“Lost magic. An unexplainable phenomenon that used to exist in a time before history was recorded. Not much is known about this kind of magic, there were only brief mentions of lost magic in the tales of yore. Though little is known about this type of magic, and most that is known about it is based on stories told in person, researchers still search for anything that might lead them to uncovering the truth about this magic.”

“Enough with this prattling, old man. Who cares about this pointless talk about some kind of lost magic, we all know those stories were just made to entertain folks.”

“Ah, but Hiro you must remember that all stories hold some truth to them. Have I told you of the time when the land of Arcadia was in turmoil and-“

“Yes, war broke out. Drakke Empire united all of non-humans, et cetera. Lots of battles, even more deaths, Elves joined in and pushed back the Drakke Empire. Then we killed Magnaris, the Demon Lord, then we lived happily ever after.”

“Hiro! How many times do I have to tell you not to make light of our history?”

“I know father…it’s just…*sigh* I want to start my rite of passage.”

‘…’

“Pfft! Hehehe, fine fine. My son’s bound to grow up one of these days. With this I’ve taught you all your letters and numbers. Are you sure you want to do this Hiro?”

“For the last time father, I’ll be ok. You of all people should know, I’m not new at this.”

“Right…then you might as well go now.”

“Yea or risk you stopping me once again.”

Tossing his meager pack over the grey draft horse, Hiro bid one last farewell to his father and headed down the lonely path.

---

Hiro and his father, Albert, lived in a small village called Torin on the outskirts of the Forest of Mist. Although small, the village was always peaceful and welcoming. Due to the secluded location of the village, there were hardly any bandit attacks. Monster attacks were more of a concern. The lord governing the area hardly levies any taxes on the village, because of its’ location and size compared to the other villages.

Because of this secluded and peaceful upbringing, Hiro was naïve to the ways of the world. He never understood the carnage of warfare, nor did he understand the cruelty of warlords. The only struggle Hiro ever had was the occasional monster attacks that happen, which has become rare.

Hiro lived with his father Albert, before he was even able to walk, Albert arrived and settled down in Torin. Albert was somewhat eccentric, he doesn’t have any trade he practices yet he makes a living doing odd-jobs around the village and hunts. Whenever Albert has any time to himself he would try to teach Hiro the language of the common tongue.

Once Hiro was old enough, Albert would take Hiro along with him during his hunting trips. It was through these hunting ventures that Hiro learned how to set lures and traps. He also learned how to hunt and fish, how to use a simple bow and arrow to stalking his prey.

In the Torin there’s a ceremony that a boy has to undertake to become a real man. Once a boy reaches 16 years of age, they are to venture into the forest and live off the land for 3 days and 3 nights. Although the Forest of Mist is dangerous, the outer edges that is not covered in mist is relatively safe. It has almost been a full moon cycle since Hiro had turned 16 and he was getting impatient. Finally after being promised to be allowed to go, Hiro begins his adventure into the tales of Arcadia.

---

After leaving the horse to graze at the forest hut, Hiro proceeded to check on his gear one last time.

“Bow…Arrows…Flint…Cloak…Ok I think that’s everything.” Hiro gave one last look at the afternoon sun and turned around. Taking a deep breath as if to savor his last breath of peace and quiet, Hiro descended into the depths of the forest.

Although raised in a peaceful and quiet village, Hiro was anything but passive. Hiro enjoyed being the center of attention, no matter what it is Hiro had to stand out. Which more often than not would usually result in multiple bruises and curses with the other ‘children’ in the village.

Hiro’s favorite game to play when he was younger was hero and demon lord, he loved playing the role of the valiant hero who saves the princess and slays the evil demon lord. Of course his friend Lena would play the princess, but not everyone really wanted to be the demon lord. This is where Hiro’s crazy imagination comes into play. Hiro would randomly start fights with the older kids by whacking them with a stick.

Lena always found it funny how Hiro tries to play the hero, but always ended up being beaten up by the group of older boys. The fun times with Lena all came to an end however, when Hiro and Lena were both 10, they were tested along with other children for their aptitudes to magic. Lena was taken away. Ever since then Hiro doused any desire to become an adventurer and a hero.

“This seems like as good a spot as any.” Taking off his pack, Hiro leaned against the side of an outcropping that was next to a small stream. He had been walking for a good hour or so with the sun to his left. Hiro also took care to avoid the beaten path, he wanted his rite of passage to be adventurous.

On his trek through the mysterious forest brimming with life, Hiro had noticed many things. In some places where he walked, he noticed that there were new saplings growing and in others there were fresh prints from wild game. At one point of his trek, Hiro even saw the scratches of bark that indicated that he had enter the territory of a dominant buck.

Hiro was admiring the beauty that laid before his eyes, but he knew that day was coming to an end and he had to get ready for night. He gathered some dried branches and refilled his water skin, by the time the sun had departed over the horizon, Hiro already had a fire going.

Hiro was once again transfixed and mesmerized by the aggressiveness of the flames licking at the dry branches.

‘I can’t believe it…after this I will become a man…it’s just too surreal.’ Hiro was slowly embracing the world of sleep. He was not a stranger to the forest, but this would be his first time being alone in the forest by himself.

He had placed his campfire on the rocky surface right next to the outcropping of rock. Earlier, while he was looking for deadwood along the streambed he noticed that the rock outcropping that he was leaning against had an unusually deep dent in it. Taking advantage of the dent, he had set up the campfire to be positioned at the entrance of the hole and dissuade any night critters that might come exploring.

