The 14th year of Thomas' life was already great as he started to practice with his sword after working in the fields. He wasn't aware of that, but using equipment to plant wheat and trying to take those stubborn beetroots from the soil was turning this young boy into a muscular and handsome young man. He was actually quite popular with girls at his age already. Though, he was too busy with swords to notice that. His looks were also getting better with each day that he trained harder. He was a - compared to his peers - a tall man whose chin had a sharp look, and he had straight black hair, which was neither short nor long. Since he hated washing long hair, he made his mum cut it when it was getting more prolonged than usual. His recently turning into muscular arms were not very visible, though. Since the clothes worn by villagers of Telluria were all made from thorn sacks. Cloth wasn't a luxury. However, someone had to bring them to Towns from the city, but who would do it? And who would travel to the Town from the dark forest? Some guards who would collect taxes were their only visitors from outside anyway. And they always brought sacks with them to put crops they gathered in the name of taxation. It was pretty unfair, but at least the king used to send them some money if you could say that to such a low amount.

Happy days would not last forever since the dawn of history, though. The reality of the for was so much different than what those poor and happy peasants saw on the Sylvian. The touch that will affect the never-lasting happiness was a famine. In the year 475, After Magic's late fall, a new sickness that only affected the edible plants was wandering throughout the Continent. Since it was almost the aftermath of the harvesting season, nobody thought that could hurt anyone, which was a point where they were all wrong. Because they realized that this illness was caused by a type of fungus with sports that was contaminating the foods stored in open areas, Slyvanbrook had no magic users and no magic technologies, which meant they did not have iceboxes.

Iceboxes were devices that worked with magic energy, and they kept the food inside cold and unaffected by outside interactions. History was showing young Thomas right. Just standing still and not doing or demanding anything was creating a disaster for the small village. What could they do now? Hunting in the forest? There is no way! Witches were living there! Maybe their king would send them something! But Telluria wasn't a rich enough nation to feed everyone in it. They needed the nobles, army, scientists, students, and academicians fed since losing their brain power would become a disaster. They still weren't up from the punch they got 200 years ago. So, it was already decided to sacrifice some peasants to their own fate by the palace. Yet, poor peasants would never know about that. Because there wouldn't be tax collectors who knew there wasn't any food to collect anymore. That wasn't a problem for rich nations since they had silos around which they always had emergency rations. Some small nations could easily ask their enemies for annexation. Living under another was terrible, but the alternative they had was extinction. The greedy kings of strong nations were celebrating as they raised their goblets and laughed. "An easy victory without a war!" The people who were suffering and starving weren't their slightest problem. They even wasted some food on their tables, which contained countless roasted chickens, cheeses from the entire Continent, and wines made with the best grapes in the western lands.

They even wasted some food on their tables, which contained countless roasted chickens, cheeses from the entire Continent, and wines made with the best grapes in the western lands [https://img.wattpad.com/af7cbd759952e65bc67f1dca29a32dccfd2af2c4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6976546e52476b305374443942773d3d2d313339313439383934372e313738666532633161633634633038303738383435373337303231392e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Their servants would carry what happened on those tables to the world outside the palaces. You could say that people were starting to get very angry. However, what could they do in the big cities with many guards, knights, and soldiers around? Maybe they should go to the countryside. They could attack some caravan trades. After all, what was the point if those dirty nobles were not considered about them when they were starving? Some people dropped dead in the middle of the streets! Maybe they would care about them now. The people who could afford the consequences of these thoughts were in such limited numbers but weren't zero. Bandits, thugs, and angry noones were starting to wander on routes, and they were looking for places to hide on the furthest corners of the Continent. Forests that could hide them would be priceless, making our "Dark Forest" a hazardous place now.

