Dakyres of Ardor | BoyxBoy ✓

4 | A Fruitful Hoist

DELTA.
THE DULAAL FOREST.

"So father, do you have any particular animal in mind or you'll just kill anything that comes in sight?" Faldrey asked following closely behind his father, swinging his hunting sword and clearing bushes and branches away from his path.

"Stop nagging me, Faldrey." His father replied with a vague tone, concentrating more on the sound around him and not the sound of his blabbermouth son.

"No seriously, I mean there's going to be lots of animals. Your hungry stomach will have to make a choice." He said in between heavy breaths.

"I told you to stop nagging me."

"If I stop talking this will be one very boring hunt, and don't even say I'll scare the animals away, I'm being quiet, I'm as stealthy as ever. I'm sure the other hunters can't even hear me, you're the only one who can and praise be to Zaal who-"

"Stop talking." Lancelot commanded, halting his steps.

Faldrey stopped abruptly in order not to bump into his father's back.

"What is it? Did you see a big bear? Oh tell me it's not a bear." He took a stance, his dominant left hand right over his boomerang.

"No, seriously. Stop talking." Lancelot warned again, sounding more stern this time.

The air had suddenly changed; the thick, pungent odour of burning coal filled the air. The sprites tensed up and retreated into their heart trees spastically, that wasn't a good sign. A colony of water Stoichi sprites retreating into their heart trees and animals in the day time was never a good sign. Then came the all too familiar sound of doom. The blare of the Westian floating metal crafts.

The sound of the blaring machines filled the air, sending a dart of fear across with this. The only exception was this wasn't a brief period of fear, this was the infamous sound of the arrival of the Westian raiders and the army of Flame Breathers.

"No, not today, not today." Lancelot muttered in utter terror, his voice was shaky and so were his limbs. He'd began to tremble in fear.

Faldrey noticed the change in his father's aura, with that he knew something big was coming even before he remembered what the blaring horns meant.

"Father is that..." the words stuck in his throat.

He was so terrified a huge lump had formed, blocking his windpipe. He could barely breathe. Taking a few steps backwards, he stumbled on a branch and fell back on his buttocks.

"Father," he whispered with a teary voice. He'd already started to shed tears. "Father is that-"

Lancelot speedily turned in his son's direction, squatting down to grab him by the arms.

"That my son," he paused, taking his hands from his son's arms and proceeded to remove the tiny ceramic cube he always hung around his neck, "is the apocalypse."

"No! no, no no no no no no no." Faldrey had began bawl, covering his face with his hands he mumbled agonising screams into them.

"Ssh," Lancelot tried to calm his son, reaching out again to hold his arms firmly. "This is not the time for that, you've been training to be a warrior, haven't you?" Faldrey continued crying into his hands but Lancelot pulled them away from his face and held them down. "Look at me!"

Faldrey couldn't control himself, he couldn't collect his emotions. This was all too soon and it was happening so quickly. He shook his head vigorously from side to side, trying to wake himself up from this dark nightmare in daylight.