In the Days of Hellscream
The Hunt
Crouching in the thick undergrowth of the jungle, she watches as a heard of vibrantly colored raptors rests before her, unaware of the dangerous predator that lurks just beyond their range of sight. A fire burns in her blood as her heart pumps it through her body, awakening every nerve and enhancing her senses. The sun beats down on her from between the branches of towering trees, causing beads of sweat to form on her face and neck; but even as the sweat begins to drip, the hunter’s concentration does not break. She has been trained well, and knows never to divert her eyes from the prey she stalks. Her patience is unending, for she knows the glory of the kill will be well worth the time spent roasting on the jungle floor.
It seems an eternity for the young hunter, but at last her sufferance pays off as one of the female raptors wanders from the nest where the others are sound asleep. She stands and begins to follow the reptilian creature. Her body is limber and her movements are stealthy as she moves silently across the jungle floor. By now the sun has begun to sink below the horizon. The sky glows a burnt orange and the hunter knows that soon the blanket of light that wraps around the earth will be gone, making her hunt more difficult, but she welcomes the challenge. Her eyes begin to strain as they remain fixed upon the magenta scales of the creature she follows.
Now only a few yards away, hidden from the beast’s sight by a tree, she raises her bow with one hand as she pulls an arrow from the quill on her back with the other. She takes one last look around before placing the butt of the arrow against the nocking point and pulls back the cable. She can feel the adrenalin rush through her body as the desire to kill consumes her mind and her primal instincts take over. She inhales, filling her lungs with the dense forest air, holding her breath for a few short moments before exhaling slowly, focusing the aim of the arrow directly below the beast’s shoulder. This way the arrow’s jagged stone tip will pierce the beast’s heart, allowing her just enough time to jump from the brush and slit its throat before it can muster a call for help.
She lets go of the cable, and the arrow flies through the air. She waits for a split second in anticipation before the tip slices through the raptor’s flesh, but what she thought was a perfectly aimed shot grazes a single rib, slowing the arrow just enough so that it does not fully pierce the heart. Realizing this, the hunter moves with lightning speed, using a small boulder to propel herself onto the beast’s back while removing the large skinning blade from its sheath. An enraged cry of pain begins to erupt from the beast’s mouth as the hunter lands upon its back. She moves the blade in one swift arc across the beast’s throat, slashing clean through its trachea, turning the last of its cry into nothing but a faint gurgling sound as blood spills from its neck and fills its mouth.
The beast staggers, attempting to fight its eminent death. As it falls to the forest floor with a thud, the hunter jumps from its back and stands for a moment, looking down at the defeated, lifeless form; but it is in that moment that her still heightened senses pick up another noise. A loud crack from behind her followed by several loud stomps… Something is charging. As she whips around, she tries to swing her blade upward into the male raptor’s throat, but it is knocked from her hand as the beast jumps, slicing through several layers of skin on the hunter’s chest with its razor-sharp talons, leaving a bloody gash in its wake.
The hunter is knocked from her feet, her head smashing against the once helpful boulder as she slumps to the forest floor. A metallic taste fills her mouth as crimson liquid oozes from between her lips onto the fallen leaves. Briefly frozen in fear, the hunter lies still. Shaking her head, she attempts to whisk away the disorientation and regain her focus. She wipes the blood from her lips and scrambles to reach her blade as she hears the beast begin to charge again. Wrapping her fingers firmly around the handle, she turns just in time to avoid being locked in the mighty jaws of the monster and drags the blade across its face, leaving a deep cut upon its cheek.
The pain distracts the beast just long enough for the hunter to escape from beneath its feet. Standing once again, the hunter faces the writhing beast. A deafening cry of pain bursts from its mouth as it turns to face her once again. The fury that burns in its eyes as its gaze locks with the hers instills fear in her very core. Pushing the fear to the back of her mind, the hunter follows the beast as it begins to circle her.
