“Come on Bluey, let’s go.” Thorne gestured to the growling bird who was still sitting in the tree the two had previously slept in. Bluey’s growth in the last month had been astounding. When Thorne had found Blue, he had only been the size of a human fist. Now, the bird stood tall at the size of a human skull. It may not sound like much, but in only a month, it was rapid growth.
Blue looked at Thorne with large, pouting eyes.
“I gave you food.” Thorne staunchly replied, “If you want more, you have to help me in my hunt. “The bird harrumphed but still complied with Thorne’s wishes.
It hopped down from the tree, spread its fiery blue wings, and glided downward, landing on Thorne’s shoulder.
Thorne smiled and patted the bird’s head, “Good job, Bluey.”
As soon as he took Bluey in, Thorne attempted to take on the duties of its dead mother. Thus, he taught Bluey how to fly. It had been difficult on both sides, but after a couple of weeks, Bluey became a very decent flyer.
“You think you can fly all the grassland, Bluey?” Thorne asked sweetly.
In response, Bluey looked at him, confused.
He sighed, “Bluey, get food.” Thorne retrieved a piece of meat from his spatial storage, “If you fly,” He flapped his arms wildly, “to grassland.” He picked up a piece of grass and showed it to Bluey.
Immediately hopping off his shoulders, Bluey began to fly ahead of him excitedly.
“Glutton,” Thorne muttered before he began to run after his companion. Being relatively fast, he kept up with the small blue bird and ensured no nearby beasts could harm him.
The two raced through the forest. Thorne admired the scenery and smiled. The old trees that towered over the clouds, the vast flora painting a beautiful green canvas. It was beautiful, well, as long as you had the strength to enjoy it, otherwise you would be killed instantly.
Soon, the pair reached the edge of the forest, and before entering the grassland, Thorne motioned for Bluey to stop. The bird flew with passion and excitement, likely for food, and landed on the floor before Thorne.
Retrieving a piece of meat, Thorne set it in front of the greedy bird, “There you go, fatty.” Thorne smiled, shaking his head.
Bluey tore into the meat, and Thorne sat next to the bird, enjoying the view of the vast grassy fields, but something was off.
‘What’s that noise.’ Thorne cocked his ear to the sky and listened intently. ‘I swear there was a humming noise.’
‘There,’ Thorne heard it again, a low hum reverberating through the wilderness, and it was getting louder.
Thorne grabbed Bluey quickly, who grumbled quietly since he couldn’t finish his food, but Thorne didn’t care. His face was severe, and he quickly hid behind a large tree.
The humming noise grew louder and louder until it dominated the entire wilderness, and soon, the noise source became known.
‘Ahh, I forgot that they would come.’ Thorne nodded in realization.
A large hovercar, or rather hover bus, landed on the border between forest and grassland and came to a rumbling stop.
The doors slid open on the sleek, long hovercar, and the passengers spilled out. A little less than a dozen young students wearing red robes left the car to enter the Great Wilderness. All of them were of varying races, heights, and shapes and stood in an orderly line as they awaited their Master.
The driver’s door slid open, and a massive figure stepped out. Red runes shone violently. Thorne could finally feel the rune’s true power as his energy senses had increased.
‘Magnificent. I wonder how powerful you are, Master Khal?’ Thorne mused as he watched.
Bluey also stayed silent, recognizing the threat of the students, especially Master Khal. When the looming Master stepped out of the hovercar, Bluey’s head reared back in panic, and Thorne needed to comfort him.
“It has been three months.” Master Khal spoke bluntly, “Just as I said, you are all now in the Great Wilderness. In three months, the ones who are alive will be retrieved.”
Some of the students shuddered visibly, but Master Khal showed them no mind, and with heavy steps, he stomped back into the hovercar.
“Wait!” One of the students shouted out desperately, but it was too late.
SLAM!
The door of the hovercar shit closed violently, and then it took flight and disappeared into the sky.
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Thorne smiled wryly and chuckled upon seeing this, ‘They got the same treatment as me; well, at least Master Khal is fair in his cruelty.’
“That damn Master Khal!” A female dwarf spat. She paced around, to the annoyance of the other students.
“Imelda, can you do anything but complain?” A red demon asked, clearly peeved at the stocky dwarf.
Thorne smiled upon seeing the students bicker, ‘Aren’t those the two who argued in the class as well? Some things never change.’
“Tsk, whatever, Tolak,” She grunted with a frustrated expression.
The red humanoid, or rather Tolak, turned away from the crowd and began marching into the forest. A human boy saw this and stammered out a question, “Where are you going, Tolak?” he asked in a scared tone.
“To the forest.” Tolak responded bluntly without even turning around, “I do not want to stay with a bunch of weaklings like you.”
The other students looked somewhat fear-stricken upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Thorne realized something vital, ‘That Tolak is probably the strongest.’
Imelda, the short, wide dwarf, quickly shouted back, “We don’t need you, Tolak.” In response, the demon shrugged in disinterest and continued walking until he was lost in the forest.
