Heavy rain fell from the sky, filling the flourishing green ruins with puddles of water. Fortunately, I lived in a tent, sheltered from the cold. I sifted through my bag, in search of the food my mother gave me earlier this morning. Empty pots, bowls, and some of my used clothes were all I could find. Feeling helpless, I let out a sigh as the sky darkened. While tying my long auburn hair, I took my cloak from the other side of the tent and shrugged it on. Beside where it had sat, I recognized the picture of many familiar faces - my family. My mother was a kind-hearted and affable woman that used to work in the slums for a living, while my father was a well-known guardian defending the city which was now in a state of war. I knelt down in front of the picture, praying for their safety, hoping they knew how much I missed them. The rain had settled. Thus, I stood up, bid them farewell, and left the tent.
My name is Flint Knightsbane, an amateur hunter of only age nineteen, born and raised in the humble city of Ark Herengga. I lived away from home to start an adventure, in hopes of finding the strange object that fell down from the sky a month before. The Crescent Moon feather, the city nobles proclaimed it granted any person an enormous power in exchange for something unknown. Mages, hunters, knights, and even commoners had thrown themselves at the chance to obtain power. The feather struck the Herengga continent's surface like a meteor, yet researchers claimed there were no craters found, which was odd. Additionally, despite a month passing, not a single person was able to find it. However, plenty still hadn't given up on their search. I was one of them.
Zipping up the tent, I continued my journey under the moonlit night in the ruins. I believed the feather glowed vivid colors in the dark, making it easier to find during those hours. Hence, I was hitting two birds with one stone; hunting creatures for dinner and seeking the feather.
I entered a forest nearby to check the traps I'd installed earlier. It's a typical booby-trap, similar to a bear trap, only smaller in size. Luckily, I was able to kill two rabbits with it, enough to quench my hunger for the night. As I unlodged the rabbits from the trap, I noticed it was strangely quiet.
Glancing around, my eyes widened at the path I took earlier. Fresh blood coated the dirt and grass, forming a trail leading further into the forest. Someone or something must've been murdered or injured and dragged on the ground. This meant danger. My heart palpitated as I stood there astonished, unsure of what to do. Swinging the rabbits over my shoulder, I trod quietly and slowly out of the forest, avoiding the dried leaves and twigs littering the floor beneath me. Abruptly, loud, fast footsteps approached from behind me. I picked up the speed, adrenaline pumping through my veins, the smell of death greeting my nostrils. I'd been pulled to a halt, my arms trapped under the strong grip of someone else's. A cold metal blade was held against my neck, piercing the top layer of my flesh. I winced and strained my neck away from the blade but it only dug deeper.
A deep feminine voice lowly whispered into my ear,
"Die."
I was forced to the ground face-down, without seeing the image of my murderer; the person had slit my throat before I knew it. I choked and gagged on my own blood, trying to scream for help as loud as I could, but not a sound came out. It hurt... it fucking hurt! Before losing consciousness, I heard the roar of a cougar in the distance.
???'s Point of View
That woman was on the hunt tonight. Ever-swift and ever-craving for blood and human flesh,
"Hmph...that poor coven witch, it seems she possesses the body of a serial-killer tonight" I thought.
She dragged the corpse of a woman on the ground, leaving a bloody, red path. Waiting for the perfect time to pounce, I watched over her form, hidden within the shadows of trees. She released the corpse and threw her host's nails from his fingers in my direction. They struck into tree I hid behind, one almost grazing my cheek. Damn it! She must have sensed me. My body began to shrink, arms morphing into wide, transparent wings, eyes becoming bug-like, and legs fusing together into an elongated insect. I had shifted into a dragonfly and dodged more incoming nails that came from the woman’s corpse. In the blink of an eye, the woman escaped my sight. I span around sensing her behind me, her fist rushing forward to splat me on a nearby tree trunk. In a clutch, I spun out of the way, my body growing in size, my wings transforming into boisterous arms with sharp claws and head into the snout of a bear. My snout widened, revealing jagged teeth and bit down on her head, crushing her skull. Blood seeped through the cracks of my teeth and I thrust her limp body against a tree.
"Not so quick, are you now?" I smirked as I returned to my normal form, my body gradually became human-like as my ears started to elongate while my tattoos glowed on my fair white skin in the darkness. I gazed curiously down at her blood which had begun to boil.
