Henry stands at the edge of a forest and reminds himself. He remembers how he had helped his animal friend to bag his prey and shared it with him. The wolf also had warned him of danger, showed him some hideout places and always helped his master. The young mage stands in the grass, turning his head to the moon. Silvery light shines on his light-colored hair, his closed eyes and his smiling mouth. His persistent smile gets slightly pensive. One day, the wolf disappeared. And as much Henry had been searching out for him, called out for him – he was and remained missing. But as the young mage got to the edge of the forest, he heard many different voices. And between the voices – the husky bark of a wolf in danger!
"Arcturus?" the Plegian whispered. "Come here! Here, my friend!" The bark outside of the forest turned into a yowl, then into a loud, howling call. "Arcturus?!" His voice got louder. "Where are you?"
Nobody could see the concern of the young man. His mouth was still smiling… like always, since the fire… But though, he was thinking about how to save his friend.
A painful squeak. Arcturus' painful squeak. But wait – Arcturus doesn't squeak! Henry never heard his wolf squeaking – but it was him. Obviously.
Soon, the mage arrived in front of the village, where Arcturus was.
Apparently, the wolf had been hungry and had stolen a chicken from the village. But the villagers had detected him and now he was thrust into an edge, where the inhabitants of the village are throwing after him with sharp-edged stones.
Blood dropped from his wounds and a cut was torn in his ear. Another stone hit him in the eye. The wolf let out sort of a wild scream and while he had been wailing until now, he suddenly attacked the people with firing anger.
But he was too weak and before he could hurt anybody, he dropped to the ground. His unharmed eye blinked in Henrys direction. The smile of the young mage got icy.
Humans – as ignorant as always! They kill animals, just because they want to. So why not kill humans?
The dark mage ran to the crowd, without a thought. To Arcturus. "Nosferatu!" he yelled.
A violet, magic swirl formed in front of his hands and then swished with a fizzling sound to the villagers.
Horrified, they turned their heads in his direction. They often heard this curse from their cruel king… and now there's somebody in front of them who just got in the age of man and already hexes like a master!
But suddenly, one of the villagers cried out, cranked aside and fell on the ground. His dead eyes were staring in horror at the mage. Slowly, the people shyed away.
Just one very brave man stood where he was and looked directly at Henry. "Is the wolf yours?"
The dark mage stayed without saying a word. His smile still was icy and below the closed eyelids, the eyes could be seen twitching around.
"Is…is it yours?" The villager glanced at him with rising fear.
Finally, Henry gaves a slight nod and stepped in the direction of the crowd. But then, the young mage kneed to Arcturus, who was still lying on the ground. The unharmed eye of the wolf glances upon him, recognizing his master and friend. Scattered pools of blood could be seen around the wounded animal.
Humans… how they treat the lives of the animals. Throw it away like dirt. It was time to show them, how much the wolf is suffering right now. Words won't work – they shall experience it on themselves!
Slowly, Henry stands up. "He dies", the dark mage whispered with a regretful smile. "My dearest friend dies and I can't do anything to help him." He turned to the villagers. Some of them had already fled. "People like you took all of me, what was worth living for" he mumbled. He spoke too quietly, nobody could understand him. His smile widened. "People like you nearly destroyed my whole life. But I can destroy, too!"
He laughed cheerfully. "NOSFERATU!"
The villagers were shrieking out, as the deathly swirl came upon them. Two of them sank to the ground, winced, then lay still. A woman tried to push her injured child away from the horrific scene.
His mind still muzzy from the coming death of his best friend, he was next to her with one push. "Please! Don't!" she cried in mortal fear. "My child needs his mother!"
"Destroyers" he smiled. His soft facial expression let it seem, as if he would spare her, but then he whispered: "Nosferatu!"
The swirl whooshed though the womans' throat, ripped the head from her shoulders. Body and head fell to the ground, leaving behind a pool of red, sheeny blood.
The dark mage gave an amused chuckle, as if this all would be just a good joke. "Oooh look, she's gone now! And, hey – so much blood!"
The child of the dead woman sat on the ground, horrified about what just happened. It stared at the murder of his mother with aghastment. "Why did you do that?" it breathed.
Henry turned to the little one. "Pred or prey" he said with a friendly smile. "You are the prey, like the mice in the woods. And look! Her blood has such a great color" He chuckled. "Even though, YOU are killing animals! So what's wrong with killing people?"
"Mum never harmed animals" the child whispered and glanced at the head of its dead mother. Her dead, stiff eyes are widened with horror. Now, the little one got aware of what really happened. Tears dropped from its eyes and with a loud whine he huddled against the headless body of his mother.
"He'll get along as well" the young mage murmured. His smile got pensive. "Just like I did. And like I'm doing now."
Slowly, he walks to Arcturus. The wolf has gotten very weak. His unharmed eye blinks languidly while the pool of blood has gotten larger.
"Pred or prey, isn't it true?" Henry whispered with a smile. "I tried to safe you, nonetheless you are the prey now. I took revenge for you, nonetheless you'll be dead soon. Hope, I'll see you again if I die. And I hope, my pool of blood will be larger than yours!" He chuckled.
Arcturus didn't react. His open eye stared upon to Henry – the last person, he ever saw in his life.
"Come, my black friends! Come here and sing your husky death songs!"
Arcturus' cadaver had been dragged into the forest and is now laying between moss and ferns. A tangle of caws could be heard in the tree tops.
One after the other, the crows flew from their branches and landed on the young Plegian. A sad shade flew over his smile.
It doesn't matter, how often you experienced it – the death of a friend always hurts. But the dark mage tried to hide his feelings. He couldn't cry – anymore, since this "accident" how he called it. If he would grant the sadness to possess him, he would have nothing to let it out.
Slowly, he did some dance-like steps around his dead friend. Becoming more confident, he dances a dance of death – intuitively, sometimes tripping. But he continued.
"It looks like I'm a true Plegian, eh?" he murmured and chuckled cheerfully. "We are known for our thirst for war and blood. But somehow, this seems to be the true nature of everyone. We Plegians just don't hide it." He chuckled again, as he continued dancing.
Then, he heard a loud caw. Henry stayed and sat down on the muddy forest ground. Curiously, he opened his eyes a bit.
He saw his crows, sitting on Arcturus' cadaver. They didn't care about the presence of the dark mage, who stared at them with fascination. His smile widens.
"Oooh, look! They really love him to bits!"
So, I apologize for possible grammar mistakes in here. The story was originally written in German by me and now I translated it with the help of a Native on DeviantArt (he said, it isn't anything left to correct, but maybe he was just polite?) If you see any grammar mistakes, please tell me. I want the story to have perfect English! :D