Although Hiro was familiar with the forest, he cannot help but feel insecure. The Forest of Mist, another name for it was “Du Weldenalfa” which means The Forest of Elves. Long ago, this forest was home to the Fair Folk. Music and song were plentiful in the Du Weldenalfa, that was, until the Demon War 300 years ago, when history began. Ever since then, the Elves have secluded themselves behind hundreds of magical wards and barriers.

---

“Ha~… What a boring ‘adventure’ this turned out to be.” It was already the final day before Hiro had to return. “I don’t see how sitting around on this rock waiting for 3 days to be up will make a man out of me.”

Hiro was quite disappointed, because he was so used to the outdoors he didn’t expect the rite of passage to be so easy. On the second day, after he woke up, he went to check on the traps he had set the night before. To his surprise he had caught a wild rooster, which he proceeded to clean and dress the kill before roasting it on a spit.

The rest of the second day was spent leaning next to the rock and thinking about what Lena was doing. Hiro hated to admit it, but he and Lena grew very close while they were together. Since there was no one around their age, all the other children were at least 5 years older or younger, they would often play together. So ever since Lena and her family were forced to go to the capital, Hiro would receive letters from her from time to time.

Hiro thought back to the letter he received a few days prior to taking his rite of passage. In the letter he received, Lena expressed her concerns about him taking his rite of passage. It was a pretty amusing letter, since she didn’t know how much more reliable Hiro had become. Hiro didn’t usually reply to her letters, at first it was because he didn’t know how to read or write. Soon, his reason for not writing back was because he wasn’t sure what to say to her, although he would always write a congratulatory letter whenever her birthday comes around.

This last letter though was special, it was HER reply to his letter he had sent prior. In Hiro’s prior letter that he sent to her, he finally gathered the courage and asked her if he could come visit her at the capital. He also mentioned that if she said that it was ok, he would leave soon after he completed his rite of passage.

In her reply, Lena was delighted that he was coming to see her. She expressed her heartfelt desire to see him again, which honestly, brought the pubescent Hiro to a tinge of red.

‘She also mentioned something about fulfilling a promise…I’ll have to ask her once I see her again.’

---

*Yawn* ‘What a boring way to end this adventure.’ He thought as he leaned back on the rock. ‘I was expecting it to be more challenging, but it turned out to be a bore. I wish there was something that would make this rite of passage more interesting.’

As if fate was ridiculing him, a high-pitched scream rang out from the forest beyond. Feeling his blood run cold, Hiro froze as he stared off in the direction of the scream.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” He began to regret what he had said earlier. “No no no. There’s no way I’m gonna go investigate. Nope! In fact, I should walk away from it.” He hurriedly began to pack whatever he brought that was laying around. However, a part of him, the adventurous spirit that was locked away deep inside him cried out; it wanted him to see where the noise came from.

‘Fuck!’ Hiro couldn’t get the noise out of his mind. After repeatedly promising to himself that he will turn around and run at the slightest hint of danger, he finally reluctantly moved toward the scream.

“The noise came from beyond there?!” Hiro whispered to himself as if he were hiding from something. Not even after ten minutes he had already arrived at the edge of the foreboding misty forest. His instincts were telling him to turn back before it was too late.

*Shiver*

‘This really is a creepy place, all the noise from earlier is gone…’ All around Hiro there was an awkward stillness that seems to permeate the very air that he was breathing, ‘it’s as if time has stopped for this place.’

With his nerves getting the best of him, Hiro began to turn around and head back to his base from earlier, he’ll probably even walk a bit further away just to be safe.

“Hey! Is someone there?!”

A sudden voice uttered out from beyond the white sheet of dew. As if winter had started once more, goosebumps started appearing all over Hiro. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Hiro started breaking out in cold sweat and worst of all, his legs refused to listen to him.

“Hey! I see you there, can you come over here and give me a hand?!”

Finally gathering his courage, Hiro managed to give a weak reply, “Um…w-what do you need help w-w-with, sir?”

“Well you see, my foot is stuck between this log and I’m not strong enough to lift it up by myself! Can you help me?!”

“How did you even get out here to begin with?” Catching his momentum, Hiro began to question the silhouette of the “man” beyond the mist.

“Help me and I’ll tell you! Hurry! It’s starting to hurt!”

“Tell me first and then I’ll help you!” Hiro knew that something was wrong. First of all how did a man get stuck out in the middle of nowhere and secondly, earlier when he looked into the mist, he didn’t that man. It was only now that the silhouette was beyond the white veil.

“Fine, I’ll tell you! But first, come a little closer so I don’t have to scream!” The figure started to beckon towards Hiro.

Not even a little convinced, Hiro slowly backed away from the figure, “I uh…I’ll go get help, just wait right there!” Turning his back to the man, Hiro started sprinting away at full speed. All the while a voice that more of a beast than man followed closely behind.

“COME BACK HERE!!! ARGGHHH!!!” The being that was hidden behind the mist was chasing after him! More importantly it was catching up! Hearing the footsteps gradually coming closer, Hiro’s heart began to race in panic.

‘FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!’ Hiro looked behind him to see what was chasing him. To his surprise the thing that was chasing him looked like a shadow. The shadow looking creature was the size of a large well-built man, its whole body was covered in a dark veil aside from its face, which was a deathly pale shade and had holes for eyes.

The sight of the monster caused Hiro’s leg to freeze up once more, tripping him up. Hiro’s mind went blank, here he laid, on the cold dew covered ground. Just a few meters away, stood the face of death.

“FINALLY…LET…LET ME BORROW YOUR FACE!!!!” With that said, the creature leapt at Hiro with killing intent leaking from every pore of its dark figure.

“AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Closing his eyes tightly, all Hiro could do was hope for a painless death.

It was then that time seemed to freeze.