Young Writers Society

Adam continued to walk aimlessly through the forest. He wasn't worried about being lost. As long as he kept moving he'd stumble across the exit sooner or later. Still, it'd be nice if he had some idea of where he was going.

He heard a noise behind him and spun around to see what it was. He reached for his dagger, but relaxed when he realized it was merely the leaves rustling in the trees. Absolutely ridiculous, only a couple hours in this place and already he was jumping at noises.

He returned to his previous train of thought. If he had some sort of landmark to help him stay oriented then navigating this forest would be so much easier. But there was nothing interesting of note in this valley surrounded by mountains.

"Wait a minute, mountains..." He smiled widely at his brilliant idea. The mountains would guide him! All he needed to do was find the largest mountain and use that to guide his way. Rumors tell of the trees in this place moving on their own to trap and disorient travelers. Regardless of whether that was true or not, Adam knew that nothing short of the gods could possibly move a mountain.

Adam found the tallest tree nearby and started to climb to the top. It was a tough climb, but nothing he couldn't handle. Back home he and the rest of his mates would always take to the rooftops to escape the town guards whenever they were in real trouble. Compared to that, climbing a tree was simple. Once he got to the highest branch he could reach he popped his head out of the leaves. He felt good as he took in a deep breath of fresh air. He didn't know why, but the air at the forest floor was unbearably stuffy.

For the first time since entering this place he finally realized how vast the forest was. The trees stretched off forever in all directions. There was no sign of civilized life to be seen anywhere. As he looked around he realized he must be in the dead center of the forest. That couldn't be right... he had only been here for two, maybe three hours at the most. There was no way he could have traveled this far in such a short amount of time...

Adam shook his head. He was forgetting why he came up here in the first place. He looked at the mountains that surrounded the forest, trying to spot the tallest one. At first it looked like they were all the same height, like giant walls. It was as if nature itself constructed them to keep people out of this forest, or to keep something inside from getting out...

Adam shook his head again, the old wives tales were starting to get to his head. There was nothing to fear from a simple forest. He just needed to focus and find a way out. After a few more minutes of study he finally spotted a mountain that seemed to tower above all the rest. He took a quick look at the position of the sun in the sky. It was sometime past midday, meaning the sun was heading towards the west. From this he figured out that the mountain was directly north. Perfect.

After taking another look at the sun he realized how late it was starting to get. He doubted he would be able to get out of this place before nightfall, so he needed to find or make some form of shelter for the night. Once the sun comes back up tomorrow he'll be able to get out of this forest no problem.

Xander made it through the brush after some time and froze. He hushed Bruin gently, not letting the horse move any farther. In front of them, a wide patch of gurgling sand blocked them. He glanced back in the direction from which they came, and was stunned to see that the chopped up path had vanished.

He stood still, just watching the woods around him, and he could faintly see that it was shifting constantly. It was barely visible to the human eye, and could easily be mistaken for a breeze. "God help us..." he muttered, realizing everything now. The wives' tales were true; the rumors were true. This forest, in between the mountains, was alive, hungry, and murderous.

Xander looked back forward, seeing that the sand was creeping toward them. He forced Bruin to back up a little ways, but the horse squealed. His back hoof went into a new, smaller pocket of quicksand. Xander swore under his breath. Stay calm, stay calm. There's got to be a way out of this... He touched the horse's muzzle, whispering a little shakily, "Easy, boy. Easy. Trust me."

The horse snorted and grumbled, shifting his weight constantly and stamping impatiently. He was nervous, and anything sudden would spook him. If he spooked now, they would be in trouble. Xander knew that this horse, as big as he was, would be unstoppable and could seriously hurt him in a panic. He had to think fast.

Xander spotted a large, twisted oak tree just out of arm's reach. If he could get a rope around the trunk and use it as an anchor to pry the jumpy horse out. The ground looked solid on the other side of the roots. Once he got there, they could head to higher ground where there would be less moisture. He grabbed the braided rope out of Bruin's saddlebag and tied one end to the saddlehorn, looped it through the bridle and wrapped it around the noseband so it wouldn't hurt the horse, before starting to make his way toward the tree.

It was tougher than he thought. Xander took three steps away from Bruin, and he plunged into the sand. He grunted, sprawling and trying to balance himself as one leg sunk to the knee in the sticky slush. He growled, feeling the sand start to suck on him and try to pull him in faster. He struggled, managing to grab onto some brush and hoist himself out of the sand.

