CHAPTER EIGHT:
I walked into the darkness, I looked around but all I could see was infinite darkness, I ran towards the first ray of light that broke the darkness, I ran towards it until suddenly I was in a forest, running, fast, as fast as my legs could carry me, but what was chasing me? There was no one behind me, but what was I really running from. I heard the sound of drums, laughter, singing and dancing, in the distance, I could see a light, a fire, I don't know what prompted me but I ran towards it, without thinking or knowing what I might find. I ran until I reached the edge of the clearing and to my surprise I found a village, I couldn't believe it, the people, they looked like what you might find straight out of a movie. They wore animal hide as clothes, had long black hair, from where I stood I could see animal the animal hide tents carefully constructed and neatly organized and constructed with seven large bonfires set in the shape of a circle, each one occupying a space around the settlement with a massive fire at the center.
The total number of people in the settlement numbered somewhere around nine hundred and they danced around the fire and howled at the moon, they chanted in an unknown, ancient dialect but I could hear them, I could understand their words, they constantly gave praises and cheers to the moon for saving them, something caught my eye, in the midst of it all, one of the three tents at the center of the clearing, according to what little I knew about native Indian history and culture, the one at the center obviously belonged to the chieftain, inside the one on the left, a fire burned from within but this wasn't like any of the other fires that were alit, this one, it seemed to call to me, I could hear the indistinct chatter and chanting of spell.
I walked into the tent, nit was full of incense smoke, I couldn't make out any of the herbs, then I saw the old woman, she sat there, with a full gown of animal hide, pendants and amulets hung from her neck and an ordinary looking staff was laid out in front of her and a fire burnt gently with bright glowing embers, I stooped down and gazed into the woman's eyes. I almost fell back into the fire, there was nothing there, the woman's eyes were blank, just creamy white, just like her hair, "I know you're shocked but please sit down and stop causing such a ruckus", said the old lady in a soft but stern voice, "wait, me? Are you talking to me?" I asked, "Yes child, or is there anyone else here?" "Who or what are you?" I asked backing away slowly, "child, do not take my blindness as an inability to see, I know you have a lot of questions but the most important question here is, who, are you". The woman muttered a few silent words under her breath any my body froze, my limbs refused to obey me, "what's going on" what did you do to me? Let me go! What the hell is this!" she remained silent as she picked up her crooked staff and stretched out her hand until the tip of the staff touched my forehead, I didn't know what to expect, but when it finally landed on my forehead, I didn't feel anything until a few seconds later when a wave of dizziness washed over me, "what is this?" I struggled to ask as I fell into a seemingly endless void.
I woke up, but this wasn't where I'd dozed off, the tent was gone, the village was gone, I was in an open field and the mysterious old lady was still there, just sitting there, as mysterious as ever, the sun shone brilliantly, she mumbled and chanted, the sun fell and a blood red moon rose to the center of the sky. "it all started a hundred years ago with Ako, son of the chieftain of the Akuma tribe, ever since he was a young boy, he'd shown great strength, skill and valor, as a youth he surpassed all his peers and earned the name "the panther of the nine forests", but he also displayed something else, greed, pride and lust for power which led him down a very dark path. A few years after he became chieftain of the Akuma tribe, he embarked on a bloody journey; he succeeded in conquering six out of the nine tribes, subduing and enslaving them, he planned on merging all the nine tribes under his leadership to declare himself a supreme authority and whoever stood in the way of his plans paid with their lives. In his quest for power and dominion he became a ruthless demon that vanquished all that stood against him but desperation and anger are two angers that must never reside in the same heart.
After his conquest of the Xiceda tribe, he slaughtered the entire family of the young chieftain before his very eyes, but the young chieftain managed to escape with his life, desperate and in pain, he performed an ancient, forbidden ritual. In his rage, he summoned a very powerful demon, one of the dark gods of legend, a demon whose very name struck fear, in the hearts of many. He struck a deal with this ancient demon; he gave his soul in exchange in exchange for power and strength to exact revenge on the one who slaughtered his family and tribesmen and so was born the first of the line of the cursed immortal, half human, half demon, a creature from the depths of hell, an immortal demon, a vampire. Without any effort he got his wish and got his revenge but he was no longer who he used to be, his soul was damned and he was now merged with a demon for all eternity with an insatiable thirst for blood. A thirst that led to the death of many, including those he once vowed to protect, every bite sired a follower.
A few years later after the humans were on the losing side of a hopeless battle, Malchazek one of the gods of light blessed a chosen few with the power to transform into strong, mighty and majestic beasts, wolves with strength, speed, powers and heightened senses that rivaled the blood thirsty demons, but at the end of the day, the strength of the wolves was no match for the young chieftain who was now the new lord of darkness, a demon that walked the face of the earth. He ravaged the earth until the clan, was about to fall to these hordes of hell when she came, the spirit of the moon, she blessed a child that lay in the womb of the chieftain's wife, after the child was born, she was trained and guided by the strongest warriors of the tribe and she grew to become a warrior unlike any other, eighteen winters later she took her true form for the first time, her strength, speed and abilities surpassed that of the other clans men, she became the first true alpha, the one who led the tribe to vanquish the hordes of hell, the one with the blessings of the moon, blessed with limitless strength, speed and power. Their battle shook the earth, during their battle, the girl lost her sight but she succeeded in sealing the demon and closed the gates of the underworld, all was at peace, until now, eighteen moons ago, the blood moon rose again, the seal is weakening, he may be free at any time, and this time he will be stronger than before, the death and destruction will be unimaginable, if he is free, no one will be safe".