In the North Atlantic, where the fog clung to the land like a shroud of secrecy, lay Aetherwynd Isle. A name rarely spoken, only whispered. Its name is a haunting melody of forgotten tales and lost dreams. And it was here, amidst the ruins of a bygone era, that Mara Everhart sought refuge from the chaos of the world.
Mara was no stranger to adventure, her spirit untamed as the surrounding sea. Armed with nothing but her courage and thirst for the unknown. She had bought the isle of Aetherwynd, despite the best advice of the locals around the coast. She was ready to claim this next chapter in her adventure as she sailed through the mist to her new home.
When she stepped onto the shore of the island, she could see the abandoned houses in the distance. Among the mist, their silhouettes appear ghostly. It was nothing new for Mara; she moved to and through the settlement with the confidence that she had faced far greater challenges in her time. But it was the pub at the centre of the seven houses that drew her gaze. Behind it, she could see sheep grazing, but they did not make a single sound. They ignored the new arrival. They just kept on grazing.
Mara inspected the pub, the weathered façade, the rusty hinges on the window covers. The paint is flaking both inside and out. She could feel the countless told and untold stories oozing out of the place. When she stepped through the pub’s doors, Mara felt a chill run down her spine. Unease is slowly creeping into the corners of her mind. Shadows cloaked the interior, and the air carried the weight of countless stories. There are glasses with liquid still on the table, and the bar is still fully stocked. It was as the islanders suddenly disappeared in the middle of the day.
Searching for an answer, she found a hatch behind the bar. It’s heavy black hardware unchanged in the test of time, its wood still pristine and with the single word ‘wyrm’ engraved on the top. Mara took a deep breath when she opened it, bracing herself for what might lie beyond.
Slowly, she descended into the ever creeping darkness, a darkness that seemed unbothered. Even the light of her flashlight seemed not to disturb the darkness in the caverns she found. Her footsteps echoed around her as she ventured deeper into the labyrinthine tunnels. The further she went, the less the tunnels seemed to make sense. Multiple times she took turns that surely would have her return to where she started, only to go deeper into the darkness.
She considered going back; she did not bring food, and she had been walking for a while now, yet she was not hungry or thirsty. Surely, the discovery that lay ahead was worth it. Trough as she moved deeper into the unforgiving depth, she could feel the confidence waning, replaced by a gnawing sense of dread that seemed to could around her like a serpent. Constricting the air she breath.
And then she saw it. Or she did not see it. Her mind knew what it was or wasn’t.
The only word that called to her was ‘wyrm’. Yet it was not a dragon, or lizard, or bird, of other creature she knew. It was not from flesh and blood, nor was it dead, it wasn’t rock, nor was it human. It was not bound by the laws of nature she had grown to know. It called from a realm that she could not describe. It gave off light, incredible amounts of light that she could not see. Mara tripped at the unsight. Her brain could not grasp what she saw, what laid before her.
It wasn’t a beast of fire and fury, nor was it a creature of myth and legend. Each word, each sentence that came to her to describe the beast seemed to fail. The only thing she could feel was a void, an ever-growing darkness that consumed her the longer she looked at it. She could see it gazing back, yet not gazing at all. Mara knew she stood on the precipice of oblivion, yet she could not look away.
She did not know how long she stood there, watching before she turned away and flee. Her body was trembling, her legs threatening to give up. Her footsteps echoing in the darkness as she raced to escape the creature’s grasp. Yet the darkness engulfed her, and the labyrinthine tunnels presented a challenge that her troubled mind could not comprehend. 
And there she felt it. A presence in her mind. It’s weight crushed her, as she fell to the ground. The thoughts of something that was not her own, that was beyond comprehension. It hurt, if it hurt her so badly. Yet she wanted the pain. The more she could feel the power of what was invading her mind, the more she wanted it.
As suddenly as it started, it stopped, leaving her mind alone, and she felt hallow. Like she missed part of herself. Slowly, she made way back to the surface. The tunnels seemed no longer to be an enigma; they felt familiar; they felt like home.
When she finally stood before the pub yet again, observing the daylight while it filtered grey through the mist. She could see the strange light from cracks in the earth. The light that was unlight, the light that seemed itself not to be bound by the laws of nature. And when she looked down at her hands? She could see scales forming.
And she knew she knew she was his. The one who slumbered. She was the first, the first who dared to stand before him and be worthy. The one who will be prepare the world for his coming. Slowly, she turned around and walked to the sheep. This time they looked up at her and there she saw it. Their eyes reveal the intelligence of humans. And she did not care, she only licked her lips as she knew. She needed the energy to become whole. To become who she would be.
And so, as her teeth sharpened, she felt her humanity slip as she devoured.