I wouldn’t find a meal near the castle. I needed to leave the knights’ range and find an easy prey. Unfortunately, I only knew of one place, one human, who met these criteria.

#

I stood at a hut’s entrance. A pair of human tracks could be seen on the flat, well-beaten ground. I nudged open the door. Strips of moonlight slithered through grey clouds and illuminated the boy who lay on top of a bed of hay.

I closed the door behind me and sat next to Tim’s head. It was unfortunate that the nicest human I met was also the most defenceless.

I opened the boy’s eyelids and drove my thumb and index into his eye sockets. He screamed. I pushed deeper. He wailed and punched his surroundings. Since I was near his head, his upward jabs and kicks missed.

He stopped moving—

“What’s going on?” A man with a big beard pushed open the door.

“I’m eating.”

The man yelled and charged at me arms wide. Just as I was about to jump aside, he stumbled to the side, and crashed into the earth wall which crumbled over him. He struggled to get up. I picked up the boy, jumped over the man, but a hand grabbed my ankle, and I fell face first into the dirt. The next thing I knew, something pulled at the boy in my hand. But my eyes, painted mud brown, couldn’t see anything. I pointed my palm forwards and produced a flame. At first it didn’t garner a reaction, but two tugs later his screams echoed through the night and the tugging finally stopped. I wiped away the earth in my eyes. I could see torches approaching. I snatched the kid and ran away into the emerald grass. At least there, they wouldn’t come for me right away.

Once far enough from the hunt, I laid down my meal. I was hungry.

I peeled his skin and pulled out his ribs. At least in the emerald lady’s hair, I didn’t need to worry about scavengers.

The heart had cooled a bit, but it was still edible. I took a bite. Blood trickled down my chin. It was good.

#

I swallowed the last piece, licked my hands, and burped.

Looking up to the starry night, I wondered where I could travel to. Oh, a few of my raven friends liked to visit the north during the summers and spoke of small human settlements. They would be weak and few. My biggest concern was finding food after all. I could also steal their weapons to fight animals and level up. With that set, I looked back down to the emerald grass. Why did I come back here? I tried to look straight forward, but my head instinctually jerked back to the ebony forest. No, I couldn’t return. Not only might the knights and the vampire return to those woods, but there also weren’t any human settlements where I could find my meals.

If I wanted to see Rose again, I needed to go north and do my best to attain the gods’ recognition.

#

The silver lake shined bright. Like a pool of mercury, it did not ebb or flow. I sat on a boulder half submerged in the peculiar water and pulled out Julian’s parchment notebook.

Ebony forest.

Your nuts are few, your rats are thin, your mice are dull

But your wolves are brave, your birds are strong, and your children proud

Of the ebony hearts we hold, and others harvest

Rose…

“Give me more time and I will speak those words to you. Etched words lead to rigid fates.” I whispered. I looked into the silver lake. Reflected off the surface, I saw my black eyes. They reminded me of her fur. On the other hand, this boy’s short nose, the opposite of my old beak, had no relation to anything I once knew. I wasn’t fully myself. I tapped my chest, where the notepad slept. I hadn’t learned to write in the forest. These were the boy’s scribbles, his words, but my emotions—I couldn’t let him take more of me, I couldn’t let Rose…I hadn’t learned to write in the forest. These were the boy’s scribbles, his words, but my emotions—

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

The silver lake bubbled. I stood up, on guard for what might come. I had forgotten–didn’t recall Sir Richard’s warning of the silver lake. The bubbles continued to grow until the surface tension broke and twenty beige worms appeared. “Black eyes like ebony wood. If it isn’t a Ravn. What is your name?”

I had never seen such a creature, its worm-like movements would have driven me crazy were I still a bird. “I don’t have one,” I answered.

“That truly is a Ravn like answer. You’re a young one, aren’t you? It’s been how many weeks since you became a beast?”

“One.”

“Oh, then I suppose you are a child of the emerald lady.”

“I was born in the ebony forest. But what’s your name? What are you?”

