The alluring aroma of boar meat wakes Theo from his sleep. The darkness around broken by the flames burning high, easily seen through from the gaps in the treehouse. The soft matt that are leaves did enough to relieve the stress of walking all day while dragging a delicious meal, not alone, however. The boar was his catch.

The familiar form of the village elder could be seen dancing at the head of the flames, the fire imitating his movements. Or was it the other way around? No one truly knew.

A wooden pole was pierced through the mouth of the meal and came out through the back, two assisting wooden poles stuck in the ground keeping it off the ash. The fur and the intestines were taken off, turning it into a feast for the whole village ready to be eaten.

The small denizens could be seen following the rhythm of the elder and the flame, the flames soaring ever so higher. The crackling of wood could be heard, a satisfying sound comparable to a bubble popping.

The slight stench of smoke entered Theo’s nostrils, some parts of the boar placed in the pit to smoke, a lonely looking boy sitting at the edge to keep the flame off, occasionally pouring the water inside, answered with a few embers flying upwards.

Theo walked towards the boy. The small numbers of the village helped to unite it wholly, numbering in the two dozen. It was Chakk, the elder’s brother’s child.

Chakk, and everyone seemed to be shorter than Theo. Even with the enormous horns protruding from the top of his head, Chakk’s height only reached Theo’s breast. His green eyes glowed in the dark, letting him see without trouble. It was a particular trait of the elder’s family.

Those eyes were now looking up to him, with a questioning look. “Big bro Ti, aren’t you gonna join the feast?”

“I am. It’s not done yet.” Theo answered, looking at the first meat meal he would have in three weeks. More often than not, they’d eat fruits and nuts. It was particularly worrying Theo’s diet was far larger than any other in the village, even the glutton Bit was no match.

A quiet baa could be heard, a yawn or a sigh. Theo couldn’t place his finger on it.

“It’s so boring here. I wish I could dance with the others.” Chakk complained, shaking the leather canteen.

“You can. I’ll keep watch.” Theo said, giving him a thumbs up with a slight smile.

“Really?” Theo nodded. “You’re the best.”

Theo stared at the wood burning below, the violet flames never ceasing to burn. The occasional dips of water kept it down, generating a generous amount of smoke for the jerky. It would take at least another few hours for it to do so, and Theo would most likely be swapped with another.

Theo willed some flame up to his hands, creating a ball of flame over his palm, no bigger than a small apple. He used to fight the others with these during the harvest festival, when the crops were burned to purify the wheat.

Now that time was past, although everyone does that, Theo doesn’t. It seemed too childish.

Childish. That word just flowed into his mind during the last year, and everything they did felt too immature. Even the elder who was said to be as old as three hundred years, didn’t seem to mind acting that way.

A whistle cut through the steady rhythm of sings, followed by countless twigs breaking. A large snake, the size of a tree, appeared before the villagers, followed by three other smaller ones. All sound quieted down, only leaving out the four loud thumps to be heard by everyone.

There were four other boars.

“Maku, you’re here too?” The elder exclaimed, motioning for everyone to take out the extra poles to fry them. He and his children occasionally visited to have their catches cooked, claiming it tasted better. Theo preferred raw, but that was a little too hard for his non-pointy teeth. The problem with that was, everyone else had pointy ones.

“You’re always welcome!” The elder continued with a loud laugh. Maku sometimes brought several extra during the rain season. He knew how hard it was for the furry ones to live through the flames. At least the younger ones.

The happy chatter continued, the elder talking away with the giant serpentine creature. Theo never understood what was so fun about dancing, playing was self-explanatory, but dancing. Everyone liked it, even Maku who was moving his long body in a rather unique way.

As the extra poles were brought, so were the chairs and tables. It was a long one, enough to seat the twenty two denizens of the Ballar village. The boar was taken off the flames, and placed on the table. It was then dissected with Maku’s assistance, donning a large cleaver that would have taken four of the villagers to lift with his tail, and cutting it up. The feet were cut off, the ribs into several pieces, the head separated from the neck, and the body haphazardly cut into pieces.

