((This is The Priest's history. Enjoy.))

He is dreaming again. He falls swiftly, darkness closing around him. He can feel the speed as everything whooshes past him. The vertigo is terrible and he closes his eyes.

He hits the ground. Everything stops and goes blank.

“It's been awhile...” comes the murmur. “Too long.” It is the same nightmare he has every night.

He looks up. For some reason, he cannot feel anything. His frail body no longer feels the wind. No longer feels the forest. It is like he is floating. No feeling...? He thinks. But-

“Of course you can't feel anything. Come on.”

He stands. He follows. Then he is alone...Is he? He looks around. Other humans. He smiles and sits. He would not mind staying here...for awhile...
their
Figures dressed in habits walk into the church. They are solemn, so solemn. He follows them.

They are inside now, praying quietly. The statues are on altars, like he remembers. Candles surround them, the monks chanting. It is true peace. He watches as a boy walks up to them. They stir.

“You're late today, Merivin. Do you have an excuse?” The boy shakes his head at the brother who is staring at him, coldly.

“You need to be more dedicated. You know the legends. All who reside here must be dedicated or each of us shall fall. Perhaps I should just send you home.” The voice is filled with scorn. He looks down at his feet, clothed by sandals. He is only a child, growing rapidly and changing, though he still remains tiny and frail. Church is boring for him. But Brother Matthias is his idol.

Brother Matthias had been the one who he first met. He is a strong, older man with strict gray eyes and hair to match. Brother Matthias had been his first teacher. He admired the respect Brother Matthias commanded and the immense wisdom he held. The little boy had followed him everywhere for days. But...Merivin just could not seem to do anything right. Everything he did was wrong.

He sighs and gets down on his knees. He had disappointed him, over and over. He cannot help it. He is just too young, wishing for something else besides prayers and meditation.

The prayers go on for minutes that seem like hours, and he twitches in the silence. When will he be able to leave again? This prayer is boring, so boring. There is so much else he could be doing, that young boys should be doing. Praying is not one of those things. Stupid mother who had sent him here to be “proper”. He wanted to be normal, not “proper”. He did not believe in the Gods anyways.

There is a rumble. A shaking of the ground. The brothers look up.

The Priest looks away. He knows what is coming. He does not want to see any more. He runs through the woods, not looking back.

He cannot bear to see it, not again. He misses Merivin...so much. He knows Merivin is still with him, somewhere. Somewhere...

He runs and settles down, closing his eyes. But sleep does not come.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

He cannot rest. Not...yet... He is being told as much.

He stands, knowing what he will see. He goes back. He sits down and he watches again, sees everything.

Darkness seeps over the land, coating everything. Like it is clinging to The Forest..., he thinks. But his thoughts are far away.

The church is burning. Flaming, really. The brothers are running...

Blood. There is blood everywhere.

Some of the brothers are dropping, not moving.

Merivin is running, running for his life. He makes it out, somehow. But their Gods are burning inside. The brothers stand in shock away from the temple, their sanctuary. It is gone...along with their Gods. And some sort of eerie night has fallen, pitch black, covering everything in front of the brothers. At least, that is what it feels like. It is coming for them. It is palpable and feels a lot like...like...a web? A gelatinous web? No...not quite. It is indescribably horrible and the brothers are cowering, holding onto each other. The end of the world, they suppose.

It is too bad that they are right. It is the end of the world for those who inhabit the church.

Suddenly, in a burst of light, the Gods come to life and float. They exit the burning building as if it is the most normal thing in the world. They glow with an intense light, defending the deer against the darkness. They rise up, but cannot battle the darkness. They begin to lose. The darkness is clutching at the Gods, and they are losing. One turns to them, and emits a bright flash of light. Merevin stares. He believes now; the shock is plastered on his face.

Pain, searing pain, ripples through him. He nearly faints, but manage to survive the wave of light. His head clears and he shakes it. The brothers are running off..but something has changed.

They are deer.

Their legs propel them, far and away...but some...are not fast enough. Some run the wrong way, into the darkness. The men...the deer who escaped fear the worst for them. They keep running though, never even glancing back.

But he does. All that is left behind is destruction. He turns and runs.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Gods...win. We do not know how, but they do. The light returns to the forest...and it begins to rain. The deer creep out from their hiding places and the weather clears. They look quietly into puddles. Deer, but with the face of men. The last trace of our humanity. The forest might be peaceful, but we knew the truth. Something was wrong. Our brothers were gone. Some were dead...some were lost. We wept, though we could not cry out in the way we knew. Our language had left us, replaced with bellows.

