I had been walking for hours. Without the energy to run or knowledge to retrace my steps. A part of me was strangely optimistic, “At least if I go feral I won’t harm anyone.” I said to the trees. The trees didn’t answer.

The forest was strangely calming, the lack of life lulled my bloodthirst into a dormant state, but I could tell it was only moments from awakening again. As my bloodthirst dissipated, so too did most of my energy. I walked slowly, barely a crawl’s pace, as I wandered the deep woods alone. The trees seemed identical no matter where I looked, the darkness pressed in as no light escaped the thick canopy, I was so utterly lost I couldn’t begin to guess what direction to go or if I was even walking in a straight line. The image of my exhaustion-induced collapse in the ruins returned to me, the idea of falling asleep once again was terrifying.

Almost as if on cue with my fears, a marble stone peeked out of the dirt in the distance. The striking contrast of the stone against the black dirt almost seemed to jump out of the forest like a beacon. The white rock reminded me of one thing that seemed to infest this region: ruins.

As my memory of my fateful sleep bubbled to the surface of my mind again, more white-stone ruined pieces of rock appeared to stick out of the ground. I could have turned and walked the other way, but some part of me preferred the threat of sleep over the maddening sameness of the deep forest. So I continued forward.

Following the trail of jutting stone, the ruined boulders got bigger and bigger until they began to eventually form into short walls and even small huts. The architecture seemed basic, but the rock material it was made out of was strikingly clean and smooth. I began to wonder why when I stumbled upon a great stage.

Rising high, higher than I was tall and even then higher than any building or wall I had seen, was a white-stone stage with steps leading up to the top from all sides. The top of the stage was hidden from view, but I thought I saw a glint of something. With no other interests here, and no other direction to go, I ascended the steps.

The stage was tall, and as I rose up through the steps I got a better view of my surroundings. These ruins seemed to continue forward into a vast once-city that slowly climbed up and behind a distant hill. Besides the direction I had come, the ruined city stretched in every direction as far as I could perceive through the thick forest and dark night. The further the ruins went forward the taller the buildings became and less ruined were the remnants of whatever this place once was.

As I reached the top of the stage, a grand square platform that could easily fit fifty people standing comfortably, I noticed the source of the glint. A faint glow emanated from the middle of the stage, a green glinting light that almost seemed to beckon me forward. The source was a massive, jagged, dull-emerald gemstone that was easily the same size as I was. Yet beside the gemstone, leaning against it weakly, was what I thought would be another dead body found within these ancient ruins. Yet it still breathed.

Sitting against the green gemstone was a humanoid dressed in blue. Emblazoned on their chest was a faded gray sword striking a tall stone. The humanoid was also dressed in rusted, crumpling, metal armor. Mighty pauldrons with chain running down the arms to meet sleek gauntlets and plated greaves similarly attached to tight metal boots. The word ‘knight’ popped into my head from nowhere, and I felt some kind of pity for the rusted knight. Yet then my bloodlust began to awaken.

Before my rage and thirst fully awoke, the pitiful person turned to face me. Their face was blocked by a square full helm, slits allowing for sight and breathing but which were dark and shadowed by the night. The person seemed to see me despite what I thought should have been pitch black shadow around me. The person’s hand briefly rose, struggling just to lift, but quickly fell back to the ground. Then the person spoke, an ancient growl that barely crackled through the dust and rust of their body, “Has’t thee cometh to killeth me, ‘o reap’r?” Taken aback by their mostly understood words, I didn’t respond. A chuckle escaped the person’s body before they spoke again, “Didst thee bethink I wast dead? I has’t yet did finish this duty of mine.”

“Who are you?” I managed.

“Ah! The reap’r can speaketh, f’rtunate…”

“Why do you speak in such a strange way?”

“I speaketh strangely? Has’t thee hath heard how thee speaketh?” the knight retorted, chuckling again to themself.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The pitiful creature began a coughing fit. Keeling over to one side towards me. As they coughed wet streaks of red spittled out from their helm’s slits and onto the ground. My body instinctively inched forward at the sight, the smell, the weakness. The ease of taking this pitiful knight’s life would be incredible, and my instincts told me to strike. Yet my logic managed to prevail, this was the first person I could hold a stable conversation with, I needed to get answers from them. “How can I understand you?” I asked, “Everyone I have met doesn’t understand me and I them, except one person besides you. Yet even then it is a tenuous comprehension.”

“Halcyon yourself. Has’t thee nay idea of the grace and beshrew of the gods?” the knight questioned.

“Gods? I vaguely understand the word, I might even have seen a few creatures fitting the description, but what do you mean by their grace and beshrew?”

“The ‘most wondrous creat’rs’. To who is’t all but the most vile oweth their existence. Thee and I howev’r? We art most vile to those ‘gods’.”

