Chereads / The Last Arthurian Heroes / Chapter 16 - The Tale of the Hero of Moonlight

Chapter 16 - The Tale of the Hero of Moonlight

"Are you sure this is going to be okay, little prince?" Atalanta spoke quickly as Ulrich and her were running through the forest. They knew the general direction of where the wolf had attacked but they needed to try and find out where Fenrir would attack next.

"I will do whatever I must. I have to avenge my friends. Can you use any magic to make this easier huntress?" Ulrich spoke with a voice that seemed to emanate multiple emotions at once. He was a capable hunter on his own lands and other lands, but within the fairy forest, the magical creatures and beasts were different from anything he was used to hunting. The forest was also very different, almost as if the forest itself moved in correspondence to a will. Who's will? No one really knows.

"My magic is already at work. I'll find some other ways of using my magic so that you may be able to see what I can. We should rest for a while, we've been traveling for a day straight. There should be a grove somewhere up ahead where we can set up a fire." Ulrich nodded and seemed disappointed that his body had to stop to rest.

"I appreciate you trying to help me out. Magic tracking is faster so I'll rely on you for that. As for the grove, I begrudgingly agree that we must rest." The huntress could tell that he had pushed his body beyond it's limits while training in the capital. She noticed that he seemed to draw power from the forest to maintain his strength and stamina. They reached their destination and saw a grove of light green grass that looked as soft as a cloud. The opening was perfect for a camp site, once again making it seem as if the forest was alive. After they fixed their camp site, Ulrich seemed to collapse onto the makeshift bed that he had made.

"You are exhausted young prince, it is best that we rest for a few days. The scent is growing stronger, so we should make it to the desired location quickly." Ulrich turned his head towards her and she could see a look in his eyes that sent a chill down her spine. She wished for revenge because the Fairy Forest was the realm that she looked over, but this man wanted revenge even more than she did, and he was only a visitor. They had hunted with each other for awhile now, but she was learning more about him all the time.

"I'd rather not waste too much time, however, with the trajectory it's been following, I feel like he's heading towards the capitol. Which means he'll have to eventually cross our path sooner or later." She looked at Ulrich, noticing the fearlessness in his voice. He had a great understanding of how animals and magical beasts moved, the knowledge he possessed was on par with hers, the greatest huntress within this realm. After setting up some traps around the camp, she also laid down upon a makeshift bed beside Ulrich.

"You seem to have a great understanding of this particular animal. Is there any reason why that may be?" Atalanta wanted to know more about this young prince. Besides his name and title, he was a mystery to her. That is the main reason she had been hunting with him, to see if this prince would become a future threat to the fairy realm. To most, entering the woods and leaving out the other side in a hour isn't uncommon. They would be normal woods but, in order to reach the real fairy forest, one must gain access. The fact this prince was granted entrance surprised her at first, but after noticing that he had some fairy blood coursing through him, she knew that there was a bit more to the story.

No one knew where he hailed from. All anyone knew, was that he was a prince of a kingdom. The knowledge of where he came from was privy to only a few in the kingdom. He only ever introduced himself as Ulrich and didn't really give off a aura of royalty. The first night that she saw him, she was surprised that he was so willing to join her in hunting. She was interested in this young man, especially because he was able to keep up with her during the hunts. As she thought about that, Ulrich finally answered her question.

"There is a forest near my kingdom that is a district under our protection, mainly because of the small villages and hunters who call that forest home. Many great wolves inhabit that forest and I was taught that they can be tamed in a sense. This wolf seems to be acting like a tamed great wolf, however, unlike those that I've hunted, this one has been able to destroy villages and their defenders with ease." Ulrich looked up into the sky and attempted to make sense of the situation. Atalanta turned to look towards Ulrich and could tell something was amiss.

"Would it really be that difficult for a great wolf to accomplish a feat like that?" Atalanta asked Ulrich in a quizzical tone. What she didn't know, was that great wolves are only capable of killing one or two people at most before being shot down inside of a village. To wipe out multiple villages with talented warriors and hunters, would mean the great wolf had strength on par with a talented hunting party.

"A normal great wolf, yes. However, I have a feeling that we aren't dealing with a normal great wolf. This thing has been tearing through hunters and warriors with ease. The land of Valkyria has stories and legends of three great wolves. It is thought that they were the origin of all great wolves, however, unlike the great wolves we know, they were capable of killing gods." Atalanta's eyes widened and she seemed afraid of what Ulrich had just said.

"If this thing we are hunting, is strong like those ones, can we defeat it?" She asked in a tone that was attempting to mask her fear. Despite her attempts, Ulrich could hear the fear in her voice. He hardly knew the young huntress, however, he did feel a certain bond with her. He had a feeling that she too had a great burden placed upon her.

