1 Chapter 1: That Fateful Night

This world that we can call home can be fruitful if you let it be. If you choose not to eat the fruit the world lays out for you then this world will be nothing but an accursed prison. Take these words that I speak from my heart and perceive them, however, you'd like because they don't just have one meaning. My story is one that starts very cold, dim, and tragic. I have done acts that I couldn't imagine doing and I force myself to try and forget the horrific deeds that I have plagued my mind with.

My story starts in a small town that I call my home. Sutton was a quaint small town not burdened by much. Every once in a while a wolf would come and kill off some of the town's livestock but other than that we lived peaceful lives. The year neared 1453. We were about two months away from the new year meaning my birthday was in four days and just around the corner. This birthday was special because of the age I had been turning. Eighteen years old! The day you finally become a man. In my town, it had been a tradition that once you turn eighteen you go hunting with your father and bring back whatever you were able to kill. The town would then conduct a feast, drink, and eat the haul from the eighteen-year-olds hunt.

I had never been one that had resorted to violence. I was always a peacemaker and wanted to stay out of harm's way as much as possible. Having to go hunt my food and provide for the village was a really big deal for my father, so I didn't mind having to take another creature's life. This way of transferring into adulthood had been sacred in my town for years. We have always been taught that once you can provide for yourself then you can provide for others and once you can provide for the people around you then you are finally a man. The deed seemed easy enough. That morning my father crept into my room and shook me gently until I had woken up.

"Alistair wake up. It's time to go hunt," my father said as he was trying to wake me.

I opened my eyes and as they adjusted my father was standing in front of me. My father was a tall man with a bit of a beard. He towered over me as I started to make my way of out bed.

As my father went to give me a hug he exclaimed, "Allistair! Today is the big day! My boy finally becomes the man I always knew he'd become. This is the day that a father waits for and now that it is finally here Alistair I could not be more proud of you. You are a strong young man. Being a man is much more than just being able to provide for the people you care about. You must also be kind-spirited. Men don't always have to be tough. Do you understand why I am telling you this?"

I looked towards my father while rubbing my eyes and replied, "Why are you telling me this?"

My father explained, "Because you will encounter times in your life my son that is challenging. Life with chew you up and will spit you out time and time again. Being tough isn't going to prevent those bad times from being apart of your life Alistair, but being vulnerable and learning from the experiences you live through will make you the toughest man there is."

I looked towards my father and tried to understand the words he was speaking. He looked at me with a smile the size of a mountain and said, "Alright my boy let's be off!" He grabbed his bow and arrows and we began to the forest just right outside of Sutton. We had grabbed two of the town's horses from the local stable and began trotting to the location we wished to hunt at. Once my father found an area that had a bountiful game and we tied our horses to a nearby tree. Quietly we had walked to a bushy green and lush area to hide away from the potential targets.

"Be very quiet Alistair," my father whispered, "One faint move say you broke a stick then our shot at a bountiful hunt would be far from reach. Now grab my bow and an arrow as I taught you and be ready to shoot any boar you see out there."

I took a deep breath and I took my father's bow in hand. I waited patiently for my chance. I sat in the same position surveying my surroundings for the next half hour waiting for the perfect attempt and praying I wouldn't miss my shot. Finally, I saw a boar nestling around in some bush. I kept myself calm breathing slowly. The boar had started to inch to the right a bit more and suddenly walked out of the area it was in. I had my shot and just as I was about to take it, I hesitated. In shock, I stared towards the boar with the arrow pulled back but the boar's offspring were following close behind. I told myself that it was going to be okay that the boars kin were going to be okay but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't want to separate the children from their mother as I had been from mine.

I slowly put the bow and arrow down and looked towards my father with tears swelling in my eyes and hesitantly said, "I-I'm sorry father, but I couldn't shoot the boar knowing it had children."

"That's okay Alistair. Being a man means making choices as well. If you truly believe that at that moment that the choice you made was the right one then stick by that and don't let others tell you..." My father trying to finish his sentence had suddenly been struck in the head and had fallen to his side. I was in shock. A person with a dark purple hood almost black if not in the light was looking upon me. I was in such shock over my father that I couldn't call for help. Suddenly the hooded figure was joined by another. At the moment of the other showing up the first hooded figure used the wooden club they'd use on my father to knock me out.

I had soon after awoken in a dark cave. There was moss growing on the cave walls covering what looked to be ancient cave drawing. The cave was cold and the light was exposed through these cracks on the ceiling. I thought that this had to of been a dream. I started to frantically pinch my face and slap myself hoping I would just wake up and this would all be over. I was hoping I would just wake up in my bed and my father would be there ready to take me hunting, but the moments I had lived through this morning were real. I wasn't dreaming and that soon became very apparent to me. I tried to stand, but my arms and ankles had been chained to the cave floor, and once I figured this out I had begun to panic. I started to take deep breaths to calm myself but that didn't seem to work. Suddenly right before my eyes like witchcraft fire had begun to burn from torches that were retrained to the cave's walls. With this, the cave drawing became more apparent. There were worshipers drawn on the walls but I couldn't tell what they were worshiping and soon I had just begun to feel the effects of how cold the cave had been. I sat shaking and contemplating the many ways I could die in this cave. As I looked around I noticed markings on the floor of the cave and in the middle where I was sitting there was the drawing of a beast-like creature. This beast has been standing over at least a dozen bodies with its fur blood-soaked. I thought for sure that I was going to become an offering to some sacred beast for disturbing the wild. Suddenly footsteps had become apparent. These footsteps had gotten closer and closer every second and with the loudening sound of these footsteps, I began to grow more anxious and scared.

"Begin prep," said a mysterious voice.

I yelled, "What are you doing to me! Why am I here? Is my dad okay?"

The mysterious figures had come out from the shadows in their dark purple cloaks and began to prep for something. Walking around gathering herbs and different materials and mixing them.

"I am asking you a question. ANSWER ME!" I screamed louder, "ANSWER ME DAMN IT! IS MY DAD OKAY?"

There were six mysterious people in this room all preparing something. As I looked around frantically, I started to realize that I wasn't going to be answered, so I saved my breath.

"The moon is now full," said one my the mysterious people. One of them had walked towards more and held my chin upwards. Then they had taken some sort of liquid and forced it down my throat.

The mysterious figure who'd seemed to maybe be their leader had said, "Gather around the casting circle and start the ritual." Ritual? I had thought to myself. What do they mean by Ritual? They had begun chanting unknown words and suddenly my entire body had felt like it were on fire. Every inch of my being was burning and the only explanation would have to be because of their words. They had begun to chant even louder. My bones began to break and contort in ways I have never felt before. This pain was excruciating. My bones continued to break over and over for the next thirty minutes as they still chanted around me. I felt my thoughts become different. They were mine. I was full of rage and full of anger. My bloodlust had spiked. I had nothing else in my mind other than the will to kill people even if they were someone I held dear. With these thoughts then came strength. My bones still breaking and bending I began to scream out for help. The chains binding me to the floor had begun to break. I noticed that I had been growing hair on my body in an extreme manner. My gums started to hurt as my teeth shifted and became sharp. All of my senses smell, hearing, etc... all became heightened. Soon I completely lost control over my thoughts and it felt as if I had gone asleep. As my vision became blurred and I started to nod off I saw the mysterious beings take their hood off and the leader had said, "Run."