“Drink!”

The voice was commanding. And firm. So, she drank. Barely a sip at first, until she recognized the taste. When she did, she started drinking greedily.

Someone took the drink away from her lips and splashed it on her wound. The blood was washed away a little, but the truly amazing thing was the wound itself. It started to close, once it made contact with the potion. In seconds, where once was a gruesome wound, now was only slightly reddish skin.

She could still feel the ghost of the liquid, going down her throat, instilling life into her once again. A Healing Potion. Someone used a Healing Potion on her.

“I’ve took care of the wound on your back already. With this, you should be safe for the time being.”

She turned towards the voice, already knowing who it was.

“Ban…” she said.

“Ava.”

“You… you used a Healing Potion. On me.”

“I did. I judged it necessary. Seeing as how you were in the process of dying.” He said, seriously, but with a sarcastic undertone.

“I… I was! Ianeth-“

“I already know it was him and have already reprimanded him for what he has done.” He said, raising a hand in peace.

“But he tried to kill me!”

“Yes. And in light of recent events, so would many of our village.”

The memory of what happened hit Ava like a landslide. It was never far from her attention, but sometimes, rarely, she could almost pretend to forget.

“So, that’s what this is. You’re here to drag me to the village. To have me killed.”

“That is the most likely outcome.” He nodded.

It was the seriousness in his voice that broke her. The nonchalance. Ban spoke of her death as if he was discussing deer trails. It wasn’t as if they were close. But he was the closest thing their village had to a hero. The perfect Satyr, easygoing when the time was right, brave when danger approached and strong. He even had the |Hunter| Class. Just the normal |Hunter| Class, but she knew he was high level. Everyone looked up to him. And he helped everyone.

And right then and there, Ban came to take Ava to her death.

“You will come with us. You will be bound, but not gagged. Not if you refrain from provoking the others.”

“Fine.” She said, in a quiet voice.

Ban hesitated for a second, before speaking on.

“I do not wish to do this Ava. I remember you as a child and you were a happy one. Headstrong. A fine Satyr.”

A small part of Ava wanted to kick him for that. As a ‘child’? He was only a few years older than her. But she didn’t have the energy for it. The rest of her was lifeless.

“Yet I must. It is my duty. I would it for that alone. But know that there are others who wish to see you meet your punishment. Others who have lost much. As village leader, I must satisfy their pleas, when they have nothing else to be satisfied of.”

“Village… leader? But- Wait, does that mean that the leader is-“

“No. She is still alive. Yet wounded. She will not last long. As a final boon, she has asked me to bring you to trial, so that she may pass the sentence herself. I will oblige her.”

“So, she’s alive. …good. Thank you.” She said, forgotten tears forming again in her eyes. “Is anyone else-“

“Quite a few. But the story of that is long and we have little time. On your feet.”

The rest of the hour passed on in a blur. Ava, like Ban has foretold, had her hands bound. Her bow, arrows and other few belongings were taken away. And then they marched. Ban was leading their party and must have used a Skill, because Ava noticed how fast they were moving, just by glancing at the surrounding hills and seeing them fly past her.

Well. Not ‘fly’. But it was still faster than Ava could run.

She noticed the others were giving her various looks. Some were condemning, while others had a spark of pity in them. Most were troubled, however. Ianeth’s look was one of pure fury. Though, his missing horn might have something to do with that.

“You wished to know what had happened, after you left.”

Ban’s voice startled her into full wakefulness.

“I… I did. I do!”

“You will know. But first, I also wish to know something.” He said, peering at her.

Ban was leading this party, with Ava walking next to him. The others were following, not closely, but Ava could hear them shuffling closer, to better hear the discussion being spoken.

That’s Satyrs for you. Good storytellers, but even more eager listeners.

“I wish to know why you didn’t come back. I know you were around. After the night had passed, we talked amongst each other. Those of us with hearing Skills heard you. Crying out for your parents. Yet you never came. Why is that?”

“I… wanted to. But I couldn’t. I wanted to come, but he didn’t let me!”

“Who?”

“The Faun. He’s a…”

She would have continued, but for the look of recognition in Ban’s eyes.

“You… know him?”

“I do. He is not known by the entirety of our kind, but hardly a secret.”

“No. You’re… But no one told me!”

“To tell of the Faun is a choice each parent must make. If the child shows worth, he or she is told the story, before being sworn to secrecy. If you did not know… you parents must have wished you to grow some more, before being told.”

Or maybe they would have only told me after becoming a |Hunter|.

Sensing Ava’s shocked expression, Ban pushed on with the conversation.

