As I awoke, I turned to see the creature next to me teeth. I rolled, pointed, and the flames engulfed it. As it roared out, thrashing about in the snow, I leapt on it and brought down the ghostly sword. Using my weight, I held it down and dragged the weapon through its flesh. Only when it stopped did I even begin to take a proper look at the monster.

They were never the same creature. The horrid chimera-like things truly deserved their titles. The voice whispered, “And what of you?”

I twitched slightly and looked down at my own hands stained in the beast's blood. For a moment , the beast held the face of someone I thought I should know. The voice asked, “Who are you? Did you ever bother to remember those you left behind? Do you even know if what you remember is true?”

I began using the blade to try and carve at the horrid thing. Hunger was growing in me. The meat of these things were never the same. It was always foul, no matter how I tried to cook it with the flames. The voice asked, “Was it true that no one cared?”

A memory forced its way into my mind of that long ago night. Having been at the party that would lead to my ruin. Of the people who had got me to go. As I held the bloodied meat, I sat there staring at it.. The voice asked, “Do you even remember their names, Hound?”

My fist tightened around the bit of disgusting meat. The voice hissed, “People once loved you. People once cared for you. Did you ever stop? Did your funeral go unattended? Did those friends really abandon you? Or were you just a bad person they could believe did it?”

A shiver ran through me and brought up the magic flame. Its kiss upon my skin was now an all too familiar pain. I stood from the corpse and began walking again, holding the flesh to the fire. A disgusting smell rose from it. The voice spoke more, “You try to be so stoic but you still cry so often. You are weak. You desperately cling to the hope for your humanity.”

I passed by the many bodies wearing the faces I could remember. I bit into the sickening meat and ripped free a piece. I idly thought of the taste of those rations and those nights alone with Veline under the stars. I thought of the others eating together at a table back in the hideout. I didn’t paused as the false corpses I passed wore their faces. The look of agony on them like that of the many I had seen.

I gripped my jaw, swallowed the meat, and kept walking. The bodies looped over and over as I walked. The voice said, “You can't save anyone. You are an omen. Do you remember what a Barghest is? Do you? That word cut deep when that devil called you it, but why? Yes. A black hound of sorrow.”

I kept trudging forward. I didn't even know where this road was leading. I didn't even know if it was a road anymore. It was just a dip in the ground that went forward covered in snow. I was tired, yet I didn't know what to do other than keep moving forward. The forest seemed endless. The bodies at the side of the road had disappeared. The voice said, “And you will always-”

“Shut up,” I said softly, biting into the meat again. I pondered the flame instead as the voice cackled. I noticed something strange about it. I was surviving longer and longer. Last time the magic didn't kill me till the next morning. The flames and blade seemed to come so much easier.

“The path between life and death is open. You aren't a human anymore. You broke your promise to that weak, pathetic woman. She will not recognize you. You saw how Veline hesitated, Barghest,” The voice growled, “You might even just kill her this time.”

When I looked up, I stopped as the sight startled me. I found myself standing in a strange place. A clearing sat quiet and devoid of any snow. A single tree grew in the middle with no leaves. It was a charred black and gray color, yet showed no real signs of having ever burned.

Looking back there was no road at all. I growled slightly and cursed under my breath that I had been tricked off the road. The voice, though, had gone strangely silent. I waited for a minute and nothing changed.

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Then, someone called from behind me. Wheeling, I summoned forth a spear and pointed it. The elven man startled and fell backwards. He shouted something and threw his hands up in a defensive manner. I relaxed and let the spear fade away.

Noticing this, he said, “O-oh. You...are a human? Forgive me. I...I thought...”

Slowly he got up and I noticed how his black hair was tinged gray. He had bags under his green eyes that I knew well. Though he appeared young as all elves did, lines had formed on his skin cut deep by dread.. He was tired, beaten down by some misery, and alone. He squinted and said, “At least, you appear human. Your eyes are-”

“Why are you out here?” I asked, trying to be gentle in voice.

The elven man startled and looked at the tree. His face turned mournful and said, “I...I am here because it calls me here.”

Carefully, he skirted around me to stand at the edge of the dead place. A sympathy for him grew in me. I asked, “Called you?”

“The call of the forest. That tree sings out to me. Are you my death, then?” He asked, his eyes never leaving that tree.

“No,” I grunted, finishing off what meant I still had in my hand. The elf looked at me for a moment then let out a shaky breath.

“Well, it doesn't really matter if you are or are not. Funny. I have walked for weeks wondering what it would be like here. I wasn't sure if anyone else would be here. I feared I would die alone,” He mused.

“Luck smiled upon you then, didn't it?” I asked. My tone had turned somber without me noticing. The elf nodded.

“Who are you?” He asked. I could see the fear in him. The elven man was stalling.

“I am the Undying Hound of Sorrow,” I replied bluntly. There was no reason to lie to him. His reaction was only to let out a chuckle at that.

“A man who has experienced dying is here to see me off.” He let out a sigh and smiled bitterly, saying, “You know, I heard some men a few weeks ago talking about you.”

“Oh?” I asked.

“Yeah. They spoke about how they had heard your call. That they were going to fight,” He said with amusement, “Are you going to ask me to repent my sins and take up arms?”

“No,” I said.

There was a pause before he said, “I failed to protect my family. I survived because I went to fetch water from a stream. I hid like a coward when I saw the demons. I can hear my family laughing and singing. Do you think they'll forgive me?”

I stared at him as tears began to run down his cheeks silently. I said, “You should ask them that.”

There was yet another moment of silence. He shrugged off his bag and held it out to me. Startled, I stared and he then motioned it at me again. As I took hold of it, he turned and walked towards the tree silent.

The ground cracked and crunched under his feet. As his hand touched the bark, there was a hum to the air. His face turned to a soft smile. The elf lifted his chin up and mouthed some words I didn't know. I watched as his skin grayed and cracked. His clothes rotted away as his bones fell to the earth and became no more than dust. His footprints were gone.

I gripped the bag's strap and then slung over my own shoulder. Fire in hand, I turned from the tree and began walking once more. I added his story to the ever growing list of reasons I had to kill all those responsible.

The voice suddenly whispered into my ear, “You are responsible for that guy's suffering.”

Instantly, I said, “Veline Scheltia, you're master calls to you!”

As Veline formed before me, the voice once more went quiet. As she looked at me, a soft smile was on her face. She then looked at the tree and asked, “What's that? It's kinda eerie. Weird. Have you been seeing neat things without me? Mean. Rude!”

Her emotions were warmer than the fire I held in my hands. I laughed lightly and motioned for her to follow. I didn't tell her what had happened as we left that place. Yet, I couldn't help but to take one last look at that tree. For a moment, I wondered if anyone was waiting for me. I wondered what I would say to them.

The tree sat quiet. I turned away from it and moved forward.