Valerian, The Legendary

32 Discovered.

Valerian heard the tweeting and chirping, he understood that someone has entered the woods to find him. He became alert from this.

He thought, ‘You want to find me so that you can take me back. I may not be very strong now, but you surely will not have it easy to find me.’

He collected the fruits and left the place, making sure to erase all the traces of his presence. He was going to check, who has entered the forest to catch him, but he needed help.

Traversing through the forest, Valerian quickly came to the burrow where Gleam was. He looked inside and found that the snake was not there. Thinking about the time he realized that the snake must have gone hunting.

It was night and the progress of the people will not be fast. So he decided to wait, and eat the fruits he had collected. After an hour, the snake returned, and the bulging belly was an obvious indication that he had a feast.

Valerian asked, ‘Gleam, can I ask for your help?’

Gleam raised her head and hissed, ‘What is it?’

Valerian replied, ‘I told you about the people I used to live with, right?’

.....

He waited for the beast to nod like a human and said, ‘Those people are inside the forest, searching for me. I do not wish to go back with them so quickly. Please help me. Tell me what should I do?’

Gleam had raised her head and after thinking for some time, she said, ‘Roam around the forest, confuse them. If you stay in one place it will be easy to find you.’

Valerian nodded and said, ‘You are right. I will go now.’

He stood up from the ground, when the snake used her tail to wrap around his leg and said, ‘Do not be in a hurry, tonight is the night of the full moon. Things will not be safe, let them fend off for themselves.’

Valerian was surprised, he raised his head to look up at the sky and found it the two moons shining brightly. He asked, ‘What do you mean by things will not be safe?’

Gleam said, ‘Let us go inside first.’

Valerian nodded and crawled back inside the burrow and cast the spell on his eyes so that he could see things. Gleam said, ‘I do not even know where to start from.

Well, ever since I have come out of the shell of my egg, every full moonlight, the forest will resound with a strong roar of a beast. This beast is not a normal animal, when it roars we all feel like we are being suppressed.

We have never seen this beast, but one thing is sure, the roar originates from the forbidden area of the forest. The roar is not only unsettling, but a few predators go crazy and they go out to hunt on the night of the full moon.

Hunting has a few rules in the forest, unspoken rules, however, once a month all these rules are forgotten and indiscriminate attacks take place. So, it is not safe to go out there.”

Valerian wanted to ask a few questions when the forest shook, MOO!

The child could feel the ground shaking from the vibrato of the roar. He was shocked, to think such a beast resided inside this forest. However, when Valerian heard this sound, he was surprised.

He put aside all the shock in his mind, he began to ponder over the last sound of the roar, when another roar shook the forest. This time he heard clearly, the roar was not scaring the animals, it was something else.

Valerian gulped, and asked Gleam, ‘Do you really have no idea what is this beast?’

Gleam kept her gaze locked at the opening and replied, ‘No, why do you ask?’

Valerian replied, ‘Because I do.’

Gleam was shocked and she turned her head to look at Valerian.

...

Quies was sitting on the crown of a tree when he sensed the whole forest getting restless. He hid his breath to make sure that no magical beast spots him. He could tell that things were not normal in this forest. He took out a piece of jade that looked like a dice but it was stamped on the side and crushed it. He said, ‘Something is not right, do not move until necessary.’

This was a messaging jade, he used it to send the message to the people who hold a dice with a similar stamp on it. As the guardian of the princess, he was worried that something might happen to her, however, he did not have the habit of disobeying commands. Helpless he could only pray that things were fine on the other side.

...

Azula heard the message left by Quies, and frowned, she had also heard the roar of that beast, she did not know what it was but her heart was unsettled. She was not alone in the forest, she had entered the place with her magical beasts. The ice blue deers, also known as Snow Deers in common human language.

The four of these magical beasts followed her into the forest and were not having her stay inside a dome of snow. Azula had wanted to keep going forward, but they did not allow her, the instincts of a beast were sharper than a human. The princess was not worried about herself, but about the others and specially Valerian.

Priscilla and Rectus had also received the same message from Quies and they had sat down in hidden spots as well. The two of them would attack every predator that tried to consume them. The roars of the beast were horrifying for humans and beasts alike, some predators or herbivores even lost their sanity and went on a rampage.

The magical beasts were smarter so they all hid in places where they can avoid direct exposure. However, not everyone was the same. There were two creatures, who were moving in the direction of the forbidden region. The place from where the roars were originating.

These two were none other than Valerian and Gleam. Earlier when the boy said that he knows what this beast was, Gleam did not believe her, but then the boy said that the only way to confirm his doubt was to go inside the forbidden area.

Gleam rejected this idea with no hesitation, but when the boy said, that if his guess was correct, she will be able to become stronger. All the magical beasts sought after a chance to get stronger and this was her chance, how can Gleam let it go. So, she took a gamble.

Valerian led the way as the deafening roars had no effect on his sanity, he said that it was because he could understand the meaning of these roars, that was why he was safe.

Upon seeing the hesitation in Gleam’s heart, he left the burrow alone and forced the snake to follow him. After a few minutes, when Valerian was able to stay calm amidst the riot in the woods, Gleam followed him closely. She would tell him when they were getting closer to the territory of another magic beast. That way they would bypass the zone and move forward.

The moons in the sky were getting brighter as the night darkened. The intensity of the roars also increased with the passing of time. These roars emitted such pressure that after a point, Valerian was having slight difficulty in moving forward to reach his goal. It was as if something was pushing him back.

Gleam asked, ‘Are you fine?’

The two were standing next to a tree, taking a break, Valerian nodded and said, ‘Come, we are almost there.’

Gleam nodded and the two began to walk forward again. After a few minutes they found themselves inside a clearing, and in front of them was a huge carcass lying on the ground.

The snake froze when she looked at the carcass. She mumbled in snake tongue, ‘Is this what I think this is?’

Valerian nodded and walked closer to the carcass as he let out gentle roars from his mouth. The roars were the same as the ones shaking the forest, but much gentler, akin to a lullaby. Gleam was lost in a daze she did not pay attention to the boy, as her eyes were filled with dazzling glow and runes. She was experiencing an epiphany from looking at the carcass of a dragon.

Valerian reached closer to the carcass, he stood close enough to touch the carcass and had almost raised his hand when he sensed the pendant around his neck vibrating.

The boy was surprised, he looked down and found that the pendant was glowing with silver light. Subconsciously, he reached inside his shirt and took the pendant out, the glow from the pendant became so strong that he had to close his eyes.

Suddenly, he heard a voice inside his mind, ‘Val, have you found your way to me, my child.’

The sense of warmth and familiarity with this voice was something that he has never experienced yet it felt to be buried deep under his heart. The warmth made him shiver.