“And you met him? Not many do. Then again, not many get their hands on the bow before being caught. I take it you managed to take it out of the village, before anyone saw you?”

“Yeah.”

“I see.”

Turning, he loudly spoke to the others.

“Fall back. What I will say is for my ears and Ava’s alone. As Village Leader, I command it.”

Whether it was because he was already recognized as Village Leader or just because nobody wanted to cross him, they all fell back. Even Ianeth, though Ava saw he didn’t look happy about it.

“I will tell you what we know, Ava. What we know and what we don’t know, about that night. I will tell you, because I believe in my hearts of hearts that what came about was caused by foolishness, not cruelty. And for this, you will answer my questions truthfully. Do you understand?”

“I do.” She said, swallowing hard at the intensity of his gaze.

“Very well.” He said, hesitating for a moment. “Once the bow was taken, the elder knew and told others, including myself. We-“

“Wait, you knew?”

“We did. Did you think you were the first to try your hand at shooting an arrow with it? It is why the story of it is told, when young Satyrs reach the proper age. Any of our kin are free to try their hand at the story of our founder. I did so myself, not many years ago.”

“You did? You met the Faun? What did you wish for?”

“My wish is my own and not for the ears of others. And yes, I did meet him. As others of our kin have. Know this Ava, anyone may try to use the bow, if they can retrieve it. But the bow will not work for all. Only to those who are judged worthy by fate or so the story says. Now, no further interruptions.”

He gathered himself, before continuing.

“As I have said, we knew the bow was taken. We did not know by whom, only that someone was about to try their hand at the oldest story. As we were all preoccupied with the festival, none had tried finding out who that Satyr was. But we saw the arrow you shot fly across the sky and over our village. And we knew.”

A dark look appeared across his face.

“Somehow, the entire village did. The information was as certain to us, as the sun rising each morning. The elder knew what this meant and told us. It was your wish for us to know that it was you who fired an arrow from the Crescent bow, was it not?”

“It was.”

“Tell me, Ava. Why that wish? You could have wished for anything and the Faun may have granted even grander wishes. Yet you wished for us to know. All of us. Why?”

“I… I wanted a good story. A story to make my parents proud. They wanted me to become a |Hunter|, but I just want to be an |Archer|. I thought if I’d have a good story for the festival…”

“I understand.” He said. “Yes, I understand now why you would wish for that. To see your parents proud.”

He smiled then and the act coupled, with the memory, broke Ava even further.

“Yet that is not the only thing that we know. We also know, by the same mystical means, that it was you who brought devastation to our village. You are the source of all the bloodshed. And it is coupled to your wish. You will now tell me why that is so.”

“I… I can’t.”

“You can. And will. You see, Ava, there are those who say that you wished not only for the village to acknowledge you, but that in your fury, you also wished for the village’s destruction.”

“What? No! I didn’t! I-“

“I know. I can see the pain on your face and hear it in your voice. I know you did not wish for what happened. But it did. And I must know why.”

Ava hated that story. Hated herself for causing it. She remembered it all too clearly, but for her to have to speak it, was a burden unlike any other. And yet, perhaps Ban would understand. Because he was Ban. Champion of their people. Always kind. Always understanding. She couldn’t hope for forgiveness, but she desperately wanted someone to understand her plight.

“My first wish was… stupid. I mean, not the wish, just how I wanted to make it happen. I wished to forever remain an |Archer|. And for people to be happy with that. But when I shot my first arrow, I shot it at the moon. I… hoped to do, as our founder did.”

“I see. Interesting. What happened?”

“I missed.”

“Oh. And the Faun?”

“He was amused. He said it was a worthy try, but that the founder did it with his own strength, not by borrowing strength from the bow of another. So, he didn’t give me that wish and made me wish for something else.”

“And what did you wish for?”

“I wished for everyone to know it was me who shot the arrow. But… I also wished to be the new master of the bow. For it to be mine, so I could be the greatest |Archer| among Satyrs. The greatest ever known.”

Ban looked ahead, while contemplating her words. It was a while, before he spoke again.

“Presumptuous. For you to wish to be the second master of the Crescent Bow… it is as if you wished to be the equal of our founder. At least, that is how I see the story unfolding.”

She couldn’t fault him for that. It might have taken him a little longer to arrive at the conclusion, but he said, more or less, the same thing the Faun had.

“Still, I do not see the cause of such horrors. Was the Faun upset with your request? Was what happened a consequence of his fury?”

“No, the Faun was sad, actually. But he said…”

Here it comes.

