Charging Into Darkness: Part 1

Haeruyon was thrown from his dream gasping for air and clutching his neck. The dream didn't feel dreamlike at all: the vigorous thrill of the hunt, the scent of fresh blood in the air, the massive dark figure throwing colliding into him with mountainous strength, the agonizing pain of his spirit unleashed from inside of him, the jagged blade hacking at his neck.. Haeruyon sat up and peered around the camp at the silhouettes of the other sleeping hunters, cast by the low-burning embers. It was an unseasonably warm night for the dead of winter, and most of them lay half naked with their fur skins peeled mostly off. The pain from the dream still vivid in his mind, he grabbed his bow and his spear, making for the one other hunter still awake at this hour of night. Cera was a quiet huntress, linked with the fox, but Haeruyon used his keen smell to find her as she was making her way around the perimeter of the camp. Scouting for potential danger from the wild, Fera was extremely lucid for the first watch of the night. But Haeruyon could sense her weariness as he made his way to her, purposefully stepping loudly so as to alert her of his coming. "Go," he grunted quietly. "We've covered much ground today in pursuit of the bison. It is wounded, and won't travel far. You need rest." "I'm fine," Cera protested, although a yawn couldn't help but escape from her nostrils. "It is not yet my time to sleep." "Nor is it mine, the spirits have deemed. No sense in two of us losing sleep. Go now, I order it." Cera looked as though she would make a last objection, but Haeruyon was stubborn in his decisions, she knew. Slinging her spear over her shoulder, she shot Haeruyon a dastardly glance with her violet eyes and made her way back to the campsite. Haeruyon stood looking outward into the trees with his back to her, waiting for the last of the rustling to clear before he picked up his path where she had left off. Eyebrows furled, he tried to get the images od the dream out of his mind. Focus on the woods. Focus on the duty. As the leader of the hunting party, Haeruyon knew he shouldn't be taking watch. With the keenest sense of smell, he would be tasked tomorrow with finding the trail of blood the bison had left. A day dry, he would and could still catch its metallic stench should the winds turn the right direction. That was why, he knew, that the clan made the right choice by appointing him leader of this hunting party. He had given his life to the service of his clan, but he knew soon he would get back for that. They would see his strength, recognize his mind, and perhaps soon would call him Chief. Lost in his daydreams, the wind suddenly changed, and his heart quickened. The metallic smell. Fresh blood. He tightened his grip on his spear and crouched low, lifting his nose in the air to catch the source. The bison was near.

Charging Into Darkness: Part 2

His heart quickened and his senses became even more alert. His people were struggling this winter with their food supplies, and a large bull like this was exactly what they needed. He knew if he could bring it to his comrades by morning, any doubts about his leadership would be lost. Hands wrapped tightly around his spear, he made his way quietly through the underbrush, and in a mere hour came across a clearing bathed in moonlight. There, in the center of the clearing on a grassy gnoll, was his people's prize: the Great Bison. It lay wounded, breathing low and laborously. Haeruyon knew his party's spears and arrows must have pierced a lung. His luck, he thought, as the adrenaline surged through his veins. Carefully Haeruyon crept behind the great creature towards the back of his neck, spearpoint ready for a killing blow. His people would celebrate him, and the rest of his days as their leader for the glory of this find. A savior from near starvation. Poising mightily for the strike, he raised the spear back to thrust it into the beast when a stir in the corner of his vision made him hesitate. In an instant, a massive dark figure emerged crashing from the bushes, colliding into Haeruyon with mountainous force. The blow sent him flying across his prize headfirst into the trunk of a massive tree. Vision blurred, he looked back to see the figure standing at his full height, more than ten feet tall. It stood amidst the bloodied mass that was the great bison, torn in half, entrails spoiling any chance of recovering the meat. In a fury Haeruyon charged after the assailant, roaring in agony and rage as bones cracked and rejoined to unleash his spirit. Bristling hair erupted down his spine, hooves replaced toes, tusks emerged from his jaw. Bones and hide thickened and hardened as each powerful stride brought forth Haeruyon's ancestry, the Boar. The change made each stride take him farther, renewed his senses, and sent him colliding into the abdomen of his adversary. He felt his tusk break skin, but not reach the vitals of the Dark Giant. Hooves digging into the ground, Haeruyon continued his onslaught, lashing his head side-to-side and pushing the giant back in an attempt to rend the life from his enemy. The Giant punished him with vicious blows from a jagged blade to his back and neck. The blade was drawing blood, but his hide would not be mortally pierced. Across the clearing, the two forces wrestled, tusk and blade, spear and fist, clashing against each other with bone-rattling force. Blood from both victims sprayed across trees and blades of grass. The Two Titans would kill each other before either would yield. "THE ARMY WILL HAVE YOU!!" Cried the dark giant, as he sprawled out on top of Haeruyon and caught a tusk in each massive fist. With a mightly hurl, Haeruyon was taken off of his feet and launched through the far side of the clearing. The treeline ended abruptly with a steep precipace, and the Were-boar was sent tumbling down through bramble bush and jagged rock. His last memory of that evening came with an explosion of pain in the back of his head as he slipped out of consciousness.

