The Wild Hunt

13:54, 21 May 1631

City of Magdeburg

Principality of Magdeburg

Lower Saxony, Holy Roman Empire

Magdeburg was on fire, and the smoke darkened the sky. For sixteen-year-old Otto, everything seemed hopeless. Turning sixteen this past February, he didn't expect to be recruited to defend his home from the Emperor himself a month later.

When the Imperial forces attacked at dawn yesterday, the city’s garrison had their guards down. The citizens had already agreed to surrender, and either the Imperials ignored it or didn't know. Either way, every civilian is suffering. The mercenaries that the Emperor recruited unleashed their brutality on the populace. Otto tried to save his family, but it was too late. So, he and a few of the city's soldiers tried to get a few citizens to safety.

After helping some people escape, he and his fellow soldiers were about to leave with them, but they were ambushed by Imperial soldiers. Otto was still not used to sword combat, and frightened, he ran; two soldiers ran after him.

Otto turned to an abandoned building and quickly found a place to hide from the soldiers.

Ashamed of himself for running and not standing up to them, but he was no fighter, just a shoemaker apprentice. The city needed more soldiers to defend it. Unfortunately, every able-bodied boy was called into service. He was assigned to help at the top of the city's walls. When the Emperor’s forces started besieging the city, Otto saw the haunting realities of war. With dead bodies covering the area, the charred skin and disfigured bodies from the cannons and the smoke from artillery added a sense of foreboding in the air.

Otto hadn’t been able to sleep, only getting a good rest if he was knocked unconscious. His hallucinations started in the final days of the siege, mainly during an attack; he saw spectral riders and spectral hounds in the distance. Even if it was far away, the howls and barking from the hounds and the horses’ hooves hitting the earth were apparent. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, but he blamed it on his exhaustion in the end.

After hiding at the abandoned house for a couple of hours, Otto saw that twilight had set in. He decided to use the cover of night to try to escape the city once more. Otto took his barely used sword and headed towards the door. He tried to see if anybody was outside through the window, and when he found that it was clear, he went out.

The city seemed quiet, but he knew that the soldiers were still out there. Otto started walking, passing through large piles of bodies on fire, and saw a couple of corpses lining the streets. With the continued darkening of the day, smoke from the bodies, and within the city itself, visibility was getting worse. The stench also made it unbearable to walk through, but he powered through it.

He stopped when he heard clanking, the clanking of a horse heading his way. He made the mistake of turning around because what he saw startled him: a spectral horse and its rider. The horse was red, almost gaunt, bloody, with fiery red eyes and certain parts of the horse's body were on fire. The rider was skinny with black armor and a helmet, but the lower head was visible, and his teeth looked skeletal with some skin still on. Through the slits of the helmet, Otto saw that the rider had bright glowing red eyes.

Otto was petrified in place, there was screaming from a woman and a child coming from within the city, and he looked away. He quickly looked back, and the rider started screeching a supernatural scream. The rider took his sword out, preparing to charge with an attack. Otto turned around and started running, and the horseman gave chase soon after.

Otto ran as fast as he could to lose the specter. Decided that the only way to get rid of the wraith and escape the city once and for all was to make a run towards the main gate and cross the bridge to the other side of the Elbe river.

The fires were still burning the buildings, and Otto hoped that the smoke would give him cover. He ran, ran, and ran as much as he could, the horse galloping and the rider’s uncanny noises letting him know they were still after him. Turning onto the main road and passing through the middle of two Imperial soldiers patrolling the area, they screamed at him to stop. He saw the main city entrance and was relieved; that relief ended when he heard shouting behind him. The gate started to lower, but he ran and jumped through with all his strength before closing behind him.

He landed on the ground, panting. He looked behind and saw no ghost, but he saw Imperial soldiers still heading his way, and the gate was once more opening. That was his chance to get up and start running across the bridge. He saw more soldiers and Imperial riders from the other side heading his way halfway through. Otto stopped, he could not go back, and his path forward was being blocked, and both sides were gaining on him. He looked to his left with no other choice and jumped off the bridge right into the river.

Once in the water, the stream of the river carried him northwest, away from Magdeburg. He used the river's current and swam towards the river's shore, farther away from the city. Once he was back on land, he looked behind; Otto saw the fires and smoke from the city. Still, he could not discern if Imperial horsemen and soldiers were heading his way. Nevertheless, turning around and continued to run.

He reached the edge of a forest an hour later and went in. After a couple of rows of trees, he stopped and crouched down. He had to control his heavy breathing if the soldiers were hot in his trail and could still catch up to him. He looked behind, seeing the forest's edge, and it was quiet. Otto stayed like that for a couple of minutes until he was certain no one was following him.

