Strangers of the Forsaken.

Chapter Six: Part Three.

Chapter Six: Part Three.

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Deep within what could only be described as one of the most dense, overly thickened grasslands of Khuneadora, a young man was slowly, but surely making his way far across the kingdom. He had been travelling alone for what had felt like weeks on end now, surviving on what little food and water he could lay his tired, worn down hands on. This man had once been a rather prominent face, around the area where the burned castle now sat. He often visited there a lot, passing on his worldly knowledge to his fellow inhabitants. The many days, weeks and years he had used to spend as such an active soul, were now nothing but a far off, distant memory. It had been more than difficult for the man to look back on his past, and to compare it to where he was now. After all, he had used to be a ridiculously wealthy, well-respected figure; with the loyal admiration of thousands of loyal followers. The world was once his oyster and the sky was the limit; so just how had it even come to pass that he was now so irreparably broken, so soul-shatteringly lost inside of himself? His very heart, spirit and mind had gradually been overtaken by the darkest of self-destructive thoughts, horrifically heartbreaking visions and haunting memories. Such memories would serve only to painfully remind him, of his much more positive past. If it weren't for that one, disastrous kingdom fire that took place that one fateful night, he never would have ended up in the dreadfully painful position he was now in. There would have been absolutely nothing holding him back from his now extinguished aspirations.

It was nothing short of a true tragedy that this once strong, healthy young man had ultimately been forced to escape, what had once been his once much loved, cherished home. He had once truly loved, adored and admired Khuneadora, ever since he'd been but a mere child. Growing up in such a place had brought him light, hope and strength to his heart. Looking back on those times now, was nothing but a source of overbearing sorrow for the man. Nothing he could do now would ever be enough, to bring him back to those simpler times. Life for him had been so much easier back then, so much more carefree. The man often remembered playing out in the fields as a child, staying out as late as he dared until his parents began to grow worried. He never did have a great many friends growing up, though he would often spend most of his free time with the same few children. The small group would often play together, close to where the man's childhood home sat. He could still remember their shining little faces, shimmering clear as day in his mind. It had truly been a real shame how things could no longer be that way now though, almost as if life itself was playing a cruel joke on him. He couldn't quite remember exactly how long he'd been walking for now, but he was beginning to feel a searing pain in his legs. It was this that reminded him that no matter how he was feeling on the inside, it was certain that he needed to find a place to rest himself. Whenever the man would allow himself to get so caught-up in his thoughts, he would quite often forget to take good care of his general health and overall well-being.

There was however, one rather distinct little secret about this man, that not a soul on his path would ever have guessed. It was the one fact that brought both the greatest joy and the most sorrowful tears to his life. This one memory he held, was reminiscent of what had been the most wonderful years he had spent. The man had once lived highly as a great ruler, with an incredibly loyal band of followers, who had looked up to him. It had been a feeling unlike any other, a truly fantastic sensation of genuine belonging and purpose. The time he had spent as a ruler of such a large, magnificently thriving kingdom had served him in ways he could never have imagined. Those years had most prominently filled the otherwise darkened, empty void that had made itself at home within his heart. One fateful day however, all of this had horrifically come crashing to an abrupt end when his beautiful, cherished kingdom had so savagely caught fire. It had truly been a most terrifying time for all, with almost no lives being spared. The death count had been high, almost too high to be counted and the numbers of those badly injured, were just as high. It had never really become clear what had actually caused such a horrendous event to take place, but the remains of the terror were all too clear, to the few who had managed to survive. The once great, thriving kingdom of Khuneadora had changed a lot during that time and there would be no going back. No matter how hard the remaining citizens may have tried, there was simply not a thing that any of them could have done.

Perhaps ironically, a startlingly similar series of events had also taken place in the life of King Nikolai, the once fantastic ruler of the most beautifully serene kingdom. When the very castle he had once called his home, had become overtaken by the terrifying power of overbearing flames, he'd had no choice but to up and abandon the only real family he'd ever known. Perhaps some would have scolded him for simply tearing apart such a loving, caring bond so easily and so coldly. In the mind of Nikolai however, he hadn't exactly had much of a choice at the time. He hadn't the courage to return back to his home ever since, though he did often wonder just what had become of his family. In his mind's eye, he could still picture them as clear as day; just as they all had been before any of this had happened. Things for the King and his dear, loved ones had been a great deal simpler back in those days. There had been not a doubt in his mind, that his following years were most certainly going to be happy ones. To even consider that anything out of the ordinary was to take place, would've felt nothing short of ludicrous at the time. However, the same could quite easily be said for rather a lot of people, who had once called Khuneadora their home. There wasn't a single resident living there back then, who could've said that they had any sort of an inkling that anything was about to go so very wrong. It was utterly horrific to think that the comforting, elaborate lives the citizens had lived for so long, were about to be so cruelly stolen away from them. Could this man who was now walking, so sombre-looking through these grasslands, actually turn out to be the missing King Nikolai? It was most definitely a long shot for sure, but one that seemed perfectly plausible, the more one thought about it. The last anyone had seen of their once beloved monarch, was when he had so selfishly leapt from that one bedroom window, of the burning castle. Leaving his treasured, doted on family behind to burn hadn't been something he had previously planned. It had taken place as mostly an act of total impulse, as he had been more terrified for his own life at the time. It had been a decision which now actively haunted his very nightmares, as he had no real way of knowing whether he had in fact, been the cause of other human beings' deaths. The mere thought of such a thing being the case, was more than enough to send shivers down the man's spine. He of course was unable to remember much from that night, but his subconscious had always retained the memory of how frightened he'd felt. He simply hadn't known what to do in the circumstances.

For anyone who would run into King Nikolai now, this would warrant quite the shock within them. This was primarily due to how long it had now been, since the disappearance of the land's once great and noble King. All but a few hopefuls had long given-up now, on ever even hoping to lay eyes on Nikolai again. Khuneadora was simply a sorry state of affairs, without the presence of its royals and there was no denying it. The whole entirety of the kingdom had found itself rapidly going into complete overdrive, the very moment King Nikolai had been reported as missing. Something that the kingdom's people had never before thought possible, had now in fact taken place right before them. A staggering number of people had been left in total and utter shock, by what had occurred. Not only had Khuneadora now been left in a state that was practically unliveable, it no longer even had someone to rule over what was left of it.

As young Nikolai pressed himself to keep walking on, he soon spotted the most strange-looking, oddly-shaped shadows; swiftly moving across the rough ground in-front of him. At first he merely just ignored them, thinking that there was surely no possibility that anybody could still be out, at this time of night. It was then that he suddenly realized, the shadows looked as if they were being cast, by some sort of flying object. Looking up at the sky, the young man then had to take a few steps back, to avoid falling from the utter shock of what he saw. Directly up above him, he saw the very distinct shapes of four rather large, winged tigers. The creatures were a good distance above the ground, while still being low enough to be recognized. While he had heard many a story of their existence, King Nikolai never did think he would ever encounter a winged tiger in real life. With glistening awe in his eyes, the young monarch then turned his attentions towards the skies, and the creatures which flew and soared proudly above him. No matter how hard he may have tried, Nikolai simply couldn't bring himself to believe, that what he was seeing right now was at all real. To him it seemed much more plausible, to think that he was simply in some sort of hallucination or dream state. It was then that he heard it, the sound of the almighty roar that erupted, from the belly of one of the tigers. This gave Nikolai the impression, that this one must have been the leader of the group.

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