The Return of the Cloud

Prologue- part three

Part three: The End of the Bronze Age part one

When the angry flames of the Gods cut their red scars across the skies, Aghard's family was the first in the village to witness the spectacle, and Aghard's son was the first to bring back a relic. It could not be coincidental that some days after the first fire rains, strange things had begun to occur; the behaviour of some animals had become unpredictable and violent, and some livestock had become sick and had developed mutations. The village folk seemed unaffected, except for one young child who, having been inflicted with a terrible illness and strange behaviour, had soon after died. There had been debate about whether a sacrifice to the Gods was necessary, but the villagers had decided against it, at least for now.

Emrys threw the barn door open, stepped inside, and paused briefly so that his eyes could focus on the early morning darkness. Small ghostly clouds of the boy's warm breath spilt from his excited mouth when he saw the young creature lying curled up and huddled in the straw, precisely as it had done for several days. The boy, spear in hand, stepped close and lowered himself to crouch alongside the strange animal's body. His hand slowly reached out to gently caress the scaly head, but the creature's eyes remained tightly closed. Emrys' face had twisted with disappointment when he had felt no warmth or movement from his recently found friend. The boy then ran his fingertips under a wing. He carefully lifted the limp limb, and then, just as gently, he lowered it back and slowly removed his hand. Emrys, deeply concerned for the creature's health, remained crouched and motionless. Only when a roar came from deep within the woods did he remember the importance of the morning's task. As he stood, he heard Aghard, his father, call out his name. Then, again, he listened to the distant roar. The monster's cry, now closer than yesterday, incited fear and excitement. Aghard was a large and somewhat ferocious-looking man. Although a farmer, he was a skilled hunter. Emrys had often been with his father and friends to hunt bears in the woods, but they all knew this creature was no ordinary bear.

The creature in the woods was yet another animal that had changed in the coming of the fire rains. They had to destroy the beast before it could bring its wrath to the village, but the town was small, and some males needed to stay back to protect the people should the beast enter their vicinity. Consequently, just Aghard, his brother, a large man with a much milder face, and Eric, a lean and wiry character, were the only adults available for the hunt, but his son, Emrys, at just thirteen years, was also to join them.

Before the sun rose, the three men and the boy were treading the frosty leafed pathway into the woods down towards the valley. They did not stop until they had reached the river and the cascades. In autumn, the sun would take longer than usual to rise above the hilltops, and the trek along the open river bank did not allow sufficient light for clear observation. At the waterside, the men, each with a stone axe, bow or other weapon in hand, stood in silence, waiting to hear the creature's next roar, but they only heard the cooing pigeon above and the rumbling of cold water at the nearby cascades. This part of the river was rocky terraces strewn with small boulders and fallen timbers. The surrounding hillside was steep, but the men would take an easier path to reach the place where, a few days back, on the far side of the river, Emrys' uncle had seen the animal that he described as a dark brown monstrous creature resembling a giant bear.

After their very brief wait to rest and to listen, they continued, following the course of the water upstream. They had not gone far when the familiar roar of the unknown beast stopped them in their tracks- the animal was close. Everyone waited motionlessly and silently, studying their surroundings with all their senses. Slowly, an arm was raised and pointed. All eyes stared into the depths of the foliage in the direction indicated. No one moved.

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Emrys could not see what had been spotted. He wondered what the others were seeing- were they seeing anything? As the outstretched arm was lowered, the men, very slowly, turned and, treading one slow step at a time, moved in the direction Eric had pointed. Emrys' father led the way forward. After a short distance of careful silent stepping, the party again halted, all ears and eyes searching for any signs of their prey. Nothing was seen, and nothing was heard, but Emrys had a vision that warned him of the hideous beast his uncle had told of just two days before. His uncle had described the bear as being far larger than the biggest he had ever seen, and he'd said that the animal had an enormous distorted and oversized forehead and that it had moved with an odd cumbersome gait as though limping. His uncle's expressions and body language had impressed Emrys when he heard his uncle's account of seeing the animal drinking at the water's edge. His uncle had raised his arms to show how tall the animal was at shoulder height, and he had also moved his arms in a circular fashion when describing the head. A bear hunt was always dangerous but exciting; however, after what his uncle had witnessed and described, all were exceptionally nervous on this hunt.

The never-before-seen Fire rain had caused an enormous panic and foreboding amongst the communities. A daunting thought that would remain in everyone's heads throughout the hunt was that many villagers had come to believe that the gods intended to punish them. Since the fire rain, strange occurrences had been witnessed by all, one of which was Emrys finding the tiny winged creature encompassed within a block of rock and ice.

When the next long-awaited roar came, it was very close, and it froze them all in their tracks- such a raging they had never before heard. Again, ears and eyes did their job. Again, nothing was seen or heard. The group stood, weapons at the ready, and they waited. Then, an arm rose to point. All looked in that direction to see that there was indeed something in the woods just a few hundred feet away. The thing did not move. It was dark and unclear but by its size and shape, it was very apparent that this was not an animal anyone had ever seen before. The men waited for the creature to move, and when it did so, it moved to their left, passing behind trees and shrubbery. Its shape, large as it was, became difficult to follow. The animal's shimmery dark silhouette moved behind the bushes and tall undergrowth as though it were injured. All observed the creature's movement, weapons at the ready. In the still forest darkness of the late autumn morning, to everyone's disappointment and fear, the animal was no longer visible. Heads began turning in all directions. Hearts began beating very fast.

While the waiting continued, no one moved or spoke. A short distance away, a startled pheasant cry broke the long silence, shocking everyone. The men knew the bear was now much closer. Heads very slowly turned to face in the direction of the bird's startled call. All waited. The only sounds heard were the distant gurgling river and the fluttering of leaves and branches above, disturbed by a sudden strong breeze. Then, with the breeze came the smell. Who was the predator and who was the prey had yet to be recognised.