The Forgotten

As if the skies shared his grief, darkness covered the last of the light, letting out a torrent of rainfall. It had only taken minutes for the red stains on the white wolf’s coat to be washed off, though to only be replaced by splatters of dirt and mud.

The sun had set and the clouds put the woodland into complete darkness, even hiding the moon’s rays. As the two ran, the horrors of the forest were waking. Celer heard the distant screams of the Vespers beginning to echo through the woods.

Shimmers of mist appeared to rise in the distance, in the centre stood a figure of a tall, slender man with arms shaped like scythes, though before any detail could be made out of his face or what he wore, he disappeared back into the fog.

Rendall was still in a trance, not knowing the slow loss of light or the noises of the demons that closed in on them. It would be completely dark by the time they would get to his home if they would get there at all. While Celer was a natural hunter of the night she was not the instinctive predator that she should have been and was wary of the Vespers. Scared, Celer refused to show her emotion to Rendall as he was in enough pain. She ran on with him, aware of the dangers of the forest. Her silver eyes looking over the surroundings but always keeping focus on the mist. The wolf’s pointed ears made her hearing supernatural, able to sense the slightest movement from nearly a mile away and while her silver eyes did grant give benefit to seeing in the dark, her hearing was far superior.

Rendall had always known the way back or at least the direction. He just had to follow the river upstream to his childhood forest where they would be able to travel without issue, even with a somewhat fractured memory.

Walking it would have taken around two to three day to return to his home, not a terribly long journey for someone who had spent years in the woods on his own. However, Rendall was not walking, he was running fast. In the first few hours, the boy had covered fourteen miles through hilly and wooded ground with no signs of letting up. Having barely realised he was running at all, Rendall reminisced on his time as a child, piecing the memories together. Remembering the lazy evenings they would have around the fire making shadow puppets, the cold winter mornings where he and his mother would go out and split wood while his father would set new traps hoping to catch animals, though rarely being successful.

Memory after memory flooded his mind, tears streaked down his cheeks and his face. His arms pulled him over old trees strewn across the forest floor while his footsteps perfectly landing on solid ground, always missing the roots, mud or uneven terrain. Celer was bewildered. She had never seen him run and move so quickly, his breath was steady even though he ran with the speed of a wolf. She was struggling, suffering after hours without food and running at his pace. They had been running for hours and she was starting to tire. Unsure what was happening Rendall was usually the one to stop after two hours or trying to stick with her, but now he was moving faster and much, much longer than he had before.

Darkness had long claimed the forest and screams of those dead and dying grew louder. In their path before them, a ghostly white figure who towered eight feet tall with the outline of a deep black cloak floating in the fog around it. The horror that Celer had seen earlier, she was now close enough to see the figure’s face. A face lacking eyes, a nose and a mouth. But it held an endless void that was covered with hundreds of sharp, pointed teeth. It was a Vesper, it had caught them, no matter how far they moved. Tales had told the screams Vespers let out are those of their victims, dammed to a state of endless torture at the hands of this creature.

Rendall had stopped, the creature jolting him out of trance. He only just realised the sun had set some time ago. Frantically, Rendall looked around searching for Celer though not far she crouched low next to him, aggressively growling at the being.

“I’m sorry girl.” Rendall muttered as he stared at the wolf.

The pair stared at the creature in front of them, unsure how to react they waited, ready to strike. The creature moved, it was fast, so fast in fact that Rendall could barely follow the movement as he rolled to get out of the way. The scythed arms raked across his stomach, not deep enough to cause severe damage but enough for blood to start pouring out. Reacting immediately Celer did not let up, with the beast now turning to make another pass she launched herself at the form only to miss, it dodged her easily and focused again on Rendall who was now on the floor wincing in pain.

Celer, not letting anything happen to him, ran at the creature again. Yet the demon barely slowed as it stepped to the side and batted the wolf. Celer flew and rolled into the ground with a thud. The boy realised that despite all that had happened in the past few hours, he hadn’t let go of his bow. and still having a few arrows left from the encounter that day he took slow, deep breaths. Everything began to slow around Rendall, including the Vesper’s movement, and Celer almost seemed like she had turned into a statue, only slightly moving her head. Taking a moment Rendall was confused at what was happening, he looked down at his hands and could see he moved normally, but everything else was moving so slow they appeared to be statues. Shaking himself to help focus, he used the advantage and knocked a silver-tipped arrow.