“He said that the safety of our village was tied to the bow. The founder placed some kind of… magical protection on our village. That’s why we don’t get many monsters or outside threats. And that protection lasted for as long as the bow belonged to the village. But when I wished to become its master and the Faun granted my wish…”

“The bow no longer belonged to the village.” Ban said, realizing the truth. “But… does this mean the bow now belongs to you? I- We thought it lost. We all did. The bow cannot be taken far and there were a few who have tried to steal it. It always comes back, the leader told us! We just thought it was lost and that we had to wait and…”

If Ban had been sad, but stoic before, he was becoming frantic now. And Ava understood the reason for it. What happened to their village was a calamity. A disaster. Yet the village could grow back, like any other, less protected ones, did. But for the bow to be lost to them, meant that a piece of their history, their culture, had just been ripped off.

“Where is it? Did you hide it? Tell me!” he said, rounding up on her.

“Ban, please-“

“Ava! Owner or not, we need it. Don’t you understand? Someone can make a wish! Not me and not others who have already done so, but most of our kin have never tried it. Surely, there must be one among them worthy enough to fire an arrow and make a wish. And they can wish for this to be undone! There’s still hope!”

Just when she thought she couldn’t sink any further into her despair and grief, Ban went ahead and did it for her. He could have yelled at her and it would have been alright. He could have cursed her, spat on her. Even beat her. And she would have accepted it. Yet what he did was worse.

He smiled.

He smiled the smile of a man who saw a slim, but real path towards happiness. He had found a way to make it all better, not even once contemplating the thought that any other Satyr might wish something for themselves, instead of the village, if given the chance. He had hope. And she had to break it.

“Ban… I don’t have it. No, wait, I’m not lying! Let me explain. The Faun did make my wish come true. I am the new master of the bow. But the bow rejected me. Because… I’m not the equal of its former master. I’m not worthy. And for that, it left me. Disappeared. I can’t make it come back and I tried. The Faun told me the same thing…”

Ban’s smile left its face and its place was replaced by emptiness.

“I’m sorry. I’m stupid and so, so sorry!” she cried. “If I could take it back, I would. But I can’t. And I tried to come back, I did! But the Faun… he froze me. And then he carried me to some other place, far away. He transported me there, by magic. When I woke up, I was in a forest and it was dawn. I wanted to come back, but before I left, I heard my mother… I couldn’t come back. I was scared! Please, just… I’m so sorry!

Ava broke down crying, collapsing in on herself. She sat on the ground, crying and wishing for all of it to have been a dream. But it wasn’t. She wished for that before, in the days after it happened and she always came back to the same reality. The one where she caused it. And there was nothing she could do about it, but cry.

She stayed like that for some time, eyes too blurry to see. She didn’t hear Ban getting nearer, but she heard him when he spoke.

“On your feet, Ava. You all, get back. I’ve told you all to fall back! If any of you heard what was just spoken, it will be me who you’ll have to deal with. And if any of you speak of what was just spoken, I will have your horns!” he bellowed.

Ava heard hurried footsteps, before Ban picked her up.

“Stand up, Ava. We must keep walking.”

They did, for a time, before Ava found her voice again.

“I’m sorry…”

“I know you are. And so am I. I know now that I was not mistaken. You did not bring this upon us out of ill will, but out of foolishness. Arrogance. But bring it you did, Ava. And for that… you must be judged and punished.”

“…I know.”

“I will tell your story to our village leader, if you do not tell it to her yourself. Perhaps it will help you.”

“Thank you.” She said, her tears drying up. “Ban, I’ve told you what you wanted to know. Will you tell me… of that night? What happened? What of my parents?”

“I will tell you, Ava, of what has happened, as I saw it.” He said, breathing in deeply. “As I have said, after the arrow flew over our village, we knew it was you. Everyone was outside. Most were impressed, though some Satyrs, knowing the old story, were less so. Perhaps they saw the arrow and thought of hubris. Yet, it would have made for a fine story, if not for what happened next.”

He took another breath and kept on talking.

“It wasn’t long before sounds were heard, from outside the village. Roars and the sound of teeth gnashing. Feral sounds. Our village knows of monsters, even if not many. We have hunted them before. But not in so large numbers. And we were never hunted by them.”

“What kind of monsters?”

“All kinds. Some kinds I do not know how to name. I recognized Tunnel Worms, Giant Leeches, Rockhide Wolves. There were even Ball Bats among their numbers. Yet there were others, more dangerous ones. A skeletal figure, that had more limbs than is natural. A flat creature that looked like a wave of grass, until up close. The wave of monsters that hit our village was varied and deadly. And… they were too many of them, for us to have had any chance.”

“What then?” she asked, fearfully.