Chakk snatched a rib and came running over to Theo’s side. He took a seat next to him, biting a piece off of the meat and talking with it in his mouth. “Ywou cwan gwo now.”

Theo chuckled and run to the table, throwing the canteen to the boy. It was a happy life, if not boring. He took a seat on the ground, much like the four serpents coiled up, awaiting their meal.

The chairs were a little small for him, and so was the table when he made a chair fitting of his size in the last decade. So he took up sitting on the ground.

A girl, or a woman, Theo didn’t know what to use, put a hand on his back. She was about a century old, but was deemed quite young, so that was that. Theo was merely a child compared to her, but age differences never mattered. She was a green, smaller version of Theo, with a smaller body.

“Hey, Theo. Wanna play some fireball later?” She asked. Also a child.

“Sure.” Theo nodded, grabbing a foot. His hands met with another one, a slightly chubbier green.

It was Bit.

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

Chants of a fight could be heard, and Theo’s eyes met Bit’s, big grins on their faces. They both held the hind legs of the boar, and as if Maku’s whistle was a cue, they bit into the soft flesh. The fat of the boar only served to sate the thirst for water and save the trouble of choking for both, letting them race with no break.

An invigorated feeling spread through Theo’s body, shaking off all the dizziness he had sustained after the small nap. The slight minty taste was a slight contrast to the greasy bitterness of the meat. Fruits tasted better than it, although meat had its own charm.

Theo’s teeth scraped against the bone first, Bit coming soon after. Then Theo inserted it into his mouth and dragged the bone back with his teeth nearly clenched, throwing down the clean bone and raising both hands.

A series of cheers could be heard as Bit humph-ed within all the noise, letting the leg go, also cleaned.

Maku whistled, and the villagers sung and danced. They really latched onto the smallest reasons to celebrate. Theo couldn’t help but wonder why he was so different than them.

Then he opened his eyes, finding himself in an unfamiliar place.

The light had ceased to exist, none penetrating through the dense branches of the tall trees. The aroma of a fried boar was replaced with that of a refreshing smell after a rain, although unknown to Theo.

He looked around, finding none of the villagers, and most importantly, no one else. The times he had been alone numbered in the half dozen, and he didn’t like it one tiny bit. Even if it was a boar, he would like that company.

It was eerily quiet, aside from the sound of branches moving in the wind and the leaves rustling under his feet, nothing could be heard. Silence would have been welcomed, if only he wasn’t all alone in an unfamiliar part of the forest.

The strangest of all was how he had appeared here. He just blinked, and there he was. Stranded in the forest and all alone. Thankfully, the presence of meat in his stomach would last him a day and a half, he’d have most likely found some food by that time.

Walking got him nowhere, so he decided to jog. Lightly, but it covered more distance nonetheless. Tracking down boars was one of the key components to eating meat back at the village, and he had learned to do so and hunt the creature. That would be impossible if one couldn’t run as fast as one. For a long time.

It shaped his body, increasing his stamina and endurance by unforeseen amounts. Muscles had started to form after climbing up and down the vine ladders every time he needed to go home, creating moderate muscles in his bicep and abdominal area, the legs already developed due to the running.

All in all, no one would see the teenage boy as one who didn’t train. Quite the opposite, actually. Few would be able to match his body with half-assed exercises.

A rustle could be heard from the left, Theo instantly turning to look at the source. It was too dark, rendering his sight half-useless. Only the general direction of trees could be seen, after all.

Then a thought entered Theo’s mind.

The elder could create flames, and he could control it. No one ever created it willingly due to some warnings from the elder, about burning down the forest. Now that he was in an unfamiliar place, it was the best time and place to try. It could generate some light as well.

