Elænbrook: Book One, The Shadow of Møthgaan

Chapter Two: Altercation of Two Force

Chapter Two:

Altercation of Two Forces

Meanwhile, after managing to elude the group, Hardyn had ventured deeper into the woodland. Moving through the thick brush, branches scraping against his face, became like daggers as they swatted at his cheeks from swinging back with full force, clipping the left side of his cheekbone. Wincing at the stinging sensation developing upon his left cheek, Hardyn kept his hopes high on escaping.
"I have to get home; I have to get home." He muttered to himself, under his breath, repeating the line as small huffs of cold condensed air started to produce. Noticing the temperature was beginning to drop, and light was becoming scarce, Hardyn made a harrowing discovery; He was lost. Now in panic, Hardyn soon heard the crashing crescendo of stamping boots filling the night air. Shortly following the scattered footfalls, came obscenities and fits of rageful spouts. Hardyn could only guess at who this might be, instantly thinking only of Grenard.
"Where are you HARDYN!!!" Grenard roared, spit flying from his mouth as he followed Hardyn's noticeable trail.
Realizing Grenard is a sentient mass of lard and muscle, he somehow managed to catch up with Hardyn, and faster than he anticipated. For such a hefty set young man, Grenard could maneuver throughout these woods, just as well, if not better than Hardyn.
Mustering up the courage to stand his ground, Hardyn quickly turned in the direction of Grenard's voice, understanding that escape was no longer an option.
Yelling, giving away his position, Hardyn made himself known to Grenard. "I'M RIGHT HERE, FAT SACK OF TEROW SHI-." Cut off abruptly by a flying stick, striking him in his lower chin, Hardyn fell to the ground slightly dazed.
Grenard, having thrown the stick during his retaliatory cry, came rushing at Hardyn as droplets of crimson blood welled up from his busted lip. Visible only by the fragments of light that the canopy did not consume, so far into the deep, fog filled woods.
As Hardyn regained his composure, he staggered backward still dazed from the blow, finding his footing upon a cedar tree. He couldn't help but look up from the ground as he came into view of Grenard coming at him in full swing. Swinging fast and true, Grenard's oversized fist came crashing into Hardyn's jaw. Taking the first blow of many to come, Hardyn felt as if his jaw was dislodged, barely hanging by a thread. Adrenaline, coursing through Hardyn's veins, forced his eyes wide open as he unleashed his fury upon Grenard like a rabid dog. As they fought, blows slamming into ribcages, knees careening toward abdomens, Hardyn managed to connect a solid right hook into Grenard's face, following up with a body shot­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­, then a kick to the gut, trying to push Grenard away from him.
Grenard stumbled, his shirt tearing as he fell, hitting the debris and grass covered ground.
"Lucky hit-." Grenard spat, wiping blood from his bottom lip as Hardyn did the same. Both catching their breath in the small reprieve.
"-but that's the only one you'll GET!" Leaping faster than Hardyn expected, catching him completely off guard, Grenard tackled, ramming his left shoulder hard into his gut, sending them both tumbling and rolling in a ball of flying fists and elbows. In the tussle, Hardyn managed to roll Grenard onto his back, pinning his arms with his knees as he began wailing on Grenard, throwing a solid four punch combo directly into his mouth and nose. Hardyn felt a direct break from Grenard's nose from his last strike, also splitting his lip open even more.
Knocked unconscious, albeit temporarily from the impact upon his nose, Grenard's eyes rolled to the back of his head as his eyes slowly shut- sleep. 'The busted lip and broken nose should be enough to keep him down.' Hardyn thought as he kept his weight upon Grenard, ready to swing again if the slumbering giant awoke. Seeing the twinkling, floating lights that come with being addled, Grenard shook his head, shaking off the haze of unconsciousness almost immediately.
Noticing Grenard coming to, Hardyn quickly reared his left fist back, about to swing wide, hopefully knocking Grenard out again, but before he was able to do so, Grenard countered by reaching upward, grabbing at Hardyn's collar, pulling him in close, while shoving his foot into Hardyn's gut, half rolling back, and with the rolling momentum, Grenard then rolled forward, kicking outward, launching Hardyn off backward, rolling and tumbling along the ground, landing on his side as he gasped for air; the wind knocked out of him.
Grenard rose to his feet, looking to Hardyn with hateful intent. His straight blonde hair now frayed and tousled from the fight, covered his bright blue eyes from view but did not hinder his sight as he locked his eyes on Hardyn. Feeling his gaze upon him, it was strong enough to send a shivering chill up Hardyn's spine. Placing his off hand upon the ground, lifting himself onto all fours, feeling the heaviness of Grenard's hatred for him, making it that much harder for Hardyn to rise to a standing position.
