Prologue: Crimson

Acknowledgements:

For Chris (1964-2017) and Chester (1976-2017)

...

//OVER 2 MILLENNIA AGO//

-Run…-

A young girl with long maroon hair and her twin sister were running for their lives. They bolted through a field of tall grass in the dead of night, making a break for the woods. Their lungs burned and their muscles ached as they panted for air, and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Despite the strain on their bodies, the girls dared not slow down in fear of being caught by their pursuers.

-Keep... running!-

The girls looked back behind them at the sound of horses galloping and soldiers shouting in the distance, mounting to the urgency of their escape.

"They went this way! Don't let them get away!"

The young girl willed her legs to carry her faster when she suddenly heard her shorter-haired sister behind her trip and fall. Sliding to the stop, the girl hurried back to help her twin get up on her feet.

"Aife, get up!"

She grabbed her sister's arm and pulled up as they suddenly spotted a growing torch-light in the distance, and the sight of a masked soldier on horseback heading towards them. The girls were frightened as they heard the soldier shout:

"There they are!"

The sister named Aife looks back at her twin and pleaded with her.

"Leave me Scathach! Save yourself!"

The girl named Scathach looked defiantly into Aife's eyes. Her sister was far too important to her to leave behind, for she was the only family she had left.

They have both lost too much to these foul barbarians.

"Never," Scathach said as she pulled Aife back on her feet with great effort, and they kept on running. They heard the horses galloping behind them getting closer as they entered the woods. Their horses suddenly stopped, refusing to go further. They even went as far as throwing their riders off mount. A chieftain came up from behind the pursuers, his frighteningly ornate facemask signifying his rank.

"What is going on?" He questioned his soldiers angrily. "Why aren't you going after them?!"

"The horses are scared!" a soldier explained to him, fearful of his superior's wrath. "They won't go any further!"

"These woods marks the border to the Isle of Skye; the Land of Shadows!" Another soldier told the chieftain anxiously. "This place is cursed I tell ye."

"Cursed?! Nonsense!" The chieftain huffed in disbelief, intolerant of his soldier's cowardice. "I want ALL the slaves rounded up!"

"But milord!" a soldier pleaded fearfully. "Nobody that has entered that forest ever returned!"

He wasn't alone, as most of the soldiers were reluctant to enter the supposed haunted forest and go after the escaped girls. The chieftain was furious.

"You are all useless! Either go after them, or I'll have you all put to death!"

They ran for what felt like forever. The sisters eventually stopped to catch their breaths. Aife looked back from where they came, only to find that she couldn't discern just where that was. No soldiers had followed.

"Scathach… (pant) I… I think we lost them."

"I think so too..."

She looked around, with only the moon giving her any light. They were surrounded by sinister-looking trees and an eerie fog. There were no sounds of insects, birds, or any life whatsoever. In fact, the whole forest seemed devoid of it. The sisters were alone, yet Scathach did not feel at all safe.

Aife gasped at flash of lightning, followed by a clap of thunder.

"We can't stay here…"

The masked soldiers were making their way through the innards of the forest, searching for the escaped girls. The fog thickened as a thunderstorm continued to rage above them. The leader of the group motioned for more of his soldiers to fan out in two directions. They carefully weaved between the bushes and trees, trying to stay within earshot of each other.

One of them strayed too far out of sight, and the soldiers suddenly heard a scream, followed by-

(SLASH!) (SPLATTER)

All soldiers in earshot turned in a panic. The leader along with a couple others ran towards the source of the noise. To their horror, they saw the eviscerated body of one of the masked soldiers, and his blood splattered everywhere. While the others cringed at the frightening site, the leader stayed stoic and readied his weapon.

They weren't alone...

"Weapons out!"

They all drew swords and darted their eyes frantically.

"Stay in formation!"

They all gathered in a circle, their eyes scanning the surrounding fog for threats. Lightning flashed and thunder clapped as it gradually started to rain. One soldier felt something grab his leg, and he barely had time to scream as he was dragged into the ground.

