Insects and Apples

Raxurg's eyes searched his family's apple orchard. His task for today? Felling three trees with his axe. He grunted at the thought. This type of work was becoming far too common. Trees were dying by the week and he heard rumors of other families having the same issues with their orchards. The community blamed emerald beetles that ate away the trees bark. After walking for an hour he arrived at the first tree, he plucked an apple then ate it while getting his breath. The orchard was huge and spread out past the horizon. It was his family's pride and legacy. Finishing his meal he rose then turned to the dead tree. With a few quick swings of his broad axe it fell to the ground with a crash, a few birds took to the air squawking with alarm. His eyes traced their flight for a short moment then began to the next tree. He found it just as the twilight began to take hold of the night's sky. His eyes searched over its bark noting the tall tale sign of the beetle. The bark perched up where they crawled in and ate the green beneath. Sighing he turned to look at the other trees, they seemed to be spared the same fate as this one. It confused him, usually where one beetle attacked a tree, hundreds more were eating nearby. The Sound of the tree falling seemed to mark the beginning of night. The stars glimmered above him and Raxurg began to make camp. Crickets chirped and flies buzzed near his head, causing him to occasionally swat the air. It was with these sounds that accompanied him to sleep in the late summer night. In his dreams he heard humming. A far off distant humming that grew louder and louder until he woke up and still heard the sound. It was no dream. Off in the distance, from where the sound came from, Two torches bobbed down the row, slowly getting closer to him. Raxurg picked up his sleeping bag and moved into the trees. The lights were torches, carried by three men walking side by side. Raxurg didnt make a noise and watched as they were almost on him. The man in the middle wore an iron mask, it appeared to be shaped like the beak of a bird and had feathers protruding out in a war bonnet. The two men next to him appeared to be his assistants. "Drop the bags here." The masked man croaked and the two dropped large bags from where the humming originated. Soon they opened them and swarms of beetles took to the air, laying on leaves, scattering about the trees. One of the minions spoke. "I heard nymphs like apples you dont think well-" The other minion cut him off. "Dont start with that. You said the same thing when we burnt the corn fields. Nymphs dont like corn and they dont like apples!" "Silence! Both of you!" Said the masked one. "You're not getting paid to fantasize about nymphs. The Lumar will not pay any of us if we do not devastate his majestie's crops." One of them groaned at his words. "Well if we find a nymph I know right what to do with her." The masked one glared at him "Silence! Let us move." They started down the path. Raxurg watched all of this from behind a tree. He heard stories of rivers being poisoned and crops being burned, but he didnt think it was the work of a state. The Lumar wanted the king dead or the monarchy in chaos at least. Raxurg was never one for politics and didnt care what happened to politicians, but these men were ruining his familys legacy. He jumped from behind the tree with a shout, gripping his broadaxe with both hands. The three men turned and faced him looking startled. Then the masked one pointed and chanted. Suddenly the beetles buzzed louder and louder. The sound pierced his ears, so much that he dropped his axe and covered them with his hands. Immediately the two minions grabbed his arms and held him at bay. The masked one raised his hand toward his face and began to emit a chant. The beetles seemed to respond to it in unison and began to follow the tempo of the chant. Raxurgs eyes turned dim and he couldnt see anything. His legs weakened and he fell unconscious. Fleas and ticks seemed to be crawling in his fur and everything around him felt wet. His eyes only peered into a blurred darkness. Noises like leaves crunching echoed to him from the distance. "There he is!" A voice rang out followed by quickened noises. He could feel himself being lifted then blacked out once more. "You are lucky to be alive." Came the voice again. He opened his eyes to see an old man sitting next to him on the floor, they were in what looked like a tent. "It would seem you defied the spells of the shaman. You should be dead. Quite stubborn you are." The man said with a smile. "In a few days time you will leave my care and be reunited with your family. After that, I must take up the hunt of the demon again before his trail turns cold." And the days did pass, and Raxburg regained his strength. News spread across the land of the incident in the orchard. After two months the shaman was caught, then executed as an enemy of the state. It was something Raxburg never forgot. He dreamed of it, he thought of it during the day and everytime he heard buzzing, the thoughts ringed through his mind, until he couldnt take it anymore. He knew it as a conspiracy against his family and beloved kingdom. He knew magic was not a concept made for children. On this day three years after his encounter he rose to search for magic of his own. Magic that would allow him to search out conspiracies, to search for artifacts designed for destroying other factions in the world. To Raxurg, an organization that had this kind of magic, was the organization that could save the world.