The 12 tales of Christmas: On the hunt
Welcome everyone to the seventh story of the 12 tales of Christmas challenge. For the seventh tale of Christmas Isabella Designer asked this from me. She asked for number 7 and snowflake as the prompts. This is a very special challenge. Isabella Designer was the one who created the banner for my channels.
She’s right now in the middle of designing some banners that I’m looking forward to sharing with you. I recommend her to anyone who does YouTube, streaming or anything like that online. She is a superb artist.
Now that said the story will take us into the realm of fantasy. A ranger is out on the hunt for wild winter boar near his home village of Peak’s Valley. Yet he is unaware that a race that disappeared long ago is about to return. And his life will soon change in ways he could never have fathomed. Get ready for On the Hunt,
Booted feet crunched through the snow. A muscular male dressed in leather and woolen attire scoured the forest. His hands held a bow with strange ice blue runes. An arrow was at the ready in the bowstring. Kenneth Rohan was on the prowl.
His mission was to search out one of the winter boars that frequented the forest this time of year. Despite the cold there were hearty grasses that poked from beneath the deepest of snows. Thus, helping provide a source of food for the indigenous herbivores. It was well known that male winter boars could maul a man if they were not careful.
But the ranger was an experienced hunter with a respect for the woodlands. He had grown up playing in the forested areas around Peak's Valley Village. So, he knew every nook and cranny of the area. It was no surprise to the townsfolk when he became a ranger. A move to which his family had approved of without a second’s hesitation.
But the chestnut-haired bearded man of 21 years focused. His mind was on the prey he sought. The winter boar population had exploded this year. So, it was more important that he do his part to help keep the balance of things. That meant hunting some down to prevent disease from spreading.
Kenneth knew the Winter Solstice Festival was close. Which meant people were preparing to celebrate another year in Peak's Valley Village. The ranger meant to add to that celebration with a roasted winter boar as was the tradition of his village. Winter animals chirped and sang their usual songs declaring their territory.
Some of the more starry-eyed people in the village may enjoy this. And to a certain extent I do. But it gets tedious when one spends much of their time protecting and aiding people. The young man observed as his soft toed watertight boots tread as soft as possible.
Holding on to his arrow and bow with one hand he scratched his full beard. Then he set the bow back into a ready position. The human male’s ears listened as his keen eyes scoured the trees of the forest searching for his prey. Up ahead he saw a depression in the blanket of snow. The ranger checked and saw the hooved tracks of the beast he sought.
He flashed a smile of anticipation. This was where his tracking and hunting skills came into play.
He crept through the snow keeping his ears and eyes open. At first all he heard was the sounds of forest animals in their usual chatter. Then there was a point where the tracks turned off the road. Kenneth was about to proceed when something caught his ears. Or rather a lack of something.
The animals have stopped their usual conversation, that’s not a good sign, the ranger thought.
It was a good thing he was paying attention. That’s what allowed him to pick up the soft crunch in the snow. He dove out of the way as a tall black sleek shape leaped out from the trees at where he'd been. The ranger rolled to his feet in time to see a big forest panther had landed where he’d been. But there was something different about the beast.
Its eyes glowed yellow with an unholy aura almost as if…
“As if someone controlled it?” A voice from nowhere and everywhere chimed in.
A robed black figure appeared in the snow. With him was an exquisite woman with snow white hair. Yet two things about the woman stood out. The ears with delicate pointed tips, and the same unholy yellow light as the cat.
The ranger noted the black robed figure and snapped, “It’s obvious you’re some kind of sorcerer. What magic have you put on the cat and girl spell thrower?!”
The black clad figure let out a derisive snort. “What do you think I am, one of those villains from a child’s story? Figure it out yourself ranger, not that you’ll get much of a chance!”
The sorcerer looked at his two minions. “Girl, cat, destroy this ranger!”
The woman drew a sword from a sheath on her belt. The sword crackled with lightning. That weapon’s enchanted same as my bow. Kenneth thought.
The woman pulled out a medium shield. The ranger recognized the insignia of it. Those seven snowflakes, they match the symbol in the ruins a short distance to the west.
Then the cat leapt at him as the woman rushed him. The ranger dove out of the way of the attack. Damn it, it’s obvious he has some kind of control over the girl and the forest panther. If I harm them, I’d be as much a monster as that sorcerer, he noted.
