Bound By Magic: The Nagas Curse

Chapter 1. Nightmare of the Past

The night air was fresh and clear, and the forest was prowling with the creatures of the night. Owls flew overhead through the tree's thick branches, the florescent green leaves rustled softly from the wind beneath their strong wings.

The stars glowed dimly, as did the moon, but the glowing and brightly coloured flora lit up the forest enough for the naked eye to see. Fireflies streaked through the trees like a trail of yellow lanterns. Crickets sounded and a wolf howled in the distance.

We quietly wandered through the forest, bow in hand in search for our prey. Excitement flooded through my veins. Tonight, father was finally bringing me along with him and he had decided that I was ready for my first hunt.

My eyes searched through the clusters of trees and along the forest floor in anticipation. I wonder what animal it will be. Hopefully not a wolf, I think to myself, envisioning the blade like teeth, razor sharp claws and bold merciless eyes. I shudder at the possibilities that such a dangerous beast could bring.

I turned to my father Draenik, whilst fidgeting with the bow string. He stared ahead, sapphire blue eyes scouring the semidarkness, his wispy white hair clouding his expression. With his midnight blue skin he would've blended perfectly in the shadows, but the lighting of the flora outlined his rugged features, his form exposed to the light.

I tapped his shoulder, gaining his attention. His gaze flickered to me, "what's the matter Alavara?" I gestured to the unending forest ahead of us, "how much further do we have till we . . ." Father held his hand up to silence me, placed a finger to his lips and pulled me behind the large shrubbery.

Before I could ask questions, he pointed ahead. Following his finger I spotted a long lithe form padding into my line of sight. As it passed the glowing plantation, it's outline became clearer.

The creature was a black panther, muscular and powerful but possessing a deadly grace that flowed through every movement. It's tail swayed back and forth as it's bright yellow eyes searched the area.

I looked to father, who stared at the creature in bewilderment. "Panthers are a rare sight within these woods, especially strong and healthy ones," he whispered to me. "Revel in the sight while you can child, not many get to see such a magnificent creature like this," he sighed softly in disappointment. "As much as it's life could be spared, what needs to be done must be done, least we wish to starve ourselves." He nodded in it's direction, "it's all yours."

With a slight intake of breath, I held my bow at the ready and reached behind my back to grasp an arrow in the quiver. Feeling the fletching  between my fingers, I nocked the arrow and held the bow firm with my elbow slightly bent, as my father had taught me. I slowly pulled back the bow string, looked at my target and released the breath I hadn't realised I had been holding.

I prepared to let the arrow fly, but suddenly the panther whipped it's head around and it's large bright eyes seemed to stare straight through the bushes and directly at me. I hesitated and lowered the bow a notch as I looked at the magnificent creature. I couldn't possibly kill it, even if it were for food, even if it were a predator that could rip me to shreds in the blink of an eye, there was no way that I could kill this beast.

A slight rustle of leaves could be heard in the nearby trees, alerting the panther. It's ears pricked up as it's head turned sharply in that direction. The panther stood still and sniffed the air. With lips pulled back revealing sharp teeth, a low rumbling growl emanated from it's throat and it's ears flattened back against it's skull. It crouched down as though ready to pounce, it's tail swished aggressively from behind.

Within the blink of an eye, an arrow flew down from the shadows and struck the panther in the chest, piercing it's thick hide and straight through it's beating heart. With a faint whimper, the once glorious black panther fell to the ground, dead.