Red vapour rose into the atmosphere and the scent of iron perforated my sense of smell. The discarded woman's corpse began rapidly trembling, the red vapour entering her mouth and nostrils. The corpse, now re-animated back to life, stood before me with a wide grin. Shit, I should've acted sooner.
"Of course you should've," she laughed having read my mind, "You are in my way, shapeshifter!" she added with her annoyingly sassy voice.
"Then why bother entering this world, you wicked witch?" I countered.
"Who knows,'' she shrugged, her lips curled in a lopsided grin, "Maybe a stroll? Ahahahahaha!"
Her attempt at angering me however, rendered useless "Let's get this over with." I growled with a scowl on my face.
She opened her palm, chanting words in another language, preparing to cast a spell as she tread closer to me. Bending down onto all fours, feline ears emerged from my scalp, hands and feet turned into furry paws with sharp claws and a tail protruded from my rear as fur covered the rest of my body. I had shifted into cougar and felt the tension growing as we began circling one another. However, both of us stopped abruptly, our gazes moved towards the sound of footsteps. With a smirk, she waved her hand and flashed in the direction of the footsteps. I roared out of frustration and sprinted in pursuit of her.
Ahead of me, I saw her, slitting the throat of a man in a blue cloak. Fortunately, I was able to catch her off guard. I leaped on to her, forcing her to the bloodied grass, suppressing her movement with my sharp claws.
"Can't run away this time can you?"
"Aha...Ahahahahahahah!" she crazily laughed.
Blood gushed from her chest as I ripped through her with my claws. Every tear I made through her body filled me with feelings of bliss. I feasted upon her body while I kept ripping her skin and tendons apart. I devoured all her flesh, broke all her bones, and mangled her bloody face. I hadn't realised she'd stopped laughing. Memories of everything she had done to me permeated my mind as I ravaged her.
My tribe, my friends, my teachers and my family. The coven witch had been slain, and now I could finally live in peace.
I returned to my normal form and noticed the man she had killed earlier. I rolled him over and gasped at two dead rabbits beneath him. Poor thing, courageously walking in the night only to be killed. Large droplets of water fell from the sky. It's raining again. I carried his corpse and made my way home unbothered by the dampening of my clothes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------Flint's P.O.V
I awoke to the scent of morning dew transpiring with the cool, gentle wind as the pleasant chirping sound of birds filled the area. I stretched my fingers through the grass, feeling the earth beneath. I opened my eyes as I awoke from my deep slumber. It was a shame I died so soon. I got up on my feet, taking in my surroundings, choosing to gaze at the dawn sky, wondering where I was. I noticed a huge lake surrounded by countless waterfalls at the edge of the forest. The water, crystal clear, the sun reflecting upon the surface creating an almost blinding effect. Thinking I must be in a utopia now, I stared in wonder. It's beautiful…
I glanced at flocks of beautiful birds flying in the sky, making their way through the dark valleys of Ark Herengga.
Hold on.... wait. What? I checked every part of my body in disbelief. "I...I'm alive?" I whispered to myself, pinching my arms, letting out a yelp at the pain. I touched my neck, remembering the slice of the blade, but there was nothing but smooth skin as though it had simply been a nightmare. But how?
After thinking deeply about the previous nights events, moments flashed before my eyes too fast to comprehend, causing my head to ache. I could still feel that sharp, cold blade cutting through my throat. It was a traumatic experience. My first taste of death.
"You... awake," came the soft voice of a girl coming from the trees behind me. I twist my body in her direction. She's short, possibly a child, but approaches me without fear. She's dressed in dirty rags with countless tattoos adorning her tanned skin. The oddest aspect of her appearance though was her hair. It was crimson like the petals of a rose.
"Did you save me?" I asked politely.
"No..." She answered, "Somebody... you...",
Perhaps she wasn't fluent in English as she spoke with difficulty, or maybe she simply had trouble communicating. Deciphering her words didn't hinder me from understanding though. She must've been trying to say that somebody else had miraculously saved me.
"Do you know who?" I asked again.
The girl nodded and mumbled, "Fish..."
Her face lit up as she giggled, finding humour within her own words. I stood there confused and just chuckled awkwardly, thinking it was a joke.
