Ognevik

In the depths of the forest, beneath the canopy of black skies, where the tree branches intertwine in an ominous tangle, dwells the spirit of an ancient warrior—Kuzma the Firebug. He was once a glorious defender, but fierce love turned his heart into a flame of passion and darkness. Centuries have passed, and he still wanders the night, seeking the one who can kindle his icy heart and free him from eternal darkness.

In the same thicket lives a maiden, Vasilisa, ablaze with fire and endowed with courage, her soul filled with anxiety and hope. At night, when the moon barely illuminates the forest path, their gazes meet, and a flame of mad desire ignites between them, bringing with it fear and doom.

He whispers to her, barely touching her shoulder:

• Oh, it smells of Russian spirit...

And that spirit is maidenly, drenched in Russian blood, forged by an unyielding will. A maiden's heart is a deep pool, concealing love and unrelenting melancholy, and fear of fate, and timid hope, and ancient resentment, like a snake in the grass. Kuzma-Ognevik senses it with his gut, and understands it with his mind, but he can't master his dead, icy heart.

One day, the villagers learned of the secret paths Vasilisa used to reach Ognevik. To save her people, she was forced to betray Kuzma, to abandon him. But he, realizing that she was like all mankind, her heart consumed by malice, flew into a rage. Pitch darkness fell upon the forest, enveloping them in an impenetrable shroud. From this gloom arose a wolf's shadow, enormous and malevolent. And its eyes, like hot coals, glowed in the darkness.

"Did you really think your sorcery would both please and deceive me?" Ognevik said, his voice full of anger. "Didn't you think that I, Kuzma, would let this slip through my fingers like a little child?"

Vasilisa sank into the ground, gripped by terror. Her face turned white, like a sheet of death. The words of her prayer stuck in her throat like a lump of ice. She knew that the Fire-Beast's wrath was like a forest fire, sparing nothing, devouring everything.

And he began to approach her, with a firm, inexorable gait. In his eyes there was only a flame of rage and a desire for vengeance.

Тгк: @diverchai