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I awoke under the shade of a tree somewhere in the forest. The sun was high up in the sky, I was guessing that it was midday. For some reason, my head hurt severely and I can't remember anything, except for my name that is. I noticed my orange fur had blood stains while my white fur on my belly was stained red and I had bandages on; someone must have put these on me to stop the bleeding. There was a set of thin plate armor was beside the tree, I could see the slit in the armor so, I figured it was mine. I had twin swords right beside me so they must have been mine as well. Then out of the blue, an otter dressed in brown leather armor, breeches, greaves and boots came out of the bushes carrying a handful of berries and moss. His fur was chocolate brown, his short brown hair all ruffled up, and he had a bow slung on his back along with a quiver full of arrows. There was something strange I felt when I saw him. It's like I know him but at the same time I don't. My heart began dancing inside my chest as he came closer. I had a feeling this guy was very important to me somehow.

He noticed I was awake and rushed toward me. "Rowan! You're awake! I was so worried about you! I thought you'd never wake up!" he said clearly concerned about me.

I looked at him and asked quizzically, "Um... Who are you and where am I?"

"Haha, very funny. This must be one of your jokes. Don't you remember? I'm Anders, your beloved." Anders said laughing.

"Beloved? But you're a man..." when the words escaped my mouth, I immediately regretted saying it. I knew, from the shocked expression on his face and my heart skipping a beat, that I struck a nerve.

"Oh, god... You actually don't remember? Don't you remember that we were going to be betrothed today? Don't you remember proposing to me?" he asked, his face full of concern and doubt.

I just shook my head.

"Aww... no. I guess that demon hit you harder in the head than I thought." He said while face-palming. I could have sworn, I heard him murmur, "And after all our efforts at maintaining our relationship and persuading your mother so we could get married..."

I apologized, "I'm really sorry but I honestly don't remember anything. Though, my heart says that I know you and should trust you."

He sighed, "Well, at least all is not lost."

There was a pause, longer than I would have wanted. I broke the silence, "Uh... Where am I exactly? How did I end up like this?"

"Ah, well. We're in a forest. Isn't it obvious?" he smirked but before I could protest, "Actually, we are in the Shroudspire forest. As to how you ended up that way... Well, you got hit pretty hard on the head by a demon."

"Demon?" I asked quizzically.

"Yes, a demon." He sighed, "You must have million questions for me right now. Where should I even begin?"

"Well, you could start by explaining why we're here." I suggested.

He sighed and told me everything. A demon horde attacked our quaint town of Shroudspire last night. He said it was far too coordinated to just be a normal demon break out. They killed every single fur in town and in the castle except for my mother, the duchess. They captured her and took her someplace else. They tried to capture me too but Anders helped me escape though I was injured badly during the escape. He said that a demon hit me hard on the noggin on our way out and I was cut badly on my abdomen. I tried to sit up to get a good look at my cut but I winced in pain. Anders stopped me from sitting and insisted that I lie down and rest.

"We fought hard but our efforts were just... in vain." He said as tears were welling up in his eyes.

"We tried our best..."I held his hand and tried to comfort him as best as I could.

He looked into my eyes and said, "Your eyes remind me so much of my father before... before..." he choked.

"You don't have to say it if you're not ready." I said with concern.

There was a pause, "I thought I was over this... It's funny, I already told you this before but it seems that I have to do it again; along with everything else that happened in our relationship." He grunted, tears tracing down his face.

My heart ached for a moment. I just knew that had to say something, anything, and then I suddenly remembered something; a little but very important memory, "Your father died bravely, Anders. Although, I wish I could say the same for mine."

He was surprised by that comment, "You remember!"

He hugged and squeezed me tightly, at that moment, it was utter bliss in my heart but I winced from the pain on my abdomen, "Oh, sorry... I... I thought you'd forgotten that talk."

"I did forget but somehow, you triggered a part of my memory and it came back." I continued, "If I remember right, that was the first thing I said to you when we became friends. We were ten back then, am I right?"

"That's absolutely right!" he wiped the tears off his face and smiled at me.

I smiled back.

