This is a story within a story that I wrote a few months ago in a backstory for a Star Wars DnD character. The whole background itself is unfinished, but I found this particular story to be better than the entire background that I had created. Since this is out of context I'll explain a bit.
Cathar: Both a planet and a race of catlike humanoids.
Loren: A sect of highly specialized warriors among the Cathar. Fast, nimble, and lethal. This is fictional term and group.
Zara: Standard shock troops for each clan. Highly skilled and deadly in stand up fights. Also a fictional term and group
Razgriz: My character, though in this story he is only ten years old first beginning his training as a loren.
Logos: Loren commander of Razgriz's clan, his mentor.
Though some of my characters and terms are fictional, everything here belongs to George Lucas. Enjoy!
Razgriz burst through the door, barely able to contain his excitement. Logos sat in the kitchen, helping himself to some salma.
"Save some for me!" Razgriz exclaimed.
"Don't worry, there's still half of it left…" Logos finished his last bite "…are you ready to begin?" Razgriz nodded fervently.
"Good. For today I will teach you what it is to be a loren. Walk with me." The two walked outside where Logos stopped and faced the vast forest.
"What is this to you Razgriz?" Razgriz paused for a moment, contemplating.
"This is the forest of our clan. Our home." Replied Razgriz.
Logos smiled and said "Yes, you are right, but it is far more than just our home. This forest is the source of our strength. Tell me, what do you know of our history? Logos asked.
"I know that we were almost wiped out and I know that where we stand was nothing but a wasteland once the Mandalorians left." Razgriz replied matter of factly.
"Right again, but do you know why the Mandalorians attacked us?" Razgriz went to open his mouth, but he realized he did not actually know why, just when. He shook his head. Logos looked out into the forest and was silent for a moment.
"Our people have always been renowned throughout the galaxy for being great warriors. Many Jedi have come from our world, including Sylvar, whom you no doubt know. Sylvar lived in a proud, yet tumultuous time for the Cathar. The Great Sith War, or as it is known now, The War of Exar-Kun was a turning point in history for our people, it showed that we Cathar could fend for ourselves, that we were not a weak and isolated world. However, it also marked our downfall." Logos paused and looked down into Razgriz's eyes. He was listening intently.
"The Mandalorians had sided with Exar-Kun and were eager for bloodshed. Our reputation was well known throughout the galaxy and the Mandalorians chose to test themselves against us. Mandalorians adhere to a strict code of "honour." Logos said this begrudgingly.
"This honour bade them to search out the most challenging of opponents and fight to complete exhaustion. If the Mandalorians won, their opponents would know respect, if they lost, they would show respect. At least, that's what a Mandalorian would say if you were to ask him. In reality, they know nothing of honour. When they attacked us it is likely they expected us to fall quickly. However, we were stronger than they anticipated. We fought them valiantly. Loren snipers hid in every branch, cutting down battalions of Mandalorians. What the loren failed to kill the zara would easily finish up.
The sound of vibroblades striking Mandalorian armour rang throughout every forest on Cathar. But for every Mandalorian slain by blasters and blades, five more fell to our claws. Their armour was strong enough to sustain the claws of one of us, but when four loren fall upon you from the trees, there is only so much durasteel can do. The Mandalorians were no match for us in close combat, especially in the forests. You see Razgriz, these trees are what make us and keep us strong and in return, we protect them. The Mandalorians had never fought a foe such as us before, we soon eradicated them from our world and not long after we joined the war against Exar-Kun. Because of our long history together, we joined forces with the Jedi and shortly after, the war was over. Exar-Kun was defeated and Mandalorian numbers were severely reduced. The only thing left of them was their burning hatred for our people.
We were hailed by the Jedi and the Republic as heroes. The Republic even offered our planet a place within their government, but we declined. We thought friendship would be enough. It wasn't. Several decades later the Mandalorians reappeared, stronger than ever. In order to replace their numbers, they allowed anyone to join their ranks. Vengeance seethed in their veins, not just against us, but against the Republic itself. However, we held a special place in their black hearts. Our planet lies upon the edges of Republic space, precisely the type of planet the Mandalorians would attack first. Since we were not a member of the Republic, no aid came to us. But it would not have mattered, we fell too quickly.
