Wilhelm shivered as he looked around the site of the outcasts camp, not from the cold, but from the strange haze around some of their number. A dark muddy mist hung around almost half of their number, the rest, however, Wil saw the faintest glow of silver, with the brightest being around the smith's daughter. He began wandering around the camp and listening to the conversations that were going on, taking in the names and faces of as many people as he could.

He learned that Ignis' wife and daughters names were Sigurn, and Freyja respectively. Wil paid close attention to the ones he had found out were criminals, the same ones who had the dark mist moving about them, moving closer to them as the night went on. When most of the outcasts had gone to bed, a handful of the criminals began whispering to one another while being mindful of those on guard duty.

"This is worse than the kings' prison. I tell you!" a whispy man hissed. "At least in there, we weren't worked to the bone." A heavyset man grunted in agreement."The food was bad though..." "Oh shut it you lout!" hissed the same whispy man. "Both of you be quiet, we will bide our time, for now, spread the word, do as you are told, don't cause trouble. We will strike when we have earned their trust." The man that spoke this time had the darkest mist around him, but his most notable feature was his face, he had a massive gash running down through his right eye and cheek.

The two from before fell silent and nodded."Yes, sir Asta.." they spoke in near unison, hearing the name Wil remembered the conversation he had overheard between Arcturus and Ignis. This man was the leader of the criminals, a man who had been close to the king and planning a coup. Wil made a note to keep an eye on the group's interactions, hoping that the time he was in the out of body state would not be much longer but for now, he would make the best of it.

The sun rose after what Wilhelm felt was an eternity; he had been unable to sleep last night as every time he closed his eyes he felt as though the being entwined around the moon was reaching for him. As such he watched quietly over the outcasts as they slept, having watched his body as it was pulled over beside Ignis and his family. Freyja ended up sharing her fur blanket with him as the night grew cold, a gesture he would not forget as from the way she squirmed and flushed she was a shy and innocent child.

As a result, Wil ended up beside the family as he waited out the night sleeplessly, at first light however he began wandering once more, choosing to follow Ignis as he started to help with felling trees. The women of the group began gathering small stones to build the foundations of the first building of the settlement, that of a vast longhouse which would act as the village chiefs home as well as a gathering place for the village in times of crisis. But most importantly it would be where the group would sleep as more homes got built.

The building site was back from the shore to where the beach sand turned to dirt, as the men cleared away the trees around the area, including digging up the stumps. From there a few of the men traced out the perimeter of the building, digging holes for the support posts as the women then came in with the stones, placing them down to form a floor to keep them off of the ground. As the men began setting the posts into the holes and packing the dirt around them the women would come behind and place the last stones around it.

The children had been sent off to dig up dirt, creating a large mound beside the building which was then broken down into many smaller piles with small basins scooped in the centers. Then the children would then gather up water in buckets and pour them into the holes as the adults would mix it into a thick mud before using it to fill in all the cracks between the stones.

As for the walls Wil observed as the men began carefully notching every beam, cutting a small trench that would allow the next one to sit flush. The children then started mud between each beam as the men lay them in place, this would serve to fill any gaps and help keep the wind and water out. By noon all that remained to was gather the materials for the roof, it was at this time that a group of hunters that had left earlier in the morning returned with their catch, four large bucks and a basket of edible herbs and berries.

Wilhelm was impressed with their efficiency, the entire group worked in harmony, though there was some bickering between a few of the criminals and the elderly about the number of breaks that they were taking. Aside from this, there were no issues. Once the hunt was dressed, the women began cooking lunch, roasting the meat over a fire as the group continued to work. Within the hour all of the materials needed for the roof were gathered and prepared, in this case, it was bundles of long grass that would overlap one another before being coated in mud.

Wil went and sat down beside his body as he watched the group break for lunch, as he watched them all he watched as Freyja carried her food and sat down beside his body, glancing over at him sheepishly once in a while as she ate. Smiling as he watched her, he decided to check something, standing Wil stepped over and crouched down in front of her, his face near hers as he spoke for the first time since they found him."You can see me cant you Freyja?"

At the sound of his voice, the girl flinched but tried her hardest to not look at him again as she ate. As a result, however, Wil stepped over his body before crouching down low and looking up at her face only for her to look away. After a few times, he sighed softly and plopped down on top of his body. "Okay fine pretend that I don't exist, that's fine too..."

