The day had started quietly. Perhaps too quietly, in hindsight.
konstant was sitting near Gareth's house, enjoying the rare day of rest. The sun was beginning its slow descent, still high but definitely moving toward the horizon. The light passed through the blue ring, creating that slightly bluish golden hue he had grown accustomed to, but which still seemed strange occasionally when he stopped to really think about it.
He was methodically cleaning his bow, checking the string, looking for any signs of wear. A year of training with Gareth had taught him the importance of konstant maintenance. "Well-maintained equipment can save your life," the hunter always said. "Neglected equipment can kill you."
Keiko was lying on the grass a few meters away, her arm over her eyes blocking the light, enjoying the feeling of simply having nothing urgent to do. She had spent the morning helping Mira organize the medicine stock for the festival, and her shoulders still ached from the effort of moving heavy jars of preserves.
Raid was further away, crouched near a flowerbed where some plants were beginning to sprout with the arrival of spring. He was gently touching the earth around them, that focused expression he always had when he was working. The soil under his fingers seemed firmer, more cooperative, subtly molding to his touch in ways that weren't explained by spring moisture alone.
The village around them was moving at a slow, peaceful pace. Children played in noisy groups, games of tag, games with balls made of tied cloth, competitions to see who could jump the farthest. Adults chatted in relaxed circles, laughing at jokes, sharing stories. Some worked on light tasks, mending a fence here, organizing tools there, but nothing urgent. It was a genuine day of rest before the final bustle of festival preparations.
The kind of peace that made it seem like perhaps, just perhaps, everything was going to be alright.
konstant allowed himself to relax a little, his shoulders lowering from a tension he didn't even know he was carrying. A year. A whole year in Excelsior. And despite the konstant homesickness, the strangeness of the world, the uncertainties about the future they had survived. More than survived. They had found places here. Purpose. Connections.
Luna was somewhere playing with the other children. He had seen her in the morning, all excited because the older boys had finally agreed to let her join their games. She was so happy, jumping and chattering nonstop about how she was going to show them she was as fast, as strong, and as brave as they were.
konstant smiled at the memory. Luna had changed so much in the last year. She was still energetic, still talked too much, but there was something more solid underneath now. Less frantic. As if she was finally beginning to process the loss of her parents in a healthier way.
Or maybe he just wanted to believe that.
"Do you think they'll really come?" Keiko asked suddenly, her voice somewhat muffled by her arm still over her eyes.
"Who?" konstant asked, though he knew.
"The inspector. In two years. Do you think he'll really come and evaluate us for Aethérion?"
"Aldric said he comes. Every five years. Like clockwork."
"Yeah. But..." Keiko sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. "What if we're not accepted? What if we wait all this time and then they reject us?"
It was a fear they all carried, but rarely voiced. konstant didn't have a good answer.
"Then we find another way," he said finally. "Like we always have."
"Always so calm," Keiko murmured, but there was no real criticism. It was almost... admiration? "How do you do that? How do you just... accept everything?"
"I don't accept. I just don't see the point in panicking about things I can't control right now." konstant set his bow aside, pulling his legs up cross-legged. "Worrying about the inspector two years from now changes nothing. So... I focus on what I can do now. Train. Learn. Improve."
"That's very zen," Keiko said with a half-smile. "Like a movie monk."
"I don't know what zen is. I just know it's what works for me."
Raid approached, sidestepping a group of running children. He sat down next to konstant without saying anything, just... present. This had become the norm, the three of them gravitating towards each other even when they weren't actively doing something together.
"The plants are growing well," Raid offered after a moment. "Spring is really coming."
"Good," Keiko said. "That means less cold. I hate the cold here."
"I like spring," konstant added. "The forest comes alive. Everything seems to... wake up. The animals come out more, the trees get greener, even the air feels different. Easier to hunt, too."
Quiet conversation. Mundane, even. But it was theirs. It was a moment of normality in a world that rarely offered it.
