Enru reached out with her hands, brushing away the branches and leaves covering the silent pathway ahead. Plants and bushes, full of blooming flowers or tiny purple berries, grew alongside in the dirt. The forest was dark; blocking any moonlight that might have been present in the night.

Her house was just a little further ahead. Enru took a deep breath and skipped along the forest path. Her smile changed into a wider grin. The night was soothing, and she could stay up and dance, outside her home under the bright moonlight, all night.

It was tempting... Nobody would ever know of it.

But without discipline, she would never grow stronger. No, she had to get up during day, greet the demons with a confident smile, then work hard. Grendol and Asmira deserved at least that for how much they had supported her.

Her pace slowed down and she returned to walking normally, glancing over the lush greenery around her.

The gnarled trees towered above her, as if they were about to suddenly spring to life at any moment. Oak, maple and birch; they all grew in the forests of Dooru Mae -the mountain range dividing her village from the northern lands.

Grendol’s expression would always darken as he told Enru about it. Large beasts, dangerous terrain, giants made of flames; it wasn’t a place for someone like her to play around. He didn’t see her as anything more than a weak child.

Enru looked down at her hands covered with purple and red stains from berries. The tiny hands of a human. She had to get stronger or she’d be left behind; never recognized as an equal.

If that was even possible.

The two fishermen that always greeted her in the morning might take her under their guidance. They were strong, tall and managed to catch at least enough for half the village to eat for a day. It was obvious their wooden ship helped -and they weren’t just one, or even two- but they undeniably brought in a lot of fish each three days. If they allowed her then maybe...

No, not her. Grendol would surely stop her and say that.

An intense breeze brushed past Enru, causing the hair strands on her neck to stand up straight. The temperature around the girl slowly decreased with each puff of wind.

Soft rustle reached her ears. She glanced around, gazing between the trees, behind the bushes, on the ground; the shadows got darker -Larger.

Enru slowed her pace even further, closely observing the dark woods. She would be home soon anyway -home in front of the warm, cozy fireplace. There was no need to rush; nothing to be afraid of.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of round, glinting dots of light -appearing and disappearing from behind the trees. Either something reflecting the moonlight, the eyes of massive animals; beasts.

Or ghosts...

She stopped, standing still silence. Drawing as small amounts of breaths as she could, Enru strained her ears, listening for anything unnatural. Her eyes were stuck looking at the two, four -eight- shimmering orbs floating in the dense forest.

Ghosts didn’t exist. Not here.

The lights didn’t move and just continued to blink from the shadows. She couldn’t let them out of her sight. With slow movements, Enru backed along the path -one step at a time.

Another rustle came from her left. Her voice got stuck in her throat as she trampled into a medium-sized bush hidden in the dark. She stumbled and hit her back onto the cold ground.

The girl struggled getting her left foot out of the bush. She had to turn around and stand up quickly or else…

But she was stuck. The leather boot was held down by sticks and thorns. She wouldn’t get out of it anytime soon. Enru raised her head to quickly localize the dimly lit orbs, but they were already gone...

Her body twitched as a faint rustle resounded from behind her. She was unable to move further than what the bush would let her. Taking the shoe off would let her free, but she risked wounding her foot or ankle on the thorns.

She quickly turned as much of her body around as she could and began her attempts at removing the shoe. However, Enru immediately stopped and removed her hands from the oversized blueberry bush, instead lying still on the ground -silent.

The cottage, her home, was already in her sight; lit up by the moonlight. The clearing was as bright and tranquil as it would be during the day, but right now the much needed sight wasn’t quite as warming.

A shadowy figure, with the physique of a man, stood by her doorstep. It didn’t seem like someone she recognized from the village. He didn’t look her way, or hadn’t acted upon seeing her.

She would make sure it stayed that way as she continued observing upside down.

The man’s hooded cape slowly waved back and forth to the wind. It captured her sight; made by fabric she hadn’t seen before. The rest of his clothes, however, seemed normal. Travelling clothes she had already seen every harvest season when the merchants came.

But an unusually long knife, or a really thin sword, sat sheathed on his hip. She couldn’t make out the fine details without getting closer, but that was not something a mere traveller would possess...

And that stranger was in front of her house.

“Wha-” Enru’s widened her eyes, and her vertical pupils expanded as she shut herself up and continued to stare.

The hood had come off to the wind as he walked closer to the cottage. He had turned his head around and swiftly dragged the hood back over his head, changing his focus to one of the round windows placed on each side of the door.

But she had definitely seen it. The stranger was human, even though it couldn’t be true. Not here.

They were in the middle of nowhere -in a village of demons... Humans wouldn’t just randomly appear around Ferín, not to mention in front of her house during night. Yet there the man stood, right in front of her home, searching for something -or someone.

It couldn’t be her. She had never seen the stranger before. Living in the village, she had only been outside the borders to hunt every once or twice each month. She hadn’t been in contact with someone other than the villagers, especially not a human that wasn’t her brother.

Yet she couldn’t deny the possibility.

The hooded man moved closer and reached his hands out for the house wall’s rough surface. He leaned toward the window by the door’s right, then returned to his earlier position -only to once again lean against the wall, looking into the same window.

As he hesitated once more whether to stay or leave, his body knocked over one of the tall, round and white clay pots standing on each side of the doorstep. But as it was about to fall to its doom, he reached his right hand forward and stopped it’s fall midway through.

Making no contact at all.

