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Description
A small unnoticed path twists through a forest of falling leaves and ominous noises. Follow the path and along the way you’ll see illusions of eyes watching you and unnatural beings. What you don’t know or don’t want to know is that these are not illusions. As you keep going you’ll come to a split in the road. Like everyone ignorant of the true beings in this world you will take the right. I bet your wondering why I say this. All you need to know is that you would not be able to take the left path for there are very few in the world who can. This is the beginning of the beginning.

When I was still a human my tribe, as all do, had its legends of the surrounding area especially the woods. This legend, if told right, could send chills down even the most experienced and strongest of men. I’ll let you decide if I’m telling it right. The story begins like many others. There was a man and he was the best warrior for scipes around. But like any man he had a flaw. Now this may seem normal but his flaw was deadly. As a tribe we give tribute to many Gods and Goddesses by sacrificing the best animal, giving them the best of the harvest, and providing them with the first wine of the year. My tribe being a war tribe they are lenient knowing that war brings many emotions and evil actions with it. But there is a point when this stops. Jar, the warrior spoken of before, thought that because he was the best of the best nothing could happen to him. Feeling so he thinks that anything he wants should be given to him and he wants everything. When a person has lived 17 circles you are taken to the alter of the Gods by the elders where you give thanks for reaching this age and ask to live many more circles. The day Jar reached that age he saw all the food piled on the alter and knew he must have it. For in his own eyes he was just as good as the Gods so why shouldn’t he get some of the food. The elders on the other hand wouldn’t let him have any of this food and he knew that, so he made a plan. He knew the elders were getting old and it was becoming very hard for them to carry all the food up the mountain to the alter. So he asked them if they would trust him with the job. When they asked why he said he wanted to get in touch with his spiritual side and this was the way he thought was best. Hoping he would one day become an elder they couldn’t deny that chance to him, so they agreed. From that day on he would carry the food up to the top of the mountain, but that is where the good ended. When he got to the top he would eat only a little of the food and then walk back down to the camp like nothing had happened. Over time he got greedier and greedier till one day he saw that he had eaten everything on the alter. This angered the Gods greatly and they saw that they were in need of a new God. So they made a woman of the earth and sky naming her Tharte. Her job was of punishment on human kind and controller of dreams, her first victim would be Jar. They waited for the perfect moment when all would be able to see what would happen to someone who stole from the Gods. This chance came a week later. Jar and his hunting party had just come back from a very successful hunt. So the tribe was going to have a festival at which Jar would announce his betrothal to the Chiefs oldest daughter. That night at the festival Jar climbed a small tree and announced the betrothal. Everyone cheered and congradulated him. As he got to the ground Tharte appeared, on the exact branch Jar had just come from, with her back to the tribe. Her hair was made from the darkness of a bats cave and moved around her like it had a life of its own, her skin was white as new fallen snow. When she turned towards the crowd there was a collective gasp. Her face was as stunning as the night sky one eye the color of a clear frozen lake and the other an emerald green like the forest tops, her lips plump and the color of a fresh rose. You could stare at her for eternity…until she opened her mouth. Her teeth were that of the fiercest wolf, long and sharp able to tear skin from the bone in one movement. As she looked at the crowd everyone backed away but Jar. He didn’t move and looked at her like she was just a piece of dust in the wind. She smiled and laughed at this. The laugh sounding like nails on a sword, but all he did was grimace. And then she spoke.
“Jar, of the Ssssoltak tribe, you have commited a henioussss crime againsssst the Gods.”
She was speaking softly but the whole tribe would hear her and she sounded like a snake her tongue looked like one too. All Jar did was smile.
“I have done nothing that should have been done to me in the first place. Who are you to speak for the gods anyway. We have to knowledge of you anyway.”
He spat out the last words like it stung his mouth.
“I am Tharte, the Goddessss of punishshshment and dreamsssss, made by all the other Godsssss to ssssserve the punishshshment on human kind. And Jar you are my firsssst victim. You have eaten our offeringssss for over sssseven cccirclessss. Leaving ussssss no choicccce but to deliver a fitting punishshh--“
“Oh please Roooooothar” he laughs “I am just as high to these people as any god. So I ate what I deserve.”
At his interruption all emotion fell from her face and she floated down to the ground. This made him smirk though it didn’t last long. She held out her left arm in Jar’s direction palm towards him. He started to convulse and fell to his knees gasping for air.
“How DARE you interrupt me!” she says as her bottom half morphs into a snake and leather wings grow from back. Jar’s eyes go wide and he nods still trying to breath. The women call out to the children and pull them to the back of the crowd.
“Sssssssssince you think that you are equal to me how about you find out jussssst how hard I have it. If you can achieve my level of control in sssssixteen ccccircles then maybe you will be turned back, but if not.” She laughs “Hide for your life Jar for you will be hunted.”
At that note she disappears and some murmur among another some starting the bon fire, but all avoiding Jar. When the fire is full size Jar starts to convulse and moan as his nails lengthen and leather wings grow from his back. When this is over and he lay slumped there in a bloody mess Cor, his betrothed, walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned towards her and as her eyes widened he attached to her neck. She screamed and tried to run but he snapped her neck and drained her of her life liquid. When he was done he stood up blood dripping down his face and body and turned to the crowd that was staring in fear. People started running towards their huts grabbing children along the way. Tharte’s laugh echoed through out the forest. Then she appears on the tree limb in her human form drinking what looks to be like wine.
“Calm down new one. I want this tribe to still live a while longer.”
Jar crouches at the base of the tree. Tharte disappears and then reappears next to Jar. She looks at him and smiles placing her hand on his head. He makes a noise and leans into her hand. She then looks back at the remaining people. They consisted of the Elders, a few women, and some warriors.
“Dear Sssssoltak’sssss hed my word. I will provide you with a boy, a ssssson of mine, and you are to raissssse him asssss one of you and he issss not to know other wisssse. But on hissss ssseventeenth cccircle you will tell him he isssss to prove hisssss devotion to you. To do thisssss he isssss to ssstay in the foresssst for a fortnight. I warn you though he will be the besssst at everything. He will protect you from my….pet here. After that, I warn you, you will never ssssssee him again.”
And with that she disappears and Jar opens his wings and flies into the forest. When the Elders turned the fire grew and out walked a small boy who looked just like Tharte but he was 1 circle old. He toddled out of the fire and fell down laughing. This made his braclet of bone jingle catching his attention. When he looked at it and smiled a sweet grin with only one difference. His wolf teeth were longer and sharper then normal. The Elders look at each other and one goes to pick him up but the boy won’t let him. So a woman comes over and helps him stand up and they lead him into the Elders hut.
That is where my story begins.