2 months ago.
Hayel is walking through the forest all alone. Not his brightest moment. The sun is about to set and yet he has still not found a way to the village in which he lives in.
The forest is beautiful though, with the last sun rays sheepishly peeking through the trees. It's spring, and the leaves are already green.
But he could die, there are all kinds of abominations here. He is not that much safer in the village, however there are still a few guards there that were sent by The Order.
So why is he suicidal? He did not run away from something, he did not go on a life changing adventure to become some kind of a hero. He for some reason thought it was a good idea to take a little walk inside the forest where monsters could easly kill 15 year old Hayel.
A dumb idea, really, even for him.
He knows the forest near the village but he was feeling a bit adventurous so he went even deeper.
He does not know how to use a weapon, so he didn't bring any. It's not like he had a reason to bring weapons, after all the only thing that ever did attack him was a small monster that he could outrun.
But that was on the edges of the forest, not deep inside.
It was a funny day really. Layla was with him and they were trying to climb a tree. He doesn't remember what they talked about that day but he does know he was laughing so hard he could not breathe. He was so out of it he didn't even notice that little fiend hiding in a bush nearby. The moment it jumped on his face he let out a terrified scream and ran together with Layla.
Only later did he notice blood coming from his face. Thankfully it didn't scar.
While those little monsters are not particularly dangerous because people can mostly outrun them, they are still able to kill a normal person.
Mostly if the said person doesn't run or is unfortunate enough to get a wound that puts them in danger. They are suprisngly strong, but their legs are a little short.
They are also quiet ugly.
When it attacked him, it miscalculated the distance it can jump.
'I guess they are not that smart either.'
That day they were near the village so they ran straight in that direction.
'If something attacks me now… I guess I'll just run in whichever direction. Or die, who knows what might attack me here.'
So he kept walking. There is not much else Hayel can do eitherway.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling anxious. Walking all alone in a forest he doesn't know wasn't one of the things he wished to do before he died.
He notices a trail in front of him and that gives him a bit of hope. The problem is he doesn't know if he should go left or right. So after thinking for a few minutes, he chooses to go left randomly. He had a few conversations with guards about their adventures of hunting monsters near the village, so he tried to remember the details to see if anything could help him. Nothing does, so he chooses the direction on a whim.
So for how long has he been walking down this trail? One hour? Two hours?
The sun has already set, and darkness is the only thing that envelops the forest, as well the dim lighting from the moon and the stars.
The air is colder and it makes Hayel realize that he really screwed up this time.
He stops walking for a moment to take a look at the trail before him.
He doesn't recognise it, its too dark to make out the details. The moon is resting right above the trees, dimly illuminating the beautiful forest.
It's a bit of a melancholy sight.
But Hayel's body freezes.
That's when he notices that everything around him has gone completly still. No sound coming from the forest, even the leaves are not rustling from the wind.
There's something standing before him.
It's huge, lanky and dark like a shadow. There is no clear lines where it's figure ends and where it begins, but he could figure out it's bony long limbs.
It's round eyes staring straight at him. They are white with black pupils. It doesn't blink, neither does Hayel.
His bones go cold, his heartbeat fastens and his breath stops. It's staring at him and he is staring at it.
Something gnaws at his mind, making it's way in as fast as lightning.
Don't look…
Don't look…
Don't look… Don't look…
Don't look… Don't look…
Don't look… Don't look… Don't look. Don't look. Don't look.
Don't look. Don't look. DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK.
DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK. DON'T LOOK.
RUN.
A sharp pain abruptly manifests in Hayel's eyes. He groans and almost stumbles. Something is telling him to run, to run as fast as he possibly can. As the pain brings his thoughts back, Hayel quickly dashes to his right. He has never in his life ran as fast as he is now. He does not know if that abomination is following him or not. He cannot hear anything, much less turn around to look if it's there.
So he keeps running. The feeling of this chilly air makes his skin crawl. He does not know for how long he ran. His lungs feel like they are on fire and his legs are on the verge of giving out. His eyesight is weird, everything seems a little foreign.
He can feel every single one of his heartbeats. They are fast, making him question if he is going to have a heart attack.
And that's when he sees a graveyard.
It's huge with no soul in sight. The grass is overgrown all across it. The old tombstones are weirdly close to eachother and in the middle is a small temple made from stone too.
Hayel closes his eyes as he notices the pain still lingering.
The forest around Hayel is still. Too still to make him feel at least a bit comforted.
His legs give out and he starts to violently throw up.
He tries to catch his breath at least for a moment.
He feels lightheaded and cold.
'What should I do… What…What am I going to do?'
His legs don't listen to him and his body is uncoctrollably shaking. After a long time he finally lifts his head up.
And it's there.
It's tall body towering over a grave.
It's back slightly hunched, it's hands almost touching the floor.
The only thing on it's body that's turned towards him is it's head.
Those eyes that fill him with terror staring right at him.