Inside Mongrul Forest, silence was part of the hunt.
Hippo Bekker crouched among the bushes, one hand raised to keep the rest of the group still.
Across the river, the branches began to move.
Once.
Twice.
Then several at the same time.
The hunters tightened their grip on their spears.
They didn't need to speak.
They had been hunting in this forest for generations.
They knew how to wait.
Finally, the herd appeared.
They were enormous creatures, resembling wild bulls, but covered in thick bony plates that protected their shoulders and sides. Their hooves sank into the damp earth as they moved toward the river.
Hippo waited.
One of the monsters raised its head.
It sniffed the air.
Hippo smiled faintly.
Now.
He lowered his hand.
The forest exploded into action.
"Attack!"
The spears flew at the same time.
The air filled with frost.
A dozen ice projectiles tore through the space between the trees and struck the herd.
The first monsters fell immediately.
Others tried to turn.
Too late.
Ice covered their legs and rapidly spread across their bodies, immobilizing them before they could escape.
The survivors bellowed and fled upstream.
"Don't chase them!" Hippo ordered.
No one argued.
The hunters waited until they were certain the herd had disappeared into the distance.
Ten creatures had been left behind.
Some were dead.
Others were still breathing.
The men cautiously approached and finished them off before beginning their work.
They quickly dismembered the bodies, separating the meat, bony plates, and organs that could be used as magical materials.
It was routine work.
Something they had done hundreds of times.
"Take everything," Hippo ordered.
One of the hunters pulled out a metal bracelet.
The surface of the artifact began to glow.
The enormous amount of meat started disappearing into the object.
Hippo watched the process with some discomfort.
Those bracelets had been sent by his older sister.
For a long time, he had refused to use them.
Not because they were useless.
Precisely because they were too useful.
In his opinion, his father had made a mistake by relying on the human kingdoms. When the tribe had been attacked years ago, no one had come to help them.
They hadn't even tried to rescue his sister.
Hippo had never forgotten that.
But now he couldn't deny that those objects made the tribe's survival considerably easier.
"We're done," one of the hunters said.
Hippo nodded.
Then he stopped.
He looked toward the river.
"Wait."
The others raised their heads.
"What is it?"
Hippo didn't answer.
Something was wrong.
He slowly approached the riverbank.
The water was clear.
Too clear.
He crouched down and dipped his fingers into it.
It was cold.
But the temperature wasn't what concerned him.
It was the mana.
Hippo closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he remained completely still.
The magical current that normally flowed through the river was weak and stable.
Now...
it was much denser.
He opened his eyes.
"How long has it been like this?"
The others looked at one another.
"I don't know."
"It wasn't like this yesterday," another replied.
Hippo looked at the water again.
A small leaf fell from one of the trees.
It touched the surface.
For an instant, a faint blue light traveled along its veins.
Then it disappeared.
No one said anything.
Hippo slowly stood up.
"We're going back."
One of the hunters pointed toward the forest.
"What about the hunt?"
"We have enough."
"But we can still—"
"I said we're going back."
His tone left no room for argument.
The men began gathering their weapons.
Hippo looked at the river one last time.
Something was changing.
It was still too subtle to worry most people.
But he knew this forest.
And one of the first rules his father had taught him was simple:
When the forest changes, don't wait to find out why.
As the hunters moved away, none of them saw what was happening beneath the water.
Among the stones at the bottom, tiny glowing particles began to accumulate.
The river continued to flow.
But its mana was no longer the same.
And high above them, hidden behind the clouds, something slowly crossed the sky.
A faint iridescent light appeared over the mountains for a few seconds.
Then it disappeared.
The forest fell silent once again.
As they continued with their work, a warrior suddenly burst into the clearing.
He was running at full speed.
His face was covered in sweat, and he was breathing heavily.
"We're under attack!" he shouted. "Quick! Return to the village!"
Hippo immediately stood up.
"Who?"
The warrior could barely catch his breath.
"Galdrok!"
The name was enough to stop them all.
No one spoke again.
Even the youngest hunters knew the story.
Galdrok.
The ice dragon that lived in the mountains.
The last time it had descended upon the tribe, dozens of warriors had died.
"Move!" Hippo ordered.
They abandoned their prey and ran toward the village.
The roar reached them first.
A deep thunderous sound made the trees tremble.
Then came another.
And another.
When they finally crossed the last line of trees, Hippo froze.
The village was being destroyed.
Galdrok flew over the camps, beating its enormous wings as the warriors tried to hold it back from the ground.
