Prologue

Prologue

I wake up to the sound of the carriage moving forward to my home village, I open my eyes and see the same interior of the carriage I have traveled in for five days now. We will arrive today and I have been dreading this moment for a long time.

I left home to be an adventurer so I could provide for our poor little village and everyone supported me but I ended up failing miserably and wasted all the money I got from the villagers.

I felt so miserable that I stayed in the city for days sleeping on the cutters and alleys but I knew they would worry about me if I died and might even go look for me so I had to return.

Alex is sleeping on the carriage floor his bunny ears move gently as he breathes in and out. He allowed me to get on even though I was out of money so I’m very grateful for him, there aren’t many people that can make a working business in a place where your race isn’t dominant but he managed to do it and still have big enough heart to let someone else from a minority race different from his get a free ride.

I look outside and see the familiar green trees on both sides of the road, I heard from a traveler when I was in the city that it isn’t normal for trees to be completely green and he hasn’t seen any other place where the trees are green but for me it would be weird if they weren’t green.

We were closing in the village and my hands are starting to get sweaty, I wipe away the sweat and my fur smoothens out with the swipe. I take my tail in my arms and start stroking it to calm my nerves, I will have to face my home village as a failure. They had high hopes of me because of my brother, he was a genius when it came to magic and he could go to the magic capital close to the mana rupture as a teacher in the distinguished magic academy.

I was extremely proud of my brother but I always felt pressured to be something great just like my brother, that’s why I tried to become an adventurer to meet everyone’s expectation and provide for the village at the same time but the first time I encountered a beast I was supposed to slay I froze up and ran away.

I see the stockade of the village and wake up Alex, he rises and starts fixing himself up so he looks well managed even after the long journey. I take my sword and jump out of the carriage and walk along side of it to the gate.

The gate keeper comes and opens the gate and notices me, he spreads a wide smile and gets excited.

“Hey Rode, did you come back to gloat about your achievements? Hey guys Rode is back!”

I was expecting this but it still hurts a lot, I run up to him, grab his shoulder and look down.

“Oh, sorry, well you´re back in one piece and that’s all that matters. You can go home and rest I can tell the villagers and don’t worry about it, you did your best.”

I felt glad that he was so understanding but when he said I did my best it stung my heart and made me remember the feeling of helplessness I felt when I encountered the beast for the first time.

I walk back to my home with my head down, I pass few villagers on my way but they understood when they saw me looking so dejected that I had failed and didn’t say anything to me.

I almost feel like it would be better if they yelled at me or called me a failure, I don’t deserve this amount of understanding and kindness. I reach my home and I open the door, mom is in the kitchen on the right making food as I step inside.

“How are you home so early? Shouldn’t you still be out hunting?”

“Hey mum, it’s me.”

“What? I am so glad you´re back.”

She ran to hug me and hold me tight.

“I was so worried about you. The city is a dangerous place already but working as an adventurer is close to insanity.”

“I won’t be working as an adventurer anymore so you don’t have to worry about me.”

“that’s good, it is much safer here anyways. Are you hungry the food is almost ready.”

“I will eat later, I just want to be alone for a while.”

I climb the ladder to the attic room where we lived with my brother for years, I lie down on the bed and close my eyes. I think about the things I’ll have to go through from now on, especially from Susan.

Susan is my childhood friend and the daughter of the village head. She was always crude and did things before thinking, she wanted to come with me but she was forbidden from leaving as she was a year younger than me. She even told me when I left that I better not chicken out and come back tail between my legs.

“Oi, you bastard, I heard that you gave up already.”

Ugh, speak of the devil. I turn and see the Susan, the same old black tail and ears but rest of the fur is reddish orange. Her family line always has people born with black tail and ears for some reason, the rest of our race all have reddish orange fur all over.

“What are you just laying-down there, come on and explain yourself. You were supposed to wait there for me so we could be adventurers together.”

I turn around and see her looking angry and sad.

“I am sorry, I couldn’t do it.”

“Fine, I guess we will have to live our lives in the village then.”

“You can still go to be an adventurer if you want to, you are much more suited to it than me anyways.”

“I swear you´re so dense sometimes.”

Dense? But what I said was true. I don’t really get her sometimes. There is a knock on the door as I was wondering what she meant. A little girl comes in, she has black ears and a tail too, it is Susan’s little sister.

“There is an emergency, daddy said to get you guys and quickly.”

