Savage Rising: Eternal Forest Saga - Book 1

Chapter 8

"Please, can you spare some bread?" Cherin asked a random stranger passing him by. He was slumped down against the split-log wall of a half-finished house along the dirt road. His body was dirty, with long hair matted to the sides of his head. Though he'd only been able to grow facial hair for the last year and a half, the fullness of his long beard made him look like an old man. He'd never had the chance to shave it. Worn out, ratty clothes covered his body. His feet were bare, but so callused they were more like the hooves of a horse.

The stranger looked down at him and then quickly scurried away like a startled mouse. More people came by but gave much the same reaction. Soon, the people of Meadowgold began to form an arch around him, as though an invisible field was keeping them from getting too close. Cherin sighed as he leaned his head against the unfinished wall behind him. His stomach growled in protest to the lack of attention it was getting, but the young man had nothing with which to fill it. The sun shined brightly high above him, baking his leathery skin, and sucking out what little moisture was left in the dry, cracked earth. With no home, no food, and no one to turn to, Cherin couldn't help but long for the old days.

Everything had seemed so bright before. The Phenomenon in the Savage Lands had happened years ago, and it still remained a complete mystery. Teams had surveyed the site and searched the surrounding forest, but no clues were found that could answer their questions. What's more, not a single Balisekt had been seen anywhere near Meadowgold since that day. The Phenomenon had come and gone in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing but a trail of destruction and questions.

Still, humans were resourceful creatures, and the Phenomenon had left them with a square mile of cleared forest and fallen timber. After his blighted brother murdered Lord Sansehr and disappeared into the Wilds, Lady Viyana took control of the village. Almost immediately, work began to clear the trees and build a new settlement. The fallen timber was turned into lumber and soon, a new village began to spring up from the chaos.

With the project came plenty of opportunities for work, and Cherin had eagerly signed up to aid in the construction. There was a fortune to be made and he wanted his share. He and the other men worked for two seasons to build the new town, set to be named the Viyanian Settlement. For months on end, the work came steadily, as did the money, food, and ale. They lived like lords, convinced they were set for the rest of their days. It wasn't until the growing season started that the horrible reality was discovered.

Whatever the Balisekts had done to the land around the site of their strange ritual, it had cast a terrible curse upon it. Half of the tribe's seed supply was brought to the new settlement to begin its agricultural endeavors. They were planted into freshly tilled soil, but not a single sprout ever pushed out from the earth.

Half of the tribe's crops were lost and with them, the food supply for a large number of the population. Even with a new settlement set to boom in the growing human territory, only the farms and fields of Meadowgold were able to produce food, and half of their resources were lost in the Viyanian Settlement's failed agricultural endeavors.

To make matters worse, the next summer brought with it a terrible drought. Crops and other food sources for all of the Lady's tribes dried up before they could be harvested. Many didn't survive the harsh winter that followed. With Meadowgold already struggling from a season of poor crops, the situation went from bad to desperate.

Fortunes quickly turned. Hunger and desperation swept through the territory as the people panicked. Violence spread and the rule of law crumbled. The wealthy hoarded their supplies, grinding the economy to a halt. The people prayed all winter that the Lady would give them a bountiful harvest season the following year, but with spring now here and the rains still sparse, it seemed the prayers continued to go unanswered. Cherin thought he would never be hungry again a day in his life.