The sun continued its descent. Shadows grew longer. The golden light turned more orange, edging towards red.
It was then that a woman approached where Gareth was checking equipment, her brow furrowed with obvious worry.
"Gareth? Have you seen Luna?"
konstant looked up, his attention caught by the tone of her voice.
Gareth stopped what he was doing. "Not since lunch. Why?"
"She went out with Tam and the others this morning. They said they were going to play near the creek." The woman looked up at the sky, where the sun was noticeably lower. "But it's getting late and no one has seen them return. Tam always comes back before dark. Always. I taught him very well about not being in the forest at night."
Something cold touched the base of konstant's spine. He saw Gareth straighten up, all casualness leaving his body instantly.
"Who else is missing?" Gareth asked, already moving.
"Tam, Joren's boy, and little Ella." The woman followed with hurried steps. "I asked everywhere. No one has seen them for hours."
"Hours?" Gareth quickened his pace, heading towards the center of the village where more people were gathered. "Why didn't you come to me sooner?"
"Because I thought they were just playing! You know how children are, they lose track of time..." But there was guilt in her voice now.
konstant, Keiko, and Raid automatically stood up, following. That feeling of peace from moments before had completely evaporated, replaced by growing tension.
Gareth started moving through the village, stopping groups, asking questions. "Has anyone seen Luna? Tam? The children who were playing with them?"
Negative answers. Everyone had seen the children in the morning, but as the day progressed, no one had paid specific attention to them. Playing children were a common, ever-present sight, rarely noticed until they were absent.
"They do that sometimes," someone tried to reassure. "They sneak off. Explore. Forget to come back."
"But they always come back before dark," another person countered, looking at the horizon where the sun was dangerously close to disappearing. "Always. It's a basic rule. The forest at night is dangerous."
The word spread quickly. More people started looking, checking every known corner of the village. The nearby creek where children liked to play. The open field where they played ball. The barns where they sometimes hid. The neighboring houses they might have visited.
Nothing.
konstant helped in the search, checking behind buildings, in small spaces between houses. He called their names, hoping for answers that didn't come. Keiko and Raid did the same, their voices joining the growing chorus of calls.
The sun touched the horizon.
The shadows lengthened dramatically, swallowing parts of the village in twilight. The temperature dropped noticeably. And still no sign of the children.
People began to gather again in the central square, worried faces becoming frightened. The parents of the missing children were visibly panicking now. Joren's wife, Elara, seven months pregnant, was crying, her hands protectively over her belly.
"It has to be the forest," someone finally said, voicing what everyone was thinking but no one wanted to say. "Where else could they be?"
"But the forest at night..." another began, not finishing. He didn't need to. Everyone knew. The forest at night was a completely different place. Dangerous. Especially for children.
Gareth was already in action mode, that commanding quality natural leaders have automatically emerging. "We need search parties. Now. Before it gets completely dark."
"But what if they're just hiding somewhere?" someone suggested, hopeful. "Playing a game?"
"For five hours? Without answering when we're shouting their names?" Gareth shook his head. "No. Something is wrong. We need to search properly."
He began organizing quickly, that tactical instinct honed by years of hunting. "Groups of at least three people. No one goes alone. Bring weapons spears, bows, knives, whatever you have. And bring torches. We'll need light."
People ran to get equipment. Torches were lit, flames dancing in the growing night wind. Weapons were distributed, simple spears for most, bows for those who knew how to use them, hunting knives for everyone.
Gareth continued organizing. "We'll divide the forest into sections. Cover as much ground as possible." He looked around, quickly calculating who had the most experience in the forest, who could lead. "Keiko," he pointed to her. "You're with me." He called Daven, the guard who occasionally helped on patrols. "You too, Daven. The three of us will take the north section. That's where Luna likes to play the most."
Daven nodded, grabbing his runed spear, a weapon he always kept with him, with engraved runes glowing softly even in the faint light. He also picked up a small reinforced wooden shield and a torch.