As he sat there, Wil decided to check something."Show Status." As he spoke, he held his hands out and like before the giant book that served as his character screen, menu, and quest log appeared in a flash of black, crimson light. Though the cover had changed where before it was a simple black leather journal what now sat in his hands was a black leather tome with a crimson emblem on the cover, the same as the tattoo that appeared when he agreed to the covenant with Nocturna.

He took a moment to run his hands across the cover, taking in the ornate details that now adorned it. From the emblem to the embossed thorn and bone motif, shaking his head a bit however he returned to the task at hand. Opening the cover, he turned through the pages slowly to see what else had changed.

"Let's see here... Level is still one, health is now five hundred! Mana is up to two hundred. Stamina is up to four hundred!" Wil was shocked to see the amount his stats had gone up, shaking his head again he kept looking through his stats to see the actual changes. "Vitality has reached fifty, Intellect is at twenty, Stamina is at forty, my Dex and Str have gone up to twenty and twenty-five as well-"

According to the starter guide, each level grants ten points to level with, every point in vitality, intellect, or stamina results in a five-point boost, so for one level the most your health, mana, or stamina can go up would be fifty points at a time. For stats such as strength, dexterity, wisdom, and charisma each point is a 1:1 value. "Going by the guide then that means my stats are on par for... A level 33 character with no equipment bonuses..."

While he knew that through training one could raise their stats, but this was pure insanity, while his long fight in the gauntlet could explain the boost in his stats he knew there had to be more to it than that. Looking down a little more he saw that the class line had been filled in, Harbinger of Nocturna, swallowing his saliva Wil read on, just below it he saw the active benefits of the class.

[Soul Infusion] When conquering a powerful foe you may infuse their soul granting access to new skill lines and boosting your status based on their own When infusing a soul of a higher level effects will be reduced until at the appropriate level.

[Death Wish] When facing overwhelming odds while at or below 10% health your health and stamina will be boosted by 50%, Kills while in this state restore health equal to the damage you deal.

[Through the Veil] Through your covenant with the goddess of the forsaken you have gained the ability to see through the veil and see that which is best left unseen, as a result, you can now see nightmares, ghosts, demons, and angels even before they take a host body.

[Nocturnal Predator] You have gained the eyes of a nocturnal predator allowing no light vision, Damage dealt is increased by 25%.

[Frosaken Constitution] For every five points in Vitality gain one point of Strength, For every five points in Stamina gain one point of Dexterity. +25 Vitality, +20 Stamina.

[Forsaken Might] Two-Handed class weapons and Heavy class armor no longer have status restrictions. Level restrictions are reduced by 10.

[Soul Skills]As a result of absorbing the soul of the dread wolf Wraith you have gained the skill line Blood of the Beast.

[Beast Blood] You have unlocked the primal strength locked inside, when fighting foes stronger than yourself or when below 50% health you have a chance to lose control of yourself and succumb to the blood of the beast. Taking on the form of a werewolf until either you or your opponent are dead. While in this form all status are increased by 200%. While in this form no weapons or armor may be used.

[Savage Combat] When in battle the blood of your enemies heals your wounds. Health and Stamina regeneration increased by the amount of enemy blood on your body, weapons, and armor. Up to a maximum of 100%.

[Pack Mentality] When in a party your senses are heightened, allowing faster assessment of party members status'. When party members are gravely wounded the chances of Beast Blood activation are increased by 10% when a party member dies Beast Blood has a 100% activation chance.

[Beast Tongue] You have learned the language of beasts large and small.

[Soul Infusion Status]

Current Souls: 1

Status Increase: +30/300 Vitality, +30/300 Stamina, +20/200 Strength, +20/200 Dexterity

Status Requirement: Locked until Level 10, full unlock at level 100

As he read over his stats Wil couldn't help but groan, they were powerful sure, but he knew this would get him into more trouble than he wanted to deal with. Reading on he saw what he wanted to know, just how long he would be in this disembodied state.

[Exhaustion] Through surpassing your body's limits you have entered a state of forced sleep to recover. Time Remaining: 30 days (Real-time thirty minutes.) To compensate for the inconvenience we have adjusted the time difference your tutorial time has been shortened to be five hours and thirty minutes instead of the expected twenty-four hours. Current time dilation set to one year per hour of real time.

Letting out a deep sigh Wil fell back off of his body and laid in the grass as he looked up at the sky, while it was boring to be a ghost he figured it was worth the trade of a sped up tutorial, it would allow him to track down his friends that much sooner.