He grabbed the berries and fed them to me. He told me that these were medicinal, so it helped speed up the healing process. He picked up the moss and cleaned my wound. I winced slightly as he dabbed at it. I looked up at my wound, the cut reached from the middle of my stomach all the way to my hip. It didn't bleed though. Slowly, I felt better due to the berries. I groaned and let my head lie on the grass. I blinked and I noticed a Rowan tree. I had another spark. "Didn't my mother and father meet under a Rowan tree?" I asked, while my heart bounced inside my chest.

"Yep. That's what you told me before. Did you remember another thing?" Anders said as he was putting ointment on the cut.

"I did. I guess just by looking at the tree made me remember." I said smiling.

He strapped my bandages on and sat beside me. I had a gut feeling that if I see the town, I'll be able to get another memory back. "I want to see the town." I said.

"Are you crazy?! The whole place must be infested with demons!" he jumped at the thought of my idea.

"It might help me remember another thing. Please, Anders." I pleaded.

He sighed, "Fine but if I see any demon we are getting out of there immediately. I swear, if it wasn't for your adorableness..."

I had a feeling that I was supposed to say that but I decided not argue.

He helped me up. I wore my armor, buckled my swords and we traversed the forest. After hours of walking, it was afternoon now and we reached the lake. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't red with blood. The lake was the size of the whole castle grounds and it would have also been crystal clear if it wasn't stained with blood. It was still reflective; it was like an entire duplicate of the whole landscape except it was red. It gave a sinister and evil look on the entire place. I went closer to the lake and I saw my reflection; even though it was red, I was able to clearly see myself in full color. My fox features were alright; no cuts or anything. My black tipped ears were pointing up, cautious of any unfamiliar sound. My salt and pepper colored hair was messy. My eyes were calm yet stern. My muzzle, up in the air ready to face anything head on. My tail was swishing slightly back and forth, yearning for action. We walked along most of the lake shore since it surrounded the castle and there was no other way into town.

When we reached the town, it was completely deserted. Some houses in town collapsed or burned down due to the attack. There was no one there; no demons, no people. It was eerily quiet. Although, I saw a trail of blood leading somewhere. We decided to follow it. It lead to the town square. When we saw the square, I gasped in shock and horror. Anders looked away for a moment and returned his gaze to the dead townspeople hanging and leaning on the walls of the square.

As I inspected all of their faces, memories started flooding through my mind. After remembering all that, all the good furs that have died, I clenched my fist so hard, I think I've pierced myself. Anders noticed a fur on the wall and ran in the same direction; I ran after him. As I got closer, the fur had brown fur, long black hair and wore women's linen clothing. It was none other than Anders' mother. A memory of her has been awakened in my mind. I now remember that, she happily welcomed me into her home. She was so glad to see her son so happy. She never saw him this happy ever since his father was still alive. And now, to see her dead; it was heartbreaking, Anders' must feel extremely terrible. When we got close enough, Anders knelt at his mother's feet. "M-mother..." he stammered, "H-how could I have let this happen to you? Why did this ever have to happen?? Why? Why? WHY?!!?!?!"

He cried. Tears trickled down his face as he gazed at his mother's lifeless body. I welled up too. Anders doesn't have any family left now that his mother died. He was alone... No... He isn't alone. He's got me.

I knelt beside him. I hugged and whispered to him, "I'm here, Anders." He took a glance at me with tears still streaming down his face. He wrapped his arms around me and cried on my shoulder. "I don't have any family left, Rowan! I'm alone... There's no one left..." he sobbed.

I had to be strong; I had to be strong for Anders, "No, you're not alone, Anders. Your mother is still with you, though not physically; she's still here." I held him at arm's length and pointed at his heart, "She's right here, in your heart... When you love someone, they don't truly leave. They'll always stay right in your heart. I'm still here with you and I am never going to leave your side. I promise."

"Rowan... Thanks." He said, managing a little smile. He hugged me again.

"We should give everyone proper death rites." I said as I stood, "Help me get them of the walls and bring them to the center."

He rose and nodded while wiping the tears off his face.

