Hunter's Path

A golden hunting bow made of white branches that contains the blessing of the forest. Trees with such white branches are rarely seen nowadays. The blessings were once covered by darkened blood, but the stains have been washed away by water. The hunter pursuing the dark herd seemed to be on a hunt without end. Nights of waiting under rotten leaves, and days of slumbering inside chunks of meat, All for that fatal arrow that would penetrate the heart of the prey — and then, it was on to the next target. Gradually, the hunter stopped worrying about the wind revealing her location to the prey, Or about using wildflowers to camouflage her human scent, As the smell she diffused became similar to the stench wild beasts were familiar with. She forgot the human tongue long before she became a hunter. During her endless hunt, the time and the sun and the moon faded into oblivion, And so did the boundless hunting fields promised to her. Even the blind youth who first found her and gave her the bow made of white branches, And led her onto the path of the dark beasts, Was forgotten in her undistracted hunt. "For the bloodstained shall never find yonder hunting grounds of endless viridescence." "No, master, this world where barbarous beasts roam shall be my hunting grounds..." Looking into the clear water under the moonlight, the hunter found that she, too, had unwittingly turned into a wild beast. Following the tracks left by the beast, the black knight whose form and sword were reflected in the water found her, at a loss as she was... "So, you were just another beast to be destroyed, tempted by the illusory silhouette of the moon in the water." "How strange. For a moment, I thought I saw a maiden lost in the forest..." "I must continue westwards. For the sake of justice... To settle the crime of twisting man into a beast's form."