Chirp chirp chirp…… (Silence)...…..CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP!

[Cyan]: “Too noisy”

Cyan has just woken up because the noisiest birds he has ever listen to, they were chirping away in his window like if they were playing a concert next to his ear, mixed with the birds sounds where other noises too, something like the roar from a lion and after that, a pause, complete silence.

Cyan could finally go back to sleep, ‘peace at last’ was what's he thought, but this silence was only temporary, even louder chirps could be heard now.

He didn’t give it to much thought's to the roar because the chirps where drilling holes his brain by this point, with his eyes still closed, his hearing was somewhat enhanced, making the noises unbearable for a person that was trying to fall sleep after being woken up, like if you were trying to sleep and someone enters your room with a vacuum cleaner.

He rolled over his bed to the other side, putting his back in the direction of the ‘window’ while putting his pillow over his head, trying to reduce the amount of sound that was hitting in his ears.

After a few minutes or so the chirping has somewhat lessened, but he notice a new problem has shown up.

[Cyan]: “Too hot, arghh, sigh, I am tired of this”

Having no other option, being the heat or the noise, Cyan rollover his back while opening his eyes wide open, but, he closed his eyes as soon as he has open them up.

Now Cyan was groaning in pain, 'too bright', the reason was the blinding light of the shining sun, today nothing was going the way he wanted, in other circumstances he should be looking at the ceiling inside his bedroom, but something has gone horrible wrong.

'Where is the ceiling and where is my room', Cyan brain has halted his line of thoughts, and was now using his hand to cover his eyes.

After sitting in his bed and adjusting his eyes to the light in his surroundings Cyan started to get more and more confused.

[Cyan]: “Since when my bedroom has become a forest” what he just said could be interpreted like a cheap title for a comedy show that would prank theirs guests.

Looking directly in front of him, there was a huge tree a few meters away, it was tall tree as matter of fact, in the entire life of Cyan, he had never seen a tree as tall as this one in person, only trough the internet he could see pictures of trees like this one, and this tree was not alone, there were a dense pack army of trees surrounding him, he could not see beyond the first row of trees, and because they were densely packed it was making the forest of trees look dark and ominous.

The weirdest part was, he was in the middle of a small clearing and together with him was his bed, he was like a sore thumb in the middle of this clearing, Cyan could not help but to fall back to his bed in shock, his bedroom was gone, the only thing remaining was his bed, pillows and sheets.

To the even more shocked Cyan, he heard a man's voice behind him.

[Unknown]: “Have you awoken boy? Then let me tell you a history now…“

Surprised by the voice of some unknown person, Cyan turned around to find who the owner of this unknown voice was.

After turning around he could see a man was sitting in a corner of his bed, 'how could i hadn’t noticed him before?' Cyan thought to himself, the answer to that questions was very easy, the man was not there just a second ago.

He was a tall and robust man, he was bald with a somewhat aged face, and was putting a big smile like, he has found something funny and was ignoring Cyan shocked face.

In other circumstances Cyan should be glad to hear another person’s voice, well maybe no, he blinked a few more times but nothing has change, the man was still there, and without minding the surprise face of Cyan, that person started narrating an epic tale like a machinegun, not giving him any time to Cyan give the man reply or to even say anything at all, like that the man started narrating his own tale.

[Unknown]: ‘You were sleeping so peaceful in this curse forest, that I must admit it, I was very curious about you, i was even tempted to wake you up myself, to even managed to put such a fancy and comfortable bed inside this clearing… inside this forest, when the best bed you could hope to get in here, in the cold of nights, would be a huge pile of… rocks’

The unknown man face darkened while he shook his head, but that only lasted for a second, his face returned to a calming expression with the same bright smile he had before.

[Unknown]: ‘Sleep too deeply and drop your guard down even it is just a little bit, and you will find yourself in the afterlife in the next moment hahaha, nothing is better than a bed made of rock’s, well I lied, but at least it is better that sleeping 3 feet’s in the ground’

Now the man was laughing, but Cyan still couldn't... 'What is this man talking about...' but even so Cyan could find the right timing to talk and ask that man what he was up too.

[Unknown]: [Unknown]: ‘In here, where the smallest of bugs can crawl into your head and eat your brain away while you go crazy from the pain, unable to do something about it and you can only sit there and wait for the sweet sweet death to come just one second sooner.

[Cyan]: "Excuse me but..."

[Unknown]: ‘And to not even put a defensive spell or the simplest of warnings or traps, I thought this must a trap for sure, I mean, there is no way, there is no way of such thing happening inside this forest right?, who in his right mind would do such a thing, that's the same thing as committing suicide, are you a bowl of food waiting to be eaten?, but then again the ‘people’ inside this forest, none of them are in the right mind"

Now the man face was the reflection of someone that has seen something so unspeakable shocking, that he could not believe if reality was true or not, something that should not even exist in this world inside this huge forest, not even watching a black cat passing by twice, while doing the same exact thing, would make this man question his reality so much.

[Cyan]: "I... Don't...let me"

Even after several tries the man keep ignoring Cyan attempts to interrupt him so he could ask what his all about, the man had just keep narrating his most epics of tales.

[Unknown]: ‘And after one hour of checking the surroundings, every cranny, every rock, and I was sure that there wasn't any trap around, it is that, I dared to come closer to this area, with my guard so high up that I was almost shredding my bones into dust, and with the tension so high, that I would swing my axe to the sound of the wind, ready to fight at any moment’

On the other side of the bed Cyan was… 'Should I be running away from here now?' looking how the man was swinging that big axe right now, Cyan was getting afraid of what would happen next if he makes the man angry if he interrupted him when he shouldn’t.

Wouldn't you be afraid is some unknown person has come next to you and start to swing a huge axe in front of you? Of course, the first thing you would be thinking of doing would be, run away first, ask questions later, but in this open clearing, run to where?

And the man looks shows that he was weak at all, even if he looked aged, but his well tone muscles of his arms were like a log, in cooperation with the noodle arms of Cyan.

As proof of his own strength, he was swinging that big axe around like toy, you would first think that, the axe must be a weightless toy right?, but the air pressure that was being generate every time the man swung his axe, was definitely not something a weightless toy could generate, no, that axe was very real, and it should weight like 100 kilograms, and that man was swinging it like nothing, like a toy, ‘running off? Don’t joke with me, you try to run I will stay right here’.

Actually the true reason he has not escaped right away, was because the man don't look he had ‘bad’ intentions at all, at least that’s what Cyan though after seeing the sparling eyes of the unknown man, he was definitely narrating an epic tale, after his initial shock Cyan was now enjoying the show, that the man was putting out, the man still ignored rapid changes of face that Cyan was making, no, he has taken this as that Cyan was moved my his tale, so he swung his axe with more vigor now, like acting out a big battle.

[Unknown]: ‘I don't had any bow with me or weapons to throw so I was left with no other choice but to come close to this clearing myself, with each step I took, I was feeling like I was like gambling my life away, half way through it, I though this must be a prank of the god's, that they were testing me, and after coming right next to you, so close that I could even touch you, and I was ready to swing my axe and start a fierce combat to death, what I find?, I find you sleeping like a baby HAHAHAHAH, i.. i almost burst into laughter right there, I thought now I had seen it all, but I stopped myself for laughing i didn’t wanted to wake you up’

[Unknown]: ‘I mean, everyone that enter this god forsaken forest are criminals of the worse kind, and the only way out, is to gather at least one thousand head's, now why is there such stupid rule that allows the worse kind of criminals to escape this prison was even made and put in place huh?

Was this a question for Cyan? The man was putting a face that looked like he was making a question to Cyan, while pointing his axed to him, something like ‘what would you do in you had being in my place’, but, before Cyan could reply, the man started talking again, like he was not expecting to Cyan to actually say a response that question, the whole process has being quite frustrating for Cyan, ‘can you stop and let me talk! I need to ask where I am’ was what Cyan was thinking inside his mind, but mas still carrying on with his ‘act’.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

[Unknown]: ‘I don’t know why this rule was put in place, maybe they want to give us hope, but frankly I don’t care. There is a way out of this hell, and i plan to earn my ticket out of here, there are no other exits of this forest, you can only use one of the six doors to exit this forest, after you gather enough ‘points’, apart from that, the only choices left are only death and hunger, if there is a place called hell in Athem is without a doubt this 'Deathmatch Forest'’

Cyan felt like clapping, was this the end of his epic tale? Should he clap now? The man acting was superb, the ranged of emotions he has shown were varying, and they felt so real, like if it was the man actual life narrate before Cyan eyes, but before he could start clapping, he felt that the temperature had dropped a few centigrade, even standing on the open below a fierce sun, he was felling chilly, it was very noticeable, the man face has turn solemn now, like he has told the most epics of tales, and now it was time for... the end of the tale, the final battle against the boss.

