Dawn- An age of Darkness

"This is the forest?" Looks more like a death trap to me. And I came here on my own decision too. I really wanted to punch myself in the face though.

"Yes, and it seems there are company inside," Jocaur said with a heavy tone.

We had arrived close to the forest. We made it barely before the afternoon. If it weren't for that woman we would have surely made it earlier. However, once we had gotten here, things didn't look to be in our favor. But then again, was anything ever in our favor, to begin with?

"Both of you draw your swords," Gorgan said.

"You don't need to tell me that!" Jocaur grunted and drew his sword.

The rotting smell of flesh and blood went through my nostrils. Here go again. I sighed and prepared myself.

We were out in the ever-diminishing light. Although it was yet to be evening, we didn't have much time. We tied our horses and prepared for the worst. I sure hope this is not what I think it is.

"I believe both of you are ready? Let's start killing some undead. The more we kill the less the town has to deal with," Jocaur said with a boldface. Seriously? You're going with that? I couldn't blame him though.

Just a few weeks ago, this would have been a dream. But, now it's just a nightmare. The forest was dark to no one's surprise. We had three torches. Undead were lurking in every corner. Bugs crawled underneath our feet and made me shiver with disgust. The ground was soft and felt like it'd melt but didn't.

I could trace the feeling back to the sacred forest. Is this the work of the demons? But didn't he say….? I had a good reason for suspecting the demons. That reason being, I didn't trust them one bit. But their leader- the emperor, did say something about them staying put for a year. So this seemed a little different.

"Look sharp," Jocaur screamed.

My new sword was unsheathed. An undead came towards me with turtle like speed; my heart raced. Calm down. If you don't show your skills now, they'll all be suspicious. I'd lied to them about myself so I had to try extra hard.

With one swing I severed its head. Although it looked easy my body certainly knew it wasn't. I almost popped some blood vessels moving as fast as I did. And there was pain.

My body feels so light? But I didn't train…However to my surprise my body held out even in that speed. Actually my body moved much faster than I'd intended.

"That's a nice sword you have there. You're skills… aren't half bad either." Gorgan chuckled. But the pause he added with my skills, gave me a rather windy mood.

The head fell a little far and the undead went searching around to collect it. This reminded of a certain movie with pirates but I felt nothing but shivers.

"He might have a good sword but his actions are still that of a beginner. He should learn to focus," Jocaur said with a harsh tone. He was right. I was too careless.

But, I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason behind my growth. Maybe it was because of the large demon that I'd fought till death. A close call with death might have not been all that bad. After all disparity was the mother of all invention- in my case. If I weren't desperate and the gap of skills between us wasn't that great, I wouldn't be alive.

Without the worry of sunset we marched in further and further inside. We'd covered our noses with cloth but the smell was still too damn strong. This was my third time in a forest like this. But I did not- I repeat, I did not want to be in here.

Both of them were talented. The old knight was very skilled with the sword and shield. Gorgan was quite skilled with the spear as well, very skilled in fact.

"Is it me or is that guy literally shining?" I whispered.

"Never seen a holy knight before? I get ya lad. I'm jealous too," Jocaur said.

Weren't holy knights supposed to be swordsmen? At this point I didn't know what to be jealous about anymore, his looks or his skills? The guy had it all apparently: looks, skills and fame.

However me and Jocaur, Gorgan's skills were different. If me or Jacour hit an undead, it'd crumble to the ground. But when Gorgan hit an undead, it stayed dead: it didn't turn into ash, it just vanished. So this holy knight business isn't just lip service, huh?

It made me respect Gorgan a little, but only just a little.

So if I master my mana, I can erase the undead too? The possibility was there. But I didn't want to spend the next twenty years praying for it either.

The air kept getting more and more pungent. At one point I felt like throwing up. Although we had gotten quite deep into the forest, there wasn't any sign of a statue let alone the elves. The only noticeable thing was the overflowing undead and their groans.

I gasped. "Why can't we find anything?"

"What are you looking for exactly? Weren't you here for the elves?" Gorgan asked. He was right though. I never really made myself clear.

I spoke without thinking. I was desperate. "Yes but we needed to see the statue as well," I said.

Jocaur scratched his chin. "The statue?"

They looked at me as though I had gone mad. Maybe I was a little mad. But after going through everything I did, I couldn't really blame myself. But why would I blame me to begin with?

A groan! My focus made a triumphant return. I've heard that sound before. All my senses tinkled. My body knew something which even I didn't.

Jocaur went on. "Considering-"

I looked around. "Shush!"

It felt as though time had stopped. All I heard were some sounds of something moving rapidly through the leaves on the ground. It must be a…

Before I could process the situation a shadow appeared behind the old man. "Old man, BEHIND YOU!"

It was a goblin. Every single time I saw those things with a knife, my heart became unstable. This time wasn't an exception either. However, the old man wasn't as weak as I thought. Experience triumphed over raw strength.

"Hmph, you would have to be quieter than that if you want to get behind me." He punched the goblin with his shield and slit its throat when it fell. It groaned in agony as slowly its life drained. "And I'm not old!"

Consequently he lit the damn thing's body on fire. He was fast for an old man. If I were the man from before I'd probably have a little pity for the little critter but honestly, I didn't care anymore: I just watched it burn. My heartfelt lighter. It burnt to a crisp. The fire kept the undead around us at bay too.

But this reminded me of something. I remembered, on that fateful day, I felt attracted to the statue and it was located at the center of the forest- at least I thought that was the center. This might be worth a shot.

"I'm going to try something." I trusted my companions and closed my eyes. I focused my thoughts and… I felt it. As I hoped, there was some sort of connection between the statue and me.

"What are you doing?" Jocaur poked at my forehead.

I didn't answer. I had found the probable location of the statue.

"Found it! This way," I shouted.

I rushed in the direction my instincts led me. I didn't know what I'd do if I was wrong but I marched on anyway; it's not like there was any other clue.. Both of them followed me but they had doubts in their eyes.

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