“!” Naadi dove between dense trees and hopped above low-lying branches as a swarm of wasps buzzed after him, chasing him further into the densely packed forest. Leaping into the air, he grabbed onto a sturdy tree branch and swung himself onto it, before leaping onto a higher branch, barely avoiding the wasps which followed him up the tree with every leap. As he made his way to the top, he coiled his legs, preparing to leap…yet as he leapt into the air, he felt something yank at his ankles, a cluster of tightly grown vines. As he hung from the tree pathetically, the wasps homed in on him and readied their stingers.

Sucking in a deep breath, as the crowd of wasps approached him, he shot out the gust of air he’d been collecting in his lungs, blowing the wasps away like sand. Slamming his feet against the hard bark of the tree he hung from, he chopped at the vines wrapped around his ankles and fell towards the moist undergrowth of the forest, landing heavily on his feet.

This place is a nightmare. Naadi had heard rumors about the magical beasts of the Epe Forest becoming strangely restless, and yet he had no idea it was to this extent. Everywhere he went, all sorts of animals attacked him ruthlessly; and he still had no idea where the Locket Bearer was. But more than anything else, he needed to find the Epe Clan’s village.

Casting a gaze into the air and closing his eyes, he tried to feel out the energy signatures of the clan of beastmen; yet he couldn’t sense anything even a few feet in front of him. The life of the Epe Forest was too vast; the energy signatures of insects, fish, birds, and mammals crowded his mind, making it impossible to even locate the village through energy sensing alone.

What about water? If I were to build a village in a place like this, I’d have it near a body of water; maybe I just need to- Naadi’s thoughts were rudely interrupted as a deer came crashing out of the undergrowth, ramming it’s horns roughly into Naadi’s body, sending him flying back into the tree behind him. Opening his eyes, he leapt into the air above the deer just before it could ram into him again. Vines shot from the nearby trees around him in an attempt to entangle him, and Naadi summoned his sword, slicing through the vines as if they were paper. As he landed, he found himself surrounded by three deer; two more had emerged from the shadows.

It’s like the whole forest is attacking me. I didn’t want to do this but I might actually have to kill these things. Naadi tried to move; yet found that his feet were glued to the ground by some sort of oozing mud seeping out of the ground seamlessly. As all three deers charged him, Naadi slapped the butt of his sword, a ball of energy hovering just before the tip of his sword. Slashing through the orb of energy, he brought forth a great gust of wind which ripped through the forest, whisking the deers onto their backs, and blasting away the oozing mud which coated the bottom of Naadi’s shoes.

“Again!” Once again, a sphere of energy appeared before the tip of Naadi’s sword, Naadi slicing clean through the sphere and slamming the sword into the ground below him. Currents of wind began to condense around him to the point they could be seen, spiraling into the ground below his feet before exploding, releasing a turbulent gale of wind which blew Naadi high, high into the air, far above the trees themselves.

Casting a gaze over the forest, his eyes locked onto a nearby lake , and he readied his blade, a green aura shrouding his body. Once again, a wispy green sphere of energy appeared before his sword, and he thrusted the tip of the blade into the sphere; and at once, he was sent shooting through the air, propelled by a great blast of wind which sent him crashing into the small clearing around the lake, rolling as he landed to minimize the damage.

“Phew.” Naadi’s sword vanished as he collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. He’d never used his magic skill so many times in succession before; it was far more exhausting then he’d realized. Fighting another person is a lot different then fighting nature. But- if this forest is all that’s left between me and that locket, I don’t mind.

Closing his eyes, he pulled off his hat and set it to his side, taking in a deep breath. Cupping a bit of water in his trembling hands, he splashed the water onto his face and exhaled shakily. I will finish what you started, Father.

As he gathered himself, unbeknownst to him, a towering wolf rose out of the shadows, glowering at the prince. Smoke drifted from its nostrils and barred fangs as it stalked Naadi, a strange hissing noise breaking the silence. Naadi spun around, locking eye contact with the giant wolf, and backflipped, putting some distance in between him and the behemoth of a wolf that stood before him. The wolf clenched its jaw and walked towards Naadi, the weight of its footsteps sending cracks through the rocky floor as it approached. Lashing its tail back and forward, it reared its head back before swinging open its jaws and spitting out a blast of searing flames that soared through the air towards Naadi. Naadi quickly grabbed at the air, materializing his sword once again, and cleanly driving the blade through the blast of flames, neutralizing the wolf’s attack.

The wolf galloped across the clearing towards Naadi, the ground trembling with every footstep, and swiped its claws at Naadi. Naadi lifted his blade, narrowly blocking the strike, and backing up, thrusting the sword at the wolf; yet the blade only bounced off the wolf’s tough hide. The beast charged forward, attempting to rip a chunk of flesh out of Naadi’s shoulder, but the king managed to slide underneath the behemoth, slicing at the wolf’s underbelly as he did so, but to no avail. Pulling himself off the ground, he narrowly avoided several more attempted bites; if he were hit by even one, it would mean the end of him.

