Reality of Change

“I am not sure I am ready for this,” Albian whispered.

Beyond the glow of the fire, passed the sheet of glass looking out, the world was changing, and he could do nothing to stop it. Brittle leaves, dying grass, and darker sunsets proved the ending of one season and the beginning of another. The burnt copper sky slowly gave way to the illumination of stars and cooler air, as the blinking butts of bugs sparked here and there fusing one day into the next.

He could feel it coming...

The lively noises of the village were coming to a close. The bustle of playing children, the closing of local shops, and the nesting of frolicsome animals traded the outdoors for something more comfortable. Each group, gathers their loved ones, making their way to their nightly destinations. Families headed home, travelers made their way to the pubs, and riff-raff took up space in dark walkways and shadowed places.

Although this was a daily routine, the air was thick with anticipation.

Something was amiss yet nobody knew what. It was evident in the quickened paces of those who called Forrest Keep home and the early gathering of provisions of the foraging animals.

Just this side of the windowpane, more than the season was changing.

Time was slipping away.

Dark hair turned to light as brown faded to gray. Tight skin grew slack with each passing day and firm toned muscles gathered more and more softness. Towering strength grew weaker as the seasons came and went as bones went from healthy to brittle.

Yes, many things had changed in the thirty years Albian had been here and still, he knew more changes were coming. Ones that carried the heartache of pain and death. Changes to more than just the world, but to the souls living in it. Changes that would shape the future...changes, the world and Albian Keystone was not ready for.

“We must enjoy it while we can, Foxfire.” Albian mused.

The cold nose of his four-pawed companion helped his feet shuffle a bit faster as he went from room to room gathering supplies for his journey. For the past Thirty years, the two of them had awoken and enjoyed many sunrises and breakfasts together.

"I'm going as fast as I can, my friend." Albian said, patting Foxfire's head, "This will be difficult for all of us."

She had been his companion and best friend. Her height alone kept most smart humans away, as Foxfire could stand and stare at an irregularly tall man eye to eye while standing on all fours. She stood taller than most horses, therefore the Forrest Keepers kept their distance out of fear. Of course, her massive wings did nothing to quell their anxiety over having such a beast so close to town.

It couldn’t be helped, they needed to hide, and Forest Keep was the best place to do that. She had been the pet and experiment of an alchemist who loved to play and practice on things closest to him. Foxfire had been his pet of choice that day, and many months to come.

It was Albian who had found her, half-dead, from lack of nourishment and extreme experimentation. That had been his last day as an apprentice to that alchemist as he fled the moment he found Foxfire and never looked back. Those early years, on the run, had been a long hard journey, adjusting to so many changes back then.

It was the thought of those tough years that gave him hope about the changes facing them now and the task that lay at his feet.

Leaving peace and stepping into war.

As he looked about the two-room shack, he scratched his head in wonder. Thirty years of stacking things here and there, how would he ever find all he needs in this mess? Bookshelves, counters, and tables were covered with open books strewn about. Pages of parchment, some rolled up nice and neat while others lay scattered here and there, blew in the light breeze. There was so much knowledge and research just lying about how would he condense into one small pack, plus food, water, and a bedroll.

Urgency wouldn’t allow him to linger, war was coming, and with it...death.

The Army of Darkness had been making their way through the land, setting it ablaze, leaving nothing behind. Albian knew the one behind it all would also be there, directing and choreographing every moment of destruction.

"I hope we find her first, Foxfire, or all is lost" he murmured before turning his thoughts back to the task at hand.

How will I ever get through this in time? Albian thought as he moved from one stack of books and parchment to another. Trying to decide what would be helpful and what could be left behind. Slowly he searched snippets upon pages, scanning for pertinent information that would settle the important vs unimportant battle.

As he found books and letters, he thought he would need, he stacked them in the center of his dining table. Soon his table spawned a landscape of leather bounds and scrolls as he feverishly worked through his dilemma.

It seemed as though he raced the day.

The sun had changed positions in the sky, letting him know his time was running out. He felt the weight of it bearing down on him. Time was a killer of peace when chaos approached with the speed of an oncoming storm.

“No!” he yelled.

Albian dropped the scrolls in his hands when that familiar distant bone-chilling sound rang out. A long high-pitched screech from above echoed in the air, promising death and destruction. The one that set your hair on end and had your skin trying to escape your bones. He gasped when he realized just how close they were. Foxfire let out a growl.

“They’re here!”

Recovering, he quickly snapped into gear, “Foxfire, fetch my saddlebags. We must hurry.”

He quickened his pace, as he hastily gathered what he could carry, shoving it into the bags Foxfire brought. He darted from one spot to another, snatching up water cans, dried food, and a half-haphazardly folded bedroll, doing his best to make it all fit into two small packs.

As he rushed out the door, he was slammed with the acrid smoke of burning death in the air and it stopped him dead in his tracks. Fear had grabbed hold and frozen him into place. The day was upon them...and sooner than Albian had expected.

He prayed it wasn’t too late, but he knew reality would show a different picture.