Chapter 1

I kept an even pace as I made my way north from my town, Cartha, into the great expanse of the Tranik Forest. It covered five of the eight provinces, including Bardack Province in which Cartha is found, within the large country of Ontegra. Bardack, Entric, Stonda, and Rilsa provinces were completely covered by the great forest, with Vishant, east of Bardack, separated from the rest by a great lake. The only open areas within the forest were either the different villages contained within, or the larger port or capital cities. The villages only cleared the encroaching forest, one kilometer from the village walls in all directions. Towns like mine were average for the province, usually twice to three times the size of a village such as Dru’Tirk. The cities were usually four to five times the size of villages and kept the area around them cleared for ten kilometers. The provinces of Altara, Gerate, and Helona had very little to none of the forest within their respective borders. Instead, they had vast plains and mountains covering their landscape. The country’s capital resided in Altara, the northernmost province, at least a four-month ride from my home. Bardack was one of the interior provinces, with only the provincial capital city and what was referred to as the hub city. The hub city, Ishtala, was positioned in the exact center of the country, and was the main travel point for any caravan that was moving goods between provinces. The capital of Bardack Province, Trontar, was not that large, as ours was one of the poorer provinces.

I have never been to either of them, so I highly doubted that I would see them any time soon. I planned to keep myself away from any villages or settlements. It was better that way. As I passed our tree, I saw the heart Violet and I had carved into the tree all those years ago. The tree still stained with the blood of my first kill. My mind drifted to the events that had happened, that had put all the recent events in motion. That blood stain was a constant reminder of that night, the attack on the village, and my first fight with the Voguel. Learning that when they die, they transform back into the men they had been before the moon had risen. I have killed many more since that night, and each one weighed heavy on my heart. If they had only been beasts, it would have been easier, I would be able to be detached from what I had had to do. The result was still that I killed men, though they were evil, from my village. Of all the ones I had killed during the last blood moon, the last were worse than before. What made had it worse was that their leader had been Brant, our Patron, charged with overseeing the growth and protection of our village. Instead, he had victimized and bullied the people of our village as the Patron, and when the blood moon would rise, he would kill villagers on mere whim. For a time, I had believed that he was the one responsible for the death of my parents all those years ago.

I had hoped that when I had killed Brant, the wolf leader and Patron of our village, that I had killed the beast that murdered my parents. But that was not the case, he was only a pawn, one who served a dark and sinister master. Even though I was successful in ridding the town of his evil influence, I was left with a wound - not just of the body - but of the spirit. It was Brant’s last act of cruelty, before I sent him to the void.

Over the months since, I had grown accustomed to not being the man I had been before. I could not hunt or work like I had before, but I was still able to help and teach those who chose to live with and serve me. So I did not be helpless, I taught myself to sword fight with my off hand with Trent and Clive’s help.

Thinking of them caused my mind to turn to them. How hurt Clive had been when he entered that inn, to tell me that Liza had been kidnapped. The look on Trent’s face as Ruben’s sword tore through his heart and burst forth from his chest. The look of regret and shame on Ruben’s face before he let go and resigned himself to the deep cavern of the mine.

As I passed the path for the grove within the forest, my thoughts drifted to Violet. The first time I had visited it since I had returned to the village, had been filled with passion and love. Violet, daughter of Ruben, had followed me on my rest day to the grove. She had caught me, in the waterfall=fed, miniature lake, completely nude. Her eyes never left me as I got out of the water and put on some pants. She joined me for a meal, after drinking a cup of Ice Berry wine, I had told her the special nature of the cups we used. My elder father had fashioned them many years ago from a log that had helped me kill a wolf that was pestering their village. When he had made them, I swore that I would only let someone of the highest importance to me drink from the cup. She realized what that had meant, and we ended up kissing, becoming more passionate with each second.

She had broken away when I had placed my hand on her breast. I thought I had offended her; instead she removed her clothing and jumped into the water. I removed my pants and joined her, we resumed our kissing, and soon we were doing much more. We joined together in the most intimate way a man and woman could, we both relished every aspect of it until we both reached the climax of our union.

That one day would forever stay in my memory until the day I die, but now it was marred by the tragedy of Trent’s murder.

I continued north for another kilometer, before stopping for a short rest. It was midday at this time, so I stopped to eat some food from my bag and took a drink of water from my water flask. The dried fruits were delicious, and the cured meat hit the spot, I would have enough for one more meal, but after that I would need to start hunting. I started walking west from the grove path and this would be my direction of travel for the remainder of the day. From there, I would then head north towards where I figured my goal would be. There were no roads or well-traveled paths through the woods, but. I wanted to be sure that I would be left alone, isolated from any distractions.

As I continued, listening to the sounds of the wood, I tried to keep my mind off the questions that plagued me. I tried to admire the different trees that filled this section of the woods. While it was mostly cedar, white oak and beech trees, each adorned with vibrant green leaves. The colors of their trunks, shades of brown, white, and grey, accenting and complementing one another. Since it was in the beginning of the fall season, I would not need to worry about noise made from dry tree limbs and leaves. In the coming weeks, the leaves of the various trees would begin to change color.,. filling the forest with a variety of colors and hues. By the time the sun had set, I had traveled probably five or six kilometers. I was in no rush, so I looked around for a good place to make camp.

