A True Hero

by Space Wizard Novablast

Chapter three: Were Dire Dare

Among the trees of the dense Shoken forest there were many a creature to find. Those of tiny build that skittered along the ground, and those large enough to push the trees aside with ease. This was not a place for those faint of heart, or weak of build. But in a small glade was an unfamiliar sight.

A bear.

Now you might ask yourself what's so strange about a bear. To that I'd answer, nothing in particular. But this particular bear looked odd. With tufts of fur missing and weird markings drawn on it with what looked to be berry juice, or something alike it. This bear was trudging through the forest, smelling everywhere for signs of something out of the ordinary. So far this little furry guy had found nothing special, just trees, trees, and more trees.

But as he moved into the glade he saw something that was indeed out of the ordinary. In the middle of it in the rays of the sun was a little purple body. Not much smaller than that of a keen child. It was scaly and lizard-like, with claws and fangs and a tail. The bear started sniffing it, to try and find out if there was any danger. Eventually the big guy decided that there wasn't anything wrong, band that he might need someone else to look at it.

He bit into the tail of the creature with his gums, careful not to hurt it, and started waddling back to his master.

The master in question was a rather old man sitting by a campfire. He was wearing quite heavy leather armor with what looked to be leaves and branches as decoration. He had a braided beard and almost no hair on his head. He looked immensely tired, as if he hadn't slept in days or weeks.

In truth, old Sylla hadn't slept in millennia.

Sylla, or The Lone Druid as he was known in legend, wasn't like any normal keen. He was more tuned to the nature, he saw things that others did not, he could communicate with the animals themselves.

And he was a doomed man.

Sylla had once been one of many, a whole clan of Druids that like he worshipped the nature in all it's glory. He had been the most renowned of them, the wisest and most skilled of them, and that had been his demise. As he had been chosen by his goddess to carry out a task no one should have to do. He had to watch his tribe go mad as their animal instincts overcame them, he had to watch as his family, friends, and comrades were wiped from the face of the earth. He had to watch as he, the sole survivor of the Druids, were to carry out the task of holding the fate of nature in his hands, in the form of a single seed.

He was oh so tired of it all.

And yet, at this moment he felt a little better. As his best friend and companion returned to him he felt as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But when he noticed the little purple lizard hanging from the jaws of his friend he sighed, maybe he could get to relax some other time.

"What's that you've got there old friend?" He asked the bear, not expecting an answer. The bear didn't, it merely plopped down the lizard unceremoniously and sat down next to the campfire. "You're still as lazy as you've always been Shiln." Sylla said, sighing again. There was no malice in his words, only the joking that happened between good friends. He turned his attention from the bear to the lizard. I certainly looked sort of familiar, it seemed to have the build of a dragon, but it was bipedal. So if it was a dragon it was not one from this plane.

Sylla reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green bottle. He proceeded to pop the cap of it and poured the content into the mouth of the lizard. A few seconds after the bottle was empty and the lizard started coughing. It's breathing became stable, slowly but surely, and soon it opened its eyes and looked around frantically.

"Relax youngling, you are among friends." Sylla assured it, assuming it was yet another animal he could communicate with as he did with Shiln. The little guy nodded and looked around again. As soon as he caught sight of Shiln he pushed himself back away from the campfire. Scared to hell by the bear sitting there looking at him.

"You need not fear Shiln, she would not harm a fly unless I told her to." Sylla said carefully. The lizard was still staring at the bear quaking and shaking with fear. But if you were staring directly at a bear about three times your size, how would you react eh? Nevertheless, the lizard crept closer to the campfire, eventually his dislike for the coldness of the night overcame his fear of being eaten. The little guy was now sitting in the foetal position next to Sylla, resting his head on his knees and carefully watching Shiln.

"So, what's yer name youngling?" Sylla asked the lizard. It looked up at him as if trying to decide whether to trust the old guy or not. Eventually it spoke up.

"Spike, my eh- my name is Spike." It said. Sylla was surprised, not only did he not have to speak with an animal, as the thing spoke perfectly good keen. But it was also fairly intelligent despite its outwardsly appearance looking fairly beastial.

"Well spike, whatever you are I assume you need sleep. So get yourself some rest." Sylla said, patting the ground next to him. The lizard wasn't exactly slow to follow as he immediately laid down and started snoring loudly. Sylla himself was pondering. This creature, he had communicated with the very land itself for hours upon end, yet it had nothing to tell him about this strange purple lizard. Now where it came from, what it was, or even how old it was.

And then he heard something behind him, he turned quickly, and faced the one thing in the world he hated the most.

"Natures prophet..." He said between clenched teeth, "what do you want from me?"

"You are in no place to speak to your master in this way Lone Druid, or I might decide that the Druids have outlived their purpose." The tall green figure said. He hadn't been there a mere second ago, but that was how the prophet of the goddess worked, he was everywhere at once, whether you wanted him to be or not.

"That is not your right." Sylla said calmly but sternly, "We both know that my task is not yet complete."

The Natures Prophet shook his head. "I am not here to bicker with you you mongrel." The prophet said, "I am here because of him." He pointed at spike with his large branch staff.

Sylla looked at spike with confusion. "Why?"

"The goddess is disturbed by his appearance, he is not part of the cycle of life, he moves outside of just like you and me, and the rest of the Radiant." The prophet said.

"What do you propose I do?" Sylla asked, now no longer annoyed by the prophets presence, moreso curious and nervous about this little lizard. Apparently he was more special than he'd first anticipated.

"Take him to the city, and present him before our lady, she will decide what needs to be done." The prophet said, before Sylla blinked and he was gone. The Druid stared at the lizard. This tiny little thing was important enough to demand the attention of the high lady herself?

He shook his head, it was not his place to question his goddess. So he stood up and carried spike to Shiln. He placed the lizard on the bears back, and headed in the direction of Capital City.

His rest, he thought to himself, would have to wait for another time.