Awakening the Forest of Shadows

Inside the Forest of Shadows - That's fine my beautiful. Slowing down, Rita gave her mare a caress on the neck. After galloping Airelle for two hours in the Forest of Shadows, the sun had started to decline and fatigue took over. It was safer to stop for the night. Like all other elves, she usually avoided this area; it was therefore better to spend the hours which separated it from the sunrise in the shelter. She saw a ruin covered with vegetation in the distance and guided Airelle in that direction. Rita dismounted and unloaded her mare a hundred yards behind the building, near a lake. The last few days had been trying, but Rita had harvested enough High Cherries to put her family out of need for a few weeks. Lost in thought, she jumped when Airelle released her warm breath on her pointed ears. She smiles before reaching into her satchel and pulling out a red apple with white stripes. - You deserved it! she said, letting the animal bite into the fruit. After grooming her mare, she looked for a tree on which to spend the night. Generally speaking, the elves suffered from sickly dizziness. Not Rita and her family. They had always been gatherers from the heights, which made them one of the most respected siblings in the kingdom. Rather laughable situation when one knew that this so respected family was in reality only made up of orphans abandoned in the heights. We had tried to forget them, they had conquered the canopies and had made themselves indispensable. However, with all the respect the lower elves showed them, Rita never felt safer than twenty meters above the ground. She opted for an old moon oak which allowed her to admire the ruin while keeping an eye on Lingonberry. She began her agile ascent, her precious harvest strapped to her back. Once the first branches were reached, she started looking for two branches that were close and strong enough to accommodate her hammock. She quickly found her happiness. With the hammock set up and the bag of cherries secured, she curled up in the center of the canvas, untied the royal blue scarf that held her curly hair, and sighed with pleasure. She looked at the ancient monument. From below, the latter did not look like much, but by gaining height, we could only see its excessiveness. The person living there must have been someone very rich or very important. *** Unexpected Surprise The first rays of the sun slipped between the silvery leaves of the hundred-year-old tree and woke Rita. She would have slept a few more hours, but she still had a way to go. Still sleepy, she wanted to stretch, but an unusual weight on her chest stopped her movement. She opened her eyes to find a little boy - his ears were big with a distinguish large nose and dressed in simple overalls - lying on top of her. what a strange looking elf she thought to herself and How did he get there? She put out her shaking hands and jumped when she felt his skin. She was not dreaming, there was indeed a young boy sleeping on her! Her surprise had awakened the child who got up and sat down without further ado. He yawned before revealing wall eyes, one gold and the other silver. Rita remained silent, her gaze fixed on the stranger. The child approached her, hugged her and placed a kiss on her cheek. A strange shiver ran through her, both cool and warm. - Aaaaaahhhh! he suddenly yelled. The child tightened his embrace, hiding his face in her chest. She quickly understood: he was dizzy. Rita was used to heights; she had joined her family only a few hours after her birth. If she had never experienced vertigo, she knew that some elves had difficulty controlling their fear of heights. Her brothers and sisters, who arrived among the Forgotten at an older age, took several months to fully master themselves. One question remained, however: if he was dizzy, how did this young elf get there? A real mystery that she promised to elucidate once she was downstairs. Rita took a deep breath and tried, as best she could, to ignore the child's cries and to clear her mind. It was obvious that he could not go down alone; she was going to have to wear it. She grabbed her scarf and tied it around her waist to hold the little one up. It wasn't perfect, but the way he clung to her there was little chance of him falling. She quickly gathered her things, being careful not to damage her cherries, and went downstairs as quickly as possible. Once on the ground, she hastened to put the little boy on the ground. He instantly stopped crying and remained silent, stroking the cool grass with his bare feet. He approached a flower with blue petals in which a butterfly had taken up residence and tried to catch the insect which quickly fled under its bursts of laughter. He approached Rita again and took her hand, smiling. She stood up to him and asked: - What's your name? The stranger did not answer her, devouring her with his odd eyes, a smile drawn from ear to ear. - How did you get up there? she added. The child still did not respond. - Do you understand what I'm saying at least? He was still silent, continuing to offer her his angelic face as the only answer. - Are your parents in the area? To these words, he reacted sharply, leaping into her arms. He placed a strange kiss on her cheek again and whispered a name to her: "Rita". Disturbed, she sought his gaze; but he had already moved on: Airelle arrived, monopolizing