The sound of rustling leaves and the breaking of twigs resounded throughout the trees. A small shadow rushed through the thicket and came to a sudden halt at the top of a cliff. In the horizon a winding river could be seen. The forest and mountains spread out as far as the eye could see in the horizon and the child began to imagine the wonders that lay beyond them.

‘One week… I’ll show him’ Raiden planned to show his uncle how wrong he had been. ‘I’ll prove him wrong, then we can go out to explore and maybe go meet the rest of our family. Maybe he’ll finally tell me what happened to Mom and Dad.’

The young adventurer began to make his way down the cliff, anticipating the wonders that he might find. Though far behind him was his uncle who rushed through the trees in a maddened fervor.

‘Ignorant child! The river marks the territory of the mountain lord. Once past it there will be nothing to protect us from the various Temyo.’

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The sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance. Raiden’s small heart was filled with a sense of freedom and exhilaration. The forest seemed to welcome him to delve deeper and deeper. From excitement alone he had run the full night and yet he did not feel tired. Confident that his uncle wouldn’t be able to find him, he would return in one weeks’ time to show him that he could explore safely and without worry. Soon he came upon a familiar clearing that was parted by a wide river. The trees hung high above creating shade on the riverbanks. The calm and serene atmosphere was only disturbed by the sound of wary footsteps approaching the water.

‘It should be somewhere around here. If I get wet, I’ll end up leaving a trail and I could end up getting sick in the night chill. Where’s that tree gone to?”

Following the river upstream, Raiden soon came upon what he was looking for, a collapsed tree that created a makeshift bridge to the other side of the river. He remembered chancing upon it many months ago when he had been tracking a Purple Heart deer that gave him the slip. His uncle had repeatedly told him not to go across the river, as there was bigger wildlife the closer you went to the mountain range. He’d come face to face with wild boars whose skin had bristled barbs, he wasn’t afraid of anything the forest could throw at him. Even if he came across bigger predators, he was confident he could outrun them all.

Steadily, he began climbing onto this 4-meter-wide trunk. Using the surrounding rocks that seemed to hold the tree in place, Raiden was able to find decent footing to propel himself on top of the tree. As he began taking his first few steps towards his adventure, the steady drumming of his heart seemed to fill his ears. The chirping of the birds fell away, the soft wind blowing his hair seemed to die down. The rushing water underneath his feet seemed to still and only the blood coursing through his veins seemed to become louder and louder. The colors began to fade to white and he suddenly turned around to take another look at the familiar forest he knew. Countless memories surged into his head, the many hours he shared with his uncle talking about hunting and the various herbs that would help him survive in moments of crisis. The long nights taping his fingers with bandages from the long training session under his uncle’s ever watchful gaze. Raiden’s outbursts, complaints and frustrations all seemed to melt as he began to recall his uncles warm soothing face.

‘I’ll show you uncle. I don’t want to wait any longer, if it wasn’t for me you would surely go out and explore more of this world, right? I’ll show you that we don’t have to wait for me any longer.’

With his resolve once again reaffirmed, time began to move once more, and the small patter of the child’s footsteps could be heard jumping off the tree that helped him escape the confined world which he knew. The small visage disappearing into the trees, ready to explore the new unexplored land before him.

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Desperation filled every cell in my body. Qi and mana surged from me, filling the surroundings. My body becoming faster and lighter than it had been in many years. My senses reached farther and farther as I pushed the limits of what I knew I was capable of. Thankfully, Raiden was still learning as I was able to find small traces of him that were heading towards the mountain. He would be a capable hunter and tracker once he was all grown up, but he still had much to learn.

‘He just had to go towards the base of the mountain range… I suppose it’s the only place that he would be able to cross the river without having to take days to go around it. Is that where he mentioned he found a fallen tree? Lets just hope I can catch up to him soon, he couldn’t have gotten that far without Qi and would have gotten tired throughout the night.’

As I began to move my mana sense began to pick up on traces of Visary. At first, I thought maybe I had come across a Zephyr Rabbit and it had used Qi to hasten its steps. However, the closer I got, the Visary felt… more unrefined, rough, and careless in its use. No Temyo or beast would cause this kind of wastage. For them, Visary came like breathing, its usage 2nd nature from the moment they are born.

‘It couldn’t be… if Raiden somehow was able to unconsciously tap into raw Visary… This is bad. He might be further into the forest than I had estimated. Let’s just hope I’m wrong, what kind of a monster would he have to be to unknowingly begin to use Qi at the age of 7.’

A surge of energy filled my legs as I propelled forward. My muscles, filled with Qi, pushed my body to the utmost limits I could withstand. Deep, almost crater like, footprints painted my path as I had no time to be careful about my strength.

‘This isn’t the time to be conserving energy. If Raiden has truly begun taping into natures natural energy then things could end up very dangerous for him. He’ll exhaust himself without even realizing it, or worse. He might last a day if all he is doing is fueling himself so as to not feel tired, but if he’s stretching out his senses unknowingly or is going at a quickened pace to keep a lead on me then he might not even last that long.’

The sheer pride and joy I felt in this moment were completely engulfed by my knowledge of what lay beyond the river. Scaled Panthers, shadow wolves, Girallons, griffons and trolls. There was no end to the monstrosities that lay in the Hydrus mountain range. While they wouldn’t venture this far from the mountains, smaller Temyo might. From Bristle Banes to dire wolves.

