Three days had passed since Grahl became friends with the goblin siblings. In that short span of three days, the twins grew especially attached to Grahl. This was because to their surprise, Grahlgar was only seven years old.

“Heheh, since you are younger than us, you have to respect us.”

“That’s right! You have to respect your elders!”

“Nn. Nn.”

Bronze and Silver said such things full of glee. The two of them were always listening to Rust, so it was fun for them to feel this sense of authority.

“I already respect you guys. Bronze and Silver are good siblings that watch out for their big brother. I want to be like you two when I grow up!”

Grahl spoke with fiery passion, while his little (by ogre standards) fists were balled up in anticipation. Grahlgar came to realize just how dangerous it was for a group of goblins to head to the central area of the forest from their burrows in the south. Grahl didn’t realize it, but his physical prowess was something that the average pack of beasts or band of monsters, wouldn’t dare to trifle with. Save for situations of life or death, they would never think of fighting an ogre, even a little one. Goblins on the other hand, were belittled by the other denizens of the forest, simply because their individual strength was pitiful.

“Thanks…”

“Yeah, thanks…”

The twins didn’t really know what else to say to Grahl’s comments. Besides Rust, there were hardly any others to give them any sort of encouragement. When they said they wanted Grahl to respect them, they certainly weren’t expecting such a straightforward response. Grahlgar’s words made them feel warm inside. He actually believed that they would improve themselves to protect their brother. He believed in their convictions; he believed in them. The twins began to feel as though they didn’t want to disappoint Grahl’s expectations. While they hadn’t known one another for very long, Grahl, Bronze and Silver had become quite close.

“Hey, Grahl, can we play with the spirits while we walk?”

“Yeah, spirits!”

Feeling a little shy from Grahlgar’s saccharine remarks, the twins quickly changed subjects. Grahl had felt that the duo was acting a bit strange, but didn’t pursue the issue.

“Okay, I’m sure the little spirits would like to play too.”

With a call from Grahl, small orbs of light began to appear one by one. They appeared in various shades of green, blue, white and red. The green orbs were spirits of nature, the blue orbs were spirits of water, the white orbs were spirits of wind and the red orbs were spirits of fire. There were very few red orbs, but they all seemed to show great affection towards Grahl. Fire spirits usually weren’t well received by the other spirits of the forest, but when they were all together with Grahl, they played together merrily.

Bronze and Silver were quickly distracted by the playful dance of the little spirits. Even the flowers and trees seemed to exude a sense of joy as they swayed in the breeze. The forest felt exceptionally peaceful whenever they walked around with Grahlgar. Rust was flummoxed at the scene of Grahl and the twins prancing casually through the wood with a parade of little spirits trailing behind them. Was this really the same forest that was filled with insurmountable dangers and rancorous beasts? It was as though the forest itself was protecting the little ogre. Such thoughts crossed his mind more than once. Still, it would be a lie to say that he didn’t enjoy such a peaceful atmosphere.

Rust, being a little over a decade older than Grahl, had little in common with him. In the past three days, he had played more the part of a babysitter than a friend. However, even he found himself growing fond of ‘little’ Grahl. It was rare to see his siblings so happy. Rust had a bit of a stiff personality and any attempts at friendliness tended to come off a bit awkward. He could only encourage Bronze and Silver in his own way, but he knew that was far from enough. Grahl was like a fawning little brother whose expectations brought encouragement to the twins. Now, other than being grateful for saving his life, Rust was thankful that Grahl had befriended the twins.

The three siblings were tagging along with Grahl to go on a hunt. For the past three days, the siblings would go out for the morning hunt and Grahl would meet them to help. He gave the reasoning that it was in order to gather enough food for his best friend.

“Your best friend is a Black Dragon?!”

“Yeah, is that strange?”

“Ugh, somehow I feel that everything about you is strange.”

“Hey Rust, don’t pick on Grahl!”

“Yeah, tell him Silver!”

“Haah. Let’s just focus on the hunt.”

Rust felt that dwelling on the subject of Grahl’s family and friends would only invite more of a headache. Instead, he picked up the pace and began looking for any signs of game. Rust’s tracking skills were top notch, therefore it wouldn’t be long before they would find something. Though before Rust could point out the direction they should take, Grahl looked toward the little spirits and asked,

“Is there any big animals to hunt around here? If there are, do you know where we can find them?”

The little spirits grew bright at first, seemingly responding with a yes to Grahl’s initial question. Then, they all began to rush off toward the west. Without hesitation, Grahlgar followed after the spirits with Bronze and Silver in tow. Rust looked dazedly for a moment, before quickly catching up to them. In his mind, all he could think was,

‘That’s cheating! My hard work, my dedication, give me back all of it! What’s the point in learning how to track if you can just ask the spirits?!’

Of course, Rust knew that gaining the trust and cooperation of the spirits was easier said than done. Existences like Grahl that were naturally loved by them, were rarer than unicorn horns and phoenix feathers. It was unfair.

