A pillar of pure, blinding light pierced the thick canopy of the ancient forest. Descending in absolute silence, it cut the deep shadows like a blade. When the glow finally touched the forest floor, no grass burned. No fallen leaves singed. Instead, the light slowly faded into nothing, shrinking back into the damp earth as if it had never existed.
The only thing left behind was a small figure at the base of a towering tree.
A simple white shirt, dark woven shorts, and stiff leather boots clothed the six-year-old boy. Lying perfectly still against the dirt, his chest rose and fell with shallow breaths.
Time passed. The forest remained quiet, entirely indifferent to his arrival.
Eventually, a small brown rabbit hopped from the undergrowth. Its nose twitched, sniffing the cool morning air. Finding no danger, the creature stepped cautiously closer to the unconscious boy. It nudged his hand, leaned down, and licked his cheek.
A flinch. Eyelids fluttering, the boy slowly opened his eyes.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves in broken, dusty beams. He pushed himself up, his pale, fair skin stained with wet moss and soil. Strands of messy black hair fell across his vision. Brushing them away, his bright red eyes scanned his own arms in profound confusion.
His mind was completely empty.
A frantic search of his brain yielded absolutely nothing. He closed his eyes and pushed harder, clawing the depths of his own head for a name, a mother, a father, a home. He found only a suffocating blankness. It felt exactly like reaching out to grab a familiar hand in the dark and grasping empty air.
Where am I? Who am I?
Panic seized his chest. His small heart hammered rapidly against his ribs.
He stumbled to his feet. His boots felt incredibly heavy, as if he had never walked in them before. Endless rows of timber and dense, tangled foliage surrounded him. The woods smelled strongly of wet earth and rotting wood.
"What is this place?"
The whisper was small, raspy, and completely unfamiliar to his own ears.
Standing still felt like waiting to die. Walking seemed the only option. Without knowing his destination, he picked a direction and started moving. Hopping along right behind him, the brown rabbit became a tiny anchor of comfort in an alien world.
At first, the environment held a strange wonder. Glowing blue mushrooms clung to the thick roots of a tree, and the distant, rushing sound of water eventually pulled him through the ferns to a winding river. He knelt on the muddy bank and drank greedily, letting the cold water soothe his dry throat.
But as the march continued, the beauty of the forest began to curdle.
He walked and walked. A dull ache throbbed in his legs. His breathing grew heavy. Slowly, the environment faded into a dizzying maze where every twisted trunk looked exactly the same. The thickening canopy choked out the sun. Shadows stretched across the dirt, growing longer and sharper like reaching fingers.
Exhausted and completely alone, the thickening canopy choked out the sun.
Now what?
A thick, mossy root curved out of the earth, offering a place to surrender. He collapsed onto the wood, pulling his knees tight to his chest as the cold dampness seeped into his bones. The rabbit hopped up next to him. A trembling hand reached out to pet its soft fur, trying desperately to calm his racing heart.
Rustle.
A heavy branch snapped in a nearby bush.
The rabbit froze. The boy stopped breathing. The air suddenly shifted, bringing a foul, suffocating stench of rotten meat and wet fur.
A thick brush snapped and tore. A wild boar stepped out.
Standing over five feet tall, the beast easily dwarfed the six-year-old boy. Coarse black hair covered a sickly maroon hide packed with dense, twitching muscle. Four thick, curved tusks jutted from its lower jaw, scraping the dirt as it shifted its heavy bulk. Tiny, blood-red eyes locked onto him with mindless rage. A cloud of hot mist plumed from its snout into the cool air.
The rabbit bolted, vanishing into the deep woods in a blur of brown.
The boy scrambled backward, his hands slipping in the mud. A scream tore from his throat—high, piercing, and sharp enough to echo through the ancient trees. He spun and ran as fast as his aching legs could carry him.
Behind him, the earth shook. It was charging.
As he sprinted blindly through the underbrush, low branches whipped across his face and scratched his cheeks. A rotting tree trunk blocked the path. Without stopping to think, he jumped, scrambling desperately over the slippery wood and landing hard on his knees on the other side.
CRASH.
The boar did not jump. Ramming headfirst into the fallen tree, it shattered the thick wood into flying splinters and burst through the wreckage, barely slowing down.
A cry escaped the boy's lips. He pushed himself up, running in an erratic zigzag pattern, dodging between trees just as it was all he could do. Heavy footsteps thundered right behind him, tearing up the grass.
Lungs burning. Legs like lead. Spotting a massive oak ahead, he dove behind it and pressed his back flat against the rough bark. He squeezed his eyes shut, covered his head with his hands, and held his breath, praying the monster would run past.
The trunk split down the middle with a crack like thunder.
The concussive force launched the boy forward, sending him tumbling like a stone through the dirt and roots.
Completely disoriented, the world spun in a blur of green and brown. He forced himself up on his hands and knees, only to find the boar already waiting.
Its heavy head swung. A bone-hard snout caught the boy right in the stomach. All the air was punched from his lungs. Tossed high into the air like a discarded ragdoll, he flew backward.
His spine collided horizontally with a thick tree trunk.
CRACK.
Solid wood dented from the crushing impact. Falling to the dirt, the boy gasped for air that wouldn't come. His vision blurred, fading to black at the edges. Pain exploded through his entire body like fire in his bones. Blood flowed freely from deep, jagged gashes on his arms and legs, staining his white shirt a sickly red.
Forcing his heavy head up, he tasted copper.
Fifty yards away, the maroon boar scraped its hooves against the dirt. It snorted, dragging its tusks through the moss. Lowering its head, it pointed four deadly tusks directly at his broken, bleeding body.
It squealed, kicking up dirt as it lunged for the killing blow.
