-Chapter VII- The Hunter

-Whiterun, Skyrim

-22 First Seed

-9:50 P.M.

-?

She walked through the forest, driven by an unknown initiative without any knowledge whatsoever of what she was doing nor even her own identity. Her memories felt like they were locked off from her, and she wasn't able to get a grasp on them at all. She felt like another force was directing her and was controlling her body because, even though she had complete feeling of her limbs, she wasn't conscientiously moving forward, rather watched as something told her where to go and, even though she hadn't a clue of where it was that she was headed and didn't know why, she didn't question it.

It was a unique feeling that had hold of her. She didn't want to do what it was the thousands of whispers that spoke in her ears, coming from the vacant woodland that surrounded her, yet at the same time, she couldn't help but do what it was they commanded her to do. Like she felt the need to complete their bidding. Even though the numerous hushed voices were nearly beyond audibility, she understood every detail of what they said perfectly, and was set on what it was. However, in the few cases where clarity of the situation came to her and she even thought about resisting, and ear-piercing screech burst from within her mind that penetrated her hearing, no matter how hard she clutched her ears and tried to cover them, only to block the painful sound, and with each time sending pain through her body, turning her vision black, and causing her balance to become increasingly unstable. She had no choice.

As she clambered through the woods, she was scraped, cut, and whipped by the plethora of different plants in the brush around her, and though every wound afflicted onto her stung, she tolerated it and was easily able to ignore it and soon was forgotten. Her being was numbed by the thought of killing her target, whom she had no idea their identity nor their appearance. All that she did know what that her goal, given from an unknown source, was to kill the Power Keeper.

Though she hadn't felt it because of the supernatural force that overtook her, exhaustion at last overcame her body, and she fell to her knees, struggling to get back to her feet. She was bent over, held up by her arms, and it wasn't long before they buckled, and she was sent down. Her body lied where it was, limp. She made no effort to get up any longer, and she closed her eyes as the moisture of the morning dew glazed on the blades of grass that were her cushion began to seep into the pieces of cloth creating a makeshift cloak that improvised as clothing. As her eyes were shut and vision dark, she allowed her ears to take over, dimming her other senses and significantly sharpening that of hearing.

She listened intently to the miscellaneous sounds of the forest as she gave her physical form time for rest. Her range of hearing was extended to incredulous proportions, and she listened for any sign of her target's presence. Her hearing only became more acute with every sound she removed from it that was unwanted: torchbugs, buzzing as they flew; crickets calling out to others of their kind; the distant howling of of wolves on the prowl, hunting for their next meal. Soon, she began to hear the crackling of a fire, albeit extremely faint. Shuffling, breathing, and a strange tapping sound.

Her eyes shot open, and her hearing quickly retreated to the average earshot abilities of the environment she was engulfed in, becoming aware of what surrounded her physical being again. Gazing in the direction of the sounds, she could sense something of a strong aura. One of a dark energy. Not a second later, she was again on her feet, dashing toward the sounds' origin. The farther along she ran, the louder the whispers became, the stronger the adrenaline coursed through her veins, and the peculiar portion of the experience, her vision slowly darkened, as though she was losing conscientiousness. Once her sight was completely blackened, the only light visible was that of a small orb that slowly circled her, hearing the whispers from a dark, twisted voice so low-pitched it was nearly demonic. Something engulfed her, paralyzing her in what she had thought at first was fear, but when she had finally calmed herself, she found herself still unable to move. Something had a firm grip upon her, and the screeching returned. Then...nothing.

It was silent around her, in a world that was so deeply submerged in darkness that she couldn't see her hand in front of her. Her body was completely numbed, like it was asleep, and her hearing was muffled to the extreme. When she came to, she felt like she had awoken from a deep sleep, one that had lasted quite a time, her eyes shot open, revealing the world around her. Her senses returned to normal, and she had overall control over herself again. She also felt the exhaustion that took her body, the hunger in her stomach, and the thirst in her lips and throat. She was in an open field, rather than the previous scene that was the on-going forest that seemed to go on forever. Her mind was completely blank, as though she no longer had any memories to return to, even those of the events that seemed to have just taken place not even a second ago...

She had a severely strong migraine that caused her head to pound with the greatest intensity that seemed possible, causing her to wince in pain. After a moment of hearing the crackling and popping of a fire, she felt the chill of the cool night air brush against her skin, the red light danced about her closed eyes and, feeling the soothing warmth, noticed that she wasn't lying down, but the feeling of hands wrapped around her body told her she was being held so that she wouldn't fall. She slowly opened her eyes, trying her best to ignore the pain of her headache, and saw who it was caressing her body so carefully. It was a boy, with longer brown hair, in a style common among Nords, that somewhat covered part of his bright-blue eyes that showed deep fear, confusion, and tenderness within them. His limbs quivered slightly and his eyes flashed completely black in a demonic manner before he jumped back in fear, dropping her in the process.

As she hit the ground with a hard thud, the pounding of her head began again, and she groaned in pain. She sat up, rubbing her temples. "I'm...sorry..." She heard, squinting again and seeing his sincerely apologetic eyes as he bent over, holding out a hand to help her up. He was very cautious, despite the benevolence he displayed. Curiosity drowned out his fear, and confusion overtook his expression. She uneasily was back on her feet, but quickly lost balance and began to crumble to the ground again before being caught by the boy once more. The hunger that took hold of her stomach made her feel sick. She clutched where it hurt as he led her to a log resting beside the fire. As she sat down his voice arose again, breaking the silence, "who...who are you?"