Seduri Forest (Eryndor Kingdom), year 1745 of the 5th age

It was around noon in the Seduri forest, but below the thick canopy of the forest it was more like twilight. A boy, around 16 years old, walked confidently, unafraid of the monsters that were supposed to be lurking in the forest. His name was James Thorn, the fourth son of a powerful nobleman in Eryndor. His confidence was due to his skill with a sword, and he had never lost a fight with anyone but Trainer Leon.

James was hunting forest wolves for a bet he had made yesterday night. The wolves were ferocious beasts, and even one was enough to take out your average farmer. But James did not fear them.

Just two more to go, he thought.

A flash of gray in the corner of his vision made him stop. It was a girl, who looked to be around 13. This was the first time James had been truly surprised today, and he rushed over to her.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

This got her attention, and she turned around. Seeing the 3 forest wolf heads on James’ belt, she immediately said “You need to drop those.”

“No! Why should I?”

“Because those are the Shadow Bear’s favorite –”

But it was too late. A large Shadow Bear, over 10 feet tall, appeared behind the girl. It roared, a sound that made James tremble in fear.

It lifted its foreleg, preparing to strike. The claw at the end of the foreleg gleamed menacingly.

CLANG! It was blocked by James’ sword.

“Stay behind–” James’ words were cut short as the Shadow Bear’s other foreleg crashed into him. The impact knocked him into the air. Dazed, he could only look on at the scene as it played out.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

The bear advanced on the girl, but she didn’t panic. Instead, she pulled out a wand, aiming at the bear. This was already unusual for a girl this young, but what happened next was even more unexpected.

“Setu kasi- gale!”

A huge gust of wind immediately shot out of the tip of the wand, blowing the Shadow Bear over.

No way… a spell with that much power from someone that young?, thought James.

Unfortunately, the girl's spell didn't seem to cause any more than a few scratches to the monstrosity. It got back up, angrier than ever.

In that moment, James fully expected to die. Still, he stumbled to his feet, determined to make a valiant last effort.

"Deva hest- spear." Chanted a man behind James.

It was too fast for James to see with his eyes, but a moment later the bear fell to the ground. There was a gaping hole in the middle of its chest where James assumed the spell had attacked.

Utterly exhausted, James collapsed onto the ground. As he fought to remain conscious, he heard the girl speak.

"What will we do with him?"

"We'll take him back home. I've been wanting someone to proofread a little project of mine."

And with that, James fell into unconsciousness.

When James woke up, he was on an unfamiliar but comfy bed. The girl from the forest was next to him.

“You’re awake?” She asked.

“Y-yes” James replied shakily.

“Good. I’ll go get father now.” She said as she left the room.

Around a minute later, a man walked into the room. He looked to be around 40, with graying hair and brown eyes. However, he was unique in that he had a large scar under his left cheek. James paled in fear when he saw it- that scar was infamous, and could only belong to one man. He tried to get up, but immediately fell back down, nearly losing consciousness again.

“Alric Dragoncurse??” whispered James, so quiet that it was almost silent.

“Calm down. You need to rest for now.” Said the man in a calming tone. "You know I just saved your life, right?"

James could feel Alric checking his body, but he was too weak to do anything about it. Eventually his body gave out, and he passed out again.

When James woke up for the second time, the room was empty. There was a book on the side of his bed, with a note that read: “You've probably heard stories about me, and those stories probably say that I'm a bad person who did terrible deeds. I don't know who told you those stories, but I do know that the stories were all from others. Before you judge me, please read this memoir, written from my perspective. -Thank you, Alric.”