Charging Into Darkness: Part 3

When Haeruyon came to, the mid-day sun was shining full in his face. His groggy vision, slowly clearing, revealed two carrion birds circling him overhead. Every bone in his body ached, his muscles on fire. But as he bit through the pain and forced himself upright, he knew he was not fatally wounded. In a torrent of memories the events of the previous night came back to him. Dragging himself onto his feet, Haeruyon began scrambling out of the valley he'd fallen into to warn his hunters of the threat they faced.. If the Dark Giant hadn't found them first. His worst fears were realized three hours later, when the battered Haeruyon finally made it back to camp. The clearing his brethren had settled in just the previous night was scorched to the last leaf. Charred bodies lay over the campfire, with heads on pikes in some sadistic shape resembling a star. Lines of blood were drawn to connect the heads to the fire. Overcome with grief, Haeruyon fell to his knees and roared in anguish. But something within him was missing.. His spirit. At such a tramautic moment, the man would feel the boar within him shouting as well, its rage rattling his insides like a cage. But he felt nothing inside.. An empty hollowness at his loss. Staring at the ground, Haeruyon had a brief moment of clarity when he noticed tracks.. Not his own people's, but massive footprints: like the Dark Giant's. And there were many of them. The Dark Giant wasn't alone. As he followed them around the camp he noted their exit.. Directly towards his clan's village. In a panic he grabbed a bow, still unbroken, and went to make his way from the clearing when a fox trotted into his path. He almost ignored it, before he noticed the fox was eying him with violet eyes. Understanding hardly had time to settle before the fox began howling and changing shape in front of him to take the form of his comrade, Cera. Haeruyon could hardly stand with exhaustion, but managed to find his way to his comrade to her embrace her. "Thank the Spirits, Cera! We must go and warn the village. The creatures who did this.. How?" "They came a few hours after you'd left," she sighed sadly. She looked around with glossy eyes as she took in the scene behind him. "Around the same time you should have returned. What happened to you?" Haeruyon grunted with wounded pride. "I ran into one when I found our bison.. He was.. Strong. We battled before he managed to throw me into a ravine. I came as soon as..." "You're not to be blamed!" Cera shouted, almost too angrily. Haeruyon staggered backward and let his legs give out as he settled onto a boulder, clutching the back of his neck. Cera looked down shamefully. "I was sent to warn the village... I got there before the monsters who did this could make it there. The clan is safe. I came back to look for you.." "There were no other survivors?" Haeruyon grunted. "The Elder said there wouldn't be. But.. He sent me to find you.. To give you.. This." Cera extended her palm towards Haeruyon uncomfortably to reveal a tiny piece of red parchment, rolled up neatly and tied with horse hair. Haeruyon sat staring at the parchment, numb to any further insult that he knew it contained. Slowly he grabbed it from Cera's palm, doing nothing yet to unfold it. "I'm sorry, Hae.." With a nervous glance around the clearing, Cera turned to depart. "I must go.. I've been tasked to scout out the people who did this. Judge their numbers in broad daylight. Give our... The clan a chance. Maybe." Silently, Cera slipped beyond the brush and vanished. Haeruyon did not know how much time passed, but it was dusk before he finally stopped staring at the parchment in his palm and opened it. 'Haeruyon, The Spirits have abandoned you, because you did not listen to them. Pride and desire took hold of you, and our people have paid dearly for it. You've always sought to help our people. But in the moment we needed you most, you thought first of yourself. You no longer have a place among us, and must find your own way in the world. But the Spirits have not forsaken you. They know you to be stout of head, strong of body, and good of heart. You care for others dearly, and would die in their defence. So Spirits have sent me a Vision to guide you. You will not be able to fight this Army in the name of the clan anymore. But instead, fight it for all those who couldn't fight for themselves. You will find the army's masters in a haven of darkness. To fight them, you must find valor again within you. There a castle white as cloud stands, and this valor will need you against the coming Darkness. Set yourself on this path. Find the Castle of Valour. There, you will not be alone in your fight anymore. Your spirit may find you there. ' Haeruyon drew in a deep breath. Slowly, he found the strength to stand. Making his way to the fire, he cast the parchment atop his fallen brethren. "For you, comrades... And for all who will not suffer what became of you. I will not let myself endanger all of you with pride. Never again." Collecting what little supplies he could carry, Haeruyon sought his spirit once more.. in Valour.