The hunting party rode out beneath a sky still washed in pale gold.
The morning air carried the scent of pine and damp earth as Etherevalis slowly disappeared behind them.
King Thalorien rode at the head of the procession.
At his right was Legos.
Heiron rode just behind them.
Vaelrith brought up the rear alongside five veteran hunters who had served the royal family for decades.
Jax rode beside the King atop Gryph.
The great gryphon moved with surprising grace despite his size.
Powerful paws padded silently across the forest floor while folded wings shifted occasionally behind him.
The royal horses cast nervous glances toward the shadow beast but obeyed their riders.
No one complained.
Even the finest elven steeds understood that some creatures simply occupied a higher place in nature.
King Thalorien smiled.
"I don't believe they've quite decided whether your companion is friend or predator."
Gryph answered with an amused chirp.
"I think he's enjoying their uncertainty," Jax admitted.
Legos chuckled.
"I believe I would too."
The mood remained light as they entered the forest.
The morning hunt unfolded almost exactly as planned.
Small wyvern-fowl burst from the undergrowth in startled flocks.
Elegant arrows filled the air.
Legos struck the first two before either reached the treeline.
Heiron dropped another moments later.
King Thalorien calmly drew, released, and watched his arrow pass cleanly through the neck of another fleeing beast.
The hunters moved with practiced efficiency.
There was little shouting.
Little confusion.
Only years of experience working together.
Jax watched with quiet admiration.
He carried Llandra's bow across his shoulder but never reached for it.
This wasn't his hunt.
He was simply happy to watch.
By midmorning, several birds already hung from the supply horses.
One of the guards smiled.
"A successful outing already."
The King nodded.
"It has been."
Yet something in his voice suggested he wanted to say more.
They stopped beside a quiet stream to rest.
Fresh water flowed over polished stones while the horses drank nearby.
One guard unpacked smoked venison.
Another distributed fresh bread.
Before long, laughter drifted beneath the trees.
Legos pointed toward his father.
"Remember when you insisted you could track a silver stag without help?"
The King groaned.
"We agreed never to speak of that again."
Heiron laughed.
"You wandered in circles for half the day."
"I was following tracks."
"They were your own."
Even Vaelrith allowed himself a rare smile.
"You also fell into the river."
"I slipped."
"You attempted to leap it."
"I nearly made it."
Legos grinned.
"Mother laughed for three days."
The King sighed dramatically.
"I suddenly remember why I stopped bringing you hunting."
Everyone laughed.
Even the guards.
For a little while...
There was no King.
No princes.
Only a father enjoying the company of his sons.
Jax smiled quietly.
It reminded him of something he had never truly experienced himself.
The laughter ended all at once.
A flock of woodland birds exploded upward.
Far too many.
Far too quickly.
The forest became silent.
One veteran hunter slowly lowered his meal.
"...That's not right."
King Thalorien was already standing.
"No."
His eyes narrowed toward the deeper forest.
"It isn't."
A distant roar rolled through the trees.
Not the cry of a wyvern.
Something deeper.
Older.
Branches snapped.
Trees swayed.
Another roar answered.
Then another.
Legos instinctively reached for his bow.
"That's... bigger than a wyvern."
Vaelrith's expression darkened.
"It shouldn't be here."
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Then it emerged.
Nearly twice the size of an ordinary wyvern.
Its scales resembled dark iron.
Jagged horns swept backward from its skull.
Its wings were torn with old scars.
One eye had long since gone white.
The other burned with predatory intelligence.
An Ironhide Wyvern.
Old.
Territorial.
And very angry.
One of the hunters whispered,
"Gods preserve us..."
The beast roared.
Several horses panicked.
Without hesitation, the guards moved between the monster and their King.
Shields locked.
Bows lifted.
Legos glanced toward his father.
"We should fall back."
King Thalorien's eyes never left the creature.
Then...
A slow smile crossed his face.