"Not... kidding,'' she clarified as she stifled her laughter.
Surprised, I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head, clearly curious about what she meant.
"What?"
The girl ran closer to me and gently yanked my cloak. Seemed she wanted me to follow her. She took me to the side of the lake and sat down, pulling down on my cloak to copy her actions. I sat down with her while my eyes searched the water.
"What does this fish look like?"
"Beautiful... Big... Pattern" she replied with her eyes focusing on the lake. I noticed a school of small fish swimming beneath the surface. I leaned in to see further but I couldn't see any fish with some kind of pattern.
"There..." She mumbled as she pointed her index finger to a spot far away. Large fish started to jump from the surface of the water. For some reason I was transfixed by their performance, forgetting what we were searching for.
As I stood up, I could hear her shouting a name, like a little child calling for their mom. Different schools of fish joined in the jumping, and began approaching us at a rapid pace.
Between them all, I could see a fish different from the others. It's just like what I thought, a beautiful fish, larger than the others, with a wavy color pattern of blue, orange, and red. The other fish came to a halt, except the odd one out swimming up to the surface. It jumped, flipping in the air, then turned into a human-like figure upon landing on the ground. The fish had turned into a nude woman with magenta eyes and silver-white hair. She had numerous glowing tattoos on her glistening, fair, white skin and pointy ears with piercings gracing the edges. I hadn't seen someone of this race in a long time. A descendant of a different realm, the Realm of Elves.
"Why are you calling me at such an hour, Trinity? Geez, I was having a bath," she complained.
Almost forgetting the fact she was naked, I flickered my gaze to the floor, my cheeks flushed red in shyness.
"Human... awake..." the little girl, Trinity spoke with a joyful tone.
"Oh, right,'' the elf paused and patted my shoulder, "You feelin' good?"
"Y-yes..." I replied shakily, looking everywhere but her. "Thanks," I added. "But why did you save me?"
"Reasons," the elf muttered with an aplomb voice while walking away.
"How long was I asleep?" I questioned.
"Three days," She paused, "That little kid has been watching over your dead body since then. She seems to have taken an interest in you."
"I see"
I stared up at the sky thinking about how lucky I was to be revived by complete strangers. They didn't seem like bad people either. As a matter of fact, without them, I wouldn't be able to continue my journey. It was miraculous. But, I needed to get stronger, find that feather, and make my dreams into reality.
Meanwhile, the little girl had a conversation with the elf in a dialect I couldn't understand. She seemed to be fluent in it. It's like she came from a country outside Ark Herengga.
As the elf's voice faded, the girl poked my back. "She... gone..."
I turn my head to the red-haired girl and looked around. The elf woman had gone away. "Where'd she go?" I inquired.
"Hunting... Eat..." She replied. The elf must've gone off to hunt for some breakfast. Now that she mentioned it, I felt quite nauseous. I hadn't eaten or drunk anything for three days straight. Then, she stood up and started walking away, so I followed.
As we trotted down a long path in the forest, we exchanged names and asked some questions about one another. Her name was Trinity Gossipmonger. Through her broken words, I came to the conclusion that she had been an acquaintance of the elf for a long time. I also inquired about her odd hair color, but she told me that it's a secret. She had this cute, heart melting smile as she said it.
"Do you know who murdered me?" I asked
"Yes...,"she answered. Surprised, I queried who he or she looked like, but all she replied was, "Blood Witch... Dangerous..."
She must have been there when I was dying or heard from the elf woman. "Did you kill her?" I asked again. She shook her head and mumbled, "Narcilla."
"Who's Narcilla?"
"Elf..."
She suddenly stopped walking and so did I. I looked at her, noticing she was closing her eyes. That's odd, dozing off in the middle of a conversation like this. After a while of standing in silent confusion, I shook her by the shoulder to wake her up, but as I did, as though all the strength in her legs disappeared, she collapsed to the ground.
Worried, I tried to wake her up again, but she wouldn't, so I lifted her into my arms and ran along the path. For some reason, she appeared to become heavier the longer I carried her. At the end of the path, a single hut stood within a clearing. It must have been theirs. Trinity started panting and sweating in her sleep. I felt her forehead with the back of my palm. She had a high fever. I entered the hut and laid her body on a wooden bed where she could rest, and stood there stunned.
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