The Forgotten Rogue

Chapter 1

Three years earlier...

Emeric calmed his tense breathing as his eyes bored into the target. He squinted to get a better view at it, but without success.

It, was an acorn hanging from a branch nearly twenty meters away.  Emeric knew that he'd probably miss the mark. He failed to see his father's reasoning. He couldn't possibly make an impossible shot like this one.

However, the weight of the bow in his hand and a quiver with two dozen arrows on his back reassured Emeric. He clenched and unclenched his first around the bow's grip. The polished wood a familiar comfort.

The weapon had become like a part of him, an extra limb. He felt one with it. The result of years and years of hard drilled practice and dedication.

The demanding training had started almost as soon as he was sure footed enough to navigate the woods. His father had drilled him in hard exercises and sent him on 5 mile runs. At first the training had broken Emeric, leaving his body sore and stiff, his mind even more so...but once he became stronger, both physically and mentally, he'd increased the exercises and challenged himself to see how fit he could become.

His 5 km runs grew to 10 km and then later 20 km. It became effortless to him. He'd run over almost every dark corner of the lush forest that he called home. His father had also trained him in hand to hand combat, archery, javelin, swordsamanship and also the art of hunting. Although Emeric would never see it as an art.

Just the simple thought of taking something's life set him on edge. Now nearly ten years later Emeric still hadn't been able to shoot a dear. His father had given up urging him to hunt. They both knew that the last thing Emeric would ever do was take a life.

"Are you just going to stare at it for the rest of the day? Perhaps an arrow will magically hit it." The sarcastic remark had come from his right.

His father, Rayhan,  was leaning against a tree watching him closely. "I don't think I can make the shot." Emeric stated in a deflated voice. "You'll never know unless you try." His father urged him on.

Emeric squinted at the minute acorn once more. He could hardly see it. He was about to protest against taking the shot when his father spoke again, "Take the shot you old bag of bones or are you too big of a wimp?"

That did it for Emeric.

In one fluid movement Emeric drew an arrow, strained back the chord, sighted his target and let the arrow fly. He never spent more than a second to release the string after pulling back, that way he trusted his instincts as he made the shot, preventing him from miscalculating speed and height...and as usual, his instincts had not let him down...he hoped.

The arrow slammed into a tree with a loud thud.  

Emeric's self doubt overruled his growing urge to see if he had hit the target. Instead he waited patiently as his father briskly walked to the arrow and inspected the shot. Emeric's nerves grew as the seconds dragged on. "Did I miss?" he called to his father.

His father gestured for him to come take a look for himself, but didn't answer. Emeric briskly jogged to his father's side. His face didn't give anything away. No clue of Emeric's achievement or failure.

Emeric leanded closer and inspected his shot. He saw half of the destroyed acorn stuck on the arrow head. A smile crossed over his lips as he realised he'd done it.

His father nodded at him with a smile on his own face, "Now that's what I call an impressive shot." The words were like music to Emeric's ears. Each time his father challenged him he did his best to please. And that is exactly what he'd done.  He always did his best not to let his father down.  Considering everything his father had done for him after all the years, Emeric owed hom his very best efforts.

"Gather you're arrows and meet me behind the house, I want to see if you're hand to hand combat skills are as finely tuned as your shooting." His father challenged.  The young Etreshian grinned gleefully, "Are you sure you'll be able to keep up, Old Man?" Emeric asked with playful mockery.

He barely managed to dodge a kick that had been aimed at his backside.

"My body might not be what it had always been, but I'm more than capable of kicking you behind to the other end of the forest."
Although the words sounded serious, Emeric saw the humorous glint in his father's eyes.

"Alright, but you're going to have to catch me first."

Rayhan raised an amused brow at his son's remark, "The Alpha of the pack is much faster than the winning pup." Rayhan stated proudly.

"Maybe, but you're more like the old goat in the herd." Emeric replied gleefuly...

"You little!" Rayhan exclaimed as he lunged towards Emeric, but the young Etreshian lept out of reach and fled into the safe confines of the forest.

Emeric grinned broadly as he skipped through the woods, retrieving his arrows.
He appreciated the bond between him and his father and also enjoyed the playful bouts of words. It was a daily war between them...

Pride grew in his heart when he considered how drastically his archery skills had improved.  It was a great skills to have, but would never be useful to him.  Hunting was out if the picture and he was only aquiring all these skills to be able to defend himself. To survive in the harsh world that held him captive. He doubted that he'd ever have the courage to shoot another human being. 

It was a never ending hunt.  He was the prey and the predator...They were worse than any pack of wolves you'd ever find in the woods.  His Father's words of warning had always been few, but the weight they carried was nothing short of terrifying. The Elite...

After the war, which had ended seven years before he was born, Emeric's father and a few other soldiers were left behind as the Etreshian army retreated to their home country, Etresh, on the other side of the globe by ship. 

There hadn't been any other means of escape than the ships, which had all either been taken or destroyed.  Emeric's mother had been a nurse traveling with the army and had also been left behind with the remaining soldiers.  They had all retreated to the forest seeking shelter that would protect them from the Elite.  They'd lived there ever since.

In Chayr, the continent that held Emeric captive, Etreshians weren't considered human.  Most people called them Rogues or beasts.  They all had bounties on their heads.  If they were hunted down, the General gave a large amount of coin to whoever had done the deed.

As a result of that, Rayhan had kept Emeric far away from any sign of civilization and had trained him in the grueling way he had.  He could only hope that in the end it would all pay off.

Emeric pulled the last arrow out of the thick bark that seemed to clutch at it.  He held the shaft close to the arrow head as he pulled, preventing the shaft from snapping.  As Emeric slid the arrow into his quiver he froze. 

Something had alerted him.  Some sixth sense. His fine tuned instincts were sending prickles over his skin.

There had been a snap of a twig as something trudged through the undergrowth.  Emeric told himself that it could just be an animal, a deer perhaps, but no... There were voices. 

Emeric's skin prickled and his muscled tensed up.  He slowly crouched down, avoiding any sudden movements that would catch a searching eye.  The footsteps were moving away from him and the voices were growing dimmer. 

When they disappeared Emeric released a breath he had been holding without realizing.  'Who were they?' He thought, but deep down he knew.  Hunters never came in this deep, the nearest town was nearly a week's walk away through dense trees and dangerous woods that most men would never find their way out of again.

There could only be one reason why the men could be here...they were the Elite.  Somehow they had tracked down Emeric and his father...and they were here to kill them.