Morning came with a thin layer of mist hanging over Ediera. The village was still quiet when Mike stepped out of his house, bow in hand, the cool air biting at his lungs. His arm still ached beneath the bandage, but he ignored it.
Pain was not an excuse.
Tork was already waiting near the treeline, standing as still as one of the old oaks behind him. He gave Mike a short nod as he approached.
"You're on time," Tork said.
Mike nodded back. "I didn't want to be late."
"Good. The forest does not wait for the unprepared."
Without another word, they stepped beneath the canopy.
The forest felt different in the early morning. Quieter. Heavier. The air carried the scent of wet soil and pine resin. Droplets clung to leaves and fell in soft, irregular rhythms. Every sound seemed clearer.
For the first hour, they spoke little.
Tork would occasionally raise a hand, signaling Mike to stop. Then he would point.
A broken twig.
Disturbed moss.
A faint indentation in the earth.
"What do you see?" Tork asked.
Mike crouched, studying the ground. "Hoof prints. Not old. The edges are still sharp."
Tork nodded slightly. "And?"
Mike leaned closer. "Two animals. One heavier than the other."
"Why?"
"The depth. This one sinks more."
Tork allowed himself a small approving grunt. "Good. You remember."
They continued walking, and Tork began explaining more.
"Tracking is not just looking at the ground. It is reading a story. Every animal leaves one. You must learn to see what others ignore."
He gestured toward a cluster of leaves. "That branch was eaten recently. Clean tear. Deer."
Mike followed closely, trying to absorb everything. The forest no longer seemed random. It felt alive with hidden patterns.
Then it happened.
A deep sound rolled through the air.
Not a roar.
Not thunder.
Something heavier.
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Birds exploded upward from the trees in a chaotic storm of wings. Smaller animals darted through the underbrush in panic. The tremor lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to make Mike's heart slam against his ribs.
He looked at Tork instinctively.
Tork was already scanning the sky.
"Stay low," he said quietly.
Another powerful gust of wind rushed through the trees, bending branches and tearing leaves free. Then, beyond the treetops in the distance, Mike saw it.
A massive shape rising.
At first, it looked like part of the forest itself had come alive. Then the sunlight caught it.
Dark emerald scales shimmered faintly, though from this distance the details were blurred. The creature's body stretched long and powerful, easily fifteen, maybe twenty meters from head to tail. Its wings unfolded like enormous sails, each beat sending visible waves through the canopy below.
A dragon.
Mike forgot to breathe.
The creature climbed higher into the sky, its tail sweeping behind it like a living whip. The sheer size of it made everything else seem small. Insignificant.
The final push of its wings sent another ripple through the earth beneath them.
"That," Tork said calmly, though his voice was lower than usual, "is the reason."
Mike swallowed. "It caused the shaking?"
"Yes. Takeoff."
They watched as the dragon circled once above the distant hills before gliding toward the deeper parts of the forest.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
"It's… huge," Mike finally managed.
Tork glanced at him. "You expected smaller?"
Mike did not answer.
Tork shifted his bow on his shoulder. "Most of the forest around Ediera belongs to it. This entire region is its territory."
Mike's eyes were still fixed on the shrinking figure in the sky. "Does it attack the village?"
"No."
The answer came without hesitation.
"It is the apex predator here. It does not need to waste energy on us. Deer, boar, sometimes larger beasts deeper in the forest. That is enough."
Tork paused before adding, "Human meat is not its preference."
Mike felt a slight release of tension.
"However," Tork continued, "it would not refuse a free meal."
The tension returned instantly.
"If it finds someone alone, injured, or foolish, it will not hesitate. A predator does not ignore opportunity."
Mike forced himself to look away from the sky and back to the forest around them. Everything felt smaller now. Fragile.
"You said there are beasts larger than the chief's house," Mike said quietly. "Is that the only one?"
"In this area, yes. Further north, there are rumors of worse."
Mike's pulse quickened at that.
Tork studied him carefully. "Do not let curiosity blind you. That creature is not something you hunt. It is something you avoid."
"I know," Mike said, though part of him burned at the sight he had just witnessed.
Power.
True power.
Not rocks thrown by village boys.
Not a simple deer collapsing to an arrow.
The dragon had shaken the earth simply by moving.
Tork turned and began walking again as if nothing extraordinary had happened. "Come. The tracks will not wait."
Mike hesitated only a second before following.
But as they moved through the forest once more, practicing how to read disturbed soil and broken plants, his mind kept drifting upward.
To emerald scales.
To wings that commanded the sky.
And to a question he did not dare speak aloud.
What would it take to stand before something like that and not feel small?