We were one of the first planets to face the massive Mandalorian fleet. They destroyed all orbital facilities and every means of communication we had with the galaxy. We knew one day that they would return, but not so soon. We were alone. We fought bravely and desperately, but all could see this battle had nothing to do with honour…only revenge. It was seen in their tactics. Thousands of ships surrounded our planet, there was not a sky in Cathar that didn't bear a Mandalorian ship. They rained nuclear fire down upon us, eradicating entire clans in one strike. They bombarded us for days. In the initial attack, very few Mandalorians ever stepped foot on the planet. The ones that did were advance teams and scouting parties. They were all quickly killed.
The Mandalorians learned their lesson well, that is why they kept to the skies, bringing death to us from above. Our lush forests became wastelands, our savannahs became deserts, and only then was it that their warriors came down from their ships. Even without our trees, the Mandalorians still feared us. They attacked at night and always hit the refugee camps. They murdered our women and kittens while they slept. Those who ran were shot in the back. But so many of us, zara and loren alike had perished from the bombardments...we could no longer resist. Our planet, now all but completely scorched, fell and millions upon millions of us laid dead." Razgriz stood staring out into the forests. He had never heard the true unabridged story of Cathar's fall.
"That is how we fell, Razgriz. But let me now tell you of us, the loren, during that battle. This is the story we tell all of our initiates and it has been passed down since we first returned to our planet." Razgriz sat down, his sharp ears stood straight up, listening to each word Logos spoke.
"In the initial bombardment, many clans were lost instantaneously. As the attack continued, even more clans were destroyed without any chance of fighting back, but there was one clan that survived both the bombardment and the ground fighting afterwards. It was a small clan, numbering only forty-nine. And of those forty-nine, only eight were capable of fighting. They were all loren. The clan was named S'krivva and it was the only one that was completely evacuated from the planet…well, almost completely. You see, word spread quickly of the sheer numbers the Mandalorians possessed. As such, a planet-wide evacuation was ordered. That's how many Cathar died, running to the nearest dock to board the escape shuttles.
S'krivva was an isolated clan, dozens of kilometers from the nearest dock in any direction. Their isolation was their salvation. The Mandalorians concentrated much of their bombardment on areas around docking bays. This allowed the more rural clans the luxury of time to begin making their escape. Clan S'krivva was no different from the myriad of other rural clans. Since it was so small they could mobilize themselves easily and flee more quickly. Within hours of the initial bombardment the S'krivvans were on their way to evacuate. However, it was a trip that would take several days no matter the direction and a trip that was guaranteed to be met with danger.
Mandalorian scouting parties were often sent into the "quieter" regions of Cathar to snuff out the smaller, hidden clans. The loren of S'krivva all knew what was at stake, the survival of the species, not just themselves. The job of the loren is to protect and provide for the clan. These are our only duties and they are not ones we shirk lightly…or ever. No matter the circumstance. It was no different for the loren of S'krivva. The trek from their home forest to the nearest dock, in the northeast, took three days and during those three days, none of the loren saw a second of sleep.
The clan traveled from sun up to sun down and all the while, the eight loren guarded them ceaselessly. Four remained close to the civilians while the other four took to the trees, one facing each direction, far enough away to scout, but close enough to come to the aid of the civilians if needed. To keep sharp, the loren changed shifts every two hours. Rapid shifts kept their bodies alert, but more importantly it reassured the other members of the clan that they were safe. For the first day, the S'krivvans were able to travel safely. No danger came their way. However, midway through the second day first contact was made with of the scouts in the trees above spotted fresh deep tracks that could only have been made by heavy Mandalorian armour. The loren immediately stopped the defenseless Cathar and made sure they were hidden before moving up to engage the Mandalorians.
They were easy to spot, the sun reflected off the bright red and yellow armour. Past experience with the Mandalorians had shown that red and yellow armours belonged to those of the upper echelons. This was an elite squad and there were twice as many of them than there were loren. The eight slowly moved from branch to branch until they had completely surrounded the elite Mandalorian squad. They each drew their snipers and chose a victim, keeping their crosshairs on the bright coloured helmets. Eight shots then rang through the forest, however, because they all fired at the same time it only sounded like one. Eight bodies jolted and fell to the ground.
The remaining Mandalorians all, without hesitation, formed a circle and began blindly firing into the trees above them, but the loren were ahead of them. After they had fired their killing shots they immediately dropped to the forest floor knowing the other Mandalorians would riddle the trees with blaster bolts. The eight loren, once more, sighted their victims and fired in perfect synchronization. Eight more bodies fell to the ground. The loren then made their way to the Mandalorian camp to confirm their kills. There was one survivor amongst the bodies, but he was gravely wounded. Amidst the noises that accompany an imminent death he was able to mutter these words
"You will be…..extinct." A loren then bent down next to him and whispered
"Only a fool believes a victory to be absolute." He then mercifully snapped the Mandalorian's neck. The eight loren searched the camp for supplies to bring back to their fellow clanmates, then quickly left. There was no time to dispose of the bodies. The Mandalorians would surely be looking for their missing patrol and upon finding the corpses they would scour the immediate area until the Cathar responsible were found. The S'krivvans moved at double the speed for the remainder of the day.
When dusk fell upon them, they were now momentarily out of the forest and in the middle of one of Cathar's vast and open savannahs. The S'krivvans made camp and took a well deserved rest. All except the loren, whom knew that the night would not pass without bloodshed. Without any trees to take shelter in, the eight all donned stealth field generators and made a perimeter around the camp. They sat silently and unmoving for hours safely hidden by their stealth fields. However, the Mandalorians soon appeared across the way.
They do not travel easily at night, at least compared to us Cathar. They were easily spotted. The loren hoped the Mandalorians would pass them by, but a forty-one person camp is difficult to hide in an open savannah. As the patrol neared, their numbers became apparent. It was a much smaller group this time, numbering only nine. The cloaked loren all readied their snipers and chose their targets, but they didn't fire because they noticed the Mandalorians were preparing for close quarters. In any other situation the loren would have taken the shots, but this was personal and they longed to shed blood not with blasters, but with blades.
The Mandalorians were cowards who attacked sleeping innocents, these particular ones were so focused on slaughtering the S'krivva that they were completely unaware of the eight cloaked loren they were slowly stepping closer to. Some of the loren readied their vibroblades and daggers while others readied their claws. Unlike the zara, we do not prefer nor excel at long drawn out fights. Our first strike is often fatal, if it isn't, the enemy is too wounded to fight back.
The Mandalorians stopped just one meter short of the cloaked loren awaiting the order from their commander, but that order never came. He was the first to go down. Zathra, the leader of eight loren drew his vibroblade from his side and in one quick slash took the Mandalorian commander's head off. Upon seeing their commander decapitated the other Mandalorian's had only a split second to panic before they were all silenced. One Mandalorian took a vibroblade straight through the heart, another had his neck sliced by a quick slash of a dagger, the fourth took a dagger up through the chin, the fifth had his throat torn out by a pair of razor sharp claws, the sixth had his neck snapped, the seventh was slowly choked to death, and the eighth had half of his face clawed off before being mercilessly stabbed in the gut. Six Mandalorians fell in less than three seconds, the other two died a little slower, but there were nine of them.
The final one stood trembling, unable to speak or breathe, before her stood eight fierce Cathar with blood dripping from their blades and claws. Eight pairs of dark eyes all bored holes into her own as if they could see straight through *her mask.* The Mandalorian dropped to her knees and prepared to accept the death that she knew awaited her. When it did not come, she looked up to see that the eight Cathar had not moved, they still stared straight through her mask. Zathra stepped forward and said to her "Your life is spared this day Mandalorian. Run."
"WHAT?" Razgriz burst out in confusion
"Why didn't they kill her, she was going to murder the innocents while they slept!" Logos looked down at Razgriz with his wise eyes and said
"We are not monsters Razgriz. Zathra's loren killed the first eight because they were a threat to the clan. The final one alone was of no consequence and therefore did not deserve to die. To kill her would make us no better than those we fought. We respect our enemies Razgriz, we do not hate them. Hate only serves to complicate." Razgriz heard the wisdom in Logos' words, but they were difficult to comprehend. His thoughts showed in his face.
"You are young and brash Razgriz, as all children are. You will learn this in time, all Cathar do." Razgriz did not like being compared to 'all children,' but he knew Logos was right. He nodded, bading Logos continue.
"The Mandalorian stood up slowly and asked him why. Zathra responded simply with "We are Cathar." The Mandalorian hesitated for a moment then decided not to push her luck and took off running. The loren then took to moving the bodies. They did not want the rest of the clan to awake to the grisly scene. It would incite panic, which was the last thing that was needed. However, little did they know, a young child no more than seven was awake and witnessed the whole thing. Zathra and the other loren knew that when those bodies would be discovered their time would be numbered. The Mandalorians would send an entire platoon to hunt them down. The S'krivvans were close now, close enough to reach the docks in a day if they moved quick enough.
As the sun rose the loren hurriedly woke the civilians and began the day's trek. Several hours were spent crossing the savannah leaving them incredibly vulnerable, but luckily they encountered no trouble. When the S'krivvan's reached the forest Zathra took his loren up into the trees and scouted the route. Dusk was rapidly approaching and Zathra knew his time was short. He ordered his clan mates to move as quickly as possible, they were only six kilometers from the dock now, about three hours of travel left.
Two hours into the trek one of the rear scouts spotted small Mandalorian fighters off in the distance. From its flight pattern it appeared to be strafing the forest looking for thermal readings. It would close on them very very soon. Zathra was honest with his people and told them about the scout, for the last hour all forty-nine Cathar ran as quickly as they could through the forest. The S'krivvans broke through the trees until they came upon a clearing, they had arrived at the docks. But just then, the fighter sped directly above them, and then just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared. Silence filled the air. Zathra knew they were compromised, but he didn't know what the Mandalorian's were planning. Seconds that seemed like minutes passed. It wasn't until Zathra scanned the sky did he see them. At least twenty bright burning objects tore through the sky as they entered the atmosphere. Zathra's eyes widened in fear, not for his life, but the lives of his clanmates, fear that they may not make it after all their work to get there.
"BASILISKS!" Zathra yelled. All the Cathar dove to the ground trying to hide themselves as the twenty basilisk war droids rained their cannons down on the forest below. Of the two shuttles that awaited take off, one was destroyed in the basilisk attack. Zathra waited until he had heard each basilisk land before he told the civilians to run for the shuttle. When he finally gave the order, forty Mandalorians poured out of their now dormant basilisks, each one carrying two soldiers.
There was no hesitation by either the Mandalorians or the loren. The Mandalorians came out of their droids firing aimlessly while the loren climbed up the trees. The loren were invisible save their blaster bolts. They jumped from branch to branch firing each time their feet touched a new one, this gave the guise that their numbers were far more than just eight. If the Mandalorian's knew just how few fighters there were, they would unthinkingly turn their attention to the sprinting civilians, no matter what their losses would be.
Seven Mandalorians fell before the first loren was killed. He was hit by a stray bolt directly in the chest, but as he fell from the branches he drew his vibrodagger and drove it into a Mandalorian's skull when he hit the ground. Four more Mandalorian's were killed before the next loren was felled. His rifle was shot out of his hands and with nothing left to return fire with he dropped to the ground, drew his vibroblade and charged a group of three Mandalorian's. As he sprinted at them he rebounded off the trees, dodging all of their fire. When he was close enough he threw his vibroblade into the heart of one Mandalorian, then used his dying body to vault himself into the air, flipping over the second and snapping his neck mid-air, then landing on the third, sinking all ten of his claws into his face before he fell over dead from a shot in the back.
Twenty five Mandalorians and six loren remained. The six loren continued their branch to branch firing taking two more Mandalorians down. The third loren was killed when the next branch he was going to jump to was shot clean off the tree. The Mandalorian who shot the branch watched him fall and drew his vibroblade to catch him. The loren fell directly onto the blade, but not without thrusting the barrel of his rifle into the Mandalorian. The combined force of the loren's thrust and the speed of the fall pierced the armour and impaled the Mandalorian. Just before the loren died he pulled the trigger one last time and burned all Mandalorian's organs from the inside.
The fourth loren took five blaster bolts before he fell to the ground below and even then it wasn't the bolts that killed him. When he fell he broke his legs, unable to fight any longer he reached in his pack for a thermal detonator and waited until the Mandalorian came to claim his kill before activating it. As he approached, the loren armed it. The Mandalorian planted his boot on the loren's broken leg. He screamed in agony, but his screams were soon replaced with laughter as he saw the Mandalorian's face when he let the thermal detonator roll out of his hands.
