Today my dream is one of destiny.  It calls to me in a malice laced whisper, low and thrumming within my chest.  But I do not fear it.  No, the fear had left me some time ago.  It does that after years of preparation.  I learned quickly that the only fear was of fear itself.

Go my child, to the land of towering columnar pines.  There you will find the one draped in the shadows of the trees.  The jackal of old, black as tar and eyes of blood red.  He has what you need to complete your transformation.  Take from him what is yours child.  Show him all you have learned, and you will wield a mightier power than even I.

—-------

My return to Pangea had been mostly uneventful.  The land grew lethargic in their absence, but change was upon the winds. 

I take my leave shortly after returning.  My true purpose wasn’t here-- not yet.  I had more urgent matters to attend to in the kingdom of the pine forests.  The Chamber as those here called it.  Chamber of Evil it shall be dubbed once more.

My arrival to The Chamber is the same as it had been upon Pangea.  A levitating descent with no warning called out to those that may reside here.  Why would I forewarn the one I seek of my coming and their undoubting demise? 

Draped in the shadows of the trees...

That was maddeningly unhelpful as the entire kingdom was draped in shadows.  Destiny was not easy, this I knew.  And so, I settle atop the earth below and pursue my quest to find the jackal on hoof.

As I pass under the canopy of pine needles I take note of the local inhabitants.  Overhead they screech warnings to the others.  My muddy ears flicker, the wings at my sides shifting with each stretch of my stride.  There was a dense fog here that clung to the land, low and choking.  I decide I rather like the ambiance of it.  The mystery it shrouded me in was warm and inviting.

-Within the cover though, other things lurked.  They watched her with piercing eyes.  Judging her.  Was this the girl that was of the vision?  She was of the right age.  She was of the foreseen creature described.  The horns she carried a crown of bone.  Yes, she must be who was to come for the jackal.  As clever and conniving as he was -he’d much rather turn tail and run- but he knows he will have to fight this battle.

His blood red eyes appear to glow within the ghostly fog as he tests his powers against the child.  He unravels the magic he has held to himself for much too long.  It stretches to her, enveloping her in an aura of nightmares.  Let’s see what you fear most child.-

The feeling washes over me.  It is something familiar and for a second, I am taken back to the dreams.  My advances stop as my silver eyes rove the area.  It is deep within the fog I see a pair of red orbs moving towards me.  My ears twist forward, my breathing slow and rhythmic.  The aura tests me, clawing for my deepest and darkest fears.  I remain still, staring at the red glow that seemingly levitates in a blanket of gray.  I do not fight the magic, nor do I fear it, for I have felt it many times before.  It is only now that I step forward and towards the figure cloaked in a foreign body.

-His powers scour every bone, every neuron, every memory within the horned girl.  It tugs and teases until it begins to recede back into his aging form.  A worthy opponent, but what if he transforms into something she cherishes and has yet to experience.  His form steps forward, pacing to meet her course.  What appears is not what she had been expecting, or was it?-

Set on paths to collide, the red orbs dissipate into the fog.  What appears before me is something, someone, I have known since I was just a weak and fearful child.  His golden coat, dipped in ebony, stands before me.  The heavy curls of his horns I have envied my entire existence. “Father,” I whisper as I bend a knee and my head in proper greeting.  My eyes shield from his gaze, holding the position for mere moments.  It is in those moments that my memories flash forward.  Something was off.  My nares flare as I draw in the scent of the area.  The pine aroma was thick, but nothing could mask the scent of the Krampus, as pungent of a smell as there ever was.  It is then my mind pieces it together and I know of the deception the jackal has cloaked itself in.

-He grins, the jackal, turned to the ‘Prince of Fear’.  “Yes daughter, it is I.  We have many things to discuss.  Tell me you have not failed in your purpose here.  That you have not failed your family,” he says.  Teasing her emotions and seeing that the disappointment and disapproval of her father, her lineage, may be the only thing she could fear.  She has yet to experience it though.  His magic has told him that much.  But maybe, just maybe, he can outwit this prophet child after all.-

I motion to rise, my blood-stained face lifting ever so slowly.  “No Father, I have not failed you,” I say in a stoic voice as suddenly my movements become lightning fast.  I curl my neck tightly to the left and with an upward force whip head and dagger-like horn to the right, piercing through the jackal's neck and lacerating his jugular vein.  Crimson blood spills from the mirage imagine of my father.  But soon the facade fades, leaving a tar and ivory stallion laying still on a bed of blood-soaked pine needles.

There is no emotion as I stare down at the fallen creature.  Now I will wield the powers of my forefathers and carry the mighty crown of fear as the Krampus I was born to be.

Kreed