---
Guided by the map, Fowad set off with Foxy and Fattey, following the marked trails through the forest.
The routes were well-detailed, leading them through dense groves and over streams, bypassing some of the more treacherous terrain he had struggled with before.
The journey wasn't without challenges. Along the way, they encountered basic-level beasts, which Fowad and Foxy dispatched with practiced efficiency.
Fattey, eager to prove himself, often swooped in to peck at the creature's mid-battle, much to Fowad's annoyance.
"Fattey, that's not helping," Fowad muttered after the bird nearly collided with him during a fight with a particularly aggressive horned rabbit.
"Chip chip chip!" Fattey replied indignantly, puffing out his feathers.
( Mommy let's play with this rabbit.)
Despite the distractions, the group made steady progress, weaving through the forest with newfound confidence.
The map's markings led them to a safe path out of the Sapling Forest a discovery that filled Fowad with mixed emotions.
For months, the forest had been both his refuge and his prison. Knowing there was now a clear way out gave him a sense of freedom he hadn't felt in a long time.
But he wasn't ready to leave just yet.
---
The path eventually brought them to the clearing where the battle had taken place months ago.
As Fowad stepped into the familiar terrain, a wave of emotion washed over him, tightening his chest and sending a lump to his throat.
The clearing was eerily quiet, the air heavy with the weight of memories.
The snow-covered ground bore faint traces of the chaos that had unfolded here scorch marks on the trees, deep gouges in the earth where claws and weapons had struck.
Fowad's steps faltered as his gaze swept over the scene. This was where it had happened.
This was where he had last seen his father, injured and struggling to protect him. The memory was vivid, seared into his mind like a brand.
---
The clearing stood silent under the canopy of the Sapling Forest, untouched by time yet heavy with the echoes of the past.
Fowad moved cautiously, his footsteps muffled by the snow-covered ground. Every step felt heavier than the last as if the weight of his memories was dragging him down.
This was the place where his life had changed forever the site of his father's final stand.
Fowad paused at the edge of the clearing, his gaze sweeping over the terrain.
The faint marks of the battle were still visible: clawed scars on the trees, deep gouges in the earth where weapons had struck, and the scattered remnants of what had once been a desperate fight for survival.
His chest tightened as he took it all in. Five months had passed since that day, but the pain was as fresh as ever.
---
Determined to find some trace of his father, Fowad began to comb through the area.
He started with the center of the clearing, where the marks of the battle were most concentrated.
His eyes scanned the ground for anything that might give him a clue about what had happened after he had fled.
The search was painstaking. He overturned rocks, sifted through patches of snow, and examined every broken branch and bloodstain.
Occasionally, he found fragments of weapons: a shattered blade embedded in a tree, the splintered shaft of a spear lying in the underbrush.
These remnants told a story of violence and struggle, but they offered no answers about his father's fate.
Fowad moved further out, widening his search. He circled the clearing, his hands trembling as he brushed aside snow and leaves.
But there was no body.
No grave.
Nothing to mark the spot where his father had fallen.
The realization hit him like a blow to the chest. He sank to his knees, his hands gripping the cold earth as his breath came in short, ragged gasps.
"Why?" he whispered, his voice breaking. "Why can't I find you?"
Did the beast swallow my father?
There is nothing left of him...
---
As he knelt there, the memories came flooding back.
He remembered his father's voice, calm and steady even as the battle raged around them.
"Run, Fowad," he had said, his words firm but filled with love. "Live. No matter what happens, you must survive."
He remembered the look in his father's eyes a mixture of determination and fear as he faced the bounty hunter then the unknown beast.
And he remembered the way his father had staggered, blood staining the ground as he fought to protect him.
Fowad clenched his fists, his nails digging into the dirt as tears streamed down his face.
"I'm sorry, Father," he choked out, his voice barely audible. "I wasn't strong enough to save you."
The grief that he had kept buried for so long finally overwhelmed him.
Months of pain and guilt poured out in uncontrollable sobs as he collapsed onto the ground, his body shaking with the force of his emotions.
For so long, he had tried to suppress his feelings, focusing instead on survival and training.
But here, in the place where his father had made his last stand, there was no escaping the truth.
He had lost the one person who had always been there for him. And no amount of strength or skill could bring him back.
---
As Fowad lay there, his tears soaking into the snow, memories of his father filled his mind.
He remembered the nights they had spent around the campfire, his father telling him stories about their ancestors and teaching him the principles of beast taming.
He remembered the way his father's eyes lit up when he spoke of their family's legacy the pride and hope in his voice as he passed down the knowledge of the Taming Circle.
"You have the potential to do great things, Fowad," his father had once said, his hand resting gently on Fowad's shoulder. "But greatness comes with responsibility. Never forget who you are and where you come from."
Fowad's chest ached as the memories played in his mind. His father had been his protector, his mentor, his compass.
Without him, Fowad had felt lost adrift in a dangerous world that seemed determined to crush him.
But now, as he lay in the snow, he realized that his father's lessons had never truly left him.
They were a part of him, woven into the very fabric of his being.
---