Within a few moments, the group arrived near the territory of a sounder of War Hogs. Although they had just neared their territory, the smell of the hog wallow was already quite pungent. The spirits seemed to motion for the others to continue following them, so they did. Grahl had faith in the little spirits, so Bronze and Silver didn’t voice any complaints. On the contrary, they were glad to see parts of the forest that they had never been to before. The towering trees gave way to dense bush and shrubbery, proof of the War Hog’s efforts to clear the trees for their wallow. Seeing such sights easily entertained the trio and because they still remained vigilant, Rust couldn’t find it in himself to rebuke them. With the three of them in such high spirits, Rust could only tail the trio closely or else he would surely lose sight of them.

~~~~~~~~~~

As the group followed the spirits in search for prey, a meeting was taking place at Olivia’s.

The sun had just risen above the mountain range, casting a gentle light over the forest and a long shadow over the mountain. Within this shadow, there was a trio of spirits who didn’t seem to have any trace of the happiness that they felt when they were with a certain ogre. In fact, the atmosphere was especially solemn.

“Seal...weakening...not much...time…”

“But the seal was strengthened hardly even a decade ago! How is this possible?”

“The hero summoning…”

To Sylvia’s questioning, Aqua gave a simple, but grave answer.

“You mean...damn! Those insolent humans! Quick to forget tragedy and even quicker to bring calamity! Typical. Instead of using their own strength to achieve their goals, they force it upon those from other worlds.”

“Sylvia, it’s already a great blessing for the children of man to adhere to their forefathers’ oaths for four generations, let alone the twelve generations that they have abided by already. For us, an oath is eternal. For them, an oath only lasts a lifetime.”

“But Aqua, if they dare to break the oath, then why should we be bound as well? For the sake of everyone’s sacrifice, we should stop the humans now! If worse comes to worse, we can leave the forest and thwart their stupid ritual. If we don’t--”

“Enough. The humans can be excused because for them, the rivers of time can wash away the meaning of their oaths. But spirits remain unaffected by this river’s flow; the purpose and emotions of our oaths remain as strong as the day they were forged. Humans can easily forsake their shackles, but we, cannot.”

“We’ve already sacrificed so much for the sake of old promises and what has it brought us? Even Grahl’s--”

“Sylvia...please...enough….”

This time, it was Olivia who spoke. Contrary to the usual high handed demeanor she typically possessed when speaking with Sylvia, Olivia was actually pleading.

“Aqua...already...knows…”

Just then, even Sylvia realized that she went a little too far. She spoke without thinking because she was infuriated with the humans and as a result, she said something that struck at Aqua’s biggest regret. Looking at Aqua, one could clearly see the deep sorrow in her eyes. Sylvia’s words had brought to surface many memories and emotions, most of which were painful.

“Aqua, I’m sorry, I’ve said too much…”

“It’s fine. You’re right. We’ve sacrificed too much and gained very little. I hate it as much as you do. But if any of us left this forest, then the seal would weaken even further than it already has. Let’s be honest, without one of us to lead the others, it would be impossible for them to thwart the preparations for the summoning ritual. There is nothing we can do.”

“That is true…”

“However, before any of that, I want to preserve what little time we have left with Grahl. We have five, maybe ten years at most, before the humans finish their preparations. We have to teach Grahl as much as we can, give Grahl all the love we can. While I might have agreed to follow these oaths till the day of my destruction, I will not allow Grahl to bind himself to such a cruel fate.”

“That child is gentle, more gentle than anyone. It’s because of that, that I am afraid he will take this burden wholly upon himself. If we conduct ourselves any differently, if we allow our worries to show, Grahl will be able to tell that something is wrong. When he wants to help others, who can convince Grahl otherwise? He will fight and die alongside us, no, probably before us, because he would surely protect us with his dying breath.”

Olivia and Sylvia could only remain silent. They knew such a thing was the truth. In the coming years, if Grahl were to ever figure out that some sort of calamity would befall them, he would fight till the end to protect them. Nothing would be able to change his mind. Even if the enemy was impossible to defeat, if the odds were insurmountable, he wouldn’t hesitate if it was for his loved ones. That’s just who Grahl was.

“You’re right...we can’t let him know.”

“Must...keep...secret…”

“I hate to hide things from Grahl, but it’s for the best…”

Aqua, Sylvia and Olivia, were all pained at their unanimous decision. Lying to or hiding things from Grahl felt wrong, but it was something they had to do to protect him.

“We should also send him to see the Patriarch.”

“Hmph, what good would it do for Grahl to meet with someone with such a pretentious name?”

“Sylvia, we both know that it wasn’t as though he chose to be called the Patriarch. Also, out of all of us, he knows the most about the world beyond the forest, ironically.”

“Ugh, I hate how I can never deny what you say.”

Aqua gave a playful smile in response to Sylvia’s frustrated face.

“Besides, Grahl already knows him, in a way.”

Like that, the three decided to enlist another teacher for little Grahl. They hoped that he would be able to expand Grahl’s horizons and pique his curiosity for the outside world. They hoped that they would slowly be able to convince Grahl to leave the forest of his own accord, before things began to change for the worst.