By now, I was fairly sure that an hour had already passed, and I was beginning to get a bit fed up with it. Where were the elves that I was promised? Starting to show it on my face a bit, I pouted, though my father did not notice.
He was becoming very wary of the surroundings in these past minutes.
I guess it made some sense.
After Millie had gone back to sleep, we had trekked through the forest, often going off of the pathway and forcing our way through brambles and bushes. Scratches had littered my dad's skin, smearing his lower body with dark red blood.
The further we went, the creepier it got.
And the darker it got as well.
Trees, the very same trees which seemed regal to me just half an hour ago had transformed into something gnarly and grotesque-looking. The branches and the trunk were gray and hollowed out, and bits of dark red pus dripped and hardened along the surface, making it look like a murder scene.
Things skittered along the dead leaves on the ground, and shrill voices echoed through my mind. Sometimes, my father's face would pale just for a second, or morph into something else entirely, but he would return to normal soon enough.
Thank the gods (if they existed), that Millie was asleep!
It would have been unbearable if she wasn't.
Stepping over another set of bushes and a fallen tree trunk, I could hear the crunch of my father's leather sandals on the floor of the forest. As his head swiveled around, I came face to face with a lizard.
It slowly climbed up the rotting tree in front of me.
My eyes widened slightly, as I stared at it.
Dark gray, light gray… where was the color?
Damn it, this wasn't holding up to my expectations…
Chrrr! Chrrr!
Gnashing its teeth at me, the lizard tried to jump towards me, but it quickly hovered in the air, arms and legs splayed out, eyes open, like it had been trapped. Peering closer, I realized that it in fact had been trapped.
By an invisible web of string.
Just then, I saw a spider, hairy and gross, crawling towards me.
Whimpering, I stuck close to my father.
His embrace comforted me as he whispered into my ear.
"It's alright Amir, we'll be there soon… there isn't anything to be afraid of… dah-dah is here just like always. Tell you what, I'll sing for you…" Humming with care under his breath, his eyes darted around like they usually did, and I followed his vision. Slowly but surely, we were getting somewhere.
Hell, Millie was still passed out like she was hibernating.
Couldn't lift her own head up to help a bit, could she?
Hahh… what was I talking about?
She's a child…
Step.
Clunk!
Finally, my father had made a breakthrough! Stepping onto a small circular field of stone, he sighed in relief as he wiped cold sweat from his temples. Taking the both of us and setting us down at his feet, he closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling sharply, breathing in the surrounding air.
It was to be expected.
Well… come on!
Now what?
Don't tell me we came here for this little stone circle? Pah, this was nothing! Just some stones haphazardly thrown onto the ground, with some symbols carved into them! Anyone could have done this— it had no meaning.
I was fully expecting an elven forest to be beautiful.
Ethereal, almost.
Too bad.
My father stood in the middle of the stone circle, keeping a close watch on both me and Millie, who was resting in my arms— but because my arms were so small, it was more accurate to say that she had been stacked on top of me like a layered wedding cake!
Gradually, my eyes began to close, and the darkness soon—
Wait.
Hah, wait a damn second!
My father, after glancing around so much that even I was beginning to feel uncomfortable, had finally moved. Steeling his expression, he exhaled softly, raising his hand into the air. A powerful burst of energy and presence emanated from him as threads of dark, shadowlike tendrils wrapped around his hand. Slowly, they felt for the grooves in the stone, merging with them.
Was this man… My father?
He seemed much more refined.
And elegant.
A background as a soldier, he said…
I didn't expect a soldier to be like this.
That said, it wasn't an amazing display of power, if I was to compare it to the little bits and pieces I could remember of my old life. It was power, that was true, but it wasn't a lot of it. Of course, I could be wrong.
Still, I wasn't sure how "power" exactly worked.
The stones glowed a dark black on the ground as they exuded smoke and fog which would have filled my lungs if not for my father's presence— without batting a finger, it did not dare to touch him as he stood steadfast at the center of the stone formation that hummed and trembled before him.
I felt a force lift me up off the ground.
Wahh… I was… I was, wasn't I?
Levitating!
And so was Millie, but her lazy ass couldn't be bothered to wake up and take it all in. This was my father! And her father's best friend! Although I couldn't exactly be sure what he was doing…
Suddenly, the black energy disappeared.
With a crack, the formation snapped together, and a bright light flashed into the sky, distorting the surroundings slightly. Just as fast as the beam of light came, it was gone, reduced to nothingness.
My father was noticeably tired, and I was back on the ground.
Wiping his mouth, he shrugged.
"I limited that enough, right? The seal on this act shouldn't be broken yet… I can still go on living like this, right? Damn elves, still using this…" He seemed to be in a crisis as he asked himself the same questions repeatedly, mumbling to himself.
But now, I was more focused on how the air was trembling, shivering as if it had been woken up from a deep sleep. I didn't know what my father had done exactly— to put it simply, all I saw him do was fashion some magical energy into "tendrils", place it in the ground, and then SHOOM! Some spell was broken.
Just… like… that.
How did power exactly function in this world?
It wasn't like anybody was going to teach me…
Damn. To hell with this!
I'll have to learn it myself!
The distorting was getting heavier as my father beamed, staring at the surrounding air like it was his masterpiece.
Rr-rip!
