The Officer and the Princess: The Flames Of War

Chapter 4

A thick Fog hung in the air as Sung Yang walked through a long dead forest that was made up of nothing more then dry and brittle trees. Somewhere in the distance an owl could be heard calling out, sounding to him like a ghost in the darkness whaling for a lost soul. He had no idea how he got into this current situation or where he was going. What was even more confusing was the internal dread that could be felt deep within him. He looked around at the dead vegetation in pure confusion at his current predicament from what he could tell there was no reason for him to be feeling on edge yet apparently his mind disagreed. What made the situation worse was the steady downpour of rain that soaked through his robes.

"Hello!" Sung shouted his voice echoing through the darkness. Only the sound of crickets and the owl greeted his call. Holding up a open palmed hand, the man conjured a controlled red flame that danced in the darkness. It wasn't much but it gave him just enough light to see where he was going, wherever that was.

As he walked the flame he held sizzled slightly with every drop of rain that fell upon it. As he wandered aimlessly Sung racked his brain to recall how he ended up in this current predicament, with each short thought his mind only drew a blank the only thing he could remember was laying down to go to bed. "Can anyone hear me?" Sung shouted again.

The sound of wet rustling leaves from behind caused him to pivot to face the noise. Even with his fire he could only make out a few trunks of trees and dead shrubs. His heart began to race as he strained his eyes to see through the thick shroud of fog. Concentrating Sung added more fuel to his flame causing it to grow brighter yet even then he could only see a few extra feet. The rustling was louder and more closer now. "Who's there! Show yourself!" In retrospect perhaps that was not the best course of action but in truth Sung's options were limited.

In the damp darkness Sung could just make out the black outline of...something. Whatever it was Sung could gather that the figure stood at least a head shorter then him it's build slim.  He felt a lump rise in his throat as...whatever it was continued to advance. It was twenty feet away, then eleven, then five. Just as he was about to light it up with a blazing inferno he found his dark threat was in fact...a Deer Fox its fur damp from the rainfall.

"Oh thank Amaterasu." Sung said with a calming huff as he watch the Animal sniff at the air before walking by him as if it hadn't seen him, or didn't care that he was so close. Just before blending back in with the darkness, the Deer Fox stopped and looked back at him tilting its head to the side. "Go on I'm not going to hurt you." The Animal looked at him for another second before looking towards the dark dead forest ahead, then back to him again. The Deer Fox did this strange action several more times as Sung watched in confusion then an idea suddenly hit him "Y-you want me to follow you?"

The Animal then turned and began to walk again before turning its body began to be consumed by the darkness, not wanting to lose sight of the Deer Fox Sung began to follow behind though he didn't know why. "Where are you leading me?" Sung asked. The Animal didn't respond to the question, of course it wouldn't respond he hadn't expected it to. "At least let it be somewhere dry..." He mumbled under his breath.

*

Sung had no way of knowing how long time had passed since joining with his new companion on this journey of the damned. It was still as dark as it had been when he first "arrived" in this new surroundings. Unfortunately the rain continued to fall by the gallons soaking him to the bone. From what little of his surroundings he could make out it felt as if the man and the animal hadn't moved at all. Everywhere Sung looked he saw dead trees which would have been avoid of all life if it wasn't for the two.