The Chronicle Keeper (Formally - Destiny)

CHAPTER TWO | nolan

NOTE: A sycamore maple is an actual tree that can grow up to 100 feet and is native to Central Europe and Southwest Asia. I have been receiving questions is it a sycamore or a maple, when in truth, it is both. Just not a native tree species in North America. I have put a lot of research into these chapters, so if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. As I have a reason and I have done the research. :D And yes, a red deer in Europe does have a "roar-like" sound :D Not our common white tail deer.

*****

Grabbing my bow and quiver of arrows, I charged through the door, exiting the tavern I called home. I was spewing venom I was so livid. They knew nothing of my mother. Had my older brother, Greyson, not owned the tavern, I would have silenced every last one of those bastards. I was so blind to my surroundings that I was on autopilot. Filled with hostility, I headed to the tranquility and safety of the forest.

The people of the village went on about their day, with no consideration to my need of escaping the crowded streets of the small village. Intuitively, I managed to avoid the oblivious bodies that crowded my path as I moved against the flow of traffic, to escape the village. Their inconsideration and thoughtlessness to move aside and let me pass only infuriated me more.

The one thing that had driven me from my brother's tavern was the insinuation of my mother's past events from the perverted pigs drinking at the bar. They had been tossed out of the tavern and told never to return, but that hadn't stopped the boiling rage inside me. I couldn't bear to be under the scrutiny of the townspeople, so I took a deserted back alley into the forest.

It was within the sanctuary of the forest that I felt the fury inside of me dissipate. But my anger wasn't the only reason I had ventured out here. I had been asked by my brother to bring back some meat for tomorrow's dinner special at the tavern. Greyson wanted to feature venison and was making such a big deal of it, that I had had no choice but to come out this way. Just under circumstances that I wish had never arisen.

The love I have for the outdoors filled me and kept me grounded. This was the closest thing that brought me peace. Otherwise, I would have become a drunk like my father. Though, the thought of beer did gave me solace at times when I needed release from my burdens in this world. It wasn't a secret as to why my mother had become and acted the way she did, rebelling against my father's alcoholism. Once she had deemed me old enough to take care of myself, she would leave me to deal with my father's abusive and slandering words. Sometimes, I didn't blame her. Other times I just wanted to escape with her.

Halting before an ancient sycamore maple, I let the last of my anger surge through my right foot, releasing my pent up frustration against the base of the tree. Newton's law did not fail me, and I wished I had found another way to rid the anger that burned within me. Instead, I took it out on that merciless tree.

"Blast it all!" I cursed. Even my steel-toe boots could not protect me from the sharp agony now emanating through my right leg.

I bit down hard on my left index knuckle and leaned my forehead against the tree's trunk. Swinging my bow and quiver from my back with my free hand, I gently set them down, all the time pinching my eyes shut. Blind anger had never gotten me anywhere. If I weren't careful, it would be the death of me.

It felt liberating to my sore lungs when a rush of air escaped my lips. After the bar fight I had started and finished, I don't think I did justice to defending my mother's integrity. The final burden of letting all my frustration out, now had freed itself from the very essence where it had been given life. I shuddered and turned to rest my back on the trunk and slipped to the forest floor. The sun was beginning to descend and I calculated about four hours left of daylight and knew this would not give me much time to collect fresh venison for tomorrow's dinner special and return home before night cloaked the forest in darkness.