Cedar dove into the dense undergrowth leading with his Empirian steel blade. An burst of brown sprayed his face as he struck dirt. Inches from where his knife stuck an animal’s furry haunches dashed further into the brush. Cedar leapt to his feet and stabbed blindly at the roots and weeds in the direction it ran.

“Did you get it?” Fern called from higher up the slope.

Cedar continued to stomp through the brush without answering. The hunt was no time for little brothers to be pestering with questions. Cedar had to have absolute focus, like a wolf, a tiger, or the great knights of the empire, to catch his prey. Today he would seize victory, he could feel it in the pit of his stomach.

Suddenly a blur of rust-brown burst from the brush. The mink he’d been chasing streaked up the hill.

“Fern! It’s coming towards you!” Cedar shouted.

Fern startled. Clueless as to what to do, he held his arms out, as if the approaching animal might simply leap into them. Instead, the mink made a sharp detour as soon as it saw the other human. Now it headed straight downhill, towards the safety of the deeper Evergrowth.

Cedar muttered a curse at his unhelpful brother and drew out his bow. Looks like it was up to him to save the hunt. Victory called to him once again as he drew an arrow, it was only one shot away. He aimed; his bow glittering ruby-purple in the glow of the setting sun. The mink fast approached a thick tangle of creeper vines. He would get only one shot. In the split-second before he let loose the bowstring, he focused his thoughts on greatness. His royal heritage, the miracle of his birth, his escape into the wilds, his training under a prince of Gol, surely his was the life of a hero. A hero destined for greatness! Returning triumphant to the hideaway with slain prey in hand would be a small victory, yes, but it would be one on the road to feats of legend! He felt unshakeable confidence in his destiny as he let his arrow fly.

It struck the ground several feet off from the mink, which promptly vanished into the verdant dark.

Cedar screamed to the sky in frustration and took off after it. He would chase victory to the hearth of the Goddess and back. That is, he would have if Fern wasn’t there to stop him.

“Cedar! Aster said we can’t go too far!” His brother called.
Cedar growled in protest, but turned back. Only because Cedar would tattle on him to Aster if he didn’t. He could shrug of a lecture from his kitchen-bound big brother, but then Aster would tell Sol, because Aster told everything to Sol. Then he’d get a lecture from a real warrior, and that would be unfitting for someone such as himself.

“You could have moved your feet a little more.” He grunted when he rejoined Fern.
“I thought you said you had this one all by yourself?”
“Hmph! I did. Then you scared it away.”
“But how-“
“You’re no hunter, Fern. Not like me.”
Fern contemplated the notion, “I guess not. That’s fine though, I think.”
“Ugh, you sound like Aster.”
“I don’t think I could kill a bunny if I caught it. Sounds gross. And sad.”
“That wasn’t a rabbit, that was a mink. Much more high-level prey. They’re predators you know.”
“They don’t look like predators.”
“Well they are.”
“Can we turn back now? We aren’t even supposed to be this far out.”

It was true that they’d already exceeded the boundaries set out for them by their big brother. They were supposed to stay in the foothills immediately surrounding the hideaway, close enough to run home at the first sign of danger. They certainly were not to leave the Valley of Gol and venture into the deeper Evergrowth. They now stood on that border, with the valley to their back and the untamed dark facing them.

The topography of the human kingdom was straightforward. Almost the entire territory sat atop a vast plateau, a flat plate of earth raised above the rest of the forested continent. Such a place was fitting for humanity and their affinity for straight lines and neat angles. The tribes of the Evergrowth puzzled over the strange human fetish for geometric monotony that showed itself in the repeated shapes and straight lines of their roads, their homes, their castles, and their border walls. They thought surely that humanity was unfit to dwell in the Goddess’ Land, for the Evergrowth's geography was as wild and varied as its inhabitants. The borderlands around the kingdom’s plateau sloped down towards the heart of the earth on all sides. This descent was not even, however. It was interrupted by mountains that connected earth to sky. In the Evergrowth there were a great many mountains. They stood as far as the eye could see, like blades of grass in a continental lawn. This made the Evergrowth a land of ascent and descent. Flat earth was scarce.
Though nowhere was truly safe for humans in the Goddess’ Land, the higher altitudes were safer than the depths. Few tribes made their homes there. The City of Gol, always an exception, sat in a shallow valley between mountain peaks, surrounded by steep descent. There below lay the verdant dark. Few humans had set foot in the deepest regions of the Evergrowth. The fathomless canyons that stretched across the land like the veins of the earth itself. These were the most sacred places of the Evergrowth. They were the depths where sunlight rarely penetrated and trees grew to gargantuan sizes to reach the sky. They were where the most fantastic and fearsome, the alien and awe-inspiring creatures dwelled. The magic of the Goddess settled in the heart of the earth, and her subjects were drawn deep to her. It was no place for the hunted princes of the last human king.   

“A good hunter doesn’t stop the hunt until he’s caught his prey,” Cedar said proudly, “but good hunters don’t usually have wimpy little brothers tagging along, so...  we can head back, for your sake. Do you have the packs Aster made? I’m starving.”

Fern produced two leaf-wrapped bundles and handed one to Cedar. Inside was a packed ball of wild rice stuffed with stewed dandelion greens and ground nuts. The brothers tucked in as they started the journey home. Empty-handed again, Cedar wondered bitterly if he’d mistaken that feeling in his stomach for destiny when it had only been hunger.

“I hope Sol comes back soon,” Fern said through a mouthful, “Aster cooks the best meals when he’s home.”
“If you learned how to hunt like me, we could have the best meal of all; Meat!”
“Do I like meat? I think I liked chicken when we lived in the palace… I can’t remember.”
“Well, you were like three.”
“If you like meat so much why don’t you ever catch anything then?”
“I catch stuff! Remember that mouse?”
“Aster made you let it go.”
“Because he’s a big pansy who only thinks about vegetables and babies. Point is, I could catch plenty, the problem is my bow. Its off. I’m gonna ask Sol to adjust it when he gets back.”
“You can’t hog Sol this time, I wanna play with him too!”
“It’s not playing, its training, Fern. Manly stuff. You wouldn’t-“

Cedar was cut short by a sound rarely heard around those parts. A shout, a man’s voice, loud and urgent,“This way! I heard something!” 

The brothers froze, like deer at the crack of a twig under a hunter’s boot. They could hear something approaching, several somethings, tramping through the brush in their direction. Cedar heard a clang of metal against metal and all at once every muscle in his legs tensed to run. Metal was a rare material among the tribes of the Evergrowth. In most cases, where metal was involved so were humans. His heart dropped into his stomach. 

“Go!” Fern said under his breath and they both snapped off towards the nearest water oak. It couldn’t be any tree, but a water oak specifically. Fortunately, the area was full of them. They found a large one just as the metallic clanking grew loud enough for Cedar to recognize the sound. Armor.

Both boys scampered up the trunk. They’d drilled such escapes many times with Sol, though so far they’d only ever had to use them to hide from some passing wolves. In a matter of seconds they hid themselves among the highest branches that would hold their weight.

“Get it out! Get it out!” Cedar hissed.
Fern frantically dug through his satchel and finally withdrew a rolled green-cloth. They unfurled it over themselves, tucking their bodies in close together to let it cover every inch of them. On the exterior side of the cloth Aster had stitched hundreds of water oak leaves. At a glance, they would appear as just part of the tree’s crown. Cedar had always wanted to use the ingenious tool for hunting deer, but it was intended to prevent them from being hunted. Now he prayed it would do its job.

“What is it?” Fern whispered.
“Shhhh!”
“But it sounds like-“
“It can't be. Now Quiet!”