The sky above Blackthorn Hollow burned
crimson as the sun dipped beneath
jagged peaks, casting long, twisted
shadows across the ruins of a forgotten
world. Smoke coiled from the smoldering
wreckage of a village-his village. BIood
dripped from the tips of young Havyn's
fingers, though he wasn't sure whether it
was his or another's. His bare chest rose
and fell with ragged breaths as he stood
amid the corpses of his kin, his emerald
eyes reflecting only carnage.
The once-thriving village, home to
farmers and hunters, was now little more
than a graveyard of broken bodies and
shattered dreams. Wooden huts lay in
ruins, their thatched roofs turned to ash,
embers still flickering in the wind. The
scent of burning flesh choked the air.
crows had already begun to circle, their
black wings gliding silently over the
battlefield, eager for the feast.
A hand gripped his wrist-small, cold,
trembling.
He turned, his gaze locking onto the
girl's. Midnight skin, like polished
obsidian, streaked with grime and dried
blood. Her silver eyes held no tears, only
a hollow acceptance of the nightmare
they now shared. Her dress-if it could
even be called that-was nothing more
than tattered scraps, a slave's garb,
exposing the deep bruises along her
arms and shoulders. The mark of
ownership was burned into her skin, a
sigil etched in cruel fire just above her
wrist.
"What's your name?" His voice was
hoarse, barely audible over the distant
howls of approaching hunters.
She hesitated, glancing at the sigil. As if
its presence had stolen her identity.
"Selene," she whispered.
A shriek tore through the valley. The
sound of someone dying. Someone they
might have known.
Selene flinched. Havyn did not.
He had nothing left here.
"They're coming" she murmured.
The howls in the distance grew louder,
no longer merely the sound of wolves,
but something far worse. The guttural
snarls of men who had shed their
humanity long ago. Blood-drunk raiders,
hunters of flesh and bone, the very
beasts who had torn apart this village in
search of slaves and sport.
Havyn tightened his grip on Selene's
wrist. "We run."
She hesitated for only a moment before
nodding.
They sprinted toward the tree line,
toward the ancient woods that had once
been forbidden to enter. His father used
to warn him about these lands, about the
spirits that roamed beneath its darkened
canopy. Now, that didn't matter.
Nothing mattered except survival.
The ground was uneven beneath their
feet, roots and rocks threaten ing to trip
them, but Havyn barely noticed. His body
was raw with exhaustion, his muscles
screaming for rest, yet he pushed
forward. Selene's smaller frame
struggled to keep up, her breath coming
in sharp gasps, but she didn't complain.
She didn't beg him to slow.
Behind them, the torches of the raiders
flickered through the ruins. Their voices
carried through the night-gruff, eager,
hungry.
"They ran that way!"
"Find them! The Lord pays double for the
young ones!"
Havyn's heart pounded as he yanked
Selene forward, deeper into the
underbrush.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
-Location-The Blackthorn Wilds
The forest was alive with whispers.
Ancient trees loomed overhead, their
twisted branches clawing at the sky,
blotting out the moonlight. Fog curled
around their ankles like grasping fingers.
The scent of damp earth and rotting
leaves clung to the air, thick and
suffocating. In the distance, owls
hooted, and unseen creatures rustled
through the undergrowth.
Selene stumbled. Havyn caught he
before she hit the ground, his fingers
digging into her arm.
"Keep moving" he ordered, voice sharper
than he intended.
She nodded, swallowing hard, and forced
herself forward.
The raiders had no fear of the forest.
They followed without hesitation, their
torchlight flickering in the distance.
"Do you know where you're going?"
Selene asked between ragged breaths.
"No."
She didn't argue.
A branch snapped behind them. Too
close.
Havyn whipped around, pressing Selene
against the base of a gnarled tree, one
hand over her mouth.
Torchlight flickered through the fog. The
Scent of sweat and steel reached his
nose. The raiders were near.
A deep voice rumbled through the trees.
"Come out, little ones. You can't run
forever."
Another man chuckled darkly. "You're
only making it worse for yourselves. The
Lord will still take you in chains. Or in
pieces."
Selene trembled against him, but she
made no sound.
Havyn's mind raced. He couldn't fight
them, not like this-not as a boy with
nothing but his bare hands. But the
forest.. the forest had power. His father
had told him so.
His fingers dug into the damp soil. He
could feel something beneath it,
something ancient, slumbering.
Wake up, he willed.
A whisper. A shiver in the wind.
Then, the roots moved.
The ground beneath the raiders shifted.
Vines, thick as a man's wrist, erupted
from the earth, twisting around their
legs. One of them cursed, slashing at the
tendrils with his blade, but more came,
tightening. pulling.
"What the hell-?!"
A sharp crack. A scream.
One of the men disappeared into the
undergrowth, his body yanked into the
darkness by something unsseen
The others panicked.
"Magic! He's a godsdamned witch-"
Before they could run, the earth
swallowed them.
Silence.
Selene's breath was shaky against
Havyn's palm. Slowly, he removed his
hand.
"You.." She swallowed. "You did that?"
Havyn stared at his hands. They were
shaking.
He hadn't meant to. It had just..
happened.
The power inside him was wild, untamed,
like a beast clawing to be let free.
"We need to go" he said, his voice
hollow.
Selene nodded, but her silver eyes
lingered on him, something unreadable
flickering behind them.
They stepped over the bodies, the vines
already retracting, leaving no trace
what had happened.
Havyn didn't look back.
They didn't stop until the torches were
long behind them, until the forest
became silent once more.
Selene was the first to break the quiet.
"Where will you go?"
He hesitated. "I dont' know."
She was quiet for a long moment. Then:
"Take me with you."
He turned to her. "Why?"
She lifted her wrist, showing the brand.
"Because if I go alone, they'll find me
again. They'll put me back in chains." Her
voice hardened. "l won't let that happen."
Havyn studied her. Small, frail, but
something burned beneath the surface-
something dangerous.
He understood that feeling well.
He nodded. "Then we stay together."
Selene exhaled, as if she had been
holding her breath.
A pact, unspoken yet binding.
They were both broken. But together,
perhaps they could be something else.