, you bit me!?" He stared painfully at the lizard.
Then, the lizard started squinting a green substance around Xerxez's surroundings. "Heh… this piss o' mine'll turn the water green an' toxic. Even the fish'll keel over. The stench alone'll knock ya out cold. Crok crok! Go on—smell it, ya little runt!"
"Don't smell it, young man! Yeak!" The dagger said.
"Disgusting!!!! What is this green!?" The boy now understand what creature was saying as the dagger translated it, but he felt nauseous. "What a foul odor! Like...like a bitter dog fart?!"
"Use me hit him!" The dagger ordered. "Huh?"
The boy tried to escape from the reptilian's grip, which felt like an iron chain. It gripped him tightly like a snake. The moment he thought to stab the creature, the dagger in his hand suddenly flared up with a blinding light, accompanied by the sound of a sharp shriek from a bird. "What happening at you?!" The boy was blown up with wonder, he can't even imagine how it went through. But his hand, commanded, with precise action.
"Drrr… wh-what's this…? That blade's sparkin' up—lightnin'? Crok crok!! I gotta tell the master 'bout this… but—gaaah! Nooo! Ughhh! You'll pay for that, ya nasty little brat!" He was electrocuted.
Clop!!! clop!!!! His four-pedal walked in the water without emerging in the water like a salamander lizard that run disparately, as wild as breathless fish.
"Wh-what's happening, did you kill it?" He asked curiously, then, when he realized the lizard was hurt, he laughed sarcastically. "Hahahha! The lizard ran away!!!" He saw the electric energy on the dagger hit its rough skin, then, it suddenly turned off as if it easy as he was just using a stick match. "Thank you, talking-dagger!"
"Yeaks!"
"You coward!!!" He shouted loudly in the swamp, but he thought it was a baby Komodo dragon. "Such a nuisance! Don't try to show your face again...or you'll be toasted, lizard!!!!" The boy shouted again with pride. "My grandpa's stories about the monsters outside of the Thallerion's wall was real." He amazed. "Hey, why are you talking?" He moved it upside down, as he scrutinized. "I'm a super dagger, yeaks!"
"Ow, fantastic, you'll be my sidekick!" The boy was amazed. "Super dagger! But, I'll call you: YEAK!"
"Any way... let's move on with that...it is just a rare encounter, with a talking lizard."
He continued to watch, after he put the dagger in his pouch, waiting for the bird to sound again, even though his foot felt numb. He crept even closer to the thick bushes. Suddenly, he felt something trembling in his pouch, as if giving him another warning. "Oh, I get it... every time it shake...there is a threat coming."
While all this was going on, the lizard, with severe wounds, still managed to reach its master. It was panting and weakening. "The nasty boy...has a powerful treasure. He was in the stream... near the swamp."
"Treasure!?" The master's lips slit sharply on its rough cheek with a hint of greed. "Let's go!!! Let's hunt for a treasure!!!" He commanded to all frolicking lizards.
"Be careful...the dagger has a lightning ability! It can electrocute!"
The swamp lizard called many companions, a whole clan in unison. Their rhythmic sound was like iron screeching against each other. The swamp became dirty with the green substance.
"Whoa...why are there so many?"
"Oh, so this is the little brat, with a royal dress, haha...I wonder why he is alone here?" The master of the lizards thought. "Where is the dagger, is he hiding it under his jacket or in the pouch basket?"
"Young boy...give us the dagger if you don't want pain." The Chief of the swamp lizards spoke, it is bigger from the rest, as big as old komodo-dragon.
"Whoa, the swamp lizard can speak?"
"We command you...Give us the dagger or else..."
"Who are you?" The boy gripped his pouch.