Fantasy Fiction Challenge

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. At least that’s what Arulo cu Ceso was told. Nasty, vile things. He didn’t remember a time when the dreadful beasts didn’t roam the Pale Forest.

There was a full moon tonight, and its light shone down on the trees, turning the wood a ghostly white. The Moonwood is brighter than usual, Arulo thought as he crouched behind one of the thick trunks and watched his target.

This one was hunched over its most recent kill, a large brown bear. The dragon's spine was exposed and as pale as the forest. It curved outward and formed a row of spikes that ran down it's back where it ended in a long, skeletal tail that swept back and forth. Razor-sharp teeth tore through the carcass’s hide, like a knife through warm butter. Dark venom dripped from its tongue and mixed with the bear’s blood. It smeared the dragon’s snout and blackened its golden scales.

“How did they get here?” Arulo recalled asking his mother, Telsi, years ago. He was only thirteen, and he had just slain his first “begne”, as the Felufi called them.

Well, he hadn’t done it alone. There weren’t many who could. His mother helped. And the entire hunting party. Comprised of nine others the same age and their fathers, the whole group totaled twenty.

“They were given to us by Emuned,” Telsi said. “As a way to challenge us. Emuned is Master of the Hunt, and he sent the begne to Plel Jal”.

Arulo wasn’t sure he believed it was Emuned who brought the begne to the Pale Forest. He wasn’t even sure Emuned was real. But none of that mattered right now.

Right now, the only thing that mattered was making sure his arrow hit its mark. He needed this kill. For Dresi. Begne teeth went for a copper penny each, but he could bring in a silver farthing for every three scales. The trouble was carrying them. They were heavy, and even the strongest hunters couldn’t manage to haul in more than ten at a time. He would just have to carry what he could.

He slowly retrieved an arrow from its quiver and notched it. He took a deep breath in, raised his bow, and pulled back on the string. He pointed the arrow straight at the thorny demon in front of him, and then closed his eyes. Still holding his breath, Arulo stood still as a stone.

Half a minute passed, and he continued to stand, unmoving. A full minute went by. Then two. Three minutes and then... He found it. The creature’s heartbeat.

All other noises faded into the background and Arulo heard the steady drumbeat of the thick muscle as if it were inches in front of him. The sound echoed through the begne’s chest wall, reverberated off the trees, and fell deep into Arulo’s ears. He listened until he had its exact location.

He would only get one shot at this. Though the monster’s underside had no scales, it was still near impenetrable. Anything but a direct hit would either break against the tough skin or simply glance off to the side.

He opened his eyes and released the arrow. As he did, something bumped into his back leg and threw off his aim. The arrow went off course, hit the begne on the side of its neck, and bounced off like a tiny twig thrown at the walls of a stone fortress.

Arulo spun around and was face to face with a mountain of a bear. Larger than the dragon, it dwarfed Arulo, even on all fours. Before the hunter could react, the earth-shattering roar from the begne shook the ground beneath him.

Arulo dove to the right with only seconds to spare. The begne crouched on all fours and launched itself like a spear through the trees. It crashed with a thud into the bear and two went tumbling head over heels down the side of the mountain.

Black fur and golden scales were tangled and tossed for almost thirty feet. They crashed into several trees before coming to a hard landing at the edge of a river. The roars from both creatures filled the night air as a dangerous battle ensued.

The begne was on its feet first and it tore into the bear’s side with a quick swipe of its claw. But the gigantic mammal wasn’t giving up that easily. It bellowed loudly in the begne’s face and rose tall on its hind legs. It stood almost fifteen feet and towered over the reptile.

The begne tried to bite at the bear's midsection, but the bear came crashing down on the begne’s neck, shoving its gaping maw into the water below. The begne was in a vulnerable position and the bear seized the opportunity.

With a powerful lunge, it sank its teeth into the begne’s throat. Black ooze and blood poured out of the vile creature's wound. It hissed and thrashed, but the bear wasn’t letting go. The bear bit down again, harder this time, and gave the begne a violent shake.

A loud crack filled the air just as Arulo made it down to the river. At first, he thought it was the sound of a trunk of Moonwood snapping, but when he saw the begne limp in the jaws of the massive bear, he realized it was the creature’s neck.

For a moment, Arulo and the bear eyed each other, neither of them moving. The animal’s breathing was labored, and its side was wet with fresh blood still oozing from the gashes made by the begne.

Arulo could hear its heart beating loudly. It thumped in his ears and filled the space around him. Suddenly, the bear opened its mouth, dropped the begne, and charged Arulo.

