An Alturian Legacy- Prologue

An Alturian Legacy

Prologue

Something stirred. Now, he wasn’t sure quite as to what it was, its source seemed more an instinct than a danger he could sense but it was enough to wake him. He might have jumped to his feet, weapons ready, had the sensation been anything he could see or hear but as it was there was no cause for alarm. He could feel the wind tugging at his clothes, breezing and dancing in its elegant way across the grasses of the clearing in which they lay, bringing with it the sweet smell of the trees and the forests wildflowers. He lay there for a while, staring up at the sky, a myriad of silver beauty stretched before him, coating the pitch sky with its glistening light. You just couldn’t see a sky this awe inspiring unless it was the only source of light. That was the thing Tristain loved most about prolonged hunts away from Middlewood, each star is at its most beautiful when it knows it is the center of attention. They are easily shied when lamps or fires are near but when it was just you and them they put on a show that couldn’t be rivaled by anything that mere people could make.

His mind returned from his musings to the present. He rose silently to a crouch, stealing away a steel knife from beneath the material on which he slept as he crept to the scrub that lay around where they had made camp for the night. Tika slept on by what was left of the makeshift camp fire, untroubled by whatever feeling had awoken her restless companion as he surveyed the area. The forests of Alturia were their beloved home, but that by no means made them safe. Within the villages there was peace but when out hunting there were predators that were as dangerous to them as any other of the creatures of the forest.

It seemed safe though, once again he found his instincts to be wrong. Since they had left the village this time he had found it increasingly hard to settle, always feeling as though something was near them. It may well just be caused by a concern for the presence of his new companion to this hunting trip, she herself seemed very much at peace though, certainly more so than Tristain. She could look after herself of course, he just prefered the idea that she wouldn't have to. Moving back from the shadows towards the remaining red ashes of the fire he lay down once more and closed his eyes, maybe this time he could sleep until dawn.