"Spread you weight," he told himself. "Spread your weight, or sink... Alright..." He just needed to stay out of the sand long enough to anchor his line to the tree. It seemed like the forest was working against him, though, because he began to sink again. He managed to get one knee propped on a dry patch to keep himself from being sucked in entirely. He tied a loop in the rope with a slipknot, keeping it wide. "God, let this work..." he prayed, and threw the loop at a lower branch.

He missed. He quickly pulled the rope to him again, readjusting the loop before trying again. He worked quickly, following the same routine with slightly more anxious and hurried actions as he felt himself sinking into the sand and slipping off his rest. He finally managed to catch the branch and pulled on the rope, tightening the loop around the wood. He groaned, managing to pull himself up out of the sand.

Progress was slow, but he did manage to make it across the sand without sinking past his ankles again. Once he made it to solid ground, he released the tree and turned to face Bruin. "Come on, Bruin. Come on, boy," he coaxed the shaken beast. He then noticed something unsettling, the horse was trying to move, but he had begun to sink into the sand. His front hooves halfway to his knees were embedded. The horse was wide-eyed and tossing his head, trying to rear back. That only pushed his back feet into the sand further.

Xander swore softly, tightening the rope and wrapping it around the trunk of the tree. He pulled on it, forcing Bruin's nose toward him and giving the horse some resistance to fight with. "Come on, boy. Hup. Hup!"

The horse thrashed suddenly, managing to rip his hooves out of the sand, but it was a bad move. He rose over the rope, crashing down again with the rope wrapped under a leg. The stallion squealed, trying to head toward Xander and get away from the sticky, squelching sand, but he was panicking. His ears went straight back, and he thrashed again. This time, he went down all the way. When his side hit the sand, he lost it.

Xander tightened the rope, "Come on, boy! Get out! Come on!" he barked at the horse as it thrashed again, screaming. He staggered back and forth, rearing up and bucking almost spastically, trying to force his way through the sand.

His rider watched, almost helpless, as the rope got continuously more tangled in the horse's flying legs, sand and water spraying the brush and both of them. He needed to anchor Bruin and give him a leverage point, but he wanted to help his companion. The horse had been his life for four years now, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing him to a broken leg. Xander scoffed, putting a slipknot in the rope and rushing to aid his steed as he neared the bank.

As Xander reached his head, Bruin managed to get one hoof on solid ground, flopping onto his side again as he thrashed and kicked out, scrambling to get to his feet and away from the sands. Xander grabbed him by his bridle and gave the horse a tug on the nose. Bruin shook his head, pulling free from Xander's hands and lunging up onto his feet. The rope suddenly pulled tight, the slipknot kicking in and giving the horse something to fight against, but it was wrapped under his right foreleg, around the biceps of his left, and back around the right hoof. His right leg stretched painfully, about ready to pop out of the socket based on the sound the horse made. Xander reached to grab him by the head again, but Bruin fought him. He reared up, thrashing and trying to untangle himself. In the flash, Bruin caught Xander's lower leg with one of his hooves, knocking the man's feet out from under him. He coughed when he came down on top of him, his hooves planting into his back painfully. When he went up again, Xander managed to roll out of the way.

He groaned, struggling to his hands and knees as he watched the horse rampage, just trying to break free. Xander exhaled, hissing in pain and heartbreak as realization sank in. The only way to appease the horse and calm him down was to cut him loose. He pulled his dagger and grabbed the rope in one hand, snapping it halfway to Bruin. The horse stumbled back at the sudden release, thrashing free and kicking the rope out from around his legs, before running off and leaving the sand behind.

"Bruin! Bruin, wait! Whoa!" Xander called, trying to get the horse to stop. He sighed as the animal's golden hide vanished into the trees.

Rhen

Rhen shrugged his pack back over his shoulders and stood up. He was lost. He had been in this cursed forest for almost a day now. He had a feeling the forest hated him, if that was even possible. What was worse was that the forest itself appeared to be changing, almost like it was alive.

He began walking. He knew not where he was going nor where he would end up; all he wanted was to leave these forsaken woods. Of course, he could look at this in another light. This could be it, his greatest adventure so far. Yet, then again it could also be his grave.

