What Lurks in the Forest

Many years ago, mother used to warn us of the dangers in the forest and beyond the trees. What horrid things lurk in the shadows? We’ve all heard the stories of those who were never seen again once they ventured into the woods. What they don’t tell you is what happens to those that vanish without a trace. I’m here to tell you that story.

Autumn - A long time ago…

It was under a blood moon that my sister, Anya and I went into the forbidden woods. Just for a game of hide and seek. It was always my favorite. I always found the best places to hide amongst the thick bark of a weeping willow, with its feather-veined leaves hanging so elegantly to hide my own wings. We played for hours that night, but when the moon reached its lunar peak and bled red in the sky, a shrill scream came from below. We flew to the sound, our wings thrashing through the air, only to find crouched behind a large rock, a small, almost innocent looking…human.

“What’s your name, child?” I stood rashly questioning.

“S-S-Samuel,” the child responded with the softest voice. An innocent voice.

Shocked and frightened, my sister flew back home that evening, never looking back. Leaving me all alone.

Looking back at the child, I stood tall and fearsome.

“Who are you?” asked Samuel ever so quietly. Nervously.

I cocked my head and studied the child, and after a moment I responded. “I am Ravi, Dragon of the Night.”

The child looked at me and with a grin, rose from behind the rock. As he approached me, I could sense the energy surrounding the child. Pure. Powerful.

I never did see my family again after that night. I became something else instead.

Autumn - 10 years later...

It was during the Harvest Festival that Samuel came up to me and asked me to join him. He was now a young man and in charge of a whole kingdom. And I, I was his loyal Dragon. His very own protector. His very own weapon. What most people did not know of was my ability to cloak those around me. Samuel sensed it in the woods that night. He sensed my power just like I sensed his. King Samuel could change the world. He had the strength of hundreds and a fortress built of bones. Yet he feared his true power. He feared the demon that lay within him. A demon of unspeakable power. As long as a dragon lay close to him, the demon could not arise and therefore could do no harm.

As I approached King Samuel, he smiled as he raised his glass. “A toast to my good friend, Ravi!” The kingdom raised their glasses with a “Here, here,” at once before the festival commenced. “Enjoy the festivities!” yelled King Samuel over the noise of the crowd. The music played and the humans danced, but deep down I could feel the pull of King Samuel’s demon trying to break free.

As the festivities died down, King Samuel left for his bed chambers. As always I guarded his chamber doors. Sometime during the night, I heard a scream. A fearful scream much like the one I heard many years ago from a scared and nervous child. I burst through the chamber doors only to find the demon hovering above the King’s lifeless body. “No!” I shouted, the deep growl of my voice igniting the fire within me. “It cannot be! You cannot be here, for I am here with him.”

“Ah yes, Ravi, the great and powerful Dragon Protector. Foolish dragons cannot contain my power forever. I only had to wait for the most opportune time to break free from my bonds. A moment during a blood moon, you see,” the demon said so cunningly as he moved his arm towards the window. The red glow of the moon falling through the glass.

It was during this time that panic set in. His most loyal companion, the King, is dead. And his whole life was all for not.

“You can bring him back,” said the demon ever so quietly. As if it were a secret he had to whisper. Looking into Ravi’s eyes, he sighed. “You can save him in place of your own soul.” The soul of a dragon was the most powerful of souls. To give a demon his soul could mean anything for the kingdom. It could bring back the King, but at what cost, besides his life, Ravi did not know.

“You will spare his life and leave this kingdom?” asked Ravi with the most sincere yet stern tone.

The demon, perplexed, stared at Ravi, tilted his head, then said agreeably, “I will.”

“What do you get for my soul,” Ravi questioned.

“Your power,” the demon replied without delay. “I will save your precious King, and in return, will leave this Kingdom but with the power to cloak myself against those who can see through me.”

Ravi paced in the King’s chambers. He's done what he was meant to do. He has protected the human child that grew to be a wise King and a friend. He has lived a life of wonder, free from the torment of his own home. He has lived the life of a free Dragon until now that is. “Very well,” he nodded to the demon. Stepping forward, he looked up at the blood moon that hung in the night sky, thinking back to that night in the woods. As he closed his eyes, the darkness prevailed.

Autumn - A long time ago...again...

“Come on Ravi, where are you?” asked Anya looking around the woods. Stumbling over branch after branch, she searched. Ravi fell from a willow tree with a thump just as she passed under the hanging branches. “There you are! I've been looking for you for hours!” she said with a shove.

“Anya I must be had the strangest dream! There was a child here... a human child! I saw the future. He was a King! It was amazing.”

“There are no humans left in this world, Ravi, you know that,” she said with resolute affirmation, looking up at the blood moon. “Those types of dreams come from the demons that lurk in these woods. They say if you don't fall out and wake up, they take you forever.”

As the two dragons flew out of the woods, as the lunar eclipse began to fade away, a small child rose from behind a rock, with a small grin on his face as he watched the two leave. He turned back towards the woods and began to walk away just as a demon entered his body. Frozen for just a moment, he shook out his body, and looked up towards the sky, before slowly continuing into the woods. Perhaps never to be seen again. Because just like Anya had said, humans no longer reign in this world.