After a little while of searching, I was able to find a nice area to relax that would be safe to build a fire. It was a small ridge that sat about seven feet high, but instead of going straight down, it went inwards. This would be useful, to protect me from the elements, such as rain. I laid my pack down and ventured out from my chosen campsite in search of wood, tinder, and rocks. I made three trips, bringing back various combinations of the three items, until I was satisfied with what I had collected. My first step was to create a circle of stones to contain the fire from spreading, while reflecting the heat outward. Once that was done, I began to place the wood within the circle, overlapping the tops of the sticks in the middle of the circle. They then descended on a sharp incline outward from the middle, leaving a small space between the stick and the rocks. Once the cone had been completed, I placed the tinder, carefully underneath, as I did not want to knock it over and start again. I removed my knife from my bag, and, using the flint I had had Trina buy, struck it against the butt of the knife, creating a spark.

I had to strike the flint four more times before the tinder caught from the sparks and began to slowly burn. Wasting no time, I lightly blew on the fledgling embers, feeding them the air they needed to grow. My patience was soon rewarded, and those embers grew until I had a fully realized campfire.

With that task completed, I returned to my pack and untied the bedroll from the top of it. I laid it out a safe distance away from the fire, to ensure that a rogue ember would not set it ablaze accidentally. I removed some more dried fruit, having a quick meal while I enjoyed a nice drink of Ice Berry Wine. When I finished my meal, I laid down in my bedroll, and looked up at the sky. The night sky was filled with a brilliant tapestry of stars, illuminating the darkness with forms and light. I looked up at them and began to saw shapes that could be made from the groups. The sounds of the forest were like a lullaby, the mating calls of nocturnal insects filling the air. The gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the trees, mixed with the sounds, created a very soothing atmosphere. Slowly I began do drift towards sleep and as I closed my eyes, the last sight that filled my vision was of the moon.

Once again, I was plagued by disturbing dreams, filled with horrors of blood and death. It started with me running through the forest, headed towards the main entrance to the village. After all, I did not want to just appear inside, they might suspect something. As I ran faster and faster, my paws barely felt anything as I dashed through the forest. Soon I could see the village gate, hear the heartbeats of the guards, and smell their fear. The red moon was bright in the sky and it filled me with energy, and hunger. I had been tormenting the village for three moons now, and even the guards were afraid of me and the rest of my pack. I did not slow down as I came into the clearing, adjusting my stride to head right for the guards. One of them fled his post as soon as he saw me, heading through the guard door into the village. The other guard hesitated before he started running to the door, but he was surprised to find it would not open. The other guard must have locked the door behind him, hoping that it would hold me at bay. As I came within a few feet of the lone guard, he turned, and I jumped for his throat. I could not wait to taste his blood, as my front paws connected with his chest and he was slammed against the door. All the air escaped his lungs in an instant and while he was disoriented, I took my chance, and ripped out his throat, his gargled attempt at a scream filling my ears.

I backed off his chest and simply watched as the life drained out of him, pooling on the ground beneath him, the light of life slowly draining from his eyes until they looked hollow, devoid of anything. I sprinted a few feet away from the gate and sizing up the distance I needed to travel, darted at the gate wall. Moving as fast as I could, just before I reached my target I crouched, and put all my strength into a leap. I sailed over the gate, just missing the pointed tips of the logs and landed right on the other guard. The force of the impact caused multiple bones to break, and he screamed in agony, as he crumpled to the ground. I reveled in his torment a while, before breaking his neck with a quick twist of my jaws and darting into the village for my target.

I darted through the town, using the alleys and back paths to my advantage, as I made my way to the market area. As I neared my destination, I slowed my movements to a slow walk and crouched down low using the shadows to my advantage. When I was sure I had not been seen, I stalked out of the shadows of an alley into the moon-illuminated marketplace. I dashed through the empty area, making my way into an alley-way which would take me to my intended destination. I was soon near to the house containing my fixation and even from here, I could pick up her scent.

That bitch had been a good lay, and soon I would claim her for myself for good, she would not refuse me tonight. I would enjoy raping her repeatedly and beating that bitch until she knew her place and gave me what I was owed willingly.

Once she was mine, I would kill her family right in front of her, to show her the price of her refusals. First, that little shit of a brother, then that son of a bitch Ruben. As for her slut mother, I would keep her for my men to enjoy and force Violet to watch as they gang raped her. It would irrevocably break Violet’s spirit and ensure she would be mine until the day she died. I would have to see to it that she did not try to take her own life and rob me of my delicious prize. She would bare me many sons, pander to me every sexual whim and - when she had proven herself - be turned. I stopped in front of their door, taking in a deep breath, letting her scent fill my senses. I readied myself. All I needed to do was burst through that door and claim her for my own.

I woke up with a start, my breathing was ragged, and my body was covered in a light sheen of sweat. The dream felt really draining from the disgusting images and thoughts that permeated them.

I thought of what I was seeing and realized it was another dream from Brant’s perspective. It had been so long since I had had one that it took me a while to realize it. Due to the nature of Violet’s medicine I tended not to remember my dreams, but I felt like I had had more of them. The part that worried me, though, was that I knew I had dreamt others but had no memory of them.