Arise the Age of Champions
Syffox limped down a lonely, dusty, road. It was a road not unlike many he had travelled in the time since leaving Vantaiga’s domain. Unlike the others, though, this road came close to the forest. Normally Syffox avoided travelling near the forest. But since his absence the forest had grown larger and extended much further than what he remembered. Perhaps he should have been happy to see his Goddess’s forest doing so well. But seeing the beautiful line of green on the horizon did not make him feel happy, even though he missed it so much.
He showed his age more than he used to allow. His dragging right leg made him feel old, and he no longer had the will to deny that. Instead of his leafed walking stick for shade, he covered his head with a wide-brimmed hat. The hat hid most, but not all, of his long, greying, unkempt, hair. His beard was matted and greying as well.
There was little need to maintain his appearance anymore. The people of the lands outside the forest only cared about what he could do for them and not what he looked like. Their coldness was not a concern to Syffox; he helped them all the same. They were just an unending distraction for him. A distraction from what he’d left behind, and what now loomed before him.
The rumours in the outer lands were that the forest was no longer the one he left . There were stories of children getting lost and abandoned and of vicious beasts stalking the innocent. It was told that if you fell into its dark shadows, there was no god there to answer your prayers.
Syffox could chalk up the rumours of children and beasts to suspicion and unfamiliar people. But he couldn’t dismiss the rumours of there being no god to answer prayers. The Goddess didn’t answer his prayers. Did she no longer answer anyone’s prayers? Had she abandoned her followers as much as she had abandoned him? Perhaps it was time he returned to the forest to find out what was becoming of it, even if he wouldn’t find his Goddess there.
As Syffox continued down the road, it led to something he had never seen before. He stared out across a field of stumps and broken branches but no fallen trees. It was as if a great storm had blown through the area and carried away all the tree trunks.
In bafflement, he continued on. The stumps and fallen branches were cleanly severed without breaks, splinters, or chops. It was not just the small trees that had vanished either. Here, all trees had been removed, even the large ones. He did not know of an axe possible to cut such large trees.
Further down the road, he could see a group of men and horses dragging a tree trunk from the field to a pile by the roadside. Syffox hastily approached the group. “What is going on here?”
One of the workmen responded to him casually, “Hello, old man. We are gathering lumber.”
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Syffox looked around, even more confused. “Lumber?”
The man looked at him with some pity. “Logs for building. You should stand aside; this is dangerous work.”
“But you are taking every tree? How are you doing this? Why do you leave the branches?”
The man considered Syffox with concern before gesturing for him to follow. He walked the elderly Syffox to a cart to show him something. It was a long piece of metal with a jagged edge. The metal was a deep, dark, grey. Syffox had never seen a device made of such a dark metal before. Quite proudly, the woodcutter displayed it before Syffox. “We call this a saw. With it, we can cut down any tree of any size much more quickly than with an axe. We can gather so many trees with this. We don’t have to bother with branches.”
Syffox looked around, aghast. “But there are no trees left. You are killing the forest. Why are you doing this?”
The man sighed. “We’re a long way away and it’s just easier to pull out the trees if they are all down. You should move along now old man. We are busy here.”
The man turned and walked away, but Syffox followed him. “But what about the forest?”
The man’s face hardened. “The forest has lots of trees. We have a lot of work to do old stranger. Leave us!”
Syffox pushed the man aside and ran into the field where other men were leading a horse pulling a log over the ground. “Stop! You must stop! This is not the way to groom the forest.” He ran up next to the log and began pulling on the chains and deep metal spikes hammered into it.
The men snickered with amusement at the befuddled Syffox. However, when he pulled a spike from the tree, they took more serious notice. Astonished, they looked about, not sure what to do. A few reached for their axes and hammers.
The first man approached, storming toward him. “Get out of here, old man.” He pushed Syffox. “These are not your trees. They don’t belong to anyone. We are free to take them as we wish.”
The man’s words stung Syffox deeply. He was not part of the forest anymore. He looked sadly at the men. “But these are my Goddess’s trees, and this used to be my home.”
The logger looked around angrily before finally drawing in a breath and relaxing his posture. “Go home, old man. None of us have time for what used to be—you as well.”
Syffox shoulders dropped. “But this is not the way. My Goddess will be angry at what you have done.”
The man put a hand on Syffox’s shoulder and walked him back to the road. “I’m sorry old man. There is no goddess here. You should move on.” He returned to his workers who were hammering back in place the large spike that had been removed.
Syffox was left standing to watch them haul the mighty tree away, stripped naked of its branches and leaves. Tears welled in his eyes as he looked at the destruction. The grotesquely flat stumps, the littered branches everywhere, the forest gashed open and exposed with all its border shrubs and undergrowth ripped away.
He sniffed and tried wiping away his tears. The rumours were true. They were right—there was no Goddess here. If she was, she would never have allowed this. But nobody cared about the forest anymore. The loggers didn’t care, his Goddess didn’t care, so why should he care?
Why should he care that they were destroying everything he’d worked for and his beautiful forest was being turned into a place of suffering just like the rest of the world? Why should he care that she’d abandoned his friends and followers and him? Why should he care that he never got angry enough to fight for what he wanted?
He looked around at the wreckage that was becoming of his forest and himself. This was such a remote area and there was no one else out here to care for the trees. He tried to dismiss the destruction and move on but couldn’t. Instead, an irrepressible anger grew within him.
He should care…
They should care…
She should care.
He pulled out his bow…
He will make them care.
Hidden Human (Sci-fi near future Serial) by RJDorey
The rich didn’t just win the war—they evolved.The Net Lords have achieved immortality, using vat-grown humans to fuel their eternal reign. But, while the spark of humanity is dim it's not snuffed out.
Special Agent Bucket and his squad of warriors clad in devastating Echo-suits are the only force capable of piercing the Net Lords' defenses. It's a fight to free humanity from the brink for elimination from the oppressive few and their surprising allies.
This story progression is loosely based on traditional weekly serial releases, there will be no backlog. I have a clear path for where the story is going. Being written and released one chapter at a time gives it an energy I enjoy. I am open to suggestions from readers as to where the story will go.
Release Schedule:
Cover created with Krita by author using Copyright free photos. NO AI imagery was used in art work creation, NO AI processing was used in story creation at any stage.
What to expect
Epic adventures, compelling characters, and a story that keeps you coming back for more.
Don't miss out on this incredible story!