Storm Of Fog: Chapter One, The Wayward Forest

“Kono Yoshihiro, what did I just say?!”

The soft candlelight of the portrait room gently lit up each face of royals past. Each one of them looked as miserable as the next. Why could they never crack a smile? Surely, it wasn’t that hard. Kono looked at them, if he could crack a smile then so could they. The faded rumble of conversation came and went in his ears. He was supposed to be paying attention to King Halion The Hog. That was the whole reason he came here.

Kono never wanted to come to this ‘meeting’ anyway. King Halion destroyed the Kingdom when he and his army raided it, killing the rightful King and Queen in the process. He interested Kono, however. This King was a small, really small. A foot tall if he wore the right shoes. Gnomes were small, to begin with, but Halion was the right size for a toddler’s football. This had always raised many questions. His army helped him kill the King and Queen but this missing toe claims to have single-handedly killed their young son, Torlief. Torlief was only five at the time but he still had the ability to outrun a gnome. Kono couldn’t also forget that when asked for proof of the boy’s body, Halion refused. He still has the King and Queen bodies hanging outside the castle entrance but won’t show the child’s body.

Halion’s voice was the sound of nails on a chalkboard. Kono always wished that was a joke that he had imagined every time he had to come back to see Halion. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. Halion somehow managed to enrage a Warlock so much that this Warlock cursed him. Kono disagrees with this story, the Warlock cursed everyone, not just the little gremlin.

“Honestly, Hallion, I don’t know. Nor do I care,” Kono’s voice always kept the same even tone. Changing it involved caring about how he sounded and he couldn’t care less about how he sounded.

Halion’s face changed hue for a moment. Kono loved seeing this, he was getting under Halion’s skin. After a few deep breath’s Halion handed Kono an envelope. For someone with the title of King, the expectation would be that this envelope would look pristine, shining and well put together. However, this thing looked like it had lived in a swamp for three-thousand years before being crumpled to a ball and left in someone’s back pocket. Reluctantly, Kono took the sad excuse from Halion.

“Take this and deliver it to the Order. If they do not start to comply with my will, they and their people will suffer.” Halion’s eyes had changed from their usual dull, murky grey to blood red. Kono felt his body leaning in for a closer look. Gnomes couldn’t do that sort of thing, they didn’t possess the magical qualities the allowed them to do that. The tension in the room quickly filled with a thick unease. Kono knew this was his queue to leave, and although, Halion’s eye’s faded colour, Kono knew that his promise to the Order was true and worse than any of them could have imagined.

***

To get to the Order’s meeting place was about a three-day walk through the dense Wayward Forest. There are pros and cons to this location; a pro is no human could last long enough inside the forest to find anything of use, and the biggest con is the forest is a murderous nightmare that has one goal to corrupt and eliminate everything.

On contradiction to the popular belief, Kono couldn’t make it through the forest any easier. Everyone would look to him to make this trek because he is a Druid so the forest won’t hurt him. Wrong. If anything, this only made the forest hate him more. Kono had been through this forest so many times that he knew all its weak points, he stuck to them like glue.

This trip wasn’t any different. The forest blocked out all the light, it seemed like the middle of the night though Kono’s watch told him it was around one in the afternoon. This was one way the forest would claim victims. Depriving them of light would throw off their internal clock, making them feel tired quicker. It meant they couldn’t find safety in one of the small villages that resided within the forest.

Kono kept walking, he knew if he just kept walking he could reach the second village before he felt exhausted and would be closer to the Order. He pulled out his phone and earphones, plugged them in and put on his favourite Spotify playlist. He can’t be tricked into madness if he can’t hear what is being said. Eternally Yours by Motionless In White started blaring into his skull, and with a smug smile flowing over his face he continued on his walk.

***

Hours had past and it wouldn’t be long before Kono passed the first village. He decided that he would stop in and replenish his supplies. Keeping his pace he continued to march through the forest, music still blaring in his ear, blocking out the forests menacing words. He came to a fallen tree, it had fallen hundreds of years ago. Tucking any loose material away he began his climb over the tree. Walking around this tree would add about another twenty minutes or so to his journey, climbing over it was faster.

Once at the top, Kono could see the glowing light in the distance of the first village. It may have only been a pin-sized light but it was there. Kono took this opportunity to rehydrate and eat something before climbing down and doing the final leg of his journey. As he was rummaging through his bag when ice covered his body.

All the heat and air ripped from Kono, save the scorching heat slipping up his chest, over his left shoulder and down his back. Shadows grew around him, menacing shadows reaching out for him. Kono had to reclaim himself, quickly. If not, he wouldn’t survive the onslaught of Wastelings that would realise he was vulnerable.

Kono catches his breath, pulling all his strength, energy and power together. Vibrations ran through his body, heat flooding back to him, the new scar throbbing with heat. Raising to his knees, he feels everything; the wind swirling around him, the Wastelings getting closer, pain. Someone else is hurt. Building up all of his strength he focuses every piece of himself on to one spot on the ground before smashing his firsts into it.

The gloomy dark forest lights up.

It’s as if the sun itself has come down from its perch and graced this nightmare with its presence. The Wastelings screech away back into the safety of their darkness. As Kono lifts his head some spots of trees and ground still burn away slightly. The flames would die away soon, Kono meant no harm to the innocent.

Kono gets to his feet, his left arm feeling numb. Looking around he spots a crumbled mass of cloth. Avoiding the bits of tree that came crumbling down during the explosion he carefully makes his way over to the mass. The mass had been slashed, blood pooling around it. Looking closer Kono finally saw the face of the mass. They were only young, in their early twenties maybe. Before Kono could react to the horror of what he had done, relief swept him off his feet. Falling down next to the body he watched silently for a moment. Just counting.

One Breath.

Two Breaths.

Three Breaths.

The Story Brief For Storm of Fog Wayward Forest

Chaos Tales is a form of writing I came up with where I write within a time limit and post. I randomise everything from plot and characters to time limit and title. From there I have to make a story from these elements. This is just for fun. I love to write but sometimes getting the story “perfect” can be incredibly overwhelming. So writing and posting is a fun way of letting myself write without the added stress of thinking “is it good enough?”

The Generated Plot By Reedsy.com

A druid, who no longer has any loyalties.

An enchanter, who is bright.

It’s a low fantasy story about good vs evil. It kicks off in the portrait room of a castle with an infestation of gnomes. (Notes that the prince has already vanished for a decade in this story.) And there’s a twist! Someone who was thought to be dead will return in the flesh.

Generated Character Names By Reedsy.com

Druid – Kono Yoshihiro

Enchanter/Prince – Torlief/Cian

King Gnome – Halion The Hog

Synopsis For Storm of Fog Wayward Forest

When Kono Yoshihiro, a young Druid who no longer has any loyalties, is sent to deliver a message from King Halion to the Order his world is flung into disarray. Now he needs to save the world? What the hell?

Info

(Title Generated By Reedsy.com & Time Generated By Google.com)

Title – Storm of Fog Wayward Forest

Time Limit – 2 Hours

Extended Synopsis

Storm of Fog Wayward Forest is the first instalment in a series, part of the Chaos Tales Universe. The story follows Kono Yoshihiro, a young Druid who no longer has any loyalties, who is sent to deliver a message from King Halion to the Order his world is flung into disarray. Now he needs to save the world? What the hell?