Gareth continued assigning. He looked at konstant and Raid. "You two." Then he looked at Joren, who was standing beside his wife, clearly torn between going to look for his son and staying with her. "Joren, you go with them. Three people. You check the east section. konstant knows the forest well now, he'll lead."
Joren kissed Elara's forehead. "I'll bring our boy back. I promise." Then he took a simple spear from the pile of weapons. He wasn't a warrior, he was a carpenter most of the time, but every adult man in the village had basic weapons training. Enough to defend against wild animals, at least.
Other groups were formed, teams of three or four, all grabbing what they could. Most were farmers, artisans, ordinary people who rarely had to fight but were willing to try for the village's children.
Aldric appeared, drawn by the commotion. He had been in his house studying ancient texts. "What happened?"
"Four children missing. Luna, Tam, Joren's boy, and Ella." Gareth was checking his own equipment as he spoke. Bow, full quiver, hunting knife, and that smaller second quiver with special arrows, the runed ones he saved for emergencies. "We're searching the forest. Different sections."
"Be careful," said Aldric, and there was something in his voice. A tone that konstant recognized: a deeper concern than the situation should require. The elder's eyes wandered to the dark line of trees in the distance, then came back. "If you see anything unusual, anything that doesn't seem natural. Come back immediately."
"We plan to," Gareth assured. He looked at all the assembled groups. "Everyone listening? If you find the children, send a signal, a loud shout, three times. If you see anything dangerous, also send a signal and retreat. Don't try to be heroes. The children are the priority, but your lives matter too. Understood?"
Murmurs of agreement ran through the crowd.
"Good." Gareth adjusted his bow on his back. "Keep in touch with each other. Don't stray too far. And by all the gods, be careful."
The sun had completely disappeared now. Only the last streaks of red on the horizon, quickly giving way to deep purple that would soon be complete black. The torches provided illumination, but created as many shadows as light.
The groups began to disperse, entering the forest from different directions. konstant saw Gareth, Keiko, and Daven disappear among the trees to the right, torches swinging. Another group went to the left. Another straight ahead.
"Let's go," Joren said to their group, lighting a torch from the flames of one already lit. "East section. Stay close to me, yes? And if I say stop, you stop. If I say run, you run."
konstant and Raid nodded. And then they too were entering the forest, the light from the village torches growing weaker behind them as the darkness of the forest swallowed them.
In the Village, Aldric Senses the Barrier
Aldric stood at the edge of the village for a long moment after the groups departed, watching the torchlights become small distant points among the trees, then disappear completely.
Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones, that instinct decades of experience had honed into a reliable tool. It wasn't just the missing children—that was worrying, yes, but not... not this. This was deeper.
He walked to the edge of the village's protective perimeter. There were special stones buried in a complete circle around Thornhaven, each engraved with ancient symbols of protection, connected by an invisible line of power that formed a barrier against incursions from Voidlings and other mystical threats.
Aldric knelt beside one of the marker stones, placing both hands on the cold surface. He closed his eyes, extending his senses beyond the physical, following those lines of power he himself had helped reinforce years ago.
The barrier was... compromised.
Not broken yet, but definitely weaker than it should be. It was like feeling a wall that should be solid but had fine cracks running through it. It was still holding, but for how long?
He mentally followed the barrier's extent, looking for the weakest point. He found it in the north-east section, precisely the area that encompassed part of the forest. The section where the search parties had gone.
It's not a coincidence. It can't be.
Aldric deepened his check, trying to understand how the barrier had weakened. There were signs of... corrosion? Not exactly, but it was the closest word. As if something from the other side had been pressing against the barrier for a prolonged time, wearing it down slowly.
For how long? Days? Weeks?
The strange signs of the last month, he realized with a sinking feeling. The animals acting strangely. The sun-ring pulsating. Plants dying for no reason. All the little signs we noticed, but didn't fully understand...
They were preparing. Weakening the barriers. And now...
