The Mistwoods, a seemingly boundless expanse of rainforest filled with all kinds of living creatures.
Between Ashborn County and the Mistwoods lay a river that was hundreds of miles long, and there were many small villages that relied on this river—the Longfort Village being one of them.
Today was a special day in Longfort Village. Today, a new village head was about to take charge.
The Longfort villagers had all gathered near a huge tree in the middle of the village, and underneath this tree stood an old man in his seventies and his son, who looked to be about forty.
"My people!"
The old man's words were received with cheers and applause from the villagers.
"I have led you for the past fifteen years, and today I must step down."
The applause died down, and the people respectfully stayed silent as the old man spoke further.
"Today, my son will take my place—my son, who has awakened a blessing, shall guide our village toward a bright future!"
The villagers cheered and applauded again.
"What's a blessing, Mom?" Talon asked his mother with curious eyes.
"It's a gift, my son! A gift from the heavens! The gods bless those who are worthy with a blessing. Do you know why your father is called the Thunderstrike?"
The mother asked while stroking Talon's head lovingly.
"Because he is a good lumberjack?"
Talon's reply made his mother laugh gently.
"No, my son, it's be—" Suddenly, the sound of a loud horn was heard.
A-OO-GAH!
"Talon Heartwood, I want you to fetch me three buckets of water from the River Long. Go quickly—run!"
Talon knew it was serious when his mom called him by his full name, so he ran with all his might, three wooden buckets in his little hands.
He didn't run much before he got tired. Longfort was the closest village to the river, but it was still a mile away, and Talon was only ten.
As he approached the river, he saw a peculiar scene: a bunch of kids his age and one older than him were beating up another kid. The kid getting bullied had a swollen face, purple bruises, and he was bleeding nonstop from his nose.
"STOP!"
Talon roared.
"Who's this bitch?"
The slightly older kid asked another one, who nervously said,
"It's Uncle Orin's son."
"That lumberjack?" another asked.
"You idiot, 'that lumberjack' is one of the very few people in our village who has a blessing,"
a lean boy said. By this time, the older boy was already face-to-face with Talon.
"Why are you beating him up?" Talon asked, his eyes filled with righteous fury.
"To awaken a blessing, of course!"
Talon blinked twice in confusion, and then he remembered what his mother would always tell him: "Always help those in need."
Talon put himself between the bullied kid and the older boy.
"You have two choices: either we beat up the two of you, or you will hold him in place for me. If you do that, I won't bother you again."
Talon was confused. "What do you—"
Suddenly, the bullied boy grabbed Talon from behind, and he kept saying, "I am sorry, I am sorry."
The next thing Talon registered was a punch—and then another, and another. Soon, all the boys joined in and began beating him up as if they were competing to see who could hurt him the most.
When Talon fell to the ground, they kicked him as hard as they could. He tried to scream, but no words came out of his mouth.
He was just trying to do the right thing. Why was this happening to him? He didn't know. He didn't want to know. He just wanted this pain to end. He wanted to get back to his mother.
An unknown amount of time later, Talon woke to the blue moon shining on him. The boys had already left many hours ago. He felt pain all over his body, but it wasn't too bad considering the brutal beating he had taken—though he was feeling really, really hungry.
"I should get back," Talon suddenly remembered what he had come to do. He didn't want to disappoint his mother. He knew how she struggled every day for them. She was a servant at the village head's place. His father was someone who rarely came home; he didn't even remember the last time he had seen his father. In his mind, his mother was all he had, and he wanted to make her proud one day. But now, he had failed to do a simple task she had asked.
"AAAAAH!" Talon screamed as he let out his frustration. It made him calm down enough to realize how foolish it was to make loud noises at this time near the river.
Talon filled one of the buckets with water from the river and hurried back home with it.
It took longer than usual, as his body wasn't in a good condition, but he felt much better now compared to when he had just woken up.
"Huh?"
Talon saw smoke coming from the direction of the village, and as he moved closer, he saw the village burning in brilliant blue flames.
Talon dropped the bucket and ran into the village. The gate had already collapsed from the fire, which made it easy for him to rush in. He reached where his home was supposed to be and saw nothing but raging blue flames. Suddenly, a bloody hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Kid..." It was a large man with a full beard. He looked at Talon for a moment and then hugged him. The man's clothes were bloody, and even the ground he stood on was being stained red from the blood he was losing.
"You're alive! Thank God!" Talon knew this man; he knew this familiar scent. This was his father.
"Where is Mom?" Talon asked in a monotonous voice.
"She... s-she is gone!" The man, Orin Heartwood, replied. It was only then that Talon spotted a female figure impaled on a flaming spear beneath the large burning tree. He didn't need to look twice to know the identity of this figure... it was his mother!
Talon felt something shatter in his mind. He no longer felt sad, no anger, no frustration. He felt nothing at all. It was as if he were just an observer.
"Listen well, kid. I am about to die, so listen well!" Orin shook Talon and spoke slowly and painfully.
"Run. Run as far away as you can... and survive. You are the last descendant of Arthur Heartwood." Orin shed a tear as he spoke.
Run? Why should I run? I'd rather die with my mother than live a second without her. And you were supposed to protect her. How dare you cost me my mother!
There was a lot Talon wanted to say, but right now, he couldn't be bothered. After a long silence and stillness, Talon nodded with the sweetest smile on his face. But Orin wasn't able to see it; his eyes were gray. Orin Heartwood—Orin the Thunderstrike!—had died!
Talon saw the beautiful blue flames all around him and walked into them with a smile on his face and eyes full of tears.