The Death of Zephnos

As the clouds devour the silver moon, the hopes of Zephnos the Forest Bogeyman die. He had lost, well, everything. First his creator and birthplace, then his powers, and now his very identity. Alone and hated, with nothing to his name except the fire that burned within him, he stumbled into the Forest without a destination. This wasn't his first time lost in the Forest, though it would be his last. As he meandered between the colossal trees, he gibbered to himself. "We'll get it next time. We just need to eat more. We just need more fuel." But there wouldn't be a next time. Somewhere deep with the flame he called a heart, Zephnos knew that, but he didn't want to admit it.   The godling weaved through the Forest. barely comprehending his path. He ducked under roots, leaped streams, tripped through brambles and got his horns caught on branches. Behind him, a shadow soundlessly followed. A norseman, once a victim of the mighty bogeyman, now stalked him. Above Zephnos, a gigantic pair of ruby eyes stared down at him. The merchant's cloak drooped beneath the branch he was sitting on, alongside the many wrapped and chained bags. He didn't notice either of his pursuers.   "Nonono, we can live again, we can eat again! I promise - NO, this is NOT the end. We just need time!" The whine of a coward in denial echoed through the trees. Creatures of the Dark Forest, normally hunters of humans, began to move towards its source. Zephnos, still unaware of the growing number of stalkers, began to climb down a short hill.   Bjorn struck then. An arrow to the leg. Zephnos began to roll. He's stopped by a tree. He sees Bjorn coming and scrambles to his barely functional hooves. Even wounded, a satyr can probably outrun a man... but not an arrow. Zephnos barely got 10 feet before another arrow hit him in the lower back, paralyzing him.   "And how does it feel, monster? How does it feel to be running for your life? Consider this revenge for the mother bear you killed the night we met." Bjorn spit, drawing another arrow to eye level. He didn't want to miss.   Zephnos didn't even pause for breath. "... kill and eat, change and devour, yes I KNOW all of that. We will fix this! Just give me a bit of TIME. Let me live just one more night! I beg you!" Bjorn noticed something just then. Zephnos was smoking. What he had initially taken for black fur was actually smoke, pouring from his legs.   "Beast, don't even think of trying anything. I know you. You've got nothing anymore, Soil took everything she could." With each word, Bjorn closed the distance. Never once did his bow waver. Years in the Forest had taught him not to underestimate its creatures.   Zephnos sprang. His legs, once crippled and useless, were whole and functional again. But it wasn't enough and Bjorn's arrow once again found its mark. Stumbling, the only son of the Salamander fell back to ground. Still, he ignored Bjorn. Still he dragged himself forward. He dragged himself forward and as his pursuer prepared the final arrow, he collapsed. At last, he rolled onto his back and faced his past.   "I'm sorry," he whispered. "It made me do all of it." Purple flames flickered in his eyes and mouth. Even as Bjorn's arrow, specifically made for this moment, ended his life the spark of the first Cinder called out to the Forest.   Vines and trees pushed forward around the fresh corpse, and the creatures of the Dark Forest constricted their circle. Each one of them reached out a claw or hand towards the spark of divinity that even now consumed its host.   A vine, smooth and featureless but for a single leaf reached the corpse first. The spark ignited anew and fire spread across the accepting plant. The fire spread traveling higher and higher in the canopy until everything was bathed in a purple light. Trees, vines, brambles, leaves. Everything was burning with a fresh power.   Bjorn turned to run, but Cicero appeared behind him and for a second there was an absence of space. A grinding of cacophonous gears erupted from under the owlkin's robes and both of them disappeared, leaving behind the rebirth of the Salamander's greatest mistake.