CRACK
The sound was like shattering glass, the sound of something fundamental breaking. Aldric felt, through his connection with the stones, the exact moment when an entire section of the barrier gave way, fragmenting like glass under excessive pressure.
His eyes snapped open. And then he heard it distant, but unmistakable roars coming from the forest.
Not the roars of normal animals. These were deeper, laden with a resonance that made the air vibrate even at a distance. The kind of sound that came from creatures that shouldn't exist on this plane of reality.
Voidlings. Multiple. And now they had free entry.
Aldric stood up quickly, his mind already racing through options, strategies. The search parties were out there. The children were out there. And Voidlings were hunting.
He turned to the village, his voice cutting through the worried buzz of the people who had stayed behind. "TO ARMS! EVERYONE WHO CAN FIGHT, GRAB WEAPONS!"
People stopped, startled by the urgency in his voice. Aldric rarely shouted.
"Prepare defenses! Barricades at the main entrances!" He was moving as he shouted, heading towards his own house. "Children and elderly to the central hall! Archers, if we have any, on the roofs! Anyone with skill in magic, prepare what you know!"
"What's happening?" someone yelled.
"The barriers have been breached! There are Voidlings in the forest!" Aldric didn't slow his pace. "And they are hunting!"
Immediate panic. People screaming and running. But there was also action, for Thornhaven was not a defenseless village. Its inhabitants lived on the edge of a dangerous forest and had procedures for emergencies. Perhaps they had never faced Voidlings before, but they knew how to organize a basic defense.
Aldric entered his house, taking the stairs two at a time. In the room, he went straight to an old chest in the corner. Dark wood reinforced with metal, complex locks that he opened with precise touches only he knew.
Inside, under layers of carefully folded cloth, was his staff.
He hadn't used it in... how long? Years. Many years. Since before he retired to Thornhaven, since his active days as a traveler.
Aldric held the staff with both hands, lifting it from the chest with reverence. The wood was black as ebony, polished to a shine after decades of use and care. Symbols ran its entire length runes of protection, circles of channeling, words of power in an ancient tongue few could still read. At the top, perfectly embedded, was a gem the size of a small egg. A pale blue crystal that glowed softly even in the dim room, pulsing in a slow rhythm like a heartbeat.
A star fragment, technically. A microscopic piece of divine power captured and condensed, one of the rarest substances in Excelsior. The source of power for the staff, an amplifier for his own mystical abilities.
For a moment, just holding the staff, memories washed over Aldric. Battles fought decades ago. Lost companions. Lives saved. Monsters defeated. Days when he was young, strong, when he believed he could make a real difference in the world.
Days before the weariness, before the doubts, before he decided that perhaps a quiet retirement in a remote village was all he deserved.
"Old friend," he murmured, his voice laden with an emotion he rarely allowed to show. He ran his hand over the smooth wood, feeling the symbols under his fingers. "I thought we were done. I thought I could let you rest. Let us rest."
The crystal pulsed slightly stronger, as if responding. Recognizing its bearer after years in storage.
"But it seems the world has other ideas." Aldric gripped the staff tightly. "So... one more time. One more fight. For them." He thought of the three children from another world he had sworn to protect. He thought of Luna, the little Mystic who had lost so much. He thought of everyone in the village who relied on him. "For all of them."
He descended the stairs, the staff tapping rhythmically on each step. Outside, the village was in organized emergency motion. Men grabbing weapons, women gathering children, the few with talent for basic magic already positioning themselves at strategic points.
Aldric passed through them, giving quick instructions as he went. "Defensive line here! Cover for the shooters! If anything gets through, focus fire in groups, don't try to fight alone!"
And then he was running as fast as his seventy-something-year-old body would allow, but still surprisingly agile, towards the forest. Towards where he had felt the barrier break. Towards where the roars still echoed.
Towards where the people he protected were in mortal danger.
The staff glowed brighter with each step, responding to his will, his determination. The gem at the top pulsed in sync with his accelerating heart.
Hold on, he thought intensely towards the groups in the forest. Just a little longer. I'm coming.