The ground felt soft under Ziihor's hard feet. It was warm and yet held a certain freshness. The small grass blades tickling his feet were pure bliss for Ziihor's strained body.
Weiss and Ziihor slowed down the pace and simply enjoyed the new scenery. Wide fields of grass, lush bushes in different colors dotting the plains and a large colony of trees in the horizon.
The wind howled through the lands, setting the grass in motion and blowing loose culms away – to unknown places –. Ziihor scanned the area and after assuring himself that no one was nearby he took of the hood. Bathing his face in the gentle wind he could feel his whole self come at peace.
Simply 'Eden'.
Ziihor spread his soul sense over the lands. He was not dissapointed.
Small critters were moving through some underbrushes, others had dug holes in the ground and still others were simply enjoying the sunrays in open view.
Over half a year passed before Ziihor once again felt something different than undead souls or Burrowers, it was refreshing in a sense.
Ziihor squined his eyes towards the forest in the far distance. Weird life signatures were being emitted from the forest, one really, really powerful in particular. By a large margin stronger than the Queen Burrower.
He decided to stay away from the forest for now, its inhabitants were just to strong.
They took a long detour around the forest, at least so far away that the distance was always around a dozen of miles. Surprisingly the forest just seemingly grew bigger and bigger the more they tried to circumvent the forest the wider it seemed to become. Its shape should be roughly that of a cone now. Slim at the peak and wide at its base. This specific 'base' turned out to stretch over the whole horizon. It took them a full day to realize that this forest was simply impossible to circle. If they did though they would have to spent maybe weeks or months, unfavourable conditions.
Ziihor gulped down his anxiousness of the mighty beast of the forest and decided to first take a quick glimpse from above.
He distance himself from the forest, so far that probable predators could not identify him anymore.
With a powerful jump he took of into the air, unfolding the wings under his robe. Ziihor flew hundreds of meters into the air vertically and moved a bit forward too to get a better overview; it's not like that high up in the sky any creature could attack him.
Ziihor was stupified. At first he thought he was just seeing a hallucination but after rubbing his amethyst eye replacement he reluctantly had to accept reality.
A sea of green.
The forest stretched for miles upon miles upon miles and even further. Small mountains were even swallowed by the over sized forest, poking out solely with their white peaks, as if they were drowning men hoping to grab after the last rope that could save their lifes.
'What the fuck did those Gods thought?!'. Ziihor was eligible irritated. Of course he as the apex of Gods didn't really care about Eden, except for its origin, so he had only a rough idea how this world was developing and seemingly the Gods decided on the terrain in an all or nothing manner. If they make a desert than it is kept big. If they make a forest than it has to be endless. Ziihor could only shudder at the thought of being forced to travel over the sea. An endless ocean... 'I can't believe those morons!'. Ziihor could only shake his head.
Ziihor flew back to the ground and walked to Weiss, looking directly at him.
“*Cough*. Even if we tried to bypass the forest it would take to much time, so even if we do not want to we have no other choice than to pass right through it...“. Ziihor looked for any kind of reaction of Weiss's hooded and disfigured face.
“No problem at my side, master.“. Weiss whispered, not taking any risks in waking the slumbering beasts of the forest.
Yet Weiss's lips slightly curled upwards and revealed a few of his unlevel and rotten fangs, it only lasted for a moment but Ziihor registered it with his improved vision. Weiss was burning for a good fight.
Ziihor was no exception but the ferocious beasts in this forest were no laughing matter.
'Huhhh...'. Ziihor sighed mentally. 'It would do nothing to worry now'. With that Ziihor decided to enter the forest together with Weiss.
A quick movement of his hand towards Weiss meant that he should follow behind.
The forest was dense and only a narrow space was left in between the large groups of trees. Light was only sparsely reaching the ground through the hundreds of twining branches, illuminating the forest close to zero.
The trees mostly consisted of large pines that seemed to grow endlessly towards the sky. Their dark green crowns were densly packed; used as a home for a variety of species they emitted a cacophony of pleasant sounds. Birds chirping, small squeals of tiny rodents and the never ending background rustle of the trees.
After walking for a while they stumbled upon an old trail were the trees and bushes were mostly trampled down, giving way for an unobstructed travel.
At all times Ziihor was spreading his soul sense to cover the entire area around them, to keep them safe from the lurking dangers.