He kept walking, for hours it seemed. Finally he stopped to rest for a moment. He didn't seem to be making any progress, and worse, he appeared to be going in circles. This wasn't good. He leaned against a tree as he tried to think of what he should do next.

Suddenly, a loud noise caught Rhen's attention, breaking him from his thoughts. It sounded as if it was nearby. He grabbed his pack and went to investigate the sound which had assaulted his ears. Cautiously, he crept foward, not knowing what to expect.

Unexpectedly, a large creature rushed out from the bushes. It was running straight at him. Rhen was knocked to the ground as it galloped past him. Was that a horse? he wondered. At that moment a pain suddenly raged through his right shoulder. He grabbed reflexively at the pain. Grasping his shoulder, he attempted to sit up. As soon as he was upright he began to examine himself. The palm of his hand was covered in blood from his shoulder wound. He took off his pack and began rummaging through it. From the supplies he had with him he was able to patch up the wound, but not nearly well enough. It would have to do for now, he didn't posses the skills nor the equipment to do it any better. Well, this has certainly complicated my situation, he thought.

Adam perked up when he heard the feint neigh of a horse in the distance. It didn't sound close, yet the fact that he heard it meant the animal must have been within walking distance. He was surprised that there were any horses this deep in the forest. Maybe his luck was turning around. If he could find the horse it would lighten his burden while he looked for the forest's exit. He turned his body and tried to determine which direction the sound came from, all the while straining his ears in case the animal made another sound.

During the entire time Adam spent in the tree he didn't notice the vines slowly creeping up the branch and gently wrapping around his feet. The vines moved silently, giving no sign that they were even there. By the time Adam decided it was time to get down from the tree they had him completely trapped in their snare.

As Adam turned toward the tree to climb down the vines instantly tightened, and he lost his balance. He barely had enough time to let out a surprised curse before he was sent tumbling down the tree. He hit every branch on his way down, and as he fell another vine got caught around his neck. As he get close to the forest floor the vine tightened around his throat like a noose, and he was left to dangle just a few feet above the ground.

Because he hit all those branches on the way down his speed had been slowed enough that his neck didn't snap from the sudden stop. Instead he was left to dangle as the vine slowly strangled him to death...

I sighed--the action becoming common, as I continued on, although more frightened than ever as the day was starting to come to an end and I still had seemed to be nowhere. I tried to keep positive even though I noticed strange plants and vines I had never noticed before, it was as if they were appearing before my very eyes, one by one, closing in on me. Wait, I told myself, calm down. I breathed steadily and checked my sack around my waist to make sure it was sturdy, I just had an uneasy feeling that I might have to fight soon. I just didn't know what, or when.

There was still sun but I could easily notice the drop in temperature and how the sun was quickly leaving for the day. I started to go faster wanting to find a good place to make home for the night. Since I was already technically free all I had to do was get out of the woods, it wasn't that big of an issue for me. I didn't feel pressured to find my way out that very day, I just wanted to find a good place to stay for the night and figure out a wise path out of the very dense and entangled Forrest, or as it even seemed jungle. Honestly I started to wonder what it was, there were all kinds of animals, both strange looking frogs and cute little bunnies and squirrels. It was confusing.

I was never one to believe in fairy-tales or magical lands or anything, but I soon realized it could be very possible that I ended up in a different world. Could it be so? I was starting to believe anything when I thought I saw a crocodile. I noticed a green image among the woods and quickly started to run, I felt chased and turned to see something like a crocodile running towards me. I'd only ever heard of such creatures, I ran full speed dodging through the trees and breaking through the bush trying to find a place to hide. Ignoring the pain in my leg after brushing against some thorn bushes, I continued running. I changed my directions several times in order to get it off my trail.

After the chase I found a corner of thick bush surrounding what looked like a safe spot to sit and rest, while being carefully hidden. I was panting hard and tried to make sense of what just happened. "No, it couldn't have been." I said out loud, wanting myself to realize the simple fact that it would be absolutely impossible for a crocodile or any sort of large lizard type animal to have been in a Forrest, especially these forests. Unless, unless they were out to get me, maybe my past owners were trying to scare me. Maybe they went to the pond and set the crocs free to eat me alive, so I would never find freedom. Well, they will never, and I mean never have such an opportunity. I will fight till the very end, and the only way I'll ever die, is if anything is able to defeat me.

