Chapter 29.1: The Lost Days in The Dark Forest of Aubrianne
These are the lost three days Dorin spent with Damien while waiting for Seb to wake up inside the Dark Forest of Aubrianne.
“You are awake.”
Dorin turned around and gets face to face with the tall groundskeeper.
“Where are we?” He asked, “Why have you taken us here?”
“This is my abode,” replied Damien Wolfsbane. “We are in the centre of the Dark Forest of Aubrianne.” he looked at the boy in front of him who stood in a defensive stance. “Do you know why the Dark forest is called so?” he asked the child.
“They say that the holy night Aubrianne once signed a truce with the fairy folk here.” Dorin answered “There is untapped magic in the woods, but
Chapter 29.2Dorin and Damien left the burrow after Dorin was given the same kind of long pleated skirt the groundskeeper was wearing. It was made of a sturdy, canvas-like material that seemed to flow with his every move. They met Azra along the way who simply nodded at them and hurriedly entered the hollow. Her eyes once more, were a pale shade of pink.Outside, the trees were so close to each other that only a small path led from the hidden cave to an opening wide enough for a patch of sunrise to peep in. Damien stood in the middle of the patch and made sharp calls to the air. Later, Dorin saw two large eagles circling in the sky above them, descend to the forest floor.“Have you ridden an eagle before?” the groundskeeper asked him.“Yes,” answered Dorin as he lovingly caressed the velvety feathers near the base of the eagle’s sharp beak. “But I didn’t fly very far, my mother is ag
Chapter 29.3The sun was making its trip down the horizon when Damien and Dorin returned to the burrow. Horatio had already left with Azra. Damien shared a supper of roasted venison with Dorin, and then left after a session of story telling.“Still not waking up?” Dorin nudged Seb. “I bet you would have loved to see the things I saw today... and the stories Damien told me... but I guess, being a student here, you already know most of that stuff.” He looked at his companion and placed a fur blanket over him which the other kicked off. “Let’s talk lots when you wake up.” he said, placing the fur back. “So hurry up and wake up.”The next morning, Horatio was waiting for Damien at the mouth of the small cave, his hoof pawing the ground as they came near.“You took your time yesterday.” he said to the groundskeeper.“We had a little lesso
Special Chapter 30: Stories of Old from The Dark Forest of AubrianneEvery night after supper, Damien Wolfsbane would tell Dorin about tales long gone. These are the stories he told him.First EveningAs the night got deeper and the food around the fire was consumed, Damien Wolfsbane would ease himself on one of the thick furs scattered in the burrow’s floor and stretch out his long legs. When he is comfortable with the two kits side by side, one curled next to the other, he would give a deep sigh and tell a story...Once upon a time... In the days when the dark forest stretched over the whole continent, the child of the sun fell in love with the child of the moon...They came into this land to find a place where they can be together in peace, for the place they once called home
Special Chapter 30.2: Stories of Old from The Dark Forest of AubrianneSecond Evening“That was a great rabbit roast!” Dorin puts his dish down and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “I can’t eat another bite...” he lays down on the fur covered floor, arms out.A slight smile played on Damien Wolfsbane’s lips. “Are you still up for the rest of the story?”“Of course!” Dorin abruptly sits up. “You were supposed to tell me about the Black revolt today!”“Then sit closer to the fire, so I can start.”The children of Al Khami had children of their own, and had to find their own land to raise even more children. They kept to the treaty and took care of the land, thus the land took care of them as well. Soon they built kingdoms as part of the forest, but even though the 3 families w
Special Chapter 30.3 Chapter Third Evening For the third day, Dorin and Damien feasted on fish from the undines in the river who loved to listen to their song. “Tonight, I will tell you the third and last story that is of importance to our empire’s history.” After the mad king, Alcione kingdom underwent a drastic change. King Remi the Pure was nothing but a puppet. His advisers opened more ports and built more cities for the prosperity of the kingdom, and since the Ravante’s prefer their books and the Heiligs their freedom, the continent soon came under the Alcione house and became the Holy Alcione Empire. Elazar, by then, a grown man, fought for the treaty with the Children of the Elements and built a wall to keep them from building inside the Dark forest, but in exchange, he gave up his right to own land and turned his kingdom into the Royal Aubrianne Imperial University.
PHASE 2: In Which We begin our Journey of Knowledge Chapter 31 - Joke “Dorin! You’re back!” Margarette called as soon as she saw her two friends, Dorin and Sebastian, enter the canteen. The two mages have just arrived from the dorms after Dorin had hurriedly put on some regular clothes. “Margarette!” Dorin called back excitedly, “I’ve come back for good this time!” he said. “My mother actually allowed me to study here!” “Is this true?!” she asked wide eyes. [Yes.] Seb wrote on a slate that have certainly seen better days. [Professor Althea will officially enrol him tomorrow] he added, hitching up the spare pair of glasses he found in his closet. “Great news!” Mar exclaimed. “And it’s good to see you’ve got your slate back.” she told Seb, eyeing him skeptically, “I thought you said you preferred to use ‘good ‘ole paper and pen to communicate with your minnion
It took a while before the two finally told Mar the whole story. They first got some food and settled at the farthest table in the canteen to make sure they could talk privately. “So, let me get this straight, you mean, those imperial spies almost caught you, but decided you weren’t worth the trouble after all?” “Yes.” Dorin nodded. “By then, Seb already got a punctured lung from a broken rib?” “Yes.” Dorin nodded again. “Then Damien Wolfsbane came and rescued you and brought you back to his abode in the middle of Dark Forest to heal your injuries.” “Yes.” Dorin nodded yet again. “He was out for three days, that’s why we just got back this morning. The Dorin and Seb you met 3 days ago were changelings sent to take our place.” “Well, that explains a lot!” Mar sighed. “By the way, did the other me do anything weird while he was here?” Dorin asked. “Not really, he still ate a lot, though I did find it queer that yo
Dorin woke up first, as usual. He heard a grunt from beneath him and found Sebastian under his left leg.“Oops, sorry...” he hurriedly got up and looked at the watch on the wall. “Five AM, should I wake Seb up? The kitchen opens at six so there’s still time for him to sleep...”He went to the bathroom for his morning rituals. When he got out, he was surprised to see Seb sitting on the bed.“Oh, you’re awake?” he greeted his friend. Seb did not reply. He simply sat on Dorin’s bed, eyes still close. “I’m finished with the bathroom, you can use it now.” Still the other would not move. Dorin went closer and stared at Seb who was still unresponsive. “Seb?” he nudged Seb’s shoulder. “Hey? Are you awake or not?”Seb opened his eyes with difficulty and made it half way. He gave a long groan. Dorin laughed.“I guess you really aren’t a morning p