The sky was clear and bruised as the sun began its decent behind the distant mountains. Bob lay for a moment staring up, confused about where he was momentarily. The ground on which he lay was scorched as he looked side to side. Charred, massacred bodies lay strewn around him. The smell finally came to life in his nose and it made him heave. He rolled on his side and spat, and then realised he was naked as the day he was born.
Stumbling to his feet he looked around again. He could see the village in the distance so he had not got far this time. Black smoke pillared into the sky and his stomach churned as his memories returned.
The witch had destroyed the village.
Bob remembered a swirling portal opening suddenly in the middle of the village and a beautiful blonde woman emerging alongside a man in black armour.
'Pitiful beasts,' her voice was soft, but there was venom in it. 'Where is Master Lycan?' Her emerald eyes had met Bob's.
'Who are you?' Bob asked, dropping the firewood he had gathered from the nearby forest.
'Do not answer my question with a question, mutt.' She spat. The man in black laughed, all the while gripping the blade at his side as a crowd gathered. Clearly he knew the village's secret.
'Windy, it has been a long time.' Master Lycan emerged from his hut nearby. 'What brings you to the Grasslands on this fine day?' His voice was calm, as he hobbled towards them leaning heavily on his cane.
'I think you know, Master Lycan. The secrets of the Black Rune have been discovered by Yuber here. I need the heart of an Elder Lycanthrope and it so happens you remain the last.'
'I see.' He said, sadly.
'Master, what is going on?' Bob asked, stepping forward. The man in black, Yuber, intercepted him in the blink of an eye.
'Stay back, beast.' His voice was deep, almost monstrous.
Bob looked deep in his eyes. One of pure gold with the pupil of a feline, and the other crimson. A coldness ran through Bob and he looked away.
'It is time, Bob.' Master Lycan nodded to him. Bob looked in disbelief. He knew it would be his time, but not now. Master Lycan dropped his cane and despite his small, frail frame he stood tall and howled so loud Bob had to cover his ears.
It happened to fast. The villagers all howled in return and within an instant clothes burst open as their bodies grew in to a gargantuan beast. Bob's heart raced, this would be his first transformation. He looked to see his nails grow sharp and his arms sprout thick black hair. A tail shot out from behind him. His face numbed as it grew outward at the mouth and nose. He gave out a howl as his muscles bulged, before lunging towards the blonde woman Windy, and the man called Yuber.
It was the last thing he remembered before waking up.
Master Lycan. He could no longer sense his life force as he looked on the village. Looking to the sky, he howled, but the only reply he received was the howl of the wind that danced across the plains of the Grasslands.
'
