//------------------------------// // 4. Whats Left of Us: The Beasts of Elderwood // Story: Whats Left of Us - Once Upon A Hero // by CptFloatsYourBoat //------------------------------// //------------------------------------------------------------ //Story: Whats Left of Us //Author: Graybard //------------------------------------------------------------ //------------------------------------------------------------ //Chapter Four: The Beasts of Elderwood Orpheus awoke nestled between two great roots, curled over him in a criss crossed imbrace to seemingly protect him from harm, his sword laying to his side. What had happened after the fall, he thought, and how had he ended up here? His hand reached up to feel his chest, his fathers pendant resting beneath. And all of a sudden those thoughts didn't matter, where was everyone? Was anyone okay? What happened to Raine? Deep down, Orpheus knew, but he wasn't ready to believe after all he'd seen she could do, that Raine the Bladequeen would fall. But then how could she have survived, if his own father and Seragi the Wizened had not? No, there was no time for any of that now, all that mattered was reaching Princess Celestia, it was his mission, his duty to warn them. He had to find his way out, make his way west, down the mountain. A light chittering noise behind, caused Orpheus to nearly jump out of his scales. Spinning to and fro, his sword leveled, looking for the attacker. His eyes locked on the source, a squirrel. The boy fell back down to a sitting position, holding his sword loosely. His nerves had gotten the better of him...again. Orpheus looked up, trying to see past the canopy of trees, there was no obvious hole of broken branches where he had fallen through. It was early, and the sun headed away from the eastern sky. "Walk with the sun to your back in the morning," he thought "and your front in the evening and you will stay headed west." This trick was one of many he had picked up in the great library, looming over one of many random books. Orpheus lifted himself up, no time to waist. He sheathed his sword and began to walk, the cage of branches catching his eye again. There was something to think about, his sword had been placed, and from the lack of a hole in the tree tops he came to the conclusion that he had been MOVED between those roots. As he walked he pondered it, thinking of what it could have been. He felt calm here, a still peace, permeated the air around him, as if it was the forest itself looking out for him. He was free to think as he walked, of the day before. What were those things and who brought them there. There were hundreds of thousands of Guardians, though caught by suprise, they were ready, armed and trained for any situation. The most feared army in all the lands. And yet the walls fell, the castle crumbled and all he had ever known was destroyed. But they were inside! They had somehow come from both outside and within the mountain itself, all at once. They had come from the dark, striking at all within, their soul purpose seemingly to kill the Guardians. They had failed however, with the bravery of one woman, they had failed. He was only a boy though, to young to know what being a Guardian was like, to unpracticed and untrained. He was small, weak, and to top it all off, easily scared of by almost everything! No, not now, he couln't think about the wrong in him, only what was right. He could do this, lives could depend on his warning, and he would let no more blood be spilled on his account. He pushed forward, driving downward through the trees and thick brush, over stream and under rock. The sun flowed through the sky, its dim light winking at him from over the trees. He thought to stop, maybe sleep, but his message couldn't wait, he had to push on. He was cold and hungry the first night, his ribs ached, and with no knowledge of survival outside the castle walls, he felt helpless. He had to be tough, make sure he did his job, but he felt as though every second of walking was another second he had to mess up and fail. He walked on, pushing himself sleepy eyed, through the night. The sun broke the dark sky behind him, and he sighed in relief. His first night hadn't ended in a disaster, dispite his worrying. The woods seemed to guide him, almost like whispering in the distance toward his destination. The ground seeming to slide foreword beneath his feet pushing him ever on at a fast pace, the sun slowing fading again on the horizon. It was his nose that led him now, off to the side of the path he had been treading, he smelled flowers, and that meant sustinance. He saw it, a clearing filled with daisies. Orpheus rushed forward, dropping to his knees and devouring handfulls of the delicious plant. Feeling like he hadn't eaten in ages. Where most other species of lizard either ate only meat or gems, Dragonkin were leaf eaters. They could of course handle the occasional gem, but meat was as poisonous to them as it was to every other herbivore. He layed on his back, full of his delicious meal and happy