The lone horseman rode back along the dimly lit pathway that snaked through the forest of Midriedan. The night had only just fallen and the sky was a deep hue of violet speckled lightly with stars, but the dangers that abounded in the forest did not sleep when the sun set. The horseman spurred his horse into a full-fledged gallop and blazed down the path, mindless of anything that might cross his path.

Behind him ran a single black wolf, its eyes glowing like red hot embers in its gaunt black face. As the horseman sped ahead, the wolf darted off of the path and disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Anxiously, the horseman looked away from his path and into the trees; only green and black blurs met his eyes. Shadows that he knew were only bushes and leaves seemed to take on lives of their own. They moved like demons, the wind that whistled through the branches becoming their hapless moans.

In that split second that the horseman took his eyes off of the path, the wolf struck. Like a cannonball, the black figure collided with the man, knocking him completely free of his horse, stirrups and all. The horse reared up and squealed in fright before she took off down the path towards the village. The man scrambled to his feet and began a terrified sprint after her; his sword was out of its sheath and in his grasp, but disoriented from the fall, he was unable to wield it properly.

Sharp fangs pierced the thick fabric of his trousers and sank into the flesh of his ankle. The wolf gave its head a vicious shake and jerked the man to his knees. The horseman cried out in pain and flailed his sword blindly at the wolf. By some divine stroke of luck, he managed to cut a bloody, but shallow, slash along the animal’s flank. It yodeled in pain and sprang back temporarily. The horseman scrambled as far away as he was capable, but each movement sent an arrow of pain through his leg straight into the bleeding wound in his ankle. Again, he felt the serrated grip of the wolf’s jaws around his foot; he lost his balance and fell to his knees again.

The wolf let go of him the instant he struck the ground and sprang on top of him. Its paws sought out his shoulders and pinned him to the earth. Like a triumphant warrior, the wolf leaned over and bared its fangs in the man’s face. Its ears were erect and pushed forward, its eyes glimmering like embers. The man’s eyes widened at the sight of the white fangs, glistening from saliva in the wolf’s jowls.

In one swift movement, the wolf tore the man’s throat completely out, sending a spray of blood across its muzzle. The man was not even given the opportunity to scream.