"You'll pay for that Hardyn!" Grenard spat. Hardyn's hands began hastily searching for anything to put the fight on even standing. A rock, stick, hell even a twig would do. Something, anything to even the odds. Grenard was approaching fast, covering ground in large strides, intent on hurting Hardyn beyond repair festering deep within his soul.
Managing to find the hefty branch Grenard had thrown at Hardyn earlier, he frantically grabbed at the club like stick, leaning over, and as Grenard came rushing in with a full stride kick aimed right at Hardyn's face. Hardyn managed to dodge, pirouetting to the side of the strike, rolling along the back of the now falling Grenard, using the full momentum and weight of the roll, Hardyn delivered a powerful strike to the bridge of Grenard's nose, fracturing it beyond repair.
Grenard now was out like a light. Hardyn immediately fell to his knees after the blow struck true. Dumbfounded and in awe of himself, Hardyn stared at Grenard's unconscious body for a few moments, dropping the branch at his knees, letting out a worried gasp. Not a single breath produced from Grenard at that moment, sending shock and panic into Hardyn's mind. Instantly he snapped from his worried state, rushing to Grenard's side.
Grenard laid flat on his face as Hardyn struggled to roll him over onto his back. As he flipped Grenard over, Hardyn took instant notice in the bloody mess that now was Grenard's face. Groaning as he was flipped over, Grenard breathes in and out as a slight wheezing sound emitted from his coagulated nostrils. Hardyn sighs a reluctant sigh of relief, wiping at this brow, muttering to himself as he sat there catching his breath steadily. "Oh, thank goodness, I thought I killed the thick-headed oaf." Glad that Grenard was okay, and not close to six feet under from his impressive strike. Hardyn began looking around after taking a moment to catch his breath and gather himself, getting into more of a kneeling crouch as he took in his surroundings. Judging by the looks of the forest, he could tell he wasn't more than half a mile or so out from the main border of Brittle-Hollow and taking note of the tell-tale signs from the underbrush and foliage, along with the aroma of the Gottard countryside, he estimated he now was close to the Terow Ranch in Brittle-Hollow, off to the East of Gottard.
'Okay, if I'm not mistaken there should be a shortcut around here, I think.' Hardyn thought, now standing, moving with great haste, left Grenard all alone within the woodland; defenseless as he unconsciously slept.
Sniffing into the air, closing his eyes, his nose filled with the smells of livestock, berries, and smoke from a fireplace, coming only a few miles from where he stood. Happening upon a small trail, only a few yards from the scuffle he just came from, he grinned, happy that he found the shortcut, but noticed it looked to be more out of the way than he intended, and was dense with overgrown flora, though a shortcut, nonetheless. Heading down the trail to the West should bring him to Old Man Presh's Wheat farm, just outside of Gottard.
Starting his way down the trail, Hardyn kept a brisk steady pace, in both mild fear that Grenard might come to and give chase again, and for his need to return home before his mother, Elcena Vastrow, begins to worry. By the break of dawn if he hasn't made it home, Elcena would go to each door of each house in Gottard, asking everyone to please keep an out for her son, and if they wouldn't mind letting him know it's well past curfew. Trotting along the path, his head in the clouds, letting his eyes wander from the trail, Hardyn's foot caught upon a rather large rock, tripping him, sending him slamming right onto his face. Wounding his already, what felt like a broken jaw, even more, Hardyn exclaimed loudly as he turned to look at the object that caused him so much pain.
"What the-" The rock, or what Hardyn believed to be a rock, looked to be instead a large egg-shaped.... Thing. That was all Hardyn could think as he soon became mesmerized by the egg like shell, covered in pearlescent scales that shone even in the darkness of the forest, absorbing the moonlight as it radiated outward with bioluminescence. He gawked at it, the egg, in a strange kind of reverence, held some greater mystery as it majestically illuminated a bright vibrant white light that almost blinded Hardyn.
The light soon dimmed, piquing his curiosity even more as he inched closer toward it, studying the scales and what might be causing them to refract light like they do. Studying it further, getting dangerously close, Hardyn soon saw the heat waves producing from the egg's outer exterior. Powerful ones at that as the lines were visible even in the dead of night. Though the egg visibly was burning with the intensity of freshly being forged from the fires of Aunthra the Mountain of Eternal Flame, he did not feel any rise of temperature in the air, nor did he see any scorching of the ground, no signs of fire of any kind.
Finding this more peculiar than visible heat waves, Hardyn thought to himself that this egg must be otherworldly. Curious as to how it might feel, reaching cautiously, he spreads out and clasps his fingers around the top and bottom of the egg gingerly. Upon the very slightest touch, winds stirred and blew overhead in the treetops, carrying with them whispers through the trees. For a moment, Hardyn was sure he had heard his name being called out in the ambience of the wind's gale.
