The Ravenous gave chase, their exaggerated clown-like eyes glinting with the moonlight, bobbing up and down in time to their fast trot across the bare landscape. My master had a head start, but he knew that they could run him down eventually. They never seemed to tire, nor waver in their resolve. Driven always by their insatiable hunger, they consumed every living thing in sight, whether by tooth or claw or sheer numbers.
Legend had it that they were descended from the subjects of a greedy king of the western coast, once dashing and chivalrous in his youth. One day, while fishing in the sea, he caught the attention of a beautiful young ocean fairy. Never having ventured onto the earth herself, she asked him out of curiosity what was on the other side of the Western Mountains. In an amazing feat of stamina, he ran night and day across the mountains, completing his journey in 40 weeks to tell her the answer. Impressed by his gallantry, she left her home to live with him in his kingdom, and blessed him with her power so that he and his subjects might prosper. For a time, they did, but they lusted for more wealth, and used their divine might to subjugate and conquer other lands. As his power grew, the king became more and more arrogant; he took to keeping a harem while his fairy wife languished away from her ocean home.
The fairy thought that by submitting to him she might bring back within him the young man she had fallen in love with, but in this she was unsuccessful. Finally, on her deathbed, she cursed him, and all of the subjects of his kingdom. She cursed them with the strength and stamina to devour all that stood in their way, and with hunger never-ending. Transformed into hideous monsters, their hands changed into claws and their faces were twisted such that they would never speak again. Perhaps as a cruel joke, they were left only with the ability to laugh at their horrible fate. Stripped of their humanity, they were doomed to run on all fours across the great plains for all eternity, forever in search of another meal, which would never satisfy.
While he had lived under their presence for his entire life, and knew many ways to avoid or outwit them, my master's fear of the Ravenous still lived somewhere deep within his heart. Though he had seen them, and knew they were likely little more than packs of large and savage dogs, he still heard echoes of the legends that his mother told him. As they closed the gap separating them from him, the sound of their cackling spurred him on. Bursting through the tall grass into a clearing, he could see the light of his campfire in the distance, 300 metres away.
Bag of deer meat slung across his back, my master picked his way around the rocks and shrubs in the moonlight. He was eager to return home to his sister Isobel, who he imagined must be hungry, having waited all night for his return from the hunt. The sound of laughter behind him grew louder, and distracted, my master hazarded a glance over his shoulder. As he looked back towards his destination, he heard the snap of bone and felt a jolt of pain shoot up his leg. He must have stepped into a rodent burrow by accident, and wondered how he could have made such a careless mistake, as his face struck the ground.
Legend had it that they were descended from the subjects of a greedy king of the western coast, once dashing and chivalrous in his youth. One day, while fishing in the sea, he caught the attention of a beautiful young ocean fairy. Never having ventured onto the earth herself, she asked him out of curiosity what was on the other side of the Western Mountains. In an amazing feat of stamina, he ran night and day across the mountains, completing his journey in 40 weeks to tell her the answer. Impressed by his gallantry, she left her home to live with him in his kingdom, and blessed him with her power so that he and his subjects might prosper. For a time, they did, but they lusted for more wealth, and used their divine might to subjugate and conquer other lands. As his power grew, the king became more and more arrogant; he took to keeping a harem while his fairy wife languished away from her ocean home.
The fairy thought that by submitting to him she might bring back within him the young man she had fallen in love with, but in this she was unsuccessful. Finally, on her deathbed, she cursed him, and all of the subjects of his kingdom. She cursed them with the strength and stamina to devour all that stood in their way, and with hunger never-ending. Transformed into hideous monsters, their hands changed into claws and their faces were twisted such that they would never speak again. Perhaps as a cruel joke, they were left only with the ability to laugh at their horrible fate. Stripped of their humanity, they were doomed to run on all fours across the great plains for all eternity, forever in search of another meal, which would never satisfy.
While he had lived under their presence for his entire life, and knew many ways to avoid or outwit them, my master's fear of the Ravenous still lived somewhere deep within his heart. Though he had seen them, and knew they were likely little more than packs of large and savage dogs, he still heard echoes of the legends that his mother told him. As they closed the gap separating them from him, the sound of their cackling spurred him on. Bursting through the tall grass into a clearing, he could see the light of his campfire in the distance, 300 metres away.
Bag of deer meat slung across his back, my master picked his way around the rocks and shrubs in the moonlight. He was eager to return home to his sister Isobel, who he imagined must be hungry, having waited all night for his return from the hunt. The sound of laughter behind him grew louder, and distracted, my master hazarded a glance over his shoulder. As he looked back towards his destination, he heard the snap of bone and felt a jolt of pain shoot up his leg. He must have stepped into a rodent burrow by accident, and wondered how he could have made such a careless mistake, as his face struck the ground.
Glad you enjoyed the set!