The Chase (Chapter 1 - Kyron)

A handful of strangers are drawn together by chance, blood, and fate.

Kyron sprinted through the forest, expertly navigating the devastation left in the wake of the beast. He had been pursuing the creature for the last hour and was beginning to gain on it. Tiredness crept into his limbs like an unwelcome visitor. He ran as fast as he dared. Chasing the creature was one thing, but he needed the energy to fight it when he caught up.

It fell to him to stop the creature and bring it down before it left the Forest’s borders and entered the human lands. He should not be alone. His team had… they all… he stopped.

The weight of the day still lay heavy, unease spreading from his stomach and into his chest as he caught his breath. Composing himself, he began to move forward again. No. This was not the time to mourn them. That would come later. His father’s voice rang in his ears, calm and commanding.

“Remember your training. Remember your duty. We protect the Forest. We alone. We are the Silverscales, and we are its shield.”
Ahead of Kyron, one of the Forest’s ancient trees lay at a sharp angle. Its huge trunk, not quite settled, pointed toward the stars like a finger of the earth.

Gods, to fell a tree of this size… this creature’s strength must be unnatural.

Kyron ran up the huge trunk, stopping a short way along. It was slick with the creature’s ichor. A few feet away, pieces of its chitinous shell clung to the bark. Kyron’s resolve tightened.

It might be strong, he thought, but it’s not impervious. If it could be wounded, then it could be killed.

Despite its devastation, the thought of killing the beast made Kyron feel uneasy. He was meant to protect the Forest from outsiders and to live in harmony, where possible, with the Forest’s inhabitants. There was no saving this creature, however, not until he discovered what had driven it to such mindless destruction. Just like Chogan had. Nausea climbed into his throat, his chest tightened, his eyes began to sting.

Kyron closed his eyes and swallowed his grief. Not now, he thought. Not yet.

He leapt from the trunk, stepping along the fallen tree’s branches cascading down toward the earth like a broken staircase. He hit the earth at a run, mud exploding in every direction, and continued his pursuit.

Of course, this would be much faster if he transformed. As a wolf in particular, he would be able to close the distance more efficiently. But he needed to conserve his energy. Transforming cost him dearly, and if he needed to change form again, he was not sure he could succeed.
Yes, he told himself. Be patient. Be smart. Find it. Then I can decide who, or what, I must be to kill it.

His heart dropped like a stone as the edge of the forest came into view. He would be too late, he realised. But he was so close! Close enough to feel the creature’s footfalls slamming into the ground, shaking raindrops from the leaves. Gods no! He was not close enough. Breaking into a full sprint, he surged. His muscles growling back at him in quiet rage.

Arriving at the edge of the forest, he stood in the gaping hole at the treeline which the creature had left in its wake. The ground sloped down steeply ahead of him. The grass was torn from where the creature had scrambled down the hillside, disturbed earth and mud marking the damage the beetle’s huge footprints had caused.

There, in the distance, the creature barrelled down the hillside, its black, shiny carapace glistening in the ethereal moonlight. For most, the creature would have been invisible regardless of its size. Its natural black armour blended expertly with the darkness of the night. But Kyron, with his keen elven eyesight, could see it clearly. He did not like where it was headed.

At the bottom of the hill, Kyron could make out twinkling firelight in the darkness. It seemed to be coming through the shuttered windows of a building. The stag-headed beetle stormed the building, its head lowered, poised to attack.

Kyron sprinted down the hillside, his heart now desperate. He cursed at it in Elvish, trying to gain it's attention, but he was too late. He had been too late from the start.

Kyron let out a last, desperate cry as the creature crashed into the building.