PURE BLOODS

Episode 3

Decades passed. The smoke cleared from the valleys below. The stories of the witches faded — first to whispers, then to legend, then to nothing at all. The world outside believed magic was gone — burned away forever. Peace seemed restored. But peace built on blood and lies never truly lasts. And deep within the Eastern Mountain Forest, the witches endured — watching, waiting, and remembering.

As the years rolled on, and the world settled into the quiet belief that the old dangers were gone. But the peace was thinner than anyone knew — and something terrible was stirring in the dark places no one watched.

It began slowly. Farmers woke to find their livestock dead in the fields — killed in ways no wolf or beast could ever do. Bodies drained, torn apart, left in the mud. People whispered that the witches of the Eastern Mountain Forest had come back for revenge. Fear returned, but it was pointed the wrong way.

Then things got worse. People started disappearing — travellers, villagers, even families in their own homes. They left behind nothing but traces of blood and silence. The deaths kept rising, and still the kings hesitated, unsure what they were even hunting — until one night, when the truth ran straight through the palace gates.

It was pouring rain when a peasant burst through the doors, screaming and covered in blood. His right arm had been ripped clean from his body. He fell to the floor, gasping, crying out: "Monsters! Help! They are demons!"

That was when humanity learned the truth. There were things that walked and looked exactly like people — but they were not human. They fed only on human blood. They came to be known as the Devil's Children.

The kings ordered a massive search across every forest and border. But they never sent anyone into the Eastern Mountain Forest — word had spread that the witches living there had grown far too powerful to challenge. Day after day, search parties found nothing. Whatever these things were, they knew how to hide.

So the kings decided to strike at night. They gathered four hundred thousand soldiers — the largest army ever assembled — and sent them into the woods to wipe the creatures out. They marched out under the cover of darkness, confident and strong.

But they were not prepared for what waited in the dark.

The s*******r was total and unseen. Of all those who marched out, only twenty returned alive. And of those twenty, only two came back with all their body parts intact.

The kings stood looking at the broken men who stumbled home, and they finally understood — they could not win this war alone.

Desperate and afraid, the kings learned something that changed everything — word had leaked out that the Devil's Children found witch blood distasteful. It repelled them. Despite every warning and suspicion, and even though magic was still illegal, the kings sent messengers to the Eastern Mountain Forest to beg for help.

The witches did not decide lightly. They gathered together and spoke with their Holy Mother — the queen who guided them. They debated the offer, the risk, and what it could mean for their people. In the end, they agreed — but only because the kings swore the alliance would be announced publicly, and that they would finally be accepted and honoured by humanity.

Convinced they would be welcomed home, the witches gave freely of their power. They forged enchanted weapons, healed the wounded, and guided the hunts. Slowly, the numbers of the Devil's Children began to fall. As the Devil's Children were pushed back, something strange happened. They did not break — they changed. They grew smarter, less like wild beasts. Where once they hunted alone, now they moved in organised groups. They built armour and made weapons designed specifically to draw human blood.