The Rape of the Reach, or the Myth of Red-Eagle, Chapter VIII: Faolan meets a Stranger

In those days, Faolan did not know how to move against Héstram with his new force. They tried open combat at first. In this manner, Héstram lost half a battalion, and Faolan an entire battalion.
They tried ranged combat. While Héstram lost an entire battalion, and Faolan half a battalion in this manner, Héstram advanced, and routed Faolan's men.
They tried poisoning Héstram's supplies, but Faolan's men were caught in time, and executed.
Andoe came to Faolan, and said: "King Faolan, the commanders are growing unruly. Every move they make is unsuccessful, and they are losing hope. They want to beat Héstram, but they believe this to be impossible."
Faolan replied: "I do not know what we must do, Andoe. Every move we make is either cut short or ineffective. Tell the men I will think about it. Tell them I will be spending the night alone on the hill there. A thousand curses on the man that will disturb me."
Andoe went to the camp to tell the men. That night they slept quieter, yet not very.
Faolan made way to the hill, and sat down. Even though he was tired from the battles past, he did not catch sleep.
Before him he saw wolfs howling and owls sweeping down and bucks running and cats stalking. None of this made sense to him at this time.
Then, Faolan saw a wolf leaping out of the trees, killing a stag in one blow. The wolf, carrying the stag, made way towards Faolan. When the wolf was nearby, Faolan saw that it actually was a man, wearing the skull of the stag over his head. He wore nothing else except for a loincloth around his waist.
The man said: "Greetings, king Faolan. I know who you are, and what you do, yet I do not know why you are here, in my time."
Faolan replied: "Greetings, stranger. I want to offer you my kindness, but I promised a thousand curses on the man that disturbed me. If you help me, I might lift those curses."
The man replied: "I see. I cannot say I am pleased by this answer, but I will do what you ask of me anyway. Know one thing, though: by the end of the night, you will understand why you cannot curse me."
Faolan said: "Fine then. Firstly, I would like you to share this stag with me, and catch me another. I will be waiting here, judging you."
The man dropped the stag, and ran of. He threw a javelin [that appeared in his hand] into the dark. A great bellowing came forth from the woods, and the stranger came back with another stag on his back. He dropped the other stag on the hill, and build a fire. That evening, Faolan and the stranger shared the stag.
Faolan said: "I thank you for this meal, stranger. I will lift some of these curses, but not all, for the night is not yet over and daw hasn't broken yet. Tell me stranger, what is your name?"
The stranger replied: "I cannot tell you, king. I will not tell my name to those that curse me. Tell me my next assignment, so that I may lift the curses and tell you my name."
Faolan gave it some thought, and said: "Fine then. Your next assignment will be to teach me how to Hunt like you do. You seem to be gifted. Make no mistake, I am a proud man of the Reach, and know how to hunt."
The man replied: "Alright. Then let's get up and go to the woods. There I will tell you how to Hunt. Leave your tent and the stags here. I will make sure the wolfs and bears won't disturb them."
Faolan and the man made their way to the woods, where the Hunting began. For every deer Faolan slew, the stranger slew two and caught another two. For every bird Faolan shot, the stranger slew two and caught another two. Faolan became tired, but the stranger kept killing and catching the animals of the forest.
Faolan spoke: "We have been hunting for over an hour now, and both have caught admirable spoils. Still, my spoils pale in comparison to yours. I will lift some of the curses, and in return you will teach me how to Hunt as you do."
The man agreed. He spoke: "That is fine with me. First, let us move further into the woods, and stalk our prey. I suggest we try Hunting on deer first."
This is what they did. The stranger made sneaked through the undergrowth, as if he was part of the winds. He came close enough to the deer to snap their necks, and that is what he did. Every time Faolan attempted to get as near, the noise he made startled the deer, and he had to throw a javelin after them.
The stranger said: "You are clothed to cumbersome, king Faolan. Put down your royal armour, and be clothed as I am, in my image. This way, neither men nor animal will hear you coming."
This is what Faolan did. He put off his armour, and put a loincloth around his waist. He put the severed head of a buck over his own, so that he was clothed in the image of the stranger. After he did this, he was able to move towards the deer close enough to snap their necks, which he did. He wasn't as successful as the stranger, though. When midnight had passed, Faolan had grown tired. He and the stranger made their way back to the hill. There, Faolan's tent and the two stags were left unscathed. Three wolfs ran of from the hill, and stood upright before vanishing in the woods.
Faolan said: "Now that we are done Hunting, and you have taught me to move like you, I will lift some other curses from you. Before I lift the last ones, I want you to teach me how to hit a prey like you do. I saw that you were more successful in Hunting than I."
The stranger said: "I see. I will teach you how to out wit your opponent, and how to find the right prey. Promise me one thing: teach this to your men, so that they might Hunt like me in the coming battles."
This is what the stranger taught. The exact techniques are lost, or intranscribeable. Faolan listened and remembered until the sun came up, and the stranger talked and explained until the sun came up.
Faolan said, when the sun was about to rise: "Thank you, stranger. I think I will be able to Hunt like you do now, on both man and animal. I will lift the last curses, although they didn't seem to effect you. Let those curses be gone. Now, tell me your name."
The stranger stood up, rising in posture to three times Faolan's size.
He spoke: "My name is Hirseinn, and I am the Lord of Hunters. I have taught you what you wanted, and I have helped you where the other Old Gods did not. Heed my words, that they might be remembered by the Reachmen in days come. I will go now, and you will most likely not see me again. Farewell, mortal. May your Hunting be true."
Hirseinn turned around, turning into a wolf, and running of into the woods.
Faolan made his way back to the camp. He told his men of the previous night, and what he had learned. He told them to be clothed in the image of Hirseinn, and that they must hunt like him, for these techniques worked against both man and animal.