The arrow cut through the air, flying with stunning speed over the trees and the fields of the towering grass. The wind from the north slowed it, but it still managed to reach its destination.
However, there was something intriguing attached to the arrow. It was a small bottle filled with red liquid, and the moment the arrow disappeared into the dark cave, the sound of shattering glass reverberated within and echoed outside, disturbing the still forest.
In that dark cave, a powerful beast's eyes snapped open. Its nose twitched as the smell of blood hit it. Its eyes went wide with bloodlust and hunger as it dragged itself upright, leaned down and inhaled, saliva dripping from its ferocious fangs. Then it let out a roar so ferocious it terrified the entire forest. Birds exploded from the trees and every land animal ran with all its might, afraid of the brown beast that could rightfully be called the sovereign of the Kingswood. None could contend with the intensity of its fierce might.
Stepping outside, the beast finally revealed itself, the wind caressing its brown fur, its dark eyes cold and piercing. Large paws and dark gleaming claws, sharp as knives, scratched the stone and left marks behind.
It was the bear, and it was delighted to sense food so close to its home.
Climbing down from the cliff, it landed below the tree line, pebbles scattering where it fell, then ventured deeper into the forest in silence, careful not to alert the prey. The wind wasn't on its side today, which was a pity, but the bear was an intelligent creature. It knew that the grass fields would conceal its body and took advantage of them. Only a faint sound of grass whispering could be heard, and even that was swallowed by the howling wind of the sea.
Observing its surroundings, the bear licked its nose and walked out of the grass field, already knowing where the prey was despite not seeing it. That was how great its sense of smell was. Even without the wind in its favour, it could smell prey from great distances, and under optimal conditions, sometimes from even twenty to thirty kilometres away.
Even if the prey was buried under ground or snow, it mattered not. Nothing escaped the apex predator of those woods.
That was why the beast relied more on its nose than its eyes. After all, eyes couldn't see kilometres away, but a nose could.
Growling and salivating, it paused, its eyes narrowing as it noticed the boar, bloodied and cold, lying before it, flies already buzzing above the carcass.
The prey was right in front of its eyes. However, the bear remained motionless, still concealed, not yet revealing itself. The Kingswood was often used for hunting, and the beast was well aware of humans, having tasted their blood and flesh and bones more than once.
That was why it remained hesitant and decided to wait, searching for any man who might be hiding in ambush.
But an hour passed. It was already afternoon. The sun was almost hidden behind the tall trees and cliffs, turning red as it descended, and in two or three hours it would disappear below the Blackwater Bay.
Snorting, the bear decided to move. It could smell nothing, see nothing, and no one had appeared. And it was hungry, too hungry, its stomach growling, saliva leaking from its fangs and dripping onto the earth as it took a step forward and approached the boar.
But as it drew near, it heard a cracking sound and felt the earth shaking beneath it. Its eyes widened and it understood immediately, already familiar with human tactics. It had simply been too hungry to resist the risk.
But regardless, it was clear as a cloudless sky. It had fallen for the trap, and even if it had wanted to turn away, it was already too late.
The wood that held dirt, grass and leaves cracked and then shattered, and the bear finally saw what lay beneath, nothing but wooden spears with sharpened ends, waiting for it, to finally end its life and welcome it into the peaceful embrace of the Stranger.
"Ragh... RAGGRRRRHHHHHHH!!!" The tortured scream of the beast saturated the forest. Every corner of the Kingswood felt the dreadful power behind that roar, the pain and wrath so intense that every other beast cowered in terror, retreating into their dens.
As for the bear, the spears penetrated its flesh, driving their sharp tips deeper into its body, punching through fur, fat, flesh and bone. Geysers of blood exploded downward, filling the pit with the same colour as the setting sun above the Blackwater Bay.
Beautiful, burning red.
At the same time, covered by leaves and bushes, on the cliff and leaning against a tree, was the young boy. His right eye was closed, using the wood for balance to raise his accuracy, holding his bow with an arrow already nocked, staring at the bear that had already died.
Hmm... This was easier than I thought. By the looks of it, the beast was too hungry. It actually fell for it. Well, whatever. If it works, it works. There is nothing to be disheartened about. Zalarys licked his lips, remaining still as a statue and continuing to observe his surroundings. While it wasn't the glorious battle I had imagined, I can say at the very least that my plan worked.
He smiled faintly, lowered his bow and shook his head, deciding to climb down and finish the hunt, stifling a yawn.
However, in the next second he froze. His blood ran cold, his eyes went wide, and his heart began beating wildly in his chest, as if struggling to rip through flesh and bone and escape.
Oh... Zalarys gulped, his face caught between irritation and fear as he saw something so dreadful it made him want to run, to leave at once, as fast as possible.
Because staring down at the corpse of the bear was another beast. Its body was more lean and graceful, its fur lighter, its features softer. Well, as soft as a bear could be.
Zalarys took a deep breath, not daring to make a sound as he remained pressed against the cliff, his muscles straining, his hands hurting, his eyes locked on the female bear.
She was still staring at the carcass, her paws reaching for her mate, unable to pull him out.
Damnit... A second one. What should I do... What, what, what, what... Think, goddamn it. He groaned inwardly, beginning to analyse his situation and map a path toward victory, or at the very least survival.