Theo turned his palm upwards, wishing for the flame to come out. It started out as a spark, and Theo knew everything he needed to make it bigger. He pulled it to both sides, enlarging the spark into a fire. An ember fell onto his hand, stinging a lot. It never did that before.

Maybe the elder didn’t want anyone else be hurt, so he never let other make fires. That was a good reason indeed.

With a light source, Theo looked at the site of the noise. With the flames chasing away the darkness, Theo now saw a… an another one like him. It was miraculous.

Theo’s eyes opened wide as he let go of the flame. Someone that looked like him existed. It was a girl from the looks of it. She had short brown hair, reaching down to her shoulders and wore a yellowish white shirt and loose black pants, covering her body with a dark brown robe in tatters.

His eyes caught an unusual detail. She wore something on her feet. It was black, and covered the entirety of it. It was strange. No one did that. But maybe everyone like him did.

“Who are you?” Theo asked with stars in his eyes. “Is there anyone else like you?”

“Don’t come near!” She shouted, brandishing a cleaver, albeit a little too slim and sharp looking. In other words, it was dangerous. Theo instinctively walked back, raising his hands.

“Why are you here?!” She shouted.

“I don’t know.” Answered Theo, tilting his head.

“Who are you?” She asked, narrowing her eyes and squatting down a tiny bit.

“I’m Theo. You?” He said, quickly putting his hand on his mouth. The elder always said not to talk to strangers. But she was another one of his kind. That could be fine. Theo let go of his mouth and looked at the girl.

She was more beautiful than some of the winged villagers, who were ever so proud of that.

“What the hell does that even mean? I’m asking who you are!” She shouted again. She was the short-tempered type.

“Well… I’m Theo. Oh, right, a hunter.” He corrected with a smile.

“Put something on.” She said with a glare, motioning to his private part with her sword. He didn’t understand the meaning, but sighed as he took off his fur coat and tied it around his lower body, imitating Bit.

The chilly breeze fell on his back, sending a shiver down his spine. It was cold, a rare occurrence. It was mostly scorching hot.

Her eyes turned wide as she looked at the flame, dropped a few moments ago by none other than Theo.

“Are you a mage?” She asked with a frown, placing her sword on his neck.

“Umm… Mage?” Theo asked, tilting his head, rather uncomfortable with the blade threatening to take his life.

She sheathed her blade with a sigh. Turning to look at Theo.

“Any mage would have proudly answered the question. Guess you aren’t one.” She said as she turned to look to the back and grabbed a piece of wood from the ground, letting it drop with a shake of her head. Theo grabbed the flames, not letting it spread further. It would be bad if the forest burned. “I suppose you don’t even know what you are using.”

Theo nodded. “I could always do this.”

That was a lie, but he wanted to impress the girl. Indispensable words from Uncle Ka: Always try to impress.

“Oh. It seems you are a sorcerer then.” She said nonchalantly. “Where have you been all this time? Under a rock?”

“I don’t know. I used to live in a village, and I was suddenly here.” Theo answered with a shrug.

“Suddenly here?” The girl asked as she turned to look at the boy, then sighed. “You’re full of mysteries.”

“Umm… What is your name?” Theo asked. Everyone said their names before asking the other’s, which made this girl even stranger. Was the etiquette of his people different than at the village?

“I’m Lisa.” She said as she suddenly came to a halt, walking to Theo’s back. “I can’t see very well.”

Theo chuckled. That was true. Even he couldn’t.

The flame lit up the night, letting the two take a look around. The purple hue around made everything look magical, even some poisonous-looking mushrooms.

Lisa occasionally stopped, grabbing some plants from the ground and placing them in her pouch, hanging at her waist. Some even looked edible, but Theo wasn’t really hungry. Then they came into a forest clearing.

No.

It wasn’t a clearing.

The forest ended there. What could be seen beyond was an endless plain, filled with greenery and mountains of stone beyond the countless wooden buildings.

“Where are we?” Theo asked with wide eyes and a big smile.

“In Stoneguard.” Lisa answered as she walked down the hill.