[Unknown]: ‘sigh, And…. here you are, sleeping like an innocent baby, without a care in world, I must say, a better fate, a kindly fate (end), is for you to had your history end here by my hand, while you were sleeping, without letting you knowing anything at all and without letting you feel any pain what so ever, I was trying to decide this while you were still sleeping but… I just couldn’t come to a decision, and now you had finally woke up, making me run of options, I knew it, I was making the wrong the decision, and I knew i was running of time, but could not made the choice in time boy…, at least let me hear your story, before the end’

Cyan was sure, he was not just his imagination, the man before him didn’t have any evil intentions, he knew how to judged people character correctly, with just one look at their eyes, he could know the true, the man eyes didn’t show any signs of ‘bad’ or ‘evil’ intentions, no, on the contrary, those where the eyes of someone that wanted to ‘help’ him, to the point he would feel a great amount of regret for not being able too.

But he could felt something was definitely wrong 'this is not right, just before he was giving a warm feeling, like telling a bed story to his own son, why, why this man feel so cold now', should he be running now?, could he truly not out run him?. The true was, that, it was too late for Cyan to run away, no, from the moment he has arrived to this forest, it was too late to run away.

Now the man was showing a tire face like he was too tire to carry on with the end of the store he has just given up, this story was not heading to a good ending… for Cyan that is, and the man didn’t wanted to continue the history but, it would be worse no to end the history.

[Unknown]: ‘Who did you even angered so much to be thrown in a place like this, I don’t think you are a criminal like the rest of… us, no, I can tell by your smell, you smell like old books, even being so young you like to read so much huh, sigh, whatever, i don't think you are one of those monsters, i had seen your kind before, people that don’t deserve to be in here in the first place, but are still thrown in here’

The regret and tiredness he was showing, vanished a moment later without a trace left.

[Unknown]: ‘Well, it doesn’t matter how it was that you ended in here, your kind never last very long, they always kill themselves if they are lucky and have the chance, if they are stupid and think they can escape on their own, they can manage to last a little bit longer, but they always would end with a worse fate, I must say, hope surly is your worse enemy in this forest, because…, the monsters can smell it, they are attracted to it, what they enjoy the most is to hunt a prey fill with hope of getting away from them, those monsters here with us, are worse than the worse of criminals, and what’s worse, the kings and queens of the continents, put all those that fit the bill in here, just to kill each other in the most brutal and heartless way, well what  you think they would do, if not that?’

[Unknown]: ‘but… your kind, they always enter by using one of the six entries, but… you… from where did you… pop out? I mean we are too deep into the forest, if you had enter using one of the six entries it would be very hard to reach this place for you, no,' the man shook his head,  ‘it should be impossible for you, to make it so deep into the forest, and then there is that bed, no matter how I look at it… you… pop up from thin air, and that’s… very interesting’

[Cyan]: "i...." this time around he was sure the man was making a question directly to him, but before Cyan could even reply.

The Unknown person voice that was very calm and compose and looked he was near the end of his tale, even if he was narrating the end, not a single bad emotion was reflect in his eyes, but the boy in front of him was too puzzling.

As for Cyan, his best hope was... for this man to ask for money at the end for his performance, but... That was just his own disillusion, Cyan was in denial of the true.

[Unknown]: ‘Now, a child in a place like this, so deep into the forest, why are you still alive? why are you still… intact? and sleeping with such calm face, filled with... hope, with no traps or anything at all’.

The man face calm but you could still feel a hint of the deepest regret, like he knew what it has to be done but he was stopping himself of doing it, but actually not doing it would be even worse for… the boy.

[Unknown]: ‘i have my own reasons to get rid of you right away kid, but i am little curious about your history, you are very lucky that, today i was the very first 'person' to find you, at least... you can be happy about that in the end. I will ask for your mother forgiveness in the next life kid.

‘Nothing can change the destiny of a person that had enter this forest unprepared, being me or ´something’ else, his life has come to an end today, be grateful kid’

The man that was talking like a machinegun at the beginning has finally… stopped talking and with a sigh, the man expressions was now is back to how it was at the beginning, calm and smiling away with a carefree attitude.

The man name was Arlom and he was narrating an epic history to Cyan, his own epic history, midway he has took the chance to add an explication of a forest known as the Deathmatch Forest, and how the protagonist of the history has ended in there, as to the part of why Cyan is life was… completely hopeless now.

Those were all his inner thoughts, and nothing of that was being told to Cyan while he was narrating the his own history, but the story matched with his own feelings, so Cyan didn’t notice anything wrong, no until near the end that is, that cold wind was still in Cyan mind.

Arlom history was one of those histories that you find in a fantasy book, a dark past, that started like any other history, with a shining hero, in a quest to save some one, a love one, his own wife, it was the mission of his life, one that he could not give up nor surrender, one mission that ended in failure, it ended when Arlom wife died at the hand of her captors, only because Arlom was getting too close to them, then and there, they kill her and ran away like the cowards they were, with all hope lost Arlom when mad, and just he just wanted to drop dead in a pit.

