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Flesh and blood stirred the hunger in my belly. Though, I had no stomach to growl, and no mouth to salivate, yet the tendrils of corruption swept across my incorporeal face, heralding the lives lost around me.
Men and women lay lifeless, their wounds shedding blood, and their faces aghast at whatever horror that took them. I could hear the wind biting through their flesh, the crunch of snow portending some savage beasts, though the beasts were only men, if men could be removed from such an appellation.
There were four of them bearing sword-hilts by their waist all armoured with plates chased in gold, and caked by blood that wasn't theirs. A phoenix was emblazoned on their breastplate, and wine-red cloaks were fastened to their shoulders by a brooch, accentuating a modicum of elegance that had been lost in their time here. Wherever here was.
The trees around us could be mistaken for skyscrapers, and no matter how far I flew up with my incorporeal body, I came no closer to reaching the canopies that the sunlight crept through. Besides, I had given up that attempt long ago, and my attention was now focused on the souls below me. I called out, seeking to grab their attention, but I was as visible as the air, and as present as the blood that flowed through their veins, there, but scarcely.
Too troubled by my invisibility, I hadn't noticed what they were up to till now. They were circling a pack of snow bears, their white fur could blend in with the world around them, and the blood that soiled their hides spoke of the malignity that plagued these parts. "Darn beasts," one of the men shrieked, sword in hand. "Come on! Come at us already!"
"Patience, Crass, patience." Another man said, his eyes fixed on the snarling wolves. The snow bears were outnumbered four-to-three, and yet they remained steadfast, bearing fangs which dripped with malice. But steel was sharper, and much more dangerous. "Patience!?" Crass spat, his eyes narrowed, "I had patience before they killed five of our men! If they won't come, I say we charge!"
"And who put you in charge, Crass?" A lithe man said. His cheeks were hollow and his hooked nose made his pockmarked face all the more crueler. "Krig is my leader, not you. You'd do well to remember that."
"Robert has the truth of it," one of the men agreed, wiping his bloody face with his arm. "Aye, patience. Three of these bears took down five."
"Unawares!" Crass roared, waving his sword with anger. "And to think there are more of their bloody kin prowling about the place. Patience?! To hell with that, Dunc! And to hell with you, Krig!"
"You may do as you please, Crass." Krig began, clutching his sword tightly. "But on my honour as a knight, when the day is done, and when we return to our lord's castle with our lives intact, I may not forget that you defied your commanders orders, orders you swore to obey through oaths. Are you hearing me? I will have you for an oathbreaker, and you will hang while we sup to our tales."
"Oathbreaker! Is that right!?" Crass bellowed, pointing the end of his sword at his commander. He slapped his breastplate with his other hand, digging his fingers into the iron phoenix. "And when was it that house Ivar last hung a man for it!? Have me hung if you must, but a magial will commence, and your neck may see a rope too!"
Ivar. Magial. The words struck me like lightning, a paroxysm of emotions and memories inundated me, blurry and unclear. I couldn't decipher what I was feeling or what I was recalling. The memories drank my ignorance as if they were parched, leaving behind a bottomless pit of lives that I had lived. Blurred faces, a thousand voices, and just as many words, so distant yet so familiar. I could see the confines of a man's home, a meadow stretching endlessly into the twilight, men with crowns bickering and plotting a thousand schemes, a war ending in a pyrrhic victory with foolish men holding up their bloodied banner. So many lives lost, and so many lives lived. Who am I?
I couldn't have asked myself a greater question. With everything I had just seen, like a blinding light denuding one from the veil of darkness, an emotion washed over me, stronger and greater than the others. More clear and more welcomed.
Hate.
Hate wasn't the only thing that partly recovered me from my ignorance, a flood of knowledge filled my incorporeal brain too. I was a black wisp of smoke, and I had taken this form many times before. How many deaths is that?
The men below were still bickering, and the snow bears stood silent, flinching behind the heat of their anger. I flew downwards, gathering my form behind Crass, and I reached for him in ways nobody ever has. My formless body entered through the man's nostrils, I could see the flesh inside that allowed for the gaudy man's survival, and then there was the man himself–the brain. Using my newfound knowledge, I forced my essence into his mind. I could hear him screaming, choking, begging for answers as to what was happening to him. I hadn't a clue as to what I was doing, only that I knew how to do it, and that I wanted to do it. The man's pleas oddly succoured me, and his efforts gave delight to my attempts. The deed was done, I was him. I perceived the world around me just as much as any man did, without the power that allowed for my flight.
"Crass…?" Robert croaked, fear coiling his stomach.
Crass sleeps. Though, not truly. I could feel the man's essence fighting back against me, trying to reclaim the body that was rightfully his. I recalled that this was always the case with men, there were many times where I forced one's soul out of their bodies, and there have been many times where they've fought back. Clutching the grip of the blade, I swung for his comrade. Steel screeched against steel, and Robert was howling curses as his blade scraped against mine. "Crass! What on earth are you doing?!" Krig roared, charging at me. Dunc came following after him, grabbing me as Krig tried to rip the blade out of my hands. "Gods help us all! The man has lost his wits!" Robert yelled.
In our short quarrel, the bears were on to us, catching us, as Crass put it, unawares. One of the beasts leapt up and sunk its teeth into Robert's neck, ripping out a clump of his throat. The man collapsed like timber, screaming and gurgling on his own life's blood. Krig put his sword through its eye, pulled it out and kept up with the violent attacks repeatedly. The bear whined as the light left its remaining eye, crushing Robert's body with its weight. With its death came Krig's. As Krig was struggling to pull the sword out of its socket, the bear's kin came running at him with vengeance, snarling and salivating. Krig's entire cheek was gone, ripped away from bone and flesh. A copious amount of blood flowed from his face, and the pain dragged him to his side. I wanted to kill the man myself, but I allowed the bear to do that for me. Is this my hate I'm feeling? Or is it his.
"Commander!" Dunc screamed, tearing me from my thoughts. "Commander, oh Gods! Co–"
I put my sword through his throat. That look he gave me I had seen a thousand moons before, confusion, shock, apprehension, the ignorance to death that every creature shared. "T-t…raitor," he stammered, falling and sinking into the snow. The two bears were now circling around me, their final prey, their final enemy. I knew I would not give the greedy beasts a taste of my flesh, but I soon had no say in the matter. Crass was still fighting back against me, clawing at my soul to gain back his rightful body until finally I had no say in what I could do.
If only he had been a bit faster, perhaps Dunc would still be alive.
The wolves had no real enemy after that. One of them dragged me into the snow, where my face met the blood that corrupted it. The other went for my neck, the only spot they could target with all the metal that sealed off the rest of my flesh.
Before I could face the pain that came with being devoured, I let go of Crass's body, reverting back to my incorporeal form, and gathering myself in the freezing cold air. The beasts can't see me either. Perhaps…
Taking the form of an animal did not please me. I did not want to be reduced to a savage beast, but somehow I recalled how much easier it would be than trying to take over a grown man. But there was another option, an option that wasn't available to me at the moment. A child. I need to find one, but where? A beast's nose is much better than mine, and though the thought made me sick, I had no other choice. I looked to see which of the bears was larger, and I swooped down to force my essence into the one that I desired. The stupid thing gave me no fight; it simply laid back and allowed me inside of it. A thousand scents bombarded my nose, and the metallic taste of blood made me hungry for more. Greedy they are. I shook my head, fighting off the instincts that sought to shackle me to a goal that was not mine.
A child. I must find one, and I must learn of who I am.