The Ashen Ones

Long ago after the closure of gates to Fey, there was a child who would not do what he was told. Again and again he travelled to the outer lands, where the ash mingled with the frost of the northern hills. He played in the forests and played in the hills, and spoke to the shadows in the ashmouth glade. They told him of fantastic things, of things the others couldn't see, invited him to play with them, to look into their world. Time and time again he visited the shadows, staying longer every time, until th eday he found himself trapped within their realm. He pleaded for his freedom, until finallyy the shadow relented. It told him that to earn his freedom, he had to become one of them. A monster in the dark. And so, day after day, he acted as they did, luring the naive until this shadowy place and forcing them to make the same deal he was forced to make. Day after day, he began to forget who he was. Now, he haunts the shadowy places himself, having forgotten the boy he once was, luring disobedient children to a world from which they will never escape, where they will lose themselves as monsters.