We found our church again. It was burned, but some of it still remained. The bodies of our brothers were replaced by graves. Our Gods had not fled us...

Brother Matthias turns to me. He shakes his head and lowers his antlers. I look at him in shock. He is blaming me for this. Of course, it was my fault. I am the one who lost faith. I brought my brothers down with me. I hang my head. It must be my fault. Maybe if I had been more devoted...Maybe then this would not have happened...I vow that this will never happen again. Never. I will not forget my faith again.

He glares at me and advances, his antlers still lowered. He charges and I scramble to my feet. I run for my life and he runs after me. He gives up after I have reached the birch forest. With an angry snort, he turns and runs. I never see him again. I carefully walk away in the opposite direction, soaked in mud, despairing. I cannot ever lose my faith again.

A mysterious statue appears the next day. It weeps continuously for our lost brothers, a reminder that we must never forget them. Never. I will not forget you. I will not.

Our Gods also return that day. They promise us that there will never be death, not again. No more darkness, no more pain. They would protect us. Then they stop moving. We pray and begin to glow, turning white. They have not left us.

I will never forget you, Gods, and your battle for us. My brothers have forgotten, but I will not. I will always remember you.

I go to the crying idol, as we now call it. Poppies are growing around it, great clumps of them. Poppies for death, red for blood. I run through the idol (a brother had run through it earlier and come out fine) and turn red. The blood of my brothers shall not be forgotten. I cannot forget them...

The deer begin to disperse. They discover that the food of the forest often gives them special powers for a time. Their colors become myriad, their antlers change...they cover their faces. They forget that they were once human, once my brothers. They become deer.

But I do not forget. Fawns come into the forest, and they grow up. They simply appear one day, alone and sad. I watch them, wondering if...maybe...they might be my lost brothers, the ones who died on that day. They do not remember me, even if they are... I still care for them, the new souls. I show them what it is like here...They are perhaps the only ones who will ever see me break...They remind me of how I used to be...

I wonder about my brothers who went the wrong way or could not run fast enough. Sometimes, I am sure I sense them...or that darkness again. I sense something wrong with deer who pass me by. Almost like a cloud of darkness surrounding them or something sticky and black within them. I wonder what they have done, but I just shake my head and leave them alone, though I feel a faint tugging towards them. Strange...

I roam the forest for many years. But I do not die. I suppose this is magic. Instead, I continue to roam, searching for my purpose. I become less and less awake, less and less myself. But I do not lose my faith for the Gods. I can feel the darkness slowly coalescing as I wander, but it is slow. There is no immediate threat. I wander quietly for years, awaiting my revival. I know that my Gods are watching me.
----
The deer sighs and shakes his head as the scene finishes. He stands on his small legs.

“Now do you remember?”

“I will never forget. You know that. I cannot forget...”

“You forgot your name.”

“No...I just do not use it any more. It carries too much...weight...”

“Merivin.”

“I am called The Priest now...”

“Not that it's a very accurate title.”

“I am devoted. I spread the blessing of the Gods. I practically am-”

“But you are not a priest. You were just a brother who betrayed those who took you in. You know this. You are making yourself seem more important than you know you are.”

There is a pause.

“I...know. But...I cannot take the name Merivin again. I am not him. I have changed, I cannot be the fool I once was. I must regain my brothers, show them back to the light. I must be an example...I must not become the person I once was.”

“As you wish, “Priest”. You're going to go back now. You're needed.” The voice is scornful.

He sighs. Going by The Priest makes him feel important, closer to his Gods. It reminds him of his mission. It is how he stops the past from happening again.

“Let us leave this place.”

There is a rush and my vision clears. The darkness evades me. It is morning now. I stand and look at myself in a puddle.

Am I still like I was then, I wonder. Am I still a disappointment, a failure? Never again. I shall do whatever it takes to rid this forest of evil, whatever it takes to keep my promise. I ruined everything for my brothers. I will not let them down again. Another thought pushes its way into my mind.

The Gods had promised no death. But...that fawn... Was it really so long ago? And I nearly died...And the stag I hear about in passing occasionally, white as the moon with antlers as great as mine. Are they slipping away from us...? Or do they even exist anymore? I finally finish the thought.

“They do...and they are...”

I exhale and look into the puddle again.

“I will never be Merivin again. I am not him. I am stronger now.”

But doubt echoes in his mind.

((I leave it to you to come up with what the voice was. ;P

Merivin is pronounced Mare-ih-vin))