But I knew my advantages, and I had three, my mind, the fact that I was more intelligent than most of the animals in the Forrest, my strength and endurance, I was able to run, and I am able to climb. Lastly my hope, I had my hope which would allow me to never give up. Nothing was going to stop me from my freedom. I stood ready to start going again when I noticed my sack was no longer around my waist. Panic soared through me as I frantically looked around. I left the security of the bushes circle and into the Forrest, there laying a few feet away from me was my bag. But I was no longer thinking about my sack, only about the wolves that were gnawing at it, probably to get to the bread. At first I wasn't too afraid, they would just take the bread and leave I decided, and I didn't make a sound or move a muscle. I stayed extremely still not wanting any of them to notice me. There were five of them to be exact, a pack, two were small but three looked large enough to eat me in one bite.

I gulped involuntarily, and like clockwork on of there ears shot up. I held my breath. 'Please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't see me.' I thought. I was running out of air, and my chest was hurting badly, I was ready to give up when I saw whom I decided was the pack leader lift it's nose in the air and sniff, then walk towards another direction. I let go, and gasped for air. Once I felt fully ventilated I rushed towards my bag and grabbed it, I turned to see and hear the growling of an angry wolf. It was the pack leader. Had they tricked me? Fear showed easily on my face. Were they smart too? I wondered. I almost believed this wolf could be reasonable, but then it started to growl more veraciously and seemingly call on the other's, for out of nowhere the whole pack appeared. Fear ripped through me. I wanted to run, yet I knew that would be the biggest mistake I could make.

Instead of running straight away, I started to back up slowly. The wolves followed me as I continued to step farther back. As I kept taking a step back, I kept taking one faster than the other. One step two step one step two step, soon I was jogging backwards, the wolves were quickly following me with their anger, they were waiting for me to run. Or to fall, as I took another quick step I felt something come out of nowhere and grab on my foot. I looked down to realize it was a vine. I screamed. It was too much, I felt like all my hope was vanishing. I lost my balance and fell to my face, the wolves came closer. I struggled to get back up and eventually was able to sit up a bit at least right as the wolf was towering over me. Unable to think of anything else to do, I rose my free foot and kicked it. It felt impact and was sent backwards.

I only then realized I might have killed myself in doing that, I might have just made it worse. I quickly, using the few seconds I had untangled myself from the vine and grabbed my sack, reached into it and grabbed my dagger, accidentally taking it from it's blade and cutting my palm a bit. I ignored the cut and held out the dagger. I had surely made things worse, now all the wolves came at me with a force, the largest one jumped on me, but before it's teeth could touch me I stabbed it several times wherever I could as it was on me. It lay limp and the other's seemed to only get angrier. Knowing I would never win all of them, I got up and started to run. I made sure one hand held the sack tightly, and the other, the dagger. I felt my heart quicken as I passed through the woods as fast as possible trying to lose the sound of the paws on the soil or the soft growling of a mad dog.

Eventually the sounds started to die down. Breathing heavily I was starting to wonder how I would ever be able to survive in this place. A crocodile, and a pack of wolves. What more would come? I thought I started to hear the growling again and started moving quickly again, as I was running, I figured out I heard the sound of someone struggling. Looking up at the tree directly across from me I saw someone dangling from it. My stomach churned, and I looked away. He was going to die if I didn't do something. I wanted to heave, but I held it to try to think of a plan. I decided the best decision would be to cut the vine. Which meant I had to climb the tree on the other side. It looked to me like he had fallen a couple of feet which might have been what broke his fall. I started to climb the other side of the tree, trying several times and falling, the man was on the verge of dying and I couldn't get my grip right. Quickly though I fought upwards and saw his face, his veins were striking purple and bulging as he was struggling to find breath. I quickly used the dagger I climbed up with to cut the vine. He fell all the ways down to the ground.

I then dropped myself down, carefully positioning the dagger. I was amazed with what I could do with it. I went towards the man and looked at his face, he had passed out. He looked well capable of taking care of himself so I debated whether I should leave him or stay with him. After almost dying twice in the day, and this person not having much luck either, I decided it would be best to not be alone. I heard a faint neighing of a horse in the distance for the first time.

"And I guess even we're not alone," I whispered to the stranger I had just found. It was a crazy day for me. The craziest.

Adam struggled to free himself from the vines, but failed. His vision blurred as the vice grip of the plant around his throat slowly strangled the life out of him. He reached down for his dagger, but fumbled in his panic and ended up dropping it. Was this really how it was going to end? After pulling a fast one on his gang and escaping the town guard, his life would be taken by a simple plant? If he hadn't been in so much pain he would have remarked about how pathetic such a turn of events was.