for the feeling. His tired eyes drifted off, the well needed slumber engulphing him. It happened again in the night, he had moved what seemed miles away from where he had origionally slumbered. His back propped up against a tree, his claymore yet again laying beside him, his pockets filled with daisies that he hadn't himself placed there. He heard rushing waters, what he assumed was the river Cradiis, was now before him, he could see it just beyond the trees ahead. The morning was passing, and Orpheus had many a mile left to trek. He stood, collecting his sword, leaning over and placing a hand on the tree behing him. "Thank you" he called out, it was strange but he knew it was the trees. This forest that had protected the mountains southern border for millenia had helped him. He could almost feel the trees hum to one another in response to is thanks. A smile spreading across Orpheus' face, he continued his journey down the flow of Cradiis. His walk kept him thinking...thinking of how sheltered his life had really been, living behind the walls of that fortess on the mountaintop. He had felt affraid before, but nothing like what he had felt lately. Even in the Elderwood his nerves had felt on the edge of his scales. He had read stories of orcs and ogres, gremlins and witches, and all other manner of evil being that lurked in the dark, he had not feared these things before, but he was in the library then. The most exilerating thing he had ever done was the trials, and even then he had been told afterword that the whole thing was in his mind! A great illusion that looked into the soul of a person, no a true fight. And here he was, walking leagues through dense forest, alongside a possibly treacherous river, with creatures of unknown origins looking out at him from everywhere at all times... He needed to calm down, it was daylight still and the Elderwood was still to the left of him. Its branches still seeming to hum to him as he walked past. It was safe here, and he would remain safe as long as he kept his wits about him. The days passed slowly by, the forest leading him to edible plants and fresh water pools, the river an ever flowing guide to his goal. Twenty more suns rose and fell to this rhythm, his journey ever onward into the unknown. It was of the first light of morning at the end of the third week that he set out on the last leg of his adventure. The trees hum became a cry of warning, a suttle whisper to avoid the dark trees ahead, but Orpheus could not, he had to go on. He turned, looking into the Elderwood behind him, waving one last goodbye to the kind forest, and pushed on. His fear stuck in his throat and made him shake. Unlike the trees he left behind, this place was shrouded in a wild heartbeat, danger was around every corner and all he could see was a wild overgroath that blotted out the sun above. This was Everfree, the wood in the dark. The plants hear were tangled and twisted, a perfect hiding place for many creatures. It was shadowed and misty, as if in a constant shroud. It smelled of exotic flowers with untold venom. Orpheus feared this place, for it was barren of shelter for the weak and weary, and only held doom for those who were unprepaired. Orpheus nonetheless pushed onward, his quest to important to be stopped by his fears and doubts. His scales itched in this place, his nostils and throat burned, his eyes ached. It was something about the air in this place that disagreed with him. He walked till his ankles burned, he rested against a tree with heavy roots. The way he sat between the roots was at least a familiar feeling in this unsettling place. He layed back and closed his eyes, attempting to fall asleep. He tossed and turned, his ears perking at the slightest noise. He woke sometime in the night to the sound of footsteps, light and quick. Whatever was moving in on Orpheus, didn't want him to know they were there. Orpheus moved up and over the root beside him quickly, he was ill prepared for a fight and he knew it. He attempted to move on, trying his hardest to simply slip by unoticed, but to no avail. The creature was massive, how it had ever thought to sneak up on him was a mystery, Its lion head rearing down to his height. It unfurled its great bat-like wings a roared. Manticore, he knew, its dark eyes staring upon him in hunger. Orpheus ran, he knew his sword would do nothing against a monster this massive, and he would die in vain standing against it. He fled fast through the darkness, a flash in the distant sky and a boom, told of a oncoming storm. The manticore closed on him, it wings beat against the open air driving it forward faster and faster. Orpheus dodged through the trees, bobbing in and out trying to slow the creature behind him in the thick foliage. This dance drove them on for untold distances, even as the sky opened up and the rain poured down, soaking the dirt and making it harder to run. Orpheus ached all over, his body simply wanted to surrender. That was not an option. He had to go on, he thought, no excuses. Raine had trusted