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BOOK ONE

Chapter one

The moon shown gray, illuminating the dark and dreary horizon. Murders of crows stormed the sky, desperately searching for food to fill their bare stomachs with. The ground stank with the stench of decay. The once velvet red rose fields were now stricken with darkness. A lone man approached the gates. He called out into the night like a werewolf calling out to the moon. It became colder, chilling the inhabitants of this desolate town of Dimmaskus. The bones littered about the ground began to melt away, forming a puddle of thick gray liquid. All was silent now. The man had disappeared into millions of black ribbons.

As I removed my cloak, the lights flickered and the patrons stared. This Tavern had been here for years but never had any clients seen such a sight. A man, wrapped in clothing as black as night with a silver mask covering his face, only revealing his glowing red eyes. A large blade, too large for any sheath, was tied to his back. I sat myself down on one of the stools. I could tell the patrons were frightened of me. DarkHunters don’t come around often. It is said that my clan is but a folk legend.

I was in search of the one they call Sirion, the local lord. I had come bearing a warning. When I entered the town, I found it fraught with darkness. All things once good were now evil, filled with hatred and anger. I must have been too late. The grounds were littered with corpses, some half-eaten and some being picked at by the crows. As I approached Sirion’s former Palace, I had been set upon by the local watch. They were some of the few that escaped the Plague. They had brought the body of the late Sirion, almost completely deprived of skin and organs.

The bartender approached me. As I looked up at him, I realized that, he too, had been spared a fate worse than death. He whispered into my ear two words. “Follow me.”

The bartender grabbed a key from under the table and walked down into the cellar. I followed him down, hand on my blade. I was prepared for anything. He opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and slipped through. I followed closely. As I entered the room, I found about a dozen people, all still safe from the Plague. One of the men quickly shut the door behind me. It was only then that I had realized that these people were being hunted down by the infected ones.

As I walked amongst them, I noticed that some of the children were very pale. They had to be burned at once to avoid further infection. Over half of them had been infected and were threatening the safety of the others. I gathered their attention and explained the problem. None of the few who had escaped the Plague agreed with me.

As I left the room, I wished them farewell. I knew that it was only a matter of time until the infected ones would become full-fledged demons. I could already her them moaning as I climbed the stairs. It was a matter of seconds now. All of the ones that the plague had touched will begin the metamorphosing process. They would be turned into slaves of evil against their will. The pain will be excruciating and most of them will not survive but the few will be trapped that way for the rest of eternity. I know this because, I am one!







Chapter two

The screams of the town’s folk sent chills down my spine. I was used to this since I have been dealing with this sort of thing all my life. When I was but a young child, still learning how to speak, my village had been touched by this plague. All of my neighbors and friends had become demons. My mother, father and I hid from the beasts for as long as we could. We boxed ourselves in downstairs. We barricaded the doors and reinforced the walls. We were safe, for the moment.

We had been hiding for three weeks now and still, the beasts were searched for us. We were running low on supplies so my father went above ground to search for food but never returned. I wanted to go after him but mother stopped me for fear that she would lose me too. Once she fell asleep, I ventured above ground. At that age, I thought that all the “bad-guys” were sleeping but I was dead wrong. The demons captured me and infected me with the Plague.

I was sent to go find my mother against my will. I had led them straight to her. She had managed to fight them off but wasn’t able to kill me. She couldn’t kill her own son. I tried to leave but I couldn’t control myself. I was forced to kill my mother. It was then that I had sworn vengeance on the demons and their master.

I returned to the other demons and we were to meet our leader, Kainadin. He was the one who forced me to kill my mother, he was the one who forced me to destroy my home town and he was the one who turned me into this vile creature. We were one person now and he was the one who controlled me. He forced me and the other demons to destroy village after village. It was only once we reached Dimmaskus that the link was broken by a knight known as Sirion. He had slain the Kainadin and freed us from his evil grasp.

We were hunted down one by one. The knights of Dimmaskus did not know that we were no longer evil for none of us had retaken our human forms. Only a handful of us escaped them. We went deep into the north where we could live in peace.

As the years passed, we were forgotten and our skills as fighters had grown. When I received word that the Plague had resurfaced, I formed a band of elite hunters called DarkHunters. Our duty was to exterminate all carriers of the Plague. We traveled the world, combating the Plague and other sources of evil.

I was in the courtyard now. The demons were coming out from the darkness. These demons were different from us though. They were more hideous. They had completely lost their human forms. They were some sort of abominations. The ones I had usually encountered were smaller and more human like; I drew my blade.