The last thing he saw as his vision faded to black was the face on a young girl on the branch above him, and a dagger in her hand. She cut the vine, freeing Adam's neck from the plant. He passed out as he fell, he didn't even feel the impact of hitting the ground.

Xander groaned, forcing himself up although it hurt to stand. His back was searing, and it was a little hard to breathe. He wasn't afraid to believe that the horse had broken his ribs. He panted lightly, carefully making his way into the woods again, away from the sands and trying to follow Bruin.

Xander walked until it started to get darker. He sighed, looking up at the sky as shadows began to fall. "There's got to be a way out of this mess," he whispered, starting to wonder if he'd even make it out alive. As he returned his gaze to the forest floor, he spotted some movement ahead. It was another person.

"Hey, who's there?" he called, heading toward whoever it was, only a few yards ahead.

Night had fallen upon the forest and Rhen still found himself trapped in this gods forsaken place. He grabbed suddenly at his shoulder as a sudden burst of pain rippled through his upper body. He was still aching horribly and every bit of movement only seemed to make the pain worsen. After having lay sprawled in pain across the forest floor for hours hoping the pain would subside, he had finally resolved that even with the pain, it would be better to keep moving than to remain there laying on the ground doing nothing. And so he walked. He did not have a destination in mind. He just wanted out of this accursed forest.

Suddenly a voice called out from among the trees, "Hey, who's there?" It said.

Startled by the unexpected and sudden voice, Rhen barely managed to form his reply. "Just a lost fella traveling aimlessly a midst these forsaken woods," he replied. The man stepped within view and Rhen could now make out his features. The man was a slight bit taller than he, but with a similar build. His slightly groomed, brown hair blew a bit in the wind. His amber eyes caught Rhen's own.

"I'm Xander," The man told Rhen, holding out his hand. From the way he spoke, he obviously wasn't in the best condition.

"Rhen," Rhenwick replied, taking Xander's hand and giving it the best shake he could manage with his hurt arm. Pain shot through his arm with the motion and Rhen quickly had to withdraw his hand. "You seem hurt," Rhen stated his observation.

"Well you don't look so well yourself," he replied.

"Here, I should still have a few things left in my pack that may help in easing the pain a bit. If only just a little." Rehn said, throwing his bag to the ground. He began rummaging through it as he continued to speak to this man who called himself Xander.

Adam awoke some time later. He didn't know how long he had been out, all he knew is that his neck still ached from the vine. As he tried to get his bearings he noticed he was leaning against the side of a tree, as if someone had propped him up against it. He started to look around to take in his surroundings when he saw a dark-haired girl sharpening sticks with her dagger, Instinct had Adam reaching for his own dagger, but his sheath was empty. He now remembered dropping it during the struggle with the vine.

The girl must have heard Adam stirring. She turned to look at him. "Oh good, you're finally awake."

Adam slowly remembered seeing this girls face just before he lost consciousness. She was the one who cut him down. Even without his dagger he figured he had nothing to fear from this girl. She looked to still be in her teens. "Who are you?"

"Who are you?" the question was asked in a seriously inquisitive but not demanding tone. She opened her mouth to talk when she paused, she wasn't sure how much she wanted to reveal to this stranger. She could start with her name though.

"I'm Maya." She could see the annoyance in his face that she hadn't said more, she continued sharpening the sticks, she had a few more and then she'd be done. The day was quickly leaving them and she was not planning to leave the spot they were in, she was planning on creating a sort of protecting barrier around them. "When you're comfortable enough, I'll need your help. I need to sharpen about five more. Then we're going to stick them into the ground in order to keep predators away. I'll need you to keep a look out." He just stared at her. It was the first time she realized she really had no idea who this person was. Fear trickled down her spine, could she trust him? Should she? She could walk away right now and be totally safe, create her barricade a little away and allow this terrible place to go at him. But she couldn't do it. She took another stick and started to sharpen it.

"Why did you help me?" his question took her by surprise, did he read her thoughts? She was rendered speechless for a moment. She didn't know why she helped this man, except, except she wouldn't have forgiven herself if she hadn't.

