Part three: The End of the Bronze Age part one

When the angry flames of the Gods had cut their red scars across the skies, Aghard’s family were the first in the village to witness the spectacle and Aghard’s son was the first to bring back a relic. It could not be coincidental that, some days after the first fire rains, strange things had begun to occur; the behaviour of some animals had become unpredictable and violent, some livestock had become sick and had developed mutations. The village folk seemed unaffected, except for one young child who, having been inflicted with a terrible illness and strange behaviour, had soon after died. There had been debate as to whether or not a sacrifice to the Gods was necessary but the villagers had decided against it, at least for now.

Emrys threw the barn door open, stepped inside and paused briefly for his eyes to be able to focus in the early morning darkness. Small ghostly clouds of the boy’s warm breath spilled from his excited mouth when he saw the small creature lying curled up huddled in the straw, exactly as it had done for the past several days. The boy, spear in hand, stepped close then lowered himself to crouch down alongside the strange animal’s body. His hand slowly reached out to gently caress the scaly head but the creature’s eyes remained tightly closed. Emrys’ face had twisted with disappointment when he had felt no warmth or movement from his recently found friend. The boy then ran his fingertips under a wing. He carefully lifted the limp limb and then, just as gently, he lowered it back and slowly removed his hand. Emrys, deeply concerned for the creature’s health, remained crouched and motionless. Only when a roar came from deep within the woods did he remember the importance of the morning’s task. As he stood, he heard Aghard, his father, call out his name. Then, again, he heard the distant roar. The monster’s cry, now clearly closer than yesterday, incited both fear and excitement. Aghard, was a large, and slightly ferocious looking man. Although a farmer, he was a skilled hunter. Emrys had been with his father and friends many times to hunt bear in the woods but they all knew this creature was no ordinary bear.

The creature in the woods was yet another animal that had been changed by the coming of the fire rains. This beast had to be destroyed before it could bring its wrath to the village but the village was small and some males were needed to stay back to protect the people, should the beast enter their vicinity. Consequently, just Aghard, his brother, also a large man but with a much milder face, and Eric, a lean and wiry charater, were the only adults available for the hunt but his son, Emrys, at just thirteen years, was also to join them.

Before the sun rose, the three men and the boy were treading the frosty leafed pathway into the woods down towards the valley. They did not stop until they had reached the river and the cascades. In autumn, the sun would take longer than usual to rise above the hill tops and the trek along the open river bank did not allow sufficient light for clear observation. At the waterside the men, each with a stone axe, bow or other weapon in hand, stood in silence waiting to hear the creature’s next roar but all that could be heard was a cooing pigeon above and the rumbling of cold water at the nearby cascades. This part of the river was rocky terraces strewn with small boulders and fallen timbers. The surrounding hillside was steep but the men would take an easier path to reach the place where, a few days back, on the far side of the river, Emrys’ uncle had seen the animal that he described as a dark brown monstrous creature resembling a large bear.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

After their very brief wait to rest and to listen, they continued on, following the course of the water upstream. They had not gone far when they were stopped in their tracks by the familiar roar of the unknown beast- the animal was close. Everyone waited motionlessly and silently, each studying their surrounds with all their senses. Slowly, an arm was raised to point. All eyes stared into the depths of the foliage in the direction indicated. No one moved.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Emrys could not see what had been spotted. He wondered what the others were seeing- were they seeing anything? As the out stretched arm was lowered, together the men very slowly turned and treading one slow step at a time they moved in the direction that Eric had pointed. Emrys’ father led the way forward. After a short distance of careful silent stepping, the party again halted, all ears and eyes searching for any signs of their prey. Nothing was seen and nothing was heard but Emrys had a vision in his head that warned him of the hideous beast his uncle had told of just two days before. His uncle had described the bear as being far larger than the biggest he had ever seen and he’d said that the animal had an enormous distorted and oversized forehead and that it had moved with an odd cumbersome gait as though limping. Emrys had been impressed by the expressions and body language his uncle had shown when telling his account of seeing the animal drinking at the water’s edge. His uncle had raised his arms to show how tall the animal was at shoulder height and he had also moved his arms in a circular fashion when describing the head. A bear hunt was always dangerous but exciting, however, after what his uncle had witnessed and described, on this hunt all were exceptionally nervous.

Fire rain had never been seen before and it had caused an enormous panic and foreboding amongst the communities. A daunting thought that would remain in everyone’s heads throughout the hunt was that many of the villagers had come to believe that the gods intended to punish them. Since the fire rain, strange occurrences had been witnessed by all, one of which was Emrys finding the tiny winged creature encompassed within a block of rock and ice.

When the next long awaited roar came, it was very close and it froze them all in their tracks- such a raging they had never before heard. Again, ears and eyes did their job and again nothing was seen and nothing was heard. The group stood, weapons at the ready, and they waited. Then, an arm rose to point. All looked in that direction to see that there was indeed something in the woods just a few hundred feet away. The thing was dark and unclear and unmoving but by its size and its shape it was very apparent that it was nothing anyone had ever seen before. The men waited for the creature to move and when it did so it moved to their left, passing behind trees and shrubbery. Its shape, large as it was, became difficult to follow. The animals’ shimmery dark silhouette moved behind the bushes and tall undergrowth as though it were injured. All observed with weapons at the ready. In the still forest darkness of the late autumn morning, to everyone’s disappointment, and fear, the animal was no longer visible. Heads began turning in all directions. Hearts began beating very fast.

While the waiting continued, no one moved or spoke. A short distance away, a startled pheasant cry broke the long silence, shocking everyone. The men knew the bear was now much closer. Heads very slowly turned to face in the direction of the bird’s startled call. All waited. The only sounds heard were the distant gurgling river and the fluttering of leaves and branches above, disturbed by a sudden strong breeze. Then, with the breeze, came the smell. Who was predator and who was prey had yet to be recognised.