CHAPTER 1 — THE FIRST STEP INTO THE WILD
Morning light spread slowly across Wulfen Strait, turning the rooftops of the small island village into pale gold. The wind carried the smell of sea salt mixed with dew—fresh, quiet, familiar. Fishermen were already preparing their nets near the shore, and the distant chatter of vendors drifted through the cool air. It was a normal day, peaceful in the way this island had always been.
Inside a modest wooden home on the northern side, Alaric Vorn tied his bootstraps with hands that trembled—not from fear, but from a hope he'd carried for fourteen years.
Today was his fourteenth birthday.
And today,he would walk into the forest for his first attempt at taming a beast.
The door creaked open. "Alaric?"
His mother, Lyra, stood in the doorway, her brown hair loosely tied, eyes holding the warmth that had eased every childhood fear. "You're awake early."
"I couldn't sleep," he admitted.
She smiled, adjusting his tunic. "Birthdays tend to do that. Happy birthday, Alaric."
"Thank you, Mother."
"He won't forget to breathe," came a deeper voice from the doorway.
His father Darek entered, calm and steady. "He's more prepared than most adults I've seen."
Darek placed a hand on Alaric's shoulder. "Fourteen years old. Your first step toward something greater."
Alaric swallowed, feeling the weight of it.
Lyra pressed a leather pouch into his hands. "Food, water, and herbs—just in case. Your birthday gift from us."
Darek nodded. "Remember, beasts respond to intent. Your calm matters more than your strength."
"I understand," Alaric whispered.
Lyra cupped his face. "Come home safely. We're making berry stew for your birthday dinner."
Alaric nodded, took a steady breath, and stepped into the brightening morning.
---
🌿 THE VILLAGE SQUARE
The square buzzed with ordinary life when a voice shattered the calm:
"ALARIC!"
Liron Woodfall sprinted toward him, nearly tripping twice, grin impossibly wide. "You finally came! I thought you'd sleep through the most important day of your life!"
"I was five minutes late."
"Five minutes too late!"
"Two minutes," corrected a calm voice.
Maelo Serin approached, her grey-brown eyes observant, satchel neatly packed. "You were sleeping under the elder's bench, Liron."
"That was meditation!"
Alaric hid a smile.
Maelo looked at him. "Happy birthday, Alaric. Ready?"
"As much as I can be," he replied.
"Good."
Liron threw an arm around both. "Today, on Alaric's birthday, we enter the forest as children—"
"We are children," Maelo reminded.
"—and return as future Beast-Tamers!"
Alaric laughed, but warmth spread in his chest. He wasn't alone.
---
🌳 INTO THE FOREST
The trees rose like ancient sentinels. Sunlight softened into cool green light beneath the canopy.
Liron marched ahead. "Birthday adventure begins!"
"You'll scare every creature within hearing," Maelo sighed.
"That's why we have Alaric—our walking beast-whisperer! Birthday-powered edition!"
Alaric walked slightly ahead, eyes scanning but senses expanding. Beast-sensing wasn't about sight—it was feeling. A rabbit's panic. A bird's irritation. Emotions brushed against him like soft threads.
"Anything?" Maelo asked.
"Small creatures. Nothing dangerous."
They walked deeper. The forest grew denser, shafts of light illuminating moss like emerald carpets. Everything felt... right.
---
🦌 DISCOVERY
Alaric lifted a hand. "Wait."
They froze.
"Something small. Ahead."
They crept forward. In a sunlit clearing stood a young fawn-beast, white-speckled fur shimmering, ears twitching gently.
Liron's mouth fell open. "It's beau—"
Maelo covered his mouth. "Quiet."
Alaric stepped closer, senses stretching outward. Fear... curiosity... gentle hesitation...
He softened his thoughts. Made his emotions calm.
The fawn-beast lifted its head. Their eyes met. A still moment passed—simple, peaceful.
Then it blinked, turned, and vanished into the bushes.
Liron exhaled dramatically. "Your ability is insane."
Maelo smiled softly. "Happy birthday, Alaric. You did well."
He breathed out. "Thanks."
For a moment, they just stood there—three children in a sun-dappled clearing, hearts light, dreams intact.
They didn't know this peace wouldn't last.
---
🌲 THE LAST HUNT
The sunlight turned honey-gold. Shadows lengthened.
"Should we head back?" Maelo asked. "Your family will be waiting."
Liron raised a finger. "One more try? A birthday beast?"
Alaric considered. "We came for a proper beast. That was just... an introduction."
Maelo sighed. "Fine. But not too far."
They walked deeper. Trees grew taller, canopy thicker. The forest floor grew quieter.
Too quiet.
They found nothing. Every creature fled before they came close.
Minutes bled into an hour.
Liron slumped onto a rock. "I give up. Today the forest is personally mad at us."
Alaric closed his eyes, senses reaching out.
What he found was uniform, trembling fear. From squirrels, birds, even the earth itself.
"Something's wrong," he whispered. "Everything's terrified."
Maelo straightened. "Of what?"
"I don't know. But it's not normal fear. It's... contamination."
A cold breeze cut through—carrying a scent like wet iron and spoiled meat.
Then a rabbit bolted past, a grey-brown streak of panic. Then deer, eyes white-rimmed, crashing through brush.
All fleeing south.
Away from the north.
Liron whispered, "I don't like this."
A distant crack echoed—wood splintering under immense weight.
Then another.
Then silence, thick and heavy.
"We need to move," Alaric said. "Now."
They ran. But the forest fought them—roots tripping, fog gathering, light fading too fast.
And far away, Wulfen Strait prepared for a birthday celebration.
---
🏘️ THE VILLAGE — IGNORANT PEACE
Fishermen rinsed nets. Mothers called children inside. Lanterns glowed in windows.
Lyra Vorn set the table for three, preparing berry stew—Alaric's favorite birthday meal. Darek sharpened a carving tool.
"Light the porch lamp," Lyra said. "It's getting dark."
Outside, neighbors chatted about the next day's market. Dogs whined near the northern border, scratching at their ropes.
No one noticed.
They were used to calm nights.
---
👹 THE ROAR
First, the forest fell silent.
Then the village.
Then—
A roar tore the night apart.
Monstrous. Corrupted. A sound of splintering bones and tearing earth.
Lanterns rattled. Children screamed. Lyra dropped a bowl. Darek's face went pale.
People rushed into streets, faces blank with terror.
The roar came again—closer, shaking the earth.
---
🔥 THE BEAST
From the northern ridge, a massive shadow lunged down the slope.
It stepped into the village light.
Once a wolf—now Corruption's masterpiece.
Enormous, twisted bones jutting through blackened flesh. Crimson cracks glowing beneath skin like molten veins. Jaw hanging unnaturally wide, lined with jagged teeth. Breath steaming with rot. Eyes burning with yellow madness.
It stepped forward—
THUD. The ground shook.
Another step—
CRACK. A fence shattered.
For one suspended second: only the beast's ragged breathing.
Then a villager screamed.
The spell broke.
The beast lunged.
It smashed into Old Man Heron's hut. Wood exploded outward. Heron's daughter barely scrambled out, arm bleeding. A man tripped pulling his child, both tumbling into dirt.
Roars.
Cries.
The crash of breaking homes.
Chaos erupted, instant and all-consuming.
The peaceful island of Wulfen Strait was peaceful no more.
---