MARK OF THE FORSAKEN

Liana moved quietly through the forest unnoticed, she had learned to walk this way, with her body close to the ground, barely making a sound. The forest was her home now. She knew its paths, and where to find food.

Liana felt her heart was heavy with memories of her past despite the morning sun shining through the trees. The rustle of the leaves around her also triggered memories of her village, the memories of her people she once knew, and the life she was forced to leave behind.

She had been young when she'd lived in the village, never knowing the weight her mark carried. Back then, she didn't know why some people would have fear in their eyes while staring at her and why some kids were told to avoid her whenever she wanted to play. She had always been an outsider, but she still felt connected to the pack. She had loved her family deeply, especially her parents. They had tried to protect her from the village's whispers, shielding her as best as they could.

Her mother had a gentle touch and a warm smile. Even on the hardest days, her mother would hold her close, hug her, and sing soft songs to make her happy. Her father, though not as open with his emotions, would comb her hair with his fingers and tell her stories about the pack's history, stories of bravery and strength. He'd speak of ancestors who had defended the village and of wolves who had faced dangers to protect their own. She had loved those stories, feeling a deep pride for her pack and its legacy.

But as she grew, her pride turned into confusion and pain. She didn't understand why she was treated differently, why the villagers would glance at her mark with suspicion and fear. She had tried to ignore it, to push the strange looks and whispers to the back of her mind. Yet, it was impossible to ignore forever.

The villagers called it a curse. They believed that anyone who bore the mark would bring misfortune to the pack. It was an old belief, passed down through generations, a story of wolves with dark powers that could disrupt the natural balance. And because of that, they shunned her, keeping their distance as though she carried something dangerous within her.

Liana paused by a stream, kneeling to watch her reflection in the clear water. She traced her fingers over the mark on her arm, feeling the coolness of her skin beneath the mark. She had spent years hating this mark, wishing she could scrape it away, erase it so she could belong, so she could return to the pack. But no matter how much she wished, the mark remained.

She stood there and looked at herself then memories came crashing back and filling her with fragments of her old life. She could remember what the village looked like, the smell of fresh bread from the bakery, and how the pack chatted together by the fire on cool nights.

One memory that stood out for her was the day she was exiled. Her family had gathered around her, their faces were filled with sadness and worry. Her mother hugged her and comforted her promising her that they would find a way to bring her back to the pack. Her father also promises her he won't rest until he brings her back even, thou all he was saying was with a teary eyes and helplessness in his words.

The elders had decided that she was too dangerous to stay. They said that the mark was a threat to the entire pack, and a curse that could bring ruin to them all. They claimed they had no choice but to send her away, to banish her to the forest where she would be no danger to anyone else.

Her parents had argued, had pleaded with the elders, but their words had fallen on deaf ears. The elders were too afraid, they were too adamant to be swayed from their beliefs. And so, the next morning, they led her to the edge of the forest and watched her as she walked away, alone and scared.

Liana shook her head when she came back to reality with her thinking while trying to also push the memories away. She didn't want to remember that day, she didn't want to feel the betrayed by her pack. But the memories were persistent, and they refused to fade. They were a part of her, as much as the mark on her arm.

Sometimes, she wondered if her family still thought of her, if her mother still sit by the fire at night, looking at the flames and remembering the daughter she had lost. Did her father still tell stories, wishing he had been able to protect her?

But she knew she couldn't return. The elders would never accept her back. She was deemed a threat, a danger they couldn't afford to keep close. She was tagged an outcast, a wolf marked by a curse due to her mark, who is destined to live in the shadows.

Liana tried to push her thoughts away, to focus on the present, but her heart wouldn't let her. There was a part of her that yearned to know the truth, to understand why she had been cast out, why the mark on her arm had brought such fear to the pack. She wanted to know if there was something more to the mark, probably something hidden in her past that she hadn't been told.

Her parents never explained the mark fully to her, only saying that it was something she had been born with, something that had always been a part of her since childbirth. But there had to be more to it, something deeper which had warranted the banishment from her pack. She could feel it, a belief that her exile was only part of a larger story, a story that she had yet to uncover.

For the first time in a long period, she felt a belief in herself that gave her hope, She didn't know where to begin or what she would find, but she knew she couldn't ignore the questions any longer.