i sold the skin to a tanner, for a new pair of boots, while the claws and teeth i traded to the fletcher for a few new arrowheads, and a new knife blade. both were curious, as they handed me few silver pieces to complete the trade, and as i went out of the fletcher's shop, was soon surrounded by Guildmembers who asked me questions about the skin and claws. i told them what i knew, and from them i learned the stories of the Niljake. They asked to be my agents in my little enterprise, and i agreed. i didn't hunt the lizards actively, just followed whenever i crossed a trail, and it was to the Guild that i brought the takings. i sometimes went on caravan-duty for them as well.

i came upon a few ruins in my travels of the deeper forests, and even began to lead eager explorers seeking artifacts of the First Age into them. it was during these times that i met my pet owl, which i named Byrd. it was also during one of these expeditions that my life enderwent a startling change.


a group of five taciturn men knocked on my cabin door one afternoon, and asked that i accompany them to the ruins of Rathess, very deep in the forest. i refused at first, for the place they sought carried a reputation, but after shoving a bag of gold almost into my face and three of them revealing the wicked daggers they carried underneath their cloaks, i assented. i readied my gear and i noticed four other men in the back carrying a long box between them. i said nothing, and set out. they all followed silently, and i kept to the ground for there was no danger of a Niljake attacking a large party. we trudged on, and it was not until night fell on the seventh day, that we were able to set up camp on what was once the outskirts of Rathess. i ate a cold meal and slept early, for i drew Third Watch.

i was awakened by a half-raised voice. i sat up and Byrd glided from her perch to my shoulders. there were low murmurs coming from the edges of the forest so i crept out of my roll to investigate. the fire had gone to embers, but i could still see the sleeping forms of the box-bearers on the damp ground. the box though was nowhere to be seen. i crept stealthily to the forest edge, and saw the three who had opened their cloaks at me, talking with a woman whom i had never seen before, over a dark heap which seemed to be a human body. the wooden box was to their side. the woman figure raised her arms and muttered a few words, after which the heap by their feet moved and arose. Byrd fluttered his wings and i raised my hands to stop her. in the process i grazed a few bushes and they rustled. one of the three asked, 'what was that?' but the woman was already looking at me and pointing, her eyes glowing a fiery red.


i ran, on and on i ran. my pursuers were steadily falling behind, for i was a creature of the woods, and by instinct i avoid tripping over raised roots and slipped between the trees without any loss of speed. suddenly though, i felt a tingling behind me, and i could feel Byrd's talons digging deeper into my shoulder. i looked back and saw the woman gliding through the forest, trees bending to avoid her even as she approached them. i feared for my life. all the years i have been the hunter, and now, i was hunted. ahead of me i could see the trees twisting in the moonlight. they were warping and started to weave across my path. behind me was the devil woman. my weapons i left behind at the camp. i could not escape.

just as the barrier before me was starting to close in , i felt a wracking pain in my head and the forest started to glow with a diffuse light. a voice spoke to me. Do not be afraid, for you are within my protection now. I will save you, and you will walk in for me in my abscence.

When the voice stopped i felt a lightness in my body, i was still running but it seemed that the forest became a blur. i executed a leap that allowed me to clear the barrier of twisted braches and treelimbs. Byrd let go of my shoulder, and flew far ahead. i ran for what seemed like hours and i eventually left the devil woman far behind. turning to look back, i suddenly tripped on a fallen rock and stumbled. i rolled and my momentum carried me for about 10 meters, before i smashed against a rock wall. i looked up, and saw Byrd perched on top of the wall with a nonplussed expression on her face. i never knew owls could do that. she flew over to a depression in the wall and raised one wing as if to beckon me close. she disappeared into it.

we had apparently stumbled across another ruin. i brushed the thickening moss away from the wall and saw that the it was once made of red stone. i went to where Byrd landed and followed in. the place was enclosed and i thought that it should be pitch black but a diffuse glow covered my surroundings. i looked around to find the source of light but could not see anything to account for it. the corridors branched left and right but somehow i was able to find my way. to what, i do not know yet.

at the end of a long corridor was a large chamber. there was a dais in the middle of it and i saw Byrd preening his feathers atop a blood-red shrine up on the dais. i immediately felt great power wash over me. i moved to where Byrd was and saw before the shrine, a short bow the likes of which i've never seen before, and an amulet which held a salt-white gem in it. it was on top of what seemed like a bier, and when my hands closed around the bowshaft i heard a crumbling sound below where it once lay. i hastened out of the chamber, grabbing a quiver of red arrows i saw lying beside the bier. i didn't want to be trapped inside while the devil woman was still roaming out.

i rushed outside the main door of the structure and i felt rather than saw the woman to my left. there were low growls and i saw the forms of two Niljakes beside her. i let one arrow loose without thinking and was already leaping from crumbling wall to crumbling wall as i saw it strike one of the lizards in the eye, dead. i ran up one high wall without knowing how i did it, releasing another arrow which seemed to glow diffusely before striking the other lizard straight through the head. the woman howled in frustration and began throwing bolts of light at me, but i was faster. i was moving around her leaping from wall to wall releasing a volley of arrows as i did so. when i reached back for what seemed like the hundredth time, i was already out of arrows. i looked back to where the woman was. she was out of life. the body seemed to shimmer, and finally disappeared.

eventually i found myself back in the chamber, sitting in front of the shrine. i know now where the light came from. the polished surface of the shrine reflected my image, my glowing image, with a circle of light upon my forehead. i knew now what i had become, at least in name, if not in essence. i was now Anathema. why? i do not know. for what purpose? neither do i have the answer.