Chapter 4 BLACK FOREST

The royal carriage as well as its two convoys headed for the castle after days out of Carliff. They had returned from a trip away from the country and upon their return they could feel something grave was happening. It could just be a trivial matter which needed not the attention of royals, but the two twin princes, Raeco and Draecon looked out the carriage window curiously. The air wasn't clean, and breathing was a little difficult as they drew closer to the castle.

Their attendants tried their possible best to make the young princes close the windows so they won't be affected by the fowl air but the stubborn boys just wouldn't listen.

The carriages stopped instantly as the path that leads to the castle was blocked by a building that had burnt and collapsed in the street. Two other buildings had caught the flames and were burning uncontrollably and the people were trying their best to put it out, but the fire was raging. There was a woman in front of one building, crying her eyes out and screaming to the others that her child was still in the house. That house, which was burning so hot that it was impossible to approach it. There was no way to get in and definitely no way out if you were trapped in there. Almost everyone had lost hope for the boy in the house as nobody could go any closer. Their water did not help at all. There was thick black smoke everywhere and the princes stepped out of their carriages against the protests of their frustrated guards. The king and his wife were already out of their carriage to witness what was going on and they prayed for the child who was trapped inside.

'That poor soul,' one person said from within the crowd. 'By the time anyone gets to him he'll be nothing but ash, in such heat even his bones will burn,'

Raeco and Draecon looked on, and although they didn't show it they were disgusted at how easily all the people had given up on saving this child. It was safe in Carliff and each citizen worked hard to earn what they got. For that reason, Carliff was pretty dependable on its own. It was rare to see such tension in the air and the people knew not what to do, yet it made Draecon even more eager to help. He was only a child of nine years, yet he was very skilled with the sword and very experienced that some novice knights couldn't beat him. Some say he was born to be a fighter, but on that day however they discovered he was born to be more. They discovered how he was blessed, having been born with a younger twin who bore the mark of destiny.

Draecon dashed forward before the guards, knights and civilians could stop him, he made a suicidal leap into the flames and disappeared behind the blinding cloud of smoke. Raeco, his twin, who upon his left arm had the mark of a set of wings, stood far in the distance with a smirk on his face. He wasn't worried because he knew his older twin more than anyone else. The king of Carliff was alarmed, and tried himself to dive into the flames and save his foolish son, but this time his knights wouldn't fail, and they grabbed him tightly. The crowd of bystanders were shocked and some even shed tears, for Draecon was the light in the eyes of them all, and they knew full well this was no longer going to be a funeral for one. They couldn't understand why the prince himself would go into the fire. Did he not know it was a death trap? Or was he just suicidal and eager to die? Everyone around mourned the prince, including his parents who were uncontrollably shedding tears. This news spread faster than the wind and in no time almost the whole of Carliff was there to witness, Citizens and strangers, men and women old and young alike. They looked on moments later, even more confused as from the fire the prince emerged, coughing as he walked out, his clothes already reduced to nothing. Around portions of his body they were still burning. He held a thick blanket in his arms and though it had caught fire and burnt as well, it seemed to not affect him at all. Everything around him burnt as he walked through the fire and yet there wasn't a single mark or wound on his body. The moment when he dropped the blanket and raised the half burnt boy out everyone and everything had become quiet. The boy managed to survive somehow but the people no longer saw in the prince a normal boy with a talent of using swords but a legendary dragon, resistant to flame. Draecon the first born prince of Carliff was, from that day, called the dragon, and the town in Carliff where he had emerged from fire unscathed; Yol, became a part of his name. He became the Dragon of Yol; Draecon Deniden of Carliff.

Draecon and Lexa rode out of Dableen early the next day and headed south. They rode for hours and when they came to a path which led two ways they stopped and read the signs. One pointed to the left and the other right. 'Which one do we take Raeco?' Lexa asked and he pointed to the right, towards somewhere no one dared enter.

'Left is a pass through the mountains to Mather, and right is a longer pass through the black forest and also to Mather,'

'We need to get to Mather first?' She asked and he nodded.

'From Mather we get to either head for Carliff or Redwell,' Draecon said.

'So which way is shorter?' Lexa asked him and he pointed to the left.