I stand up as Susan asks what kind of emergency from Susie.

“A beast is approaching the village.”

I feel myself tensing up, do I have to try to fight a beast again? The fear is making me freeze up and I can’t think rationally, what should I do?

“Hey, snap out of it. We must go see the village head. Take your sword with you, I have a feeling we are going to need it.”

I grab my sword and we run outside of the house, outside is in complete chaos as people are running around and look like they are lost. We run to the village heads house that is at the back of the village.

There is a large group of people gathered there and at the middle of it there is the village head, we walk through the group to talk to him.

“Father, what is happening? What kind of a beast is coming this way?”

“The lookout said it is a huge snake like creature that is moving in rapidly this way, it won’t be long until it will reach this village. Rode do you know anything about this beast?”

Do I know it? How could I not. It was the most dangerous being in this area that can’t use magic, it was said that you need at least thirty experienced adventurers to bring it down safely and it needs special kind of weapons to pierce its skin or it is useless to fight against it.

“Yeah, I know it and I have some grave news, we have almost no chance of killing it and running away is impossible. Hiding isn’t an option either, it can sense living beings from far away.”

The group around of me started to panic even more and some screamed things like “Were all going to die.”.

“Calm down people, we are in a dire situation but panicking isn’t going to help. As you heard from Rode our chances of survival are slim but there is a chance, we can try to kill it before it kills us.”

“But I said it is nearly impossible to kill it.”

“Nearly impossible isn’t impossible, it is our only chance anyways so we have to try it. All right everyone, go around the village to spread the word, have everyone arm up with anything they can find and come back here to prepare for the fight.”

The group scatters quickly and we three are left alone.

“horrible time to come back here wasn’t it.” The village head says while laughing out loud.

“I wouldn’t have wanted to come back to an empty village, this was much better.”

“Guess you are right, your father already went back to you house so you don’t have to worry about them. I will go get my equipment so I’ll be ready, see you in a bit.”

“I will go get my sister.”

I was left there standing alone, I felt surprisingly calm with everything that’s happening. I just stood there calmly as people started to gather around me.

I heard the talking to each other but I couldn’t make out the words they were saying, I just stood there calmly.

“Hey Rode, snap out of it!”

I feel someone shaking me and I look at what is happening. I see the village head shaking me and shouting at me. How did I not see him come back?

“Hey, when did you come back?”

“Moment ago, people have been trying to talk to you but you just stood there unresponsive.”

“Oh, sorry, didn’t notice.”

“Pull yourself together, this is no time to daydream.”

I feel something warm and soft cling on to my leg. I look down and see Susie hugging my leg teary eyed. I look up and see Susan behind her. She has a pitchfork in her right hand. I hear a sound of a horn blowing, I look up and see the lookout blowing on a horn.

“It is time to fight for our survival. May you have luck on your side.”

With the last words from the village head everyone quieted down and prepared to fight, we started to hear a sound of trees cracking and falling. Then we saw the top of the snake over the stockade and within seconds it busted through it without slowing down speed at all.

I could only stand there frozen in place as I saw the huge snake mowing down my kin like they were nothing. The villagers were shouting some war cries as they advanced toward the snake but most were eaten before they could do anything. The lucky few who get to hit the snake got their spirits dampened as they couldn’t even dent the skin before they got eaten.

The snake slithered through the village destroying and eating everything in its path, then it turned around and headed towards us. I only watched as the snake headed towards me, I couldn’t even think about moving or fighting it.

“Hey stupid.”

I turn to see who said that.

Susan kisses me on the mouth, it surprises me so much that my mind goes completely blank.

“I love you.” She says with a smile on her face as she pushes me away.

I fall on the ground and see Susan disappearing inside the snake that moves past me.

“Susan!” I yell while crying.

I stand up and take my sword from the ground, there is no one else around except me as the snake turns toward me. I can feel the presence of the snake as it looks directly at me as it starts to move again. I prepare myself to die and I start running toward the snake.

The snake comes at me with an open my mouth and I keep running towards it. When we are about to crash I jump up and thrust my sword upwards in the snake’s mouth. I feel the snakes tooth pierce me through my body and I feel my sword go through his head.

The snake stops moving and I can’t move. The pain is unimaginable as my mind starts to fade away. I see something moving in the corner of my eye so I use my last strength to look there.

I see Susie coming from behind the village heads house, my vision gets hazy, I am glad I was able to save someone.