The Hunter's Mark

ath him felt ro

ght filter through in fading beams. He watched the motes of dust swirl, floating from light to shadow, then back again

red a bed in these times-was uncomfortable. Rough layers of dried hay and worn

e last of its rays swallowed so deep and obscure that he could barely see

ince eroded into the recesses of his mind, overshadowed by survival, blo

the few mental exercises he could do without much strain. It was one of the few things that reminded

e the

drawing near, their forms a heavy lumbering weight drifting from side to side. Their elongated claws digging into the soft earth, dragging along the tree barks t

ke iron, dripping with ropes of saliva hot enough to burn through a man's skin. He would know. Absentmindedly

ed to the dark space

then

nged to expel him. He reached for his sword, the length of it nearly three quarter of his towering

knowledge was how it fit into his hand like it had always belonged there, familiar as his ow

yearned for more. Its insatiable appetite drawing him from

d if he ruled it or p

as quiet as the wind that lulled through the

rees looming like sentiels somberly gazing upon the bloodbath that would happen. The mo

tang of blood threading the air, resting heavily on the back of his tongue. His nostrils flared wide, chest heaving as

its breath before him, a

out of the darkness. He counted three... no five... seven... ten. The beasts paced

e

, not out of fear, but a righteous anger. Ire so deep and hot it set his veins alight with

l gazing at t

ke wolves circling a deer, eyes gleaming with feral hunger and malice, each step c

h misted

n they

nd yellow as shattered stone. Their fur was matted with the filth of death

sword from its sheat

rmined look, he set his eyes on the leading beast that charged towards him head down. T

nothing other than death itself. He swung the sword down, meeting the beast in midair lunge with a sickening crunched as

eting flesh and bone, flesh and bone, flesh and bone... he twisted with the agility of a bird catching a beast that lunged for his expose

vision, the sword gracefully painting a poem of slaughter on the forest floor. His breaths came in short bursts. They surged forward

a

own and severed its head from body. Another darted from the shadows with extended claws. He turned a heartbeat too late. Curled claws slash

n b

the blades of grass, rising like a crested wave and with a snarl deep in his throat. Bone shards and brain matter exploded from the splitting

th that seemed inhuman in that moment. The muscles beneath his skin flexed and strained, coiling tight like red hot wires.

er image formed. A man. A king. His smile wide and suave as he proclaimed

l end

ge release of his fury. The blade chased after that face with ruthless efficiency. Body parts slumped onto the groun

f his fingertips. Mocking. You think you can have me? He taunted, mouth splittin

the conscious of a man but the shadow of one. No longer could he tell re

ng flesh, the shattering of bones like thunder, the pained yelps of dying

his enemies. The final beast fell in a crumpled mess edges from him, its side rising and falling with e

ling its body away from the reckoning. His boots crunched over bone and matter as he moved

the limp mass of struggling life with eyes void of life. Lips pressed thin,

ngle eye mirroring the reflection

ashes that split down his arms and torso. The pain was a dis

nal shuddering breath, turned away from the carnage weaving his way silently back to t

e flame of light hov