The Eye of His Dark Majesty

The Beast and its Master

The night pressed down on me like a weight, thick and oppressive. I could feel it in the stillness, in the way the trees seemed to hold their breath. Every instinct in my body screamed for me to stay close to Halbrand, yet my legs felt frozen, rooted in place. The moon was high, casting a pale, eerie light over the clearing where Halbrand stood, his eyes scanning the darkness.

"Do you feel it?" I whispered, my voice barely audible, as if speaking too loudly would invite something sinister out of the shadows.

Halbrand's posture tensed. He didn't answer me at first, his attention fixed on the treeline. Then, after a long pause, he finally spoke, his voice low and sharp. "Yes. Something's watching us."

I shivered. The air had changed—there was that smell again, like wet, decaying earth, and the wind seemed to carry with it a faint, guttural sound, something deep and foreboding. I reached instinctively for my necklace, clutching it tight. The silver chain was cold against my skin, and I could almost feel a power. It felt like my mother was with me, protecting me.

Halbrand drew his sword with a quiet rasp of steel, the sound cutting through the night like a warning. I could see the muscles in his arm flex as he gripped the hilt, his entire body coiled and ready. "Stay behind me," he said, his voice softer now.

I swallowed hard, nodding, even though I knew he couldn't see me. My heart was pounding, each beat louder than the last, but I forced myself to stay calm. My mind raced with questions—what could be out there? Was it orcs? Some other creature? Or something worse?

Then, from deep within the trees, I heard it.

A low, rumbling growl. The kind that reverberates through your bones, making every hair on your body stand on end. It was unlike any sound I had ever heard—animalistic, but not quite. There was something twisted about it, something unnatural. My stomach churned, a wave of nausea washing over me.

The creature slowly stepped into the clearing, and my breath caught in my throat.

It was massive—larger than any beast I'd seen, its hulking frame covered in thick, matted fur. Its eyes glowed a sickly yellow in the moonlight, and its jaws, lined with jagged, rotting teeth, dripped with dark, viscous liquid. This was no ordinary wolf. Its body seemed distorted, twisted as though the darkness itself had corrupted its very form. It moved with a grotesque grace, its claws digging into the earth with every step, leaving deep gouges in the soil.

Halbrand stepped forward, placing himself between me and the beast. He didn't flinch, didn't show an ounce of fear. His sword was steady in his hand, gleaming in the dim light.

The beast growled, its massive body heaving, breath rancid as it stood mere feet from us. Halbrand lunged forward, his sword a blur, but the creature dodged with a speed that shouldn't have been possible for something so large. I stood frozen, the weight of my fear anchoring me in place. My hand clutched the pendant at my neck, the only source of warmth in the cold, thickening night.

Then, just as Halbrand moved to strike again, the creature's yellow eyes flickered to me.

It was as if time stopped. The snarls, the guttural growls—it all faded into silence as the beast locked its gaze onto mine. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat louder than the last. The shadows around us deepened, and I could feel the air grow colder. I took a step back, my body trembling, but before I could retreat any further, the creature let out a low, menacing growl and began to shift toward me.

My breath caught in my throat. The creature's eyes were no longer just filled with hunger; they held something far worse—intent.

But then, something strange happened.

Halbrand jumped in front of me and looked straight to the beast, his jaw clenched, his features darkened with a fury I had never seen before. And for a split second, his face changed.

It was subtle—barely a shift—but I saw it. His features twisted, his eyes darkened, and the shadows around him thickened as if they were alive, coiling toward him like tendrils. His skin seemed to ripple, as though something beneath the surface was fighting to emerge. His face, so familiar to me just moments before, now bore a darkness that sent a wave of terror through my body.

The beast, which had been advancing toward me with deadly intent, suddenly stopped. Its growl faltered, replaced by something I didn't expect—fear. A whimper escaped its throat, and it began to back away, its massive form shrinking, retreating. It whimpered again, its yellow eyes no longer fierce but filled with panic. The creature, which had moments ago seemed unstoppable, cowered before Halbrand.

Halbrand didn't move, but his eyes, still dark, still burning with that unnatural glow, held the beast in place. There was no need for a strike, no need for another lunge. It was as if the very presence of him—the real him—had commanded the creature's submission.

The beast let out one final, pained whimper before it turned and fled. It slunk back into the shadows, disappearing into the blackened corners of the night, as if retreating to the depths of the earth itself, as though it feared not death—but Halbrand.

I stood there, my chest rising and falling with uneven breaths, unable to process what I had just witnessed. The night was still again, the threat gone, but my mind was in chaos.

Halbrand's face returned to normal, the darkness receding from his features. He turned to me slowly, his expression calm once more, though there was something in his eyes that hadn't been there before. He didn't speak, but he didn't need to. The silence that hung between us was louder than any words could be.

"What... was that?" I whispered, my voice barely audible, not sure if I even wanted to know the answer.

He said nothing for a moment, his eyes locked on mine, searching. Finally, he spoke, his voice deep, the southlandian accent completely gone. "There are forces in this world, that even beasts fear." His gaze flicked to the treeline where the creature had disappeared, then back to me. "And they should."

My pulse quickened. Right now, it wasn't the creature I was afraid of.

It was Halbrand.

I looked at him—really looked at him—and for the first time, I wasn't sure who he was. Or what.

But I didn't have time to dwell on it. The shadows around us stirred, and I realized that this was far from over.