Seeing everyone’s panic, Imelda sputtered, “We don’t need him, you fools; there are eight of us and one of him.”
The mood of the small gathering of students calmed slightly. Thorne watched in amusement as the group tried to get itself together.
“I propose we travel to the plains first; we have no idea what lives in the forest.” Imelda proposed confidently, and she began marching toward the grassland.
A general hesitance danced across the expressions of the red-spectrum students. Still, many were too timid to put a voice to their fears, except for one.
“No.” The human said it was the same person who had questioned Tolak earlier. Then, when he talked, he seemed unconfident and meek. Now, however, he was assertive in his rejection. “In the plains, we’ll be in the open and easy to kill, and also the beast that I can see them much stronger than us.”
Imelda turned around furiously, “Oh, well, if you’re so confident, how about we have a duel.” She withdrew a heavy two-handed axe, “The winner will decide where we go.”
The human boy shook his head in annoyance, “Just because you’re the second rank in the class, that gives you no right to act so arrogantly. I will not waste energy on a pointless fight.” He spat, “I’m going on my own.”
Imelda smiled gloatingly as she bore into the human’s parting figure, “Oh, Tolak’s little dog, running to its master.”
The boy stopped but did not turn around. With much effort, the boy forced himself to continue and not react to the provocation.
Imelda shrugged and turned back to her group with a smile, “Into the plains it is.”
Thorne caressed his chin, thinking, ‘Interesting, two in the forest and eight in the plains.’ He watched the departing group of students as they marched confidently into the vast grassland, ‘that dwarf is either stupid or very strong. Though I am curious n how many of them will survive the grasslands.’
Thorne knew firsthand how dangerous that area was. He had had to run for his life on a couple of occasions.
‘I should make contact with the human; he seems far more agreeable than Tolak.’ Thorne decided as he strode stealthily into the familiar woods. ‘Hopefully, he can inform me of what’s been happening with the academy lately.’
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Doral marched through the forest, trying to muffle his steps, though he knew he wasn’t doing an excellent job at it.
‘That stupid Imelda.’ He thought angrily, ‘She will get the whole class killed! Well, not me, at least.
As he continued through the forest, Doral noticed something strange about the landscape; nothing was happening. There was no noise, no movement, nothing.
‘What a bizarre forest.’
He peered around inquisitorially while walking and noticed that there were signs of life: the odd scratch on a tree, a broken branch, and crumpled leaves. But despite these clear signs of life, no evidence came forth to support it; the forest seemed dead.
‘The animals come out at night then.’ He concluded soundly.
He walked for a few more minutes, not bothering to cover his steps, ‘if they come out at night, then there is no harm now.’
As he walked, he decided to plan out his priorities, ‘I already have plenty of food and water packed, so the priority should be shelter first and then informa-‘
‘What was that.’ He thought in trepidation, fervently swiveling his head.
The gloom of the forest seemed to creep in on him. Shadows danced in his vision, and the trees dominated the space above him.
‘I must be seeing things.’ He shook his head and sighed. He was somewhat creeped out, but not enough to go into full panic mode.
But then he saw it again: a shift in the shadows, a slight sound of dirt being trodden on.
‘Somethings here.’ He withdrew his weapon, a huge, two-handed, jagged metal sword. It was grey and dull, perfectly fitting in with the atmosphere of the forest.
‘There!’ His breath caught as he saw it again. His breathing increased, and sweat rolled silently down his face, ‘Was Imelda right? Is the forest too dangerous?
“Turn around and drop your weapon.”
Goosebumps crawled across his skin as he heard the voice. A cool metal pressed against his neck, and he complied with the order of the menacing whisper. He lightly placed his weapon on the forest floor, his thoughts racing wildly.
‘Is it intelligent? I thought only beasts lived here. Am I going to die?’
He turned around slowly, holding his trembling hands in the air. He attempted to appear as unthreatening as possible lest he incur the worst punishment of all: death.
‘It’s a human…and a bird?’ He thought confused. Upon turning, he finally saw his captor, or rather, captors. Standing above him was a human in tattered red robes, holding twin black sabers of red and amber. A multicolored spectrum crystal adorned his forehead and contrasted heavily with the dark forest. On his shoulders lay a small yet threatening blue bird. With fire-adorned wings and deep mystical eyes, it stared at him in what seemed to be boredom.
“You’re…you’re the dual spectrum student.” He gasped out in incredulity.
“Yes, I am.” The dual spectrum student removed his saber’s hold on Doral’s neck. He placed his hand on the spot where the blade once was and noticed that a slim line of blood seeped slowly out of his neck.
‘Incredibly sharp!’ Doral’s eyes widened in shock; he had never seen such a sharp blade.
“I-I am Doral. What do you want of me?” He stuttered out.
“Calm down.” The man said, clearly annoyed at Doral’s fear. “I just want some information, not much, just a small bit.” Smiling maliciously, the man looked at Doral as if he were prey ready to be hunted, “do you think you can give me that?”