Forest

The fire light crackled as Joseph dropped some wood to fuel the raging flames. Taking a seat by the fire he rubbed his hands together trying to warm them. This forest had always had colder nights during spring. Thankfully once he was out of the place, he would be able to warm up. He made sure his camp defensives were up before he decided to relax.
He took off his armour, he was starting to get hot. He lifted up his shirt to look at the Mark on the right side of his chest, a skeleton ouroboros. He wasn't sure what the mark meant, but he did know the orginal ouroboros meant the cycle, life, death, and rebirth. He had an idea what this grim mark meant, it was a mockery of the cycle, it meant that his cycle had ended. Did it mean he would die and never be reborn? Did it mean he couldn't live? Or simply he was banished from death. He wasn't going to test the theory of being undying, why would the Iron Queen do that anyways?

He softly sighed, "What did the elders mean by this cursed sign?" He remembered the day before the attack, the Elders spoke of the skeleton ouroboros, calling it the Cursed Symbol of Eternity. He remembered tales as a child in which his father would tell him, about how those branded with this mark were known to become cursed beings. "They are just stories Joseph, you aren't going to become a monster."
He reminded himself that he shouldn't worry about it, the mark is a Brand, to let him know that he is cursed.

As he slept he saw how his village was butchered, burned to the ground. How his wife, Maya and his two daughters Amelia and Lola were slaughtered in front of him. How the Iron Queen had him beaten and mocked as a failure of a hero before being branded with the cursed mark. Everything went black, then a mirror appeared before himself. He started at his own reflection for a minute before the mirror cracked and his appearance in the mirror transformed from a mortal man into that of a twisted creature, "Cursed for Eternity!" His twisted self screeched before reaching for him with twisted claws.

Joseph awoken to find the sun shining on his face, he noticed the fire had gone out, he put his armor back on and gathered his things. He looked up the Dalen Alps, "I guess it's time for myself to climb upwards." He begin to travel once agian.