Chapter five

As I approached the village gates, I saw the coagulated stains of blood smeared across the walls and trees. I broke down the door but I was too late. There was a huge number of corpses scattered about the town. The Plague’s servants had left. Apparently, the dogs that had attacked me were a diversion. I set out to the other towns in this once holy forest. There are a few towns, all with equally vulnerable host for the Plague. I had to move fast if I were to save them but which way to go?

I headed towards the nearest town. On my way I found a set of tracks. I recognized the sharp claws and deformed shape where the foot was to be. It was the Plague. I had to follow it. Hopefully I will make it in time and be able to at least save a few of the villagers. As the tracks let into the deeper and darker parts of the forest, I could see that the tracks were slowly splitting into two identical sets. This was bad. Apparently they have gained the ability to multiply. They could be anywhere now. I had to return to the capital. The towns were lost but I may be able to save the queen.

I hustled myself back to the capital. From a distance, I could see the other towns going up in smoke. The servants of the Plague were converging on my position. I had to warn the queen so she could barricade the town. As I reached the gate, I could hear the cries of the Plague. I ran through the gate calling to the guards to keeps the gate closed for their life.

As the Darkhunter leaped up through the throne room’s window he called out to the servants to spread the word about the town about the impending attack. After hearing the words of the DarkHunter, the queen immediately initiated a complete lockdown of the town, no one gets in, and no one gets out. He was sent about the town to oversee the reinforcing of the town and to the army to battle.

I stood by the main gate and prepared for upcoming battle. The pounding of the elves hearts made this all the more important that we win. If the world were to lose the elves, we would not stand much of a chance against the Plague. Their magical powers were the only power capable of keeping them at bay long enough for me and the rest of my clan to dispose of them. This was a battle we could not win alone. I sent the town’s fastest messenger to our last remaining hope, the druids.

Although their clan has been known for devious ways and their power to control the darkness, they were the only ones close enough to help us. It was a long shot but we needed all the help we could get. Normally, I would be able to deal with them myself but now that the servants of the Plague had been infused with the elves and their power, I stood no chance alone.

As the gate flew open, the demonic abominations charged through slashing away at the guards positioned nearest to the gate. They stood no chance. I drew my blade and called out the remaining forces about the gate.













Chapter six

We fought valiantly. Although the losses were tremendous, we were capable of keeping the servants out of the city. We repelled them out of the capital but could not continue on this way. If the druids did not arrive soon, I do not think that we would make it out of this one.

As the battle raged on, I saw no hope of victory. We had received no word from the druids and the Elfish army was diminishing at an incredible rate. Things looked grim. If we did not receive help soon, I’m afraid that my tale would have ended there.

Nightfall was upon us and still no sign of help. Our forces were growing weary yet the servants of the Plague appeared to have no end. It was then that our luck changed. As the servants regained control of the gate, I raised my blade in the air, calling to the heavens for aid. Just then, shadowy figures of the night dropped out form the trees. They wielded large bows. The battle was now nearing an end.

I rushed through gate, cutting down any demon that stood in my way. I had to draw them into the open where there would be nowhere for them to hide. No dice. The servants continued to storm the town, protected by the buildings inside. I called to my men inside telling them to repel the demons at all costs.

I ran back inside the town. I had to get them outside the walls by any means necessary. I drew a dagger from under my cloak and made a cut in the palm of my hand holding it high above my head so that all could see. Immediately, the demons turned to face me. I was alone now. If anyone were to intervene, my plan would fail. I told the troops to fall back to the safety of the castle.

My plan seemed to work. The demons were approaching me. Their mouths were foaming. They slowly followed me out side the town gate and into a clearing. Seconds later I gave the order for all units to attack. I leap up into an overhanging tree branch hoping to escape the flurry of arrows being sent from all directions. It was over.

As I descended from the tree, I could hear the cheers of the town’s folk. None seemed to fear me anymore. Although my demonic presence could still be felt, I was now considered a warrior of light. As I approached the shadowy figures that came to our aid, they seemed to fade back into the forest. I reassured them and once again tried to approach them.

This time they did not retreat back into the safety of the forest. One of them approached me. It appeared to be their leader. The creature that stood before me removed its hood. It was a human female. How could they have sensed that we were in danger? They have no magical powers. Where were the druids?

That was one of my more recent stories.

I am looking for:
-A title
-A continuation
-Constructive Criticism