him with this, Raine and Hagan and Seragi and Hiemenger and his father Thraseus. He had to drive on, keep away from the beast and deliver his message. No matter the condition or struggle, Guardians persevere. A claw swiped out at him, caught him in the leg. He fell forward over a bush, his body rolling through the thick mud downhill. Orpheus stood, his eyes wide from fear as the beasts scorpion tail struck down at him, plunging into the dirt as he rolled away. It all flowed out of him now, his doubt, his fear. He was only twelve years old, a boy not a soldier. He was always in books not fighting, even Raine's teachings had only been at the start. He couldn't think, only cry as he shoved himself forward in fear of death. The false bravery that had drove him, faltering with each step. He had watched everyone he had ever known die before him. He denied it before, but he had felt it, the screams of thousands of lives atop the mountain silenced in so short a time. The very walls that protected them becoming a giant trap keeping them in. Even now he felt the hole in his heart where the living had once been. Maybe he wan't the only one who had escaped, but if so, he was one of very few. It all fell out of him, his tears mixing with the rain on his scales, he couldn't hold it back anymore. He looked forward, now up a great slope toward the clouds above. He could see the clouds... He felt Raine again, yelling in his ear behind him. Pushing him onward toward the sky, there were clouds, no trees! The end of the forest was there! The manticore, tired of the chase pounced forward with all its might. Orpheus crashed to the ground, his hold body crushed beneath the great lions paw. The manticore rolled him over, its tail coiled back to strike down and end his life. He couldn't die here, without even drawing his sword. Orpheus thought quick, using his free claw he reached over, pulling a vine full of thorns forward, slamming it down into the top of the creatures paw. The manticore roared out in pain, its paw shooting up in reflex. He was home free, just get up and start running. The thought was cut short as the manticores stinger shot down, catching Orpheus in the left shoulder, cutting deeply. The stinger retracted back, poised for a second strike. It never had the chance as Orpheus shot up, his blood flowing heavily now. He pushed on, through the blinding pain, he had to keep going. The trees parted, the dark grey sky grew ever onward beyond sight. His vision blurred and the wound was burning, venom, he though. His other senses began failing, but he felt the manticore closing now. A famhouse there in the distance, he cried out with all his might. Now more than ever he needed help, needed someone to hear him, praying it wouldn't be to late. Light there in the distance, safety so close by, he was so close, so close. His mind couldn't think anymore, his legs gave way beneath him, no longer heeding his call. His face buried in the mud, he could barely breath. He heard the manticore. He rolled over and saw it, only a blur now in his failing vision, curling back for the deathblow. He closed his eyes, and his heart sunk. Readying for the final blow, he was so close and yet so far. It was the strangest thing...he smelled apples. A loud cry echoed through the air past him "NNNOPE!", a streak of red shooting forward and crashing into the beast headon. It flailed backward, scrabling to its feet and running as fast as it could back to the forest. A green blur leaned over him, stark white atop its head. "You okay, sonny?" The world swirled around him, and he fell into blackness. "First Applejack leaves for the big city, now this youngin'? And so heavily armed for just a boy, these are strange times Big Mac." The red pony nodded, the truth behind his granny's words only compacted by the breed of the boy. Big Mac had never really seen anything more than ponies in his life, now all of a sudden a lizard person comes running from the forest, manticore in tow. One of the many doctors walked back up the hall of the old farmhouse toward the two seated ponies. "It was smart calling us first Granny Smith. The movement would have only spread the poison faster. On top of that, he had lost alot of blood and had major muscle tissue damage from the puncture." The doctor cringed at recalling the amount of blood. "He's stable now, but I don't suggest moving him for a few days. We'll have to keep staff on site to watch over him." Granny Smith thought about this for a moment, she was a kind pony and wouldn't turn down anyone in need. "Consider the farmhouse his hospital, doctor." "Thank you Ms. Smith," the doctor paused for a moment, trying to recall something "Oh yes, we found this around his neck." from the doctors forehoof dangled a small depiction of a shield on a string, a tree with four great branches engraved across its front. Granny Smith darted forward toward the necklace, grabbing it and pulling it in close to one eye, examining its every detail. Her pupils shrunk in realization "I know that mark." she mumbled.