"I remember this."
Legos blinked.
"...Father?"
The King reached for the bow Jax had gifted him.
"I remember what it felt like."
He turned toward his companions.
His voice carried the confidence of a man who had once spent his youth hunting monsters instead of attending council meetings.
"Legos."
"Left flank."
"Yes, Father."
"Heiron."
"With me."
Heiron smiled.
"Always."
"Vaelrith."
"Keep the hunters alive."
The Spy Master bowed his head.
"As you command."
The old hunters exchanged surprised looks.
For the first time in years...
Their King wasn't giving political orders.
He was leading a hunt.
The Ironhide Wyvern charged.
Its tail smashed through a fallen tree like kindling.
Legos loosed first.
His arrow struck the creature's shoulder.
It barely slowed.
Heiron followed with two more.
The beast turned toward him instead.
Before it could lunge, Vaelrith appeared from the shadows between the trees.
His twin blades flashed.
One hamstring opened.
The wyvern stumbled.
Not enough.
But enough.
The hunters spread apart exactly as they had practiced years before.
Disciplined.
Precise.
Jax remained near the rear.
Watching.
Waiting.
An iron spike exploded from the wyvern's tail, whistling through the clearing toward one of the veteran hunters.
Jax's bow bent once.
His arrow intercepted it in midair.
No flourish.
No announcement.
The hunter never even realized what had happened.
Jax simply lowered his bow again.
The others had this.
The Ironhide Wyvern roared and reared back.
Its chest expanded.
Fire gathered within its throat.
"Down!" Heiron shouted.
Flames erupted across the clearing.
The hunters scattered.
Smoke rolled between the trees.
When it cleared...
King Thalorien still stood.
His cloak smoldered.
His crown was knocked to the ground.
He didn't seem to notice.
Instead...
He laughed.
A deep, genuine laugh.
The kind that echoed through the forest.
Legos froze.
"...I haven't heard that laugh since I was a boy."
Heiron smiled without taking his eyes off the monster.
"Neither have I."
The King drew one final arrow.
He slowed his breathing.
Ignored the chaos around him.
Ignored the roaring beast.
Ignored everything except the narrow opening beneath its jaw.
He released.
The enchanted arrow flew perfectly.
It pierced the softer scales beneath the wyvern's throat.
The monster staggered.
King Thalorien drew his sword before it struck the ground.
With a roar of his own...
He met the charging beast.
Steel flashed.
One decisive strike.
The great wyvern collapsed.
Silence reclaimed the forest.
For several long moments...
No one moved.
Then the King rested both hands upon the hilt of his sword.
His breathing came hard.
Not from exhaustion.
From exhilaration.
He looked younger.
Freer.
Almost joyful.
Legos walked toward him.
"...That was incredible."
The King smiled.
"I'd almost forgotten."
"Forgotten what?" Heiron asked.
He looked around the quiet forest.
"The feeling."
The hunters began securing the enormous carcass.
Several were already discussing how many wagons would be needed.
Others excitedly argued over who had landed the first meaningful wound.
Vaelrith quietly shook his head.
"They'll be telling this story for years."
Jax smiled.
"I hope they exaggerate."
"They absolutely will."
As they began the ride home, the King guided his horse beside Gryph.
"You knew."
Jax looked over.
"Knew what?"
"That I needed this."
Jax smiled.
"I figured you didn't invite me hunting because you wanted another pair of hands."
The King laughed softly.
"No."
"I think you simply wanted to remember who you were."
For a long moment, King Thalorien said nothing.
Then he looked toward the road leading back to Etherevalis.
"I believe..."
He smiled to himself.
"...I just did."
Behind them, the Ironhide Wyvern would feed the palace for days.
The story of the hunt would be told for years.
But what King Thalorien truly carried home...
No hunter could hang upon a wall.
For the first time in many years...
He remembered that beneath the crown...
He was still a hunter.