He smiled softly as he remembered the text he had read just before getting inside of the cradle, his childhood friends Alice and Lily had both managed to secure their cradles earlier that day due to cancelations so they would be looking for him as soon as possible. As he was daydreaming about seeing his friends again, he heard a shout from the group of adults. Lunch was over, and it was time to finish the longhouse.

Wil watched from afar this time as cross beams were hoisted and lashed into place, small saplings were woven between them to make a grid to support the bundles of grass as they were fastened into place, the ends overlapping before mud was caked over the top and smoothed out. By mid-afternoon he was watching as the makeshift shelter of the two ships was broken down and the adults and children broke into groups.

The children began foraging for berries and herbs as the adults started gathering water and felling more trees, getting a headstart on the next day's work. Wil could see that by the time his month was up the village would be completed. Yawning softly Wil soon found himself drifting off and falling asleep in the warmth of the sun, after all, he would find no rest after sundown.

Wil passed the remaining hours of daylight in blissful sleep until the night came and he felt the eerie feeling of being watched, looking around he saw that the majority of the people had gone inside to rest. The only ones remaining outside were the woodworkers who had begun debarking some of the logs while dinner was being made, along with Ignis who was laying out stones in the shape of his new home. As the village's only smith Ignis' home and forge got the priority after the chiefs home that served as the community shelter for the time being.

To help speed up the process in the morning, Ignis had pre-dug all the holes and laid out the perimeter of his home, making sure to give himself enough room to expand. After all in the Norse communities families stayed together, one did not get their own home just because they became an adult. For now, he had two separate rooms planned aside from the common area and the forge, one he and his wife would take, and one for his daughter Freyja and the boy, if he ever woke up.

Wil took a moment to walk around the perimeter, smiling as he saw that the smith had already begun laying the groundwork for his forge, having brought a large anvil all that was left was to make a stand to for it and to build up the forge to a reasonable height. Seeing this all made him think of his papa, an old Norwegian man who lived out away from the city as best he could; he was told that his papa had been forging blades since he was just a boy.

He remembered his father telling him the real reason he moved to America was to get away from the old man so he could have a break from the forge, Laughing softly to himself he followed Ignis as he went inside of the longhouse. The inside was a little cramped seeing every outcast present, but there was still enough room for them all to lie down, looking around he saw every wall was lined with benches that could be used as beds, furs bundled up upon them as some chose to rest on the floor instead for more space.

Wil decided to begin wandering and eavesdropping once more after seeing where Ignis and his family, along with his body laid, there were no essential conversations to be observed tonight, however, so he found himself walking back to his body after only a half hour of wandering from one end to the other. In this time the small candles all about had been snuffed, and the cooking fires had died down to coals.

In the darkness Wil carefully stepped around sleeping villagers, not wanting to be rude after all, he heard muffled sobbing, turning his head he saw the cause. Sitting on Freyjas chest was a Mare. A hideous little demon that was best known to cause bad dreams, the source of the term Nightmare. Wil growled as he strode over to the girls' side without any hesitation as he kicked the demon violently, shivering at the satisfying feeling of teeth breaking as the being was knocked into the nearby wall, causing it to vanish in a puff of black smog with a bone-chilling wail.

Looking down he saw Frejas eyes were wide open, she had been unable to sleep due to the Mare, her eyes only shut to avoid looking at it for too long. But as the weight lifted from her eyes, she opened them to see the boy now kneeling beside her, reaching down Wil gently stroked her hair."It is ok little one; I won't allow them to bother you anymore..." And it was true; he could only imagine the terror this girl had felt too this point, seeing the creatures that were tormenting her from the shadows.

As his hand ran through the girl's golden hair, she smiled softly before drifting off, her head pressing into his hand as she slept. Wil showed a light smile as he sat like this for the rest of the night, as the hours crept by he saw more monsters in the corner of his eye. Whenever he turned his eye they would vanish, something that both deeply disturbed and annoyed Wilhelm.

The next week passed much the same, the focus, for now, was establishing the village, building up the priority buildings such as the smith, leatherworker, and woodworkers shops. Once they had the basic shops open things began to progress smoothly as tools were repaired, new bows were built, it did not take long until there was a longhouse for every family.

For those without families, however, smaller houses were built to conserve materials as they could always build onto the existing homes down the line. Wil was shocked at how quickly the homes were made, the last of them being completed on day twenty as once they got the final longhouse built the village split into three smaller crews to construct the little houses.

