11 The Tragedy Of The Hunter Goddess (1/2)

The northern territory was unlike the other dukedoms as it only contained one major city which was located in the center of the valley, this was not by choice but rather borne out of necessity. The biggest threat to foreign invaders heading towards Arcadia City was the forest surrounding it.

The 'forgotten forest' as the locals called it, was a dense collection of trees and vines that surrounded the city like a grasping hand. It contained scores of magical beasts and monsters who hungered for blood within the depths. Every spring the magical beasts would go insane due to the lunar cycle and would attack Arcadia in waves of numbers. All the citizens knew, should the walls be breached they would all die.

The forest was not always a place of death and there were historical records of it beings a gentle place was numerous treasures to be discovered but after a certain year, that all changed. There was a legend about the forest that was passed on from parent to child, it told the tragic tale of the goddess of the hunt who fell in love with a mortal prince.

A handsome prince from a foreign land was travelling through a peaceful forest on a mighty quest to gain the holy sword. The goddess was hunting the magical beasts as was her duty to protect the villagers within the forest boundary, when she happened to catch a glimpse of the handsome prince. She was spell struck and began to blush frantically as she gazed upon his face. The prince had heard tales of untold rare fruits and treasures within the forest and was exploring it with his companions.

The goddess followed them closely and protected the prince whenever he was in danger. The prince realised something was wrong and turned around to see the shy figure of the goddess hiding behind a tree. He called out with a smile and she cautiously approached him with trembling hands.

It was love at first sight and the prince was infatuated by her grace and beauty, he swept her in his arms and whispered sweet words of love into her ears. The goddess was eager to please her new lover and guided the prince and his men to all the treasures of the forest where they swept them all up.

When the last treasure was collected, the goddess told the man she was unable to leave the forest but would wait for him after his quest. The man vowed to come back and wed her as his beloved, then set off to complete his journey.

The goddess lay under a tree and waited peacefully.

Months passed by and she remained in the same spot expecting her beloved to return.

Waiting. Waiting and waiting

The months turned to years which turned to decades.

Still she kept her promise.

Years later a traveller would stop by and tell her what happened to her beloved prince, he had completed the quest successfully and was now known as the 'Hero of the Arclight'. He had slayed countless monsters and prevented numerous countries from falling into ruin. His legend was known far and wide across the continent and his harem of ten thousand beauties was admired and envied by all.

The goddess' heart froze and then shattered.

She let loose a gut-wrenching scream of agony and for the first time in centuries, she broke her vow of guardianship and left the forest seeking answers from the prince.She travelled far and wide until she found the prince, now an elderly old king who ruled over numerous lands and confronted him over the broken promise he made. His answer snapped the last threads of sanity the goddess had left.

He did not know who she was.

She was simply one of the many girls whose hearts he had stolen.

The goddess viciously attacked him and killed every single living being in the capitol, the streets flowed red with blood and the screams of pain echoed through the night. She returned years later to the forest carrying the withered corpse of the man she had once loved. Under the tree she spent all those decades waiting, she dug a hole and placed the man and herself within.

Her eyes were now old and weary with no trace of the pure innocent girl remained. Only bitterness and hate could be seen on the once pretty face, sighing deeply, she plunged her hunting knife into her own chest and died holding her love.