Otto stood up, took a deep breath, and continued deeper into the forest. He stopped and dropped to his knees, breathing heavily; he couldn't contain it anymore and started crying. His entire family and friends were killed. Otto was tired of the horrors of war and the added effect of the hallucinations. He just collapsed onto the ground from exhaustion. Being outside the city, clouds revealed a full moon up in the sky, illuminating a few of his surroundings within the forest. Soon, he fell into a deep slumber.

Hours later, he was woken up by howling, the howling of hounds. It was still night, and the clouds covered the moon, darkening the area. Otto continued deeper into the forest. A couple of minutes passed, and he stepped on a twig. The sound of the breaking twig vibrated across the forest. He heard howling once more, and at the same time, there was a gust of wind.

He thought the howling was from the wind going through the trees, but it was from a hound, and it was getting closer. The wind also picked up speed. Otto crossed his arms to conserve some heat and began to walk faster. He heard the familiar sounds of riders, it was coming all over, deep within the forest, and he was frightened. The sounds from the hounds became barking instead of howling, and when he started running, the noises got louder.

Then in an instant, the noises stopped, and he stopped. Nervously, he turned around but regretted it. He saw a spectral horse, white and boney. The rider was wearing what looked like dark silver armor with a black cape. What surprised him was that the rider was a woman with flowing red hair and a crown on her head. Soon, more spectral riders appeared behind her and spectral hounds, growling and barking.

Otto was petrified at what he was seeing. The female rider took out her sword, and her horse neighed, the two hooves into the air, preparing to charge. Otto began running, and he could feel that the Hunt was gaining on him, about to be on top of him. Fortunately for Otto, he was close to the end of the forest. However, the forest ended on top of a hill. He tumbled down the slope without realizing it when he reached the edge. He groaned in pain but quickly got up. He saw a town in the distance and was overjoyed. However, when he immediately looked behind him, the Hunt was still approaching, so he continued to run towards the town.

The howling and cheering from the spectral riders were getting very close, and the entrance to the town was closed. Otto started screaming, "OPEN THE GATES! OPEN THE GATES, PLEASE!"

The gate opened, and he barged in and collapsed when he tripped. Otto panted and turned around; thankfully, the town's guard closed the gate. Otto was breathing heavily, muttering about 'ghosts,' 'riders,' and 'the Hunt.' His mind went dark shortly after.

11:21, 23 May 1631

Town of Burg

Principality of Magdeburg

Lower Saxony, Holy Roman Empire

Otto wakes up, a bit tired but relaxed on the soft bed beneath him. He saw that the sun was out, illuminating the room; brown walls, six beds in total, three on each side of the room, and two windows on his right side, and on his left, was a door. There were four more occupants in the room with him, but they were asleep.

"Ah, you're finally awake," someone said, with the door opening. Otto looked and saw a doctor with a plague mask and a tan-colored robe.

“Where am I?” asked Otto, his throat stung when he tried to talk.

The doctor poured water into a cup and handed it to him, “You’re in the town of Burg. You’ve been asleep for more than a day, having a fever and mumbling. Woke up the entire town when you came in,”

“The Wild Hunt-”

“The Wild Hunt, yes, I know. It’s a phrase that you’ve been mumbling when you collapsed. No need to worry; you had a fever, so whatever you saw was just an illusion,” stated the doctor, gathering some ailments.

Otto shook his head, "No, no . . . They're definitely real. I've seen them since the siege,"

The doctor stopped, “Siege? Are you from Magdeburg?”

Otto simply nodded, "I'm so sorry for what has happened, but you're safe now. The Swedish King sent a couple of supplies towards us for any survivors. Just tell me what your occupation was, and we might find something for you here. In the meantime, I'll talk with the owner of the Inn to give you a room,"

Otto nodded in thanks, and he took the medicine the doctor gave him. He started to relax, about to close his eyes, but the wind outside produced a bit of howling, and it spooked Otto. Though he calmed himself, knowing that he was safe.

14:53, 25 May 1631

Imperial Forces and the Catholic League have left the Principality of Magdeburg and ignored the town of Burg. Otto was released from the doctor's care and was headed to the Inn that the doctor told him about.

He saw the building by the corner of a street. It was colored white, with a dark brown roof, and was three floors tall. The first floor was a tavern; Otto saw just one group of five people in one corner. The entire area was wooden, and behind the bar were two elderly women. One came up to him, and he told her about the doctor and the room. She explained that she has a room still getting ready and recommended that he wait, which he accepted. She offered him a drink, but he declined.