With the final home built the villagers looked outwards from their new home, the hunters had brought stories both good and bad. They had managed to find a few potential mines nearby with a massive one built not too far from the barrow. The bad news, however, was that they had seen the den of a monstrous wolf that had a large scar on its side, with a pelt as black as the night sky and eyes as red as blood. It has made its den inside of a massive tree that gave most of the hunters a bad feeling, as such, it was decided to avoid the place for now.

As they spoke, however, Wil knew the beast they spoke of, after all, it was the same one that mangled him not so long ago. And from the sounds of it, the creature had grown since their encounter; some had even gone as far as to call it Hati due to the darkness of its fur, claiming it must have been burnt while chasing the sun. Wil had begun spending his time sleeping during the day while watching over Freyja during the nights. As a result, he noticed a few things.

Since he had begun watching over her, she had more energy and strength, shockingly more to tell the truth. Wil had seen her lift a crate of furs that weighed close to fifty pounds with ease despite her age and size; it was later that day when he overheard it from her parents that she had regained her blessing of Baduhenna, a lesser known goddess of battle in the Nordic mythos.

Wilhelm had begun to discern that nearly all of the villagers had a blessing, usually related to their professions or upbringings. But it was a shock to see the shy, doll-like little girl hoisting crates with ease, blessing or no. Before he knew it the timer was down to just one more night before he was free to move as he wished, it was that final night however that things went haywire.

The night was passing much, as usual, a few Mares would try harassing the villagers, and Wil would run them off. Everything changed however as midnight came, a monstrous howl tore through the night, causing the houses to shudder. Wil had just returned to his body when he saw Freyja bolt up and out of her bed, running to his own before cowering under the covers beside him.

He heard the door to Ignis' room fly open before the main entrance was thrown open, curious Wil walked over to Freyja and patted her head through the covers."Stay here little one, and I'll go take a look..." Walking right through the wall as had become the norm Wil was greeted with the sight of torches flaring to life as doors were flung open. Looking around Wil swallowed as he saw more demons than usual, all bathed in the ominous red light of the moon. Looking up against his better judgment Wil found himself looking at the Great one wrapped around the moon, writhing and pulsing as the shadow of the earth covered the moon.

Wil knew then and there that something was wrong, he knew that the Eclipse was known to bring about more cases of supernatural activity for many reasons, the same could be said for the blood moon. But to have both of these events line up with the start of the witching hour created what could only be called an invasion. Screams tore through the night air, dragging Wils attention back to earth.

In the treeline, he could see the blue-tinted glow of eyes that sent shivers through his core, draugr much like those he had fought before, in addition to Mares. These, however, were not just astral bodies that only he could see, the villagers could see them as well, they took many forms, the small hairy men with pointed ears he had seen most of the time. Besides those he saw a few in the form of black horses with bright white eyes, their lips pulled back in a disturbing mockery of a smile.

Wil swallowed deeply as he watched the supernatural charge into the village, attacking the villagers. The villagers, of course, fought back against the creatures as best they could, but the shock of seeing their superstitions come to life he knew they were shaken.

Hearing a scream from inside Ignis' home Wil turned and ran back inside to see a small Mare had broken into the house, armed with a short black pitchfork had stabbed Sigurn in the side as she went to take shelter with Freyja. As he entered the room, he charged the Mare and kicked it as hard as he could, smiling as he watched it fly across the room before slamming into the wall.

While they had physical forms they were still beings of the astral realm, the issue, however, was that they had more strength now, the tiny beast scrambling to its feet and lunging at Wil. Swallowing his fear he dropped low, taking a knee as he swung his left arm out to deflect the spear, wincing as it tore a gash in his forearm. Biting through the pain his right hand shot out and grabbed the demon by the throat, squeezing violently as he heard whimpering behind him. Turning back he saw Freyja looking at him with a hint of fear in her eyes, and he could see why reflected in the mirror finish of his shield hanging over the bed.

His eyes glowed with blood red light, and the same sinister black aura he saw around the criminals covered his body, shaking his head faintly he smiled."Its alright little one, I will protect you all..." Wil then squeezed the throat of the creature violently, causing it to writhe in pain as he stood, lifting it up into the air as he ripped the pitchfork from its grasp before carrying it from the room and the home. Once outside he impaled the Mare on the pitchfork, as he did the blood of the demon splattered across his hand, sending a rush of pleasure through his body as he felt the wound on his forearm beginning to close.

As the rush ran through his body Wil felt the hesitation and fear fading; he could hear subtle growling deep in his mind. Wraith was beginning to awaken and with it the beast within Wilhelms' heart.