"As far as I know, it has blood and a heart, meaning that it can be killed." Ulrich turned his head to look at her. "Don't worry, it may not seem like it, but I am pretty strong for my age. Plus, it's still an animal, meaning it can be tricked." She smiled and held out her hand. Ulrich seemed puzzled to her gesture.

"Take a hold of my hand, I want to give you a gift." Ulrich reluctantly held out his hand and could immediately feel a strange feeling throughout his body. He could feel his power begin to surge. Atalanta smiled, suddenly, a bright light began to shine through the branches of the forest. Ulrich looked up and noticed that it was the moon, radiating as brilliantly as all of the stars in the sky. The light seemed as if it was elegantly weaving its way through the branches to land atop both of their hands.

Ulrich was puzzled by the sudden appearance of the moon. Rarely did the moon ever manage to pierce through the forest canopy. When it did, it was only in a few select spots where fairy rings were present. So, why did it manage to break through the canopy? Ulrich looked upon Atalanta, who appeared calm and even had a smile on her face. "Why are you smiling?"

"It's said that if the moon manages to break through the canopy and land upon two whom share a bond, that they are looked upon by the moon goddess of this forest with favor and will be blessed by her." Her smiled persisted as she spoke, Ulrich looked at her, then upwards through the hole the light came through. As a Pendragon, he had no real need for the blessings of a deity nor did he want to offer his praise to a deity who had no love for humanity.

"A moon goddess eh? I'm not so sure about this blessing, though, if it makes you feel better then I suppose that's fine." Ulrich noticed her grip tighten, though the power surge he felt was no longer there.

"I can feel the moon goddess's blessing within you Ulrich. She is watching us, watching you, to make sure that no harm will befall you. This hunt will be dangerous, for both of us, so I'll ask you this one last time. Are you sure about going forward with this?" Ulrich looked into her eyes, reminding her of daggers piercing her soul.

"If I'm going to become a king one day, I have to learn to protect the people I care about. We've both already lost many friends, but we can still avenge them and make sure that no one else gets hurt and has to face the pain of losing another loved one. There are no more villages between where he is and where we are, meaning that we are the only two people keeping it from reaching more people." As Ulrich spoke, he began to notice that the light was now placed solely on him. He let out a sigh, let go, and turned away, "Well, it seems like it's getting late, we should get some rest."

"The goddess shows you great favor, and yet, I see a sense of repulsion in your eyes. Do you hold a grudge against deities?" Atalanta spoke clearly and waited, but it was obvious that she wasn't going to receive an answer. She thought about pressing further, however, she realized that she had become a bit too emotionally invested in the situation. Suddenly, she heard Ulrich begin to speak, it wasn't an answer to her question, but at the same time it was.

"The Red Warrior of Camelot, many came against him but it was all for naught. This warrior would fight and kill until all were dead, he gained his name because after his killing, his armor would be covered in red. He caught the eye of the great queen of Camelot, the two then married and quickly had a son whom they loved a lot. The Crimson King served a guardian god of the poor, however, when he was upholding his duties for his god, he decided he needed him no more. In the middle of a war zone, the god stripped him of his power, his story should have ended there, but alas, he did not cower. He ordered everyone to retreat and held a bridge alone, when he became overwhelmed, he gathered all of his magic and reduced the bridge to nothing but brick and stone. The Crimson King left behind a snow covered battlefield, stained in red, just as he did many times before."

After his tale, Ulrich spoke no more words. Atalanta had no words to give to the young prince. The only information she could glean from his story, was that he was the prince of Camelot, and that his father was the famed Crimson King. She stole one final glance at Ulrich for that night, noticing that he had gripped his bedding tightly.

When the morning came, Atalanta awoke to find Ulrich's gear packed against a tree, and saw Ulrich meditating underneath a tree that Atalanta had not seen that previous night. It gave off a purple hue, one that seemed to pulse with energy. It seemed very entrancing, yet, Ulrich sat with his eyes closed and was motionless. Atalanta moved towards Ulrich, inching her hand closer towards to him. Just before her hand, no, before the thought of touching him crossed her mind, Atalanta had dagger held at her throat. What had just happened puzzled her, as Ulrich's eyes were still closed and she should have been able to react to his motion. He opened his eyes and quickly brought his dagger back to it's sheathe.

"I apologize, I'm not entirely sure what just happened." Ulrich spoke quickly and began to stand. Atalanta knew what happened, it was easy to see from her point of view. Ulrich had already developed a very sharp and keen killing instinct, whether he knew it or not, was unknown to her. What she was sure of, was that she had chosen the right person to help her fell this foul beast. That's when Ulrich spoke once again. "I have already traveled a bit ahead and set up some traps that may help."

