[h1][center][color=gold]The Lost Village Of Foreverspring - Chapter Two[/color][/center][/h1]
[h2][sub][center][color=gold]Veneficus Malum And River[/color][/center][/sub][/h2]
[h3][sub][center][color=gold]I’m ALIVE...and hungry[/color][/center][/sub][/h3]


Veneficus awoke with a start, his body ached from the bruises acquired during the chaotic events in the village. Coughing up water, he found himself sprawled on the side of a makeshift raft, a section of a building that had somehow ended up floating in the river. The air carried the scent of dampness, and the gentle sway of the raft beneath him added a disorienting rhythm to his senses.
As Veneficus struggled to sit up, he looked around to figure out where he was. 

The once-familiar village was now nowhere in sight, the burning remnants and chaos replaced by a different, serene river landscape and all around it, desert. He squinted his eyes, hoping to see the familiar silhouette of the Tree of Life from Arbor in the distance, but it was absent. The landscape had changed, and he couldn't even discern the direction he had come from.

The realisation dawned upon him that he was nowhere near the village. The absence of the Tree of Life and the unfamiliar surroundings left him scared. Very, scared. He sat down on his “boat” and cried. Cried for what seemed like hours. Cried for the death of the people he knew, even if he hated them. Cried for the loss of the only thing he knew and he cried upon realising that now, he was never going to be bullied anymore by those kids. It was truly a strange thing to cry, he realised. He wished those kids dead for many, many years and now that they were gone, Veneficus realised he would miss them, as they were undoubtedly dead. 

Cautiously standing on his makeshift raft, Veneficus tried to get his bearings once more. The absence of the village's smoke and the changed landscape made it clear that he had drifted far from Arbor. The memory of the Outer Beasts' roars and the burning village felt like a distant nightmare in this new, unfamiliar reality as different sounds could be heard from around him. Desert monsters, more outer beasts or civilization? Veneficus didn’t know. 

As Veneficus continued drifting on his makeshift raft, the tranquillity of the river was suddenly shattered by a disturbance in the water. A strange movement caught his eye, and he peered over the edge of the raft to see a school of enormous worm-fish. Each creature was about three metres long, resembling elongated white worms with distinctive flippers on their sides, resembling fish.

Curious, Veneficus observed their synchronised movements, but his attention was soon diverted as the worm-fish abruptly changed direction, their focus fixed on a larger, more menacing figure in the water. A shark-like creature with long wings glided through the river, desperately trying to evade the relentless pursuit of the worm-fish.

The worm-fish, with their streamlined bodies, swiftly closed in on the winged shark. As the winged shark tried to escape, one of the worm-fish surged forward, opening its mouth wide, revealing hundreds of small, razor-sharp teeth. Veneficus watched in awe and horror as the worm-fish clamped down on the winged shark, its green blood mixing with the river's currents.

The water soon became murky and green as the worm-fish tore into their catch. Bits of meat and greenish blood were thrown into the air, creating a bloody show. Some of the torn flesh flew through the air, and Veneficus, quick to seize the opportunity, started catching bits of meat as they flew above the water. 

As he observed the feeding frenzy of the worm-fish, Veneficus understood very fast that the river is [i]not[/i] safe and he should definitely [i]NOT[/i] go into the water. The river, now stained with the remnants of the winged shark's demise, guided him towards a bend where the waterway took a sudden turn.

Lost in the aftermath of the feeding frenzy, Veneficus was abruptly jolted from his observations as the raft surged forward. The swift current, combined with his distraction, propelled the raft faster than he expected. Before he could react, the raft collided with the riverbank, the impact sending a shock through his body.

Veneficus, now clinging to the raft, found himself stranded at the edge of the river. The abrupt stop left him disoriented. Glancing around, he realised that he was ashore. As he prepared to continue his journey on foot, the memory of the weird underwater encounter lingered in his mind. The ferocity of the worm-fish, and the unpredictable nature of the river had become clear reminders that his quest for survival in this unfamiliar realm would be filled with challenges. With renewed resolve, Veneficus embarked on the next phase of his journey, uncertain of what lay ahead but ready to face the mysteries of the river.


[hider=Summary]
Veneficus wakes up on a make-shift raft and realises that he is very far away from home. He becomes sad and cries for a while as he understands that all he has known is now forever gone. With hunger on his mind, he notices worm-fish in the water going after what seemed to be a shark with wings. These worm-fish catch the shark-like creature and in their frenzy, throw bits of meat in the air which Veneficus eats. 

We end with Veneficus, unwillingly hitting the riverbank with the boat and him setting off on foot. Back in the direction he came from. 
[/hider]