The faint whispers of the wind reached Enru’s ears and continued toward the stranger. Faintly glowing orbs swirled out of the stranger’s hand and the air around him. The small spheres had stopped the fall and slowly brought the pot back, toward stable ground.

Another breeze surged in. Her hand unconsciously tried to reach out toward the chiming creatures as they disappeared one by one.

Bringing his hands up to the door, the faint light appeared again for a brief moment, but swiftly dispersed like smoke in the wind. Glancing around, he turned around and left, walking further into the thick grove.

With her voice stuck in her throat, Enru slowly lowered her arm. She looked at her own dirtied hand with puzzled eyes. Her hands were shaking, but she wasn’t cold. Not cold in the least.

Her body was warm. She was wide awake.

Turning around as the silence slowly creeped in, Enru focused back on getting her foot out of the bush, making sure no thorns would cut into her skin. She glanced back every now and then. The stranger might still be around after all -waiting in the shadows for her to appear.

After making sure the human was gone, Enru walked up to the door and brought her hand closer to the knob, but stopped herself before touching the wooden handle. The faint echo of a chime softly reached her ears, and a dim blue light, pulsating to its own rhythm, appeared with it.

On the door, there was a creature. Some creature she couldn’t recognize further than that it had come from the stranger. It didn’t look like anything other than one of the stupid and small glowing spheres.

Yet she couldn’t take her eyes away from it.

Enru brought her hand closer to its center. Soft, clear sounds escaped into the night, only to abruptly disappear soon after, letting another similar chime take over.

With the touch of her fingers, the creature lost its glow and disappeared into grey smoke. She backed away, following the trail it left behind with her eyes. It was still around, in the air.

‘Riam. Our side is ready for departure...’

“Who-” Enru tensed up and hastily glanced around the illuminated clearing. Nothing, nobody was around -close enough- to cause such a clear reverberating voice.

‘...We just need you and the mask before heading out...’

She stumbled further back as the echo came from all sides, swirling around her, louder and clearer with each heartbeat. Holding her hands up to her ears, attempt to block out the sound, it only brought her further down on her knees.

It wouldn’t stop. The voice came from within. Her body tensed up, it got harder to breath, but the voice continued on, unable to react to her pain.

‘...I’ll await you for the next two days…’

“Get out...” Enru breathed heavily as she screamed while facing down onto her own doorstep, “Stop!”

‘...And may the ravens guide your path.’

The pressure left her head, silence returned to the night. She was down on her knees and hands, breathing heavily. A splitting headache still lingered, but she could at least hear her own voice, her thoughts.

Enru got up on her feet and opened the door to her home, stumbling in without a second thought. Her hands were stinging, her head was pounding. The day had already gone on for far too long.

She brought her hands up for her own eyes to see. The palms were covered in small cuts, bruises and mud.

“What was-” she brought her hands up to her temples as her own voice echoed loudly within her ears. With a sigh, the girl removed her leather boots and walked across the room, into the kitchen, to clean her hands -maybe grabbing a light meal.

Anything that could occupy her from her thoughts.

Her head turned toward the location of her private room as soon as she got out of the kitchen. She changed her gaze toward the entrance, glancing out of the windows. Her door was locked. The stranger wouldn’t get further than her doorstep, if he ever appeared again.

“...Riam.” The pain had almost faded. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to be after her, or hostile to begin with.

She repeated the name over and over as she walked up the stairs leading to her room. Only one thing came to mind, but her brother was long gone. Older than her by six years, Riam had left at the age of twelve as he was taken in under a merchant family’s guidance. She hadn’t heard the name of her brother for ten years...

“Riam...” Enru looked into the palms of her own hands, reminiscing over their farewell.

Whoever that stranger was, he wouldn’t find her brother here. He was out there in the world, hopefully doing well.

A gleaming light came from the mirror as she walked past it on the way to her room. She stopped and glanced up toward the odd reflection. Enru’s body tensed up on the spot, “No...”

She swiftly brought her hands to the left side of her neck and turn her head around. The strands of hair swayed back and forth over her forehead as she looked around her, searching for an explanation, but the answer was already clear enough. She had been unconsciously scratching the whole day.

And now she paid the price.

Enru turned and glared back into the mirror. She lifted her hands away, making sure of what she had seen, only to cover her neck once again. It was still there, stretching itself from the left side of her neck, down to the center of her collarbones.

“No- No,no… This, no, it can’t be. Nonono-” her weak voice filled the hallway until she unconsciously silenced herself, furrowing her brows, glancing around for an explanation; anything that could tell her that it was all a lie.

But there was nothing -no one- there to tell her.

A bright light glowed out of what seemed like a scar; a reddened burn mark. Curving all the way down to the base of her neck, the three smaller lines glowed a bright silver.

She repeatedly opened and closed her mouth, breathing heavily; unable to make a single sound. The mark seemed brighter the longer she focused on it -illuminating the dark spaces around her.

Backing away from the mirror, shaking her head as she covered her neck with her hands, Enru dashed to her bedroom. She didn’t want to see it, but the bright light didn’t leave, it didn’t fade. It kept glowing brightly from the scar on her neck.

“It’s a lie...” Enru closed the door as soon as she got into the room. She headed for the straw bed.

Pain struck her right toe and she began to stumble into her bed. Rattling noise echoed into her ears as the wooden mask struck the ground. The headache resurfaced.

“It’s all a dream.” she covered herself with a blanket as she closed her eyes in an attempt to sleep.

But the light continued to shine brightly.

“Just a dream...” Enru whispered, shutting her eyes even harder.