Its dark blue scales gleamed beneath a strange light that seemed to filter through the clouds.
It wasn't the same dragon Hippo remembered.
It was larger.
Much larger.
And around its body was a faint blue aura that made the air itself seem to freeze.
"Fire!" someone roared.
A wave of flames rose from the center of the village.
Invald was there.
Mounted on his Wyber, he fired bursts of flame at the dragon while the second magical beast attacked from the ground.
Galdrok turned in the air.
A burst of flame passed beneath its body.
It dodged it.
Another explosion struck one of its wings.
The dragon barely changed its trajectory.
"It can't be..." Hippo murmured.
His father was using all his power.
And yet Galdrok didn't even seem to be fighting seriously.
The dragon descended.
Its claws struck the ground.
The earth trembled.
Several warriors were thrown into the air.
Invald launched another attack.
Galdrok opened its jaws.
The air changed.
The temperature suddenly plummeted.
"RETREAT!" Invald shouted.
Too late.
Galdrok inhaled deeply.
A tremendous amount of mana began gathering in front of its snout.
Hippo felt the hair on his body stand on end.
"RUN!"
The icy breath shot forward.
The village disappeared behind a cloud of white.
The trees were covered in frost.
The huts froze within seconds.
The warriors who failed to escape were trapped beneath a thick layer of ice.
Hippo ran.
He didn't know where.
He simply ran.
When the attack ended, the silence was even worse than the roar.
Hippo stopped.
Several houses had disappeared before him.
The ground was covered in ice.
Bodies were scattered everywhere.
Some warriors were trying to stand.
Others weren't moving.
The air smelled of burning wood, blood, and cold.
"Father!"
Hippo looked up.
Invald was still on his Wyber.
He had a wound on his arm and was breathing heavily.
But he was alive.
Then Galdrok roared again.
The sound swept across the entire village.
The dragon descended once more, this time directly in front of Invald.
Its eyes burned with a fury Hippo had never seen in a creature before.
"Damn insects!"
The dragon's voice echoed through the mountains.
"Did you bring that demon into my forest?"
Invald was bewildered.
"Demon?"
Galdrok bared its fangs.
"Don't lie!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
For a moment, the dragon seemed ready to attack again.
Then it stopped.
Its gaze shifted toward the mountains.
Something had changed in its expression.
It no longer looked furious.
It looked... uneasy.
But then it looked toward the mountains again.
Its expression changed.
As if it had heard something the others couldn't.
Galdrok spread its wings.
"This isn't your fault..." it murmured.
Invald frowned.
"What did you say?"
The dragon looked at them again.
"When it comes, none of you will be able to stop it."
A chill ran through Hippo.
"What is coming?"
Galdrok didn't answer.
It beat its wings violently.
A gust of wind sent dust, snow, and pieces of wood flying.
The dragon rose into the sky.
"Galdrok!" Invald shouted.
He mounted his Wyber and unleashed one final burst of flame.
The fire barely reached the tip of one of its wings.
Galdrok continued ascending.
Its silhouette slowly disappeared into the clouds.
Invald slowly lowered his hand.
He had tried to stop it.
It had been useless.
Hippo approached him.
"Father..."
Invald didn't answer.
He was still staring at the sky.
"What demon?" he murmured.
Hippo swallowed.
"Do you think it was talking about us?"
Invald slowly shook his head.
"No."
His expression grew grim.
"I think it was running from something."
Hippo looked toward the mountains.
For several seconds, he saw nothing.
Then an iridescent light appeared behind the clouds.
It was only a flash.
Blue.
Green.
Violet.
Then it disappeared.
Hippo remained motionless.
"Father..."
Invald didn't look away.
"I saw it."
"What is that?"
Invald clenched his fists.
"I don't know."
He looked at the destroyed village.
Then at the mountains.
"But if a creature like Galdrok is afraid of something..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Hippo lowered his gaze toward the remains of the village.
They had lost homes.
They had lost warriors.
And for the first time, the forest that had always protected them seemed unable to do so.
Invald finally turned toward the survivors.
"Gather everyone."
Hippo raised his head.
"Are we leaving the forest?"
Invald looked at him firmly.
"No."
His voice left no room for doubt.
"This is our home."
He paused and looked toward the mountains again.
"But we'll prepare a place where we can take our people if this happens again."
Hippo understood.
They weren't abandoning the forest.
For the first time, they were preparing for the possibility that the forest might no longer be safe.