Backstory:

Are you familiar with the tale of the Endless Forest?

...No?

...Well dear reader, I recommend you listen closely lest you suffer a rather unfortunate fate...

It was perhaps three thousand years before your birth, on this very evening that a young man found himself yet again at the mercy of his village elders...

A prankster and a thief he was, and this time he was being scolded for chasing the village's sheep out of the confines of their pen and into the nearby forest. One of the elders stood up and proposed a plan.

"As punishment you shall retrieve the flock from the forest and once you return... perhaps some chores will do you good"

"Ugh... fine..." the youth responded as he got to his feet, just about ready to flee the cramped room.

"And be wary of the forest beasts!" began another of the elders, "for if you do harm to the forest's children... your spirit shall be trapped forever!"

The youth nodded and swiftly left the rickety old building.

Sprinting as fast as he could to the forest's edge, the youth thought about what the elder had said. As a child, the stories told by the elders frightened him and he believed every word. Now however at eighteen years of age, the stories were nothing but fairy tales and hocus pocus. Fairy tales and hocus pocus that the youth would regrettably decide to mock.

Upon entering the dense forest, a feeling of serenity washed over the youth. He noted the tracks of the missing sheep and he could've, nay, SHOULD'VE followed those tracks to the flock and returned with them to the safety of the village. But alas dear reader, The youth was too curious and too arrogant to leave well enough alone.

Venturing deep into the forest's heart, the youth came upon a clearing. Alone in that clearing was a fawn. The fawn appeared to be lost, separated from its mother and its cries echoed faintly through the trees. The youth slinked behind a large spruce tree and to his left, picked up a small jagged stone.

"Let's test these legends, shall we?" The youth smirked to himself.

Springing forth from his hiding place, the youth hurled the stone toward the lone fawn.

THUMP!

The fawn let out a blood curdling scream as the stone made contact with its head. From a distance the youth watched the fawn fall to the ground and twitch disturbingly until its body lay still. The youth's heart dropped. He only wanted to spook the fawn, not kill it.

The youth hesitantly approached the dead fawn, and what he saw made his blood run cold. For where the fawn's face should be... was his own.

The youth stumbled back and suppressed the urge to scream. He Got to his feet and ran as fast as he could back the way he came. But no matter how far he ran... the forest stretched out infinitely.

Onward he ran through the night until his body gave out. The youth collapsed beside a winding creek and all faded to black.

The youth awoke to the sounds of birdsong and a gentle breeze. He tried to get to his feet but stumbled forward and fell face first into the creek. As he tried to get up a second time he looked down into the clear water and saw an unrecognizable reflection... he had become a deer. And thus the forest had trapped the youth... forever.

By now I assume you have guessed the identity of the youth, yes? Now take care dear reader...

...lest you suffer MY fate.



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