Eternal Forest [Episode 14]
The 5th Compass | Book Two [1,839 words]
The Eternal Forest is the second book in The 5th Compass series. Daxton and his best friend, Barton, are looking for the other compasses while fending off an immortal foe. Nelle takes Adelaide under her wing, to help her develop her untapped power. Meanwhile, the most hated pirate in all of Stonehaven must decide whether to stand and fight or flee from the Paragon. This book delves into the life of the Paragon and the many lives it touches and destroys.
There was little time for Stephan or Twiggins to react before they were surrounded by knonn. As more of them came, Stephan could see just how human they were. And even though dozens approached, he was unafraid.
“How many of you are there?” he asked, fascinated by how different each of them looked.
One of their kind, a female, crouched low to get a better look at him. “We are many, but you are one.” She looked around at the others of her and continued to speak, this time in a language Stephan had never heard. One of the knonn answered. “Stay here. Do not be afraid,” she said to him before walking away.
“I wish I had eaten those berries when I had the chance,” Twiggins said. He knew he could easily just take to the sky and escape with his life, but he would never be able to lift Stephan even one inch off the ground all by himself. Those berries would have given him the strength he needed.
“She said ‘do not be afraid’ Twiggins.”
“She?” He raised his eyebrows at Stephan. “What makes you think it is a ‘she’?”
“Look at them Twiggins. They may not be human like you or I, but they are a kind of human. Look closely.” Till then Twiggins had not bothered looking too closely at any of the knonn. His mind was much more preoccupied with calming his desire for escape. But he saw Stephan might be right. Most of them stood upright, had long hair, with distinct fingers and toes.
A group of knonn parted to make way for their leader, carried towards them at a slow and steady pace. In the darkness that surrounded them it was difficult to make out, but they could tell the weight was tremendous. It was carried by a dozen knonn, six on either side gripped the wooden board, a strain on their faces as they took each careful step. They stopped just a few feet away from Stephan and Twiggins.
“You, boy, step forward so I may see you better.” Stephan knew who was beckoned but his feet could not move. “Do not fear me, boy. I do not eat children.” Stephan drew in his breath and held it. After a few seconds passed, the rather large creature laughed, and the knonn lost their grip on the wooden board, dropping it to the ground. “Fools.”
Stephan noticed this knonn, though large, was also of human form, a man. And listened closely as he berated those who dropped him in their own native tongue. He could not understand a word of it, but knew it was not good. When he was done, Stephan has managed to relax and found he was not as afraid as he was before, though he did find it difficult to watch the knonn get reprimanded for something they could not help.
Stephan stepped forward as he was asked, and the yelling ceased. “I am Stephan, sent here by Woodvale to become the paragon and help him find the lost child who is going to save us.” He could not believe the words he spoke so freely. Nor did he have a plan of escape, but he had to do something to prolong their lives.
“I know who you are. But I can tell you do not know me. Perhaps it was intentional. I am here to help you unlike that, who is here to stop you.”
Quick as lightning two knonn surrounded Twiggins and lassoed rope around him, pulling tightly to prevent him from taking flight.
“Wait, he is my friend. Let him go.”
“He is not your friend. All sprauns work for the paladin. Their mission is to stop Woodvale at any cost, even if that cost is your life. Take him away.”
Twiggins did not even look Stephan in the eyes as the accusations were placed upon him. He did not speak to deny them. He just kept his head low as the two knonn on either side of him dragged him away in silence.
“But he saved my life and followed me in here willingly. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it before entering this place.”
“True, but I imagine there was information he needed from you first. Did he ask you where Woodvale is hiding?”
“Yes, but—”
Stephan stopped short. Twiggins had asked him about Woodvale only once and he answered that he did not know where he was, just where he thought he might be headed. Perhaps, Twiggins did not believe him and stayed longer to gain his trust, hoping Stephan would eventually tell him the truth. How could he not have realized that? And were Amos and Professor Engle truly the same person as Twiggins had said? How could he send this spraun on a mission to kill him? He thought the professor was his friend.
“How can I trust you don’t want to kill me as well? Why should you want to help me?”