The unpleasant news would be arriving soon. A small group of younglings were driven to prove that they were brave. They decided to look for something to eat voluntarily after villagers were done with their last edible stock of bread and cut one of the previous lasting sheep, which they didn't even have that much on their hands. So they got some tools that were used in the fields with them and started to gather in the village center. They were going on a quest! Every man in the village was welcome to join on their journey. At this point, Thomas was also interested in joining the party. So, he grabbed his now best friend 'rusty.' Maybe for the first time since his interest began, villagers were thanking god for having at least one person who could protect their children from the wilderness of the forest. As noon arrived, assembly was completed. The population of the village was 237. And a handful of 20 of them were willing to go on this journey. The engaged ones were hugging, and the ones who only had girlfriends were looking at their lovers' houses with frozen faces. Was that journey going to let their fathers marry them? It was his first time that he realized he was lonely. But luckily, he had a loving family. He quickly hugged his father and mother and asked for their blessings. His father had a proud smile on his face while his mom was well, a mother who was sending his child into danger. Her prayers would accompany him through his journey, though.

The group started to walk as they started to sing chants. Walking through the meadow was the fun part. They used to play catch and seek here in their childhood anyway. However, as the first trees started to get bigger as they approached, some of the guys were visibly shaken by horror stories they kept hearing about. Thomas was, of course, a regular in the forest, and he was aware that there was nothing but wildlife in the forest. However, he was unaware that safeness in forests had become ghosts of the past now. They arrived at the forest, leaving the safe arms of sunshine behind and losses of small daylight pieces that were coming to them around big leaves of great trees in front. He was leading the group now. His sword rusty was to of its hand as he had drawn it from its sheath and firmly gripped it. He was also using that locating Magic he saw to detect possible hunts. He was quite capable of the Magic, actually. So he did not have much problem with basic spells. He detected a small group of 3 deer that consisted of a mother deer and her two newborn fawns. He was as hungry as the rest of his village. However, taking the life of a new mother was still a no-no for him. He could feel a tear shaping in his eye, but he did not tell his friends that he had detected a life form around him.

After coming through the first shock, the journey started to bring joy to our boys. They were feeling like little children again, even though they were actually still children. There were unseen colored mushrooms around. Bushed with some weird lumps, which smelled really good. Thomas, of course, was smiling upon looking at his friends. He came with a smile on his face and put one of the lumps into his mouth. He said, "This is called berry. It doesn't fill the belly, but it's tasty!" The kids started to smile as well after that, and they started to look for berries around. They could take those with them! Yes, they weren't filling, but it was still better than nothing. One of the guys, whose name was Ethan, was the most cheerful one among them. He was a cheerful and a little bit scrubby and a little chubby boy with some orange-toned, red fluffy hair. He always had a thing for food, so tasting this newfound fruit was unreal for him. He quickly started to wander around the forest and collect his leather pouch. He was planning to collect enough to show these fruits to everyone in the village. As he was working on that, he started to speak, "My goodness, Tom! Why did you not tell me that there were such things in the forest? Even more important question: why didn't you bring any to the village?" Thomas actually didn't have an answer for that. He was not a guy who was eating much, so taking food never even came to his mind. To him, berries were just little treats that would give him energy in exchange for coming to the forest. The friends who knew his side giggled a bit. He apologized and explained the situation. Ethan was a very kind person, so he just smiled. "You know, someday I will build a place where I cook pies for everyone in the village! My pies will be so good that even travelers will start to come to our village! And I will use these berries in my recipe! And you have to collect them as punishment!" He was a person who could hold no resentment after all. And that was why he was always loved by everyone in the village. He quickly made up to him, and he promised that he would collect all sorts of ingredients for him once he built that pie house. After all, pies could be such a joy to boring life in Sylvanbrook! And if he would manage to become a famous knight. They surely would have outside visitors! With those beautiful thoughts on their minds, boys have started to think about their dreams. Most of them actually never even thought about this before. Because you know. Life was simple: work in the field and drink at tavern. On the other hand, the friendship of those two gave them a new idea to find their passions. After all, thanks to Thomas' stupid dream, they were safe now in this forest! Or as they thought. They kept walking, and they even managed to locate a few rabbits. However, catching them was hard even for Thomas. As they kept horsing around in the forest, time flew by. It already has been hours since they were left. They decided to take a break under one of the pine trees. Thomas always had a thing for the smell they spread out. It was giving him comfort even in nature. Most of the group was sharing that thought. For that reason alone, they were making water cups out of pine in the village and used those cups to smell the scent of their water. As they talked, they decided to eat their rations. It was one of the last foods villagers had, and they happily packed them for their brave sons as they were talking around. Thomas was not focusing on his spell since he wasn't in a protective position after coming to the forest to find no humans.

