Backstory (1st POV):
As a human I spent my days in my humble Pakistani mountain village as a half-baked fortune teller selling my skills to make a decent living on my own (no thanks to my parents who abandoned me at this village when I was 8). I was blessed with a "gift" of sorts but for a while I was a pariah. Although I could see the future, I couldn't control what I saw - utterly useless and frightening to most people. But once they saw what I could predict was true, the saps bought anything I said - whether it was true or not (mostly the latter). I didn't think I was hurting anyone (and honestly didn't care), but the omnipresent force that guards this world thought otherwise. I suppose it was the last thing I "foretold" that did me in. Okay... it definitely was the last thing. There was this pretty girl in the village who did not want to marry a certain rich man from the larger towns who was looking for a beautiful bride. Her parents were furious but didn't want to make it obvious. One night they visited me and offered a nice reward from the rich fellow if I said something to change the girl's mind. I agreed without hesitation.

The next day I offered her a free session to contract the "undead and wise elder spirits" who had an urgent message to give her. She was too happy to comply - I never offered anything like that for free. I predicted her current love - a charming, but sorely poor shepherd boy - would run away with another girl soon and leave her devastated and pregnant. The girl was heartbroken and ran off. Later that night I came home to my tiny shack and found a few pouches of gold coins. I was deliriously thrilled - I had never been so rich in my life! I later heard news that the girl had married that rich man. He had then beat her until she had had enough and threw herself off a bridge.

Then the dreams began. Every night the next week I had the same dream. I walked up a gloomy mountain trail at night, as I reached the misty peak I met a tall, stoic being bundled head to toe in grey robes. They offered me their hand as if to lift me up to the top ledge. As I reached out to grab it the person turned into a snow leopard and devoured me. I woke up each night screaming and in a cold sweat. Even a quack fortune teller like me should have know what would happen.

Stubborn fool I was I continued my false works for a few more days. Then it finally happened; on a cold winter night on the same mountain trail by the river where I would always catch fish I slipped and fell into the icy water. The current took me away from any safety and the cold killed me. When I woke up, I was with the being I had seen in my dreams. It was then I was given a choice. I could either burn in the underworld for my crimes against morality or live out my punishment as a mergichan. Eager to save my skin, I chose the latter.

It's been over a century and I now live out my life in the mountain villages - switching every decade or so to avoid suspicion. During 12 daylight hours I work as a fortune teller (a true one this time as I have learned to better channel my abilities) and during the other 12 hours I live as a snow leopard. My mission now is to help the farmers and villagers here as guardian to make up for my previous life. This will go on until I am killed by a hunter who will take on my sins. After that I may move on to where all the good spirits go. But everyone here knows the legends and keeps their distance.

Lately I've been getting important visions again. I see a young man enveloped in fire. Sometimes wolf-men and female spirits appear to me too. I have no idea what this is to mean, but the older mergichan tell me the world will be at a crisis soon. The being who changed me once told me I had an important part to play - that was why I was allowed to live. I wonder...is this true?