The boy squeezed his eyes shut.
But the impact never came.
A thunderous crash shook the ground. The boy forced his heavy eyelids open. A towering silhouette stood squarely between him and the monster. The man held a longsword flaring with blinding silver light. The boar shrieked as enchanted steel met bone, the sheer force of the parry shattering two of the beast's tusks into flying white splinters.
Then, soft hands touched the boy's face.
A woman slid into the mud beside him, ignoring the dirt staining her light green robes. She gently lifted his head into her lap.
"Hold on," she whispered, her amber eyes wide with worry.
A brilliant emerald light bloomed from her open palms. Healing magic flowed outward like warm water. It washed over his broken skin, rapidly stitching his torn muscles back together and easing the agonizing fire in his bones.
Through half-open eyes, the boy watched the tall warrior easily vault onto the beast's back and plunge the silver-glowing sword directly into its skull. A heavy thud shook the forest floor. The boar didn't twitch again.
The soothing light from the woman's magic washed away the terrible pain, but it couldn't erase the deep, bone-deep exhaustion. The taste of blood faded from his mouth. His vision darkened at the edges, pulling him into sleep. Safe at last, he closed his eyes and let the dark pull him under.
A sharp gasp.
His eyes snapped open. Shooting up in the bed, his chest heaved. Panic gripped his throat like a vice. He expected to see the dark, endless forest. He expected charging monsters and deadly tusks.
Instead, a smooth, clean wooden ceiling greeted him. Cool night air drifted through a nearby window, carrying the faint light of the moon. He was sitting in a warm, comfortable bed. Thick blankets pulled up to his chest smelled strongly of lavender.
A chair scraped against the floorboards.
A woman sat up quickly from beside his bed, her face illuminated by a single flickering candle on the nightstand. It was the woman from the forest with the healing hands. Her expression softened instantly.
"Hey, it's okay," she said gently. Reaching out, she placed a warm, steady hand on his small shoulder. "You're safe. You've been asleep for three whole days, but the monster is gone. You're safe now."
His rapid breathing slowly began to steady. The nightmare faded, but he kept a wary grip on the blankets. Looking at her kind amber eyes, the tight coil in his chest loosened just a fraction.
Suddenly, a loud, rumbling growl echoed in the quiet room.
Flinching, the boy grabbed his stomach.
She giggled, a bright sound that felt entirely out of place to his frayed nerves. "Looks like you're hungry," she smiled, standing up and smoothing her skirts. "You can join us for dinner. Come on."
He pushed the blankets aside and tentatively stood. The agonizing pain from the forest was gone, but the moment his feet touched the floorboards, his legs felt like hollow reeds. A sudden, dull wave of dizziness washed over him—a lingering ghost of the crushed spine. He had to catch himself against the wooden bedframe, taking a slow, shaky breath before following her out of the bedroom.
Down a short hallway, the savory smell of roasted meat made his mouth water instantly. They entered a cozy, warmly lit dining room. Waiting for them at a round wooden table, the towering warrior had taken off his armor and wore a simple, clean tunic. The hunting scars on his jaw looked far less intimidating in the warm light of the stone hearth. He smiled warmly when the boy walked in.
"Have a seat, kid," the man said, gesturing to an empty stool.
Sitting cautiously, the boy watched the woman walk to the hearth and bring over the hot food. She placed a steaming plate of roasted boar meat right in front of him, adding a deep bowl of vegetable soup and a loaf of warm, freshly baked bread.
Grabbing the bread, he tore a piece off with his teeth and started eating, keeping his eyes downcast.
The man rested his arms on the table. He studied the guest for a long moment, scanning the miraculously unbruised frame before speaking.
"How are you feeling?"
A heavy swallow. "I'm... fine," the boy said quietly.
"That's good." The warrior leaned forward slightly, his tone casual but deeply curious. "I'm Darius. And this is Mira. What's your name, kid? What were you doing out in the Beast Forest... all alone?"
The chewing stopped. The boy lowered the bread back to the plate and stared down at his soup. He searched his mind for the answers, digging as deep into his memory as he possibly could.
Nothing. Just a vast, empty white space where his past should be.
He slowly shook his head, his red eyes wide and frightened.
"We heard you scream," Mira explained gently, stepping around the table to kneel beside Darius' chair. "Darius and I were hunting orcs about a mile away. When we broke through the trees, that monster was about to... well. We're just glad we reached you in time."
She reached over and lightly smacked Darius on the shoulder. "Stop interrogating him. Look at what he just went through. Let him recover first."
Rubbing his arm, Darius looked slightly guilty. "Right. Sorry. Bad habit."
Profound pity washed over Mira's face. She thought for a long moment, watching him silently grip his wooden spoon. The room was entirely quiet except for the comforting crackle of the fireplace. She reached out, gently placing her warm hand over his small, cold one. Another bright, reassuring smile followed.
"In that case, 'til you remember," she said softly, "we'll call you Ravon."
Leaning back in his heavy wooden chair, Darius crossed his arms and smiled. "Ravon. I like it. It's a strong name."
Ravon looked between the two of them. A strange, completely unfamiliar warmth settled deep in his chest. It felt like a small, stubborn spark of light fighting against the vast emptiness of his mind.
"You don't have to worry about where to go," Mira said. She gently brushed a piece of messy black hair away from his forehead. "You can stay with us as long as you want."
"Yeah," Darius agreed, picking up his own piece of bread. "And tomorrow, I'll head into the city. I'll submit a missing person quest for an unknown boy at the adventurer's guild. If anyone is looking for you, we'll help them find you."
Ravon looked down at his plate. He didn't know who he was or where he came from. But sitting in this warm, bright room, eating the very monster that had almost killed him, he knew one thing for absolute certain: