A Knight of the Forest

There is a knight in the Endless Forest
He protects does from rude stags
Yet before a thank you can be muttered
He disappears.
'Tis a noble sort who would fight for another
Instead of fighting for himself
He's become known as Aleit
For this name means 'Noble'.
So rest safely knowing that a knight is watching over you.
~ Faunet

{||::.~ H I S T O R Y
Aleit was brought into the Endless Forest as a calf by an unforeseen event. He has no recollection of any life outside the forest and it's inhabitants, though he did have one.

When he awoke, he found himself covered in a blanket of soft white snow. The world around him was white and motionless- though he could hear many deer calling to each other in the far distance. He stood, shaking himself off, and called out loudly to them. None replied to his pitiful baby bellow. He was near a patch of snow covered bright red poppies. Not far from here was a large, snow covered hill- almost a mountain to the small calf.

Aleit climbed to the top of the hill with short legs and a heaving chest. He turned and looked out at the forest behind him. It's wide expanses stretched for what seemed like forever. Suddenly, he felt eyes on him from behind. Slowly, he turned his head to take a glimpse. There, covered in a light sprinkle of snow, stood the biggest deer Aleit had ever seen. The huge striped stag towered over Aleit as he whipped around to face him. The stag only looked at him. Hhis forest green eyes were shimmering with curiousity and what appeared to Aleit as shock. The calf turned on his heels and dashed back down the hill, looking back once to make sure his fright had not given chase.

He hadn't. Aleit stopped and looked around, his breath was visible in the chilled air as he exhaled. He was in a world that was a thousand times bigger than he was! He shivered, attempting to force the cold from his skin. Having only soft fawn fur, he sought out safety in the orange landscape. He found a large gathering of enormous boulders, one of which was propped against another- making a lean-to. Aleit crawled down into the smallest edge and lied down in the dry grass. His heart was still pounding.

The next morning, Aleit awoke to the songs of countless birds on the rocks outside his shelter. The snow was gone and the sun shone brilliantly through the forest canopy. He emerged slowly, still cautious. No one was there. He looked around, spying the small mountain he had climbed yesterday. He tilted his head in confusion. There seemed to be no movement on it's peak. He made is way back over to and up the hill. He looked around, seeing nothing but swaying grasses. Aleit lied down near the edge in a sunspot, happily accepting the warmth on his fur.

"You were here yesterday." Aleit froze. The voice was deep and strong. Images of the large striped stag flashed through his head again- but he wasn't afraid this time. When he turned around, he saw the stag, sitting quietly near one of the birch trees. The same green eyes were fixed on Aleit. He noticed that the stag bore an 'x' shaped scar across his muzzle.

"Y-yes, sir." he replied, standing and turning to face the stag. "I was here... and you were too."
"Clever observation, fawn." Fawn? Aleit tilted his head, backing up a step when the striped stag stood. "My name is Virgil," he continued, shaking the dust from his fur, "And what is your name?"
Aleit looked him over quickly. Large, curling brown antlers with two tines at the top almost like spears was enough to make Aleit gasp in wonder. "A-Aleit... sir." he replied, nodding slightly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you then, Aleit." he replied making a gesture that Aleit took as strange. It looked awkward, but Virgil did it smoothly and swiftly like he had been doing it for years. Aleit quickly did the same, thinking it was some kind of secret special action. He pulled back his right leg and let his chest fall foreward toward the ground. He tried to pull his leg back under him, but his hoof was caught on a stray root and held his bent leg in place. He panicked and pulled back to free himself. The root snapped and Aleit was sent tumbling backwards. He stood and shook himself off, embarrassed by his clumsiness.

Virgil laughed and Aleit's cheeks burned, "Your name is very similar to both mine and a friend's." He said, referring to the glowing orb above Aleit's head. He hadn't noticed this earlier. He looked up at Virgil's antlers, and then higher. The stag, too, had a glowing 'name'. "N-name? But I already have a name!" he replied, shaking his head.
"This is a special name. The Gods give names to the deer they favor most!" Virgil announced, nodding happily. "Your name is like a mixture of mine and Mozart's name."

Aleit tilted his head to the side, confusion clouding up his mind. "Who's Mozart?" he asked.
"A solitary gray stag," he replied, "With small black antlers and candles." Candles? What in the world was a candle? Aleit's head was spinning now. "I was resting with him yesterday when you ran up to us. He was asleep." Aleit nodded, but couldn't remember ever even seeing Mozart nearby. He was probably too focused on Virgil.

Aleit sat down with Virgil as he told him nearly everything about the forest and it's locations. How the depths of the pond were no place for a young fawn or a vain deer, how the Crying Idol's endless sorrow turned your pelt another color, and even talked some about the Twin Gods for what seemed like hours.
"Would..." Virgil began, "Would you like a father, Aleit? An adoptive one, I mean." He turned his head slightly to look down at the calf.
Aleit looked up at him, he was still digesting the tales of the forest. Virgil was a deer Aleit knew he could trust, a deer who was friendly and wise.

"I... I'd like that very much, Sir." he replied at last, smiling. He felt a shiver run down his spine from the chilled breeze.
"Wonderful, then I will introduce you to a few of the deer I know."


Aleit had been in the Endless Forest for nearly a month now, and his hooves itched with excitement. He was nearing his teen years now and soon he would wear the pelt and antlers he had always dreamt of. It was October, but instead of being chilly and cold, the forest was filled with darkness and thick fog. A strange event was approaching. His new father, Virgil, and his Uncle Seed had called it Halloween- or All Hallows Eve.

Bats flew above his head, barely missing the calf's tufted hair. He spooked away from them whenever he heard their shrill screech. Aleit couldn't see a fawnlength past his own eyes and the damp air made it difficult to know who was near- but his hearing never failed him. He called out in distress, swiveling his ears in every which direction to find a reply. It was Seed who answered him- from far away it seemed. Aleit carefully treaded through the fog, his head low and his senses on high alert. A wolf howl sent him tearing for the Birch Forest, tail flat against his rump.

He called out again, still running blindly through the tall grasses. Seed returned his call again, this time he sounded closer. He stopped and looked around, there was no one there, but he could just barely make out Red Hill in the distance. He strayed far from the open spaces and kept well hidden in the grass as he snuck away to the hill. When he was closer, he could make out the figures of both Seed and Virgil. He sighed in relief and ran to them. The rest of the night was spent beneath Seed's protective stance. Virgil kept watch with a few of his own friends.

The next morning, Aleit was still on Red Hill. Seed wasn't there and neither was Virgil. He was alone on Red Hill for the first time since the first time he saw it. Aleit stood and shook the morning dew from his spotted fawn-fur. He thought briefly about going off to find Seed, but decided against it when he saw the tree Virgil usually slept by. He walked slowly toward the towering aspen, his hooves making small indents in the ground as he stepped. The tree was scarred near the bottom with countless gouges and scrapes. Aleit sniffed them each slowly, carefully inspecting the battered trunk.

The smell of Virgil hung heavy in the air around the tree, but it was stale, as were the scents in the marks. "He must use this for practice," he said quietly. Slightly entranced, he lowered his head and rubbed it against the tree too. His small antler nubs left small scratches on the bark. He frowned. His antlers were only starting to grow in. It would be months before they grew out completely.

Something caught Aleit's attention from the corner of his eye. A retreating figure, gray in color, was trying to sneak away. Aleit turned and faced the creature, his fur bristled. "Who's there!" he called, squinting to see their face in the bright morning sun. "Hey!" he called again when the creature took several more steps. Suddenly it stopped, turning it's head quickly to look at Aleit. His face was confused and worried, but Aleit only saw the red tear like markings near his eyes. The stag had small black antlers with strange flickering objects on them.

"Candles!" Aleit breathed, relaxing his fur. He stared at the stag for a moment, bewildered. "... Mozart?" He tilted his head and took a step forward, but the gray stag was too quick. He vanished into the heart of the birch forest before Aleit could call out again.

Under Construction. What do you think so far?