While the tavern was empty, the group talked very loudly, and it vibrated across the pub.

“Yeah, I saw those Catholics marching out of the city and the Principality, good riddance,” said a man.

"Ya heard about that boy from Magdeburg," said another.

“Yeah, I heard, poor lad. Apparently, he was mumbling a lot. Mumbling about the Wild Hunt,”

There were gasp and nervous mumblings when the Hunt was mentioned. Otto sat himself down and kept his head down.

"I'm telling ya'll. The kid is not the only one who's seen the Hunt! Some people I know have seen them, all around the Empire, especially during or after large battles. The stubbornness of this Emperor will bring ruin to the entire Empire! The Hunt brings nothing but doom."

Otto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to block what they were saying to stop the images he saw the other day. He soon felt a touch on his shoulders and a mug of ale being set in front of him.

"Here, looks like you need it," said a woman. Otto looks up and sees that the woman is roughly his height. She had silver eyes and bright yellow eyes.

Otto grabbed the mug and took a sip from it, “Thank you,”

“What’s your name?” the woman asks.

“Otto,”

“My name is Ar- Diana,”

Otto nodded, and Diana took a seat across from him.

"Listen, Otto, I know you went through so much, and I'm sorry, but you need to tell me about what you saw,” stated Diana.

Otto looked up, “What do you mean?”

“Tell me about anything uncanny, like the Hunt you saw,” Diana said.

“They’re not real,” Otto simply stated.

"You and I know that they certainly are,” Diana responded.

“What do you want to know?” Otto breathes out, closing his eyes, trying to calm himself down.

“Did you see her?" she asked.

When she mentioned ‘her,' he instantly opened his eyes in fear, "Her. Flowing red hair, a crown on her head, very regal," he said in a tired sigh. Thinking back to that night in the woods.

Diana sighed in detest, “Verina,”

“Verina?” asked Otto.

Dian draws a shaking breath, “Verina, the Witch Queen, and Queen of the Wild Hunt,”

“How do you know?” asked Otto.

Diana hesitated, something that Otto noticed, but didn’t say anything, “I just do,”

“When you saw her, sure she’s a ghost, but didn’t you feel that she was real?” asked Diana.

In a shaking breath, Otto said, "Yes,"

Trying to calm himself down, Otto decided to tell her, “When I was still in the city, about to escape. I saw a spectral rider. It didn’t look like the rest of the Hunt when I saw them later. The horse was red, gaunt, and on fire. The rider himself had fiery red eyes and a large sword,”

With each detail, Otto provided, Diana's face grew darker. Otto asked, "What does it mean?"

“Tell me,” he stated.

Diana simply stood up; she took her bag, rummaged through it, produced a small coin pouch, and placed it in front of Otto. "Thank you, and I'm sorry about what happened to you,"

He looked at the coin pouch and took it, thankful for some coin to begin his new life. Looking back, the woman was gone; Otto was perplexed. He felt a tinge of sadness; it sounded like she was heading towards a nightmare with the Wild Hunt. Whether they're real or not, he wishes her luck.

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15:11, 25 May 1631

Artemis cursed under her breath. This religious war is bringing more than just misery, but the apocalypse!

She took a deep breath; it's been eight centuries since she dealt with Verina. Between those centuries, she knew about sightings of Verina and her Hunt, but only as spectral projections, no threat like last time. More reports of Hunt sightings and people disappearing is worrisome. Including the sight of one of the four horsemen!

She continued to walk through the streets of Burg; she saw a bench and took a seat, and started to remember. The legend of the Wild Hunt is something she knows by heart. Before she became the Wild Hunt's leader, Verina was a Saxon noble roughly eight hundred years ago. Verina was gifted with magic and trained under a Nordic witch to harness her power. Verina was gentle-hearted, but the Saxon wars against the Frankish King Charlemagne drove the young woman insane and unleashed her magic throughout Europe. For punishment, God banished her from this plane of existence.

However, Artemis knew the truth. The truth that the legend forgets to leave out. The story of the Eastern Roman Princess Justina and how she met and fell in love with the Saxon noble. While Verina did fight against Charlemagne, the Eastern Empress Irene offered Justina as a bride to Charlemagne, and his destruction of her home and people began Verina's descent into darkness. Verina had four lieutenants throughout the conflict, all magically gifted and brutal as her. Those four lieutenants became the basis for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Heartbroken, Justina asked Artemis for help, and it was both of them that banished Verina and her Hunt. Unfortunately, Artemis lost her friend Justina as well.

Artemis closed her eyes, remembering her time with Justina in Constantinople, meeting the young Verina, the calm before the dark times.