The Call

Chapter 3

Slowly my head craned towards the stranger who seemed to have appeared from the air. If my father was tall, this man was a giant. He stood a head taller than my own considerable height. His chest was wide, his arms and legs thick with muscle. Draped over his head and shoulders hung a shawl that appeared to be made of moss. His large beard was dirty with leaves and sticks. And sprouting from the top of his head were two massive antlers like that of a stag.

But the thing that drew my attention were his eyes. They stared forward as if there was nothing in the world but what was directly in front of him. And they were changing. Snake, wolf, owl. With every blink and pass of sunlight they resembled a new animals.

Noticing my stare he slowly turned, his face a tight grimace.

"Who are you?" I stuttered as he continued to stare me down.
"I am the rock. The tree, The moss. The stream. I am the howl of the wolf, and I am the call of each deer. I am the Forest, boy."
My heart gave a hard thump in my chest as the last words passed his lips. I was in the presence of a god.

"Far from home, are you not, God of Forests?" I shakily sputtered with a false smile and desperate courtesy.

"Culling, boy." His face was a mask. Unchanging as he spoke. "Ripping the weed before it has time to grow."

"You can't possibly mean to kill me?" My eyes widened in panic and my voice squeaked slightly. The antlered god stopped as I spoke, folding his arms across his chest.

"Step from the path, Kieran. Do not make this more difficult than it must be."

My mind was an untamed horse, thought after thought racing by in a desperate attempt to escape this god. I had no hopes of fight, and given how swiftly he appeared I was certain I couldn't run.

The thoughts were cut short as he lunged forward suddenly, his arms reaching out to grab me. I stepped just out of reach preparing to fight back as best I could until I realized his pause.

His gaze was shifted downward at the road in front of him. His formerly stoic expression giving way to something new. Disgust. And like a jolt a memory came.

My mother told me many a story of the Gods. Of their wrath and blessings. Of Struggle planting the seeds of humanity. Of Life and Death's sibling rivalry. Of Mountain and Ocean's endless, petty argument. And of course of Forests utter hatred of all things made by man.

"Step off the path, boy." He commanded, his brows knitting deeper. His shoulders began to rise and fall in a more exaggerated pace and the rage in his voice was barely contained.

"No."My voice said. Displaying a higher confidence than my shaking limbs.

Slowly the deity's eyes raised to meet mine. His fist began to clench and unclench before he let out a loud roar.

"Do not test me, human. You think you are safe? The beasts are at my beck and call. And I do not mean something so minor as a wolf. But great monsters. Powerful creatures capable of crunching the bones of foolhardy men."He began to pace wildly as his words came forth in a growl. "And when you reach the land of my kin? What then, Kieran? No roads mark those woods. There will be no where for you to cower."

Slowly I straightened my back and allowed a deep breath of air to fill my lungs. I am the son of Henryk the bull stopper. I turned towards the road ahead, ignoring the hatred emanating from the Forest god. And I once again began to walk.

"Is it insanity that guides your feet? Stupidity?Fear? Perhaps some demon has possessed you? Surely you would not dare to insult me in clear mind." He spit towards the ground in front of me, a spider scurrying from where it landed. But still I pressed on.

"Father's laurels put a fire in your belly? Tell me does the darkness of his shadow keep you cool in the Summer? Do you think because farmer's and their wives know his name that you have the power to stand to a God?" My fist tightened and my brow knitted at his goading. But still I pressed on.

"I'll have no need of my great beasts for one such as you. You won't survive a night without the comfort of hearth and home, and a mother's care. You are weak, boy. My crows and vultures will feed on you long before the wolves do." And in that moment I stopped, slowly turning to him.

"Please make sure to remind me of this conversation when I'm standing in your home. I'll wear your beasts for Winter,  and I'll burn your trees to cook your crows." Standing just outside of his lengthy reach, I spit back at him. My eyebrows pressed together, my hands steady.

His teeth barred and his eyes became that of a cats,"Insanity it is then. As you wish, son of Henryk."

Stepping backwards he quickly disappeared into the thick green of the foliage. No sign remained that he'd ever even visited, and the feelings of being watched from my previous dream began to creep up my neck.

Night would come soon, and I was long from the next town. The idea of camping after my recent encounter filled me with dread, but the weariness of walking was setting in. The road would protect me from the god himself, but would do nothing to the creatures at his command.

Regret at not bringing a weapon set in as I began to consider my defenses. I had not even thought to bring a knife, with all the purpose it could serve. Hopefully anything that desired to attack me preferred to wrestle as that was the only means of defense I had any access to.

Sighing I picked up my pace. The only plan I could potentially see succeeding was to make it to town. I'd be foregoing rest, but I couldn't risk stopping. And so I began a desperate race with the fading light.

Hours passed in moments, the sun seeming to desire my death as it sank towards the horizon. The moon, an image I had gazed on in peaceful meditation many nights, hung like one of the forest many eyes in the twilight sky.

My legs began to burn as I started to jog. My breath became labored and sweat started to drip as I pushed. I lost track of distance and my adrenaline surged as I internally pleaded to the gods, Struggle and Life for the mercy of town lights.

 But the sun had other ideas. In a blink it set below the horizon and the moon stood high. And the sound of howling welcomed it.