Roaring Thunder

Chapter 3: A Shadow's Revelation (Part 5)

_____________________________The Tale of The Shadow______________________________________

In a depressing tone, the man begins recalling his past.

'He is my only son. My only son if you are to exclude the devilish elder brother of his. It was 25 years ago before the final war began. I was in my mid thirties and my job was stable. Being a woodcutter, I gain enough profit from selling the woods to the builders. I even had a beautiful and caring wife along with a five-year old son. We lived happily and everyday passed by with a smile on our face.

One morning came and we expected everything to be like the previous days. But, a sudden news arrived with an element of surprise. An increased appetite and a change of taste. The symptoms all point to one fact. My wife was pregnant with our second child. The pregnancy lasted for nine months when the baby was finally delivered on the final day of the pregnancy. He was a healthy, young boy as stated by the doctor. We were both happy: Me and my wife, Anna. It was an addition of happiness in our already small and perfect family. That newborn... we name him Dane.'

' Our family was perfect, Rex. Happy and perfect, or so we thought.' He repeats.

'Until... that day came. Two years were gone then. It was a wedding night of my best friend and we thought that it was a wise decision to leave the kids at home rather than bringing them along. They might spell trouble if they were brought with us. And so, we left the house in their care in the late evening after serving them their dinner. Hours later, we were on our way home at midnight, hoping to see our beloved children sleeping peacefully in their beds. During our journey back home, we imagined the sight of them cuddling their teddy bears or pillows with the blankets over their little body. We envisioned ourselves walking towards them, leaning towards them as we kissed their forehead.' Tears escape his clasping palms over his face.

'But when we came home, what awaited us was entirely different than what we initially expected. Neighbours were surrounding our cottage. Some splashing water onto it. At that moment, I could have sworn that I saw the devil itself, swallowing up our cottage. Flames the colour of the darkest black I have ever seen lit the entire house. The villagers' efforts seemed to be in vain for the fire continued to burn vigorously, stripping every brick into ashes. My wife and I watched in horror, gaping at the sight before us. From the side of my eyes, I could see her crying quietly as she muttered to herself, ' Ale...Dane...'. The next minute was like a miracle. The flame slowly became calmer and before long, all that was left in front of us was the sight of a completely burnt down building except for some small portions of the bricks planted into the ground that made up the cottage's wall.

The villagers that has helped to put out the fire cheered in joy while we stood in one corner of the crowd, heart-wrenched over the loss of our sons. Expectantly, we thought that we would never be able to meet our children again. Few months have came and gone, and we lived our life with grief etched into our hearts. Although the loss supposingly dealt permanent damage to us, as the time flies past, we soon got over the depression. That being said, Anna still cried every now and then when I was not around.

One night, when I was still chopping some logs at my backyard, the sound of fallen branches snapping at the turning point of the cottage caught my attention. Quietly, I walk towards the sound. Every step I took came with the expectation to see a large forest inhabitant sniffing for food in front of my cottage. Instead of seeing a hairy beast pacing about my lawn, a boy in tattered clothes stood there, looking at my direction.

That night was a dark one. The sky was void of the presence of the moon. No light to illuminate the face of the strange kid. 'Are you lost, kid?' I shouted.

'It's Ale.' I heard him said it. Confused, I replied. ' What?'

'It's Ale. He tried to kill me.'

Raising my tone, I responded with anger. 'Alright kid. Enough with your jokes already! My children were dead and don't you dare tarnish their names!'

'Father! Ale tried to kill me! I am... '

'N-No way. Dane should be dead already, in our old house, in that dark flame.'

'Ale... Brother's attempt failed when a shadow intervened and stabbed him in the heart.'

'A shadow? Ale is alive? Where is him? Oh thank God, everyone is safe!' I walked towards Dane as I said ' Now, come home with us, my boy.' I was expecting him to nod and run into my arms. I was expecting to reclaim at least a part of our happiness from the past.

He shook his head.

'It's not safe to stay with papa and mama. The shadow will kill you!' I could hear him choking on his own tears although I could not see him crying in that darkness. I could not even make out his face clearly.

'Very well, son. But at least, let us meet you at times. Tell us where you live.' I pleaded.

He was silent for a matter of minutes before he resumed.

'The Old Tower in the of the woods of F_Ombre. But be warned, the shadow isn't pleased to have visitors. ' He ended his line and like a mist being blown away by the wind, he vanished. '

The old man is already wiping off his tears as his words came to a halt. F_Ombre. I have been there once. It is the place where my love story began and ended in one day. I heave a sigh.

'Your past is definitely something no one wish to experience. I am truly sorry to hear it.'

'I do not need you sympathy, young man.' He replies.

' You will have my thanks then. For the whereabouts of your son and your hospitality.' I lay my half- filled cup down on the table. 'Time is of importance to me. I will have to take my leave now.'

Before I pull the door open, I turn my head and look over my shoulder at the Henry, still sitting in his chair, hands holding his cup of tea which is yet to be drank. Softly, I say.

'We will meet again. But the next time, it will not be a conversation between just the two of us. Instead, it will be a meeting of three. Farewell.'

The door closes with the sight of Henry still in his chair, face wrinkled and eyes red from wiping off the tears.

Meanwhile, heading towards the village of Terra are several knights riding their horses. The horses gallop past the valleys and are about to enter the woods when all of a sudden, the horses sink into the ground below them. The riders along with their mares fall into a few feet deep hole. Some of the horses lie on top of their riders, crushing their legs or body, while some knights manage to avoid getting buried under the horses. From the bottom of the sinkhole, they look up.

'Looks like my simple trap works perfectly.' A man reveals himself from amongst the bushes and walk towards the edge of the big hole in the ground, grinning. From his back, he pulls out a dagger in his right and another dagger in his left. The knights shoot him a wary look after noticing the sharp blades. They too unsheath their blades and each wield an arming sword in one hand, both positioning themselves next to each other for battle.

With his left hand, he throws something towards one of the knight below who thinks that the man is throwing his dagger for a long-range attack. With that thought in mind, the knight parry the thrown object with his sword, not realising that he has sliced apart a small enveloped object designed to act as a smoke bomb upon contact. The contents in the 'bomb' disperse and blind the two knights standing side by side momentarily. While they swing their swords wildly to clear their field of vision, the man jumps into the hole and like a tiger hunting its prey, he pounces onto the two armoured me, drilling the daggers through the chainmail behind the armour and then, into the flesh.

'I will be taking your armour.' He says when one the knight, barely able to keep his breath stable, struggles to pull his leg. He kicks the bloodied hand aside and stabs the knight in the chest once more, sealing his fate.

'Alex...' The knight says before his last breath. His word is so soft that even Alex, the man who kills him, cannot hear it. Alex, no longer a knight after being labelled as a wanted criminal, strips a nearby knight of his armour and sword then, wearing and wielding them himself. He reaches over to a helm lying on the ground and pick it up. He slides his head into the helm.

'I will reclaim my pride and glory. Just you wait.'

Back to my journey, I trace my steps through the woods back to the village I have once gone to. I close my eyes for a few seconds before electric currents stream down my arms. And with a thrust to a nearby tree, the brown, sturdy organism breaks and crashes into the ground, barely avoids scraping my skin. The currents disperse upon contact omnidirectionally.

'He's coming.' A voice mumbles from within the old tower standing tall and surrounded by trees. A pair of eyes look up from beneath his long fringes; Black smoke-like shadows rise from the ground. He snaps the twig in between his two fingers into half.