“We fought. We fought, Ava, but we are hunters, archers, herdsmen. Few, if any, have |Warrior| Classes and those that have the |Hunter| Class or the like, are not made to hunt like this. We fought, but we were caught unprepared. We tried to form a circle, with the weak and the children in the middle, but some monsters just burrowed up from bellow the ground, targeting them. Perhaps they sensed easier targets.”

A wave of regret passed over Ban.

“We fought for what seemed like hours. Those that had Classes hit the monsters first. They used up their best Skills in the first few minutes and killed scores of them in return, but it was a drop in the bucket. When those Satyrs died, the ones who had weapons, improvised as they were, stepped forwards. No better luck for them.”

“And you?”

“And me? I fought, Ava!” he said, a touch of fury in his tone. “I conserved my Skills, but even mine ran out before long. I fought then with my hands and with whatever I could get my hands on. Spears, bows, a broken chair… It didn’t matter. I would have died too, I was too wounded, when the leader walked amongst us.”

“The village leader. But she’s…”

“Old. True. Yet Skills don’t age, Ava. She was a |Refined Spearhuntress| before she became our leader, did you know that?” he laughed. “She used a potion on me, the same kind she gave to me and I used on you. I went from dying to standing up again. In the time it took for me to do that, she had already killed entire groups of monsters. She killed an entire swarm of Ball Bats in one hit, using a Skill. It made her spear burst into duplicates, when she threw it and they’d all hit their targets. She was a sight to behold. But…” he breathed heavily.

“But she was old. Once she used up her best Skills, she started getting slower. Weaker. A Tunnel Worm nearly ripped her leg off and, in that moment, an entire host of monsters attacked her. We managed to pull them off and get her to safety, but she was already badly wounded. We used potions, but… she is still weak to this day. Weaker every day.”

“And the others?”

“Most fell after that. We could breathe again, when the leader charged forwards and, for a moment, we truly thought we could drive them off. Yet she fell and when she did, our morale collapsed as well. It was a slaughter after that. A bigger one than before.”

“How many-“

“Just under half the village.”

Ava’s legs nearly went out from under her. They really should have, judging by what she just heard. A part of her was suspecting Bam of using a Skill for fortitude.

Half of the village. Half of the people she had known. Half of her friends. It was half of her entire life.

“Of those that remain, most are women. The men have died first and in greater numbers. Women died too, but some stayed back to protect the children and that has saved some. Almost all of the elder Satyrs are dead. They couldn’t bear to see their sons and daughters dying and dived into the fight. Few children died and of those, mostly those who had Classes.” He sighed. “Brave kids.”

“Most dwellings were affected and a number were destroyed. The earth itself looks wrong, because of the Tunnel Worms. That is what happened that night, Ava. And that is why I must bring you to your justice.”

She nodded, shellshocked. But she still had one more question to ask. She noticed Ban hadn’t answered it, nor had he touched the subject, when he recounted the events. She knew what it meant, but she still hoped. A fool’s hope.

“Ban. My parents. Are they… dead?”

“…When the monsters attacked, your parents’ home was amongst the first to be hit. Before we managed to rally. I think they went after it, because the scent of goats attracted the monsters. I saw it and tried to help, but your mother was too far away and I couldn’t get to her. She was attacked by leeches and managed to fight them off for a while, with your father’s help. He couldn’t get to her either, but he used his bow to take down the monsters from afar. That is until he was attacked too. Something that looked like a living boulder crashed into him and broke his bow. Your mother was swarmed after that. I tried to help. I’m… sorry. I truly am, Ava.”

“And my father?” she tried. She hoped.

“He fought off the rock monster, but a Ball Bat enveloped him from behind and ran away with him. He didn’t come back and the bats never let go of their prey. I know it’s tempting, but you shouldn’t hold false hope, Ava. He’s-“

“Dead.” She said.

Just like her voice. Just like how she felt inside.

Ban nodded, but didn’t speak another word. Not that Ava wanted him to. She had heard enough. She had held little hope that her parents were still alive. But she had hoped. Yet, even that small fragment of hope was dashed away by Ban’s words. She wished to be known for her act and she was. She was now known as the herald of doom, the bringer of death.

Half of her people were gone. Her village was in ruins. The elder Satyrs, those that could have steered the village to recovery, were all but gone. The village leader was dying and Bam, hero among their kin, was to take her place. But he was still too young. He was brave and kind and respectful of all laws and traditions. Yet, that did not equate to wisdom or experience.

And so, she walked. Past hills and past forests. Up the mountainside, towards the place she once loved and which she now feared.

Home.