Half of each side had been killed, the remaining Mandalorians then realised just how few Cathar they had actually been fighting. They then concentrated their fire on the shuttle that all the civilians had been able to escape to, but it had sustained damage in the basilisk attack and couldn't take off. Zathra and his remaining three loren knew they couldn't draw all of the Mandalorian's fire if they remained in the trees. The only way to save the civilians was to appeal to the Mandalorian's pride.
The four loren ceased fire long enough to come together and quickly form a plan. What they came up with they all agreed was the only way to save their clanmates. Zathra jumped down in front of the dock ramp and cast his rifle to the ground; the other three loren cloaked and followed him down. The four loren stood stiff and strong, though only one of them was visible, as they watched the twenty remaining Mandalorians step out from the forest, their blasters raised and ready to fire.
Zathra recognized one of them, the female Mandalorian he had spared the night before. Her mask was easily noticeable. He nodded at her and upon doing so she quickly diverted her gaze. Zathra slowly drew his vibroblade and the three cloaked loren followed in suit. The Mandalorian captain ordered three of his men to attack Zathra, they drew their blades and charged him. Zathra did not move as the three loren uncloaked and drove their blades into each of the three Mandalorians. Zathra smiled to himself as the remaining seventeen Mandalorians shifted uncomfortably as the three bodies dropped.
The captain then called for a full on charge, the loren all roared as fiercely as they could at the seventeen Mandalorians sprinting towards them, then they too charged. One of the loren in mid-assault cast away his vibroblade, drew his two daggers and threw them right between the eyes of two Mandalorians. Without thinking Zathra called his name and tossed him his blade, leaving him to fight with only his claws, but that's what he wanted. The two loren on Zathra's other side nimbly dodged several Mandalorians as they charged straight through the ranks until they were on the Mandalorian's flank. The loren who now wielded Zathra's vibroblade rolled as he neared the Mandalorians, one tripped over him while he was rolling and he went sprawling to the ground. As the loren came out of the roll he thrust the blade forward into the gut of one, then quickly pulled it out and ran to the Mandalorian who lied on his back. The loren stabbed him directly in the chest before he was tackled by three other Mandalorians who promptly returned the favour.
Zathra now had no one to watch his back so he constantly kept in motion to keep his foes in front of him. He proved too fast to be hit by the slow powerful strikes of the Mandalorians. His speed evened the odds of him not wielding a weapon. Thirteen Mandalorians remained and six of them were engaged with Zathra. The other two loren, fought the other seven Mandalorians side by side. As they charged the Mandalorian flanks, one of them struck at the legs of their enemies, taking them to the ground, while the second followed behind and ended their lives whilst they were on their backs. They took out two of their seven this way.
The two loren then stood back to back as the five remaining enemies encircled them, one of which was the captain. They all stood at an impasse for several seconds before the captain bellowed at his men to attack. Immediately, two Mandalorians from opposite sides of the circle engaged both loren. Thinking quickly, they both ducked just in time for the two Mandalorians to strike each other dead. Without hesitation the two loren then pounced on the Mandalorians who had stayed behind and plunged their blades into their faces. They both stood up to face the captain, both parties staring down the other. The captain made the first move; he drew a blaster from behind his back and shot one of the loren in the head. In that instance the other loren lost focus and turned his head in horror at his now dead comrade. This gave the captain enough time to move. He tackled the loren, held him down, and strangled him with his superior strength.
Zathra had seen each of the three die and he silently praised their courage while he dodged blow after blow. Seven Mandalorians of the forty now remained, the captain, the female, and five soldiers. Zathra, who had been on strict defence, now knew he had to begin attacking after he had seen his one loren shot. The Mandalorians were desperate. Zathra dodged a wild slice to his neck but this time he counter attacked quickly and brutally by gouging out the eyes of his attacker with two of his claws. As he did so, one of the Mandalorians behind him moved into slice, but Zathra anticipated this. He lifted his leg and spun around, putting as much force as he could through to his foot. It connected directly with the Mandalorian's chest and broke his sternum outright. He collapsed to the ground wheezing and struggling for breath.