We gently brought down each body and brought them to the center. We placed them all side by side with stones around the perimeter of the bodies and set them on fire. It was the best we could do at this moment. This way the fires won't consume the entire village and the forest and so we could give them a proper death rite. Anders chanted the rights for the dead. We watched the flames until it died down. All that was left were the ashes of our dead friends.

It was dusk now.

"Let's look around the village for possible survivors." I said though I doubt anyone survived the onslaught.

"There are none here in the village but there might be in the castle. If anyone could survive, they might be inside." He said.

We headed toward the castle. As we approached the entrance of the castle, we noticed the gates were smashed and the banners torn apart. We also saw bodies of dead guards along the courtyard and piles of dark ashes scattered everywhere.

"Demon remains." Anders continued, "When demons die, they turn to large piles of black dust or ashes."

We treaded silently across the courtyard and into the castle. The entire castle was dim except for the light that came out of the broken windows. The first room we entered was the throne room; there was a large elegant chair on top of a dais at the end of the room, connected to a red carpet that had been torn apart by claws of some sort. It was strange that the throne was left untouched. Another memory has arisen, this time I remember playing there when I was little. I would sit on that throne and have pretend subjects to issue orders to.

Anders said, "Let's check the barracks. I need to restock on arrows and get better weapons while you can get new armor." We headed to the basement. As we headed down the hallway to the basement, more dead bodies and ash piles were lined up along the hall. We strode through easily and reached the barracks.

It was also a wreck. The posting pillar had been smashed to pieces, armor dented, chests were chopped in half and dummy stuffing littered the floor. We checked each chest if there was anything salvageable. Thankfully, Anders grabbed several arrows and stuffed it in quiver. He also found a guard-issue bow, it was polished wood and the curves were just perfect, the tips of the bow were small daggers, and the wire was of good quality, too. I found new set of plate armor, it was dull grey but it was sturdy and surprisingly light. I unstrapped my armor and switched it with the better one.

We strode up the stone stairs and as we reached the main floor we heard a faint sound of crying from up on the second floor. Me and Anders glanced at each other and we both knew what we had to do. There was a survivor. We unsheathed our weapons and bounded up the stairs, the crying much louder now. It sounded like it came from the chapel. We slowly opened the door and peered inside. There was a little girl at the steps of the altar. We dashed toward her. As we neared her, she yelped and turned back. "Don't worry little girl, we're here to help." I said calming her down.

She raised her head to reveal little, scared, mewling kitten, "Really? Can you help?"

"Yes, of course." I said.

"Thank you, kind sir. Can you help my friends too? We are all hungry." she said in a tiny raspy voice and grinned.

"Friends?" I asked.

Just then the temperature dropped several degrees and I turned around. I cursed. We were trapped. Dozens of demons materialized from the walls and popped up from the pews. They were shades; dark shadowy creatures with claws that could rip your limbs apart, they also looked like slugs but instead of being slow, they were fast.

The demon cat-child said, "You two seem to have quite enough meat for us to feed on. We are really hungry you see. We've waited ages to dine on furs. Quick get them!"

I whispered to Anders, "Window. Jump. Now."

He got the message. Both of us burst through the window and landed on a hay pile. We bolted through the courtyard while the demon cat screamed, "Don't let our feast get away!"

We made it to the castle gates, the shades still on our tail. Not literally though. We dashed through the streets; shades were popping everywhere, the streets clogged with demons. We reached the middle of the market when all our exits were blocked. Slowly, the demons approached us, nearly five meters away. Another memory sparked up in my mind, this time I remember running throughout the whole market with Anders when we were sixteen. He convinced me to go with him on one of his 'shopping' sprees then we got caught and ran all the way around the market to escape the guards. We got trapped in a one way street, both paths blocked by guards. We were at the same place when we got trapped, now. We were about to be arrested when I threw back my hood revealing me to be the son of the duchess. I called off the guards and ordered them to release my friend from his charges but my mom scolded me for that. Though, she still allowed me to be friends with Anders after that. Now it was different, I couldn't call off the demons like they were regular guards. I guess we'll have to fight to survive.

"It's just like the incident with the guards on that day in the market, right Anders?" I smirked.

"Yeah, well. If you count demons that want to kill you as guards, then yes. It's just like that time." He smiled, "Although, we have to fight our way through this one Rowan. You can't call them off this time."

