In the forgotten depths of the dark forest, where leaves rustled to suppress the faint whisper of the wind, dwelt a witch known as the Many Faces and Many Hands. Her presence was a distortion of nature, an entity that ancient texts only hinted at the possibility of her existence. She was an amalgamation of animal faces, each with its own inhuman will, and with arms growing on her body like wounds that would not heal with the passage of time.
One day, in the shadow of the frozen moon, a traveller lost his way in these bottomless thickets. He had heard dark legends about a witch, but his fears overcame his thirst for adventure, and he rushed forward despite the warnings.The witch offered the traveller a deal: if he brought her the most precious of his treasures, she would help him reach his goal. The traveller, pondering, took out of his bag an ancient amulet, the last gift from his mother before she left. This amulet was his most precious treasure.
The witch took the amulet and, with a magical gesture, released him from the curse that had haunted him all these years. The traveller felt the heaviness of his soul eased and smiled gratefully at the witch. At the end of the forest road.
But as the traveller turned to leave, he found that the road he had come on had disappeared. In its place a grim wall had appeared, blocking his way back. He turned to the witch, hoping for an explanation, but only saw her face all contorted in a horrifying way.
The traveller realised that the deal with the witch had its own dark terms that he had not realised. The witch’s laughter spread through the forest, blending with the wind, and at the last moment of his journey her many hands swallowed him up like a shadow, for his fate now belonged to her.