With everything that happened today, Rendall began to shake, his emotions coming out in spurts that made him lose his focus and so his grip on the time was fading with both Celer and the Vesper making sharp movements only to then be stopped again.

A voice from the wind echoed, “Easy my boy, breath, draw and release.”

“Who was that?!” Rendall quickly replied, but there was no answer.

Following the words, the world moved slower again as he drew the arrow back, aiming for the left leg of the monster as it seemed to be the only part not translucent and fried. The arrow impaled the beast. Ear-shattering cries tore through the forest, like the vesper had never experienced pain before. These weren’t the screams of the victims he had heard before though, these noises were an undeadly moan.

Getting control of his senses after the noise, Rendall looked over the creature now on the floor barely moving and thought for a moment. No one knew much about these creatures. It was said they harbour the souls of innocents, and for a moment he could believe it. This one’s voidless mouth seemed capable of sucking the life out of someone. He found himself wanting to know more, yet neither having the time or will to speak with it. Still shaken from the day he did not want more death on his mind today. He pulled the arrow from the creature and walked away. He would wonder in days to come whether he made the right decision but also hoped he never had to face another again.

Several more hours had passed. The night had nearly ended with the hints of the sun teasing the hills, Rendall running all the way, apart from the attack, he had reached the forest where he played as a child, no longer running but walking, recounting the trees and paths he had been on.

Fragments of his memory started to return. He remembered times where he fought his father with giant sticks pretending they were arch enemies, battling to a bitter death. Other moments came to him when he saw a tree missing small parts of its trunk. His mother taught him how to shoot a bow here. Despite how bad he started, ise shot eventually got closer to hitting the tree. Memories came and went as he walked, laughing and smiling to himself as he remembered a time that he had almost forgotten.

Walking several miles through the woodland Rendall finally came to a clearing of the aged ruin of his home. Seemingly no one had come here since. Pieces of burned wood lent up to one another, and with a small gust of wind they would fall over. It was barely recognisable as a home. Only the faintest outlines and an area of a wall made it recognisable. Looking at the area, he saw apparent signs of robbery, crates broken and wooden shards laying around the area. But there was nothing left. Blackened dirt covered most of the clearing, having still not recovered from the fire all those years ago. Some could mistake the tragedy that occurred here as happening weeks ago, not years.

Rendall’s resolve broke once more, he took deep breaths as tears rushed down his face, which was now red and sore from the cold wind and the intense hours of running. He stared at the sight before him then after a few moments he stalked forward with Celer on his heel, her ears raised and sniffing the air for anything amiss. Though Rendall had stopped one monster there were still plenty more waiting for the chance to strike, and Celer was not pleased that he left the Vesper alive.

Each step got heavier as he got closer to his home, he didn’t know what he was looking for but walked forward. In the corner of his eyes behind a couple of purple flowering trees, he saw two large curved stones coming out of the ground.

Running over, he collapsed onto his knees to read the inscription of the two weathered tombstones.

Rendall read, “To the unnamed couple, may you rest in peace.”

Anger built inside Rendall. They were robbed, tortured and murdered. The criminals never caught, though a few were now dead, and they were buried in the grave with an unnamed stone. They deserved so much more. Dying for him should not have been the end of their stories, and he’ll never understand why they had to.

Rendall drew one of his two remaining arrows out from his quiver and snapped it in half. He sat in front of the tombstones and began to scratch into the surface.

Sunlight had begun to shine down on the woodland and his family home. Having ran for over twelve hours, he felt no fatigue though seeing the graves of his parents slowly took his last energy away from him. Rendall slumped down in front of the stones, not letting darkness claim him. He carved into the two stones.

“Here lies Tryal Wite,

A noble, loving father and victim of his son’s love,

May you rest in peace father.”

-

“Here lies Renny White,

A loving mother, a teacher and a guide,

Find peace mother.”