"Yeah. So, let's kick some demon ass, shall we?" I asked smugly.

"Yes. We shall." He replied.

Anders launched three arrows in one direction, hitting three demons and turning them to dust. I let my instincts take over. I lunged at the nearest demon and it crumbled to dust. Five more demons rushed toward me. One was about to strike me with its claws but I parried it with one blade and slashed its gut with the other. I spun and decapitated the second demon. The third demon tried to have his way at my face but I ducked and slashed upward. I stabbed the fourth with my blade before it was about to attack. Lastly, I cut up the fifth demon to pieces. I murmured to myself, "Six down." Then I noticed another wave of demons heading my way and a horde behind them, "A hell of a lot more to go." I danced in a flurry of slashes and stabs at the demons while Anders shot arrows by the triples, making every shot count. We were at it for some time now, the sun is already setting and the demons just keep coming. Slowly, we were pushed back until me and Anders were back to back. We were both panting and breathing heavily, "I've taken down twenty-one. How many have you got Anders?"

He shot another triplet at three demons, "Twenty-four. But who's counting? At least you remember your combat skills. "

I smirked, "These are just instinctual."

I slashed another demon in two while Anders shot another triplet of arrows.

"They just don't give up do they?" I panted.

"Yeah and I'm running out of arrows. Their numbers are much less now. I could spot around fifteen more demons in my end. How about on your end?" Anders said as he shot three more demons at what seems like their heads.

"Roughly eighteen more; I don't know how long we can keep this up." I said as I gutted two more demons. The cut on my wound seemed to be on fire, but I ignored it.

I decapitated three more demons and they crumbled to dust, while he shot two more arrows and impaled themselves in two more demons turning them to ash.

From out of nowhere, a raspy voice said, "Enough!"

For a moment, the fighting stopped and we turned to see who it was. The shades separated and made a pathway to the person approaching us.

It was the demon cat child. It said, "It seems that you have proven quite formidable. Master said he was looking for someone like you." It pointed at me, "We have orders to capture you. Once we've done that. We'll eat your friend!"

"I won't let you harm him!" I shouted and lunged at the cat demon.

A demon blocked the path and it crumbled to pieces. Just then, all the shades flew around the demon cat and they made a swirling vortex of darkness. Me and Anders had to hold our ground to avoid being sucked in. Inside the vortex, the demons began joining forms with the cat demon and grew larger and larger while the vortex receded.

What replaced the vortex was a fifteen foot tall shadow troll. It was made of pure shadow; it was also very muscular. It had bull's horns at the top of its head, its glowing red eyes seem to peer into you and drain the energy right out. It let out an ear-racking roar and grabbed Anders. He was about to get crushed but suddenly a gigantic fireball slammed into the troll and lost its grip on Anders. I rushed to Anders to check if he was alright. He said he was fine then we turned to face where the fireball came from. A lion with a short shaggy mane approached us, holding a long, red and gold staff with a peculiar spear tip-like gem at each end. He was wearing commoner clothes; hay-colored sleeveless top, a short green vest, green shorts and brown leather sandals. "He's a bit odd for a mage." Anders whispered.

I guess it was true; the lion had a really nice build. Our muscles were, ahem, very small compared to his. His biceps were as big as my thighs. So, all around he was buff. He said, "Well, don't just sit there!"

We came to our senses and got back up.

The troll roared again and charged straight for us. The lion threw a lightning bolt from the tip of his staff and momentarily paralyzed it. I dashed toward the troll. A searing pain stung my gut but I still ran. As soon I was close enough, I jumped off the ground and impaled my swords on its chest and the troll staggered backward. It tried to get me off but Anders shot an arrow at the troll's eyes, momentarily distracting it. I twisted my blades inside its chest; slowly, it was crumbling to dust. I pulled back one sword and stabbed it again on the chest. Then troll fell to the ground.

I picked the swords off its chest and hopped off while the troll slowly disintegrated into a pile of ash. The searing pain on my hip was getting unbearable. I don't think I can hold on much longer. I managed to face Anders and that mysterious lion; I took one more step then I blacked out and collapsed on the cold, hard ground.