The ranger dodged an attack from the cat and then ducked a blow from the strange girl. This woman is a snow elf but what is one of her kind doing here? He wondered.
Meanwhile he slammed a shoulder into her. The blow lifted her off her feet and sent her sprawling into the snow as she let out a yelp of surprise. The Rohan male put one arrow away. He pulled out his own longsword but got a surprise when a bolt of energy knocked it away. “Ah-ah-ah can’t have you having a chance.” The sorcerer chided.
“You’re not leaving here alive ranger. You’ve seen me and so that makes you a problem.”
“You and your treacherous magic sorcerer. It shows a lack of honor on your part!” Kenneth Rohan retorted.
The black robed sorcerer let out a contempt filled snort. “Honor is for fools who don’t know how to get things done.”
The ranger dove out of the way of another blast. He grabbed his bow and scrambled behind a tree. “it's useless to hide ranger I can see your tracks in the snow,” he taunted.
“Girl, cat, go after him and take him down!” the spell caster commanded.
Sending others to do your dirty work huh coward, the ranger thought.
It was then that a howl rang out from all around the woodland. “What is that?” the sorcerer growled. “Who dares…?”
He didn’t get the chance to finish. A large wolf the size of a horse ran into the clearing where the sorcerer was. The spell thrower turned to fire a bolt at it. But the ranger had used the distraction to his advantage. He took careful aim and fired an arrow.
The missile began to glow with mystical blue light. The girl and the cat both launched an attack at the ranger. Out of the corner of one eye Kenneth saw the arrow strike the sorcerer who screamed in pain. Right before the lupine figure tackled him. The snow elf woman and the cat spasmed.
As I thought these two are being controlled. The Rohan male thought.
He turned to see the sorcerer was struggling against the gigantic wolf who had him on the ground. The creature let out a growl before it said in clear common, “Release your hold Sorcerer, now!”
In that moment Kenneth recognized the voice from the giant silvery dire wolf. “Do it or I’ll rip your throat out!” The creature warned.
Kenneth pulled out an arrow and aimed it at the spellcaster. “Whoever you are, you’d best do as Silverfang says!” He warned.
“My dire wolf friend always keeps his word.” He added.
The sorcerer snapped, “Never, the cat and girl are…”
Kenneth pulled back his bow and took careful aim. “Don’t try us you!” he snapped in a tone that brooked no argument.
The dire wolf leaned in closer as he let out a threatening growl.
The sorcerer a second later teleported out from beneath the wolf’s paws. He reappeared nearby and brought up a strange flute. He started to bring it to the lips beneath his hood. Kenneth fired the arrow, and the sorcerer screamed in pain when the arrow struck the flute. The impact caused the instrument to explode.
The eyes of both the cat and the elf woman stopped glowing and both fell to the ground. The black-clad sorcerer snapped, “You filthy ranger! Do you know how long it took me to create that flute of control?”
But Kenneth drew another arrow and fired. The arrow struck the tree mere inches from the robed figure’s head. The silvery dire wolf trotted up beside him. “Leave now sorcerer and do not return!” he snapped.
The robed figure hissed, “You’ve won this round ranger. But make no mistake you’ve made a dangerous enemy today.Know that the Fellowship of Shadows will come looking for you and for our lost slaves!”
The sorcerer muttered a spell under his breath before he faded away. Kenneth sighed and looked at the dire wolf. “You picked an incredible time to show up my friend.” He said to SIlverfang.
“I could smell the stench of that sorcerer from a mile away. He’d been prowling about these woods for a couple weeks now.”
The ranger and dire wolf approached the two prone figures on the ground. “You recognize the symbol that snow elf carries, yes?” The dire wolf asked.
The ranger nodded his confirmation. “I do recognize it. Some old stories say the old ruins of Karbuk some distance from here were once a thriving elf community. But then one day the snow elves disappeared.
"It was around the time the other various elf races started to vanish.”
“I know the stories of my illustrious pack grandsires. They say there was a great war that started between the elves. All the elves got summoned to fight in it.”
“But if there was a war, how did they survive? How did one get here, and what does it mean?”