But like any other history there was still hope for him at the end, Arlom son, hidden away from her captors and even Arlom himself, it was only revealed to him in a letter from his dead wife, sent before she was kidnapped and delivered after she was killed, the letter had very little clues about his own son but, having fail once, this time nothing would stop him from finding his son, he will never give up to find it.

He could not revived her wife but he would go back from the death just to find and protect his son, even if he was thrown the darkest of pits, he will crawl his way out, he will not stop searching, even with almost no clues, his son is the only thing that prevents Arlom from falling in the deepest of hell himself, and once there, there would not be a way out, nor shining light that could save him this time, in the darkest of pits, only true monsters are found.

Arlom history took another dark turn after being betrayed by whom he thought was his friend, and ended in this forest of monsters, this Deathmatch Forest, but by this time, for him this just was another wall blocking his path, another stone to step on, he will go through it and carry his mission, get out of here, get his revenge, and to find his son in the process, no goal was more important that finding his son, but he will carry on both if one doesn’t inference with the other, his goals were as clear as day, as shining as the sun, lighting up his path to take, and those all were the pieces that hold, the man knowns as Arlom, together, a house of card so frail, and yet he was talking to Cyan like nothing of this matter to him, it was very hard to make him stop talking actually.

[Unknown]: “Look at me talking to no end, I am sorry boy, it has being years since I talked to someone that is not trying to kill me, right away with all their strength, well now you must tell me, what it is you name I can’t call you ‘boy’ forever, oh right right, my name.. hum, should i tell you my name? It has being so long that I had used it, well whatever, my name is Arlom, what’s yours?”.

The true be told Cyan would have fainted in the spot and even maybe, never wake up again, if he could understand what Arlom was actually saying, his history and where he was, after all, he have just wake up and some strange old guy was sitting in his bed talking to him nonstop on and on, but the worse part was that… he didn’t understood anything Arlom said, every time he tried to stop him to ask him in what language he was talking, and that he could not understand him, he would be ignore”

The only thing Cyan understood from all of this, was as if someone was talking to him in French with a mix of other idioms, and the only true thing he could pick up from what the man was saying, and for some reason unknown to Cyan, was Arlom own name.

Cyan was speechless, what he could say to the smiling bald man sitting next to him who he didn't speak the same language, nevertheless, just his next a few word’s would bring very big change in Arlom, one that you can call fated, Cyan looking back on his first day on this planet, always thinks of this day as his best and worse memory of all time.

[Cyan]: “Arlom?”

Arlom nodded his head.

[Cyan]: “Arlom”

Arlom nodded his head again, looking somewhat puzzled.

[Cyan]: “I am sorry to say this Arlom, but.... I will be honest here, i actually didn’t understand anything you just said, what language is that, I mean what idiom are you even speaking, is that French?”

Arlom shook his head, he had forgot about it, in his dilemma he has forgotten something so important, it was not the first time this 'problem' happen, the ‘monsters’ that come here are from all around the world and most of the time they didn't know the language of other country’s at first, they would learn or they would die, but having another ‘human’ to talk to such as this boy was a first, and here he was, talking nonstop, ignoring if the child could understand him.

Having understood that they were in fact not talking the same idiom, Arlom was hoping at very least get a name from the boy, he had given up in listening his story, after getting his name, he will end this history for good.

[Arlom]: “I am Arlom, and you are?”

Cyan having guessed that Arlom was trying to establish some kind of communication and mutual understanding so they could at least call each other names, what Cyan didn’t know was that names in planet Athem were big things, his in particular was something Arlom could not ignore.

[Cyan]: “Nice to meet you Arlom, I am Cyan”

As soon has his words where heard, Arlom mind frozen up, he stop breathing, Arlom heart has stopped beating like frozen, like if all Arlom functions had being stopped by an invisible wall, Arlom has promised himself to block all walls and here he was, a new wall has appeared in front of him.

[Cyan]: "Arlom? Arlom are you ok? Arlom!"

Cyan panicked and started to call his name but there was not reaction at all.

“Dear Arlom

I am writing to tell the good news, you are the father of a healthy little boy now, he looks are so much like you, I am sure when he grown up he will be good looking just like his father, i am sure he will grow to become tall and strong like you, sorry for hiding this from you, but I was afraid of the possibility losing this baby and I didn’t wanted for you carry this burden with you, my possible failure in my duties as your wife, now now, I will be recovering for the few next days in my Father’s home, he was insisting so much that I could not refuse, but I still will not bring my son to that house, even if father was insisting on that too, so I will leaving Cyan with my sister, yes, Arlom, our son is called Cyan, after looking at his eyes that’s the only need name I could give him, Please look after him with all the love you have for me, if not more.

Sincerely Yours - Unknown

PD: I hope to see you soon