Ziihor noticed a subtle change in the trail as it grew wider and wider all of a sudden until it ended in a small glade. The glade was covered in colorful flowers, ranging from roses and tulips to violets and orchids. At the center of the glade stood a small obelisk.
Being overgrown by brown roots and green vines the obelisk seemed to be swallowed up by the forest itself, only a blackened top was looking out from beneath.
Ziihor approached the stone monument and tried to rip the roots and vines off of it with his sharp claws. He was a bit surprised to see that the roots didn't even move an inch and all his power was not enough to pry them even the slightest bit away. Ziihor pondered for a while and decided to use his black mist to simply wither the roots away.
He emitted a dense cloud of the black fog and sent it straight against the strange barrier of roots. Once the mist hit the dense pack of roots they started to cry out in pained screams. The roots wriggled like worms, bashing Ziihor in an attempt to relieve their pain. Slowly but surely the fog made them wilt until only small blackened sticks remained. Now the stone was revealed.
It was a black and smooth stone. It felt cool to the touch and had small indentations all over it. Ziihor went closer to the stone and gave it a glance. The indentations were small letters engraved into the stone. The letters were white and glowed somewhat, making it easier to read even if it would have been night.
Albeit the language was glyphic in nature, it posed no problem to Ziihor who was adept in any kind of language there is.
Ziihor read it out loud. He already had a foreboding feeling.
“Traveler.“
Traveler, unspeakable pain awaits,
So run and don't look at what lurks in the shades.
Don't make a sound.
Traveler, don't turn around.
Fiendish mobs lurk deep in the green.
Shadows, painful and rarely seen.
If you hear the clip and clop,
Never stop.
If you feel the heat,
To late for retreat.
If you smell its breath,
Your body a mess.
...If you see it's eyes...
Pray you don't.
So, traveler, run.
Or you might never see the sun,
Again.
“That doesn't sound good, not good at all.“. Ziihor mumbled to himself. Any person would know that this was a warning but at the same time it meant for Ziihor that somebody wrote it. Ziihor was afraid and ecstatic. He might stumble over some hints on where to find civilization in this forest.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Weiss, let's go!“. Ziihor ordered the wraith.
With quick steps they advanced further through the forest, leaving the black stone farther and farther behind them.
Later in the night, unseen by eyes the last bits and pieces of roots fell of the stone, revealing another row of indentations right at the bottom.
“Yet Traveller, never ever pry into the terror beneath.
The slumbering, clamoring terror beneath.“
Shortly after the vines completely detached from the monument it began to shake and rupture. Deadly black splitters flew through the air and embedded themselves into the nearby trees. The explosion was akin to the sound of bombs setting off. The blast shook the surrounding forest and blew leaves and branches in all directions.
More capable predators and beings in the forest perked up their ears when they heard the strange sound, as well as one distinct being which all others evaded.
Mighty hooves scraped over the ground as the creatures nostrils steamed burning air. The hooves left deep crevices in the ground, testifying for their raw power. It eyed the direction of the explosion closely, it squinted at first but after realizing the location of the explosion its eyes widened in shock and disbelief. The gentle eyes turned fierce and full of hate and with a sudden jump it flew hundreds of meters towards the explosion.
All the while a slender black figure was rising from the ground, making its way through the ruble of the bursted black stone. The figure was not big or anything.
It stood roughly at 5.6 ft, was completely covered in black fur, had only short legs but strangly long arms and two pairs of torn fluffy wings, resembling more of antennas than wings. It's head seemed rocky in nature, as it had a surface similiar to the black stone, with two large antlers growing out of its temples. A long black reptilian tail with a spear like end was swishing over the ground, creating deep cuts in the soil. Each paw was equipped with sharp black claws. Two white orbs as eyes were currently wildly staring around the forest.
The creature emitted an evil miasma, pure evil. It seeped out of every pore of this devilish creature. Its eyes turned into the direction of its old rival. A foe that the devil deeply despised and wanted to settle the score since hundreds of years ago.
Ziihor and Weiss didn't notice the bizarre creature emerging from the ground, or rather, they couldn't. They already travelled a long distance through the forrest and were ambushed out of nowhere, even Ziihor's soul sense registered them to late.
A group of hooded figures were circling around both of them, bows and arrows at the ready. They totalled seven and from their movements Ziihor knew they were no beginners.
