The Rise Of Natria The Tyrant

A Promise

[21st October, 1917, Forest Of Tats]

SWOOOP!!

Flohelm opened his eyes; his slumber disturbed by the sudden noise. Quickly, he got up from his bed and walked toward the window of the cottage. He looked outside, confused, everything seemed normal.

'What was the sound? Was I dreaming?' he thought.

He was lost in his thought when he felt a soft sensation on his nose. His eyes focused on his nose, there balancing itself on his nose, was a small leaf. He removed it from his nose and looks at it in his palm. It was small and delicate, just like his son, Natria. A feeling of bittersweet joy took over his mind. Reminiscing of his wife and friends, he decided to get back to his bed when a sudden gust of wind displaced the leaf from his palm.

For the first time, he really looked outside. For the last two days, he had been so lost in his mind, thinking about recent accidents that he had isolated himself from the world. When the light from outside entered his eyes, this time his mind didn't reject it. In front of him was the vast, lively village of Avia. Children helped their mother while their fathers prepared to leave for the jungle. The local craftworker had opened his store, farmers ploughed the field and many more activities continued on. He had never realised that the cottage he was living in for the last two days was a four-storey town hall.

There was a knock on the door.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Yes." he replied.

"It's Bakuzkha. Can I come inside?" a voice came.

"Of course." he replied.

The door of the cottage opened with a creak.

"How are you?" Bakuzkha asked politely.

"I'm fine. Thanks to your medicine, I feel better than ever." Flohelm replied, trying to sound as energetic as possible.

"That's nice to hear. I'm glad we could be of help. I wanted to tell you that Natria is awake, you guys might need to leave now." she said in a serious tone.

"Oh, I guess the time has come." Flohelm said in a grim voice.

Bakuzkha just looked at Flohelm in silence.

"Uh....If it's not too much to ask, um, why are you guys aren't leaving? You know the assault might come today, we are so close to boundary, maybe we can help the whole town evacuate and reac-" Flohelm was interrupted by Bakuzkha's sudden gaze at him.

"I thought you would say something like this. After all, you city folk don't understand one's love for their land." she said with a sigh.

"Um, sorry?" Flohelm said.

"Oh, don't misunderstand. Come, I'll show you." she said, signalling him to follow.

Flohelm obliged. Quietly, he followed Bakuzkha through the building like a small child. They reached her room on the ground floor. She rotated the knob of the door.

CLICK!

"Come." she instructed.

Flohelm entered the room, he felt his heart would burst out of excitement. As soon as he entered the room, instead of ancient treasure or legacy, there was a small desk and chair neatly put beside a large bookshelf filled with files and documents. In every sense, it was a normal study. Flohelm felt disappointed. He had thought of being revealed to some hidden secret of the tribe, but reality is often disappointing.

Avia walked over to the corner of the bookshelf, Flohelm assumed she was about to take out a book but then he saw her hand go to the back of the shelf. A lever was put down somewhere, the bookshelf came outwards on its own, revealing a small door behind it.