The Castle Under The Moon

Chapter Six

The story of Shadow takes place long before anyone can remember the real events.

Shadow was the first of his kind, the strongest.

He had been born into a small tribe who went by the name Wolf.

The men and woman of this tribe are different from everyone around them. They were much bigger and stronger than the average human which made them the outcasts. Many others called them The Beasts.

When Shadow was born he was just like everyone else in his tribe and stayed that way until the night if his thirteenth year alive.

The day before a male turned thirteen he would go out with his father and the chief to hunt for the first time so that he could show his worth and that he could provide for his people. Whatever he was able to catch was cooked and placed on a long table with many other foods for the whole tribe to eat the next night.

The tribe threw a big gathering on the night of the males thirteenth year, inducting them into a certain part of the tribe that the chief got to pick based on their skills and what they were best at.

Usually that night was exciting and enjoyable for everyone involved, but this night was completely different.

Shadow was getting ready in his small cave type hole that was on the side of the mountain that they called home, when an immense pain consumed his entire body.

The pain started in his head and then slowly spread throughout his body, causing him to scream in a way that none of the tribe members had heard before, scaring everyone that was close enough to hear.

His mother sat on the dirt floor with his head in her hands and tears flowing freely down her face while his father went to fetch the chief and the healer.

Shadow was scratching at his body, some were so deep that he was drawing blood.

A few times during the day Shadow would pass out from exhaustion but would wake back up not long after.

As the moon started to rise both the healer and the chief came to a conclusion that something evil was happening within the boy and, without his parents permission, tied his arms with ropes from two different trees, making him hang in the air, toes barely grazing the ground.

While his father held his mother the entire tribe circled around them and held hands as they began to chant, the chief leading.

By the time the moon was at its highest point Shadow had stopped screaming, completely exhausted, and all the tribe members had gone to their small dens only leaving the chief, healer and, Shadow's parents stationed around him, watching.

Every now and then he would grunt and squeeze at the ropes that were holding him up while is body would tremble.

Out of nowhere Shadow's breathing stops and he twitches.

He takes a deep breath as he tosses his head back and yanks at the ropes, causing his wrists to gush blood as the harsh rope reopens his wounds.

His mother cries out and tries to reach for him but the chief holds her back and tells Shadow's father that they need to go back to their den and he would watch after Shadow.

At first Shadows father resisted but when the chief threatened their sons life they went willingly.

When his parents where out of sight, the chief and the healer exchanged looks and then began to untie, a now still, Shadow from the tree.

They both rushed into the woods, far away from the mountain that the tribe lived in, and stopped when they got to a small underground compartment.

As the chief laid the non-moving boy on the ground the healer grabbed the large silver coated collar that was laying in the dirt.

The chief gently placed the collar around Shadow's neck and stood.

Before he was able to get to a safe distance Shadow began to scream, causing both men to place their hands over their ears and watch as the young boy transformed into a beast right in front of them.

Shadows back arches and cracks while his arms and legs began to sprout fur, his nails grew and grew, forming into sharp claws.

Within seconds he was fully shifted into a beast and lunging for the two men that stood in front of him while snarling.

The two grown men instantly fill with fear of the beast and make their way out of the compartment and away from Shadow.

Before separating, the chief tells the healer to never speak of what had happened just mere minutes ago or he would feed him to the beast.

The chief sent two of his strongest men to guard that spot in the woods until he could get back out there.

He had finally started to drift off when one of the guards burst into his warm den, chest and arms covered in blood.

Before venturing back into the woods, the chief takes the guard to the healer so that he could get cleaned up.

The chief runs all the way to the small compartment and freezes when he sees that the doors are both open.

Hesitantly, he makes his way down, and into the compartment.

Raw terror fills him when he sees Shadow, in human form, drinking the blood from the mauled body on the ground.

Shadow looks up, meeting the chiefs eyes.

In that exact moment they both knew that whatever the future held, it would completely break the both of them.

From that day on the chief slowly lost his humanity as he slaughtered countless humans and animals for Shadow. He had tried to kill the boy in many different ways but never succeeded, it only made things worse for him.

The chief took out every frustration he had on Shadow, he would whip him, cut him and, starve him.

As time went on Shadow slowly became a man, he had begged countless times to be let go, to see his family but the chief never allowed it.

When the chief was on his deathbed he inducted his nephew as the new chief of the tribe and told him about the beast that was living, chained up, in the woods. He explained what he was to do and when his nephew agreed the chief was able to pass on, knowing that his secret was safe.

The nephew had gone out to visit the beast a few times, only to beat and taunt him.

He had not fed Shadow, thinking that his uncle should have just let the beast starve to death, and rarely ever came to see him anymore.

Shadow ended up being fueled by that hunger and in human form he broke the silver coated collar and busts through the wooden doors that separated him from the outside.

He instantly shifted and hunted for food, leaving the tribe and the compartment behind.

Later on in life Shadow became a bounty hunter of sorts for the humans and the magical beings.

He would drink as much as he could from the people and creatures that he caught and then would move on to the next one.

Over time people used him as a story to tell their children at night so that they wouldn't sneak out at night, contorting the true story.

There was so many variations of Shadow's story but there was very few who knew the right one.