Beneath his hood, inside his ribcage Ziihor held something that he didn't hope to have to use so early on at the ready. A slightly glowing crystaline orb, the eye of the Stallag wyvern. 'If worse comes to worst I have to use this.'. Ziihor could only frown at his predicament.
“Silaras, what should we do with them?“. One of the hooded figures asked the person with the most ornamental bow. The voice was masculine and young.
The person in question was silent for a while.
“I don't know but... they reek of evil.“. A feminine voice replied, unnerved and tense.
Ziihor could identify the language that was used, the same language that was used on the stone monument, Elvish.
To show that they were not hostile Ziihor put his hood covered arms in the air and spoke in a friendly tone; beforehand he stowed the eye back in between his ribs.
Instead of the Elvish that these elves were using, Ziihor used the original Elvish, a language only known by the Highelves and scholars of Elven culture.
“My friends, we are nothing but travellers on a mission and would like to pass this forest with our heads remaining on the shoulders. So please, could you make way?“. Ziihor's Elvish was perfect and without accent.
Surprise was evident in the elves as they gasped simultaneously. They didn't expect that this random traveller could speak High Elvish, true it was only used by elves with high position but it was still known throughout the ranks of commoners.
Now that he had their full attention and created an enigmatic image, Ziihor continued speaking but this time in ordinary Elvish. “I really don't want any trouble, my friend and I just want to have a save travel. I know we look suspiscious but please believe me when I say we have nothing evil in mind.“. Ziihor pleaded, alas he couldn't look them in the eyes or else they would see his skull face. For safety measures Ziihor used a bit of his black mist to further cover up his own face, if he only had a helmet.
The hooded figures turned to the woman named Silara, pointing their clueless gazes at her.“Silara what should we do now? What if they have relations with the High Elves? Eneruch won't be happy if he comes to know that we attacked someone associated with the Elders.“
Silara frowned at the question. How should she know how to the deal with this odd situation?
She racked her mind over an answer. After a few seconds she spoke up. “You two come with us. We will bring you to our Elders, they know how they should deal with you.“. Her voice was a hint gentler than at the beginning.
Ziihor tilted his head under the hood and gave Weiss a look. Weiss gave a simple nod.
“Sorry, but I have to humbly decline your offer. Our mission is of great importance so we best not waste any time to anger the master.“. With that said Ziihor turned around with Weiss, only a few meters before they once again dissappeared in the forest the Elves began to move.
“This was not an offer but an order. I don't care about your relation to the clan Elder's but this is our territory and in our territory count our commands. Either you submit peacefully to us or we are forced to use violence against you.“. Silara said while tensing up her arms and nocking finger thick ash grey arrows into her ebony wood bow.
Weiss and Ziihor simply grinned under their hoods. Power surged from within both of them, seeping out as a black radiance. A slim thread was connecting from Ziihor to Weiss, supplying him with Ziihor's power.
Both of them took off their cloaks. Weiss whipped out his daggers while Ziihor took out his axes and spread his black wings with their bloody membranes.
His skull cracked and his two amethyst eyes glowed. The axes deformed slightly and turned into cursed weapons. The axes had a slight black and purple hue drifting around them, making them look ominous.
Ziihor let out a bit of his original killing intent, something he didn't even do in the fight with the wolves. The pure and raw killing intent was so much that it seemed to materialize itself as a giant jet black dragon behind Ziihor. It's gaze pierced straight through the soul and its obsidian scales seemed simply impenetrable. Ziihor's original form.
The Elves instinctively took a step back from the majestic creature and even Weiss held his breath. But because he was not the focus of the killing intent he swiftly broke free from his stupor.
Cold sweat was running down from the Elves' backs. The creature made them dread for their lives and its sole presence was enough to nearly make them faint.
Ziihor purposefully dissolved the grand illusion and took on a fighting stance. The Elves free from the terror that shackled them looked at the raven black demon before them, they felt an overwhelming pressure being exerted by the frail looking skeleton. They gulped down large drops of saliva, for them it felt like the fight against a tyranical demon lord.
Ziihor only chuckled slightly and gave Weiss a knowing look. Weiss simply glanced back and instantly knew what was happening.
The fight was on.
Beyond the whole turmoil between the Elves and Ziihor, a whole days travel away, two beasts were currently facing each other, being anxious about ending each others life. But that is a story for another time.