As the ruler of the giants entered the room, all the swearing, yelling, and even anger in the room vanished, leaving behind a disciplined group of giants sitting on their respective seats while the ruler walked from the door to his own throne right at the end of the hall. The biggest seat and the most fancy one, no doubt. As the grand ruler of the forest sat down, one of the younger female giants came holding a glass of wine they had created from using the berries and fermenting them.
The ruler didn't break eye contact with the other people in their seats, even for a second. He still, without breaking eye contact, quietly picked up the glass with his left hand and took a sip before speaking.
"So what exactly is the reason for every giant in this room acting no better than cattle before I entered?"
Everyone in the room looked more nervous than scared. Most of them chose to look down at the table instead of making actual eye contact with the ruler, except for one person. That person was none other than the leader of the hunters. The only group of giants allowed to leave their village. The Giants were a very intrinsic race. They preferred to stay within their own territory as much as possible. And things would have stayed that way if it weren't for the current leader of the giant hunters.
Ever since he was a kid, he saw something more. He seeked more than he had a feature not seen among giants. He was curious, and he had a heart for adventure and expansion. He wanted to see beyond the walls of the village. He wanted to explore as far as he could. And that was the reason he and his father grew further apart. His mom was killed in an attack by the wolves one night, and his father lost one eye that night protecting him from them. He understood the fear his father had of the unknown, but he also knew that staying closed forever would not let the giants as a race do anything more than just survive. He wanted to live his life, not just survive, and so after a huge argument with his father, he was made the leader of the hunters. It wasn't any better, but it was a start for him at least. He was a dreamer among people who ate by code; his ways, as weird as they might seem, were something that could help them in the long run.
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"It is because of the recent events that have been happening around the forest chief. Multiple trees were found uprooted, and a wolf's corpse was found on the outer edges of the village. And the weirdest one, however, that we have noticed occurs twice. A weird white ray of light was seen piercing down from the sky three to 10 days ago. So far, none of us have any idea what it could have been, but we are investigating it."
This so-called dreamer's name was, ironically, Carus. The ruler of the giants looked at the young man with a bit of a tired look and sighed before speaking.
"Carus, don't tell me you guys were arguing over such little things. I thought there was an actual issue here, but it seemed like it was a waste of time." The chief spoke, looking arrogant as if hinting at something other than the topic.
"I can assure you, chief, it's a bigger problem than you might think. The first light appeared on the exact day and time when that timer in the middle of our village appeared. Those two events are probably connected; however, we have no idea what the second light was for. And as for the trees and the wolf, it may not seem like a big issue now, but something with such capabilities is potentially dangerous to multiple giants, chief, no father."
The giant chief, with an eye patch over one of its eyes and a claw mark going under it, sighed. No matter what he did, his son was always different than the rest, and his attitude was something he did not like. He sincerely wanted his son to inherit the title of chief after he died, but that didn't even seem viable with how he was right now.
"Carus, we have had enough of your stories, and as far as that weird box in the air above our village goes, it has done no harm to anyone, and it does not seem like it will. The only thing that our village needs protection from is your ideas."
"But father-"
"ENOUGH," the old giant said in a voice loud enough to even cause Carus to fall to his knees as the chief stood up from his seat and walked towards him. "You know, ever since you were a kid, I was worried about your curious nature. We are giant carus; we are not meant to explore and be greedy. Our nature is to preserve, and I have tried to teach you that ever since you were a kid. But I lost hope long ago that even I could make anything out of you. So I'll give you one more chance, my son. Either forget about the outside world and become my heir, or leave this village until you find something to show that should make me believe in your idea. So make your choice Son."