[b]ALWAYS A BEAST[/b]

A heavy rain had just mercilessly poured down from the heavens and soaked the streets of Olden Shadow Town. It had stopped once the nighttime came around and then the town got enveloped in darkness. It was almost like the skies had decided to support the nightly wanderers of the town by retreating the rainy clouds and making it more pleasant for those who didn't fear the darkness to roam around. The air was a little chilly, which was a prelude to the coming season of the ominous time of the year when the dead would get more strength to wander among the living. Demons enjoyed nights like this as they were often involved in shady businesses that flourished in the dark and remote streets.

And they had to admit, tonight was a perfect night to spill blood. But who was the lucky one going to be?

For as long as there had been demons – and they had been around for thousands of years – they had mastered the ability to read the souls of other beings. They could learn everything about a person just by looking at their soul; that's why they were good at manipulating people. But modern-day demons didn't use this ability that much as nowadays they held close affinity with humans. There was no need to deceive them anymore.

But sometimes they would encounter an individual that would interest them. Then they would use their ability, just out of curiosity. And that night, few demons spotted a peculiar man.

A tall man dressed in green was wandering in the wet back streets of Olden Shadow Town with a quick pace. His steps echoed in the almost empty streets and alleys like an eerie countdown to someone's demise. He was a predator and tonight he would hunt and this part of the town were his hunting grounds, he remembered every corner, turn and dead end perfectly. No target would get away from him.

He passed by some demons, not paying any attention to them. But they, in turn, sensed that he was an unusual individual and so they took a quick glance at his soul. They were surprised to know that they were unable to read it past the surface, the rest was like locked behind an iron door, impenetrable by their curious gazes. What was his story, what were his darkest secrets, they couldn't tell. This was a very rare thing indeed, and while the man already disappeared from sight and hadn't cared about their existence at all, the demons, in the other hand, were left with perplexity as they wondered who could that man be.

But there were some things they were sure about. This person probably looked like a man, but from the inside, he was a beast. A beast that enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and loved to see his prey writhe in agony and fear. He was sadistic, a monster, and that night, some of those who saw his fleeting figure could see his bestial nature as his shadow had taken the form of a beast. This was a brief characteristic, however, and anyone who tried to take a better look would see a human-shaped shadow instead.

He had always been a beast and would always remain as such, carrying a dark heart of a monster. But he loved this trait about himself, this was exactly who he wanted to be. And that night, someone was going to witness what a savage beast he could be, feeling in their skin and flesh all the dark magic he was able to do.

Tonight, he would make the streets bleed.



[b]IF ONLY YOU KNEW[/b]

Lenyaen could hear the death cries of her comrades and how the steel clashed against steel. Enemy troops were advancing and their shouts echoed through the chilly night air. The situation was bad, really bad. The enemy was much more vicious than Lenyaen and her comrades had anticipated. Too much blood of the good men and women was staining the ground, too many lives were lost. Lenyaen was efficient individual, she had the rare gift of magical powers. She had been great addition to the army and she could both heal her companions and devastate her opponents. But her power wasn't limitless and in the long run, she had gotten weak, too weak to cast more spells. She had become pretty much useless at this point as she didn't have any fighting skills. Desperation had filled her heart as she couldn't do anything to help her comrades.

But she still lingered around the battlefield, under the cover of darkness that now dominated the landscape. From the shadows of the mighty trees, Lenyaen continued to observe the fight. It was the only thing she could do and she hoped that her presence would somewhat bring strength to her comrades. But it looked bad. And she felt weaker and weaker by the minute, she had completely drained her magical energy, so much that it got depleting even though she wasn't using her powers anymore, it was straining her body. She felt so exhausted that she thought about coming out of her hideout and let an enemy soldier just end it all.

Then she shook her head, getting rid of such ridiculous thoughts. She did want to live to see another day, she would live for the sake of those who had fallen. She knew that she had to get away from this place, somewhere safe where she could restore her magical powers. With a heavy heart, she reluctantly turned around and started to wobble away from the bloody fight.