‘I knew I should have taken him out to learn about Temyo. They are such a common occurrence for the Verum that it hadn’t occurred to me that I should actively have Raiden learn about them firsthand. It seems my stories fueled his desire to explore but didn’t temper his sense of danger in the slightest. Maybe I shouldn’t have cut out all the close calls me and his father had when we went out exploring.’

Every scenario of what could happen, of where Raiden could go, if I would be able to see his face once more flashed through my mind. I began to exude more and more mana in an attempt frighten any beasts that may come my way. Few creatures would dare confront someone of my caliber, it was a waste of mana but there was no other way if I hoped to scare away anything that might end up hurting Raiden. The trees blurred around me as I continued to follow the faint traces of Visary left behind by Raiden. Hopefully, I would find him before the days end.

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As the sky began to bleed in crimson light, Raiden could feel his muscles begin to tire. It seemed almost as if he were being dragged down ever so slowly by an invisible chain. Not knowing any better, he surmised that it was probably due to having not slept at all during the day, in fear that his uncle would somehow catch up to him.

‘First things first, I need to find somewhere I can drink water. My waterskin will probably last me another day at most. After that I need to find a zephyr rabbit or even a Ciwa fox would work. The berries I brought didn’t last me long either. Maybe its from all the running but I just feel so hungry. It’s almost as if I hadn’t eaten anything all day. I’m even out of all the jerky I had stashed from Uncles kitchen.’

The more the adventurous child ventured into the forest, the more enthralled he was by it. His eyes wandered in bewilderment and glee. The trees seemed larger and thrummed with life. The very forest seemed to pulse with hidden vigor the further he went from the isolated cabin. Various herbs he had never seen before popped into his vision, it was as if nature had grabbed every color in its palette and sprinkled the ground beneath him.

Carefully he began to harvest a small selection of herbs to take back home and ask his uncle what they were. As he began the familiar task, careful to not damage any of the many herbs he wished to learn about, the slight edge of worry he had been carrying throughout the day seemed to be washed away. The calm rustling of the wind above him gave Raiden a familiar sense of belonging. The woods surrounding him seemed to almost welcome him into their midst.

‘I don’t know what uncle was so worried about. What’s so different between here and the woods close to the cabin? It actually seems nicer here. Everything just FEELS more alive and vibrant. Look at these plants! The colors look so vivid, I’m sure they must be more potent than the ones harvested by Uncle. Though… I haven’t seen any animals so far. Maybe they’re more cautious than the ones close to our home? I should have done this sooner! Wait till I show Uncle all I’ve found, I’m sure he won’t be able to stay mad at me once he sees all I’ll be bringing back. Maybe I should head back sooner… I’m sure I can find plenty of neat things to surprise him. I wonder what else I’ll find out here.’

As his thoughts began to roam, off in the distance a tree came into view. However, unlike all the other trees, this one was massive, even when compared to all the 20 to 40 meter trees in the surrounding area. The treetop loomed overhead, towering over everything in its surroundings. A sense of pure wonderment overcame the little would-be adventurer. Without a moment’s thought his muscles jolted toward the tree. The surroundings seemed to evaporate, and soon all that was left in his view was a shimmering tree. Shortly Raiden came upon a wide-open space. At its center, a grey crumbling doorway. Stone walls peeking out from its wooden prison. The entrance seemed to be the only man-made structure left in plain view, as whatever might have been here before had been swallowed by the tree that now stood in its place. Strange markings etched and crossed its moss-covered surface. Silence filled the wonderous sight, only interrupted by the slight breathing of the bewildered child. Small, uncovered rubble could be seen adorning the vicinity close to the ever-calling archway. Unconsciously, minute steps guided him towards the entrance of the ruins that were housed by this massive tree.

The once shimmering tree now seemed to darken, the moss-covered walls glowed almost unnoticeably, and the ever expanding darknened hallway that seemed to swallow the light that came from the outside world beckoned once more. Raiden took his first step into the stone corridor… and then a second... and then a third, and as his feet listened to the command he stopped.

His legs began to tremble, they wanted to continue, but something in him screamed. What seemed like the longest minutes of his life transpired. The tiny echoing voice inside him battling against the sweet call of adventure within. A burning sensation creeped from his chest, it scourged throughout his body and a harrowing scream verberated across this precipice of darkness and the outside world as something in him seemed to snap. Raiden’s body, drenched in cold sweat, collapsed on the ground. His heavy breathing and pulsating blood the only sound he could hear.

“Interesting…” a low cackling voice spoke from the entrance.

“A little thiefsies come out to play?” A second soon followed.

“Now girls, we can’t keep our little guest waiting. What kind of hosts would we be if we just left him lying there?” And a third screeching pitch was heard.

With the last of his strength Raiden saw a single silhouette standing at the entrance, the light obscuring all manner of details except for the glowing pink eyes that shone through. He heard rumbling come from within the darkness before he soon felt the shift in the stone beneath him. A giant root which sprawled from within the abyss took hold of his limp body and began to drag him further in. Soon all he could see was the bark of his captor and the darkness that lay before it.