Stalking through the wild forest, Grgbl soaked up the crushed leaves underfoot (If you could call what it had feet, per say). It could eat anything, really, though raw meat was it's favorite food - not only the taste, the taste of life recently gone, still lingering, but also because it was rich in proteins, with which Grgbl could extend itself. It passed around trees - the bark was much too tough for it to digest - and devoured a nearby bush in seconds. Then - there - a scent, a line of color in the air. Chemical receptors on its skin tasted the most miniscule bit of information, gleaned from remaining skin cells which were kept aloft by a slight breeze. An animal of skin and bones, of meat and blood, had passed through this area recently. Grgbl almost salivated (But could not, of course, since it had no salivary glands) at the thought of all that meat, raw and full of life, and made off deeper into the forest, chasing after its newly found prey. Crashing through the undergrowth, digesting what it could as it flung itself faster and faster through the decomposing leaves and branches that littered the ground, the monstrosity pursued the aroma.

Then... There! The scent changed directions, taking it further west. Grgbl adjusted its spinning arms, sending it careening towards the large hill that stood in that direction. Then, more smells assaulted its receptors. More flesh-and-blood prey. There were so many, its senses were threatening to overload. It shut most of them off, all while speeding towards the unsuspecting village.

Shouts echoed through the village, stone cottage nearly toppling over from the collision Grgbl had made with it. It wasn't hurt - it would take a lot more than that to damage it - but it was disoriented by the sudden, rapid change of speed and direction. Thrashing about, the villagers fled from it, towards the temple, which stood a half-mile from the town hall. In the temple lived Ramos, devout servant of the Holy One. Surely, reasoned the villagers, if any man could save us from this evil that infringed on the village, it was he.

Ramos, of course, knew about Grgbl before the villagers told him. He knew before it had even entered the forest around the village that it would come here. For Ramos was no priest - He was a wizard. An adept at the sorcerous arts, he also had skills as a seer. It was a widely known fact in that village - though if any were to be asked, they would irrefutably deny it. Having a wizard in a village was a great advantage, hidden though he may be, and they did not want to give that advantage up.

"Ramos, it has arrived." Said a stout fellow in plain cotton breeches, his shirtless torso glistening with sweat (he had run the whole half-mile to the temple).

"Thank you. I will deal with it." With a curt nod, Ramos walked around him and made his way to the Fading Circle, an oval of runes in the center of the study, which would allow him to both see where he wanted to, and, if he desired, to go there himself, in a flash. A mellow light started emitting from the oval, and the wall in front of him ceased to be a wall and became a window, through which he had a close-up view of that which was assaulting the villagers.

"We meet again, brother..." He said to nobody in particular, then, with a flash of light, he steps through the window, facing his nemesis.

Grgbl had been quietly munching on a man's foot, taking in the protein-rich muscle and nutrient-filled blood. Then, he felt an electric tingle in the air, a surge of power right in front of him. He looked up, seeing this man in flowing scarlet robes, a 5-o’-clock shadow, and mangy, scattered hair. A twinge of recognition, Grgbl squinted with its human, bloodshot eyes, trying to remember, trying to figure out where it knew this thing from - something it had never attempted before. In the back of its animal-like mind, there was some sort of memory of another life. It knew this prey. It knew this flesh-and-blood thing, this thing which it wanted to eat.

"What are you doing here, brother? You gave up your humanity long ago - you are no longer welcome." The words had some effect on Grgbl, jogging its memories. Yes... It knew this... This thing. They called themselves humans. Humanity... With a whine of realization, Grgbl cried out silently. It used to be human. It used to be flesh-and-blood prey. It used to be hunted. With a wicked grin, it turned to Ramos. Not anymore. Not hunted anymore.

"You don't want to do this, brother." Said Ramos, spitting out the last word, as if it brought a bad taste to his tongue. "You kill me, and I'll become stronger than you. Leave here, leave the forest, and do not come back."

Grgbl winced, remembering the long deserts and vast ocean, devoid of life, devoid of anything to eat. He won't go back to that. Some portion of his barbaric, animal-like brain remembered an important part of human interaction. It remembered speech.

"B...ro...ther..." It said, in a gravelly voice. The deep voice rumbled the ground around it, making Ramos struggle to keep his balance. "H...ow... H...a...ve... Y...ou... Be...en..." The words were long and spread out, it having not spoken in so long. Slowly, it regained its speaking abilities.

"Stop pretending like you have a soul, Amos. You sold it long ago. Leave here, now." Ramos was confident he could drive it away, the Words of Power already forming in his mind.

"I... Have grown... Impossibly... Strong... Ra...mos..." Started Amos. "Too strong... For even you... To kill..."

"There are much worse fates than death. You should know that intimately."

"My... Ailment... Is not a curse... But a blessing... Ra...mos... I can do... Any...Thing... I wish..."

"Last chance, brother. Leave, now."

"No..."

"NOW!" Enraged, Ramos imbues his voice with the Words of Power. "Vodo! Iam!"

Snarling, Grgbl leaps at Ramos, even as the Words seep into its brain, commanding it in ways he could not fight. But his inertia carried him forward, before he was forced to act out the command, and he landed on the ground, enveloping Ramos. With his brother in his girth, he made off to the desert as he was commanded; all the while digesting what was left of his kin. But he did not digest. No, the body, he ate (No sense wasting good meat), but the brain he preserved, giving it nutrients and air, keeping it alive. When they reached the desert, months later, Grgbl split itself in half, leaving the brain of his brother in one half, along with an eye, and half of a mouth. It itself kept an eye and the other half.

"Brother... Why... Have you... Done... This..." Rasped he who was formerly Ramos.

"Revenge... Brother... And... Lone...li...ness..." Admitting his true fear, Amos felt a sigh of relief make its way out of him. "So... Many... Years... Feared... And... Alone... But... Alone... No longer..."

"Curse you... Brother... For this..." His voice was less aggressive, more understanding. Alone for all those years, the loneliness must have driven him insane. Turned him into the monster he became. "Very well... Now what..."

"Your heart... Is destroyed..." Said Amos, formulating a plan. "Your words... Lost power... We could... Go back..." A wide, toothless grin, revealing the void of their mouths, rested upon both of their faces. They made off into the forest, Amos and Ramos, to wreak havoc among the kingdom. Together, they had not realized it before, they were truly unstoppable. Not much could be said about the humans.