“What do you mean? Though, with what little I have experienced I understand why one might think me vile…”

“Thy vileness does not cometh from thy expos’d bones.”

I took a step back instinctively. I felt for the hood, but it was around my head and my body shielded from normal sight. How did this person know what I was? Did the magic run out while I was walking? “Aye, I can seeth through thy petty charm. Thy vileness cometh from the nature of thy first birth, and then into thy et’rnal life aft’rwards.” The knight declared.

“Eternal life?” I looked down at myself, wondering if this was somehow related to my awakening.

“Nay. Thy bones art not from thy et’rnal life, yond is something entirely m’re foul.” The knight paused to take in a deep breath, “Our people art b’rn of this w’rld and nay god did create us. At which hour we p’rish we returneth to the earth to liveth et’rnally amongst our people and returneth to our eathly moth’r. Yet…”

“What?”

“Thee seemeth curs’d foul by something oth’r than gods… What ‘r who is’t I knoweth not. But I senseth yond thou art mine own people. Thou art ‘Helnuan’ one of the godless.”

“Helnuan… I was called that before.”

“Aye, t’s oft a beshrew ‘gainst those who is’t misprise each oth’r, anon yond our people art gone from this w’rld. ‘r at least most.” The knight seemed to sigh deeply and looked towards the green gem they sat against.

My mind spun with questions and complexities. Gone? My people are… gone? Yet I and this decaying knight still remain, and something has cursed me to be such a monstrous thing? Too many things confused me and the knight’s answers only brought more questions. As I readied myself to ask something else the knight barely managed to lift up a hand to stop me. “Reap’r. Thy timeth is longeth, yet mineth is sh’rt. Asketh thy final question and then doth thy w’rk. If’t be true thee waiteth any longeth’r mine own blood shall beest gone, and I longeth to return to mine own kin.”

I had to think, if this knight was to die soon I shouldn’t have bothered with such hesitation and pointless questions, “Knight. How can I become normal, to no longer crave blood and death? Do you know a way to separate me from this cursed body?”

“Ah, reap’r… To doth yond thee shall reap and killeth many. Thee might not but findeth what ancient rite binds thee. Thee wilt seeketh our earthly moth’r and begeth repentance f’r thy survival and sins, in this life and previous. I bid thee this: findeth the tallest mountain, venture into its depths and commune with the earth. Th’re thee shall findeth h’r…”

As the last breath of words left their body, the knight struggled to lift their hands to their helm. Removing the rusted metal mask from their head they revealed a gaunt and ancient face. One so withered and weathered it was impossible to make who they might’ve been. Beautiful, handsome? Strong or lithe? They were almost only bones and barely even skin. Yet a smile spread across their face, and they took a gauntleted finger to pierce and cut their face. Small trickles of thick blood passed from the wound.

My body had barely been holding back its rage and thirst until now, and with such an invitation nothing stopped me. The rage consumed any reason or morality and I fell upon the crumpled shape of my kinsmen. I controlled myself just enough to end their life swiftly before my body took full control and bathed once more in sin and blood.

As I ended the ancient knight’s life a streak of green wisp echoed out of their body and entered the dull-emerald gemstone lying next to them. As blood splattered and spilt on the stone stage, what wasn’t taken by me was absorbed into the ground and gemstone. The green gem became brilliant and bright, gaining its own life as it began to levitate into the air. As it shone the memory of the ruin’s past came to life, specters of shape and people echoed around me. The city came to life once more.

As my rage ended, and the corpse was drained, a spectral figure stood next to me with a content smile upon their face. They stood tall, powerful, and wise. Their armor was the picture of that I had just killed yet spectacular and shining. Their helmeted face looked at me, and i could sense their pity as they placed a hand on my shoulder, speaking words that made no sound. I looked around myself, more figures, knights, warriors, merchants, peasants, and kings stood and lived within the ancient ruins. They saw me, and their gaze made me feel shame. They seemed to be sad for me, to pity what I had to resort to, but they also held a warm love I hadn’t seen before.

The vision slowly faded, the ancient knight’s specter being the last to disappear back into the emerald stone. With the last vestiges of light and power the emerald stone seemed to reach a tendril of glowing light down towards me. Flowing into me, and then through me to the book I carried, I felt knowledge and power course in a torrent only to collect and wait within the arcane book.

The stone then fell quiet, and slowly replaced its spot back again onto the ground of the stage. My bloodthirst satiated and my mind energized, I had a distinct course appear in my head. I must first find out how I was cursed, then by who. When I can figure these out I must seek out the tallest mountain. Information trailed through my head, places, people even, and paths I could take to find clues and lead me forward. The first place I realized I must visit were what were known as ‘Elves’. The children of the forest gods in this realm, who hold healing and spirit in the highest regard. I must return to the village I ran from.