At that moment the woman groaned. “The elf female awakens so we can find out more from her.” The dire wolf pointed out.
The elf opened her ice blue eyes and stared up at the man. She scrambled to her feet sword at the ready. “Vorlaxa!” she snapped.
The cat opened its eyes and sprang to the woman’s side.
Kenneth put a hand to his canine companion. “Let’s not do anything rash my friend.”
He put away his bow. “Stay your weapon lady, I mean you no harm.”
The woman’s face furrowed before she muttered something under her breath then spoke up. “Identify yourself human! Who are you and what are you doing in elvish territory?”
The man nodded and said, “So the old stories are true, this area did belong to you snow elves. My name is Kenneth Rohan, I am a ranger from the village of Peak's Valley. I help guard this forest and keep it healthy.”
The cat turned to the woman and let out a series of meows and snarls. “Yes, I know Green Claw. I will be careful.” She assured her feline companion.
“I am Rihanna Icecleaver, warrior and explorer for the Snow Elf clan known as The Blizzard!” She stated in an official tone.
She nodded towards the big cat. “The feline is my companion and friend Green Claw. What is this canine with you and why were you out in the forest?”
“This great dire wolf here is Silverfang, head of the noble pack of the Northern Fangs. He is a long-time friend of my family and village.”
The ranger thought for a moment. “About why we’re out here, we are hunting the mighty winter boars of this region. The population has increased in an excessive amount. So, we hunt some down to control the population and keep it healthy.
"Thus, maintaining the balance of this forest. Also, my village has a tradition of eating boar on the seventh day of the Winter Festival.”
“He speaks the truth elf lady. The people of Peak's Valley and my pack have done much to maintain the balance of this region. My pack have done so since your kind’s departure ages ago.”
“That begs the question who was that sorcerer and how did he capture you and Green Claw?” Kenneth asked.
A look of annoyance crossed the woman’s face. “Pure unbridled treachery! Green Claw and I were out om patrol. We've returned to this our ancestral home after the tragic events of the Great Elf War.
"We seek to rebuild the city that was our home, and rebuild our civilization.”
She took a breath and continued. “I heard someone calling for help from nearby and went to investigate. That’s when we ran into that black-clad schemer and that accursed flute of his!”
Kenneth could tell the snow elf was telling the truth. “It seems there’s evil that has come to this region. I realize we have only met lady. But if you would be willing to place your trust in me…” he said leaving the sentence unfinished.
She nodded and said, “After the fiasco with that sorcerer it would be best if I spoke with your village elders. My people will want to know that we have neighbors.”
Silverfang and the cat glared at each other. “Can you tolerate the forest panther my friend?” Kenneth asked.
The dire wolf growled and said, “I will tolerate the cat for now.”
In response the feline let out a series of growls before he swatted at the air and let out a hiss. Rihanna turned to him. “Green Claw knock it off,” she chided.
The cat turned to her and let out a series of growls. “Well deal with it you stubborn cat we need all the allies we can get! We need to contact this Peak's Valley Village then get back to the others and tell father what’s happening.”
The cat growled but turned away in a fashion that said he conceded Rihanna’s point. She scratched his head and quipped, “You’re a stubborn feline you know that.”
The forest panther closed his eyes and let out a soft purr. She nodded and said, “Very well ranger Rohan take me to your village.”
The ranger sighed and said, “This will complicate things though. I had promised to bring back a large boar for the feast.”
“On this count I can be of help my human friend,” the wolf said.
"I was nearby when I heard the sounds of battle. I killed a large young and healthy male boar. The meat I suspect will be perfect for the Winter Solstice feast.”
The ranger sighed in relief and scratched the wolf’s head. To this the dire wolf closed his eyes and sighed in pleasure. “Silverfang you are a Gods sent my friend.”
“After all you’ve done for me Kenneth, I could do no less for you and your people.”
“Well, let’s grab that boar carcass and get back to the village. Things are about to get interesting in this area.” Kenneth Rohan quipped.
And there you go folks there’s the seventh story of the 12 tales of Christmas. More stories are coming soon so stay tuned good readers. Meanwhile let me know your thoughts in the comments section. Did you like this story? Did I do good, or does my writing need improvement?
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Next: Story #8 - A first impression
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