The other soldiers turned to where he disappeared and saw the ground shift. Suddenly, energy tendrils burst out and impaled at least 2 other men. Everyone panicked as the ground shook and crumbled. A massive arm, with the texture of a tree trunk burst-forth and slammed the forest floor. The ground gave way, revealing the nightmarish creature, which shot more tendrils at the soldiers and draw some kind of essence from them, killing them almost instantly. The leader got a glimpse of the creature's "face" as it roared.

When his soul was ripped from his body, he didn't make a sound.

The gentle drizzle of rained turned into a downpour. Scathach and Aife were wandering the forest together aimlessly. They were cold, hungry, and desperate for a safe haven. Scathach saw a hollowed tree that looked promising as a makeshift shelter.

"Aife! Over here!"

She grabbed Aife's hand and guided her to this particular tree. They walked up to it as lightning flashed, revealing the corpse of a man who had the same idea. Scathach gasped in fright, but Aife screamed. She suddenly ran out of sight. Scathach worriedly calls out to her in the direction she went.

"Aife!"

Scathach bolts after her. She turns a corner and suddenly hears a growl, followed by-

"Scathach! Help me!"

She soon finds Aife cornered by a giant wolf.

A Dire Wolf.

Scathach was briefly startled at the sheer bulk and ferocity of this beast. Thinking fast, she picks up a rock by her feet and tosses it at the beast, hitting it on the head. The wolf turned, its glowing pupil-less eyes glaring at her. The creature seemed less of an animal and more of a demon. It growled ferociously at her, as Scathach called out to her terrified sister.

"Aife! Run!"

Aife bolts as the wolf charges at Scathach. She turns and runs, weaving past rocks and trees as the beast gained on her. She came to a clearing only to tumble down a hill on to a dried-up riverbed. She stopped rolling and cried in pain, clenching one of her ankles. Scathach turned to see the wolf ease its way down the sharp hill towards her. She looked around frantically…

She needed a weapon.

Her eyes fell on the partially-buried skull of a colossal monster. Among its crimson bones was a long narrow point near the snout, suitable as a spear. Scathach crawled toward it, unable to use her sprained ankle to walk. She heard the bark of the wolf and turned. It was closing in on her…

She kept going… she barely grasped the skeleton's skull as the wolf sunk its claw into her leg. Scathach screamed in pain as the beast opened its jaws to devour her-

"Get away from her!"

Aife appeared and hit the wolf across the head with a tree branch. The creature turned, releasing its hold on Scathach's leg. She seized the chance to pull herself up and forcefully wrench the sharp protrusion from the monster's skull.

The wolf circled Aife. She didn't have time to react as it pounced and knocked her down. Aife screamed as she was pinned down, a claw sinking into her torso. The wolf opened its mouth-

(SHRRNT!)

The wolf howled in pain as the red spear was thrust through its side by Scathach. She pulled out the makeshift spear and watched as the creature collapsed beside Aife, whimpering. With a yell, Scathach ran forward and stabbed the wolf through the chest. The wolf roared in agony, and grew weaker and weaker. Scathach looked into its eyes with zero remorse and twisted her spear. The creature stiffened and went silent.

Scathach was breathing heavily, her eyes bloodshot from her tears. She collapsed backwards, having a death-grip on her spear. Scathach held it close, her traumatized face staring at the beast's corpse as it dissipated into ghostly smoke. She just sat, not making a sound apart from her heavy breathing.

Aife limped towards her, crying, but otherwise relived that she and her sister survived the ordeal. She kneeled down and hugged Scathach, who audibly gasped, still stricken by what she just did. Aife gently hugged closer, trying to get her to return the embrace. She smiled when Scathach at last allowed one of her arms to wrap around Aife, and she cried with her.

She never fully let go of the spear. The weapon had become her lifeline…