Prologue,Part III: Ayan Morris:Hunter and prey

Ayan runs,his boots pound over the forest floor,he hears heavy steps behind him and a raged growl of a terrible beast.The beast had separated him from his hunting companions,now chasing the terrified young man for hours.His feet are sore and his lungs burn,but he has to run further.He is suffering because of the thought of losing the future in front of him,once the animal had killed him.

"A...Ah...Ay-an...",the forest whispers.

The path to the palace seems to get more narrow the closer Ayan runs towards it,the trees appear to come closer.His body is controlled by fear,his mind screams at him,screams that he should take his damn bow,that he shall put an end to this.But his body works against everything,only surviving matters.His heart pounds furiously in his chest and against his temples.The creature is so close,it can smell the sweat which is running down Ayan's back,it feels his fear of getting ripped apart,the fear of sharp claws burrowing past his ribcage,ripping his heart out.The man runs faster,his hands never finding the bow tied to his back,or the daggers in his pockets.His sore feet carry him further into the darkness of the forest,and further away from home.Then,the beast leaps,it's strong legs pushing it into the cool and crisp air.Claws dig through expensive fabric of already ripped clothing,they dig through scarred skin into hot flesh.Ayan falls,the fall drives all breath out of his lungs,and he whimpers because of his aching leg.He knows,this terrible dread crawling coldly up his spine tells him,these are his final moment.The ruler of a country built on ashes of another,a ruler worshipped like a god,will die at the sharp claws of a rabid wolf.The wolf pins him to the ground with it's weight.It growls,and Ayan finds himself paralysed by some invisible force.He feels the power of this force,a power stronger than every he ever encountered.He could kick the wolf away,but he can't,the force is heavy on his body,he can't breathe anymore,his chest won't move.He shivers as the wolf leans it's head down,looking him in his grey eyes with a growl,spit dripping in his face.He wants to make a disgusted noise,but he can't,nothing will move.Not even his pupils want to dilate,and worse,he can't feel and think anything.He is numb,as if he is accepting his own death.He does not realize that blood seeps his pants,that the fear of his own death makes his whole body tremble,the only movement which appears to work against this magic.But it seems like he really is already accepting his own death,forgetting his pride for once in his life.Is this the end of Duke Ayan?The wolf holds up a paw,claws covered in mud and blood,Ayan's blood.Then,the claws connect with Ayan's face.He suddenly feels again,a stinging hot pain across his lips,and blood on them.The wolf steps away,as if it just wanted to hurt him,and Ayan howls in pain,his leg pounding and bleeding,and the small cut across his lips burning and stinging.It will become a scar,and this makes the prophecy of the fortune teller he met during his travels true."A face like thousands have,but one thing that makes it unique"

He never believed those things,magic is pathetic,he thinks.

Ayan pulls himself up from the moss covered ground,raging and hungry for revenge.The creature destroyed his face,his handsome face,and hurt him.Despite his hurting leg,he chases after it.Even more blood pours out of the wound and Ayan hisses.While running,he finally manages to grab his bow and an arrow.He is itching for a kill,it is what he was thaught to feel if something wrongs him.He focuses for a mere second,then releases his grip on the arrow,which sails gracefully through the air,cuts it,and then pierces in the shoulder of the creature.It falls down with a groundshaking roar,and Ayan runs away,he runs home,to safety,leaving the wolf to die in hatred agony.