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However, an arrow that pierced the heart of a friend who reached out for a sandwich was an alert to wake him up and stand in a fighting position. It was Ethan who was shot. Since he was everyone's favorite friend, they couldn't believe what had just occurred. He quickly cast the spell to realize that they were surrounded by ten humans. But how?! He came to this forest so much. It should have been deserted! Who the hell would live there? The boys who saw Ethan's life and dreams were taken away by something they couldn't even see and were in total shock and chaos. They had tools, but they were afraid to use them. They couldn't even see the enemy! What could they do? Some of them tried to escape and started to run in random directions. Thomas asked them to stop and tried to explain that they were surrounded; however, some of them did not stop and disappeared into the forest. Just seconds later, some screams could be heard. He was watching all happening through his spell. And you could tell that he was in a shocked state. Boys who didn't leave his side, whose numbers were dropped to seven, were looking at him for an explanation. However, his muscles, including his jaw, were not working. However, it wouldn't be necessary for him to make an explanation.

[https://img.wattpad.com/457e15666522c69908f43f9043a147b398889b84/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f59696947306442347875485436673d3d2d313339313439383934372e313739303231313266323563313964663337383235393034363236332e6a7067?s=fit&w=1280&h=1280]

Some dirty-looking man were coming in the direction of screams with blood-dripping swords in their hands. Some of them had dirty-looking smiles on their faces, and it seemed like those people were enjoying themselves. A toothless, short, bald man who was wearing an eye cover made out of a dirty handkerchief and wearing animal skins came through the way the arrow came from with a disgusting smile on his face. "Hello, hello! Look who we have here! Food carriers!" The man was the ugliest creature Thomas had ever seen. He was also holding a sword, and he had two men accompanying him. Looks like he was some sort of leader. He slowly moved through the poor guy they had taken his life from and got the sandwich from his hand. And stuffed it into his toothless mouth. He ate it with a smirk, licked himself in a nasty way, and then kicked the boy's lifeless body. "It's sad that they decide to work just once, though." He started to laugh. Thomas and the other boys could feel the hatred and anger covering themselves like it was a flame. Thomas actually was so furious that he could see a slightly visible aura-like shade covering his whole body. He gripped his sword so strongly that the man realized our guy. "Oh, they have a protector! How cute! How delightful." He kicked his groin. But Thomas, with the help of the cloak that he didn't realize was real, didn't even flinch. He was watching events in a fury that was unknown to him before that time. The man was enjoying himself, though. "Oh my! How brave of you! The boy tries to seem tough! Or maybe he doesn't have anything here." He withdrew his sword. Looked at scared but angry unarmed friends of Thomas. And made a hand gesture. "I will give you something to remember for the rest of your pathetic and short life, boy! You will remember the feared leader of those men, Grimmclaw!" A rain of arrows started towards them. Thomas was watching events in slow motion, though. Second, he realized what was happening and returned to his senses. No, actually, he let his body go senseless. It was hard to describe, but it was like his body knew what to do. So, he allowed the instinct. He cast the first spell on the book he got from Mr. Hanks. "Speed Boost."

