Mystic Chura, at the dead of night, hurried to her home in the village not far from The Food Tavern. She sprinted as fast as her groaning knees would allow her, which was not fast at all.
Whoever that man was, she did not want to stick around to find out. She could smell evil off of him, not to mention his attire that was the dark hat and cloak. No one in Wontaria ever dressed like that.
Everything about the man looked and felt. . . manufactured. It was as if his appearance and movements were unnatural, rehearsed.
Twak-twak-twak, the sound of her sandals against the cobblestone road.
At her age of sixty-eight, she panted more quickly now, her heart a speeding gallop in her chest. Out of necessity, she paused for a moment, leaning her body on a tree and trying to catch her breath. About forty meters ahead was the village. The moon glowed directly above the village, making the houses and buildings awash in black, silhouettes against the infinite darkness of the night.
Her lips shaped like an "O", she exhaled slowly. She would have to tell the Sisters about this strange man. They were the Mystic Coven, usually the first bearers of news and knowledge that concerned the whole of Wontaria. Their role was critical; it helped prevent disasters from happening.
Mystic Chura clicked her tongue, remembering about the dream she'd had a few nights ago. She could recall only fragments of that dream: a tall and dark figure stabbing a man with his sharp claws, then attacking a woman.
She closed her eyes to try to remember more, but none more came to the front of her mind. The next morning after she'd dreamed such an act of violence, she'd dismissed it as just a nightmare. After all, their powers was not an exact science, and its accuracy was never one hundred percent.
Now, she could not help but feel that her dream and the mysterious man at the tavern were connected.
Then, a sound somewhere on her left, like a twig breaking.
Mystic Chura turned to that direction and saw only the shapes of tall trees against the inky blackness of the dark. Her village was secluded from the town center, engulfed by thick forest.
She walked, her knees aching. She pleaded for them to function well, just for now. For five steps Mystic Chura picked up the pace, then her legs gave and she fell to the ground. She dropped with a groan escaping her gritted teeth. Her forearms shivered trying to support her weight.
Another sound from the forest, a thud like a meaty animal falling from a tree, then a growl.
Chura closed her eyes, trying to contact the Sisters with her mind. This was an ability that weakened with age, but she tried it nonetheless, hoping, praying to the Unnamed One that someone would hear her.
Around her, a breeze picked up, whistling through the trees. Chura felt someone--something--watching her. She tried to ignore the sensation.
Finally, now completely terrified, Chura screamed. "Help! Help!" She tried to stand up, but her knees buckled, unable to carry the weight of her frail body.
Falling back to the ground, tears now sliding down her cheeks, Chura looked up, saw stars, and put her hands together. "Help me, please. Lend me your power. Help! Hel--"
She was not able to finish that last word as something pulled her into the forest. Her words immediately turned into screams. The figure's claws dug into the meat of her left leg. She felt the tips of the claws brushing against her bone.
Chura screamed, then screamed some more, but only uncaring animals in the forest heard her, only turning their heads to the direction of the scream before losing interest and returning to their own matters.
Chura's back scraped through the soil, jagged stones, and sharp sticks, all of this breaking through the thin fabric of her linen tunic and scratching through the skin of her back.
The creature dragging her growled.
"Please!" Chura exclaimed. "Let me go! Sisters! Sisters! Hear me!"
She was pulled for a few more feet before she abruptly stopped, the creature releasing her leg. Above them, the moon glowed, moonlight allowing her to see her ruined leg, twisted unnaturally and bone piercing through the skin. Blood freely poured out of the four holes on her leg the creature had punctured through.
Leg howling in pain, knees doing the same, and back begging for comfort, Chura looked to the left, then to the right. Only trees stood around her.
Then, a black figure jumped on top of her and pinned her down, sitting on her stomach. It covered the moon, so Chura could only see its white eyes, round and large.
For a few seconds they only stared at each other.
"Please. . ." Chura whispered with trembling lips. She slowly shook her head, vision blurring as more tears came. "You don't have to do this."
The creature gently ran one dagger-like claw from her forehead down to her jaw. Chura was repulsed, moving her head away from the long finger, but even her neck was bombarded with pain.
"Can you keep a secret?" the creature asked.
"Y-yes!" Chura immediately yelled. "I'll keep my mouth shut! Please, just let me go!"
"That wouldn't be wise on my part."
"I promise! I swear, I won't tell anyone about this."
The creature's head swung to the right, then to the left. "I think you will."
"No! Trust me! Please!" Chura closed her eyes, telling herself to wake up, that this was just another dream, maybe a hallucination. She'd drunk too much wine and now she was seeing things.
When she opened her eyes, the creature was still looking at her. It blinked once, then bit her neck. Chura screamed as part her neck was torn out with the creature's teeth, skin stretching like hot mozzarella cheese.
The creature chewed and swallowed. By now, a gush of warm blood was pouring out of the side of Chura's neck like a geyser.
Next, the creature that was the Dark Lord Ghirmak bit off her nose, then pulled her tongue out with his teeth.
Chura stared at the stars as this creature feasted on her body. They blinked at her. Her mouth tasted metallic, her teeth stained red with her blood.
Mystic Chura, beloved member of the Mystic Coven, cold and lonely in the deep dark of the forest, took her final breath. The stars watched her do so, hanging silently and uselessly in the blanket of the sky.
The Mystic Coven would worry about her, report her disappearance, but she would never be found again.
Tonight, Mystic Chura would disappear.
She was just the first.