'The path through the mountains is both shorter and safer, however we cannot go that way,' he said, and a small carriage q by. The coachman brought his horses to a halt close to them and as though it was a part of his business, he decided to help the two young fellows who stood in the junction.

'Go left, that's the only sure way to head south by this route. Unless you want to go through forests of wild beasts and monsters, dangerous mountain passes and death traps. The path to your right is a whole different case, this one is certain death. You can see the path go into the forest, and you can also see it come out at Mather, but nobody I know of has ever made it through to the other side. They go in... and they're never seen again. Nobody knows what lies beyond those trees, forty years of traveling and even I do not know, but come hell or high water, I do not want to find out,' he said and whipped his horses into motion again, away on the path to the left and in no time his carriage was completely gone in the distance.

'We can't take that route,' Draecon said and pulled his horse towards the right. 'There are too many Eradian knights there, and I assure you they're there for both of us. The high king wouldn't allow you to reach Redwell no matter the cost, and I'm sure you know why.'

'That cursed mark, I wish I can get rid of it already,' Lexa said and Draecon beckoned her to follow.

'You won't be able to get rid of it no matter what you try. You can never harm the mark on your body, not even with fire, believe me I've seen someone try. It only goes away after you die. When you try to burn it, it glows for a moment but it never goes away. When you cut off your skin or your arm it will appear again.'

'How come you know so much about the mark Raeco?' Lexa asked and he remained silent. He had reached the first trees and was deciding one last time whether he should go in or not.

'I don't think we should go in there,' Lexa said as she felt an eerie aura coming from deep within the woods. Draecon pulled the horses and stepped into the woods without hesitation. This was not his first suicidal endeavor and it wasn't going to be his last.

They traveled deeper and deeper and the place became darker, as the sunlight was blocked by the trees. The path got smaller and smaller and before they knew it, the path had completely disappeared and they couldn't retrace it, they were already lost and couldn't find their way back. It suddenly got cold and Draecon covered Lexa with a blanket. The horses were feeling it too and they couldn't go any further. The sun rays were almost completely gone so he lit a torch before it got pitch black.

The place was dark, darker than most forests and icy cold. Draecon made a big fire, enough to warm themselves as well as the horses and he offered the princess something to eat as he fed the horses and gave them water. He returned to her side and ate something as well.

'Try to get some sleep,' he told her. 'I'll keep watch.'

'Why didn't you tell me you were the Dragon of Yol,' Lexa asked.

'I don't think that's the question you want to ask me right now,' Draecon said.

'Tell me what happened in Carliff eight years ago?' She said and he sat down on the shrubs.

'Almost everyone died, is what happened. Carliff had two twin princes and one of them, the younger one was born with a mark of destiny. Just like you. High King Dareg and his men infiltrated Carliff and took us by surprise, there was no way he could lay a siege and win, so he poisoned the air and sent his men in when everyone was too weak to fight. It wasn't a war, it was a massacre. A slaughter. The princes managed to escape though. Some of the citizens were given treatment but the country had already suffered immense casualties. The country has never been the same since, I don't think it can,'

'What happened to the prince with the mark?' Lexa asked him.

'He died. King Dareg managed to capture him about a year ago and executed him at Carta Hill. I was supposed to protect him and I failed.'

'Were you his personal guard or something?' She asked him and he nodded.

'You could say that.'

'So you think by protecting me you can make up for your failure to protect the prince?'

'I never told you he was my master,'

'You didn't have to, I'm not as stupid as you think,' she said and turned over to sleep. Draecon only sat quiet and looked thoughtfully into the fire.

'He was my brother,' Draecon said after some time but it seemed as though she was already asleep.

