Tales of Averon

Darkness covered the great forest as it rested silently in the midnight starlight. The clouds had vanished leaving a clear, still night that allowed the stars to twinkle brightly to anything that might have laid eyes upon them. The cold season had engulfed the lands and brought with it a vast mixture of weather and elements that should now have passed, allowing for the big thaw to set in. However, this cold season had been unusually long, and as the animals that awoke from a long slumber of hibernation emerged, they were greeted with the unusual presence of the snowfall that had fallen relentlessly that very day. It rested undisturbed between the trees and on top of the woodland floor. It had fallen so heavily that even the densest part of the forest had at least seen a flurry and dusting as it fell throughout the Great Vast Open and beyond. Averon had felt the full brunt of the natural element, and now the forest rested gently in the darkness, save for the noise of a muntjac foraging between the trees for some food of his own. He had wandered away from his contingency in an attempt to find something to eat, but the berries and vegetation he had come accustomed to during the summer months had now dwindled and almost vanished, forcing the deer to be less choosey about his meal. He wandered slowly between the trees in the darkness. The moonlight reflected the snow’s white shade, allowing it to glow almost unnaturally, and offer more light than usual at any other time in the forest. He heard his hooves crunch loudly as they broke down in to the fresh, undisturbed snow and saw his own breath leave his mouth every time he exhaled. The buck trotted on a little further and foraged a bush. Nothing. As he turned he felt a strange sensation he’d only felt a few times previously in his life. He froze momentarily and scoured his surroundings. The phosphorescent floor offered nothing in return. He opened his eyes wider and held his breath. He noticed his heart thumping in his chest. He was being watched. He felt it. The deer slowly breathed out and once again watched his smoky breath swirl out in to the freezing air. He heard nothing and could see nothing, but still he could feel it. He could feel eyes boring deep in to his mind, cutting effortlessly through the flesh and bone to get there. The muntjac turned slightly around and darted his eyes over the mounds of snow and between the trees. Still nothing, but he most definitely could feel it. Something was watching him. Something was there. He turned once more, his ears engaged and his eyes concentrating, searching the woodland for any reason of his nervousness. Still, there was no movement, no noises, not even a gust of wind large enough to disturb the woodland’s branches and leaves that surrounded him. The moonlight glared down upon him, and he noticed to himself that the track that headed home to the contingency seemed brighter than any other path at that moment. There would be food if he desperately needed it, but his appetite had suddenly been suppressed and his instinct was telling him to leave. He turned around one last time and scoured the area. There was nothing out of place. There was no sign of disturbances, and no signs of life. The muntjac turned and began a slow trot back home. He picked up and followed his own hoof prints along the path he had created on his journey this deep in to the wilderness. He brushed tightly through a small coppice of ferns and back out to where the trail widened. The trees in this part of the forest became much further spaced apart and easier to navigate in the cold night’s darkness. The deer noticed the snow glowing wildly from the light above and also how brightly it had illuminated his path, bathing the forest in a dull orange and red glow. He stopped rapidly. As he looked down into the snow he noticed his own hoof prints. Next to them lay a huge set of paw prints indented in to the tell-tale snow. His heart sank. What creature could make prints this big? Fear overcame the buck and he rapidly began sprinting away, his hooves thundering across the snow covered ground. He darted through the forest, his breath held as his legs pounded through the cold air. A thunderous roar boomed through the trees behind the fleeing buck. He pushed himself faster as terror gripped him. A snarl from behind drew closer towards the terrified deer as he darted along the track. A final, terrifying roar engulfed the buck and instantly his view changed to the full moon and the stars above. The buck’s body smashed in to the cold floor as he was tackled from behind by an unseen enemy. His breath exhaled violently as he attempted to stand but was again dragged down, thudding heavily in to the snow and sending chunks of the element flying in to the air. He felt his flesh tear and sting as sharp objects slashed down both sides of his back. A huge weight pounced upon him and suddenly his throat was clamped shut by a powerful jaw. The muntjac squirmed in an attempt to break free and kicked out his legs rapidly, but the clamp remained firmly around his throat. He fought fearfully as he attempted to gain breath, gasping nothing but whispers of air as his struggle continued. Slowly he began to feel sleepy. As the fight began to leave him and his struggle subsided, the weight shifted from his back but remained firmly clasped around his throat. It clamped down one last time leaving the muntjac with a final image of the phosphorescent snow glowing around him. Once the deer had died the clamp removed, and within seconds his blood had been shed and his innards strewn across the freezing snow. A terrible fate had emerged within Averon, just as Cyrius, the guardian of the great forest had warned. The terrible beast he had seen prowling within the Great Vast Open had now discovered his homeland, and with it the animals who dwelled there.