Grendel's Tale
There was nothing but silence as I strode across the marshes, from the hill of misty hills and bogs. I had lived there many years now, and all the animals have long since fled. Unlike the humans that inhabit the highland, they could feel the menacing power I carried with me. The swampland was wet and murky, dark clouds had covered the half-disk moon. But that doesn't matter; I knew the land well enough to march toward that hall of misery without trouble. Neither the damp air nor the chilling temperature could deter me from my mission. The lord of Danes thought me a sin-stained demon, and I aimed to prove him right.
As I approached that broken mead hall, I bared my fangs and sucked in a sharp breath of anticipation. Hrothgar had long ago fled his hall of glory for fear of his life, leaving smudges of dirt upon his reputation. He had failed to live up to his status as king, as son of Healfdane. His drunken soldiers put up the feeblest of fights before succumbing to my potent jaws and sharp talons. Many simple went to the land of dreams and never work up. So great was their fear, the majority fled the hall and dispersed throughout the land rather than face a monster more powerful than they. But a few stubborn veterans still lingered out of loyalty for the bejeweled throne, and they met their fate in a flash of blood and panic.
The great doors were closed as always, a pitiful defense against their worst nightmare. My scar-laden face gave a twisted grimace as I sneered at their vulnerability. There was absolutely nothing they could do against me, the beast of hell. It took nothing more than a simple touch for the iron fasteners to fall off, leaving its inhabitants utterly defenseless. Narrowing my eyes, I quickly strode across the inlaid floor, feeling grunts of impatience escaping my throat. New soldiers draped themselves across the hall, every which way, drunk and oblivious to the world. Yes, they were brave, but foolishly so. The aroma of life overwhelmed my senses, blinding my eyes with a sea of redness. I could resist it no longer, and snapped my jaws over the first prone figure I came upon. Bones were snapped, sinews and tendons were severed, but still my hunger was not satiated. I still desired more. Just as I reached for my next victim, I felt a bolt of blinding pain run up my right arm. Howling with pain and surprise, I struggled against that vise that gripped me so agonizingly.
How was this possible? A mere human capable of immobilizing a creature of evil? I struggled and fought, but in my moment of panic, I felt all my strength abandoning me. A singular thought burned in my mind, get out! All of my energy was devoted to the act of freeing myself; I didn't realize it was I who made the deafening roars that made the golden hall tremble. I was a fiend no longer, but a captive, at the mercy of strongest of them all.
I knew he meant to chock the life from my body, but I refused to give up. With one final tug, I felt muscles rip and bones break. But I took no care of the bleeding wound, and raced toward my haven beneath the lake. I don't remember how I found the way home, but soon I was lying upon the moist dirt floor, weak and broken. A blurred outline of my Mother's face moved in and out of my sight, hovering like a specter to accompany me down the depth of hell. My sighted dimmed bit by bit, until the darkness that was in my heart consumed my whole body.
