The King of the Beasts

Humans often say that the passage of time changes everything, my people think that only creatures weak and without virtues are altered by the time.

My name is Nitel Sprout of Sun, I am a hunter, a proud grey elf who lives with the rest of my people in dark forest.

At the very least with respect to pride, it has been something I have been questioning lately.

My father raised me inflexibly, filled my head with the teachings of virtues and elf pride. With the vision of superiority of our race over all other creatures.

"Nitel, the five virtues filled us with blessings, while the five setbacks cursed the rest of the beasts."

Every time I forced myself to kill a creature with my bow, my father repeated those words constantly. Orcs, goblins and even humans were victims of arrows shot by my bow stretched by those words.

I never doubted the teachings of my father or the beliefs of our people. It's a bit presumptuous of me to say so, but I was always someone determined, someone who took pride never doubting.

That was until for the first time I experienced insecurity and uncertainty.

Adel Morning Dew, the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. An elf woman who totally filled my head with her warm smile and kindness.

I was enchanted by a confusing magic for which there is no exist counter-spell; love.

My arrows became clumsy, and my tongue stumbled upon itself by simply pronouncing her name.

"She is purported by Obel, you have no chance."

My father said those harsh words to me when he heard about my feelings. He was a hard man, I knew it, he had not fallen in love with my mother, he had "bought" her.

My father had never experienced that spell that afflicted me. If I think about it, today I can only feel sorry for him.

Still, reason was on his side. Obel was the son of the leader of the forest guard, a Vieri. Even if castes have no meaning face virtues, many women and their parents would never miss the opportunity to relate to the Vieri.

"When your head is filled with doubts, there is only one thing you can do, completely ignore your mind and do what your heart tells you.”

Despite being nothing more than a simple trophy to my father, my mother was a good woman. Her words helped me when my own father ordered me to back off and ignore my feelings.

My heart did not hesitate, I declared my love and for my joy, Adel accepted me without hesitation. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.

That made me rethink many things, however, habits are not something that can be changed so easily. I married Adel and our first son came; Eudel, 'happy as wind’, Adel herself chose the name.

The virtues were good with me, they gave me a wonderful woman and a healthy child. If there was something wrong with all of that, it was something that I provoked.

Influenced by my father, I gave my little son the same education that he was given to me.

Eudel obeyed my teachings.

It's not because he was my son, but his skill with the bow was much better than that of the prodigy of the Vieri, Libel, who was ten years older than my son.

My life was it satisfying, and yet I ended up ruining it. I tried to do the same thing my father surely planned to do with me, as soon as he was old enough to form his own home, I arranged a marriage for my son.

Eudel burst into anger, I didn't want nor did I try to understand my son. Furious because he did not obey my words, I gave him a choice to remain my son or to leave. That day I lost and deprived my beloved Adel of her son.

It didn't take my father long to reproach me for the event.

"You failed as a father; you didn't know how educate your son."

Blinded by the pride and in spite of the supplications of Adel, I did not try to stop Eudel. My son left the forest and go to the inhospitable outside world.

For almost forty long years, Adel never forgave me for what happened with Eudel, yet she never abandoned me. I am sure that she was aware that if I had lost her too, I would have gone mad.

When things softened among us, the five virtues blessed us with a new child, a little girl; Erabel, "virtuous way of the elf", at this time, it was I who chose her name.

I would not fail again; I would not fail a second time. With that kind of erroneous mentality, I began to raise my new daughter.

I will not give my daughter a hunter bow, I will give her a hoe. A farmer's quiet life will be hers. That was my decision.

Erabel turned out to be a diligent and attentive child, but she had a great curiosity.

Magic, the sky, the clouds, the plants. Anything aroused an inordinate curiosity in my little girl, and she was constantly looking for reasons and answers for everything.

For the first time I could see frustration in Adel, it was impossible to contain Erabel's curiosity.

We were was born to follow the way of others? Or do we do it to make our own way? My little Erabel's facility to learn and her excessive want to do so, made me rethink many things.

"Do you want to be like your mother and learn to cook? Be a farmer like your mother's father? Or would you rather be a hunter like your father?"

"Can't I be all? Ah! And I also want to be a magician, and a scholar ... I also want to fly through the sky!"

That was Erabel's answer when she was barely seven years old.

I don't know if there is a path ready for us by virtues, or if we are the ones who choose our steps. The only thing I can be sure of is that Erabel will choose her own path regardless my wishes or her mother's wishes.

Strangely enough, such conclusion doesn't irritate me, it makes me smile.

At what moment did my thinking change? I don't know, but it seems that even with their short lives, humans have some reason, time changes everything.

The sound of some bushes moving interrupts my thoughts.

I immediately sharpen my senses and tense an arrow over my bow.

For the past few months, goblins have been behaving strangely. The Council asked the forest guard to investigate, and Obel, who holds me in ‘high esteem’, relegated me the task of doing so.

After finding the trail of a group of goblins to the southwest, I climbed to the top of a large nearby tree to wait.

Goblins are creatures of a cowardly nature, once they find a safe path, they will travel it until some kinds of danger forces them to look for another route.

Why risk following them when I can simply wait for them to return? All I need to do is find out what they are doing on this side of the river.

The goblin village is west of the White River, and as a general rule since the east of the river is practically our territory, they shouldn't have the courage to travel east, and yet, lately, they are doing it.

Hidden above the top of the tree, I watch a group of ten goblins emerge from among the shrubs.

I open my eyes with surprise, the group of goblins drags two human women gagged and bound feet and hands.

(Did those little vermin dare to leave the forest? Or did these women recklessly enter the forest?)

The logic of any elf would say that such an event is unimportant, they are simple human women after all. However, in imagining the fate that awaits them, the face of my little Erabel comes to mind.

Even if anger overflows me, what can I do alone against ten goblins? Besides, nothing rules out that there may be many more of them nearby.

As I think about it, among the shadows of the trees cast by the midday sun, I observe a figure stealthily following the goblins.

(A human?)

With a bow in their hand, a male human seems to be in a situation just like mine. The helplessness of not being able to do something, but not being able to ignore it either.

If we joined forces, we would have greater chances, but would that not endanger all my people by revealing our presence within the forest?

Doubts and uncertainty, my head fills with it again.

While that human and I are filled with frustration, in the bushes to the right of the goblins, a kobold of black fur emerges.

(What is that kobold doing??)

Armed with a small stone axe and a circular wooden shield, the kobold charges head-on against the goblins.

Taking advantage of the surprise, the kobold hits the head of one of the goblins with his rock axe. A loud squeak echoes in the forest as the goblin falls to the ground with a deadly wound on his head.

"When your head is filled with doubts, there is only one thing you can do, completely ignore your mind and do what your heart tells you.”

(Damn it!) –my mother's words resound in my head.