Soon the raptor attempts to lunge again, but the hunter dives out of the way, doing a somersault and regaining her stance. The beast crashes into a tree that is directly behind where the hunter once stood. The hunter sees an opportunity and lunges, wrapping her arm around the beast’s neck and moving to place the blade against its throat; but the beast will not go down easy. It rolls its back onto the ground, crushing the hunter with its weight. The hunter loses her grip on the beast’s neck and yells out in pain as several of her ribs crack under the pressure.
The beast stands again and begins to lunge. The hunter can see the white pointed teeth coming at her as the raptor attempts to lock her it its jaws. Reaching up, she places one hand firmly on its nose, and a foot on its bottom jaw, using all of her remaining strength to hold its mouth open. The beast attempts to snap its mouth closed, causing an unbearable pain to sear through the hunter’s torso as she struggles to keep its jagged teeth from sinking into her flesh. In shock due to the pain, the hunter’s focus breaks for an instant. Her extremities shake as she grows weak from the pain. Her grip begins to slip, causing one of the raptor’s pointed teeth to slice the palm of her hand. The hunter knows she is only a few seconds away from becoming a meal for this scaly monster. Darkness begins to encompass her, her vision narrowing as her body implores her to give in to the pain and exhaustion; but just before she slips completely away, a face flashes in her mind: her mother. After her father left, she became all her mother had. It is with this image of her mother that the hunter finds new life to fight the beast. Coming to, pushing the darkness back into the recesses of her mind, she takes her free hand, with the blade held firmly in its grasp, and drives the knife through the roof of the raptor’s mouth. The raptor shrieks in pain and writhes for only a few seconds before its body goes limp, falling to the forest floor.
Letting go of the blade, the hunter pushes the corpse to the side and lets both of her arms fall to the ground. She winces in pain as she attempts to draw a deep breath into her lungs. She wants to lie on the forest floor and succumb to the exhaustion and pain, but she knows it will not be long before other raptors arrive in response to the male’s call for help. At the thought of being surrounded, she shudders. She knows her body cannot withstand another fight. Struggling to stand once again, the hunter walks to a tree that has a thick green vine wrapped around it. Her entire body screams in protest as she reaches up to grab the vine, shifting her broken ribs. She rips the plant down, and ties one end of the vine around each raptor’s neck and begins to drag them along the forest floor. Her legs shake from exhaustion and her mind becomes hazy from pain, but she drudges through the dark forest, determined to reach the Darkspear village before sunrise.
After what seems like hours, the first signs of civilization begin to appear and the hunter quickens her pace. The weight of the raptors is becoming too much too fast, and just as she thinks she cannot take another step, she breaks through the trees into a clearing where one hut sits on the very outskirts of the Darkspear village. The guard on night watch runs from his post to help the hunter carry the corpses to the village.
When they reach the town center, the villagers crowd around the hunter, imploring her to tell her story, but one voice rises above the rest. The hunter’s mother breaks through the crowd and gathers the hunter in her arms, thankful that she has made it back alive. Seeing the condition of her daughter, she requests that the other villagers leave her be and let her get her rest so that she can heal properly.
Behind the hunter’s mother a tall man stands, looking at the hunter with pride in his eyes. The crowd around the hunter becomes hushed as they look at this man with admiration.
“Your fatha Zalazane woulda been proud of you my dear. It ‘tis a shame he left too soon ta see his eldest become such a strong warrior and earn da title of a hunter of da Darkspear,” as the man speaks, he approaches the hunter, placing one hand on her cheek, “Now you rest ‘cause in two days, once ya’ve healed and ya mask has been made, ya will be initiated.”
The hunter’s face twists into an expression of pain as thoughts of her father fill her mind. She remembers making the decision to stand alongside Vol’jin as her father betrayed him, splitting the Darkspear in two and forcing them from the isle they had inhabited since they were driven from First Home. She will never forget the expression of hurt and anger that contorted her father’s face as he damned her for her betrayal. She misses him, but she knows she is better off fighting for the Darkspear. She knows Vol’jin’s decisions are the right ones and his intentions are pure. She only wishes her father could’ve seen the same.