The writing was poor. He had done little of it over the years alone. He could barely keep his eyes open. And he was carving letters into a rock. He looked down at the ground seeing Celer curled up next to him, half asleep. He realised that she had looked after and protected him all night. He looked at her fondly and kissed the top of her snout, her wet nose twitching as he did. He then looked around at his home again, nothing had changed although he did see flower patches all around the house, blue and purple everywhere, his mother’s favourite colours. Recalling they were bell flowers, he decided to pick some for his parents’ grave. He walked over and picked two large bunches that he made a chain out of. His mother taught him to do it as a child by piercing the stem of one flower and threading the other through it.

After some time Rendall created two long necklace chains and placed them on each stone. He also found some deep orange rimed strawflowers with a bright yellow centre. Carefully he dug up two, replanting them over each grave. Rendall wanted more colour but there was nothing more he could plant or find, everything else in the area was rotting, burnt or overgrown. Moss also infected some of the trees, its dark green fuzz slowly spreading itself up trees and along the floor like a plague. But in this spot, there would be life amongst death.

Celer slowly rose from where she had drifted off to sleep, looking over the area as she yawned. She saw what Rendall was doing and gave him some space as he picked flowers and made peace with his family. She wanted to help though and saw how hard he was trying to make their graves an area of life and colour. Rising, the wolf jogged off into the woods knowing what to look for. A lifetime in the woods meant that unlike men she knew its secrets. And there were one only a few animals knew.

It would be several hours sprinting, but hopefully be worth it. Legs still tired and heavy from last night, it took a little while to get in the rhythm but she was soon bounding over rocks, roots and small holes.

The run was pretty dull and Celer had not been sidetracked by the thrill of the hunt. After some time she came to a clearing with lush green grass surrounding a lake that was feeding water from a nearby waterfall. The water made a clear pool where fish could be seen clearly even from some distance away. There were rabbits, deer and other animals in the area, some taking drinks while others lazing around under trees. None of them fazed by Celer as they raised to look at her approach. Power radiated from the waterfall, it was a strange feeling the wolf thought, although it was not unexpected. She walked closer, yet step after step a power acted against her, forcing her to bow her head as she got to the waterfall.

Celer leapt across from the mountain edge using stones that were barely platforms to leap from. Rocks and dust fell beneath her as she jumped but soon found herself staring at the small entrance that was barely the width of her body. Looking about for a moment and seeing no other entrance the wolf let out a sigh as she got down on all fours and shuffled her way through the small opening, having to wiggle her body a few times to make it through.

Getting past the last little rock in the small hole, she entered a giant room empty of natural sunlight but glowing in a light blue colour, reflecting from the water around it. The blue glow lit up a tree with bark that was a deep brown in specs of dark green throughout. Its thick branches sank into the dirt and rock, looking as if it was holding the world above it. Off the old branches were light green leaves that each were the size of the wolfs head that behind them hid glowing acorns that stories said held great power.

Looking up and around the tree in front of her, Celer stood there in awe, taking it all in and wondering how long had it stood here. The last time she had been here she was a cub, not old enough to appreciate the sight before her. As a small wolf, she used to play on the tree, jumping off and around its branches. All animals of the woodland came to the tree for its protection, although in recent years its powers waned as chaos edged its way closer.

Continuing to stare at the tree, her silver eyes grew wider as her thoughts of taking an acorn were pushed aside as the tree creaked and moaned like a strong wind was forcing it to move.

Taking a small step back, Celer’s mind was overtaken by new thoughts, not of her own. Images that flashed in front of her mind were those of a wolf turning her back on her own kind to love and care for a human.

Confused by what she was seeing, she cocked her head at the tree as a wave of realisation overtook her. The power of the elders of the forest was something of a legend, yet now one was talking to her. Hating the false images that invaded her mind, the wolf’s lip rose slightly to show razor-sharp white teeth. As the fake memories played, Celer thought of the time that Rendall had found her when she was left to die by her own kind and since then they always looked out for one another.

As if it were a test, new images flooded into the wolf’s head, this time they were not of her or Rendall but humans that had burnt down parts of the woods, killing each other and hunting their own kin to an extent to now only wolves were thought of as myths.

