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Shauna POV
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Is this... the afterlife? I struggled to open my eyes only to see a never-ending expanse of white. But wait. As my limbs twitched, I could slowly feel the cold seeping into them, as my senses and bodily functions returned. I was alive. All because of Athas. Because of me, he died. All I had to do was overcome the fear of death in my heart and protect my younger brother. But even such a little thing I could not do. My heart turned cold, and emotions such as despair and fear became insignificant, but little did I know, that day, I also lost other emotions, I lost the knowledge of how... to love.
And so, feeling a part of me hollow, empty, I journeyed on. I vowed to purify and hunt down all monsters and to avenge the death of my brother. Over many weeks which turned into months, I honed my skills with the crossbow and the way of the hunter. I studied under a Freljordian woman that was also a hunter, and slowly, I came to trust her too. Until she betrayed me. One day, in front of my eyes, she changed into a wolf. I should've known. Trust no one, lest you be betrayed. Without hesitation, I shot 3 arrows right into her, and even with that look of confusion and sadness in her eyes, I felt nothing.
Now, there was only the hunt. Only through hunting, would I be able to bring color, derive emotion, thrill, from this dull, monotone life. Until finally, I came across a situation even all my experience could not solve. Trolls. These savage brutes usually rule their own territory and never stray out of it unless they are challenged by a younger one. But know, for some reason, there were 30 or more trolls, all waiting for me, under the cover of snow. "Human! For too long you hunt us troll! I, Trundle, Troll King! I am Troll Judge, Troll Jury, and Execu-troll! And me deem you die! AHAHA!" He waved his huge ice club that emitted an ominous icy-cold feel, no doubt True Ice, and the trolls, lumbered forward, swinging their primitive weapons.
The trolls grinned, flashing their disgusting yellowed teeth as they piled me, swinging their weapons at me. And even though their intelligence was lacking, what trolls definitely were not lacking in was strength. I barely managed to dodge their weapons by tumbling along the ground, as their weapons literally made the surroundings shake. So here I was, stuck in a fight with 30 trolls. Was I going to meet my end here? After everything I did and went through? Was Lamb's arrows or wolf's teeth going to claim me today? No. A glint flashed through my eyes, the eyes of a hunter. The trolls saw this, and instinctively backed off, becoming more wary. "What doing? Get human!" Trundle yelled. The trolls disregarded their hesitation at the command of their leader and once again started advancing. Blood rushed to my head, and I could vaguely hear the indistinct clanging of a clock. "Impure fools." I shot bolt after bolt at the nearest troll, quickly turning him into a pincushion. As I rolled to dodge their attacks, I noticed that I seemed to have awakened something within me. First of all, they didn't seem to be able to see me whenever I rolled for a short amount of time, and secondly, there seemed to be a projection of an even bigger crossbow overlapping mine, one that looked much more grandiose. I smiled. It was time for the trolls to face their reckoning.