One of the Mandalorians in full armour then charged him. Zathra dodged to the right then responded with two lightning fast strikes to the weak neck armour with each hand chipping off just enough to show bare skin. Before he could make the third fatal swipe another Mandalorian came at him with his blade over his head, preparing to cleave the Cathar. Zathra grabbed his hands while they were in the air, sank his claws into the wrists of the Mandalorian, causing him to drop his blade. Zathra then caught it, spun around and stabbed the Mandalorian with his own weapon, but as he did so the Mandalorian with the damaged armour recovered and delivered a near fatal blow to Zathra.
His blade slashed down Zathra's back, tearing through his armour and cutting his skin wide open. Zathra roared in pain and fell to his knees. As the Mandalorian moved to deliver the killing blow, Zathra punched him in the stomach. The force was so strong that even through his armour the Mandalorian lost his breath and reflexively bent over. Zathra quickly stood up, whirled around him, grabbed him by the neck and took him as a shield to defend against the captain who now trained his blaster on him.
Zathra was losing a lot of blood and he could feel his strength waning. He walked with his victim to the Mandalorian whom he incapacitated earlier. He was still wheezing and squirming on the ground. In one brutal move, Zathra stamped his foot on the suffering soldier and broke his neck; then, he ripped the throat out of his hostage through the hole in his armour. Zathra stood there bleeding, weakening by the second. All that remained was the female Mandalorian and the captain.
After a brief stare down the captain had ordered that the female deliver the killing blow to Zathra. She did not want to do this. Zathra had spared her life the night before when he killed all of her squad mates. She had her chance for revenge, but she did not want it. He showed compassion for her and she desperately wanted to do the same, but she would be killed if she refused the order.
She had no choice. She began to walk towards Zathra, but he held a hand up and stopped her. Instead, he came to her until he stood two feet from both her and the captain. The woman drew her vibroblade and readied herself, but she paused and asked "Why?" Zathra stared at her mask, where he knew her eyes were and said "We are Cathar." She hesitated, then grabbed Zathra's shoulder and drove the blade into his stomach. She whispered to him "I'm sorry." But as she did, instead of retrieving her blade, she let go and left it in Zathra. He knew immediately what she had done and he gathered what little strength he had left for his one final strike. Zathra, bent over, overwhelmed with pain, and looked up at the blood red helmet above him. He clutched the hilt, and with a roar he ripped it out of his body and back slashed the captain, beheading him. Zathra dropped the blade, nodded at the woman, and fell over lifeless.
*The female Mandalorian was so moved by the Cathar's compassion that she attempted to stop Cassus Fett, leader of the Cathar campaign, when he moved all surviving Cathar to the ocean to be slaughtered. She cried out that they had already been beaten and to spare them, but revenge seethed in Cassus' veins. He executed all of the Cathar and then killed the female soldier. The mask that she bore was cast off of her face as she was killed. It layed dormant in the soil for years until it was discovered by a young Jedi who had come to Cathar to find evidence of Mandalorian treachery in an attempt to sway the Jedi Council to war. He picked up the mask and received a vision of the female Mandalorian and the slaughter at the ocean. Outraged, he donned the mask, swearing that he would not remove it until the Mandalorians were defeated. Along with the mask, the young Jedi also donned a new name. Revan.*
"Just as Zathra fell, the shuttle full of S'krivvan's took off. They were witness to the final battle of Zathra and his loren and each of them bowed their heads and shed tears for their selfless protectors. They had all given their lives so that the entire clan might live. Not a single member of the clan was lost, much less wounded in their three day trek. Many Cathar today can trace their ancestors back to the S'krivvans, such as myself…and even you Razgriz. You were born to be a loren."
There had never been a story that touched Razgriz as deeply as this one. Somewhere along the way, Razgriz became so focused on Logos' words that he could picture the entire story. He could see the loren firing from branch to branch, could see the final four, could see Zathra's last moment of triumph, could see the shuttle taking off.
"Logos…" Razgriz finally said
"I admit that I was slightly disappointed today would be a story day, but now that I have heard it I feel…different." Logos looked down at him, he knew exactly what Razgriz felt.
"I feel proud. Proud to be a Cathar, proud to be on this world, proud to be a future loren. Logos, I want nothing more than to protect my people like Zathar did and to have a death as noble and honourable." Logos could see a tear of pride forming in Razgriz's eye.
"That is the wish of all loren, young one. Come now, you should get home. We will resume tomorrow." Razgriz stood up and prepared to head to his tree, but stopped long enough to say
"Thank you Logos." Logos nodded at him and disappeared into the forest.