Chapter Text
Every child in the empire has heard the tale of the Waldhexe. Of the three children who suffered greatly from the hag’s cruelty for the sake of the land. They had left the forest less than when they entered, sure they had seen the last of the horrid being.
Unfortunately, stories rarely end in childhood. The Waldhexe took from the children, and their hold of them only grew with the passing years. As time passed, the children found themselves seeking out the wretched creature. They were not sure why, but the more they spoke to the Waldhexe, the less monstrous the hag became. Their honeyed words disguised their intent, and the children, already partly under the Waldhexe’s control, became powerless to their wants.
The children grew and were molded into the adults the Waldhexe needed them to be. The boy whose mind they took became their sword, following their orders without a thought as to who they swung at. The girl, blinded as she was, became enamored with the Waldhexe’s power. She became a witch like no other and longed to become the Waldhexe’s right hand. However, despite her ambitions, the Waldhexe sought another to become their successor.
The third, who grew into a man of great power, was the Waldhexe’s first choice. This man of great power and fierce ambition but with no heart became something cruel and uncaring. He became something perfect for the Waldhexe’s plans.
Or so they thought.
The Waldhexe lost in their arrogance, forgot that powerful, ambitious men are some of the hardest to control, for there came a day when the Waldhexe had asked too much of the third. He who had done everything that was asked of him without hesitation had been broken by the task. As the flames grew high, as they burned the world around them, so too did the Waldhexe’s control turn to ash.
In his pain, he grew feral. Dangerous. And like a broken toy, he was tossed away to be forgotten. It was in this exile that the third gave himself a new name. It was there that he branded himself Monster.