Lenyaen hadn't managed to get far when she heard the clatter of hooves and it sounded like that it was getting near her. Her heart was beating faster as she waited who was getting closer: an enemy or a friend? Eventually she spotted a horse galloping towards her. She felt tense as she tried to see who was riding it. But to her surprise, there was no rider, it was just this majestic animal. The horse came to her, stopped its going and looked at her. It was black and gorgeous and Lenyaen could see intelligence in its eyes. The horse swung its head and moved sideways. It wanted her to climb on its back. And that was exactly what she did. As soon as Lenyaen was on its back, the horse began to gallop to the direction where it had come from, hurrying to get her to safety.

The sounds of the bloody battle faded away. The horse galloped through the dark forest with a great speed and Lenyaen trusted this animal and let it take her to wherever it wanted, she just focused on holding onto its mane. The wind was whistling around her and at some point, she noticed that they were out of the woods. And still the horse kept going on, not slowing down.

The horse had galloped throughout the whole night and when it was time of the sunrise, it finally stopped. Lenyaen dropped from its back and took a few steps to reach the animal's head. She gently caressed the horse's chub, even placed a kiss on it.

“I can't thank you enough”, she said softly. “You saved me… Midnight. Let your name be Midnight, just like the time when you came for me. Goodbye.”

The woman began to walk away from the horse. Meanwhile, the animal stared at her receding figure with sadness in its eyes.

If only she knew who he was. If only he could tell that he was the boy she had grown up with and who had loved her more than anything.

This was the last time he could see her. So he stared at her until he couldn't see her anymore. And even then he kept looking at the spot where she had disappeared. For a while he stood there, but in the end, he turned around, starting his lonely life.



[b]HAUNTED MANOR[/b]

Somewhere near the outskirts of Morkynia, there was an abandoned manor. It had been splendid long time ago, but had fallen into disrepair ever since its last owners had mysteriously died. No one knew what happened exactly, but the townsfolk suspected that it had something to do with creatures from hell. The last owners had been brutally murdered; their stomachs had been gutted out, their limbs were severed, eyes had been removed from their sockets, their hearts were missing and jaws had been dislocated. It had been such a horrible sight to witness and those who had seen this bloody scene left immediately. There was no way that another human being could do something like this, so rumors about hellish beings and failed dark ceremonies started to spread. Not many had dared to go and investigate the manor after that and those who did, they couldn't stay there for too long. The place was haunted and its empty hallways were filled with screams and moans of those who had died in a violent way. The atmosphere felt oppressive and that's why less and less brave ones dared to step inside the manor, until it became forgotten almost completely.

However, recently some travelers who had got lost to the manor's courtyard had reported that the building was in an excellent condition now and had wondered what this building's story was. No one had dared to enter as they could sense that this place was sinister and should be avoided. But these reports had reminded the dwellers of Morkynia about the existence of the manor and some had wanted to see it with their own eyes how this old and dilapidated building had somehow managed to rejuvenate. They had visited the courtyard, but they hadn't had the courage to enter as it felt too eerie to get closer. It had seemed even more sinister than before, if possible. One huge question had raised: what had caused the manor to get revived? This was an odd thing indeed and no one of the townsfolk knew the answer to it.

The truth was, it had become a home of a monster.

That night a mild storm was above Morkynia. The people had shut themselves in because of it and also because of the fear of a monster that was preying on anyone who was foolish enough to wander in the nightly streets. No one could see a huge bat-like creature that was flying above the settlement, strong enough to fight against the powerful, howling winds. The creature was heading away from Morkynia, navigating towards the manor. Every now and then a lightning would strike and fill the night sky with a blinding light that lasted for as long as a blink of an eye. But this didn't hinder the creature's journey at all and it kept flapping its great wings with ease.

Eventually it reached the manor, a house that was almost as black as the night. It descended gracefully and once it touched the ground of the courtyard, its form started to change. A black mist engulfed its figure and when the blackness was blown away by the wind, an elegant-looking man was now standing at the place where the bat had been. The man started to make his way to the manor, to his home. Soon his figure disappeared from sight as he entered the building that was feared by mortals.

