Short Stories

The Legendary man

Dedicated to @Devote

The forest he was walking in was dark, and the branches seemed to grasp him, follow him as he went. He could see that this forest gave people the creeps, and as he pushed some branches aside, he realized that there, to some extent, was truth in the myths about Breakwood; it was indeed a scary forest. Not that he was scared, of course not. The legendary Kraig was never scared. He didn't show it, but he didn't feel it, either. It's how he got his reputation, partly.

The legendary Kraig sat down at a fallen tree, determined not to be intimidated by the forest, and took a gulp from his drinking horn. He looked round, careful not to lose his sense of direction. He'd entered the forest in the south, like he always had. He'd been looking for the centre of the forest for days now, but now that he'd found it, he didn't feel the thrill he expected to feel, just like he didn't feel fear.

The myths told terrible stories about the centre of the Breakwood, and Kraig had experienced some of them true himself. It was hard to find the centre of the forest; when you got close, you would get lost; and walk back in the direction you came from without realizing it. As soon as these myths found their way to the legendary Kraig, he knew he had to investigate himself. Of course, he knew that the myths about werewolves, vampires and witches weren't real; he'd investigated enough of those myths to deny their absence forever. But there were other stories about Breakwood, stories that crept under your skin and never left your mind again, at least not completely. It's what stopped people from entering Breakwood, and houses near the border of the forest were rare. But the legendary Kraig wasn't afraid, of course he was not. And against all odds, he'd now found the centre of all evil in these areas. He felt a lingering presence, like he was being watched. He turned on his tree, looked round, but all he saw were the branches of the trees following him as he turned, and he understood where the stories came from. The legendary Kraig shivered a bit, and left his tree, and continued in the opposite direction he came from. As he continued, the feeling of being watched continued, and the branches kept pointing at him. The trees were dark, and some were filled with leaves, while others were empty, he wasn't sure what was more unsettling. As he walked, the ground became increasingly moist, until he had to drag his feet out of the dirt before he could set his next step. Whereas he first felt one lingering presence, now it were more, and they were coming towards him from all directions. He shivered, and pushed his feet forward, trying to ignore the ground that was pulling him in, but it didn't help. With all his might, he pulled his feet up, but he only sank deeper into the dirt. He gave up, and looked round. He could feel the cold water slipping inside his shoes, and felt a slight breeze, that didn't seem to come from any side but rather blew towards him from all directions. The worst were the presences that he could see now, black mists moving towards him, forming a circle of black mist as they drew closer. The trees leaned in, the treetops pointing at him. He sank deeper into the ground, felt the cold slowly overtaking him as the black presences grew closer.

The legendary Kraig was afraid.