The Raven Lord's Revenge

The Raven Lord’s Revenge

All was quiet in the forest of Harthria. The Raven Lord, the guardian of the forest, stood motionlessly within the cellar of his keep, his eyes fixed upon the lifeless body of the Snow Lady. He had found her in the black of night, her body preyed upon by the vampires haunting the woods. The forest was a peaceful and beautiful sight at day, but became a place of terror as soon as the moon rose up in the sky. The Raven Lord had long been at odds with the forest’s vampires, striving to keep them from desecrating the lands with their dark rituals and foul magic. The vampires, however, were persistent. United under the powerful vampire lord Rowan Kayne, known by the inhabitants of nearby villages as “the Ghastly One”, the vampires attacked any who dared venture into the woods at night. Feeling the winds in the forest turn fouler with every soul caught within Rowan’s web, the Raven Lord retaliated and left countless dead vampires in his wake. He was a formidable warrior of inhuman strength and was, in fact, just as feared by the villagers as the vampires were. The Raven Lord was a noble soul, but his perceived stoicism and imposing stature had frightened all but one of the humans to have laid eyes on him. The Snow Lady was the only one who, instead of running away, had approached him. The Raven Lord saw the young girl’s gentle nature in her eyes and, although his constriction to perpetual silence prevented him from saying a word, she too recognized his kindness and remained by his side. From that day forth she would come to meet him a great many times and eventually, the two developed feelings for each other not unlike love. She spoke to him, of her life in the village, of her work in the local inn. And he listened.

One day, as she left for her home in the village, she made him a promise. She vowed on her life that, the next time she came to find him by the great oak, she would stay with him forever. That night, the Raven Lord heard a terrible scream. Fearing the worst, he immediately stormed out of his keep and made for the great oak with great haste, his body dispersing into a flock of birds clouded by black mist as he rushed to the scene. Upon his arrival, the deed had already been done. The Snow Lady’s body, now devoid of all life, fell to the ground as a smiling Rowan withdrew into the darkness. The Raven Lord kneeled and held the Snow Lady’s hand, longing to see her usual smile, but knew she would never open her eyes again. She had braved the darkness, too eager to be reunited to wait till morning had come. The Raven Lord swore revenge that night, deeply saddened by the loss of the only one to ever find comfort in his presence. Despite his sorrow, his face betrayed none of the pain he felt and his composure remained unchanged. His inability to express even the simplest of emotions -for it was not within his nature as guardian of the forest- troubled him deeply, but he promised her he would do anything within his power to show his utmost respect and love for her.

Before setting off to hunt down the vampire, the Raven Lord placed his hand on the Snow Lady’s glass coffin. She had never told him her name, but to him, everything about her evoked the thought of snow. Her light-grey hair and clear blue eyes, her pale skin and white dress, even her soft nature and tender touch compelled him to think of her as a Snow Lady. Her life had vanished like snow underneath the sun and now he realized he would never know what her name truly was. The Raven lord glanced over his shoulder one last time, then left the room.

Later that night, the Raven Lord stood in front of the great oak once more, knowing Rowan Kayne would without a doubt consider it a challenge he could not refuse. The Raven Lord waited for several hours before his foe appeared before him, barely hiding his arrogance.

“It would seem the girl was quite precious to you, for you to face me out in the open like this,” the vampire laughed, “A foolish endeavour, to be sure, but you never did strike me as being particularly bright…”

The Raven Lord, unaffected by the vampire's taunts, vanished from Rowan’s sight, causing the vampire to panic briefly when his opponent reappeared within striking range. The forest guardian, however, was unable to score a hit as Rowan’s incredible reflexes allowed him to take a few steps back just in time to avoid the incoming blow. A crimson blade appeared in the vampire’s hands and Rowan immediately hacked at his foe; an attack easily defended against by the equally nimble Raven Lord. The two clashed repeatedly, the clamouring of their blades echoing through the night sky as the duel continued. Continuously disappearing into black mist and reappearing elsewhere to launch a new attack on the vampire, the Raven Lord chipped away at his foe’s endurance. The vampire had yet to feed that night, instead choosing to respond to the forest guardian’s provocations, but now he grew weary of battle and thirsted for blood. Despite his arrogance, Rowan now realized a single moment of weakness could cost him his life. To his shame, he had to conclude he was outsmarted and now outmatched by the Raven Lord and decided he would retreat to regain his powers. The vampire cast a spell, shooting out shards of ice to cover his withdrawal from the duel, but he could not fool his enemy.

In an instant, the Raven Lord had covered the distance between himself and his opponent, deflecting the ice shards with his sword as he approached. A single shard had embedded itself into his left leg, but it mattered not. The Raven Lord grabbed Rowan’s head with a single hand and raised the vampire into the air, preparing to drive his sword, “White Wolf”, through the fiend’s chest. Rowan despaired and, in a desperate attempt to save his life, readied himself to bite the forest guardian’s arm and feed on his blood, but to no avail. The Raven Lord impaled the vampire long before he could respond and proceeded to decapitate his stunned foe with a single swipe from his blade, sealing Rowan Kayne’s demise. All that was left to be done now was to set the vampire’s remains ablaze so he could never again return to the living. The vampire lord was no more and, with his death, the servants previously under his command would most certainly scatter and turn on each other, making the forest a much safer place to dwell in. The Snow Lady’s death, too, had now been properly avenged and soon the guardian of the forest would be able to return to his keep to watch over her.

The Raven Lord threw his opponent’s head to the side, not yet noticing it had begun to snow.