The inky blackness of the night cloaked the fleur deer's hide in a shroud of mystery, as they stood before Arteus with a regal air that belied the horrors lurking beneath their enigmatic forms. A tumult of thoughts ravaged the corridors of his troubled mind, as he gazed upon them with a trepidation born of experience. Would these creatures of the shadow realms also succumb to the metamorphosis that had claimed so many of their ilk? The very question seemed to echo through the abyss of his soul, as he recalled the battles of yore with a shiver that was not of cold but of dread.
Just as he pondered upon the nature of these beasts, his keen eyes espied a gathering of humans. They approached with the furtive grace of poachers stalking their prey, yet their destination remained a puzzle to his inquisitive mind. The great city of Sovereign lay afar, a bastion of civilization surrounded by a menagerie of less perilous creatures ripe for the taking. Why, pray tell, would they venture so deep into the abyss?
"They must hail from Sovereign," Arteus murmured to the silent witness of his solitude, his curiosity piqued by their unorthodox methods.
The cunning of city-dwellers often bore fruits of innovation, and he longed to discern the arcane art they had conceived to ensnare these creatures of the dark. Yet, he remained concealed, as stealthy as the shadows that danced upon the edge of his vision, eager to observe the unfolding drama.
The air grew taut with tension as the deer grew aware of the poachers' presence. The alpha male's ears, as sharp as the blades that would soon pierce its flesh, twitched in the breeze, discerning the approach of their adversaries. The creature's eyes gleamed with an unearthly light, and Arteus knew that the moment of truth was nigh.
From the sanctuary of his secluded perch, he watched with bated breath as the poachers made their move. Yet, his senses, honed by the trials he had endured in the embrace of the night, warned him of an impending doom. A sixth sense, a silent sentinel of his soul, urged him to flee, and he knew not why.
The fleur deer's reaction was not one of conventional nature. The alpha male's head whipped around with an unnatural agility, a ghastly scream tearing from its throat that seemed to defy the very laws of the cosmos. The poachers were struck as if by a bolt of lightning, rendered immobile by the auditory assault.
Arteus, though stunned by the unearthly sound, was not so easily overwhelmed. He reached for the axe that had been his trusted companion for the net making, yet he hesitated. There was something amiss with these beasts, a quality that set them apart from the fauna he had encountered in his travels.
As the cacophony grew louder, a young lad from the group of poachers caught his eye. The boy remained untouched by the siren's call, his eyes wide with terror and confusion. Arteus knew he had to act, to save the innocent from the horror that unfolded before them. He called out, his voice a beacon in the chaos, yet the din was too great for his words to be heard.
The poacher's struggle was in vain, for the deer's tongue, elongated and sinuous as the serpent that whispered to Eve, lashed out. It pierced the man's ear and emerged from the other side, a gruesome spectacle that defied description.
Arteus watched in horror as the deer struck down the men with a coordination that spoke of a hive mind, a nightmarish ballet of death. Yet amidst this macabre display, the boy remained untouched, his youth perhaps protecting him from the malevolence that had befallen the others.
The boy, driven by a valor that belied his tender years, attempted to free one of the entranced men from the deer's embrace. Arteus knew that he must intervene, lest the child become the next victim of the creature's unholy wrath. He readied himself to charge forth, yet the very air was thick with the screams of the fleur deer, a cacophony that threatened to shatter his sanity.
In a heartbeat, he found himself upon the cold, hard ground, his axe slipping from his grasp. The sound was anathema to his very being, yet he knew he could not abandon the child to the mercy of these monsters.
Gathering his wits, he called out once more, his voice a clarion in the wilderness of madness. Yet, the boy was too entwined in his valorous quest to heed the warning.
The scene grew ever more grotesque as the deer grew human appendages, its body a twisted mockery of the natural world. With a strength that defied belief, human arms grown from its neck yanked the antlers from its own skull, releasing the poacher from his torpor with a shriek that pierced the very fabric of the night.
The deer fled, their unearthly wailing echoing through the forest, leaving only the boy and the grim spectacle of the fallen alpha. The lad's cries of despair reached Arteus's ears, and he knew that he could tarry no longer.
With the swiftness of a panther, he leaped forth, his axe slicing through the air like a bolt of divine justice. It found its mark, cleaving one of the fleeing deer's heads from its body, a grim testament to his resolve.
Yet, as he reached the boy's side, his heart was wrung by a new horror. The deer's massive bulk had crushed the child's lower half, leaving him a twisted parody of humanity.
"Hold fast," Arteus murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "I shall summon aid."
But before he could complete his assurance, another voice, as sweet and beguiling as the siren's call itself, whispered from the shadows.
"There is no need."
The deer's carcass shifted with an unnatural grace, its limbs morphing into human semblance and freeing itself of the boy. From the gloom emerged a figure, barefooted and clad in the meager garb of a creature more at home in the primeval world than in the modern era. Her eyes, emerald orbs of enigma, held him spellbound, while her fiery locks seemed to dance with the flames of hellfire.
"Mage," Arteus hissed, his hand trembling as he clutched his dagger.
-To Be Continued-