The interior was dark, as expected. The man walked among the shadows that had taken the manor as their residence as well. Occasionally the lightning strikes would infiltrate through the windows and flash the building with white light. It didn't matter to the man, though, as he could see well in the darkness. As he walked through his home, he could hear the screams and cries of the past and sometimes a ghostly figure would appear in front of him. He didn't mind this, in fact, he was a little amused by his spectral companions. He kept walking on, climbed a set of stairs and soon he reached the room where he had been heading to.

It had been furnished in an elegant way, fitting for a nobleman like him. Few chairs here and there, a sofa, paintings decorating the walls, a vase with white roses in it placed on a table and a grand piano in the middle of everything. He made his way to the musical instrument, sat down and began to play.

He played a beautiful melody; anyone could admire it if only there were listeners – other listeners than ghosts. His music filled the manor and in a strange way, it blended together with the cries of ghosts, making their agony sound beautiful. And he continued playing, throughout the stormy night, until the moment when the sun would rise.



[b]SERENADE OF RENEGADE[/b]

It was nighttime, the perfect time for shady business. Inside a dimly lit tavern, this one peculiar man was sitting in the darkest corner of the hall, keeping an eye on the other customers. He had a scarred face and was dressed in a black hood, hiding these rather distinguishable facial features of his. It was late, but people were still coming in and going out in a steady flow and the hooded man was secretly examining each individual, trying to find a perfect target. He was a patient man, drinking beer in his dark corner, as he knew that eventually somebody suitable would come in from the door. He watched from the shadows just how big pouches of money people were carrying and he had noticed a couple that seemed worth to steal. But he was in no rush and kept waiting, just to see if even richer person would come.

After an hour or so, somebody who picked his interest stepped inside the tavern through the creaky door. This person definitely looked like someone from upper class, his fancy clothes gave it away. But his appearance also puzzled him, because he had never seen somebody like this. They had a feminine face, but he was pretty sure that the person was male. He had silvery wings of a moth on his back and on his head, he had antennas. Such a strange person, the man thought. But he also noticed what a hefty pouch of money he had as he bought some bread and apples from the keeper of the tavern, then sliding both his money and food to the bag he was carrying. Then he left the tavern and the man decided that tonight, this would be his target. He quickly left his corner and went to the door.

The chilly night air hit him in the face as he stepped outside. He glanced around to see where the strange person had gone to, and noticed him walking along the main street, heading out of the village. The man went after him, moving in the shadows to avoid curious eyes. Eventually the paved street became a path that slithered through dense woods, and this made the man feel really confident. The branches of the trees were so densely grown that this person couldn't possibly fly away. Also, he looked really frail, so the man wouldn't probably have much difficulty robbing him. He let the winged individual to walk deeper and deeper into the woods, waiting for a perfect time to strike.

When the man was sure that they would be far enough away so nobody could intervene, he decided to make his move. He stepped away from the shadows and commanded: “Hold it!”

The person he had been following up to this point did stop on his tracks. Slowly he turned to face the man. There wasn't even a single drop of terror in his eyes, which irritated the man a little bit; usually people were afraid of him as he stealthily would strike them. However he just let it slide and took his short sword out from its sheath and pointed its sharp blade at his target.

“Hand me all your money and I'll let you go!” the man exclaimed, speaking gruntingly. “Or else, there will be consequences!”

Much to his surprise, the strange person just smiled at him. This confused the man a little, however, he didn't let it show and kept pointing his weapon at the other man.

“It would not be wise to attack me or steal from me”, the winged person said with a calm voice.

“Oh? And why is that?” the robber asked, getting annoyed.

He didn't get a verbal answer, the other person kept smiling at him. That was when the man noted that something was off; his reality began to shift. An odd purple haze had appeared out of nowhere and it was rippling in the air, distorting the man's view. Then he started to hear eerie moans; first they were barely audible, but then they got louder and louder, filling the night air. Soon he could see what was causing those voices as faded pale faces became suddenly visible, spiraling around the winged man, who spread his wings and as he did so, the robber could see sinister eyes appearing in his wings, and their unsettling gazes were directed right at him.

The man could feel fear sneaking into his heart as he faced the frightful sight in front of him. He had been very wrong about this person; he wasn't an easy target at all. His appearance had been deceiving, the robber hadn't expected at all that he had an affinity with darkness. Quickly the man put his sword back to the sheath and turned around, dashing away from the scene back to the village's direction.

