I stand alone looking over the carnage and wonder, Did I do this?  Is this the work of my hand?  Untold thousands lie dead in this field, blood covers my body, my hands are drenched in it, the taste of blood  burns my tongue... Yet I don't remember even drawing my sword. I look down to my sheath, though blood and sweat blurs my vision I can clearly see that it was never drawn.  How then, am I the only survivor of this carnage?  I close my eyes and think about it, I start to remember a dream I had  -- There were obsidian wings growing from my shoulder blades, my fingers were replaced by ruby claws.  In the dream I ripped and shredded and killed a thousand men, alone on this battle field...

This was to be our last battle in this hopeless war, but some how their vanguard had been slaughtered.  I looked about me and realized the wounds inflicted on these men were not those of swords, they looked like those a feral beast might have made.  Could the Dream have been real?  But what would that mean am I some sort of demon?  what will this mean for the people of my village?  Can I go back, can I tell them that they'll send a whole legion next time?   Would I, the lone survivor, somehow slaughter 10,000 men next time?  Will I transform into a beast against my will and kill my own people indiscriminately?  I collapse to the ground and lie in a pool of blood sweat that is now tainted by my own tears.  

...

I awaken to the smell of a delicious stew cooking, realizing I now lie in a bed.  I am in our village, the daughter of our chief has brought me to her house to nurse me back to health.  She has always looked at me differently from other men, and now I realize she must feel great love for me.  The rest of the women and children had fled, knowing we should have all died at the battle today -- That our village would be burned to the ground.  She notices that I am awake approaching me, she warns me not to move, as my wounds may reopen.  My food will be ready soon, she informs me.  I whisper incoherently, and she nods understanding.  The battle took more out of me than I thought, so I am now at her mercy. Is it possible, I suddenly realize, did she witness it? I know she must have decided to try and save me from the fate of certain death facing our men, that must have meant she planned to follow us secretly.  Then, in the chaos of battle, che could secret me away and tend my wounds.

If she saw me slaughter the vanguard, barehanded in the shape of a demon, how could she still be gazing into my eyes with such love and affection?   I close my eyes, and she brings my food -- she delicately feeds me.  Then she lies besides me and whispers a confession to me, confirming my worst fears, she was in fact witness to that battle.  An arrow pierced my heart in their first volley,  and when I collapsed to the ground the earth began to tremble. She saw it all so clearly, as my skin became leather, as my hands became claws, as the wings folded out from my back.  She saw as I ripped the life from every man before me, friend and foe alike. As they tried to the last to take me down, but blades broke against me, and arrows bounced off me like toys.  How then could she still have this look of loving in her eyes?  I began to cry, and she pressed against me, she told me of her love, and how she did not care what I was... as long as I would hold her against me.  I convinced her I was too weak yet, to do so much, and she smiled at me, and slept by my side that evening. I felt her warmth against me, and it made me unable to sleep the whole night through..  What did I feel for her?  Could I make her suffer my torments?  Where could we go? What would become of us?  I  moved around too much and she awoke, beginning to kiss me softly.  As if she knew what was going on in my mind, she murmured reassuringly that she would be by my side as long as I could stand her.  She let me know her love for me would endure no matter what hardships she might have to endure. I kissed her back, and let her know my doubts, my fears, and my weakness..  then I let her know that I was still trying to take this all in, maybe I was in love with her, but with everything else going on I needed time.  She rested her head against my heart and held me, telling me, she'd never let me go, she'd die before she'd let another woman love me.  We slept together the rest of the night.

The next morning the villagers who had fled returned to the village, they were in awe, that somehow, against the better armed superior numbers we had managed to win.  I was lauded as a hero, and it made me wince, if only they knew how I had slaughtered their husbands, they would hate me and curse me.  I tried to warn that with the vanguard defeated a full legion would be deployed next time, but it fell on deaf ears, they wanted to spread stories of a divine protecting force. One that had caused the armies sent against us to be slaughtered with not so much as a soldier lost amongst our brave warriors..  A total lie, perhaps, it might scare them into sending not one legion, but a dozen.  Still my pleas were ignored, mobilizing a dozen legions would take them months they argued, and then they would have to winter in camps, we would have ample warning, and a chance to flee if such were the case.
  
So the rumor was spread, and the enemy made a camp, waiting for reinforcements.  In the meanwhile, the chief's daughter worked her charms on me, and in the end I was too weak to deny her the glowing happiness that radiated from her when in my presence.  I had my doubts, but as I spent more time with her I grew fond of her kindness.  Soon enough she was meeting with me secretly at night, to lie with me.  By the winter, she was showing signs, and it was fairly obvious who had caused her pregnancy, and the chief confronted me.  He made me know that it was unacceptable for me to be forcing his daughter to live in sin, and that alone was enough to make him wish he could cast me out.  I was a war hero though, so instead he set before me a challenge, if I could raid the winter camp, and force the foreign army to flee, he would announce my marriage to his daughter.  I couldn't refuse, I knew what would happen, I would sneak in, they would wound me, and I would leave their camp a bloodbath..  it would be worth it, for her happiness.

I could kill an army of 10,000 men in their sleep, with their guard down, and we would forever be feared.  Preparations were made, and I began to wonder would I return to being a man again? The villagers only expected me to scare them away, would they learn my terrible secret?  Would I be able to keep her happy?  She found out my plans, and she let me know that if my secret became known she would run away with me.. The only thing that mattered to her was being at my side.  So the night arrived, and I infiltrated the enemy's winter camp.  I was shocked in horror when i realized, the wives and children of the soldiers traveled along with the camp.  It was too late to turn back now, though. I frantically tried to transform on my own, perhaps then I would not kill them all.  It was no use, I stepped into the light of their fires and they shouted in their foreign tongue, and then one of them raised a sword to me.. that is all the more I remember of what happened that night.  The legend is that some demigod stepped down unto the earth, and broke the legion into oblivion... but I know the truth, as does my wife happily lying besides me cradling our newborn son.