“Young Ravns are stupid but curious. It’s just a shame so few beasts have popped up in the past few centuries… Take your time. We have all the time in the world. This conversation won’t be boring to you or me. If the spirits find it to be the case, then so be it.” Its voice seemed to be produced by the squirming of his tendrils.

I didn’t understand what he meant. Was he acting like that because he thought my question stupid? I didn’t know.

“The ebony forest is in the domain of the emerald lady,” he continued “All of this land is. I just simply happened to pop up here, so she has to tolerate me.”

It still avoided my questions. The worm-like tendrils grew longer and wrapped around me. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t move. Something pressed both my mind, body, and desires.

“It’s a shame she couldn’t grant you a name. But if you wish, I can do so instead."

“Yes.” That word wasn’t mine. He controlled what I said. I tried to spread my arms and break out of the tendrils, but I couldn't move.

“That’s good, very good.” The tendrils retracted. “Let us see then,” he pondered. “Valra would be the easiest choice, but that wouldn’t be very creative of me.” He laughed. “How about Veero? It fits your eyes.”

Do you accept to be named Veero by the being (silver pond worm)?

Yes/No

Name accepted; you are now named Veero.

Although I couldn’t decide on this fact, I at least expected to be granted special powers or benefits. “My mother told me that named beasts gain powers,” I complained.

“Those are legends. Well, some can, but you take what you can get. And it’s not like I’m not going to grant you anything. Do you want to guess what you’ll get?” The tendrils pointed towards me.

“I don’t know.” How did he expect me to guess something like that?

“Ah, you’re too boring. Ok, look, I’m a silver pond worm. My body spans across this entire island. Wherever you may be, as long as you find a silver lake, you may come and talk to me. I’m a lonely being. But the real gain for you is the opportunity to use my lakes as gates.”

“Those don’t seem like good perks when compared to the power of absolute fire resistance or flight magic.”

“Stop complaining, it’s still a name.”

“But the name you gave me is useless. Why did you even bother giving me a name anyway?”

“Ok, I’ll give you one last reward. Here.”

The being (silver pond worm) offers you a mission,

Help a gin complete a human’s three wishes’.

Rank: D+

Rewards: + 5 God’s favours

Penalty if failed: - 5 God’s favours

Accept/Refuse

“Am I supposed to go hunt for a gin for this mission? I’ve only ever seen griffons and chimeras; how can you expect me to find gin?”

“We never know what one may find. Look over there.” He pointed behind me. Ten stars shone white. I squinted. “Those are knights coming after you. They found you.” He wiggled erratically. “Well, you’re in luck. Not only will I help you escape I’ll also find you a gin that’s in need of help to fulfill three human wishes. Think of it as your signing bonus. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like I could have escaped had I not talked to you.”

The tendrils wrapped around my waist and pulled me into the lake. I wondered what it’d feel like…

The next instant I was sitting on a rock. It looked the same, felt the same, but the moon and the stars were shifted to the right.

“These are the sealed woods, in the kingdom of Lilianna. Not only will you be able to complete your mission you may also find something interesting hidden in its depths. Thank me later.”

“At least tell me where this treasu…” The tendrils disappeared under the silver lake not paying any attention to what I was saying. Regardless I continued, “you never told me why you bothered to give me a name, and you could at least tell me how many of the god’s favours I need to get my wish fulfilled. Didn’t you say you liked to—"

Soon after, the tendrils popped back up and pointed left. “Oh, you might also want to start your travels going west.” He dipped back under.

I still didn’t budge. “Tell me why.”

The worms peeked above the silver water. “How persistent of you, I like to talk but also to sleep quietly. Ok look, I gave you a name because if you fulfill missions I’ll get a kickback of favours—of course that doesn’t apply if I’m the one giving the mission. And for the number of favours, you need…I don’t know. I have about five thousand and have still to hear from them. They decide when you’ve a crewed enough point, not us. Now go. Remember, west.”

I was highly tempted to head north and continue with my intended journey. However, I needed those favours. The system had told me he was a being, one above a beast but below a spirit. He had a valid reason to grant me a name as well. At least I now had a name; though I wondered what Rose called me.