The Hunt (Open)

[Sarai Flysse]

An elfess ran through the undergrowth that night. Her feet were silent, and the creatures of the forest watched her. Branches bowed, leaves hid and stars gazed. Her prey was now in sight.

'Kahramesz.' A flash of light, and a blade dark as night pierced her shoulder. Blood soaks her chest, drenching her clothes as she sinks to one knee. She looks up, seeing her assailant. 'No, my prey.'

A scent on the wind. A broken twig, a flattened piece of earth, a game trail. Some great stag came thundering through this clearing, and now the elfess glides after it, her body twisting and sliding past bush or brush, leaving no trace or sound. An owl hoots in the night, swooping down to seize upon some woodland rodent, mimicking her as she hunts.

'He was strong.' She'd felt strength like that once before, back with them. As the thought enters her mind, fingers trace the number branded into her neck, and she thinks of her brothers, and their blood. 'It was the same power that day. This time I will avenge them. In my dreams, this Kahramesz will be him. I care for nothing. Nothing, but the hunt.'

She found the stag trapped against a cluster of forest, thicker than she could remember. His chest heaved, drool flecking his mouth, eyes wild, exhausted. Somehow, he knew he was being hunted. She put an arrow between those eyes.

By some miracle, the great stag still lived. He thrashed out his life on the forest floor, legs splayed and blood seeping, animal screams echoing around the clearing. The elfess approached almost curiously, and took hold of its head. She drew a knife, and gave the beast a red smile. Dipping a finger into his blood, she tasted it, before sacrificing the beast to Malachin, without believing. This was her hunt, and nothing would stop her. Not now. She smiled. 'I am number nineteen, and you won't escape me a second time.'

She left the smoking corpse to Malachin, and got back to her hunt.

[Mephistopheles]

A small raven sends a message to the woman.

"We should speak miss Sarai."
~Bob