Chapter 1
The Prey
The pounding of Anglor’s heart was intense. The rapid motion had been persisting in his chest for far too long, his heart growing weary of supporting its own contractions, and the movements of the Wood Elf’s own legs. Each pulsation of his weakening heart felt like an agonizing blow to his midsection, and his lungs felt as though they were sundering with every harsh breath. Anglor had been running too hard for too long, he had to stop; his body just wouldn’t support him anymore. I can’t stop! It will get me! I can’t let it get me!
And so the Bosmer ran. He ran through the thick pine forest, under Skyrim’s dark night sky, the horrific image of his slain comrades fresh in his mind. He ran until his heart threatened to burst forth from his ribcage, and he sagged onto the ground, vomiting his dinner onto the snow. He collapsed into a crumpled heap, his gasps for air sounding like a dying animal. Anglor didn’t know how long he lay there, listening to sound of his own ragged breathing, trying to regain his composure. His body was glazed with pain, and a light sheen of sweat covered his skin.
It had all started as a normal night for him. Anglor and his fellow bandits, five of them in all, had taken up their normal positions on the road to Whiterun. It was a good spot, where the thick foliage gave good cover, and the small walls on either side of the cobbled path created a choke point. They usually waited until someone came along, such as a bumbling farmer or a group of travelers. The bandits would jump out, rob the victims blind, and walk out of the situation with heavy purses and bottles of booze in hand. If the victims resisted the hold up, they were killed. Simple as that.
This was one of those hold ups where the victims resisted. The small caravan of refugees pleaded that they be let through, and that they were out of money. They told tragic tales of how they had been misplaced by the war and had nowhere to live. Ree-Jah, the Argonian ringleader of the bandits, gave the order to Anglor and the rest of the bandits to kill them. And they did. They cut down the group of refugees, spilling their blood across the cobbles of the road, taking all of their gear.
It was all just business to Anglor, it was how he survived. The group sat down around their campfire that night like always, drinking mead and telling stories, laughing like old friends. They feasted on the vitals they had procured from the wreckage of the caravan, and gambled away what money they had, just like they always did. But something this night was different than the other nights. On this night, there was something out there, just outside the comforting glow of the firelight. It was watching them. Waiting. Waiting for the chance to strike. And it did indeed strike.
At what seemed to be the climix of the bandit’s merry making, the beast attacked. Anglor didn’t even realize what was happening until two of his friends were reduced to tattered pulp. The creature, if that’s what it truly was, moved too fast for Anglor’s eyes to properly perceive the slaughter. Blurs of motion followed by screams and a spray of blood was the only thing the Bosmer could comprehend. In short, the beast tore through the highwaymen as if they were made of flimsy parchment. The Wood Elf didn’t even know that he was running until the distant, dying howls of Ree-Jah reached his ears.
Fight or flight. It defines who is the warrior, and who is the coward. It defines who is the fool, and who is the survivor. Anglor’s friends chose to fight, and they died. Anglor chose to flee, and he lived, at least for the time being. He ran until he could run no more, until he found himself in his current predicament.
Finally, after what felt like ages, Anglor rose from his fetal position in the snow. The vomitus he had protruded, either due to his over exertion or the horrific scene he had just witnessed, was melting the snow that had lightly blanketed the forest floor, sending wisps of stream into the night sky. All around him, the wood was still, silent, and calm. The perfect place to be devoured by some monstrosity.
His mind was filled with the image of his slain comrades, even though their mangled corpses and gruesome deaths were seen within a window of only a few seconds. Watching someone die was a life changing experience. It tears at your soul and forces open new pathways for emotion to flow through your mind. Killing someone does something similar, giving your brain new ways to think, often driving men mad with guilt. But watching your friends, your brothers, die right before your very eyes?
Anglor pushed the thoughts out of his mind, trying his best to control his breathing. You can do this. The Bosmer preformed a quick check of his person, finding that he had left his longbow back in the camp, along with his quiver of arrows, but he still had his leather armor and steel dagger on him. Better than nothing, but considering how the beast had eviscerated his comrades, they seemed redundant. He knew that if he encountered that monster, he was good as dead.
The moon was waxing high in the sky, indicating that it was only a few hours until midnight. Anglor quickly concluded that he needed to get as far away from that creature as possible, wherever it may be. If headed into Eastmarch, and found a cozy little cave to spend the rest of the night in, it might not be able to find him. The brilliance of his newfound plan gave him a grim yet fragile determination, and he was on his way.
That determination died when he turned around, and saw the beast standing before him. It didn’t have a flashy introduction, or an epic appearance like in the Imperial Dramas and plays. It was just there, watching him, and that’s what was truly terrifying. It was massive, standing at least six to seven feet tall, with hungry, yellow eyes. Its limbs were made of muscle that was coiled like rope, and covered in fur that was almost as black as the night itself. The creature’s face was utterly lupine, bristling with fur and sporting a jaw filled with rows of razor sharp fangs. It was a Werewolf.
Anglor didn’t squeal and jump in fright; he just stood there, staring back at the man-wolf. Its eyes were hungry, even angry. In a way, the Bosmer knew what that glare meant. It meant that he had lost, that he was about to die. It was an odd feeling, knowing you are about to die. All of your grudges, petty rivalries, and emotions went right out the window. Nothing mattered anymore, except for preparing yourself for death’s embrace.
All of a sudden, the beast blurred into motion. Anglor’s eyes observed it in deep interest as it lunged towards him. It was a beautiful, and horrifying, sight. This was no animal, it was a machine . A perfect machine, built to hunt, built to kill. Nothing could stop it. The last thing the Bosmer thought of before being sent to Sovngard was how lucky he was to have his life ended by such a perfect specimen.
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