The being in her mind was clearly powerful though it did not stop the wolf taking a step forward as her anger rose. The being in front of her did not know her friend, her brother, yet assumed that Rendall was as bad as others of his kind. Knowing that lashing out at a tree wouldn’t really do anything she parted with memories of the two raising one another for the years they had been together. Cuddling to stay warm, scavenging for food in the winter’s snow, caring for one another when they were sick, she shared the story of how they lived together and how they became a family.

A pause took over the cave then, for a minute there was nothing. The dim light in the cave went darker, almost as if the being was thinking.

Noticing its thoughts, Celer shared one final story. The story of a boy who lost everything and who now sat at his childhood home sobbing as he had just seen and killed one of the men who took his parents’ lives.

As the silence overtook the cavern, Celer nodded over to one of the acorns on the tree. They were the birth of life, and she hoped that she could bring some life back to the boy that had lost everything.

An ancient voice echoed distantly in the cavern, though strange as it was as the room was relatively small, yet the voice seemed to be travelling across hundreds of miles.

It whispered, “A return perhaps. A return of the forgotten.”

The tree moaned as the wind seemed to hit it again, a strange motion but some of the smaller branches moved slightly in response.

The voice spoke to Celer again in whispers in what seemed an ancient language, yet she could understand, “The acorn for your life.”

Darkness took over the cavern taking all life from it, but for one glowing acorn, now shining brighter without any other light.

“Become the guardian of the land, unite your kin and become their queen.”

Celer didn’t know what to think. She believed it to be an honour to tie her life to such a grand and ancient being but to become the leader of her kin who cast her out, impossible.

The decision seemed not up to her, as the acorn fell from the tree and rolled to the feet of the great beast.

Without another moment to dwell on the matter she received another image, this one of the wolf packs of the woods no longer united but split and murdering one another and terrorising all other creatures. The unrest of the wolves drove some other animals feral, further weakening the woods. The wolves at the time of the Belldar were their guardians of the forest. Their unity meant that no hostile force would dare enter. If they did, they were stalked and quickly taken care of without leaving a trace. Wolves were intelligent beings, able to work alongside each other. However, when the Belldar were driven mad and died, many of the wolves became scared. They ran or formed factions that grew into anger towards one another, and then towards all life and beings of the forest itself.

Celer wasn’t sure what to think, nor did she know how she would achieve such a task. The task was already given. Celer bowed low and then slowly took the acorn from the floor and left the cave.

The ancient being never past on thoughts of what the boy could be, nor what the bond they have could mean but left them to discover this themselves.

-

The white wolf got back as the final rays of reds, orange and yellow were piercing the woodland. Rendall was finishing his flowers around the graves, a sign of life and love for his parents. Lifting his head he noticed Celer come through the trees, confused for a moment as he hadn’t even noticed that she had gone. He stared at her, his confusion becoming bewilderment when she bowed her head and dropped the acorn at his feet.

Rendall looked down at the glowing acorn. He had never seen anything like it and wondered where Celer got such a treasure. Realising it was a special gift that his friend had got for him, Rendall cautiously picked it up then looked at her. The towering wolf, nearly the same height as Rendall, now looked back at him and bowed her head for him to follow. Celer walked them to the centre of the clearing to where the burnt-out remains of his family home sat. Feeling uncertain, Rendall paused before entering the house, remembering images of the roof falling on top of his mother and father.

The wolf brushed her head up against Rendall then. She began to sniff around the ash until moments later she started to dig. Dirt and ash covered her white paws as she dug, making a hole that was two feet deep and almost the same width.

She placed the glowing acorn into the ground the pushed handfuls of dirt over the seed. The wolf stepped away from the hole and looked back at Rendall.

Looking back at her, Rendall didn’t understand at first, though staring into her deep silver eyes, an understanding of trust and companionship overtook him.

The wind blew through the clearing and around the burnt home, leaves flew around and gathered around them. Rendall took a wary step back, followed by Celer. While Celer knew the acorns had power she had never actually known what would happen. The night’s darkness was nearly upon them, yet a gathering of light swarmed the area and after a couple of minutes a small shoot came out of the ground. The new tree did not stop growing, passing season and after season in the space of nearly an hour. The companions stared in awe.