"I couldn't just let you die. But if you do anything or try anything out of line, I am armed. I am capable of fighting you, and winning." She looked him squarely in the eye. She was no fool, and she was no child. She knew what she was doing running away and she will find her family, that's all she wanted to do. The thought of finding her family made her stomach turn and she suddenly thought of something to eat. She looked at him. "Are you hungry?"

Adam stared at the girl for a few moments longer. She couldn't have been older than eighteen. He'll admit, he was pretty dangerous himself when he was her age, but he doubted this girl could best him in any regard. Still, since he was stuck in this forest for the time being it wouldn't hurt to have someone watching his back, and she wasn't too hard on the eyes either. Plus, having her around might give him a good distraction for escaping if they ever ran into anything really dangerous.

He put on his friendly smile, the one he always used when he was younger to look innocent to the guards so they would go easy on him whenever they caught him. "Yeah, I haven't eaten all day."

Maya handed him some of the sticks she was working on. "Here, you can start on these while I see if I can find anything. Oh, that reminds me." She handed Adam a different dagger from the one she was using. "I think you dropped this while you were in the tree."

Adam took the dagger and said, "Thanks."

"What's your name, by the way?"

Adam smiled at her and lied, "It's Jason."

Luna Wright

It was dark.

I couldn't see anything and the moon was just taunting me up from the sky above. Taking a deep breath of cold air, I went straight. Of course I had no idea where I was going, but I was going.

Running away from home was the easy part. But getting somewhere was not. If only I could reach my grandmother's home. It was just on the other side of the town. Sigh. The winter was already settling down, so it reached to about the minus temperatures especially at the middle of the night.

All I could do was keep on walking and hear the snow crush beneath my feet.

There was always a short cut to take, through the forest. I took it all the time. So, I looked to my left, and across the street was the grand forest. The trees resembled Christmas Trees, especially now as the snow tickled it's branches. The smell of pine overwhelmed me as I walked toward it. But the thing was, I always took a different forest. It was by my home, completely separate from this one, hopefully it will make the journey quicker.

I rubbed my hands together an walked across the street, reaching the dark forest. My whole body started to get goosebumps as I took a small step in, and that's when it felt like I was being sucked into a whole new world. The sounds of the snow falling stopped as I kept on walking straight. It was the only way how. So, I walked.

The trees seemed taller, and the creatures of the forest seemed so much louder. I could hear the owls, the crickets, everything moving. Every sound itched at my skin, scaring me of insects. Taking another deep breath, I just focused on the path ahead of me, darkness. Some shadows here and there.

Spinning on my heel, I looked back to where I came form. Did I seriously walk that far? The exit seemed so far away... I couldn't even see the way I came from. That end was dark. I walked back the way I came from and noticed, well, it was gone. I had just walked straight for a straight two minutes, and yet I couldn't find my way back! I didn't take any turns. Just straight!

"Oh my," I started to panic. "I had walked straight! How could I have lost myself?" tears started to prick my cheeks as my heart raced.

It was dark. I couldn't see anything. I was lost due to the dark. I couldn't get out. I could scream. Someone was bound to hear me. At this hour though? Yes.

"HELP!" I started to scream, burning my lungs with the freezing air.

"HELP ME!"

Silence.

Then a shuffle from behind me. I turned and saw a figure aiming straight at me. I started to shake, unable to think of any defense. I was in boot camp. I know defense. When the figure gets close enough, I'll be sure to defend. I have to. That's how it works.

"Luna, is that you?" The figure spoke, I couldn't see it due to the darkness.

Lance

Lance glanced up at the gray sky. It looked just like his future. Bleak. He nudged Faithful, his white mare, forward. She was the only thing that he had left to call a friend. Everyone else? Gone. Brother dead. Parents? Never knew them. They died in a great war when he was just a baby.

Lance was often told he looked like his father: same cool blue eyes and black hair, strong build, a brave fighter and a smart thinker. Ha! Smart thinker? The whole reason he was alone was because of his so called "smart thinking."

But he could start fresh, couldn't he? Begin a new life and still become someone respected. No. Not after being exiled. his last name had never existed before that battle, but now it was known throughout the land. Exiled. Yes, because of one mistake on his part that he had deemed wise at the time, his brother, and all of his beloved comrades in his cavalry battalion had been killed.

Exiled not only in terms distance of land, but in friendship as well, he left bitter and angry. And now he looked up to see something he didn't need. A forest. An ugly looking forest. His future just got worst.