For a creature so large, it was surprisingly fast. But Arulo was quicker. He grabbed hold of a low-hanging branch and swung himself high into the air, just out of the bear’s reach. In one swift motion, he vaulted forward and landed behind the bear.

“Felle cuos!” Arulo yelled. “I curse you, you giant beast.” Amused, the bear turned to face Arulo. It appeared to be smiling and it let out several gruff growls that sounded damn near close to laughter.

“Oh, you think this is funny?” Arulo said. “I had him you know. At least until you messed it up.” The bear growled again and slowly walked over to Arulo. When he got close enough, he placed his large head on Arulo’s shoulder.

The hunter grabbed the bear’s face and leaned in for a warm embrace. The bear was old and had several scars running along its face, the largest across its left eye. Up close, its fur was a dark shade of blue rather than black. “Good to see you, Tibrathorn,” Arulo said. “But, seriously, I had him. And get back. Your breath reeks of death.”

Tibrathron snorted, raised his head, and let out a few more playful growls. “How is it that I can hear all things except for you?” Arulo asked, giving his friend a shove. “One of the biggest creatures in the Valley, yet you always manage to sneak up on me. One day, that will change.”

The bear returned the gesture with a push of his own. Using his snout, he nudged Arulo on the back, causing the hunter to fall forward. But Arulo was nimble, and he rolled onto his right shoulder and stood to his feet in one graceful motion.

“Nice try,” he said with a smile. “But you’ll have to do better than that. Enough games, I have to get the scales from that thing.” He pulled out a long knife and pointed at the begne.

The curved blade was slender and as black as the night sky. In sharp contrast, the thick, bone handle was a perfect match for the begne’s tail. Arulo quickly climbed onto the begne’s back and started removing the golden scales.

He started with the larger ones on the upper back, in the middle near the spine. Thrusting the blade under one of the scales at an angle, he felt it dig deep into the begne’s flesh. He drove the steel in deeper until the handle was all that could be seen.

He gave the knife a couple of twists and tugs and after a few grunts, he felt the scale move. “The first one is always the hardest, Tib,” he said to his large friend as he continued working on the scale. The bear was distracted, however, as it used a sharp claw to tear open the begne’s belly and feasted on its organs.

It took Arulo nearly thirty minutes to loosen the scale, but it finally broke free. It was as long as the length of his arm. The underside was smooth and dripped wet with begne blood, but the top was rough and full of small thorns, threatening to cut anyone who took hold of it.

He used both hands to lift it from the bottom, and as he held it, the golden scale glowed brightly in the moonlight. “It’s hard to believe something so beautiful comes from such an ugly creature,” he said as he carefully placed it in his pack. He turned back to the dead beast beneath him and let out a sigh. “Five more to go,” he said.

Harvesting the scales went faster after he got the first one, but it still took Arulo over an hour to get five more golden scales free from the begne’s hide. When he had finished, he slipped his arms through the straps of his pack, made sure it was secure, and slid down the creature’s side.

He took a minute to make a note of his surroundings. The begne weren’t the only monsters in Plel Jal so there wasn’t much of a chance that the body would still be there the next day, but he would come back and check, just in case. More scales meant more coin. And his family could use all they could get.

He made his way to the other side of the begne to find Tib sleeping. “Cuse, you lazy beast,” he joked as he shook the bear. “Wake up.” Tibrathorn opened one of his eyes and growled at Arulo. “I got the scales, let’s go.” The bear sluggishly stood on all fours, opened its mouth in a big yawn, and let out a loud growl in Arulo’s face.

“Cuos du dinben,” the hunter said as he placed his hand in front of his face. “You’re disgusting”. He turned away from the bear and faced his kill. “One more thing before we go.”

His mind flashed back to the night of his first kill. “We are Felufen,” Telsi said. “And Emuned has given us the gift to be hunters. But you must learn to respect the hunt, or Emuned will take your gifts away. Do you understand?”

He didn’t, but he wasn’t going to argue with his mother. “Yes,” he said. “I understand.”

“Good,” Telsi said. “Now, place your hand on your kill.” She took his hand in hers and together they placed their hand on the begne’s rubbery belly. “Edi ben ned,” Telsi recited.

Standing there in the moonlight, Tibrathorn panting beside him, Arulo repeated the phrase. “Edi ben ned.” He paused for a moment and shed a tear for his mother. Wiping it from his eyes, he turned away from the begne and stared down the river into the forest.

“Alright, old friend,” he said. “Let’s go home.”