Chereads / Treeborn / Chapter 4 - Forgotten

Chapter 4 - Forgotten

'Tap… tap, tap…'

Three swift raps clicked through the air, stirring the young man from his slumber. With a groan, he rolled over, trying to block out the sound and return to sleep. 

'Tap, tap… tap!'

To his dismay, the noise grew louder and more persistent. As he scowled, his emerald eyes fluttered open and peered out from beneath a curly amber curtain. Gathering his strength, he pushed himself upright and rubbed his face, only to soon frown as his blurry vision came into focus.

A glistening sea laid before him, with high cresting waves drawing at the sand before him. Overhead, the lush branches of a great oak rustled in the wind, while a bed of moss supported his body. A vast forest stretched out behind the tree, thriving in the warm temperatures. 

'Tap, tap…'

The repeated knocks drew the young man's attention to one of the thicker, low hanging branches. Sunlight streamed through the canopy of leaves, gracing the golden feathers of a strange bird. It tilted its head and eyed him with a beady gaze, then hopped off the branch, and spread it four small wings, before disappearing deeper into the forest. 

The young man frowned, and shifted his gaze down to his attire. The moss tickled his bare legs, wrapped in the remains of tattered trousers, and his toes stretched through his worn leather boots. 

His tunic fared no better, as it fell away when he lifted his arms, revealing his wiry torso, and protruding ribs. Despite this, his attention was drawn to an emerald amulet hung around his neck, encircled by a ringlet of roots. 

The gem felt cool in his hand, and a great tree stretched across the front, wrapping around the edges. Flipping it over revealed a strange text, inscribed in the shape of roots, and twisted and intertwined, but the knotted words read clear to him.

'May the Arbor Sanctum never fall.'

The man winced as something clicked in the back of his mind. 'Cyrus… My name is Cyrus.'

Cyrus rubbed the back of his head, causing his matted hair to crack. Besides his name, the remainder of his memories cluttered his mind, like broken fragments refusing to go back together. 

Any attempt to sort through them left him with a mind splitting headache, so in the end, he gave up, and climbed to his feet. His legs wobbled as he stepped forward, but soon a modicum of strength returned, allowing him to reach the edge of the shore. 

Shielding his eyes, he swept his gaze across the empty sea, then down the beach. The desolate sand continued on for several leagues, before merging with the forest, void of any signs of civilization.

"Where in the world am I?" 

Cyrus turned to the forest, which swayed in the summer gust. A flock of flametail sparrows flitted over the treetops, their bright red tail feathers like torches in the sky.

He counted fifteen in total before they dove into the branches, drawing his attention to a mountain in the distance. It's mossy cliffs rose above the forest, and the peak hooked at the top, resembling a jagged claw. 

'Perhaps I'll be able to find a village from there,' Cyrus thought. He surveyed the beach once more, but it provided no new hints as to where he came from, or how he arrived there. 

So, after tying the strips of his tunic around his waist, he slipped through the underbrush, and into the forest. Around him, the great oaks and wild elms grew proudly, their branches bound together to form a cover which shaded him from the sun. 

Over the next few hours, the sun crept ever higher, accompanied by a wave of humidity, thick and clammy. Cyrus swept the beads of sweat from his brow, and pushed onwards, stumbling through the long grass and wiry vines. 

Around him, the forest thrived as bright red squirrels chattered in the branches, and the chipmunks scurried away, clambering back to their hollows and cracks. Cyrus's stomach grumbled as he watched them run, but attempting to catch one was out of the question with his limited strength. 

Instead, his attention was drawn to a bush, covered in blueberries, which were dotted with white specks. He picked one, and rolled it between his fingers, torn between his hunger, and the possibility of it being poisonous. 

In the end, he took a deep breath, and tossed it into his mouth, popping it between his teeth. It tasted sweet, like a cube of sugar, and left a slight tingle on his tongue. Relieved, Cyrus plucked off a bundle more, and shoved them past his lips, swallowing most without even bothering to chew. 

Half an hour passed before both his hunger and thirst were quenched, and he finally regained enough strength to continue onwards. By now, the sun hung at its crest in the clear blue sky, its light streaming through the leaves and twigs. 

Fortunately, Cyrus enjoyed a cooling breeze as the land began its slope upwards, growing steeper with each step. From the base of the mountain, it took another three hours before he reached a ledge, which overlooked the vast land, stretching out far below.

Panting for breath, Cyrus slumped back against the mossy stones, and scanned the land. Just below, he spotted the cove he first awoke in, with the sea spreading out to the east, while on either side, the forest stretched for leagues, split solely by a winding river, which glistened beneath the sun.

Finally, Cyrus shifted his gaze to the west, following the unfamiliar continent. A sea of emerald tops filled the horizon, encircled by a range of rugged mountains, capped with snowy peaks, and jagged crevices.

Despite his height, however, Cyrus only spotted a single plume of smoke, rising in rhythmic puffs from the forest below. His heart raced as he trailed it back towards a small clearing, where a cobblestone cottage laid, no bigger than a pebble.

'So there are people on this land, after all. Good,' Cyrus thought. He eyed the falling sun, then gauged the distance to the house. 'It'll be night before I make it, and I'd rather not get lost. Hmm, I suppose I'll have to wait until tomorrow then, and leave first thing in the morning.'