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Elleus ran swiftly through the woods under the blanket of night, carrying a sleeping body on his shoulder. Silently, he lept through the bramble and into the open field where thrived the village he had left years ago. The village has grown in his absence, new buildings were being erected and older ones renovated. As a tear rolled down his cheek, he took his first and last step forward into the village to find his old friend.

Once upon a time, in the quiet village of Hillbeak, there was a huntsman named Elleus. Unlike other hunters, he held respect for the wildlife. He hunted all sizes of game and beasts from the nearby woods, but yet restrained himself to only necessity to preserve the natural order of the forest. Over time, he became quite adept at the hunt. His skills as a hunter garnered him, albeit meagerly, a living off of the procured products and provisions. Particularly on the annual festivals, Elleus was frequently the source of the necessary boars for the celebratory feasts. But, as the town grew in size and trade found its way into the valley, Elleus’s leatherwork were quickly replaced by other more efficient craftsmanship. But he did not give up his dream as a hunter. The few in the town who knew Elleus well held great respect for Elleus.

The village of Hillbeak was established in a secluded valley guarded by dense forests and wandering wildlife. A single dirt road leads southward out of the valley.

However, one day a dryad (Bryr-Mura) found him, as he was hunting a particularly difficult beast. Although he hunted the animals, he had respect for them, and so the dryad could tell. The dryad could also tell the skill of the huntsman. The dryad would watch over him as he hunted, protecting him from dangers, though never spoke. It is not until later that he discovers the dryad, as they spoke, they enjoyed each other’s company. The hunter began to venture into the forests more, often returning with nothing more than leaves and the forest foliage. The hunter soon stayed overnight in the woods in her company, leaving the village for days, and, sometimes, returned with the largest game the village has ever seen. This was when the village was quickly growing in size. A growing number of traders and residents moved in and out, and the image of Elleus soon grew to a mysterious hermit by the community. Those who still remembered Elleus fondly tried to dissuade the newcomer’s of Elleus’s oddity, but Elleus proved these efforts fruitless as he left as soon as he arrived in town, as mysterious as the townsfolk believed him to be. Until one day, when Elleus returned to the forest, the forest was silent. Devoid of its usual chatter and livelihood. Then, Bryr appears. She tries to warn him of an evil that has entered the forest. She leads him back out of the forest, but then he realizes that the dryad would not leave with him. She is bound, blessed (or, in Elleus’s eyes, cursed) to stay and protect it.

Of course, Elleus wanted to stay and help, but she wanted to protect him, so she created a barbed barrier of thorns on the edges of the forest, impenetrable by man’s inventions. Elleus was trapped outside of the forest, and Bryr within.

Elleus tries to hack it away, but they keep regrowing.

Finally, instead, Elleus uses his leather-gloved hands and peeled away the bramble, bending it, instead of breaking them.. With many cuts, he emerges on the other side. Rushing to the middle of the forest with his bow, he joins the fight with the beast that is corrupting the woods.

But he arrived at the last moments, where the dryad is impaled by the beast’s thorns. With anguish and fury, he battles the beast until it layed dead. Both are heavily wounded, but he emerged victorious.

As he picked up her body, they shared a final few words before she passed on. He builds a shrine in her memory as the forest also joins to commemorate her passing. In her last words, he was informed of the location of her temple.

He packed up all his equipment, sold what he could, and headed deep, deep into the woods, in search of the temple she spoke of.

When he found it, he pledged his life to protect the woods that the dryad loved so dearly. But nothing happened. The central fountain was dried and overgrown; nothing responded.

He fasted for several days, meditating and communing with nature. After four days of meditation, he was on the brink of death when he heard a cry.

A baby’s cry was heard. He heads in the direction, and finds a baby in the middle of an opening, alone. He goes over and picks it up. This was Alden. Realizing his overwhelming weakness and the need to protect the newborn, he resumed to eat. As his health regained, there was joy once again, shared between Elleus and his newfound son, Alden. As he nurtured Alden in the woods, he was not ready to give up his promise.

As the years passed, he no longer returned to the village. He no longer hunted the animals of the forest and instead feasted on the mushrooms and fauna of the glade. He stayed at the temple, learned to live with nature and every morning he returned to the fountain to meditate. And every time, there was silence (only sometimes broken by Alden’s cries).

As Alden grew older, Elleus tried to teach him the wonders of the forest, and most importantly, his mother (so Elleus believes).

Meanwhile, he went to investigate the source of the beast and found a dark temple, with its seal broken deeper in the forest. Using what he has remembered from his time spent with Bryr-Mura, he attempts to seal the dark temple. Of course, Elleus had only known little magic of what the Dryad had taught him, and was only able to provide little protection. He would then spend each day, tending to the seal, investigating the source. Each day he returned, the seal was faded and needed to be reinvigorated. But, then one day, with Alden’s surprisingly ingenious help, they blocked the entrance with heavy rubble. The entrance was sealed, permanently.

However, after a few days, Elleus returned to the entrance, finding it open. Something had escaped. He finds another beast, the same as the one that struck down his beloved. Worried about Alden, he rushes back home, only to find Alden oblivious and still continuing his daily chores. Elleus pushed him into the shed and told him to stay hidden and quiet. Alden obeys, and Elleus leaves to hunt the beast once more.

