Veins of Kings

Part 1:

"You must not go!" said the old man. He and a small group of villagers blocked three horse-mounted young men from continuing on their path.

"Move." Said Rygon, the horseman in the middle.

The group of villagers ignored him.

"How many nights must we live like this!? In fear of our loved ones being taken, disappearing into the forest?! How many nights must we let this continue?" asked Rygon.

"There is no one left alive boy and I fear that all to the East has been lost. There are no more loved ones out there, no more kingdoms, I'm afraid everything must be gone. The forest that surrounds this village is no longer safe. There's nothing left out there...so stay here with us where it's still safe for now." The old man said.

Rygon looked at the dark path before him, then turned to look at his two companions behind him. The light from their lanterns lended no help to reveal their hood-covered faces, but Rygon didn't need to see them to understand their resolve. They wait to move forward.

"Old man..." Rygon said, "it's time. Time for answers, and time to put and end to these tragedies. We are going to bring our people home. So join us or move out of the way." The three men moved foward on their horses through the group of villagers.

"It'll just be another tragedy. You could've been a great smith boy." The old man said.

"He is one," said Vooli, the young man riding on Rygon's right, as he gripped and slightly unsheathed his sword, showing off a pristine blade. “And he will continue to be when we return.”

Each of the men had a sword forged by Rygon, a bow crafted by Vooli, a lantern built by Shimly, and cargo bags filled with personal supplies.

The villagers watched the three young men enter the forest. The light from their lanterns disappeared into the tree line that now haunted the village.

"Do you think they'll make it back"? a women asked.

"They will not last the night in that forest. Inform their families in the mornibg, and find the blacksmith a new apprentice." The old man said to the group as he walked away.

"Should we help them then?" she asked the group. They ignored her and disbanded into their wooden homes that lined the village street, leaving the woman alone as she looked down the dark path that led to the Eastwoods.

The village itself was geographically peculiar. It sat in the middle of a forest located on a sort of heart-shaped river island. This river island is created by a single river that splits into two, carves the rough outline of a heart, then returns into one river once again. The forest on the heart is lovingly refered to as the "Middle Woods" by the villagers. The river is the Great Vein River. The forest east of the Vein River is The Eastwoods, and The Greatwoods are to it's west.

"How far do you think we'll have to venture Rygon?" Shimly asked. The trio had been trotting for a few hours. The trail was lit only by their lanterns and the occasional touch of moonlight that slipped through the branches overhead.

"As far as it takes us to find your father and the rest of our neighbors." Rygon answered.

Before Shimly could share his doubts Vooli stopped his horse.

"Hold." said Vooli.

The men stopped and listened. It was oddly silent. All the regular sounds of the forest had vanished. This vacuum of noise was alien to the young men. There was only dead silence, and this was alarming to the trio. As they moved foward, they began to hear a wet smacking sound.

The three held up their lanterns to see the black path that acted as a void before them, slowly moving foward. In the darkness they saw two eyes reflecting their lantern's light. Rygon approached, his two companions followed closely. On the path appeared a dark figure crouched and feasting on the rotting stomach of a dead horse. Rygon paused. Although he was brave, the sight paralyzed him out of fear and surprise. In disbelief, he forced himself to draw his sword and start a slow approach. The creature, aware of the three, lifted it's head and released a blood-curdling screech that traveled throughout the forest and cut the silence like a blinding light cuts the dark. The horses reared, frightened by the awful sound. The men used their reins to calm the horses but were careful to keep their eyes on the screeching shadow, as they were just as frightened.

The creature crawled to the dead horses head and whispered into it's decayed ear. Suddenly the dead horse jerked back to life. It's dead eyes revived and glowed with white smoke that left streaks floating and twirling in the dark. It screamed and thrashed it's head back and forth in agony. Organs fell out of it's gutted stomach as it stood upright. The dead beast rose. The humanoid creature mounted the half-eaten stead. Vooli prepared his bow but the dark rider disappeared on the decomposed horse into the dark void, gnawing on the stallions neck. The sound of galloping hooves faded into the darkness. The men sat stunned, listening to the silence that enveloped them.

The creatures screech made it all the way back to the village and fell on a particular set of ears. A cat was sitting in front of a small house that lined one of the streets. It’s ears perked up at the sound of the screech, prompting the feline to jump into a small wooden door leading into the small house. The cat hurried into a room where a woman was sleeping; the same woman from the group of villagers earlier in the night. The cat hopped up on the bed and pawed the womans face gently until she woke up. She groggily awoke to find cat eyes staring deeply into hers. A few moments passed when suddenly the sound of the screech rang into her mind. She sat up. “That sounded much worse than I could have imagined," she muttered, "we need to hurry." The woman got out of bed, lit a small lantern, walked down the hallway past a small family of owls, and made her way to the main living area where she pulled up a rug, revealing a secret door that she opened and stepped into. She took her lantern and looked over countless trinkets, affectionately running her hand across different blankets and clothes. She set the lantern down, grabbed a bag, and started to fill it with different objects. "Filo!!" She called. And immediately the largest of the owls flew and landed on the shelf next to her head and looked at her curiously, followed by the smaller owls, followed by the cat swiping at the owls in the air. "We must help."