"Speed is the most important factor in any battle!" That was the first explanation on the first page of the book. "By being fast, by reacting quickly, a knight could easily defend what is behind him." he was feeling joy like no other while reading those words. A Knight! He was finally in a proper way to become a knight! He kept reading. "The spells come from nature itself. So, if you can see the similarities between what you want to do and nature, your spell will work. The speed is the nature of the wind. So, you must remember how the wind blows while you are casting that spell." Thomas remembered the sweet breeze he felt during his childhood on the meadow. And quickly started to read other instructions. Imagine the breeze! The wind blows freely! He got up, closed his eyes, and shouted. "Speed Boost!"

As he cast his spell, he started to scatter a strong breeze around him. It was a ticklish feeling, but it was making him feel a little bit lighter, and for some reason, he started to think that he was able to do anything at that point. And for the first time since their appearance, bandits started to look like they were scared. He allowed his body to move towards his friends. And thankfully, he managed to reach there before the arrows. Without realizing it, he jumped into the air. He was at a higher altitude than humans normally can jump to. He then proceeds to cut the arrows in the air. The first two were easy, but he started to feel tired and worried as they kept coming. He didn't have the luxury to miss even one after all. He had to do something. He was still trying to cut all of the arrows, but it wasn't easy. He started to move towards the direction of the arrows. And then cast the detection spell. There were only three archers who were causing all this mass. Upon locating them, he leaped towards them. They were also aware that they were spotted, so they put all of their attention on him. But since he didn't need to protect anyone this time. He started to dodge some of them. The archers were starting to panic. And as they did panic, they were getting worse at shooting. Grimmclaw was furious, and he shouted some curse words at his archers and then decided to kill the boys while they were busy with Thomas. Thomas looked at the situation quickly. Archers were on the branches of trees, which weren't very far from his current location, but if he tried to go through them, his friends would definitely die. He quickly turned back and leaped towards Grimmclaw. He hit his sword-holding hand with all the power he had. It was the first time in his life. Where he strokes a blow with his sword into a living creature. The dull sword wasn't cutting through the skin, however, with his rage and cloak. Those blows were so strong that they could crack the bones. Arrows were still flying towards him, though. So he decided to take out archers this time. Archers were really good at their jobs. They weren't giving much time to Thomas in order to dodge their second hits, but he somehow managed to reach them and blow a few hits at every one of them. Again, he wasn't able to cut them, but he gave enough harm to them to make to make them pass out.

Now, even more furious, Grimmclaw ordered his man to kill the boys. Thomas quickly grabbed his friends and led them into the depths of the forest. Now, they had to make bandits lose their tracks, so he decided to take them further north, where the forest was getting denser, and the ground was not easy to walk to, so tracking them would be rather hard. His friends seem very scared but amazed by him at the same time. So, they were quietly following his lead. He was using detector spell to make sure that they weren't fallowed, and as he became confident that they were safe, he collapsed into the ground and started crying. "I couldn't protect my friends." The boys, who had never seen him like that, were looking at him worriedly. However, one of them, Haea, spoke in a calming tone, "Tom, it wasn't your mistake, and look, you saved us! Did you see yourself? You were slaying those arrows like they were flies! It was so cool!" other boys agreed, and they all put their hands on Thomas' shoulder. But it wasn't true for him after all. "If I hadn't stopped using my spell when sitting on that tree!" Haea was always a wise person, though. He kept speaking. "Nothing would change. You are just a child, while they were probably tracking masters. How did you expect to prevent that? We all came here knowing the forest was dangerous. The fact that you didn't think it was doesn't change this. Also, let's say you did differently back then. Is there any way to go back in time? Even if you cut yourself here, nothing will change. We will be dinner to wolves at best. So, take your shit together. And if you are gonna blame yourself no matter what. Do it when we arrive home back!" Those words were enough to bring Thomas back to his senses. He made them wander around until the sun disappeared and took them to the village after scanning around and deciding it was safe to go back.

The news of bandits and losing 12 younglings in that forest was the marking of the ending of happy days in Slyvanbrook. The villagers didn't know that worse was yet to come, and they didn't need to wait long. Because an angry Grimmclaw was coming through the dark forest. And he was about to give something that they would not even dream of.