The village of the two mounts was a small place. Not much larger than a few roads, it was a quiet village nestled in the crook of the valley. Mount Horeb towered over in the East and Sinai in the West. There were small streams trickling from Horeb, the taller of the two, and a meadow by a mighty forest towards the South. Many hunters resided in the village. That day, two fathers were leading Ethelred and Kior to the deer. Keeping low, the men told their sons to watch the forest floor for prints, and to listen for soft grunts of the quarry.

"Come, Kior. Let's catch ourselves a fine doe for your mother to make a stew of. Eyes on the lookout, son; the tracks are getting thicker now." Auderic whispered. He was a good-natured old man, with greying hair and a strong shape. Kior took after him like a mirror, except his hair took more after his mother's golden sheen instead.

The boy nodded fervently, his keen ears pricked for the sounds. "Aye, father. I'll get my first catch yet."

Vawraek in the meantime was busy wrestling Ethelred from a thorny bramble, muttering curses.

"Gods' sakes, Ethel! Can ye not even see the darn boosh right in front o' ye? How am I supposed to make a hunter outta a wee lad when ye can't even walk straight??"

"Get yer hands off, ye old git, I'm more 'an capable o' getting meself outta this mess!" Ethelred shot back at his father. "I'll hunt me a grand buck if ye let me have the bow once."

Auderic laughed at their antics, and all the while the four kept creeping closer to the rock pool where the herd would often settle before they migrated further down south. It was quiet, until they finally peered through the browning leaves to spy on a small gang across the blue water. Their glassy eyes were dim with the midday heat, and many white tails flicked slowly by the banks. From where the hunters were standing, it was a straight shot, none too hard. Ethel, ever watchful, was the first to spy them and quickly let out a hush, signalling the game to the group. Vawraek took charge immediately.

"Alright, lads. There outta be enough arrows fer all o' us to catch one each, and Auderic and I can catch two for yer Nanas and Pops after. Ethel, keep yer head low lad; ye look like a goose wit a stiff neck. Atta boy. Now notch the arrow nice and slow, just like that, and hold yer breath. When ye can see the sun in its eye, ye know to fire straight."

Kior and Auderic kept their arrows at the ready, steady as can be like solid boulders with perfect aim. The sun crept over the horizon enough to hit a deer in the face, the white patch shining between its eyes. Quick as glinting silver four arrows hit their marks. Bright crimson flashed as one hit the buck right on the white, another spearing a sleeping doe through one eye to another. Almost all the arrows hit their marks. The whole gang scattered, fleeing from the prey, and the injured doe left a spattering of red wherever she went, disappearing into the foliage.

"Cursed Percival's tongue, ye missed the heart by two hands, lad! Two hands! Ye can't kill a two-legged badger if ye tried." Vawraek swore, slapping Ethelred on the back. The poor boy nearly collapsed at the sudden strike, snapping back at his father as Kior gave out a small laugh at the pair.

While they gathered to check out their catch, Auderic nodded firmly.

"Well done, son. You got him right in the neck, but next time aim for the eyes."

"How come?"

"Your mother's an expert at skinning the hide for clothes and shoes, son. You don't want to mess up a good hide with arrow marks, no matter how fat the target is. Only the best go for the eyes." Auderic nodded to Vawraek's kill, speared cleanly as can be with minimal blood leaking into the pool. Kior looked at it with a contemplative look, watching the stream rush away whirls of metallic blood into its cool depths until all that was left was the clear blue water. As the elder men hefted the three kills onto their backs, Vawraek smiled at the trail left by the injured doe. The bloodied arrows were cleansed in the rock pool, and placed back in the boys' quivers.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Lads, get together and go find that doe. Bring 'er back to the village while we go on ahead," turning to his son, Vawraek said, "and Ethel, try not to die."

They slowly made their way back when Ethelred grabbed Kior by the arm and followed the tracks, angry.

"That old git! He never let me have a run on me own out here, a'ways looking o'er me shoulder."

Kior shook his head, picking up on the snapping of twigs and pained grunts. Ethelred's accent only grew worse when he was mad. "You know he only wants the best for you, Red. All the village does - you're the smartest one of us all! Not to mention how fast you are at dagger throwing; it's almost like you have four hands with how quick they fly."

"Yer right, Kior, but mebeh it'd be nice to hear just a small 'ye did well, son' like Auderic does ye. I feel awful small ev'ry time he picks on some small fault o' mine that I kint notice. Like when he tells me he kint use me for nothing good."

"He's praised you many times in the town hall whenever he has the cha-"

"And another thing! He won't even let me go into the hall! Not even once! Ye know how daft he is when no one else is better suited to running this village??"

Kior crouched, ears pricked, "Quiet!"

Right past the next tree, the panting doe leaned against a tall oak as it struggled to gasp its dying breaths. Ethelred forgot his entire anguish against his father once his eyes set on it, pushing his friend to the side. Deftly, a single dagger flicked out and slashed the deer's eyes; it sunk deep into the aged wood with a thud. The poor thing didn't stand a chance. Laughing, the boy celebrated his kill as he began to remove his arrow from its flank and the dagger from its skull. Kior brushed off the thorns of the bush he fell into.

"Well done, Red! Now we can carry it to the..." he paused, sniffing the air, "what's that?"

"What's what, lad?"

"That!"

"Oh no..."

A thin tendril of smoke rose high over the trees, painting the clouds an angry black. It had been small earlier, but now it was a plume of thick and heavy smoke. It carried the scent of burning wood and something else on the wind.

"That's the direction of the village! What's happened?"

"How should I know?! Make sense fer once ye dumb fish, we got to go back right now!"

The boys scampered back, heaving and panting, and all the while the scent of the fire only grew stronger. As they broke the tree line, they came to their village caught up in a brilliant blaze. Overhead were loud screeches and pillars of flames raining down onto the houses, scaled bodies of dragons dancing above it all. The scent of burning flesh hung there; all Kior could feel was the pounding of his own heart in his ears. Neither one could move, standing a few paces by the forest, until Ethelred pushed him back into the foliage.

"We gotta get of here lad. Go get help!"

"What do you mean help?? Where are we going to go, we can't do anything!"

Ethelred pushed him again, back into the trees with fear in his eyes. The heat of the fires licked up their cheeks, smearing them with ashes from the carnage.

"Wait... where are you going??" Kior caught his arm.

"Me father's in there, lad. I need to go back, but fer now go south and get to the forest of the Elves. Tell 'em Imane and Auderic sent ye, and show 'em the star on yer back, lad. They'll know what to do."

"Don't be stupid, Red, come with me! Or at least let me stay with you."

"I can't, lad. There's only one child of flesh, after all." But the terror in his eyes was shaking him. His legs gave way, and Kior had to pull him back into the forest. All the while they could hear the echoes of laughter from the dragons, and could feel the stinging heat on their skin.

Ethelred tried to push back into the village, but Kior held him down as the boys prayed for it all to go away. It wasn't until the flames almost brushed against their feet that they turned tail and fled, past the rock pool and the mountains into the south. They didn't know where they were going, but all Kior could hear was the torching of his village, and he couldn't help the tears that streaked down his face.

That was the night where the boys lost everything: home, family, friends, and all they'd ever known. All they had to go on was the direction of the Elves and a strange message from his parents.