all his attention. There wasn't the slightest sign of life for miles around; if he got lost, she would have a better chance of reuniting with her parents once she arrived in the capital. Rita stroked her mare and the child imitated her, laughing. - We're going to be more busy than expected, I hope you don't blame me. *** Where It All Started After an hour of a journey punctuated by the laughter of the young elf, Rita arrived at the bottom of her house. While she was grooming her mare and watching the boy who marveled at everything around him, Andre entered the stable. - Was the harvest good? - Excellent! I even got a bonus! she said, pointing to the child. - Where did you find it? - He was sleeping on me when I woke up, in the Forest of Shadows, you know, next to the ruins. - Rita… Do you know why we are called the Forgotten? he asked thoughtfully. She shook her head. These stories had never interested her; old legends, it was good to ease the conscience of those below. - At the time when the kingdoms were fighting and killing each other for an additional meter of land, a queen succeeded in building a fragile peace between a few peoples. To thank her for her work, the goddess of the day offered her an heir, a little boy with golden eyes, a sign of her solar origin. At first, everything was going well, but very quickly the queen realized that she would never have the patience to take care of a child. After some time, the night god took pity on her and offered her a deal: if she was able to overcome her fear of heights, he would take her son back from her and make sure that he was forgotten by all. The queen climbed the tallest tree in her kingdom and asked the god of night to take care of her child. Since that day, parents unable to take care of their children have faced their fear of heights, - But he only has one golden eye, Rita was content to answer, seeing very well where André was going. - Yes, a golden eye, shining and warm like the sun at the zenith. "The other silvery one, hypnotic like a full moon," she said with a sigh. Rita took the child in her arms. "Descendant of the stars, prince or not prince, every child needs a family," she thought. “And a name " little that she knows the Goddes didn't only blessed a queen with a child but that innocent looking child is, in fact, a Giant. *** The Encounter years passed by and Rita's little giant.. well not so little anymore, The young giant, after his short rest, unfolded in a rustle of fabrics and furs. Arms outstretched, stretched out as if to reach each edge of the Great Circle, torso lifted to the sky, he let out a huge yawn, with a shrill sound like only the young Giants of the South can do. His favorite animal was sleeping in a ball, leaning against a granite rock. His thorny mass heaved under the thrusts of breathing, and colored waves zigzagged over his body. With a sigh, the giant clapped his hands to make the Ganawak react, but the latter, overcome with sleep, did not move. Disdaining his bug, he turned to the sleeping boy. Scratching his curly red hair, the many adornments of which began to tinkle, he wondered about the fate of the young man they had found at the place of their halt. Skinny, in rags, the boy seemed closer to death than to sleep. Empathy being the sovereign trait of the Southern Giants, he had decided to save it. After having made a fire, he woke his fetish with great kicks. The animal jumped and, still quivering from the shock wave, changed color several times. His spikes retracted with emotion and his grainy skin turned yellow green, the color of dismay and panic. The giant, ashamed of his angry gesture, addressed the animal in his convoluted language. After having made a fire, he woke his fetish with great kicks. The animal jumped and, still quivering from the shock wave, changed color several times. His spikes retracted with emotion and his grainy skin turned yellow green, the color of dismay and panic. The giant, ashamed of his angry gesture, addressed the animal in his convoluted language. After having made a fire, he woke his fetish with great kicks. The animal jumped and, still quivering from the shock wave, changed color several times. His spikes retracted with emotion and his grainy skin turned yellow green, the color of dismay and panic. The giant, ashamed of his angry gesture, addressed the animal in his convoluted language. - Listen Ganawak, we're all sorry for the shot I created. Please change your color, don't shame us. Look at the man lying down with your eyes, Balk myself has decided to take care of it. The Ganawak, no doubt out of pity, changed color, not without producing a very long sigh. From yellow green he changed to delicate meadow green to finish with a very successful sky blue, then approaching the boy, sniffed him and licked his face. The hard, rough tongue woke the young man. A little frightened, he stepped back then leaned against the malleable trunk of a bubble tree. - Ah, the little thing wakes up to us! The little thing has not eaten for a long time, he will share the meal with Balk and his Ganawak and we will talk together. You will tell us what your name is over there where you come from. After we have eaten well, we will tell each other what you are doing here. Approach, the Wak is our fetish. Now eat, because your body can no longer support your head. - I have nothing to say, I just wanted to