“Woodvale was right, you are smarter than you look. I need you to become the paragon, perhaps more than Woodvale does. I care not for this lost child you speak of. What I need is freedom, for myself and the rest of us.” He waved his hand around to the other knonn who were surrounding us. “We all once looked like you but then we got sick, plagued by the very people who promised to make our lives better. Through you, we can get our revenge and be healed.”
“I do not know you or the reason you seek revenge, nor do I care to know. I just want to help Woodvale. Why should I now help you too?”
“Because, son, you are our only hope.”
From a group of knonn came forward one who looked just like the others, except, there was something familiar to Stephan that he could not quite grasp. The knonn stepped closer and Stephan knew right away he was looking at his father. There was no mistaking those eyes. They were the last thing he remembered seeing before his father left them again to join the war. It was a look of sadness.
“Father?”
“I hoped you would believe King Tar so I could remain in hiding, but we haven’t much time, son. Please, help me.”
This was all too much for Stephan to grasp and it was all he could do to keep from crying. “No. You are not my father. He abandoned us when we needed him the most to fight in a pointless war. A war that took his life and left us in the care of his…brutal brother.”
Stephan’s words cut like a knife to his father who knew what they meant. “I could not bear for you or your sister to see me this way. I am sorry. But, if you will not do it for me, then do it for your mother.”
“I have no mother. She died giving birth to me. You have no right to use her for your own selfish needs.”
“She is not dead, Stephan. She is very much alive. Here. And like me, she does not wish you to see her this way. She got sick when she was pregnant with you. Unintentional, believe me. She remained hidden so no one would know, hoping you would be born without the sickness and she was right. You were born beautiful, and healthy. Free from disease. But your mother could not stay with us. She had to leave and hide. The Eternal Forest is the only place safe.”
Stephan looked around frantically for her. If she were near, he wanted to see her. She left when he was born so all he knew of her appearance was from what his sister would tell him. It was her descriptive words he clung to when he slept and dreamed of the day he would be reunited with his mother. Perhaps his dream would come true tonight?
“Do not look for her. She will not reveal herself to you. I had to leave when I knew you and your sister were old enough. I left instruction with my brother to make sure you were admitted to Woodvale Academy. I knew you were special and one day would save us.”
“That does not explain why you are here? Why you left us and came here instead of sending me to Woodvale Academy yourself. Was some war more important than us or my mother?”
“Fool, boy. Do you not understand?” King Tar said, tired of hearing others speak besides himself. “Your father started becoming sick as well. Probably caught it from your mother before she escaped and came here. Before he could risk giving it to you or letting those in your village discover he was afflicted, he came here to be with her.”
“Is that true?”
“Yes. I would never have left you or your sister if I thought… Your sister. How is she? Where is she?”
“Don’t you know? Was it not part of your plan or did you not think this far ahead? Were you just waiting here, doing nothing, till the day I would eventually arrive? Well, father, she is dead, along with your brother and everyone who were at the academy.”
“NO! The fire? Is that what the smoke was? I told you we should have gone to help.” Stephan’s father rounded on King Tar in anger. “You heard the screams. We all did.” He stopped shouting. The look on the king’s face, expressionless. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew what was going to happen and yet you did nothing to stop it? So many people, my little girl…”
“Silence! Of course, I knew. I had to outweigh the cost with the results. Everything happens for a reason, [name here], you know that better than anyone. I am sorry about your daughter. That outcome I could not predict. But we must not let anger at the past cloud our judgement for the future.”
[name here] wiped tears from his eyes and nodded in agreement. He knew King Tar was right. He could not fix or change what happened. His daughter was gone, but he still had his son and a plan that, if executed correctly, could save them all.
“You are doing the right thing. Now, Stephan, are you ready to become the paragon and assume all the responsibilities that come with such power?”
So much had happened in the last two days and for Stephan, in the last two years of his life. Now he was being asked to change it again. This time, potentially saving the family he thought he lost long ago and the man he looked up to the most. Although he was only sixteen, he felt much older. With so many counting on him and believing in him how could he fail? The consequences if he were not to succeed never entered his mind when he spoke the words, “I am ready.”