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If the strong can’t pierce its hide, I’ll just find another way to cut it. Naadi tossed the sword away, the magical item vanishing, and glaring directly at the beast before him. The wolf sped towards Naadi, swinging its head at Naadi with its fangs bared, and Naadi slid to the wolf’s side, pressing a hand against its side. Concentrating, he materialized his sword once again; but this time, it was materialized from within the wolf’s body, directly piercing its insides. The wolf let out a horrible howl of pain, backing away from Naadi as it writhed in agony, pawing at the sword embedded in its belly. Naadi flourished his hand, the sword vanishing once again, and then outstretched a hand to the wolf’s head to deliver the finishing blow.

“Hold it.” A tall, dark-skinned boy landed between the wolf and Naadi, grasping Naadi’s arm tightly. “I know my pet here caused you a great deal of trouble, but don’t worry, he won’t bother you anymore.” He reached out and rubbed the groaning wolf’s head comfortingly.

“And who would you be?” Naadi asked casually, pulling his hand away from the boy and stuffing it into his pocket.

“I should be asking you that.” The boy smiled at Naadi. “I’m Alci, a guardian of the Epe Forest. Nice to meet you, Mister…?”

“Wait, you’re from the Epe Clan then?” Naadi realized, breezing right past Alci’s question.

“‘Epe Clan’? Is that what they call us on the outside? If so, then yeah, I am.” Alci nodded his head at Naadi, who let out a sigh of relief, pulling his hat back on.

“I’ve been looking for you guys forever!” Naadi said. “I’m King Naadi the second, and I came here to find and kill the bearer of the Orian Locket. He’s here, isn’t he?”

Alci lowered himself to the ground, rubbing the giant wolf’s side comfortingly, and Naadi realized that all the wounds he’d inflicted on the wolf were completely healed. Alci noticed Naadi’s surprise and smiled. “Surprised, aren’t you? Baba’s not very smart, but he’s very strong; if I hadn’t stopped you, he probably would have bitten your head off!”

“That’s impossible,” Naadi replied, and then added, “And I could care less about ‘Baba’ honestly. You know where the locket-bearer is, right? Tell me where he is, now!”

“Okay, okay!” Alci sighed. “We don’t exactly know where he is. He’s rather tricky. Sometimes, he appears to us as a boy, but we’ve also seen him in the form of a bird, a squirrel, a wolf, and sometimes, as a flying fish.”

“So shapeshifting is a magic skill of his, huh? That’s no problem; I promise if the Epe Clan lends me their support, I can strike him down for good.” Naadi said.

“Mm…” Alci stretched his arms before collapsing onto Baba and closing his eyes. “I don’t doubt it; you seem very strong but your help is not needed here.”

Naadi narrowed his eyes. “You’ve got it wrong, buddy. I won’t be the one helping out. As the King of the Northern Lands, it’s my duty to strike down the locket-bearer; that is my weight to bear, and mine only.”

“Mm…I wonder why everyone wants to kill him so badly.” Alci mused, and Naadi sprung forward, grabbing Alci by his collar and yanking him onto his feet. “Woah.”

“Start choosing your words a bit more wisely from now on.” Naadi spat before tossing Alci back onto the floor, Baba rising from the ground and growling threateningly at Naadi. “Help would be appreciated, but it isn’t a necessity either; I’ll kill him myself if I have too, and anyone who gets in the way.”

Is that really how a king speaks? Alci couldn’t help but think, patting Baba’s head as he rose off the ground. “Sorry, that was kind of out of line, huh? The thing is, my people are dead set on killing him; more specifically, they want me to kill him. And as much as I’d love to let you take care of the killing, it wouldn’t be right.”

“Are you deaf? I just told you, this is an order coming directly from the crown. I will be the one to kill him.” Naadi said, clenching his fists as he took a step towards Alci.

“Man, how do I put this?” Alci muttered. “See, the thing is, uh, your authority doesn’t really exist within this forest. This forest may exist within the Northern Lands, but ever since the Epe Tribe was sealed within this forest, we have been a separate, uh…entity? So…you can’t do that?” He said slowly, as if very unsure if anything he was saying was right.

“By the...” Naadi spun around, massaging his head furiously. “Just-just lead me the way to wherever your village is! Hopefully I can negotiate there with someone more coherent than you.”

“Sorry.” Alci laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head with a smile as he got to his feet. “I could take you to the Master of Epe. In your terms, she’d be like the Queen of this forest.”

“...Take me to her.”