After he had left, the purple haze, the moans, the eyes and the faces faded away. The winged person just continued on his way as if nothing had happened at all. He disappeared into the world of shadows in the woods, feeling contented that he had been able to show off his powers.



[b]MYSTERIOUS SAVIOR[/b]

It was a beautiful day in Wellspring Village, sunny and warm and a mild wind was blowing through the lushest part of the Untamed lands. Such a nice weather caused everyone in the village to be in a good mood and they enjoyed the day as much as they could. That was exactly what the little Untamed girl, Mifrid, was doing. She was cheery as always, running around and greeting all the people she came across, who then replied with a smile. Occasionally she would lend a hand, helping to carry things, picking up herbs and looking after the youngest ones. But she loved to spend time most with the animals that the adult venomancers taken as their companions to aid in various tasks. And just like other little Untamed girls, she looked forward to acquiring this skill as well. But for now, she had to settle with admiring the animals that had been tamed by the adults. That didn't stop her from dreaming, though.

Eventually Mifrid ran out of chores to do. She was sitting on a wall that had crumbled a little bit, her legs dangling and she was humming a tune she had learned from her mother. She was observing the busy life of the other villagers, then shifting her gaze at the sky to watch how the clouds glided by. For a while she was occupied by watching the world around her, but then she saw something that stole her whole attention. It was a fairly big butterfly, colorful and gorgeous, it was almost like its wings were sparkling. Mifrid jumped off the wall and began to playfully chase the butterfly, as she wanted to take a better glance at its beauty. Since her focus was completely in the insect, she didn't realize that she had left the borders of the village and kept following the butterfly.

Mifrid chased it out to the fields, hopping here and there, and in her mind of a child she had no worries at all. She wasn't aware that she was getting closer to a danger, she had no idea at all that the butterfly could be possibly luring her into peril. It was like she was in a trance of some sort and she only snapped out of it when she heard growling. That was when she stopped her going and ended her butterfly chase.

She was now facing a vicious beast. It was like a huge black wolf, but its face resembled more of an ugly dragon of some sort. It had short swords and stakes sticking out of various parts of its body, indicating that there had been many attempts to slay this creature. Mifrid was completely frozen, she could only stare at monster's eyes as it slowly was getting closer to her. But she somehow managed to overcome her fear and started to run towards the village, and now she was the one being chased as the creature went after her.

Mifrid ran as fast as she could.

Then she tripped, and her small body got slammed to the ground, a loud yelp escaping from her mouth. She glanced behind her and saw that the monster was really close now. She tried to get up, only to realize that she had hurt her leg. Now she was waiting for the inevitable to happen, the moment when the gruesome beast would sink its fangs in her flesh. She closed her eyes and surrendered to her fate.

Seconds felt like an eternity. Nothing happened. Then she heard an angry growl and she opened up her eyes and looked behind her. Something else had taken the creature's attention. It was a large, pure white fox with five tails. It was ferociously attacking the black beast and Mifrid could only stare at their fight in awe. Soon it became clear that the white fox was too strong opponent for the monster and it had to admit its defeat, and so it left the scene, bleeding from its fresh wounds.

The white fox turned to face the girl. Its gentle brown eyes assured her that everything would be okay now. But before Mifrid could say anything, it decided to leave as well, bouncing gracefully away from the village. The Untamed girl watched its going until it disappeared from sight.

“Mifrid! Mifrid!”

It was her mother. Mifrid looked at the voice's direction and saw that her mother was running towards her. She had probably heard her yelp.

Soon she was by her side and crouched, asking with a worried tone: “Are you okay?”

“I hurt my leg”, Mifrid answered as her mother helped her to get up.

“What happened?” the mother asked while they were making their way to the village.

And so Mifrid told her everything: about the beautiful butterfly, about the monster and the white fox that had saved her. Who was this mysterious savior, neither of them knew. It remained as a mystery and even after years passed and Mifrid grew into an adult, the memory of this incident was often in her mind and she still wondered about that white fox.