Observing it, turning it over, getting a much better grasp on its detail, Hardyn examined the object closely. Suddenly, in an instant the egg begins emitting a scalding heat, branding his right hand, before he dropped it. Not from the scalding heat that scorched his right hand, but from the sheer lack thereof. Hardyn realized that the pain seemed to subside almost as quick as it came. Rolling, landing upon the ground in grass dampening thuds, a yard away from Hardyn. As if drawn to Hardyn, the egg rolled towards him, gradually inching closer toward him as it stopped right at his feet in a dead clam.
Looking upon his, what he thought to be scalded with flash burn marks hand, he noticed instead there was now an imprint that formed upon his palm from the egg. Depicting a burning star, surrounded by a blazing ring of fire and light, like wreathed in Holy Flames.
"What in the-." Hardyn questioned. "My night couldn't get any better, right?" He scoffed sarcastically, in jest, trying to come to terms with the unexpected and unfathomable turn of events. Unable to wrap his head around an excuse to give to his mother about his black eye, torn clothes, bloodied lip, and especially the marking he now carries upon his right hand, he did not notice that at that moment the marking began producing a shimmering dim glow of light in the creeping darkness that settled in near midnight.
As he stood there, keeping his eyes locked on the egg, he noticed the object slightly jolted at his feet, twitching, vibrating softly. Suddenly it stopped, completely still before violently shaking and vibrating, to and fro, when suddenly...
.... It cracked, the full shell fracturing all over but holding its shape as steam and heat hissed outward from the cracked fissure, embers sparking on the outside layer of the object, and from inside the fissure, a bright sky-blue eye peered out from the innards of the egg. Quite obviously, it was an egg of some sort, but not an egg he had ever seen before. No egg, especially the dozens he has seen before, nor heard of an egg that left a slight painful brand on a person's hand after grasping it. Now curious as to what this creature might be peaking its eyes from the smokey haze, Hardyn leaned over after getting on his hands and knees, peering closer in for better look at what it might be. In an instant the smoke cleared as the egg, in a flash evaporated into a mysterious silver dust, that when the moonlight hit it just right, it soon shaded into a wide spectrum of hues and colors.
Now in plain sight, catching Hardyn off guard, making him jump and back up slightly, was a horned dragon, with pearl luminescent scales, no bigger than a medium sized dog, or rather large cat. Newborn, and juvenile, the creature wobbled as it tried to stand, after laying down from hatching. Confident and proud, the tender hatchling wobbled more, now sure of its footing on the debris, and woodland litter covered ground. Stamping its front claws excitedly, and unfurling its sleek, pearl scale covered wings, the hatchling began to hop and bound around, circling Hardyn in an excited display. Shaking its head, the hatchling growled in a gleeful manner, as if trying to communicate with Hardyn, and it approached Hardyn swiftly, catching the young man off guard.
"Wha- Ho- What in Elysium's name...?!" Hardyn stammered. Flabbergasted, and jaw dropping in awe, He watched the hatchling with cautious curiosity. Leaping forward, and startling Hardyn from his confused, and clouded state, the Hatchling slammed into the boy, knocking him backward, onto his backside, his gaze now locked on the night sky. The Hatchling sat on Hardyn's chest, and looked at Hardyn intently, silent and extremely curious.
"What do you want?" Hardyn asked, sitting up on his elbows, making the Hatchling slide into his lap.
The Hatchling cocked its head, letting out a high-pitched gleeful cry, squawking and chittering as it finished it's (in what Hardyn could only guess as communication) statement.
"Can you please get off me?" Hardyn calmly asked, sitting up more, and readjusting his position. The Hatchling cooed, and rubbed its head on Hardyn's shirt, purring in a deep, reptilian rumble. It turned away from Hardyn and hopped off his abdomen in a swift jump, making Hardyn wince and gasp in pain.
The Hatchling slinked into a regal looking resting seat, looking up at Hardyn with its breathtaking eyes, shimmering like sapphires in the early morning moonlight.
It was getting late, too late for Hardyn to stay out any longer, and he slowly stood up, dusting his pants and upper body off as he did.
"Well. Dragon. I must head to the hearth. You...stay here. I'll be back in the morning, before the sun fully rises into the sky." Hardyn said, assuming the creature could understand him, after it quickly responded to him only moments ago.
The Hatchling seemed to huff, and growl in reluctant acceptance, curling up into a resting position, folding its wings closer to its resting body.
Hardyn slowly began to turn around and walk away, but his act was soon broken the further away he walked. His heart was pounding out of his chest, and each beat felt like a slamming hammer. He wasn't afraid, in fact quite the opposite. He was beyond ecstatic and could barely hold in his joy. It wasn't everyday that a young boy narrowly escapes a brutal fight and finds a dragon hatchling.
Breaking into a full-fledged sprint, wanting to get home as fast as possible, Hardyn flew down the shortcut, and off into the shadowed path that led to the outskirts of Gottard.