What seemed like a serene forest was anything but that, for like all days it was filled with the robust bustle of life and the struggle for survival between those who travel through it and those who dwell within.<br/><br/>Hooves ripped through roots and sent puddles of water left over from a heavy rainfall quaking. A stag of massive proportions was being chased and it's pursuer was a strange being indeed which seemed at odds with the forest about it.<br/>It's shape was that of a strange monster, tattered wings akin to a massive bat bent to press against a back similar to that of a human so they would not slow it down during it's chase. If that was but all that was strange with it then it could hardly be called a bizzare monster, this being had no steed and yet made the sound of hooves striking the ground, quite simply it was it's own ride. Like a centaur it's lower body was that of a powerful equine, a proud black stallion no doubt if not for the oddities. All covered in metal plating and barding, a steel traveler who did not fit very well in the forest.<br/><br/>Whereas the creature had bulk, power and speed the Stag had the knowledge of that forest and the experience of running from predators that came only with a lifetime there. The prey bounded through pickets of thorns, weaved through trees and went to groves filled with stones and roots. It was to no avail, the monster did not slow and it even managed to slowly close the distance.<br/><br/>The answer to what gender was of the creature and whether it had the mind of a man was revealed to the birds of the forest as exuberant cries of "Tally ho!" in a masculine voice echoed through the woods. It was no beast armored by chance but a hunter indeed.<br/><br/>"It has been a merry chase… but soon it must come to an end along with your life. A shame, but the prey must be devoured!"<br/><br/>A javelin of wood twirls in hands of the creature-man before it is flung forth with a thrust of the shoulder. Vines whip about as the projectile passes and a cry rings out as the weapon strikes the flank of the stag and sends it tumbling upon the ground.<br/><br/>Hooves dug into the dirt and the wings of a bat finally unfurrowed so as to drag against the wind as the hunter came to a stop. "You shall be a good feast, sleep well." the hunter murmurs before he takes in hand a second javelin that is then slammed into the skull of the stag.<br/><br/>The forest still bursts with life, but in that one grove, in that singular clearing, the death cry of the stag brings silence.<br/>The hunt was over.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>