Noticing the pain written on the hunter’s face, the man continues, “But Zalazane was a good friend of mine before everythin’ happened wit’ da Horde, and jus’ as I have treated ya like my own daughta, I will initiate you as such. You will not stand alone next to dat fire Vartokk.”
Tears spring to Vartokk’s eyes as she looks up at the man, “Thank you Vol’jin.”
It seems an eternity for the young hunter, but at last her sufferance pays off as one of the female raptors wanders from the nest where the others are sound asleep. She stands and begins to follow the reptilian creature. Her body is limber and her movements are stealthy as she moves silently across the jungle floor. By now the sun has begun to sink below the horizon. The sky glows a burnt orange and the hunter knows that soon the blanket of light that wraps around the earth will be gone, making her hunt more difficult, but she welcomes the challenge. Her eyes begin to strain as they remain fixed upon the magenta scales of the creature she follows.
Now only a few yards away, hidden from the beast’s sight by a tree, she raises her bow with one hand as she pulls an arrow from the quill on her back with the other. She takes one last look around before placing the butt of the arrow against the nocking point and pulls back the cable. She can feel the adrenalin rush through her body as the desire to kill consumes her mind and her primal instincts take over. She inhales, filling her lungs with the dense forest air, holding her breath for a few short moments before exhaling slowly, focusing the aim of the arrow directly below the beast’s shoulder. This way the arrow’s jagged stone tip will pierce the beast’s heart, allowing her just enough time to jump from the brush and slit its throat before it can muster a call for help.
She lets go of the cable, and the arrow flies through the air. She waits for a split second in anticipation before the tip slices through the raptor’s flesh, but what she thought was a perfectly aimed shot grazes a single rib, slowing the arrow just enough so that it does not fully pierce the heart. Realizing this, the hunter moves with lightning speed, using a small boulder to propel herself onto the beast’s back while removing the large skinning blade from its sheath. An enraged cry of pain begins to erupt from the beast’s mouth as the hunter lands upon its back. She moves the blade in one swift arc across the beast’s throat, slashing clean through its trachea, turning the last of its cry into nothing but a faint gurgling sound as blood spills from its neck and fills its mouth.
The beast staggers, attempting to fight its eminent death. As it falls to the forest floor with a thud, the hunter jumps from its back and stands for a moment, looking down at the defeated, lifeless form; but it is in that moment that her still heightened senses pick up another noise. A loud crack from behind her followed by several loud stomps… Something is charging. As she whips around, she tries to swing her blade upward into the male raptor’s throat, but it is knocked from her hand as the beast jumps, slicing through several layers of skin on the hunter’s chest with its razor-sharp talons, leaving a bloody gash in its wake.
The hunter is knocked from her feet, her head smashing against the once helpful boulder as she slumps to the forest floor. A metallic taste fills her mouth as crimson liquid oozes from between her lips onto the fallen leaves. Briefly frozen in fear, the hunter lies still. Shaking her head, she attempts to whisk away the disorientation and regain her focus. She wipes the blood from her lips and scrambles to reach her blade as she hears the beast begin to charge again. Wrapping her fingers firmly around the handle, she turns just in time to avoid being locked in the mighty jaws of the monster and drags the blade across its face, leaving a deep cut upon its cheek.
The pain distracts the beast just long enough for the hunter to escape from beneath its feet. Standing once again, the hunter faces the writhing beast. A deafening cry of pain bursts from its mouth as it turns to face her once again. The fury that burns in its eyes as its gaze locks with the hers instills fear in her very core. Pushing the fear to the back of her mind, the hunter follows the beast as it begins to circle her.
Soon the raptor attempts to lunge again, but the hunter dives out of the way, doing a somersault and regaining her stance. The beast crashes into a tree that is directly behind where the hunter once stood. The hunter sees an opportunity and lunges, wrapping her arm around the beast’s neck and moving to place the blade against its throat; but the beast will not go down easy. It rolls its back onto the ground, crushing the hunter with its weight. The hunter loses her grip on the beast’s neck and yells out in pain as several of her ribs crack under the pressure.
