Chapter 25: 26-Waking Up

Rowan stared at his arm in shock.

Gone was normal flesh of humans that he normally saw. Instead, it looked as if branches had sprouted out of his shoulder and mixed together to form the shape of a human arm.  Just as he tried to get a closer look, he felt a wave of dizziness overcame him.

The last thing he remembered seeing was a shadow coming closer to him from a distance.

***

Rowan Oak woke up with a start and knew right away he was in a different place.

How did he know?

For one thing, the first thing he saw was some sort of animal skin above his head. He was in some sort of tent when he began to register his surrounding environment. It was an enclosed space, not meant for more than one or two people.

The next thing he realized was that he was facing upwards. The first thing he should have saw is dirt if he was still in his original position when he fell asleep. Someone must have moved him as he remembered lying face down before passing out. 

The question was who moved him?

As much as he would like to know the answer to that question, there is something much more important to check. Rowan tilted his head to look at his arms.

His memory matched what he saw as he confirmed two things.

His arms were now made of wood.

And he could no longer feel his arms.

How is this possible?

Rowan had seen people who could take animalistic features, but they were born with that ability. Rowan was human and he had never seen a human arm become part tree. Rowan’s mind raced as thought of another question.

Why did his arms turn to wood?

As new questions filled Rowan’s mind, light filled the tent as someone entered. Rowan recognized the robed figure. It was the person his grandpa requested to take him away. From the look of things, the robed figure had succeeded his grandpa’s request and more.

“It looks like you’re awake,” a raspy voice came out from the robed figure.

Rowan’s mouth opened to ask questions, but no sound came out.

“You have been resting for a long time and have not spoken a word for a while. Give it time for your throat to get used to talking again.” The robed stranger explained and left the tent.

You are reading story The Evergreen Knight at novel35.com

Rowan watched the stranger leave. He looked around the tent. He could feel his body was very weak and that he had no idea where he was. Rowan was in a completely unfamiliar place and he did not like it. 

Before Rowan could figure out more of his thoughts, the tent opened up once more. The stranger returned with a wooden bowl in his hands and said “Here. Eat.”

Rowan tried to get up and failed. He tried once more, but his body refused to listen. The stranger raised an eyebrow and then moved to help Rowan sit up. “Can you eat on your own?”

This question hurt Rowan. At least when he failed to get up, he knew that his body was too weak to move. When he commanded his arms to move, there was no sensation at all. Helplessly, he shook his head.

The robed figure took the spoon in the bowl and lifted it towards Rowan’s mouth. Rowan had no choice but to be hand fed the whole bowl of soup. He remembered helping feed his sister like this when she was younger. No way did he ever think he would be in such a position. He was ten years old! He had gone through his blessing ceremony! He did not want to be treated like a baby. Only babies needed to handfed. His current situation was really embarrassing.

The soup itself was tasteless and Rowan had to force himself to swallow it. After a few spoonfuls, his body seemed to finally get the signal. The soups he was now drinking made his stomach grumbled for more, which only further his embarrassment.

It had taken a while, but Rowan was finally able to completely finish the bowl. It was finally time to get some answers. “ W-what happened t-to me?”  he managed to croak out.

The robed stranger put down the bowl and said “ You were injured worse than you thought. The dragon flames contain dangerous properties that could have ended your life if left untreated.”

“S-strange properties?”

“ The flames contained properties such as  death or corrosion. I don’t know which one. All I know is that even though the flames were wiped out from your body on the surface, it left something behind in you that was weakening your body and sapping away your lifeforce. If left alone, even if the flames didn’t kill you, you would have still died shortly after.”

The boy could only stare in shock at the revelation. He partially remembered his grandpa and the stranger saying that the flames were off, but everything was happening so fast that he had completely ignored this detail.

“H-how did you g-get rid of it?” Rowan manages to stammer out.

The robed figure's face contorted a bit. A brief struggle seemed to have gone on for a few moments before he replied. “ … I used a …secret technique. We were too far from any city, so I used it as a last resort. Even by then, you barely made it. Your arms were the most damaged part of your body, so they had to be… changed. Otherwise if you were healed normally, your arms would become completely useless.”

A secret technique? That would explain a lot. Secret techniques were few and far between. Some were extremely powerful, while others were extremely strange. It was said that only ancient races or noble families had secret techniques as depending on their usage can determine the difference between in life or death. People have died in search of these techniques.

Secret techniques were so rare that some consider them as myths and fairy tales. This was the first time Rowan actually met a person who had one. 

While Rowan was grateful that the stranger had saved him, he wanted to know more about this technique. In what other ways would this technique affect his body? In his current state, his arms were still considered useless. However he decided not to press for now and ask another question. “ Where are we?”

“We are in the most inner parts of the Forest of Death.”

This answer almost caused Rowan to faint again.

You can find story with these keywords: The Evergreen Knight, Read The Evergreen Knight, The Evergreen Knight novel, The Evergreen Knight book, The Evergreen Knight story, The Evergreen Knight full, The Evergreen Knight Latest Chapter