Visible tears formed in what could only be "reality" as the forest began to wrinkle and compress like tissue paper. I opened my mouth, unsure of what I was even witnessing as shredded bits of life fell away around me like a backdrop.
And then…
W-wow…
Actually, I'm going to wait.
And take in this beauty.
…
It was all an illusion. The nasty creatures, the overbearing and suffocating woods, they were all an illusion. Mind you, we were still in the forest, somewhere near the heart of the woods, but this was a timeless forest. A beautiful forest.
Shadows danced along the bright green leaves as drops of morning dew fell onto my father's head. A warm breeze blew throughout as the gradual noise of people bustling about could be heard somewhere in the distance. A soft piano played, accompanied by a violin.
Birds flitted through the sky, rainbow and gorgeous.
Groups of animals skittered through the bright, healthy, and tall trees which had regained their majestic nature. I looked up at the sky in awe, confused but greatly moved. Then, I looked at the ground.
Sigh.
Hmph, well, one thing hadn't changed.
Millie was still asleep.
And the stone formation still lay splayed like rubble.
"Alright Am-Am, we're close now… ah, I see that look on your face, I promise I'll explain to you when you get old enough…" Muttering, my father reached to pick me up when suddenly—
Whizz!
The whistling of wind filled my ears as my father whipped his head around. I did too, only to see a shimmering silver arrow flying towards me faster than my eye could perceive. Narrowing his eyes, something in my father seemed to snap as he grabbed the arrow, twisting and ripping it apart.
"WHO DARES?!" He roared, shaking the trees with his presence.
The animals bent away from him.
At that moment he seemed… kingly.
Several more arrows shot from the trees, though they were in my father's blind spot this time. Clicking his teeth, he stretched his hand behind him, catching each arrow one by one without looking. His eyes were instead focused on the trees. Planting his foot on the ground, he was about to dash into the branches.
Then, he turned towards me.
Millie had opened her mouth and had begun to cry as I sat dumbfounded, unable to do anything. Damn, what was this?! Fuck, father should be able to handle this, right? Go, father! You've got this…
Two more arrows whizzed by, wreathed in a peculiar flame this time.
The flame was a dark purple color.
Father was seething now, positively enraged. I watched, unable to move even a single muscle as his bright, worried eyes replaced themselves with an intense, cold depth, one that screamed of experience and death. Trembling, I almost pissed my pants, not sure whether the person in front of me was really…
My father.
Only then did he look back at my face.
He saw my fear.
And then, his face melted.
"Don't worry, Am-Am. Your dah-dah's got this." He smirked.
Just like that, the fear vanished.
There wasn't a doubt about it.
That was him!
That was my idiot father!
I'm so proud.
Taking advantage of my father's moment of silence, a figure ripped out of the bushes, sending leaves flying everywhere as I saw the arc of a dagger slashing downwards. Taking a step backwards, my father moved so fast it looked like he had teleported. Grabbing the arm of the person, he pulled him in, cracking his ribs with just one kick. Grabbing his neck, he squeezed until the figure collapsed.
Two more arrows.
It was getting boring.
They both stopped within two feet of my father, trembling and then dissipating. Like a beast— not a cornered one, but a predator— my father released all of his pressure in the direction of the trees.
A body dropped out of the branches.
That one, I was sure that she was female.
My father looked in her direction, eyes clouded and full of uncertainty, but after just a few seconds, he dropped the arrows in his hands, gawking as he opened his mouth wide.
"Y-you… Angie?! So the one I just choked out must have been… Darius? Huh? What are you two doing attacking… oh." Facepalming, my father kneeled down, wrapping both me and Millie in his embrace once again, patting Millie as she slowly returned to sleeping. Then, he took the body of "Darius", shaking it repeatedly.
C-cough! Hack! Cough!
Spitting out blood, the one named Darius sat on the ground, groaning.
Glaring at him, my father quickly turned towards Angie.
She had already gotten up, stumbling towards my father.
Removing her mask, I could tell that she was an elf.
Ocean blue eyes, silky white hair, perfect, glowing features, and that alluring presence that all elven women seemed to have— well at the very least Sara had it, and now this Angie had it as well, so I just generalized.
Hmph… silly me, I guess.
Sorry, It's hard to crack a joke here.
Especially when "Angie" was gasping for breath.
Raising an eyebrow, my father narrowed his eyes.
"Explain." He said simply.
"Ugh… Mr. Lahan, you didn't have to do all of that… it was just a welcoming… aghh… prank… shit…" Coughing repeatedly, my father tripped her, causing her body to fall over Darius, who had fallen back unconscious.
"A welcoming prank? There are children here! My child! Sara's child!" My father shouted, raising his voice in anger as his features roughened. His right hand looked like it wanted to break something, but he suppressed the desire.
Very well, I might add.
"Hah… I'm sorry… Mr. Cuswoth said… to do… blerghhh…" Angie seemed to be feeling sick as she felt remnants of my father's pressure still directed towards her body. Grabbing her by her hair, and then grabbing Darius by the scruff of his neck, my father picked them both up into the air, though his face showed melancholy.
I noticed a notch in Angie's ear, and the absence of Darius' eye.
Suddenly, I felt something well up in me— I could no longer blame those two.
"Sorry you had to see that, Am-Am…" My father shook his head, smiling.
"Cuswoth, huh… damn beast… if only he'd taken the seal…"