The beast stands again and begins to lunge. The hunter can see the white pointed teeth coming at her as the raptor attempts to lock her it its jaws. Reaching up, she places one hand firmly on its nose, and a foot on its bottom jaw, using all of her remaining strength to hold its mouth open. The beast attempts to snap its mouth closed, causing an unbearable pain to sear through the hunter’s torso as she struggles to keep its jagged teeth from sinking into her flesh. In shock due to the pain, the hunter’s focus breaks for an instant. Her extremities shake as she grows weak from the pain. Her grip begins to slip, causing one of the raptor’s pointed teeth to slice the palm of her hand. The hunter knows she is only a few seconds away from becoming a meal for this scaly monster. Darkness begins to encompass her, her vision narrowing as her body implores her to give in to the pain and exhaustion; but just before she slips completely away, a face flashes in her mind: her mother. After her father left, she became all her mother had. It is with this image of her mother that the hunter finds new life to fight the beast. Coming to, pushing the darkness back into the recesses of her mind, she takes her free hand, with the blade held firmly in its grasp, and drives the knife through the roof of the raptor’s mouth. The raptor shrieks in pain and writhes for only a few seconds before its body goes limp, falling to the forest floor.
Letting go of the blade, the hunter pushes the corpse to the side and lets both of her arms fall to the ground. She winces in pain as she attempts to draw a deep breath into her lungs. She wants to lie on the forest floor and succumb to the exhaustion and pain, but she knows it will not be long before other raptors arrive in response to the male’s call for help. At the thought of being surrounded, she shudders. She knows her body cannot withstand another fight. Struggling to stand once again, the hunter walks to a tree that has a thick green vine wrapped around it. Her entire body screams in protest as she reaches up to grab the vine, shifting her broken ribs. She rips the plant down, and ties one end of the vine around each raptor’s neck and begins to drag them along the forest floor. Her legs shake from exhaustion and her mind becomes hazy from pain, but she drudges through the dark forest, determined to reach the Darkspear village before sunrise.
After what seems like hours, the first signs of civilization begin to appear and the hunter quickens her pace. The weight of the raptors is becoming too much too fast, and just as she thinks she cannot take another step, she breaks through the trees into a clearing where one hut sits on the very outskirts of the Darkspear village. The guard on night watch runs from his post to help the hunter carry the corpses to the village.
When they reach the town center, the villagers crowd around the hunter, imploring her to tell her story, but one voice rises above the rest. The hunter’s mother breaks through the crowd and gathers the hunter in her arms, thankful that she has made it back alive. Seeing the condition of her daughter, she requests that the other villagers leave her be and let her get her rest so that she can heal properly.
Behind the hunter’s mother a tall man stands, looking at the hunter with pride in his eyes. The crowd around the hunter becomes hushed as they look at this man with admiration.
“Your fatha Zalazane woulda been proud of you my dear. It ‘tis a shame he left too soon ta see his eldest become such a strong warrior and earn da title of a hunter of da Darkspear,” as the man speaks, he approaches the hunter, placing one hand on her cheek, “Now you rest ‘cause in two days, once ya’ve healed and ya mask has been made, ya will be initiated.”
The hunter’s face twists into an expression of pain as thoughts of her father fill her mind. She remembers making the decision to stand alongside Vol’jin as her father betrayed him, splitting the Darkspear in two and forcing them from the isle they had inhabited since they were driven from First Home. She will never forget the expression of hurt and anger that contorted her father’s face as he damned her for her betrayal. She misses him, but she knows she is better off fighting for the Darkspear. She knows Vol’jin’s decisions are the right ones and his intentions are pure. She only wishes her father could’ve seen the same.
Noticing the pain written on the hunter’s face, the man continues, “But Zalazane was a good friend of mine before everythin’ happened wit’ da Horde, and jus’ as I have treated ya like my own daughta, I will initiate you as such. You will not stand alone next to dat fire Vartokk.”
Tears spring to Vartokk’s eyes as she looks up at the man, “Thank you Vol’jin.”