The hunt was difficult, it was not until nightfall did Elleus find the beast. It was a tough battle, but Elleus had fought this battle before, and finished it with greater ease. However, this time, when the beast fell, its shadow seeped out of its body and out to the edges of the battle. As he slowly returned home, two more creatures, larger in size and different in form, lept out and attacked Elleus. Elleus, caught off guard, suffered a large gash across his chest, but thankfully dodged into the woods with his life. In his attempts to slowly whittle down the opponent, one of the beasts began to divert towards his shed, where Alden was still hiding. In a desperate attempt, he quickly lost the current beast and attacked head on the other, right before it reached the hovel. In a quickly losing battle, as the sun began to rise and his body tired, the natural growth seemed to merge with Elleus’s body. And out of the trees, emerged a new bow engraved with runic symbols and infused with natural magic. With newfound strength and abilities, he was able to push back the beast and defeat both at the same time. He was close to death, but the forest (and Alden, unknowingly ) helped him through.

Alden watched behind the window of the shed with wonder and awe.

Upon the beast’s defeat, once again their shadows emerged from the carcasses and slid back into the forest grounds. It was day and the sound of the forest returned.

Heavily wounded, Elleus collapsed from exhaustion. Alden rushed to his side and returned him to the hovel, taking care of him for the next few days. Elleus suffered a feverous dream, and did not wake until days later. Alden used what his father had taught him and hunted, gathered food and nourishment for the both of them. He also continued the crafts to fix his father’s equipment and repaired the grounds.

They rejoiced when Elleus regained consciousness, and they were glad they were well.

As they celebrated their time together, Elleus grew worried. Upon nightfall he slipped back to the dungeon to investigate. The blockade was still broken, with a huge hole, seemingly irreparable. At the bottom, where he had sealed, was another hole. And further down, into its inner sanctum, was a glowing portal. Active.

Elleus tried to use his newfound abilities to close the portal, but to no avail. He was not attune to the how his abilities worked nor the knowledge to deal with it. He tried to collapse the stonework in the area; filling the portal with more and more material, hoping to destroy it or fill it. But it remained. And he noticed as he studied the portal, a small sliver of the shadow he saw was seeping through the ground above and into the portal.

This was bad.

Elleus could not close it. So instead, upon his return back to the shed, he decided to return Alden to the village, where it was safe and he could lead a normal life, and Elleus can continue his guardianship in the dungeon. Alden was asleep when Elleus brought him to town, to the church, to Priest Wilfred, who had known Elleus from the beginning. He promised to take care of him and Elleus, after giving a parting kiss on his forehead, slipped back into the night to guard the forest once more. Of course, Alden was furious when he woke up. He wanted to return home. Priest Wilfred was a kind man and felt sympathy for Alden’s circumstance. Wilfred himself was an orphan. He never knew his father nor mother.

But as Alden discovered he was truly left behind, he followed Wilfred’s suggestions. Wilfred taught the boy what he knew, about the gods, nature, and healing powers. Alden was an apprentice to Wilfred of the church. Alden would often ask, and Wilfred would oblige, to retell the old stories of his father, what he was like. The times when Elleus was still a venturing huntsman whose skill of the bow far supersedes all of whom Wilfred has ever seen. The crafts his father created and the beasts he hunted. The celebrations they had.

Alden wanted to return to see his father again. So he decided to open a leatherworks shop, to follow in his footsteps. From what he learned of hunting and crafting, he applied it to this. Wilfred was getting sickly and old, and could not make ends meet sometimes. Alden helped out. But more importantly, he wanted to get enough equipment to journey back to the woods and rejoin with his father.

One day, when Alden was opening his shop, he found it already open. Suspicious, he pulled his dagger. To his surprise, it was a dog. And around its neck was a wooden necklace that Alden (vaguely) remembered from his father’s neck. It was a sign.

With newfound fervor, and the dying demand of leatherworks (as not many found his wares useful), he opens a bakery. The wheat was cheaper to obtain as the farmers had grown to cultivate a wider field of land and he had some knowledge of bakery.

As he worked, he met the other children from the farm: Timn, Nora, and Rudy. They were younger than him and often wanted him to play. He did sometimes, at the request of Wilfred, who saw Alden becoming too serious and unchild-like. Alden and his dog, Butch, went everywhere together. And with the other children, they explored the surrounding areas and played. The children often came to his bakery for treats and sweets. His business was booming.

However, one day, As they were out in the woods, a young beast, one similar to the one Elleus hunted at the beginning of the journey emerged. Alden, wanting to prove his skill, begins the hunt. The other children join too. However, things got out of hand quickly. The children cowered in fear, clutching their weapons to their chest and hiding, while Alden faced it head on. But then Alden was struck and was pinned under a fallen large branch. And as the beast changed focus and charged towards the other children, Butch came to their rescue. However, at the cost of his life. Butch and the beast hurled each other off the cliff-side, down the waterfall, saving the children, who ecstatic of the victory but quickly realizing their mistake.

Alden blamed the children for Butch’s death and would not forgive them. They were sorry, but their friendship had ended. Alden’s only connection to his father, Alden’s true friend, Alden’s purpose, was gone.

Alden felt betrayed and his chances to return to his father worsened. His new gear was destroyed and he had to buy new ones. The remaining remnant of his father was gone.

He wanted to scale the cliff down to the lake, but after a few attempts, he knew it was too dangerous. And so he returned to the village, waiting for the one day he’d return to his father once again, if he is still alive.