He had already set up traps and has been sitting here meditating? Did he not go to sleep last night? That was the only way it was possible for him to do such things. "Did you get enough rest? This will be an arduous task young prince?" Ulrich looked back at her, the first thing she saw on his face, was a smile that would forever be burned into her mind. It was a smile that, in the future, the gods would come to despise. It was the moon goddess who gave it a name after seeing it herself, "The Smile That Promised Victory."

"Well, if you're scared fairy princess, then I'll just have to go and kill it myself." Ulrich's smile and voice just radiated confidence, however, it was the fact that he called her a fairy princess that caught her off guard. "Don't be so surprised that I know your royalty, I pretty much guessed as much when you managed get to my room." Ulrich picked up the rest of his gear and turned to look at Atalanta again. "I had enough rest, and I'm more than ready to take on this beast."

She returned the smile, "Don't mistake my concern for fear young prince, also, don't act so pleased that you guessed my true title." Her face continued to smile with confidence, "I d be disappointed if you hadn't been able to figure it out by now. As for the hunt, don't think that I would allow you to hunt that beast without me."

"Then, we'd better get a move on princess." The two quickly gathered whatever belongings they had and began to once again move through the forest. They didn't have to go far to reach the location that Ulrich had chosen as the ambush area. The traps were obviously built for a very large creature, at least, that is what Atalanta inferred from them. Each trap was laid out carefully and precisely, a pit fall with spikes, multiple snares, and many spring loaded spears. She then noticed a decent number of magical runes on the ground. She could tell that he had planned the whole thing out very meticulously. Ulrich then motioned to her.

"I want you to find a suitable tree that will allow you to have a full view of where I placed all of my traps. I'll admit that I am inferior to you when it comes to archery, so I'll be relying on you to have my back." She noticed a strange look upon the prince's face. It seemed to be a look of concern but mixed with excitement.

"Alright, then what will you be doing young prince?" Ulrich then smiled, a smile that she had seen that night. The smile that Atalanta interpreted to mean, "I'll win no matter what."

"I'm glad you asked." Ulrich then unstrapped the sword that was on his back, then took the blade out of it's sheathe. The magical sword was made out of a special material, a stone that was said to fall from the sky. The blade seemed to suck in the very sunlight itself. "I will be the one who draws in the animal. I'll be weaving around the battlefield and leading it into the different traps. When I lead it into the main snare, aim for it's eyes and blind it. It will still be dangerous but, it being blind will give us an advantage. We want to disorient it, so after you fire some arrows, move to another spot."

"You seem to have already thought this through pretty well, tell me, when do you expect it to be here?" As soon as she finished speaking, Ulrich put his hand on the blade of his sword, causing it to bleed. He began to walk to the middle of the hunting ground and proceeded to hold his hand out and cause a puddle of blood to form. Atalanta looked on in surprise. She didn't expect him to cut his own hand, nor did she expect him to do it without flinching.

"He should be here around the early evening at the latest, but he could show up a lot quicker than that. So, I'd suggest eating some rations and such while you have the chance." She noticed that a sweet fragrance seemed to be emanating from the area his blood was landing on. She quickly hopped up onto a nearby tree branch and began her preparations, enchanting her arrows and making sure that her magic power was stable. That was when she noticed Ulrich, he had stabbed his sword into the ground and was now sitting with his back against the flat edge of it.

When she closed her eyes and began to meditate and feel the surroundings of the forest, she could feel Ulrich's magical energy. It was calm, like the stillness of an undisturbed pond, yet, it also felt the pond was deeper than an abyss. What frightened her was not the depth of his magical power, but the fact that it was calm and still on the surface, but in that abyss raged a mighty storm. She then whispered to herself, "What are you, Prince Ulrich?" She then smirked, "Well, I suppose the goddess of the moon really doesn't care what you are, since you managed to catch her attention and even her affection." She began to blush a bit.

"Unbeknownst to them, the beast was racing towards them, having caught the smell of blood that smelled sweet. However, there was also something else that was following the beast, something that caused this story to take a drastic turn." Princess Dianna looked over at King Ulrich, the fairy troops present were all eager to hear the rest of the story. Alicia, Maria, and Bryn all listened intently, waiting to hear of the event that changed Ulrich. "The true terror of the forest, was yet to be unleashed, and the ones who unleashed this terror, were the very ones who asked for the great beast. The wolf raced towards the two, fortunately, the beast wouldn't arrive for some time. It turns out, that the moon goddess was waiting for her moment to show her dedication to the young prince." Ulrich looked at Dianna with a somewhat surprised look, which Ariel took note of. It was obvious that Dianna knew something that Ulrich did not.