die in peace! And I am not a Little Trick but a prince, a prince that nobody cares about but a prince all the same! - You have time to die. A day will come that will be yours and you will penetrate the land that supports you, prince or not. The Circle is big and I have walked it and still continue. You are you the first I see and you are going to tell why you want to sink into the land of the Great Circle. Eat, he said, throwing a piece of the game roasting on the fire at his feet. The young prince preferred not to hit him and grabbed the hot meat. - Well, I left my kingdom many records ago, for, well… because of a love affair! The giant opened his eyes wide and stopped eating. He patted the ground with his huge hands, gesturing to the Ganawak. - Come here Wak, it's a love story » The animal approached, rather morose, but lay down, mouth on its paws, next to the giant. He stroked the back of her neck while waiting, impatient for the story to begin. Under the effect of pleasure, the Ganawak changed color, alternating blue, mauve, green. - Her name is Osiana, we grew up together, my father the King took her under his protection after the death of her parents. There she is, she is beautiful, I love her but she does not want me and gives herself up to all men. She ignores me and my father too, he only has eyes for her, it's as if I no longer exist! He is a brute, I am too frail, too small, too shy, he said to me, “everyone forgets you in a conversation, a prince must exist, impose himself…”. I can't stand this situation anymore, I ran away. Since then, I have wandered the Grand Cercle in search of adventure to forget all this and prove to myself that I exist. I almost got kidn*pped by slavers, wrestled with a horned monster that spat sticky bubbles at me, I fled from caves where the enigmatic Latachaks live who have been digging holes for millennia, traded food with a luminous creature in the Stownforg swamps, fought a wizard who wanted to turn me into a horse to pull his team and much more other things as well. But all this is useless, look at me, I am no longer anything, that's why I wanted to end my life here, far from everything! After all, you're right, Petit Truc suits me very well .... - Balk himself tells you that you are not nothing. Nothing could have done what prince did. You will go home where you live, your heart full of the exploits of yourself. Your father who is yours will see you now and Osiana too. The young prince couldn't help but smile. This large 4-meter carcass was full of love for others. - And you, what are you doing here with your Ganawak? - My people who belong to me are going mad and sick and the children die quickly. They don't grow up like us and me anymore and are all twisted! The Talim sends me and my fetish to find other giants to support us. The young prince began to understand. By dint of consanguinity and common ancestors, a form of debility emerged in children. The group needed new blood. He remembered that his father had welcomed giants fleeing fires to the north. In return for their help in fighting the monstrous creatures that had preceded them and ravaged villages and fields, he had given them land. They were still there! - I know where giants are! said the young prince. Balk leaped up, in a cloud of dust and the bluish crackling of the Ganawak who had also straightened up, his poisonous tail whipping the air in search of an enemy. - Calm Wak, there is no fight against Balk. Tell me little prince, are you telling me the truth? - Yes, - So you are telling me there are giants other than me! - Yes! you didn't know? - I was raised by the elves I never met with any of my kind before, you're sure of what you're telling me right now - Yes, I swear. I was a child when my father welcomed them. - So Balk and his fetish will follow you. Your father will see the man you have become with your exploits. You will climb on my Wak which belongs to me to return to your kingdom and I will be by your side. Osiana will only have looks for you and my Wak. Along the way, Balk will kill a Kalbaras and make you a coat and boots with its fur. Balk will also capture a Tortarok and with its shell myself will make you a shield ... if the Great Circle wants it, I will find you a weapon of your own! So, with all these things, it is no longer a little prince who will return to his kingdom, but a warrior and everyone will look at you! The giant reached into one of the many pockets he had around his waist and pulled out a tube engraved with multiple signs. - Now you're going to be a part of Balk and his fetish. Balk means "the one who climbs the mountains", give me your name! The brilliant, almost hallucinated gaze of the young prince was lost in the green eyes of the giant. - Altan, my name is Altan, but this name does not mean anything… - Yes, for Balk, Altan means "the one who returns". The conversation ended the giant knelt on the ground and dug a hole in which he inserted the tube. Leaning over it, he named the young Altan there, then, taking a breath while standing up, he breathed into the orifice. The ground cracked like a star from the hole until the few shrubs tremble. - Now the Great Circle knows that you are with me, and the Talim of my clan knows it too. Let's go! Balk pointed his index finger to the north, realm of young Altan, who, now associated with the giant's quest, finally found a reason to live.