I cannot use the second trap. It will not work now that she knows there is a hunter in the woods. I could try the poisoned arrows, but while this poison can kill a man in seconds, a bear is a hundred times more resilient. There is simply no way I can stay alive long enough for the poison to finish her off.
He could hear his heartbeat growing faster as he thought, but he kept going even as his arms grew tired and painful. Without a plan, there wasn't the slightest chance of survival.
Twenty seconds... That's how long I have before the beast reaches the cliff. I can't win with a sloppy plan. I need something unique, something so outlandish that a bear's limited intelligence can't anticipate it. At the same time, I need to cheat. I need to use everything at my advantage, make her as mad as possible to cloud her judgment. That will raise my chances of deceiving her...
His eyes narrowed, and looked north, toward the giant cliff with the sea below it, then glanced at his own cliff and the bear, and began calculating roughly how long he would need to reach the second cliff and how fast the bear could close the distance.
From my cliff to the second... around ten seconds. As for the bear, given the wet ground restricting her mobility and the grass field blinding her, it will take her roughly half a minute.
In other words, I have twenty seconds to finish my preparation.
Grimacing, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the rocky surface. Then, gritting his teeth, he let go with his right hand, his left arm aching, muscles burning, hands beginning to bleed, as he reached for his last bottle.
Murghagon's smoke... This is what will guarantee my victory. But will it work in time? My dragon's venom is dangerous, true, but he is still young. Like dragonfire grows stronger and hotter with age, the poison follows the same logic. Besides, the smoke has been in this bottle for weeks already. It has lost potency and is significantly weaker...
Stop it... Stop bitching around like a cunt. No excuses... You wanted a worthy opponent. You have one. There is no need to fear it. If I die, so be it. That means I lost. That means I am a loser, nothing more and nothing less. He clenched his jaw, holding the bottle between his lips while gripping the cliff again with both arms, finding a brief moment of respite for his left hand, and recalled what his master had told him.
That's right... Every day, hundreds, or maybe thousands of people die. My life is nothing special. Targaryens aren't gods. We aren't anything special. We just have dragons, and that's it. No one's life holds more value than another's if they bleed and can be killed.
I can bleed. I am made of flesh and blood and bone. Therefore I can be slain. But so can the bear. Which means her life is equal to mine. Every living being deserves to live, but not every one does. Only those who prove themselves as apex predators survive.
And now... I will prove that I am worthy of standing amongst them.
His eyes turned cold and still, inhuman in their blankness, his face expressionless as he climbed down and landed on the ground, alerting the beast. In the next second he nocked an arrow, drew and aimed, his left eye closed, and fired.
The arrow flashed through the forest air and flew straight toward the bear, which let out a roar as it noticed him, desire to rip him apart burning in the depths of its ferocious brown eyes, and charged.
But the arrow didn't hit her. It struck the tree beside her instead. His hands had been shaking, his muscles burning from overexertion so he had missed.
"Haha... Raghhahaha! That doesn't matter! What matters is this!" He laughed with vicious glee burning in his mismatched eyes, and the bottle attached to the arrow was wrenched forward on impact, smashing against the wood, the smoke inside exploding outward directly into the bear's face.
"Grahhhhhh!" The bear let out a confused scream, involuntarily inhaling the smoke, its paws clawing at its own nose, sneezing as liquid began flowing from its nostrils and mouth, its eyes clamped shut as the smoke seeped into them.
But the moment the smoke cleared and she looked up, she saw the boy running through the grass field. Her eyes went wide with rage and grief and bloodlust. She rose onto her hind legs, smashed down against the ground and dashed forward with incredible speed.
Meanwhile, Zalarys leapt out of the grass field, his bloodshot eyes scanning his surroundings. He nodded to himself, unstrung his bow, took out the spare string from his bag and tied both lengths together into a knot, then slid himself through the loop and tightened it around his waist, his expression locked in absolute focus, not wasting a single second.
Faster, faster... Fucking hands! Why will they not stop shaking! He thought with displeasure, his features twisting with irritation as he kept working.
Then he tied the other end of the string around the tree near the cliff's edge and glanced back, grinning darkly at the bear that burst out of the grass field. Her movements were slower now, her eyes hazy and bloodshot, green veins threading through the depths of her pupils, beginning to weep blood as she roared with intense malice and leapt at Zalarys, who ran back with desperate steps, his expression gleeful, and with an exhilarated smile, he leapt from the cliff.
Looking back, he saw the bear following him over the edge, her paw only a few centimeters away from pulverising his head, claws grazing his shoulder-length hair as time seemed to slow.
Got you, motherfucker...
Zalarys's blood was boiling with adrenaline, his heart beating so hard that he struggled to breathe, his small body falling, along with the bear above him.
"Holy shit... I think I'm dead... Hahaha..." He thought with genuine surprise, and then...
His body jerked upward. Every bone shook as the string snapped taut and held, yanking him forward and smashing him against the cliff face, his body sore, muscles burning, his index finger twisted at an unnatural angle where it had struck the rock.
As for the bear, it let out one final enraged scream as it fell, only to land on the sand below. Dust rose high and swallowed everything, and when it settled, nothing remained but the carcass of the beast.
****
[A/N: Hey guys, wusup? Hope you're all doing well with your family and friends. What I wanted to say is that pics of both Zalarys and Viserra are in the auxiliary chapter.
Enjoy the meal :]