Things were quiet until midnight, when he began to hear a sobbing noise in the distance. He woke her up and armed her with a dagger. It sounded as though someone was crying in the darkness, and with the sound came a strange chill which seemed to freeze everything. The fire helped no longer and the sound came in closer. The two stood close to each other as they scanned the area, but the sound seemed to be coming from all directions. Something jumped out of the bushes and Draecon almost attacked it. It was a toad, and it croaked loudly, then after a second of rest it leapt away again, but as the man looked away another thing appeared suddenly between them and he jumped back, startled and on edge. Lexa screamed and fell back when it crawled out of nowhere and appeared between them. It was a man, pale, half his skin torn off, half his clothes withered. His face; half flesh, half bone had one hollow lifeless eye and one socket completely devoid of an eyeball. Like a freak out of a nightmare, he looked like a man that had been dead for years. A worm crawled out of its empty socket and fell to the ground. This was the time when everything in the forest was darkest and the darkness seemed pitch black, the most treacherous time when the ghouls, half alive half dead loved to roam. A second one of the measly, eerie beings rose from the ground behind Lexa and startled her even more. Through this black night they could see what were once people, rising one after another from the darkness in the forest. The only rumor about the forest that seemed to be true.

It was haunted by ghouls, but whether they ate human flesh to replace their own or not, the two were yet to find out. The creatures crawled out of the woodwork, and slowly surrounded them. The scared horses whined and fled, leaving them behind. The ghouls came in closer, some limping, others crawling, others climbing down or up the trees with their degraded bodies, all of them headed towards the two trapped in the middle. Some of them sobbed, others laughed, some cried and others growled eerily.

'What are these things?' Lexa asked and he looked to the left, then to the right.

'Ghouls, half dead, half alive, screaming souls of people who died here in the forest. If we die here we're likely going to be one of them,' Draecon said looking around.

'How do we get out of here? I don't want to turn into one of those things,' Lexa said and threw a rock at one of the creatures, toppling its skull off its body and it dropped to the ground. The headless body kept advancing, walking mechanically and eerily. Not phased by the loss of its head.

'They're already dead, you can't kill them. I'll try to clear a path through them and you follow as quickly as you can,' Draecon said and hacked at one of the ghouls which reached him first.

'Let's go!' He said and she followed wherever he went as he cut aside the creatures and made way for them to pass through. As they went, one pushed out of the ground, grabbed her ankle tightly and wouldn't let go no matter how hard she tried. She shrieked for help and he returned for her before the ghoul could bite her leg. They came in from every direction, overrunning both of them in mere seconds, he flailed and struck something hard. He had lost his sword in a ghoul's body as another pulled him away. He struggled to her and got there earlier than her strength to hold them off could give out. He pulled away the two strong ghouls that remained about her and freed her from their bondage. Something fell on his back and crawled all over. It was fast and it got to his neck before he could grab it. It bit him in the neck before he could pull it off. It was a ghoul baby with empty sockets and numerous small and sharp teeth and nails. It was completely skeletal and before he hurled it at a tree he seemed to see parts of its skin return to its body. They had to flee. He pulled her away, this time pushing the fiends back with all of his strength and pulled her away from them as they went through. They managed to get out of the thick yet it seemed the creatures would catch up in no time if they stopped moving. Draecon felt light headed for a second and he lost all his strength. He felt dizzy and he couldn't walk straight. Before he could do anything else, he fell with a flop to the ground. He grunted and panted. He was even colder and felt hot to her touch. He couldn't see, temporarily blinded by the poisoned bite of the venomous ghoul. Lexa tried to wake him but he wouldn't respond, and the ghouls were closing in fast. There was no way she could take them on all alone and the bite on Draecon's neck was spreading the venom quickly. He was obviously suffering as his breaths were heavy, uneven and sounded hoarse. She tried pulling him away but it didn't work. She couldn't leave him and her fear and frustration increased exponentially. There was nothing she could do. She picked up a branch and threatened to attack the creatures as they approached her. In a time like this she couldn't allow herself to be useless.

Draecon was paralyzed from head to toe and as he lay there he could feel his soul slip away slowly and his sight get darker and blurrier every moment that passed. Before everything could go completely black, he saw a blinding light which killed a bit of the darkness and disappeared immediately with his consciousness.

Lexa saw it too, for it was that light that drew the living dead away and brought her a ray of hope in this dark forest. They came and they saved her from this nightmare which seemed to never end. They carried him away as well and the light they made prevented the ghouls from following. Their clothes, their weapons, they were obviously not from any of the six nations. Who were these people and where did they come from? These were the only questions she could ask herself as they led her away deeper into the forest.