Deusferta Adventures: Awakening of The Ancient

It has almost been a month since the arrival of the abomination, nearly a month since everything changed. 

I still remember that day... the snow, the singing, the warmth of the fire, the laughter of the children, the sweetness of the wine... it was the greatest of days... until it all changed. When it came.

The snow began to fall faster, harder, more hail than soft flakes. It grew darker, colder, there was this... sense of apprehension, like the moments before a storm, when the pressure changes, and you can feel it in your bones. In your soul.

We heard it, first, that sound... something like the bellow of a stag, though deeper, more profound. We ignored it. The guards told us not to worry, to continue with the festivities.

We didn't care, then, we were drunk on liquor, high off the spirit of the season. At least I was. 

There were whispers, some people returned to their homes, I dismissed them. 

At some point I found myself staggering through the cold, looking for a place to relieve myself. I could see the forest through the houses, it was silver with snow, dark and awaiting. 

And then, I saw it.

I thought it was a shadow at first, some collection of dark clouds drifting low. But it quickly became impossible to ignore. There was something there. Something was in the woods, moving towards the city. 

It was huge, massive, larger than any living thing had the right to be. It looked to be a creature of the forest, a stag, like the kind I had hunted with my father when I was a boy. 

I thought at first I was seeing things, that I had dozed off in the snow and was dreaming. I was quickly sobered when the creature let loose its call once more. 

All was silent for a moment. Still. The snow continued to fall, biting at my skin, but I couldn't move.

Then, at its master's command, the forest came alive. Beasts of all sorts emerged from the tree-line, wolves and bears, boars, stags, owls and hawks. Even rabbits and squirrels surged forward with horrific intent.

All the while, that thing watched on. It seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, this great void of dark speckled with silver. 

It seemed to be looking at me. Its single eye glowing red in the night. Its head crowned with antlers of gold, they seemed almost... radiant. 

That's when the bells began go toll. Their pealing cry startled me from my trance, and I ran, my need for relief having taken care of itself.

The stars surged overhead as I ran. The guard seemed somewhat prepared, had they known? Had they known and neglected to tell us?

They mounted a defense, but against the endless onslaught of beasts, they were quickly overwhelmed.

Eventually, the Great Beast joined the fray, our homes collapsed beneath its might, reduced to rubble in moments. It summoned blasts of blinding gold light from its brow, streaking through the night, leaving devastation in its wake.

In my frenzy of fear and desperation, I recall but one moment of hope. There was a figure, tall and proud, injured but fighting still. Radiant he was, a vessel for Deus' wrath. With each swing of his odd blade, a beast fell, hewn and sundered, though two more came to take its place. The last I saw of that figure, he was surrounded, bloodied and beaten, yet the light of the Lord shone in him, staving off the dark.

Somehow, in a state of madness I found myself at the doors of the church. I could hear the waves crash against the cliffs below, I could taste the salt on the air. Salt and blood.

I was granted entrance, sanctuary. One of the few. As the doors closed for the last time, I saw a mother and her child weep as they held each other, lost amidst the crowd of desperate souls.

The holy place was safe, if safe is a word that can be used in these dark days. We retreated into the catacombs. That's where we've been for these last few weeks, or however long it's been. 

Food is beginning to run short, and we continue to hear the calls of the Creature. There is clawing at the doors. Snarling from just beyond. They are waiting for us.

Why did I ever come to this accused island? Why did I leave my family? For what? New fortunes. Ha! Torment and death is all I've found.

I write this account now with the hopes that no one will need read it, I do so mostly for my own dwindling sanity. 

Most of the survivors here are asleep, though I can find no such respite. It is cold tonight. I wonder if it's still snowing?

I can not help but ponder how the other settlements have fared? Are there any other survivors?

Some say that the Beast is an ancient deity, a spirit of the forest come now to claim his lordship.

Heresy, of course. And yet... what else could it be?

I pray to Deus every night, pleading for salvation. Perhaps this is some divine punishment. Perhaps we have failed His tests. 

Deus save us. Deus preserve us. Deus guide us to salvation. Give me the strength to endure this hardship. 

O Deus, liber me in salutem, et omnia vanitates superabis.

The account of an unknown survivor.