After the tree had nearly grown five feet, they realised it was no ordinary tree. The tree’s trunk seemed to grow bigger than the rest of the branches, spacing four feet thick, giving the impression that this tree still had a lot more growing to do. Leaves grew off branches that sprouted off the trunk, the size of an adult’s hands. They reflected light in the clearing resulting in shoots of flowers and plants growing around them, cleansing the area of the death and misery that left its mark. Rendall was drawn to the resin that dripped out of the tree and slid down its bark. As the orange fluid ran down the tree, bark regrew itself, growing where the areas that had been cracked or lost to growth.

Light in the area was still radiating, from where the pair did not know as the only presence in the area was the new tree. The growth began to slow, and while it now creaked and moved in the wind it was little more than a trickle of what had happened before. Still unsure what was happening in the area, both friends seemed to have a silent agreement that the new tree held magical powers that could revive the woods.

Neither knew what to do with questions of what this meant and what would happen running through their heads. Looking around the clearing, the pair walked through the newly grown grass, leading a few hundred meters from the tree to take in the sight of what befell them.

The tree had much more growth in it, though it still stood a full thirty feet tall. The resin had now covered the branches and trunk of the tree that gave it a dark coat of orange over its bark. Green leaves with rich white stems were visible. Around it were green grass with spatterings of red, yellow, blue flowers all over. They were witnessing a treasure of the forest that one would only see should man had never disturbed nature.

Rendall looked around and saw his parents’ graves. They were different, very different. Roots spiralled around each grave, not disturbing the bodies within but protecting them. The gravestones were surrounded by life that had already attracted a blue butterfly that rested on one of the stones.

Hours past and the light that lit up the area began to fade as the darkness crept back into the clearing. Little did they realise a new day was beginning, with the rays of sunlight soon to pierce the clearing. It was only a day since they arrived at Rendall’s childhood home, yet no longer was it a sign of death and destruction but a hub of life and a place of power with the magical tree now standing over twenty feet tall, surrounded by the burnt walls of Rendall’s home. It gave out an aura of peace and harmony that seemed to attract new wildlife throughout the night. Small insects with long bodies and many legs climbed nearby trees that only a day before were lifeless. Deer wandered the woods, not having a care that a wolf and human were nearby. Many animals grazed on the freshly grown grass or just laid down with heads slowly looking around the area.

As the morning gleamed, Rendall was still not sure what had happened. He didn’t think Celer knew for sure either but she clearly had a better idea than him. Not sure how long the wolf had been awake, Celer ran around the forest chasing nothing but just enjoying herself. She bound over roots, kicked up dust and mud below her feet while leaving a trail of moisture from her panting warm breath mixing with the cold air.

After some time Celer turned back, her white tail swishing from side to side while her mouth was slightly open, her tongue nudging out. Her happiness at that moment was soon shared as she pulled up in front of Rendall and licked his face.

Rendall laughed as he said, “I love you too, you big beast.” Then he pulled her close as he kissed her snout.

The love that the wolf showed Rendall touched him, though not knowing entirely what she might have done to get the seed he understood that she did it out of love for him and their relationship.

In the presence of something so special neither wanted to leave, there was a draw to the tree they both felt with a deep desire to protect it. As Rendall pondered, he also noticed while they were looking at the tree last night they heard no screams of Vespers nor any howls of any beasts. Odd as although the noises were always there, sometimes the pair barely noticed them. He thought maybe if the powers can heal nature’s trees, flowers and plants that perhaps they can have the same healing magic on them, but it still didn’t answer why it was so peaceful. No matter, a problem for another time he thought. Rendall began making a camp near the woods where they stayed the night before. The boy wondered if he would go back to the cave he called his home these past years. Yet, having nothing of any importance there, or at least nothing he wasn’t able to make again. A few arrows, a flint axe and roles of rope he had made from vines of nearby trees. He pondered whether he should return, yet was happy where he currently was and felt no desire to leave.