Origins of the hunter

[The Hunter of Jahanna]

The hunters carrage rolled across the desert night shrouded in a sandstorm of his own creation. As his undead team and driver directed the carrage , the hunter slept within. Unfortunately , it was not a peacefull sleep. Memories suppressed for so long surfaced with violent intensity to invade his dreams. He dreamed of the past, when he had a name, a life , and a love. He was the forests most fearsome protector. He earned the title of high ranger after years of service and dedication to the Order of the Oak. All the druids of The Order required of him was to patrol and defend the forest from all its enemies be they man , orc , dragon or other denizen. For a time , all was peacefull and happy.In the wood he met Ersebeth a sorceress without equal.They both loved the wood and each other. They were inseperable for all of the 3 short years they had. Both of them defended the wood with spell and steel until one day the forest turned against them. No one knows the exact reason , but they were set upon by a pack of wolves. The hunter,inexplicably, could not calm the beasts. As the pack began its chase , other forest animals aided them. Elk and deer blocked side trails with their formidable antlers,Eagles and hawks harried them when they tried to escape into trees.Finaly after what seemed like hours , the hunter and his love ,Ersebeth, were hounded into a clearing surrounded by the bears of the wood. Pandemonium broke out and the bears attacked. In the end all of the creatures who assaulted the hunter were killed either by his sharp blades or the annihilating power of Ersebeths magic. If it had only been enough , maye the hunter wouldnt have been created.During the battle Ersebeth had been fataly wounded by a great stag.His broken antler was still lodged in her when the battle ended and she finally dropped.The hunter rushed to her side , but it was too late , she was dead before she hit the ground. She had held on just long enought to know that her love was safe from harm. The hunter wept and called down curses on the forest for the unprovoked attack. In his misery he called out to the dark spirits of the forest for answers. He was shocked when they acctualy responded to him. "The druids" was all he heard slither through his mind. He begged for more , but got nothing. He carried the bodie of Ersebeth to the grove and dropped her husk in front of the Archdruid and said"WHY?"
"she was not of the wood "was the druids reply
"now neither am I"the hunter spit back. With that said he lifted the bodie of his love and went to the darkest parts of the forest to hide with his grief.

In the carrage the hunter wailed in his sleep and the sandstorm accelerated..........

stay tuned more to come in a few days

[The Hunter of Jahanna]

Part 2:

In the deepst part of the forest the hunter buried Ersebeth at the foot of an ancient redwood.As soon as the last shovelfull of earth was turned the Hunter felt the slithering presense of the forests darker spirits again. They whispered of vengeance and bitterness. They offered power in exchange for service.The hunter resisted at first,but the evil of the forest was cuning and had watched the hunter for years. The dark spirits knew all his weaknesses and exploited them all. They new of his deep desire for revenge. He was assaulted with visions of happieness and his yet unborn children , only to have them replaced with the laughing faces of the druids."She is not of the forest" kept ringing in his ears allong with the sounds of laughter. In the end the hunter was no match for the combined need of the evil in the forest. He agreed to the spirits wishes. In exchange for the power to have his revenge he would have to destroy the wards the druids placed on the evil shades.
The transformation from man into forest demon was painfull to the point of driving the hunter mad. The spirits flayed away his flesh and remade him from the inside out. Every cell of his being was imbued with the raw power of the elements. Everycell was also twisted to a dark purpose. When they were done the man no longer existed. He was a beast of unstopable power with complete dominion over the elements of fire,earth,air and water. In a rage the hunter unleashed his new powers on his once beloved forest.He fired vortexes of wind down forest trais uprooting trees and killing anything that couldnt get out of the way. He called down great pilars of flame into the trees turning the woods into an inferno.The hunter made the earth itself churn like and angry sea killing anything that dared to show itself in the face of his grief. He saved the greatest part of his fury for the druids who had turned his forest against him. He rode into their enclave encased within a cyclone. THe druids sentrys were encased in living stone that flowed up over them like water. Some of the druids were torn apart in small cyclones ,others were incinerated with elemental fire. The Hunter created javelins of ice to drive into the backs of any druid who tried to escape. He finaly saw hs prize as the Grand druid came into view. The hunter had the ground swallow the Great druid up for safekeeping as he killed the rest of the Order of the Oak. When the hunter was done all that remained of the forest was the redwood that was Ersebeths head stone, the stone seal on the spirits cavern , and the Archdruid.
THe hunter said "look what your arrogance has cost you. For killing my love and turning the forest against me I have destroyed it and you are next".

"This is the exact reason we did what we did!!"the druid shot back," Dont you see how that womans sorcery has twisted you? Even in death her taint remains!"

"SILENCE!!" the Hunter roared."Open the seal you set upon the cavern of the spirits so that my revenge might be complete".

"never"was all the druid said.
In an instant the Hunter scooped the Archdruid up in a gust of wind and proppelled him at the seal with such force that the stone seal was shattered with the broken bodie of the druid.
As the Spirits of the forests dark urges left their prison behind they gave the Hunter a warning.
"remember who you serve when we come calling"

The Hunter woke up from his dreams screaming.He had a forebodeing feeling that things were going to start changeing for him in his verry near future..............