It was dark in the forest. It was always dark in the forest. No light dare shine though the thick foliage. Nothing dare penetrate the silence of the trees, except on boy. At the tender age of four, the young child had been abandoned in this forest, never to have human contact, aside from his loving mother. Nobody wanted a cursed child. He was a plague among the kingdom, one that only brought sickness and destruction to all those around him. He seemed like a normal enough boy, with untidy black hair and intense green eyes, but the one thing that set him apart from everybody else was the fact that he was born with the mark of the God of Destruction upon his brow.
The mark was in the shape of a lightening bolt, the sign of the God, Mirus. He was said the be the God that was banished from the Immortal Realms when he tried to overthrow the Father of the Gods, Karnos. He was sent away, but not before cursing the Realm, saying that one day, a child will be born in the mortal realm with the body of a mortal but the powers of a God. When he was born, Mirus was to mark him as his avatar.
The people of the mortal realm heeded the warnings of the Gods and watched for when the child was born. He was born, when the seventh month of the Year of the Unicorn died, to the royal family of Melrayne. The young couple overjoyed when their first son and heir was born, but when the High Priest of Karnos checked him for the mark, he was shocked to discover it, sitting innocently on the young babes brow. The Priest bade the young couple to send the child away, but they heard none of it. They would not send their child away to live with strangers, or worse, alone.
One night, with all were asleep, an assassin came and killed the King and Queen. When the castle woke the next morning, the son, the young babes father, went in and was shocked to find them, laying in a pool of blood. Not once had a single assassin achieved what this one had; entering the castle and killing the countries beloved king and queen. He stormed into nursery where his lovely wife was playing with the day old child. He ranted that he wanted that abomination out of his sight and out of his castle. The young mother would here none of that, saying that where ever her child went, she went. She didn't care about castle life, being the youngest daughter of a wealthy merchant. The soon to be crowned king snarled at her and told her to leave and never return. She happily obliged.
She packed her belongings and those of her sons and left the castle, never to be seen again. They now lived in the lawless forest known as the Forest of Grinda, home to Gypsies and Bandits. When they had first arrived there, bandits had surrounded them, but they were saved my a band of gypsies, a family of red heads. Having nowhere else to go, the two ex-royals lived with them for a while. The red heads were most hospitable, even though they knew what the child really was. The gypsies helped build a small cottage for them near their encampment. The young mother was grateful for all they had done.
The young child made his was through the under brush and down a deer trail to his home. His bare feet made no sound at all when they touched the ground. He made it to the clearing where his mother was washing clothes and hanging them to dry. "Mama?"
She looked over at him and smiled. "Ah, Harry, your home. Help mama with the wash please."
He nodded and rushed over to help. She handed him some towels to hang up, which he promptly did. Together, the pair work in silence, enjoying the peace and quiet of nature. When they finished, his mother went inside to start dinner while he ran around the house, laughing as he chased a butterfly. She called him in when dinner was ready. As they ate dinner, his mother looked a little apprehensive about something. He looked up at her questionably, "Mama? What's the matter?"
She looked at him, startled, "Nothing. Just finish your dinner."
He looked unsure for a moment before he shrugged and finished his stew. Jumping from his seat, he put his bowl and spoon in the wash tub and went into his room. His mother watched him with a sad smile on her face. She soon got up and washed the dinner dishes before going into his room to tuck him in the for the night. "Harry, would you like her hear a story?"
He grinned and nodded, then jumped onto his bed. She sat next to him and pulled him to her side. "This story is about a young man, born into a royal family, with a cursed life. When he was born, his parents were very happy, until the Court Wizard said that he had the mark of the Devil on him. The father, a usually kind and gentle man, told his wife that they had to get rid of the child. The mother told him that she would not abandon her son for any reason in the world. The father told her that she had to leave and take the cursed child with her, never to step foot in the castle again. She left that night, never to be seen again.
"Together, the mother and the baby traveled far into the night, searching for a place to sleep, but nobody would give them a place to stay, or food from their hearth, for fear that the curse would come to them and destroy them. The two traveled for many days and nights before they reached a forest that held safety, but also danger. When they entered, they were attacked by evil men who wanted all of their belongings. The mother wouldn't allow it and tried to run, only to be tripped. But soon, a family came and saved them from the bad men. They took the young mother and the infant into their home and gave them a place to stay. Soon, they had a house of their own and lived happily ever after."
She smiled at her son, who was curled up against her, asleep. She laid him down and kissed his forehead, "Good night, my young prince."